#I’M NOT READY FOR THE LIVE ACTION END OF REBELS SCENE

[twinsunstars]

Discussing the new “Ahsoka” Trailer

As of today, a new trailer for the Ahsoka series was dropped, as the date for the premiere is coming soon. I am so excited for the series, and very happy that we are getting two episodes on the first day. I think some people have already seen this trailer because I heard that some of it was played at Celebration only for the eyes of attendees, and some people had already seen footage of Thrawn in live action. Let’s dive into an analysis of the new footage. 

We know Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) from The Mandalorian, but as fans have seen in the teaser trailer of Ahsoka, she had briefly appeared, despite being defeated by Ahsoka in The Mandalorian. She appears to be working with the inquisitors Baylan Skoll (the late Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), as the duo was seen going around and attacking rebels, searching for something. The three are looking for Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, wishing for something in return. 

Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is seen fighting with the well-known shuttle part of the the Ghost, the Phantom II, along with her trusted droid Chopper, but she is also seen talking to some kind of council, with Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) right in the middle of it. Hera clearly does not want another war starting, as she most likely helped finish off the war with the Empire. She definitely wants a life free from all the fighting, a life where her son Jacen Syndulla can live freely with no Empire there to affect his life. I hope we get to see some footage of Jacen soon, at least a small clip.

We get new footage of Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), as she speaks more to Ahsoka. The way she called Ahsoka “Master” intrigues me. Why did she call her that? There’s something we don’t know yet, and I can’t wait to find out what. Sabine is still definitely the same, as Hera suggests Sabine to Ahsoka for help.

In a scene, Ahsoka is talking to Hera about her old life with Anakin Skywalker, when she was once his padawan. Hera listens, probably talking to Ahsoka and trying to get her to go to Sabine. There’s definitely some things that happened before the end of the Star Wars: Rebels finale, right before Sabine leaves to go with Ahsoka to find Ezra. 

Speaking of the beloved Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), we finally get to hear his voice in live-action. Sabine listens to a recorded hologram of him, missing him more than ever. Ezra is saying, “As a Jedi, sometimes you have to make the decision no one else can, but I’m counting on you to see this through.” He’s counting on her to come find him. Sabine is ready to go, as she kneels down and cuts the hair she grew out. There is a similarity in the way she cut her hair, as Kanan had knelt down and gave himself a haircut before going off to save Hera. The parallel here makes me want to sob.

Ahsoka compliments Sabine’s new haircut right when she came to pick her up and set off to find Ezra. Sabine visits the mural she painted of the family, which was seen during the finale of Star Wars: Rebels. She taps Ezra’s face gently, missing him. Sabine is ready to get out again and find Ezra, as he is waiting for her somewhere out there. 

I think some people have already seen this before the new trailer came out today, but this is the first time I’m seeing Thrawn’s live-action face. I am excited that his voice actor, Lars Mikkelsen, is getting to play hm in live action. As much as I am excited for Ezra’s return, I’m very excited for Thrawn’s return as well. 

We see Sabine face off with Shin, fighting with Ezra’s lightsaber in hand. She knows how to wield one from her experience of training and wielding the Darksaber, and she is doing well with Ezra’s. 

Baylan faces off with Ahsoka, mentioning Anakin. This hints that Baylan used to know Anakin, and then he was probably a Jedi in the Order. We will get more information about him in the series, and Ahsoka’s fight with Baylan will be worth seeing. 

Hera joins the fight, most likely wanting to help find Ezra too and help Sabine and Ahsoka face this new threat. She won’t stand for another war, so she will do anything to end it before it begins. 

There is no information on who this Inquisitor is that Ahsoka is facing off with, but I have heard some people coming up with theories that this is Ezra. I don’t really think it is, but I am also scared to think that this is Ezra. Who knows what happened during the time he was gone. If it ends up being him, then something happened that made him change to this side.

There are many more answers we need to find out with this new footage, and the Ahsoka series will have all of those answers, along with the returns fans have anticipated for so long. I hope Zeb and Kallus also show up in the series, and we get a mention of Kanan.

Ahsoka premieres August 23, 2023 with two episodes on Disney+.

[anakinskywalkerog]

AHSOKA EP. 1 RECAP

hi! so I’ve been like, totally MIA, super busy, avoiding Tumblr at ALL COSTS so I could avoid Ahsoka spoilers until I watched it. and now I am BACK and HERE and I want to share my THOUGHTS so get ready, spoilers for Ahsoka episode 1 under the cut

1. I LOVE SHIN HATI SO MUCH!!!!

you all know I love a darksider and that I also love a HOT darksider and now we have one who is a WOMAN and not a weird alien woman but like an actual badass hot chick who has the dark side EMANATING out of her eyes (I also very much love badass Reva who is hot but not *spoiler* truly a darksider). and Shin Hati is also a PADAWAN and she has a PADAWAN BRAID I’m dying, dark padawan energy? Shin HOTTY am I right (I want to dress as her for Halloween so bad)

2. I’m not sure why they made Sabine into this Padawan character 😂 I’m sorry but it just doesn’t make sense for her to learn the ways of the force!! there are literally lines in rebels about how she doesn’t use/“have” the force.

and like, I understand that there’s a lot of story we missed between her and Ahsoka in terms of what happened after the end of rebels and before now. but it doesn’t make sense for her to learn/want to learn to be a jedi. she’s mandalorian! the scene where she surpasses her mandalorian helmet in favor of her lightsaber? I don’t get it. I absolutely love Natasha Liu’s performance though. she captures Sabine’s essence very well. Maybe I will come around on this whole jedi thing when I watch the next few episodes. I also don’t get why Ahsoka would want to teach her to be a jedi? what happened to “I am no Jedi”??

3. I loved loved LOVED seeing Lothal in live action. So good!! I love how prominent of a storyline Ezra is, from the very beginning. I love that this is a continuation of Ezra’s story. and I LOVE THE LOTH CAT I cried when I saw him (if he got hurt in that battle I will sue)

4. I don’t really understand the aesthetic choices made in the graphic design/the end credits. They’re leaning into this weird ancient/nordic vibe and it makes no sense for Star Wars. I get every show is going to have its own aesthetic but the ancient EUROPEAN?? vibe is literally the antithesis of the original star wars aesthetic and it seems Jon Favreau-y, Marvel-y to me (like it’s okay for them all to share some basic design rules okay?!)

5. on the flip side, I like the soundtrack! it’s definitely different aesthetically but I like how it sort of leans into the epic fantasy vibe. I’m into it.

6. As much as I think Rosario and MEW are doing an excellent job portraying Ahsoka and Hera, I don’t love the costume/character design. the contacts are weird and idk I just feel like it’s such a big budget show and they could have done better!! but I can get over this.

okay those are all of my current and immediate reactions! overall I am very excited and I can’t wait to see where this goes and even when I post things I didn’t love/choices I didn’t understand, I want to make it clear that it is not hate on this show! I am very grateful it exists and excited to see where it takes us. These are just my absolutely unfiltered thoughts. Please comment if you agree/disagree. See you after I watch episode 2!!

[skoulsons]

if anyone is interested. live notes of mine while watching ep5

AHSOKA EP5 UNHINGED NOTES

Jacens so cute

HIM HIDING BEHIND CHOP

the way he peaked out 😭

HUYANG WITH SABINES HELMET

DOES HE THINK SHE DIED

‘I told them to stay together’ :((

‘They never listen’ :/

SHADOW WARRIOR

OHEJDOSB DOEHDNEOHS WI OH

world between world looks so cool

ok actually not ready for this conversation uhhhhh

YOU LOOK OLD 💀💀

baylan Skoll my boy

IM HERE TO FINISH YOUR TRAIJIJG

he’s so close to her why am iiiiiii

snips :(

can they hug actually.

OOIEHZ F SNTHE BLUEEEEE

I WOKT FIGHT YOU

IVE HESRD THAT HEFORE SJXHSKHDKSHSKSHDKS

I KNOW SHE SAYS THAT IN REBELS WHEN HES VADER AND THE WIAGDKWBDBDKSGSKS

I never finished clone wars or got very far or seen rebels in full I can’t imagine how this feels to the big big fans are you guys ok

SENATOR ORGANA :(

jacen what do you see bby

He’s so force sensitive.

LISTEN TO YOUR SON HES LIKE YOUR HUSBAND

THE LIGHTSABERS

bro world between worlds is crazy how does this even work

THE SCOREEEEEEEE SIDHSKDHSK ITS SO DELICIOUS 🤌🏻🤌🏻

THE GHOST I love hearing it called that

JACEN HAS ABILITIES HIS FATHER KANAN WAS A JEDI WE GOR THE NAME DROP AND THE CONFIRMATION AND THE AND

ohdkshdsk not Anakin’s iconic move

I love their footsteps on the bridge(??)

oh. oh no. are we getting flashbacks.

what’s going ON

O RN SKFHSKD ITS ORDER66 ZisNT IT

holy shit. it’s the 501st and anakin leading them.

OR NOT??? What’s going on

Hayden as clone wars anakin whatsjshskhsjdg

live action ahsoka wjayskwhkshd

TEMURA????? ?:?/?

GET AEAY FEOM THE ME HIS HAND ON HERS WHCIH CLONE IS THATD SKDHKSDHSJDHSK

REXRSRXWRXRSRXWTXRREXREXREXRSRX THATS GOTTA HE REX AFORSS FROM ANI RIGHT

is that aayla too i can’t tell but that’s gotta be rex right RIGHT

ITS REXRS DJSGDKSGDKSDGSKSGGS REX MY SWEET BOY DMDHDKDHD VEISHSMSVD

this is so weird in a good way but it’s WEIRD

imsorry I’m still kinda losing it over rex.

OFJGJHHHGGHA DBA THE VADER CHANGE THE CHANGE TO VADER AND BACK TO ANAKIN theyre reallt jusf teasing

xwings are so beautiful

‘You do things your way bc you care. That’s why people like you’ that’s like the nicest thing Huyang has said

Oh wonderful 💀💀

OOOOH she’s got two sabers now

OOOOH THIS IS THE MANDALORIAN ARC I REGNOGIXE THE ARMOR

AND THEYRE THE 332ND THE CLONES THEYGE GOT THE ORANGES AND WHITE AND BLUE

REXXXXXXX NIFE WORK COMMANDER MY LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER

INLOVE HIM SO MUCH DISHDKDHDKDH

her s7 armor 🤌🏻

SIEGE OF MANDALORE YEAH YEAH YEAH

He looks SO s7/rots anakin I love this

Oh wow that shot looked very reminiscent oh the one from rots (I think form what I remember it’s been a minute)

OUIHRBS DENITS RED NOW

OOOHDBA FEKSJ THAT SHOT THATS SUCH A GOOD SHOT THEYRE LIKE SILOUHETTES WIRH THE LIGHTSABERS AND ASKDHSKDH

ENAODHWKSH THE ANAKIN TO VADER TO ANAKIN SKDHEKSHDKV STOP THIS DAVE

HIS EYES :(((

his one eye being red and the other being normal akdhskdhskdhhafsu

I know it might be the saber but also.

THEY STILL LOOK SO SITHY WHDJDID

THEYRE NORMAL YEAHHHHH

he’s gone :(

COULDNT THEYBHAVE HUGGED?????

aw she’s all tucked in <3

oh WHOA her thing is off I don’t think it’s ever been off before

not to take away from everything this episode has been so far but I really just like one scene with baylan and his daughter shin please.

heras little family :(

AWWWW AJDHAKDB CUYE LITTLR HUG LOOK AT THEM

Ahsoka cradling his head 😭

“No.” “Yes.” “No.” Love huyang

come onnn ahsoka

DOTS ARE CONNECTING

Chops “uh oh” 😭

PURRGILSSSSS

FOLLOW THOSE PURRGILS

is it two r’s or two l’s I forget

they just spawned In 💀

they’re so gross and cool at the same time

I feel like they should be following the current and not against it but. what do i know

oooh big boy

so. I don’t know what’s gone with them what is the goal here how do they work exactly

LOVE her white outfit are you KIDDING

AW THEYRE SWIMMING IN CIRCLES

do they get eaten or

ok well this is definitely going to end badly

carson 💀💀💀

CARSON

‘Kiddo’ im cool 🤠

orhskd it’s eye

looks like the mouth from nemo.

this is so insane

“I have no idea” 😭💀

THEYRE CHARGING UP TO JUMP

They way their tails light up 😭

[tending-the-hearth]

live action Sabine and Hera are going to absolutely shatter my soul

[tinyhistory]

Hey! Love your stories so much I just had to ask! Do you have any favorite drarry authors/stories? I sometimes compare the quality of other stories to ROA (oops!) because ROA is just that good. My personal favorites are ROA (of course!), the Foundations Series (saras_girl), the ordeal of being known (louisfake), denouement (the_never_was), Good to Me (And I'd Be So Good to You) (AWickedMemory), and To Hurt and Heal (cassisluna). Have you read these? Have a wonderful day! :)

Thank you, so glad you’ve enjoyed my stories! And thank you for so patiently waiting for a reply. I haven’t been online much in the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately I haven’t read any of your recs, but I’m always happy to add another fic to my to-read list.

I did a rec post a few months ago, but I’ll post an updated version now. The Skyhawke Archives appear to be down, which is crushing news. I’ve had to update a lot of the links.

So here are my favourite Drarry fanfics:

And We Are At Our Apogee (PG-13) by angelgazing

Summary: Draco wanted revenge, but it didn't work out that way.

My notes: Californian beaches, supermarkets, road trips, and a bittersweet ending.

-

A Reckless State of Mind (T) by Lomonaaeren

Summary: Draco is a Psyche-Diver, and his newest patient is Auror Potter, who’s been a pathological liar for over a year—and has just tried to violently end his own life.

Notes: The plot alone guarantees inclusion on this list. Probably the most creative fic I’ve ever read, and the twists and turns will keep you guessing.

-

Berlin, In the Year of Our Lord (PG) by Are

Summary: Harry is a green-tea addict. Draco stalks him.

Notes: Probably my all-time favourite fic, along with Blue Vase. It’s sparse and minimal and I love that writing style.

-

Blue Vase (M) by ivyblossom

Summary: Let’s pretend.

Notes: Draco finds an amnesiac Harry and befriends him, pretending they were once lovers. It’s pensive, short, and bittersweet.

-

The Boy Who Only Lived Twice (E) by lettered

Summary: Harry Potter is an Unspeakable. Draco Malfoy is the wizard who shagged him. Adventure! Intrigue! Secret identities, celebrities, spies! It's all right here, folks.

Notes: Action-heavy fics are damn hard to write, but lettered nails it. The action scenes are breakneck speed, the conversations are threaded with double meaning, and even the silences are tense.

-

Draco in Darkness (T) by Plumeria47.

Summary: Following an accident in his seventh year, Draco loses his eyesight.

Notes: This is one of the first fics I ever read (when it was over on FF in 2003) so it’s probably here just for nostalgia points alone. I read it when I was a kid and just thought it was a lovely golden fairytale, the best romance I’d ever read in my (very short, thus far) life. I love reading it again, even years later as an adult when I can see the tarnish on it; the things my childhood eyes didn’t notice. I don’t care. It’s my soft and fuzzy comfort fic.

-

The Flesh is Frail (NC-17) by wildestranger

Summary: None

Notes: Draco has injuries from curses and spells, and Harry keeps him company. Draco is angry; Harry is stubborn. They argue their way into a grudging relationship. It’s a short read and well worth your ten minutes.

-

Good-bye to Yesterday (NC-17) by furiosity

Summary: Draco felt ready to face even a million years in Azkaban as long as it meant that at the end of it all, he would make Potter pay.

Notes: It’s not a dark fic, but it certainly dips in and out of the shadows. If you like your romance to be sharp as a razor and bitter as black coffee, give it a read.

-

Hymn to Color (PG) by Lomonaaeren

Summary: Months after Draco cast a curse that took Harry’s eyesight, Harry is still trying to come to terms with it. Draco still wanted forgiveness, which was probably the problem.

Notes: Probably my very inadequate idea of “fluff”. It’s a quiet, introspective fic. Draco and Harry are well-written.

-

Kings among runaways (PG) by enderxenocide.

Summary: Later, the toast will be slightly overcooked, Draco will burn the eggs, and there will be another fist fight in-between the living room and the front door, but they’ll eat breakfast with second-hand plates and Draco’s great-grandmother’s silverware.

Notes: Dreamy descriptions, abstract scenes, and the characters are lovingly delineated. Beautiful writing.

-

On Broken Glass (PG-13) by coffeejunkii

Summary: After the final battle, Draco is holding the shards that are left of his and Harry’s life.

Notes: Established relationship. Harry’s forgetful and seems to suffer both short-term and long-term memory loss; Draco stays by his side through six years of post-war amnesia. Very short, just a tiny ficlet. There’s sequels (in bite-size pieces) but I prefer to read the first ficlet and leave it there.

-

Paper Dolls (M) by cupiscent

Summary: In the final year of the War, Draco gets a letter, makes a choice and pays the price.

Notes: Short, succinct, and packs a punch. No character deaths, in case the summary has you feeling nervous.

-

Portrait (PG-13) by Silent Blast

Summary: None.

Notes: Dorian Grey, but Drarry. Of course it’s going to be good.

-

Shattered (NC-17) by femmequixotic

Summary: One damned accident involving one too-lucky curse, and suddenly you'd think he was five again, with their Harry, be carefuls and their quick Levitating charms ready the instant the potion gives way and his rebelling hands lose hold of whatever's in their grasp.

Notes: Draco’s an artist. Harry’s intrigued by his sculptures and paintings.

-

Snatch (PG-13) by didntyoupotter

Summary: Harry is comatose, Hermione and Ron aren’t much help, and Draco isn’t sure about anything anymore.

Notes: The opening scene fools you into thinking this will be a light read with a streak of good humour. Don’t fall for it. By the third act, you’ll be hanging onto every word and feeling a lot of emotions. Also, back in the day, this was one of the Draco/Harry fics. Everyone knew of it. Pay your respects to your fandom history and read this beloved classic.

-

The Stages of Acceptance (T) by Lomonaaeren.

Summary: Harry, already happily married to Ginny, receives the news that he's Draco's mate. Law and custom don't give him the option of ignoring the news. The stages of his reaction, one by one.

Notes: This is not a romance, and I love that the author just casually chucks all the Veela tropes in the bin and says “nope”. In Lomonaaeren’s own words, this fic is more practical than romantic. Harry is unfamiliar with the Veela concepts and hates the very idea of being “shackled” to someone; he rejects Draco at once. Draco is miserable and lonely. They do eventually come to understand each other better, but it’s a huge struggle with lots of setbacks. The general air of pessimism and misery does make the small glimpses of compassion and empathy feel so well-earned. I love a fic that rations out its happiness.

-

The Stately Homes of Wiltshire (E) by waspabi

Summary: Malfoy Manor has mould, dry rot and an infestation of unusually historical poltergeists. Harry Potter is on the case.

Notes: This one needs no introduction. The writing is polished, the characterisation perfect, and the dialogue is fun. I love the humour woven throughout it.

-

Then Comes a Mist and a Weeping Rain (E) by faithwood.

Summary: It always rains for Draco Malfoy. Metaphorically. And literally. Ever since he had accidentally Conjured a cloud. A cloud that's ever so cross.

Notes: Another one that most of us know. It’s a lighthearted and fun read.

-

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (M) by novembersnow

Summary: In the war-torn years after Hogwarts, one man has no knowledge of his yesterdays.

Notes: Another classic back in the feverish heyday of the Harry Potter fandom, when books were still being released and everyone had worked themselves up into a shipping frenzy. And no wonder this fic was an instant hit. Draco has lost all his memories and Harry’s investigating as an Auror, but the longer you read, the more you start questioning everything. Good twists and turns that lead to a tender ending.

-

Turn by Saras_Girl

Summary: One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

Notes: An inevitable inclusion on any favourites list. I think my favourite thing about it is the characterisation. Everyone is so well-rounded; the characters are brought to life and feel like old friends. All their habits, styles, mannerisms, even the way they walk or talk. While I love everyone in this fic, I have to admit that Blaise is just amazing. Of all the thousands of Blaises imagined by fanfic writers, I love this one the best. “Old bean” indeed.

-

Under the Ivy (PG-13) by coffeejunkii

Summary: It is impressive how much you can learn about someone by simply sharing a few rooms. They don’t spend time together, not really, but Harry still knows that Malfoy prefers raspberry jam over strawberry, that he hums along to the Wireless when he thinks no one is around, and that his leg is bothering him more than usual when the temperatures drop below freezing.

Notes: Another old, old favourite of mine. It’s like snuggling into a soft blanket. Remus owns a cottage and Harry moves in after the war. Later, Remus lets a room to Draco, who is an outcast after the war and has limited housing options. Harry isn’t happy at first with the new lodger, but he eventually warms up to Draco. A slow and gentle romance.

-

Vale Sanare (M) by rurounihime

Summary: Draco’s world gains a new component, just when he thought he’d sorted everything out.

Notes: London nightclubs, one-night-stands, loud music and lonely nights. Draco has seizures due to a curse from the war, and the seizures have led to a fear of intimacy. Short and sweet.

-

The Way Down (T) by lettered

Summary: Malfoy’s all, “Come out of there,” the way you say to a cat who is badly behaved. And Harry’s all like, “No, what, I’m a hermit! And I have a chest-monster! And I am crazy magically powerful!” and Malfoy’s all, “We all have problems, bub.” (thoughtfully) “You are crazy though. I’ll give you that.”

Notes: I just adore this fic. The fic starts well-grounded, giving you a solid backstory and matter-of-fact context, but as it goes on, it slowly unravels into dreamy scenes, lush settings, and repeated motifs. It’s just such a beautiful story.

-

When Love beckons to you, follow him (PG-13) by megyal

Summary: Draco wakes up, lost, somewhere in a forest. He has no idea where he is or how he got there. As he is blundering around trying to find his way home, he hears Harry's voice in his head, telling him what to do.

Notes: I generally like my fics to be bittersweet or with a bit of heartache — but this fic is just a little cloud of softness. If you need something light and lovely without being syrupy-sweet, this is a good choice!

-

The World of the Living (M) by fourth_rose

Summary: A traumatised war hero and a convicted criminal under the roof of an eccentric journalist make for a rather odd ensemble, but Luna has never had a problem with oddities as long as they make sense.

Notes: The story is told from Luna’s perspective, which gives everything a lovely dreamy quality. She takes in a couple of strays after the war — first Harry, who is avoiding his other friends and has quit his Auror job — and then she offers a room to Draco right after his trial. Draco is rude, angry, and ungrateful; Harry is churlish, withdrawn, and moody. Luna doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest, and over the course of the next few months, her house guests slowly warm up to each other.

-

Voices From the Fog (E) by noeon

Summary: After years of running away, Harry crosses paths with an all-too familiar face and follows him to Amsterdam.

Notes: Harry drifts across Europe, trying to forget the war. He ends up in a woodworking shop in Amsterdam, alongside a moody Draco. Atmospheric settings and solid characterisation.

[portraitoftheoddity]

So like I really like Steve and all and he's definitely got the right heart and that's what fandom likes about him, how he stood up to bullies and injustice with his fist raised. But recently I've rewatched avatar and Aang got me thinking, is going against the world fist ready really the right thing. Like Aang was no coward he still stopped Ozai but in most of his battles he tries for peace first. In fact Avatar as a whole talks about change in people.

Like Sokka turned from misogynistic to respecting women, and Iroh's love and patience redeemed Zuko. As much as I love Steve Rogers, fist fighting bullies and getting your ass handed to you or successfully beating them to a pulp isn't going to change them, and it sends a wrong message of fighting fire with fire and bullies don't learn when you punch them usually they get pettier. I agree Steve is right at not letting injustice go be it canon or fandom but Iove that scene in avatar when Aang got into a fire nation school and when a guy tried to fight him he was just like nooope but still managed to be on top as opposed to Steve (maybe just fan fic ver) who would try a punch. I mean I can see Steve screaming at the lies of the fire nation school instead of calmly informing the truth and throwing a dance party. Like Aang might be too pacific sometimes but is charging against people really a good lesson. Stand for what's right, but like in a chill way. And I'm not sure if this is just the fandom version of Steve but in TFS we did kinda see him in an alley fight against a just a ride guy. Sorry about the long rant but what do you think about Steve's fight me attitude being completely glorified in his fandom.

I apologize that I’m gonna gonna get a little long-winded here!

I agree with you that peaceful solutions are great to try first, but when it comes to this punch-happy version of Steve you reference, I think you’re kinda looking at a strawman version of the character, anon --  maybe from poorly-written fic or memes, but not exactly the Steve of film or comics.

Now, the respective approaches of both Aang and Steve are in part a product of the media they originated in. A show aimed at kids with a single overall plotline and arc is often going to aim for a peaceful solution and allow for linear character growth -- while comics, movies and shows developed around a character specifically designed to punch Hitler as a statement during WWII are less likely to have a core message of pacifism, and their structure and circular timelines make growth arcs more difficult to sustain. This doesn’t mean one character’s approach or the other is superior, just that they come from different contexts, narratively and in terms of medium. Plus, there are different kinds of fights, and not all are going to offer us the same options as solutions. Looking for ideological purity -- only ever opting for the ‘right’ solution -- can often lead to doing nothing when no ‘right’ solution presents itself, which can result in more harm than taking a less-than-perfect action.

Let us not forget that when an authoritarian army showed up to kill everyone and wipe out the North Pole, Aang does go all Koizilla with the ocean spirit and wipes out the Fire Nation fleet. Aang has fought people. Aang, albeit with the alibi of “a spirit was in charge”, indirectly kills people (Zhao ends up pretty dead as a direct result of Aang’s spirit rampage). This isn’t particularly glorified, but at the time there isn’t a better outcome presented. Doing nothing would have led to the massacre of the Northern Water Tribe.

That said, I LOVE ATLA and its messages of growth and compassion and I think it’s great to have a protagonist who opts to give people a way out.

...Which is what Steve does. 

We see Steve do this more than once. In CA:TWS, Steve recognizes Bucky and tried to get through to him, to avoid a fight. One ensues, but Steve then refuses to fight him anymore once he’s disabled the helicarrier and saved everyone else, willingly putting his own life on the line to gamble on some part of Bucky’s inner self being in there and worth saving. He isn’t willing to put the lives of other innocents and noncombatants on the line -- protecting them is a priority, even if it means fighting Bucky -- but once that factor is out of the equation, he drops his shield and tries to reach him.

In the same movie, a few scenes earlier, Steve appeals to the personnel of SHIELD -- an organization that has labeled him a terrorist and been hunting him -- and paints out the reality of the situation, giving the good people within the opportunity to react and rebel against the element of HYDRA that has infiltrated -- which they do! But there isn’t a magical lionturtle showing up to tell him how to stop the helicarriers from taking off and murdering millions of people without any casualties, so, yanno. He does what he can. 

Heck, Steve is occasionally teased by other characters for his speechifying -- not just to give pep talks, but to try to get through to people. He does this in the comics a lot. You’ve probably seen this page going around:

It doesn’t always work out. But he tries.

You suggest Steve would punch someone who was wrong in Aang’s Fire Nation School, but I don’t agree with that reading on the character based on what we see Steve do. Steve very rarely is the one to completely initiate a fight. Usually he is reactive. He sees a situation where someone is being a jerk, points out the injustice, and if the person is insisting on hurting someone, Steve inserts himself to make sure it’s him instead of anyone else. Whether the jerk in question is a single bully or an entire army.

You bring this scene up, but when Steve confronts the guy heckling in the movie theater (who is making a woman cry, I’ll add), it’s clear from the man’s posture when he stands up and Steve’s look of dread that while Steve has spoken up, the escalation to violence is not his choice. When we see him a moment later in the alley, he’s fighting defensively -- drawing the man’s ire, keeping him distracted. Steve is reactive in this entire scenario -- not the instigator. (and I think if Steve had Aang’s airbending, he’d love to dodge more punches instead of getting his ass kicked!)

The fact that Steve’s primary weapon is a shield -- a symbol of defense, not offense -- speaks to the fact his entire MO is protection. Violence not for violence’s sake, but to intervene in existing violence when there is no other recourse.

But Steve also admittedly has a stronger sense of responsibility than Aang does at the series’ start. Aang dodges, but he also gets called out by other characters for running away from a lot of his problems instead of confronting them. Steve, if he were a bender, I think would likely be an Earthbender like Toph; solid, stubborn, listening and reacting (though ironically, he would lose his shit over the willful obliviousness and apathy of Ba Sing Se’s leadership). Steve feels a deep personal duty to always be in the thick of it where things are already at their worst. 

If there had been no deus ex machina energybending option presented at the eleventh hour, would it have been better for Aang to die and doom the world than to compromise his morals and kill the Fire Lord? It’s a question of hypothetical principles vs reality of harm in that instance. Aang as a character is allowed by the story to adhere to his principles and get a happy ending. Steve as a character does his best, but ultimately has to compromise with reality when he has to, when it’s not just his life at stake, but many others should he fail to act in time. In those high-stakes scenarios, his cards are often limited.

Steve as a character doesn’t arbitrarily start fights. But he goes to where the status quo is untenable, or where a fight is already raging, and he takes a stand. If he can convince someone to step down peacefully? That’s ideal! But usually by the time Captain America has shown up, there are megaweapons primed and loaded and fascists already hurting people or robots trying to destroy the planet or a Titan about to wipe everyone out, so the ideal option is rarely still on the table. No dance party is gonna be enough to change Red Skull’s crazy nazi mind about killing everyone (which is too bad, because I’d love to watch Steve do the lindy hop). There is no ‘chill way’ to stand for what’s right at that point. 

And ultimately, I think we need both kinds of characters! I think it’s important to encourage diplomacy and compassion, to urge people to find common ground and to find nonviolent ways of diffusing and deescalating situations. To look at things from other perspectives, and to give people the option to learn and grow and be better than they were. I love a good rehabilitation arc, and think ATLA does this beautifully and has incredibly important messaging and philosophies.

But I also think we need stories that say, hey, when those options aren’t on the table? When no one is listening no matter what you try to say, when you’ve looked for a way around it and no lionturtles have showed up to save your ass? Sometimes, you have to put yourself in front of the guy swinging punches and raise you shield and stop him. Sometimes you don’t get the nice options that make you feel good; sometimes the world is messy and ugly; but sometimes, even if we can’t do the ideal thing, we can still do the right thing. Take action and put an end to the perpetuation of violence in the moment to protect the helpless. (Then work on rehabilitation and communication.)

[ga-yuu]

Genjiden Eternal Contract~Yoichi Route

One day, when I was about to go to this world where humans live, I saw---

(Mountain dogs....are they after something?)

I saw a group of wild mountain dogs running wildly. I gasped and looked at them. They seemed to be on a hunt.

(They wouldn't leave a lump of me if I get in their way.)

(But what are they hunting...?)

Curious, I emerged from the bushes and my eyes widen in surprise.

Hiding from the mountain dogs and lurking behind a tree is...

(A human? Here in the Otherworld?)

Mountain Dog: "He's not here. Let's check that way."

He's hiding well, but it's only a matter of time before they find him.

(...I can't afford to sit back and watch him get lost.)

I hurried to the human while the dogs were not looking.

Yoshino: "...Hey! Come over here."

Human: "...!!"

The human quickly readied his small sword.

Yoshino: "Wait. I'm not here to do anything. But if you don't hurry up, the mountain dogs will find you...."

Human: "...Yeah, and why should I believe you? Aren't you a demon too?"

Yoshino: "Yes, I am. But..."

While he is on his guard, the dogs were approaching.

(No. They'll see us...)

Yoshino: "Please. You have to trust me for now."

When I looked him straight in the eye----

Human: ".....fine. Looks like I have no other choice."

(He trusts me...!)

Yoshino: "Thank you. This way!"

I ran with him through the forest, worrying about the oncoming demons....

......................

Yoshino: "Looks like they aren't chasing us anymore..."

Human: "Seems like that."

(I'm glad...)

Yoshino: "Thank you for trusting me earlier."

He looked aghast at my words.

Human: "Shouldn't I be the one saying thank you? You were scared too, right?"

Yoshino: "Well..."

Human: "I see that not all the demons get along."

(...It's funny. Though I'm a demon, I'm weak.)

Because my powers are different from that of a normal demon.

My gift itself is powerful, but it's not useful for fighting.

Human: "So this is how the Otherworld looks like..."

Yoshino: "Hm? Yes. You're a human, aren't you? How do you know about the Otherworld? And why are you here...?"

(This human was neither scared nor confused when he asked about it.)

Human: "It was a coincidence. I didn't actually plan to come here."

(----You mean you got lost....that's rare.)

Human: "The reason I know about the Otherworld is that I know a man who is a demon."

Yoshino: "Really? A demon friend?"

I was surprised at the unexpected words.

(He has a demon friend....it doesn't look like he has made a deal with him.)

(No way! There's actually a human that made a demon friend without making any deal!!!)

While I was surprised at the same time, I remembered the purpose of my visit to the human world.

(Maybe this human can---)

Yoshino: "My name is Yoshino. What is your name?"

Yoichi: "Hm? I'm Nasu no Yoichi..."

Yoshino: "Yoichi-san! Please make a deal with me."

Yoichi: "Excuse me?"

Yoshino: "In return, I will show you the way back to the Human world. So please."

I asked him to do it with gusto.

But Yoichi-san was dumbfounded, and then narrowed his eyes.

Yoichi: "Heh, what's in it for you if I agree?"

Yoshino: "What do I gain?"

Yoichi: "I've heard it's only half as good for you as it is for me. Also, why make a deal with someone you just met?"

Yoshino: "Eh? Hmmm...."

(He knows a lot about demon ecology...and...umm)

Seeing my panic at the unexpectedly sharp point, Yoichi-san sighs.

Yoichi: "....you're thinking too much. You're not much of a negotiator, are you?"

(....He's right.)

But then---

Yoshino: "Oh....you're hurt."

A red streak on the back of his hand caught my eye.

Yoichi: "Must be from a while ago. Just ignore it."

Yoshino: "No, it's a little deep to ignore."

With both my hands, I grabbed his palm and started using my powers.

(....My healing powers.)

A power that is not in the slightest bit phony.

Yoichi: ".....!"

Yoichi-san's eyes widened seeing me heal his hand.

Yoichi: "So you can heal others. Is that your major power?"

I let go of his hand.

(Of course...)

I crouched down and gently touched the withered flowers.

Yoshino: "...I'm sorry. You were fine a while ago."

Yoichi: "What are you saying?"

Yoshino: "----The power of a demon is usually destructive in nature. But mine is different."

(But....)

Yoshino: "I take the life force of another living being nearby to heal the one I intended to. That's my power."

Yoichi: "Life force? Of any living being ?"

Yoshino: "Yeah, like these flowers. But as long as I don't suck too much, it'll be fine. But in some cases, it could cost his or her life...It's too powerful for me to control it."

Yoichi: "----So you wanna make a deal to weaken your powers, am I right?"

Yoshino: "!"

I was surprised how Yoichi-san exactly guessed my goal.

(He already is understanding me. Then...)

Yoshino: "Then, will make a deal with me? Please Yoichi-san!!"

Yoichi: "I understand your situation, but I can't make a deal with you. Instead---I'll help you find a partner."

(Eh...?)

He smiles at me mischievously while I was stunned.

..................

Yoichi: ".....and that's how I returned from the Otherworld. The end. Also, she will be living here from now on. Don't get nervous and make yourself at home, okay?"

(Because....because....)

Benkei: "Hey you, demon....I don't mind you living here. But if you dare to do anything fishy to Yoshitsune-sama, I'll cut you down myself."

Yoshino: 〣( ºΔº )〣

Sueharu: "She's such a cutie. .....How about you and I make a deal, tonight?"

Yoshino: (•ิ_•ิ)?

Yoshitsune: "I'm grateful that you brought back Yoichi safely. Thank you."

Yoshino: (〃＾▽＾〃)

Kurama: "You brat. How dare you enter my territory. Do you want to be torn to pieces?"

Yoshino: "I'm sowwy...."(╥﹏╥)

Yoichi-san brought me to this mansion, where he lives with many other humans.

(But the demon friend he mentioned when we met was none other than Karasu Tengu...!)

The instinctive fear of being outranked is making me nervous.

Yoichi-san, who could not bear to see this, intervened.

Yoichi: "Come on, it's all right. As I said before, she's here to find a partner to make a deal. Isn't she delightful?"

Yoshitsune: "----He's right. I don't feel any malice coming from her."

(.......!)

Benkei: “But Yoshitsune-sama...”

Yoshitsune-sama lightly shook his head towards Benkei-san and---

Stared straight into my eyes.

Yoshitsune: “Yoshino, I would like to accept you as Yoichi’s benefactor. Take your time and choose your partner carefully. Until then, you can make this your home.”

Yoshino: “Thank you very much...!!”

(Yayy! I’m allowed to stay here...)

Yoichi: “Good for you, Yoshino.”

Yoshino: “Mm!”

After that, Yoichi-san looks at the other members.

Yoichi: “Does anyone else have a problem?”

Sueharu: “If Yoshitsune-sama is good with it, I don’t mind too.”

Benkei: “Same here...and Yoichi, don’t take any action that would endanger Yoshitsune-sama.”

Sueharu: “That’s right.”

Yoichi: “And Kurama?”

Kurama: “Stay out of my sight. If you do anything to annoy me, I’ll have you pay me with your blood.”

Yoshino: “Agreed.”

Yoichi: “No more threats, okay? Now that you’ve got permission, you’ll be under my care for a while.”

Yoshino: “Yes. Thank you for everything.”

(I’m really grateful to Yoichi-san.)

(He helped me to make a place for myself in the Human world.)

My heart is full of gratitude....

............

That night-----

There were two shadows meeting in the garden.

Benkei: “What kind of a windup is it to bring back a mysterious demon?”

Yoichi: “Don’t scare me like that. I thought her powers might be useful to us Rebels. She can heal our soldiers and at the same time, she can suck the life force out of our enemies. Isn’t that convenient? If something wrong happens, we have Kurama. I’m sure he won’t let anything happen to Yoshitsune-sama.”

Yoichi talks casually, while Benkei frowned.

Benkei: “...She may be. But do think that’s what she wants? She said she didn’t want to take anyone’s life, right?”

Yoichi: “Then I guess it’s her bad luck for trusting someone like me.”

Yoichi shrugs his shoulder and Benkei looks slightly bitter.

Benkei: “...I know you always do business behind the scenes for Yoshitsune-sama but don’t just gain anyone’s hatred.”

Yoichi: “Don’t worry, I’m not going to fall for a demon I’ve only just met. I’m used to doing dirty work.”

...............

Next day-----

Yoichi-san and I started our search for my partner.

We both hid in the bushes and watched the soldiers training.

Yoichi: “There are plenty of fishes in the sea. What kind of man do you like?”

Yoshino: “No, the gender doesn’t matter...”

Yoichi: “Don’t be so sure. It’s safer to have someone who’s strong.”

(Maybe you’re right...)

As I was puzzled, Yoichi-san pointed to a soldier.

Yoichi: “How about that guy? Serious, hard-working, and not much of a drinker. This one time when he got drunk, he was found making out with Benkei’s naginata saying that it looked like his ex-girlfriend. But yeah, he was scolded the next day by Benkei himself. It was quite a sight. ....That guy over there is cheerful and positive. He’s always loud and can be a little violent.”

Yoshino: “Ohh?”

One by one, Yoichi-san introduced me to the soldiers.

The stories that are revealed one after another are all very interesting and....

Yoshino: “Thanks to you, I met a lot of nice people today.”

When I stated that, he smirked.

Yoichi: “Pfftt...are you feeling okay now?”

(Eh?)

Yoichi: “You’ve been looking a bit tense since yesterday, but today you looked cute when you were eagerly following me around.”

When he smiled, I felt my heart pounding against my chest.

(He called cute! A human called ME cute....!!!)

(...For some reason it left a tingling effect in my heart.)

And it’s making me feel restless.

But at the same time, I noticed something.

(Yoichi-san knows his soldiers too well, doesn't; he?)

(I can tell he really cares about each and everyone.)

(Yoichi-san is so kind.)

As I felt a warmth in my heart, a soldier came to us from the other side.

Soldier: “Yoichi-sama, I have a report.”

(Report?)

Yoichi: “Yeah, okay. Too bad, I’ve got business. We’ll continue our search tomorrow. I want you to wait by Benkei till I get back.”

Yoshino: “Mm...”

Yoichi: “Don’t worry, he might have a scary face, but he’s a better man than I am.”

(Maybe....but..)

I feel lonely Yoichi-san is away.

Perhaps he noticed my gloomy face, he started stroking my head.

Yoichi: “----When I come back tonight, will you keep my bed warm? I’d be happy if you do.”

Yoshino: “Eeehhh???”

(Does that mean we’re going to sleep together!?)

I got excited that I started blushing.

Yoichi-san’s hand once again patted my head.

Yoichi: “Just kidding. But be a good girl and wait for me.”

Yoichi-san chuckles mischievously and leaves.

(.....He was just teasing me.)

I knew that, but the pounding in my chest did not stop for a while.

...................

(He did tell me to stay with Benkei-san....)

(But, I’m sorry Yoichi-san. I want to know more about humans...!)

I quietly left the mansion and went to the town alone.

Kid: “Mommy! Look look, I found a flower.”

Mother: “It’s pretty. Ah! Be careful, you might fall.”

(The kid looks happy and his mother is watching over him.)

(Humans are so kind and warm...)

Just looking at it makes me smile.

But-----

(....I guess, they are not like us demons.)

It made me sad and lonely.

The day went by very quickly while I was sightseeing the Hiraizumi town.

(I have to go back, I think Yoichi-san will come back too.)

As I think about it and was about to leave-------

(Hm?)

A familiar person caught my eye. I saw him entering the back alley.

(Isn’t that....Yoichi-san?)

Somewhat curious, I followed him, and as soon as I entered the alley, I spotted the man I was looking for.

(He’s talking to another man....Yoichi-san, why are you giving him money?)

I was watching without knowing what the situation was and then the other man walked away.

Yoichi-san, who already knew I was watching them, smiled and came to me.

Yoichi: “Hey, Yoshino.”

Yoshino: “Yoichi-san...who was that? Why were you giving him money?”

Yoichi: “Oh that? I was doing a dirty job.”

(Ehh?)

Yoshino: “What sort of dirty job?”

I can’t connect it well with the impression of Yoichi-san, who was always kind to me and gave me a place in this world.

I was confused, but Yoichi-san didn’t seem to want to explain any further.

Yoichi: “Anyways, are you done sightseeing? I told you to stay with Benkei until come back, didn’t I? You’re a bad girl for not listening to me.”

(....He looks like the usual Yoichi-san.)

We talked about it on the way home and it didn’t sound like a ‘dirty job’ to me.

(Yoichi-san is easy to talk to and kind, but....)

(...But there are some things I don’t understand.)

..............

Next day------

Yoichi-san, as usual, was introducing me to different soldiers.

Yoichi: “Looks like you don’t want him as your partner. If it goes like this, you won’t find one at all.”

(To be honest, I’m not interested in anyone else.)

(Because....)

I glanced at Yoichi-san.

(I want to know more about Yoichi-san.)

Yoshino: “Why won’t you make a deal with me, Yoichi-san?”

Yoichi: “Huh?”

(He already refused me....but.)

Yoshino: “I like you, so why not?”

He repeated the words I stated boldly.

But it was only for a moment that Yoichi-san was surprised-----

His face soon, had a bitter smile.

Yoichi: “I wouldn’t recommend myself to you. You and me, we aren’t compatible.”

Yoshino: “We aren’t?”

Yoichi: “Yup.”

(I wonder why, though.)

(Or is it because he doesn’t like me?)

I was not convinced, but Yoichi-san smiles at me.

Yoichi: “Because you’re too good for me. You’ll regret it if you ever get involved with me.”

(I’ll regret...?)

...............

(What does he mean by ‘I’ll regret it’?)

That night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I left the mansion in daze.

(No humans...at this hour of the day.)

There was nothing to change my mood, and when I sighed softly...

(Hm?)

Like the other day, I found Yoichi-san walking around in the town.

(Why is he walking around in the town at this hour...there’s no one else here...)

(No wait! Someone’s following him.)

In the middle of an empty town, there is something uncanny about the shadow that followed Yoichi-san as I hide.

(....Let’s follow them.)

Yoichi-san kept walking, and suddenly went inside an alley.

The man also followed to the alley behind him and I followed him.

(No----!!!)

The man takes out a big knife, and was about to swing at Yoichi-san.

Man: “Die, Nasu no Yoichi!!”

Yoshino: “Look back, Yoichi-san!”

Premium END // Epilogue

[imaginetonyandbucky]

(Give Me A) Reason To Live

Chapter 4

by @dracusfyre

Suddenly Tony felt as if he was 18 again, scared and alone, staring at Stane over kitchen table while his parents were laid out at the local morgue. His fingers went numb and he dropped the suit case at his feet, acutely aware of the pistol in Stane’s hand. It was currently resting on the table but definitely pointed right at Tony. “Come on in,” Stane said when it was clear that Tony couldn’t find anything to say. “You know, you’ve got a lot to answer for you fucking brat.” He gestured with the pistol towards the chair across from him. “Sit. You're a hard man to get alone these days, Tony. I’m going to guess that Barnes and Rogers are long gone, am I right? Probably had a real heartfelt reunion after that shit you pulled in New York. Are they planning to come back here or have they run off together?”

“I don’t know,” Tony said as he came closer, his knees going weak and dropping him into the chair. He was pathetically grateful that his voice was even, though his limbs felt like ice. God, he prayed that they would just disappear together, but they’d made a plan and he knew James would stick to the plan, even if he was walking right into a trap.

Stane just laughed. “You’ve turned into quite a liar, Tony. Once upon a time I thought you were too chicken shit to try to lie to me. But it doesn’t matter, they’re not here right now and that’s what matters. You’re all alone, Tony. Just me and you.”

“What do you want?” He wanted to ask how did you find me? but it felt too much like begging, and he refused to do that again.

“You know what I want,” Stane said. He gestured towards the suit still sitting in the open doorway. “I saw all the ones downstairs, too. Impressive. A lot better than what Hydra has, though you made sure of that, didn’t you?”

Here it was again, Stane’s twisted game of cat and mouse conversation, full of traps for the unwary. Fear was still a rock in his stomach, but anger made his hands ball into fists. “Get to the point, Stane,” Tony snarled. Stane was sitting in James’ chair, in their kitchen, their home, and that felt like an unendurable violation.

The affable grin fell from Stane’s face like the mask it was. “The point is, your little jaunt here is over. You’re coming with me, and when Barnes and Rogers show up, Hydra will be waiting for them. You’ve cost me a lot with your little stunts – the faked death, putting Potts in charge, even trying to set your friend Rhodes against us – but you’re going to help me earn it all back now.” Stane took a syringe out of his pocket and pulled the cap off before setting it on the table between them. “Inject yourself with this.”

“The hell I will,” Tony said.

“Inject yourself with this, or I shoot you,” Stane said, waving the pistol a little as if Tony had forgotten about it.

But living with James had done many things, and one of them was to make Tony a lot less afraid of people waving pistols around. Moving slowly, like a man twice his age, Tony picked up the syringe and dropped it on the floor, crushing it with the leg of his chair. “Then fucking shoot me,” he snarled.

“You little pissant-” Stane growled. As Tony had hoped, he lunged over the table to grab him; Stane had always liked using his hands to punish Tony, and this time was no different. Except that this time, Tony wasn’t just scared: he was mad, and he was ready.

Tony shoved himself out of Stane’s reach by putting his feet on the table and kicking it hard; as he’d hoped, it pushed him backwards and also drove the table into Stane’s stomach, knocking him off balance. As Stane grunted with pain, Tony went for the gun, twisting it out of Stane’s meaty hand just as James had taught him. Stane grabbed his arm with his other hand, but Tony swung at his head with the butt of the pistol. Flinching backward, Stane lost his grip and Tony took two big steps back out of his reach, leveling the pistol at him. Stane had been with Hydra for decades but had never bothered learning how to really defend himself, too confident that he was smarter and stronger than everyone else. Tony, on the other hand, had been living with James for almost a year and had used that time wisely.

Stane took one look at him, both hands steady on the pistol, and laughed. “You know this won’t end here,” he sneered. “Cut off one head and-”

Tony cut him off by shooting him in the chest twice, one-two in quick succession; another lesson from James. Stane’s face went slack and he swayed against the table, sliding it across the floor with a screech as he slowly went to his knees, then slumped to the ground. It wasn’t a slow death, but it wasn’t particularly fast, either, and Tony stood over him and watched until the last breath went out of him.

Once he realized that Stane was dead, really dead, the shock hit, and he barely managed to get to a chair before his legs gave out again. He swallowed thickly against nausea as his empty stomach threatened to rebel and concentrating on breathing, in through his nose and out through his mouth, until he felt like he could stand. He made his way around Stane’s body and got a can of soda from the fridge, chugging it for the caffeine and sugar and holding the cold can against the back of his neck until the shakiness subsided. He gave himself ten minutes more to freak the fuck out, then splashed water on his face and got to work.

“JARVIS, did Stane come alone?” Tony asked as he searched Stane’s pocket, finding another needle, his wallet, and his phone. He hadn’t noticed anyone on his way in, but he had also been too exhausted to remember to scan the area before he landed.

“Stane approached alone and on foot,” JARVIS said. “So far I have detected no unusual activity along the perimeter.”

Tony sat back on his heels and thought about that. Had Stane really thought that he could take Tony, James, and Steve back to Hydra by himself? Impossible. Syringes indicated that he had planned to keep Tony sedated for a while, but not for long enough for Steve and James to get here from New York.

A ping from Stane’s phone pulled him from his thoughts. Tony had to use Stane’s thumb to unlock it, but it was a coded message. Tony sat back on his heels as he puzzled it out, then he slumped against the cabinets as he figured it out. ETA 0900Z 2HAT4STR. “Fuck.” He had – he glanced up at the display on the microwave – 6 hours to get ready before Hydra descended on the cabin. That explained a lot; Stane had likely gambled on Tony getting back here first with the suit and planned to take him in alone, then leave Steve and James to Hydra’s ambush.

“Arrogant fuck,” he muttered. He and James had planned for this, over and over and over, so Tony knew exactly what he needed to do next, but first he was going to get this man’s corpse out of his kitchen.

As Bucky pulled into the driveway of the cabin three days almost to the hour of setting eyes on Steve, he could only sit in the car for a long moment and stare at the scene in front of him.

“This is the guy you’ve been telling me about?” Steve said after a long moment, pointing to Tony in his suit, and James could only nod. “Are there normally this many dead people around your house?”

“No, that’s new,” James said as Tony dropped the body he’d been carrying and waved at them. They both climbed out of the car and looked at the massacre around the cabin. “What the hell, Tony?” James said. “What happened?”

“Well, Hydra happened,” Tony said as if it should be obvious. He took off his helmet, hair adorably mussed, and nudged a body with the toe of his boot. “I got back here and Stane was waiting for me, then these guys showed up.”

“Wait, Stane?” Tony nodded. James scanned Tony's face, relieved that he seemed fine. “Then, what...at least two Hydra Strike teams? And you killed them all?” James scanned the cabin and surrounding forest and noticed a thin trail of smoke in the trees. “What’s that?”

Tony followed his gaze and frowned. “Shit, I thought I had put that fire out. That was a helicopter. There’s another one somewhere over there,” he said, gesturing towards the west. “I wanted to have it all cleaned up by the time you guys got here, but I got tired of digging holes.” Just then Tony must have noticed that Steve was staring at him because he held out a hand, still in the suit. “Hi. I’m Tony Stark.”

“Steve Rogers,” Steve said, shaking the gauntleted hand with the barest hesitation. “Bucky has told me a lot about you.”

“Same,” Tony said, flashing a grin. James realized he was staring; something about Tony had changed since they’d last seen each other. He seemed lighter, his smile brighter. James wanted to feel that smile against his mouth and was swaying towards him when Tony turned away. “Come on inside, the inside is clean. Though that took a while, too. ” Tony stepped out of the suit and led the way to the cabin while James gave up counting the bodies after he got to a dozen.

“I like him,” Steve said as they followed him. “I can definitely tell it’s Howard’s kid though.”

Tony told the story as he scraped together some spaghetti and baked some garlic bread from the freezer. The strike teams had assaulted the cabin in the middle of the night and had, fortunately, not been expecting resistance. “We had assumed that they wouldn’t do an air assault because they would get caught on radar, but I guess they had a way around that,” Tony said with a shrug. “But it’s fine. The suits have a sentinel mode where they shoot anything that moves, so they took care of the ground team while I took care of the helicopters.”

“Nice work,” James managed, which was horribly inadequate but he was so turned on right now that he couldn’t think of anything better to say. Seeing in Tony in action had always had that effect on him, and it had only gotten worse with time. Thankfully, Tony didn’t notice, but judging from his smirk, Steve knew James’ predicament and thought it was hilarious. James kicked him under the table.

“Thanks,” Tony said with wry smile, which didn’t do anything to help James’ situation. “But I don’t know if we can stay here, now that Hydra knows where we are.”

“I think we are safe for tonight, at least,” Steve offered. “If they sent two helicopter strike teams and no one came back, they are going to think of a new plan before coming in again.” James nodded helpfully and tried to focus on the spaghetti so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

Tony was finished eating first, as usual, so he took the first shower while James and Steve polished off the pot of spaghetti.

“Guess I should have known you were sweet on him, since you had so much to say about him,” Steve said with a low voice when they heard the shower start. His mouth was ticked up at the corners in a way that was achingly familiar, and looking at it, James was swamped by how glad he was to have him back. “I haven’t seen you like this with anyone since Dot.”

James shrugged self-consciously, feeling like maybe his face was hot. “Don’t think he’s interested though.”

“What makes you say that?” Steve asked curiously.

James stabbed at his spaghetti. “I’ve been trying to flirt with him for months now, and he hasn’t taken me up on it. I didn’t want to push too hard and make it weird, so I backed off.” Steve made a noise at that, and James narrowed his eyes at him. “What?” Steve just shook his head and shoveled a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth instead of saying anything. “I know that noise. Out with it.”

“Just remembering how much you heckled me about not giving up on Peggy,” Steve said, swallowing as James menaced him with a fork. The mention of Peggy’s name made a shadow flash over Steve’s face and he looked down at his plate. “Don’t waste the time you have if you might be able to get what you want.”

They both went back to their food and then Steve helped James wash and dry the dishes; by the time they were done, Tony was out of the shower, pink-cheeked from the heat. His hair was curling over his forehead and there was still water on his eyelashes, and Steve took one look at James’ face and hastily claimed the shower next.

James poured Tony a cup of coffee – Tony technically liked an espresso after dinner, but James hadn’t mastered the fancy machine in the corner of the kitchen yet – and sat down with him at the table.

Tony took a sip of coffee and looked like he was bracing himself for something. “So I guess this is where talk about we splitting up,” Tony said in a rush, staring down at his mug.

James’ stomach dropped. Whatever he had expected Tony to say, it wasn’t that. “Split up? Why?”

“Well, I mean, you’ve have Steve now, so…” Tony trailed off and James just raised an eyebrow.

“So…” He prompted.

“So you two will want to be together.”

“Since when are two people better than three-oh.“ James barked out a surprised laugh as he realized what Tony was trying to say. “Steve and I aren’t together. I mean, we make a good team, but we’re not…no.”

“Really? I mean, you were telling me all those stories about the stuff you two did together,” Tony started, then trailed off when must have realized he was basically trying to argue with James about whether he and Steve were a couple.

“It wasn’t like that. I’m not interested in him,” James said, looking at Tony meaningfully.

“Okay,” Tony said cautiously. “That’s…good.”

James sighed and went for broke. “Let me say that again. I’m not interested in him.”

“Oh.” Now Tony looked confused, so James waited for that big brain of his to circle around to the obvious. “Wait, you mean me?”

James bit back a curse and the urge to bang his head on the table. Thank God Steve was in the shower or he’d be laughing his ass off. “Yes, you. You sound like that’s hard to believe.”

“But you…really?”

“Really,” James said. “For a few months now, even. Why did you think I would take so many opportunities to be naked in front of you? I wasn’t raised in a barn.”

Tony paused and James could practically see the past few months rearranging themselves in his head. “For few months? Since when?”

 James sighed and pressed his fingers to his eyes. “You had just made dinner one night and you were clearly pleased with yourself, but it was horrible. You seemed so disappointed that I made myself eat my whole plate and got seconds so you would stop looking sad. Since then.”

Tony blinked rapidly. “Oh, yeah, that fucking pot roast. But that was months ago!”

“That’s what I just said!”

“Why didn’t you say anything? I’ve been over here -” Tony bit his lip against whatever he was going to say and James saw his face get red.

“Yeah?” James felt a smile bloom on his face and the tension drained from him as a giddy feeling bubbled in his chest. “Been over there, what, Tony?” But Tony just shook his head stubbornly, face still red. “Fine, I’ll go first. I’ve been over here making you breakfast every morning because you stay up too late working and I worry about you.” James leaned forward and kept his eyes on Tony’s face as he took his hand, rubbing a thumb over his knuckles. “I’ve been over here taking you out to the woods because you like to look at the stars but for some reason you won’t go outside to look at them by yourself. And I’ve been over here looking for excuses to touch you because I want you so much that sometimes I can’t think straight when you’re around. How's that for saying something.”

Tony’s smile was blinding, brown eyes dancing. “I didn’t take you for a poet, James,” he said teasingly, and James hooked a finger in his shirt and started pulling him closer.

“Just get over here and fucking kiss me already,” James said, and Tony did.

[laketaj24]

Unteachable III: Distractions

Author’s Note: So, I had slacked off on this because I lost some motivation lol, but this series is back! I will try my best to post weekly!! Please let me know what you think! Happy Reading!

Warnings: Smut. Drama.

Parings: Professor!Henry! Cavill x Reader, Charlie Hunnam X Reader

Masterlist for previous parts.

Moving had been easier than you thought, it helped your brother wanted you out. He had done half of it for you, and when henry joined in you, you were in your new place within two weeks of signing the lease. It was not close to Henry’s, which in retrospect it didn’t matter. You saw him every day regardless, he would drive to you, or you would haul ass to him if you had to, but Henry didn’t require all of that.

The new house was spacious, and more importantly, it was your own, and it was all that you could want. Your living room was compiled of grays and specs of red throughout the decor. All modern, all easy and all just the way you loved it.

The call came late in the afternoon, it was not one you were expecting either. Henry was the only person that called you besides your parents occasionally, and he was on his way over.

You were tempted to ignore the number, but you didn’t. you slid your finger over it and pressed the phone to your ear. “Hello.”

“Angel.” His smooth voice sent chills up your spine, how could you hate and love a damn voice that fucking  much.

“Charlie.” You breathed. “How did you get this number?”

“Your brother and sister-in-law saw me downtown, and I asked.” he paused. The breakup had not been on bad terms, but it had been a few months, and hearing from him rattled you.

“Oh.” You paused. “Why are you in town?”

“I accepted a position in town for a year or so,” He exhaled. “And I-,” he stopped his words.

The initial reason for the break up was easy; he didn’t want a long-distance relationship. But then that whole thing revealed issues with him you didn’t know you had. Were you not worth the distance? It’s all that you thought about, “I’m happy for you.”

“I wanted to talk to you about some things that happened before you moved here if you have a minute?”

“I have someone.” You blurted out.

He chuckled. “Congrats.” It was quiet for a minute, the words resonated with him and you didn’t have anything to say. Henry was all you could think about and had he came one month earlier, you would have jumped back into his arms, but not now. “I never wanted to leave you.” He said. “I just wasn’t ready to leave the life I had, you know?”

“I know that you didn’t think that I was worth the struggle of distance.”

“Y/N, that’s not true.” He scoffed. “I hate that you even felt that way.”

“Why now? Because you’re here.”

“I moved because this is what I thought you wanted.”

“That’s a shit excuse, Charlie!”

“That’s what I have, I tried to move on, but I couldn’t even look at another woman with comparing her to you, without thinking she will never be good as you.”

“Shut up.” Your voice broke.

“Four years of my life was spent with you, and you just move on.”

“It has not been easy.”

“Then give me a damn chance, please?”

The doorbell chimed right before Henry burst into the living room with bags of food and wine. “Y/N.” He sang. “I hope that you’re prepared to be wowed by the movies I got.” Henry spun around to the small table in the bay window, and then his eyes met you. He started at your feet, the frog slippers were your favorite accompanied by the matching shorts and tank top he had given you. “You look like you are ready to fight someone.” He laughed. “Are you okay?”

“Just the editor from the paper trying to change some deadlines, babe.” You chuckled nervously.

“Okay, I’ll leave you be.”

“Give me a chance, please.”

“Yeah, well, let me think about that, okay.” You ended the call, tossing the phone to the couch and ran over to him.

Henry was easy to be with, he wanted nothing more than time and to know you cared. It was hard not to care for him, he was dedicated to making sure it worked even though his job was at risk. Your arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and you inhale. “Miss me?”

“I always do.”

“That’s good to know.” Henry fixed your plate and poured the wine. “What was the editor saying?”

“She needed a new lifestyle article like tomorrow.”

“I can leave.”

“No, she can wait.”

“Rebel.” Henry turned to face you. The stubble of his five o’clock shadow teased you as he dipped his head down to your breast and sucked at the supple flesh. “You taste like cake. What do you have on?”

“Ohh. dropped the honey bun there earlier.” You laughed. “The food is gonna get cold.”

“We have a microwave.” He smirked.

“Good thing you brought that over, then isn’t it.” You pushed your fingers through his curly mane and wrapped your legs around him.

“I like to plan ahead.”

Henry graded papers in the library, third floor in a dark corner. He did this every Friday night, and it didn’t matter if you had plans or not, he didn’t leave until it was done. You’d grown used to the routine, five weeks of dating the professor, and you had learned he liked a procedure for everything.

“I’ll be done in a few.” He whispered after glancing up at you.

It was simple to say, you found this routine tedious and unneeded. He could grade papers in bed after he was done exhausting you. “Take your time, professor.” You leaned back in the chair across from him with your arms folded and a smug smile on your face. He always had a good way of making it up to you. Last time it was dinner and a movie. Only the dinner was you, and the film was rewatching the scene you’d done an hour earlier. Watching yourself fuck him done something for you, it was an experience. The way your body moved on him and watching his face distort when he was on the precipe of a release. You squeezed your thighs together, your teeth tugged on your bottom lip, and a sigh followed.

Henry peered up at you through the square, dark-rimmed glasses. “What?”

“Have I told you that you are incredibly sexy in this mode, just serious and brooding.”

“I’m brooding because one of my students won’t let me be productive. She insists on biting her lips and staring a hole into me.”

“Well, she definitely deserves to be punished.” You winked.

“Perhaps I can fit some discipline in after I finish,” Henry smirked, but the desire was clear across your face, and you were willing to take the chance.

“Or, you could do it now.” Your foot slid up his thick thigh, only making you wish you could ride it, better yet ride him in general. “It’s a high chance she won’t learn her lesson until this is properly handled.”

“She’s acting like a spoiled brat.” Henry’s hand touched your foot playfully and then dropped it to the floor along with your phone and everything else in your lap.

“You’re making a mess.”

“Twenty more minutes, baby.” He whispered.

“Fine. Twenty, no more.”

“Thank you.”

The exclusiveness of the library worked to your advantage because there was no way you could actually wait for him to be finished. The entire day had been a conjunction of him teasing you, and you get yourself worked up. You sink down to the floor, reaching for your phone and papers, but your knees guided you in front of him. The only light in this place was the desk lamp Henry had dimmed to keep him from distractions. He didn’t know the distraction was going to be something he didn’t need to see.

Your hands trail up his thighs to the belt buckle, and you watched him stiffen beneath your touch. “Keep working, sir. I’m getting my things.”

Henry’s deep breath was followed by a slight jolt when your hand gripped his semi-erect cock. You felt him lengthen in your hand, the heat rising as he swelled, and you gripped him. “Y/N.” He rasped.

“Shhh, this is a library, sir.” You lifted your head so that your lips could tease the tip of his head, sucking before your tongue swirled swept the drop of precum that beaded at his head. “Wouldn’t want to have anyone interrupt you doing your job.” You took all of him in your mouth, and he throbbed. His legs tensed, and the guttural moan made you wet for him. This might not be enough for you, your hunger for him was only growing more intense when you started to pleasure him. Your head bobbed up and down, taking all of him and then swallowing around his cock only to repeat the action again, grazing your teeth lazily over the veins.

His hand was under the table, gripping a fist full of your hair and urging you to move faster, and you obliged. You added your hands stroking him in between each suck and making him suck air through his teeth.

The floor creaked as the footsteps grew closer, and for a minute, you didn’t care if someone caught you or not; you wanted Henry to cum. You wanted to hear him fall apart because of the magic of your mouth.

“Y/N.” His muffled groans of protest only encourage further, and you suck harder, causing the warm and salty cum to spurt from him, hitting the back of your throat. “Hi,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Professor! It’s good to see you.”

“Dean Carter.” He leaned forward in his seat. “You as well, how are things?”

“Great, I would still love to have you over for poker night.” Dean Carter’s voice was savory, but it was apparent he was older without even seeing him.

“I apologize, I’m not really a poker guy.”

YOu teased licking the head of his cock and watched him jerk in your hands. He was so sensitive. You loved it.

“I see. Spending your Friday night here of all places.” he laughed. “I won’t hold you up. But maybe consider coming one day. I’m sure you would love it.”

“I will.”

The footsteps were departed, and you slid back up in your seat. “Got my things.”

“You’re a psycho.” He laughed.

“You’re welcome, professor. I gave it my best efforts.”

“You did well.” Henry exhaled. “I don’t even want to do this anymore.” He covertly dressed and stood up. “I want you naked... like now. But when we get to my place will work.”

“Is that a demand?”

“It’s a requirement.”

His apartment building had a constant stream of people in and out of it, but you didn’t seem to care as long as Henry got you in there and fucked you senseless. He carried you up the steps as if you weighed nothing and landed you against the door before it could get open. “We have to calm down.” you giggled but unbuttoning his shirt.

“You have to calm down.”

The door opened across the hall, and the face from your past slapped you in the face. He was still handsome. Perfect fucking face, charming ass smile, and he still had the power to make you weak.“Y/N?”

No. No, no the fuck it is not him. “Charlie?”

“Who?” Henry said, confused before lowering you to the ground.

“Y/N, you live here.”

“No, I do.” Henry lifted his hands. “who are you?”

“I’m Charlie.” he extended his hand.

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[bimboamyrose]

Unfamiliar - A Metamy Fanfic (Ch. 9)

First two chapters

Previous (Ch.8)

Ch. 9: The Thing About Sunsets

Mid-morning that Sunday, Amy and Metal lounged crossed-legged on the couch. She ate cereal from her bowl absent-mindedly, more focused on the day ahead than her breakfast. Metal was enthralled with some cartoon violence on TV. Amy watched him idly, wondering how-or if- Metal would be introduced to the team. She didn’t want to force it, but leaving him out entirely seemed unwelcoming. As much as she’d enjoyed her week or so off, it was only a matter of time before they’d all have to spring back into action. Sonic was supposed to discuss something with everyone today, and she was just waiting for the call.

Noon was fast approaching as they watched TV, Amy only half paying attention. Annoyed, she decided to get up and make the call herself. They weren’t about to waste the day watching cartoons. Amy excused herself and made the call from her room.

On TV, piloted mechs battled one another in the vast expanse of space. Amy had flipped it on, figuring Metal would enjoy watching a pair of huge robots duke it out. That was entertaining enough, but Metal found himself more invested in the show’s drama. A romantic subplot followed two unwitting opposing pilots falling in love, only to confront one another in battle later. The climax found the two caught in the crosshairs until the soldier sacrificed himself for the rebel, turning against his own armed forces to protect her. It was almost ostentatious in its melodrama.

Illogical. Metal thought the soldier had plenty of opportunity to defend himself against his own team. Using his mech as a shield was played up for theatrics- his superior speed could have allowed them both to escape reasonably. Still, Metal could appreciate the character’s dramatic flair and supposed this could make the story more interesting down the line. He was eager to catch the next re-run the following Sunday.

The credits finished rolling and a few advertisements led into a cooking program. Not interesting. Metal flipped to the next channel to find an old black and white film playing. A gentleman escorted a lady out of her home, offering her his arm. She latched onto it as they walked across a promenade, the young lady chatting away as the man listened fondly. The scene reminded him of someone. He quickly flipped through a few channels as he heard Amy returning. 

“Well, it looks like we’re not meeting until tomorrow. Guess we can do whatever we want this afternoon.” Amy leaned against the back of the couch over Metal’s shoulder. “Anything good on?” He shrugged, pausing on a nature documentary. The screen showed a grassy plane speckled with violet blossoms, towering trees in full bloom losing flowers to the wind. Amy sighed. “Those are jacaranda trees- the first bloom announces the beginning of summer. I hope the one here flowers soon.” She looked through to the other side of the small living room, out the glass door. She motioned to a tall hill that sprouted from the opposite side of the valley.  “It’s up there, same place I like to watch the sunset. There’s a pretty cliffside that faces the ocean. Pain to get up there though- Well, not for you I guess.”

Metal followed her gaze outward. The hills were no longer blanketed in snow, small patches of green beginning to emerge. It was captivating, watching the landscape reshape itself through the glass door like a portal. It was only a few days ago they were trekking through muddy snow, but now, the palms stood proudly upright and the sun dried sand glistened gently at midday. And although the days were tepid, evenings were still too chilly to find Amy outside without a coat or blanket, who wasn’t the most cold-resistant. The scenery changed daily but still looked recognizable. He wondered how it would appear in a few months, and if he’d stick around to see it. Metal wanted to see all of it before it changed any more.

He stretched as he stood up from the couch. Amy grinned, amused at the thought that Metal would feel stiff when his entire body was rigid. But he had seen her do it and she noticed him mimicking her from time to time; She found it cute. 

He looked to her, pointing a thumb toward the back door. Amy frowned. “You wanna go now? It’s still too cold up there,” she reasoned. He placed a fist on his hip disapprovingly and cocked his head to one side. “No way, I’ve had enough of this never-ending winter. You go ahead, I had something I wanted to get done today, anyway.” Metal shrugged back at her, rolling his eyes. She waved him off, ignoring his sassy response in favor of picking up around the couch by rearranging throw pillows and fluffing cushions. He silently wished for the weather to get warmer. 

“Have fun exploring. It’s nice when you can fly,” she chuckled as she took her empty cereal bowl to the kitchen. “I’ll be here when you get back.” Not easily deterred, Metal accepted her proposal to go alone and waved to her on his way out. Amy paused her bustling and looked around the threshold of the kitchen to him as he slid the door aside. “Metal, promise you won’t watch the sunset without me, okay?”

The whirring of Metal’s engine intensified as a sudden alarmed sensation overtook him. That’s right, she’d promised to take him to watch the sunset- he didn’t want to disappoint her. But why did the thought of watching together make him so nervous? Amy was giving him a strange look now. He found himself staring back at her for longer than was conformable, trying to come up with an appropriate response. Shooting her a thumbs-up was all he could come up with.

“Aha… Okay, well, take care,” she said before turning back to her dishes.

Metal hurried out the door, practically shooting into the sky. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that interaction, so, why did he feel so embarrassed? Perhaps it was because he wanted to express that he found Amy so much more interesting to watch than a setting sun. 

He shook his head furiously, pushing the thought away. The world was at his feet, there was nature to explore. Whether he’d experienced much of it before his memory loss, Metal didn’t know, but it beckoned him now. He turned his head toward the spot Amy had pointed out earlier. Still wanting a preview, he decided to take a look up there later- before the sun began setting. Embarrassment. What a useless emotion.

There was a lot to see. Amy’s house was on a small private beach surrounded by hills big and small, some speckled with little hillside homes. A larger mountain loomed behind it all. The beach was just one of many valleys, a few of which were untouched by anything but the local fauna. They boasted little thickets of trees or small ponds. Metal spent most of the afternoon ducking in and out of wooded areas and up rocky hillsides. Grass was just starting to sprout everywhere he looked, slowly overtaking the rotted leaves littered across the ground from last autumn. He was surprised to find a clearing bursting with wild tulips that he examined for some time. Metal thought about bringing some back to Amy’s house, just as a souvenir. He then spent the better part of an hour picking only a few of the most perfect buds, the ones with the tallest stems and most symmetrical petals.

As his shadow grew long and Metal became satisfied with his very uniform bouquet, he decided it was time to head back home- that is, back to Amy’s home. But he was interested in taking a look at the spot she had pointed out to him. If that tree could really announce warmer weather, he was curious as to how long it would be before it bloomed. He flew, finding the rolling cliffside Amy had described- a long, flat strip of land overlooking the western coastline. A single mature tree sat atop it. 

Metal lowered himself down near the edge of the cliff. The low sun was radiating brightly, reflecting off the glistening ocean. It wasn’t quite ready to hit the horizon, but the view was still breathtaking. He didn’t have long to appreciate it before a rustling behind him caused him to turn his attention abruptly, however.

“I never could sneak up on you.”

Sonic hung off a low branch from the tree confidently. He looked a lot less aggravated than when he’d stopped by the day before. Metal now understood Sonic’s violent response, but it didn’t seem to make him any more tolerant of the hedgehog. Enemy flashed in his head like a siren. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to fight.” Sonic landed, taking steps towards Metal. The latter didn’t move. “Gotta say, I didn’t expect you to be the type to be a nature lover.” He stopped a few feet from Metal, not far from the cliff’s edge. “Did you come to watch the sunset?” Metal didn’t respond, instead turning away from him and starting in the direction of the jacaranda tree. Sonic noticed the tulips he was clutching in one hand. “Those for Amy?” he teased.

Metal’s head whipped back around to glare at him. Sonic didn’t return the stare, instead looking unimpressed. “You know, you can see Amy’s place from the other side of this cliff.” Metal remained still. “I’ve been watching you. You guys talked all night- well, Amy did all the talking,” he snickered. “I gotta say, you’re full of surprises.” 

Sonic was being a nuisance. Metal had no desire to stick around to be mocked. So, he continued on his way across the cliff.

“Me and you’ve been fighting for a long time, Metal. It’s weird seeing you on the same side.”

Metal stopped just next to the tree. It was the greenest thing he’d seen all day, as if it had never shed it leaves to begin with. He touched the trunk with his free hand, examining the leaves and branches. No vibrant purple flowers to be seen. It was still early in spring, after all. And Amy was right- it was much colder up here than on the beach.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw you at Amy’s house yesterday.” Sonic took a few steps back toward Metal. “But you know what, I’m glad you’re becoming friends. She’s a great pal; sees the good in everyone. Even you.”

Even him. This implied that there was something deeply wrong with Metal, as if he was exceptionally heinous. What little he remembered of his past and his master was from the day he met Amy. It wasn’t a lot, but nevertheless impactful. He recalled a heavy sense of subjugation, a governing influence over his body and mind that he could do little to control. But could he really blame it all on that?

Sonic was in front of him now, arms crossed seriously. “For her sake, I really hope you’re not here to take advantage of that.”

Metal felt the cracked bark under his palm. Rough and slightly jagged. Given that Amy wouldn’t be happy if Metal lashed out, he had to focus on something to keep from shutting up his irksome rival by force. Even if he could express his genuine feelings to Sonic, Metal found it unlikely that he’d believe them. He turned his body toward Sonic, meeting his eyes. Instead of going for his throat, Metal placed a hand on his hip and bobbed his head around mockingly. Sonic didn’t seem to find it amusing.

“Cute,” he responded sarcastically. “All I’m saying is, this better not be an act.”

Metal’s eyes rolled dramatically. He held the tulips out in the direction of Amy’s house, as if to suggest he had somewhere better to be.

Sonic sighed in frustration. Metal was pleased that he seemed as annoyed as he was. “I’ve been looking out for Amy since we met. If you’re gonna be her friend, you better be willing to do the same. You know, maybe cover up those knife-hands of yours,” he smirked.

Annoying. Metal amended his memory file. He figured he might as well cross out enemy and see if it made him want to punch Sonic any less. He logged a photo of Sonic’s smug look before walking past him towards the cliff’s east side. The sun was beginning to touch the horizon Metal didn’t want to break his promise.

“Bring her up here some time. Amy likes to watch the sunset.”

Sonic sounded genuine that time. Metal didn’t bother responding, taking off from the cliffside and making his way down toward the beachy valley. Sonic watched him over his shoulder. Maybe there was something to Amy’s plan.

The sky was yellowing as he landed, the last rays of golden hour illuminating the little cabin warmly. Metal could spot Amy sitting at the dining table through the back door. She was tinkering with something, her full attention focused on whatever was in her hands. He watched her for a moment.

Amy noticed the light rapidly declining and looked up from her work. She was hand-sewing when she realized Metal was home. Waving to him, she quickly put her project away in her sewing box. Metal then pretended to look around as if he wasn’t just staring at her. Bemused, she hurried over to open the back door. “Metal! I was beginning to worry you were enjoying the sunset without me,” she laughed. “Come in. Oh, it’s chilly out.”

She quickly ducked back inside as Metal sauntered through, sliding the glass closed behind him. Amy was picking up loose threads and pins from the tabletop. “Did you have fun? You were gone longer than I expected.”

The nervousness that had overtaken Metal that morning suddenly returned as he made his way to hand Amy the flowers. They were admittedly rather windswept and didn’t look as lively as when he’d picked them. He worried she would find them ugly, but he couldn’t just get rid of them now. She was turning back to him already. Panicking, Metal brandished the bouquet high above him as if proudly holding a trophy. 

Amy’s face brightened. “Oh! How lovely. Let me get you a vase for your tulips.” 

His tulips. As she walked past him to search a low cupboard, Metal felt somewhat disheartened. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he planned on gifting them to his host, but he felt cheated now that he hadn’t. She placed a tall fluted vase on the countertop from the other side of the kitchen. “Here, I’ll trim them for you.” Metal delivered them to her, and she took them in both hands, supporting the bulbs in one. That was probably the proper way to handle the delicate flowers, he thought.

Metal sat himself at the counter as Amy trimmed and arranged the bouquet. She filled the vase with chilled water from a pitcher to keep them fresh. Leaning over the counter, she sighed. “These really brighten up the place.” She turned to him. “You know, tulips are some of the first flowers to grow in the spring. They come out when the ground is still snowy. They represent new beginnings.” Amy giggled, her cheeks coloring slightly. “I think it’s really fitting.”

New beginnings. They were certainly suited to the occasion. Metal supposed it really did make it his arrangement, but there was no reason he couldn’t share. He reached for the flower that looked the most aesthetically pleasing to him, a sunny yellow bulb with gently curving petals. Picking it from the arrangement, he quickly placed it behind Amy’s ear. She looked rather bemused at his unexpected playfulness for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“For me? Thank you,” she giggled, adjusting it to sit more comfortably. “I love yellow- it’s so cheery!” She made her way around to give him a hug from behind. Metal’s engine buzzed. He wasn’t sure if it was due to excitement or panic.

She pulled away, looking back through the glass door. He joined her in watching. The sky was a hybrid of sunny yellow and romantic pink. Amy leaned on the back of Metal’s chair, enchanted by the dreamy colors. “I see it pretty much every day but it never stops being pretty, you know? I guess that’s the thing about sunsets.” 

Metal gazed on with her. He had grown to enjoy the daily event, never ceasing to be entertained by the brightly painted sky. It gave him a sense of calm that seemed to cure even the peculiar excitement he kept feeling around Amy. Still, he lamented that she was standing behind him and he was unable to watch the dreamy smile she wore whenever she sighed over something she found lovely. But it happened every day, after all. The opportunities were endless.

.........................................................................................................

hi babes, not much to day just wanted something cute for a lil transition. besos 

[these-are-the-first-steps]

“The Rise of Skywalker”- A Review from Memory

So it’s been a week since I’ve had to live with this film in front of my eyes, and a week and a half that I’ve had to grapple with the brunt of its sins. With a heavy sigh, I think I’m ready to go through the play-by-play of every plot hole in this film that I can manage from memory without the thing in front of me. And even then, the laundry list is hefty. Keep in mind that this is a FILM-BASED review only- I have tried to refrain from including new information we have learned since its release last Thursday in an effort to keep this as focused and topical as possible.

+The first scene of this film is weird. I’m all for watching Adam Driver wild out on some dudes, but it is never explained who these guys are and if it’s just Kylo ‘committing more slaughter’ (as the casual audience is wont to think) or if there’s something significant here. As the movie goes on and Kylo makes it clear that he’s under no one’s thumb, *and* that the object he was after was Sith, you start to get an idea that maybe those guys at the intro are No Good, but this is never explained or confirmed. To a casual audience with no interest in additional materials, it just looks like Bad Ole Kylo Doing More Bad Ole Stuff. *sigh*

+Exogol and Palpatine’s hideout looks like the Borg Cube from Star Trek: First Contact from 1996. This really smacked me in the face how similar it was.

+Snoke’s significance getting sniped by Palpatine in one fell swoop felt like two five year olds arguing over action figures in the sandbox. “No! He’s dead now! Now the good guys can go on their quest!” “Well if he’s dead now, it’s only because MY guy was the REAL bad guy! DOOSHDOOSHDOOSHDOOSH!!” Like….really? At least Palpatine’s never-spoken-of Snoke manufacturing lab was vaguely interesting. Too bad we never saw anything about that- what a story of intergalactic puppet-masters that would have made! We’re not here for clever storytelling, though, so moving on…

+I don’t think they should have included Leia in this film. It really added to the disjointed nature of this movie with flat audio, crippled dialogue, and CGI where Leia only really had one facial expression for 90% of her appearances. It really wasn’t worth it. I know Star Wars doesn’t do flashbacks (which, frankly, I appreciate a lot), but I think they could have utilized the IDEA of Leia better than her actual self. Leia was forced, it showed, and it wasn’t good. Honestly they did a WAY better job reviving Tarkin in RO.

+An incredibly unnecessary amount of new information for the third act of a series was introduced in this film, starting with Leia suddenly being a well-trained Jedi or something. At least enough to ‘train’ Rey, which…frankly wasn’t believable. Leia having the force was a given. That she distanced herself from active application of the Force as a residual reaction to the bombshell of Darth Vader being her father is what is, and always has, made sense. THAT is a nuanced perspective, but it gets thrown out in favor of not just shoe-horning Leia in to the movie, but also because they had no idea what else to do with her at all in this film. This is also why Leia shouldn’t have been in this movie the way she was.

+Oh, you knew Palpatine was behind all this the whole time, Leia? Really? Always there, huh? When in TFA it was always snoke? Obvious dialogue lift is obvious, but the use of it was just Bad and inconsiderate to the story.

+Poe’s backstory was published on December 18th, 2015 in a book called “Before The Awakening” that details the lives of Poe, Finn, and Rey leading up to TFA. Poe is the son of two famous Rebel fighters and he grows up with a nice quiet life on Yavin 4 learning about ships and loving to fly. He goes straight from his home world to joining the Republic navy. It’s a handful of months before Leia Organa picks up on him and brings him into the Resistance. Now…this is a backstory that is JJ Abrams approved, has been out since 2015, and yet Oscar Isaac said he ‘never knew’ Poe’s backstory, and JJ somehow thinks four years later that there is space in this incredibly concise timeline for him to become a drug runner. What?? This was possibly the BIGGEST wtf moment for me in this film. What in the actual world. WHAT.

+Sidelining old characters to pointlessly introduce new ones does not serve a story, it clogs it up, drags down its rhythm, and confuses the hell out of it. As seen by Zorri and Jannah. And out of those two, only Jannah carried any kind of actual literary weight, because for Finn, he’s found more people like himself. This sort of setup is a typical play to foreshadow where Finn eventually settles down and goes at the end of the war. But this is never expounded on or explained further. It’s just, BOOM, more former troopers and a girl who is suddenly irrationally attached to him at all times.

+Rose gets replaced by Jannah, a brand new character that we only know one single thing about, and who gets to latch on to Finn out of the blue while Rose is left at home or on a ship. It was weird. It was obvious. It was incredibly awkward to watch. There was no point to Jannah clinging to Finn like this. She was reduced from a strong character to a cringy clingy one, while Finn’s love interest was completely ignored.

+The ‘Journey to The Rise of Skywalker’ comics released a couple weeks before the film heavily implied we’d get a lot of great Rose and Rey team time. We received none of it. It felt like someone had jerked a present away from us and it was a gross omission.

+It is only by the very end of the film and after multiple watches that you THINK they are trying to hint that Kylo is spiraling, thus why Leia steps in in death, but it never ever gets shown. Never once are we let in on Kylo’s state of mind. In fact, never once are we let in on *any* of these characters’ states of mind. We never really see what they are feeling or thinking or going through. Kylo is nothing but action when in TFA and TLJ we see him falling apart. This is what bad direction looks like, and it takes a Real Talent to fuck up directing an actor like Adam Driver. Another big sigh…

+There are only two cool things about this movie- The bleeding of reality between Kylo and Rey, and Palpatine’s shadow senate. When Kylo and Rey fight and the red bits go flying on the floor, it screamed serious TLJ aesthetics to me that I had to blink a moment. I think this ‘Bleed-through’ of their realities is the only TLJ hold-over we were allowed. It was a genuinely fascinating touch, which is how you know it didn’t come from *this* film’s production office.

+When you stick three people in a closet together, you expect some sort of progress in two-thirds of the potential relationships in such a cramped space. We received no such thing. Forced Trio Time resulted in no character development and seemed more like an unnecessary comic relief vehicle than anything.

+In ‘Before The Awakening’ and ‘Rey’s Survival Guide’, both publications printed under JJ Abrams’s  blessing, we learn Rey named *herself* after a helmet she found in the desert. How is it Rey’s alleged parents know her fake name? Gross, gross plot-hole.

+Four years was spent emphasizing that you don’t have to come from anywhere ‘special’ to be Important to a big story. Then they threw it out. Post-TROS interview with JJ reveals it was because they ‘couldn’t think of how else to get rey engaged in fighting palpatine’. Because he wasn’t a nasty enough dude on his own? Seriously? This is pure negligence.

+Four years was also spent emphasizing that you also don’t even NEED the force to be important to the big story and make a huge difference to the future. But let’s throw that out, too, and give Finn the force. Clearly regular people are absolutely worthless in the Star Wars Universe, according to JJ Abrams.

+Finn is only used to babysit Rey the entire time they share screen time together. The number of times he shouts her name could be turned into a drinking game. It’s one thing to care about somebody, and another thing entirely to act like you’re their high school chaperone. The whole thing was weird and awkward.

+Zorri Bliss sounds like a stripper name and she served no purpose other than to shoehorn Felicity into a star wars movie. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Babu Frik is the only true-to-star-wars critter in this whole film.

+Leia literally goes and lays down on her own funeral spread? What was that about. And that’s what that was because why would her bed be out in the open like that? That was really, really weird. And the RoTJ medal throwback was just a tacky tether to the past.

+Everyone seems so irrationally tethered to the past in this film. Kylo Ren’s spent two movies desperate to ‘leave the past behind’ and I don’t blame him at this point because it’s getting exhausting.

+As stated previously, it’s only vaguely suspected but Kylo seemed to SUPPOSED to be spiraling. Adam Driver plays Kylo like a man finally free of the voices in his head, but the plot and dialogue point to an entirely different direction saying that REALLY the monsters have allegedly doubled-down and he’s even more unhinged than before. Here is a MAJOR indication of story re-working after the film has already been shot. Adam Driver, and Daisy for that matter, is a PRECISE actor. It seems almost impossible to tell a story with him that you did not originally MEAN to tell. And it shows. JJ tried to U-Turn the story but it absolutely failed- Adam’s Kylo Ren is a calm, free man, focused, who finally knows what his purpose in life is, and that is uniting with his Dyad in the force. When really JJ tried very hard to suggest that he was spiraling so hard and so ‘lost’ in the Dark Side that it took his mother’s last breath to swing him back around. No one is going to see that narrative. The only reason why I see this shoddy attempt is because I’ve been absolutely immersed in this shit since December 2015. But the main audience? This was absolutely not conveyed.

+Seeing Dark Side Rey was nothing but a ‘cool’ moment and actually served zero function to the plot. Rey was always shown as being Grey in the force and someone who struggled to maintain balance. If that whole scene was removed, it wouldn’t change anything.

+Kylo was never in a position to kill Rey on the Death Star, and Rey taking her cheap shot to stab him while he heard his mother’s voice is an attempt to convey how much seeing her Sith self affected her than Kylo’s already very faded aggression in this film but it failed. It was weird and out of character, and even coming to that conclusion took may rewatches to come to because there is NEVER a ramp-up to Rey’s darkside taking over long enough to stab Kylo- there’s no fire, no red eyes, no teeth, none of it, to indicate she was ‘overcome’ so it just looked like bad mischaracterization. Yikes.

+Kylo and Han’s moment on the Death Star is the most moving scene of the entire film. The dialogue starts out rather familiar, and it almost seems like a cop-out, until you realize….how many times has Ben had this conversation with himself?? He doesn’t seem shocked at all that his father is there. Not at all. In fact, that Last Conversation on the bridge of Starkiller comes off as a well-rehearsed dance that Ben puts himself through regularly. And every time he hopes it’ll be affirmation enough that it’s all been worth it. But here, at the last reenactment of the worst day of his life, the script changes. He surrenders. He says dad. And he rejects Kylo Ren forever. Harrison Ford and Adam Driver are two beautifully matched, talented actors and I’d watch a movie with the two of them in it any day. God bless them.

+Hux has been wasted for the past two films. He was Terrifying in TFA and Dom gave him such significant presence that I was genuinely terrified for what he might try in the future. But instead he was lost as comic relief. When it is comically delivered that HE is the spy, every single person in my movie theatre shouted “WHAT??” in a way that was not a Good what, but in a “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” kind of what, and I will never ever forget that. I hate seeing Star Wars diminished like this.

+Luke rehashing Obi-wan’s speech to him about how Rey MUST confront the Big Bad was an obvious rehash, and way too convenient to what Palpatine wanted. This whole appearance of Luke is very suspect, but that would be crediting them again with clever storytelling, which again this is not.

+Luke claims that Leia saw ‘the death of her son’ at the end of her Jedi Path, which one can assume why she threw it away. But then Luke says something bizarre about ‘hoping someone else would pick up her path someday’. Is that...is that not the same path leading to Ben’s death that she was avoiding in the first place? And if someone else picks it up, is that not no longer Leia’s path but that other person’s? Therefore, is not the outcome automatically going to be different and thus *avoid* Ben’s death? This was an attempt at supposedly clever foreshadowing or Mystical Talk or some shit, but all it was was dialogue that backfired in meaning spectacularly due to looping-in on itself too many times. Luke negates himself at the same time he tries to prove his point...which he then negates in the same breath. What a mess.

+All of Ben Solo’s lines were cut the last act of the film to stuff more pointless exposition at the END of film and to give more screen time to Ian McDiarmid. Ian’s great, but he’s not the main character of this series, and cutting Ben’s lines for this was Gross.  

+Space Horses? Really?? I didn’t like them in TLJ but at least there they had context- they had zero context here. The size of the horses and the ship they came off of was absurdly mismatched. Is that ship the TARDIS? That whole bit was so unnecessary and ridiculous, especially with zero setup. Which is amazing because this film is 90% set-up.

+All those ships at the end? That’s all it took? After books and comics going on about how everyone’s too terrified to help Leia because of FO scorched earth policy? Jesus it was weak, and too obvious a Deus ex Machina with THAT many ships.

+Palpatine’s Shadow Senate is cool. The idea that this guy trapped on an ugly planet stuck on Sith life-support couldn’t go two seconds without attention and praise to the point where he had to recreate the exact same senate he destroyed years ago is a concept I like. Is the Shadow Senate just in the *shape* of the old senate but filled with animated Sith proxies? Or is it actually comprised of the enslaved souls of former Senators now forced to attend the Emperor for eternity? Either way, destroying the Shadow Senate at least either set those souls free or sent them back to wherever they came from. That was actually interesting, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to learn more about such a genuinely creepy thing.

+Palpatine’s ‘we’re family’ routine drops the moment he realizes Ben and Rey are a dyad. This is suspicious, but considering the whole movie so far, it seems incorrect to giver JJ and Torrio credit for a possible mis-direct.

+Rey and Ben’s realities bleeding into each other is experienced again in swapping the light saber. This is cool. This is probably the coolest moment in the film. And then the coolness literally gets thrown into a pit when, instead of the both of them, as a Dyad, defeating Palpatine, Rey is left to carry the burden alone.

+Oh hey look a cop-out to save Rey from being bad- just have her reflect his own power back at him so it’s like he’s killing himself, wow, so original! The second Palpy revealed his gameplan about wanting to die, this became the obvious choice to both kill him and avoid giving him what he wanted. Eh….

+The Star Wars 9-movie series is the story of one man desperately begging anyone within hearing range to kill him, apparently. This is so, so old by the 9th friggin movie. 

+Ben Solo spends his entire life begging for guidance from his ancestors only to be ignored and Rey get all their attention instead. Ben Solo spends his entire life since the womb being a burden to his parents by merely existing and being manipulated by gross sith ghosts. But nah, let’s be parents to Rey and help out Rey. This is not to say she doesn’t deserve any of this, but to say there are priorities here- Rey has had a lonely life, but at least she had her sanity and was self-sufficient. Ben had neither his sanity or any control over his own life whatsoever. And to place Rey above Ben is a literal mess. The two of them were meant by the Force to rise TOGETHER, and it didn’t happen.

+Rey doesn’t disappear when she ‘dies’ after using the last of her life force to both feed Palpatine, fight him, AND defeat him. And yet while Rey has two strikes in her before kicking it, Ben, someone who is RADICALLY more trained in the force, its lore, and mechanics, only has one? This doesn’t make any sense.

+Rey has no reaction to the literal other half of her soul vanishing in front of her. Because this is a mangled JJ Abrams Finale(tm) and why should anyone, let alone his own characters, have any space to Feel? I mean, that’s not what movies are even about, right? Feeling and Telling A Story? It’s not that, right? Right?? JJ Abrams covers up Rey’s reaching-hands scar on her arm for the entire film, doesn’t address it, and apparently hates the shit out of it. I don’t know how the King of Cheese could possibly hate something like that. It was a weird and obvious omission, and frankly disappointing because the scar had come to mean something at the end of TLJ and it, like a lot in this film, got thrown in the trash.

+More forced trio time in the form of a group hug where nothing gets actually expressed because we ran out of space for dialogue 30 pages back.

+Anakin Skywalker viewed Tatooine, his place of enslavement, as the worst place in the galaxy. Luke Skywalker spent his entire youth trying to escape. Leia hated it on principle because it was where Darth Vader came from and where she herself had been enslaved in a gross gold bikini for a giant slug. Rey spent 14 years of her life dreaming of leaving the sand planet she was trapped on. But I guess that’s a fitting place to bury some memories, yeah? The place where nothing good ever, ever happened. That’s a nice spot, right?

+Rey Skywalker isn’t explained, is never led up to, and feels like a gross gimmie after four years of trying to create a Better Message that names don’t matter. HEAVY SIGH.

+Rey watches the two suns set as she is left with little more than she started- alone, on a sand planet, but this time taunted by the Twin Suns of Tatooine that the other half of her soul is literally missing and that she is now left with a gaping wound in her Force signature and her own spirit worse than if she’d just lost a Force Bonded mate.

+Ben Solo is left missing, vanished on a world that is supposedly a thin spot in the force, with no ghost, no presence, and no one to mourn him- not even by the other half of his very soul. THREE GENERATIONS of Skywalkers over NINE FILMS died to try and rescue their future embodied in the form of Ben Solo and it looks like it was for nothing. Instead, the incessant bad guy no one can move on from looks like he ultimately wins the day through an alleged granddaughter, and even that claim is on shaky ground considering the mistakes in the vision and how quickly the family conversation vanished upon the revelation that Ben and Rey are a dyad. Ben is lost, so every family member died for nothing, apparently. But hey, this is a Fun and Hopeful narrative, right?

+While the Final Order fleet is destroyed at the end, the First Order is.....still out there? It’s still out there. Nothing in that department has changed whatsoever. Leaders die. They get replaced. The cycle goes on. We spent three movies batting at a fly we didn’t even kill. Amazing.

Overall this movie is BRUTAL. Every other scene is a plot hole served to us on a silver platter, with the biggest insult being that they are plot points JJ created HIMSELF 4-6 years ago. This man literally shot himself in the face and then said it was fine as he bled out all over the film reels and it shows. If you were anyone who came along for the Additional Materials ride of the past four years, you were greeted by this film with a hard, swift, and REPEATED, backhand to the face. There was no reward here at the end of this road for fans, old and new, who actually paid attention and took an interest in the deeper lore surrounding this sequel trilogy. There was just a big fat Disney-branded middle finger as all your hard work and cash was ripped from you with a trademark villain laugh.

And that is what we’re left with.

This review does not go into detail over what we’ve discovered since the release of the film, either. That it was never finished in the editing room. That a current comic series, Rise of Kylo Ren, and what’s in the new TROS visual dictionary maddeningly contradict themselves. That allegedly SIX different endings were shot for this movie, and in the end the one they chose looks like it was *literally* reverse-engineered to confusingly kill, as JJ once called him, ‘The Other Half of Our Protagonist’. There is no time to go into detail about how Oscar Isaac just told us that noone in the cast knew that Rey Palpatine was going to be endgame except for maybe Adam when they made him do ADR declaring it with a masked face on screen (convenient). There is no room to show you the collective cast reaction they all gave to the end of the movie- none of them good, and John Boyega looking like he was holding back from punching something (he loved Kylo/Ben as much as the audience did and more). And there is no room to include what we will continue to find out as the days roll on about the tangled mess of a film that was edited and reedited, and how word on the street is a cocky director demanded Carte Blanche from Kathleen Kennedy, and I guess the story group too given the state of things, and then promptly self-destructed in the grossest, messiest end to a 40+ year series in cinema history.

There’s just no space.

But there IS a lesson.

And the lesson is this: No matter what, never stop investing in Story. Never stop caring about the details and about plot and about moving a story FORWARD. Never be afraid to move FORWARD. Look at TROS, the mess it is and the potential it had it in itself to be, and then look at the beauty that is TFA and the love that went into TLJ, and study that shit until it burns into your brain- Do not repeat those mistakes. Go out into the world and write better, shoot better, direct better, and BE BETTER. Because these producers and directors? They’re old and they’re on their way out. Just like the stable boy at the end of TLJ who secretly has the Force, know and realize that those of you out there reading this are the next generation of storytellers. YOU. And YOU, and I, and others out there like us who loved this series with our whole heart and who are watching it bleed out now on a floor that doesn’t give two shits about it, have the ability to make sure this NEVER happens again. But in order to do that….we have to pick up that pen. Pick up that pencil. Pick up that camera. Jot down that story idea and share it with likeminded friends. Go out there and CREATE, and create BETTER. Because it’s up to us now- the future of cinema is up to us. And my god, we have so much potential….

[one-leaf-grimoire]

“triad”

Chapter 19: the day of judgement

Only warning is MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS hehe but also after this chapter, this is diverging from canon so strap in.

AO3 link

“It’s not very fair, is it?”

“Hmm?”

The waves crashed upon the rocks, breaking into a harsh white mist. The short coastline quickly gave way to a mighty mountain range, shielding them from whatever lay inland. 

“You get to come out here and enjoy the sea, while your family is forced to stay inside. Why don’t you let them come out sometime? As a little ‘vacation’ or something.”

The sea roared. It howled in some strange language, almost like a taunt.

“Ah… I see. Well, they aren’t missing much. This place is cold and wet… the sun never shines. In our old home, there was nothing but blue skies and sparkling sea. This really can’t compare.”

At long last, the man who squatted by the edge rose to his full height. His robe rippled around him in the wind, but in an oddly controlled movement. His hair, pulled back out of his face into a ponytail, let a few stray strands out to dance in the gale, leaving the mark in the middle of his forehead exposed. He was a man in the image of serenity; but Morris had a feeling that he wasn’t really a man at all.

“I feel like I should be a little insulted, Mikal.” Morris shook his head before looking out at the horizon again, a little smile on his face. “This is my home, after all.”

“You don’t love it though, do you?” Mikal finally looked over at the man, his eyes narrowing slightly despite the smile still etched into his youthful features. “You don’t love anything, Morris.”

Mikal was unusual in many ways. Well, this whole situation was unusual. Almost 80 years ago, the Simulcians were driven from their home after a natural disaster. The remaining survivors were just Mikal, his parents, and his four older siblings. They fled to the shores of their only ally: the Diamond Kingdom, where they agreed to lend their power to the military in exchange for a private colony on the coast. This was long before Morris was even born. After making his way into the Royal Science Department, Morris was assigned to the Simulcian outpost, and was surprised to see that their numbers had risen dramatically. The group of seven was now going on 30. Mikal gladly let Morris into their tower to show him his work. New Simulcians were bred artificially from his parents’ cells, and then they were kept in “safety tanks” until they were 18 years old. Then… they were synchronized.

Morris barely understood what it meant to be “synchronized.” The Diamond Kingdom had been familiar with the “Dyad,” a bond between two people which shared/combined their mana, for years. But Mikal somehow managed to create other bonds as well: A tetrad between four people, and a septad between seven people. Morris had no idea what Mikal was trying to do, but something about it was oddly… ominous. 

No… Mikal would never let his family outside. He would never let them out of their tanks, or their links. He trapped them in that prison forever.

Did Mikal truly love them? 

“Maybe you’re right…” Morris finally replied. “Although, not entirely… maybe I don’t love anyone, but there are some things I love. How could I not…” He turned his gaze away from the sea and back towards the mountains. “I was born blind, you know... I had to fight hard to find a way to see. And now…” His glasses glinted in the overcast light. “I have the whole world at my disposal.”

“Hm… I wonder what you’ll do with it.”

Something about Mikal’s words sent a shiver up Morris’s spine. Neither of them could have known it now, but oh… the things Morris would do. The world really would be at his disposal.

But today, they were just two men standing on the rocks. Well… a man and something close to a man, at least.

“Tell me… when you finish whatever it is you’re planning, what’s going to happen?” Mikal raised an eyebrow at Morris’s words, but Morris could see right through his innocence. “I know it’ll be big… whatever it is, you’ve spent nearly a century getting ready.”

“Who says I have anything planned?”

Morris gave Mikal a long look. 

Finally, Mikal let out a long sigh. He stretched an arm over his shoulder leisurely before turning to look back out at sea. “Well… maybe I do. But would you really like to know? I’ll tell you if you promise to stop being so nosy.”

Nosy? That’s ironic, coming from you. Morris nodded his head though, eager to hear Mikal out.

“Well… it’s a little complicated.” Mikal crossed his arms. “You know the Goddess we worship, yea?”

“Oh… yeah.” Morris wracked his brain. “Simon?”

“Simulcia,” Mikal corrected. “Simulcia was a goddess of fate… her magic could pin down destiny as she pleased.”

“Pin down?”

“Fate is like the ocean. It’s like a rippling fabric in the wind. But Simulcia threw pins out over that fabric-” Mikal motioned his hand as an example. “Where each one landed… fate itself was fastened to that spot. Just a few points in time and space… that is the Dyad. My parents, those before them… and maybe those after them. Although, if everything goes according to plan, I doubt there will ever be another Dyad. But that’s not my decision to make. That pin has yet to fall, and I cannot stop it if it's destined to.”

Morris was barely following at this point, but slowly but surely started to understand. The power to manipulate fate itself? How strange. So, because of actions long ago, there are certain aspects of our future that cannot be changed? “What does that have to do with your plan?”

“You see… things have changed. Simulcia is long dead. The only way to access her consciousness is by linking up with other Simulcians. We were never meant to be separated. Our true state is together. Mikal weaved his fingers together. “But like I said, we’ve strayed from that path. We made contact with humans after millenia of isolation, and we changed. We’re becoming more like you… We no longer wish to be together. Maybe there’s some kind of value in our independence, but it is against Simulcia’s will.”

A spark of anger slipped through Mikal’s eyes, barely visible among his pitch black gaze.

“Humans… they want to drive us apart. I didn’t want that to happen. So… I will force Simulcia’s will upon everyone.”

…

…

…

Morris wasn’t sure why he walked away that day. Without asking Mikal more. He never asked again, and for some reason he didn’t try to stop whatever it was Mikal was trying to do. In any case, 20 years later, Mikal and his whole family disappeared without a trace, and a new Dyad was created in the Clover Kingdom.

Simulcia’s will?

Is that… why Simulcians exist? To enact her will?

But, in the end, wasn’t Simuclia’s will already enacted? In the form of fate?

What more is there to do… we are all slaves to fate.

At least, that’s what Morris thought. The years passed, and the shape of his life squirmed and bent until it was unrecognizable. He took sight, he took power, he took knowledge… and he put it into his own hands. And now, the power of three devils dwelled within him as well.

Simulcia is dead… That much I know.

Morris gazed up at the tree as it grew. Its branches cracked and groaned under their own enormous weight. Fueled by the two men trapped within their coffins, it towered up and up, breaking through the ceiling as it reached for the sky.

Fate is dead. The only two people bound to it now are the Dyads. 

The castle rumbled as the fighting intensified. But Morris paid it no mind. He just stood there, his hands in his pockets, and stared up at the spectacle with two stolen eyes.

Now, we create the fate of the world with our own hands. And its fate is the Qliphoth. 

An unearthly sound spread out over the scene, screams and creaks and a shrill, descending howl.

That’s it then… the first gate has opened. The dark triad will be up to 100% soon. The rebels are busy with the demon we released, and soon… the Clover Kingdom will know the wrath of the other.

This time, there will be no one to save the world. 

--------------------------------------

Except, maybe there was. 

This time, my path leads north. Wind and rain and a dull rush of air course around my body as I take flight, my eyes watering slightly from the pressure. But it doesn’t matter; I keep flying.

Despite how overcast the day is, the sun is shining once again within my heart. Hope, love, joy, they all live there, and I can’t help but smile as I zoom towards what I hope will be the final battle of my life. Any wish to become a martyr, any wish to start over, any wish to give up everything, is gone. All that pumps through my veins is the determination to win and to live.

Because, now I know that there is still something to live for.

Adeline, Marx, Joy, all my friends and family, they all deserve to see a brighter future. A future that I will create, not through destruction, but through hope. 

All I have to do is win this fight, save Yami and William, then go home to the family I can still salvage.

My final days, I’ll spend them with Adeline and Joy. That’s the only way it should be. Maybe I’ve committed sins that I will never atone for, but I still deserve to be happy in those final days.

BOOM.

I’m suddenly pulled from my thoughts as a loud sound bellows through the air. Almost like thunder, but deeper, a sound that rattles the very earth. I slow down a little, then look to the side. My breath freezes in my chest for a brief moment as I see what it is: a giant, unearthly creature, higher than the tallest mountain. It has scraggly, thin wings that arch up over its body, and three glowing eyes in its head. 

No… it can’t be…

It is none other than the creature of legend, a giant demon god. It ignores everything as it trudges forward slowly, just passing over the border of the Grand Magic region when I reach it. There are towns and settlements ahead that it will surely trample, but its glowing eyes are fixed on the tiny hill in the distance, the hill that holds the capitol, the castle, and the king.

There’s a couple of reasons that it could be here, but the most likely one is that the Spade Kingdom somehow summoned and released it here to cause as much damage as possible. But in the end, it doesn’t matter why it’s here.

All that matters is that it must be stopped.

The fear, running like ice in my veins, starts to melt as both my hands heat up. Without another thought, I make a sharp turn in the air, and instead head right towards the horrible beast.

There’s not a second to lose… 

I clench my fist, to keep my hand from shaking, but also to concentrate mana there. I release it in waves, traveling out and down my arm and into that fist. With a spark, it bursts into intense blue flame, numerals already spiraling around it. 

All this magic… all this power. Only part of it is mine.

I squint my eyes a little, speeding up. One of the demon’s eyes catches onto my form.

Julius… and Patri. I can feel both of your wills within me.

Julius, who I loved, and Patri, who I thought I hated.

No… not hated.

Despite the memories of those horrible moments flooding back, I smile. Because, in the end, they both give me the strength to fight today. 

But it’s not just them.

A crown glints upon my head, and a robe flares out behind me as I fly. For the first time in my life, they aren’t heavy. For the first time in my life, I feel like I deserve them.

I… I am the Wizard King! 

Light starts to spark around my hand as I draw it back, charging up magic. The light starts to shine brighter and brighter, like the sun inching up and up over the horizon, bathing the world with warmth. With hope.

And for that reason, I have to protect my Kingdom. 

The Demon turns its head toward me, opening its gaping, toothy mouth. An orb of demonic energy crackles within its maw, getting ready to shoot out at me with all its power. The sight of it does nothing to hurt my composure, and I open my own mouth to let out a yell. It spurs me on, and my body rockets towards the beast faster than I’ve ever managed before.

For that reason, I will protect this WORLD!

I swing my fist, and finally release my first triple-attribute spell.

With a flash of light like a supernova, my fist connects. For a moment, there is no sound, but I can feel the entire world vibrate within my chest. 

The demon’s head basically implodes, its three eyes bursting apart as it’s hit. It doesn’t have time to roar or shriek; the ball of energy within it collapses, and it gets blown back across the border into the strong magic region. Its bottom half is still intact, and the trunklike feet BOOM once, then twice, then one last time as it stumbles backwards. Then, it falls, almost in slow motion.

But by this point, I am long gone. The dust from the impact billows up behind me as I just keep flying, making a beeline to the Spade Kingdom. The sound of the fall was enough to confirm my kill, and there isn’t a second more to lose. I don’t look back, just keep my eyes on the next objective ahead.

Yami and William, I’ll save you, no matter what!

The snowy peaks beneath me are a blur, my eyes clouded by both adrenaline and the light that shines from them. My whole body feels like it's on fire, the thrill of that moment still coursing through me. Acceptance and determination cycles around each other, fueling my flight further and further. I’m not sure what I will find across the border, but whatever it is, I am ready to take it on.

My duty is to win, and to survive! 

A few minutes later, something shifts in the atmosphere. Like a magnet, an unseen force tugs at my body, no, at my soul. My eyes widen a little when I realize what it is. 

Something… is pulling my mana in.

Then, I see it: the capital of Spade, almost completely destroyed by a sprawling mess of branches. I can feel the unnerving energy coming off of the wood already; this is no tree that exists in our world. This is the Qliphoth. There’s other presences here too- sending a familiar chill up my spine.

Devils…

But, according to Nacht, the first gate wasn’t supposed to be open yet? Did they have some way to accelerate the growth?

It doesn’t matter.

I clench my fist again, summoning more mana to replace that which was being sucked in by the tree. 

I’ll end it now, today. No more gates will be opened. And even if they do…

The black mark upon my forehead tingles slightly, almost familiarly.

I will beat them.

Right at the moment I summoned more mana, it was felt simultaneously by everyone below.

Nacht’s eyes widened as he stared ahead at the two twin Devils standing before him. No way… you fool! He wanted to look back towards the sky, but he couldn’t take his eyes off his foes, not now that the situation had turned so dire. You’re just going to get yourself killed… there’s no way you’re in any condition to fight!

Maybe that was the case. Maybe even moving was draining away my life faster than I could afford. But nothing will stop me from moving.

Morris’s smile falls for just a moment. He turns slowly to look up through the cracks in the ceiling. The tree… it’s responding to a great source of mana… incoming…

Then, he smiled.

This… this may be exactly what we need. It all depends on you three…

At that exact moment, those “three” sensed me as well. From three different sections of the castle, wings of blood, wings of bone, and wings of flesh unfurled. Three pairs of eyes, crazed and fueled by the new surge of power within them, turned towards the sky.

“Finally…”

“How exciting!”

“I didn’t think we would meet on the battlefield…”

Dante’s sharp, elongated teeth curled into a malicious grin as he retracted his power from Jack, who he had been pummeling a moment ago. Lucifero’s power was up to 100% now, and he was ready to fight anything and everything he could. Morris assured them before this that the Wizard King would be out of commission, but here she was, very much alive, heading right towards him.

Right into the palm of his hand.

With a loud, evil laugh, Dante shot up and away from the battle, towards the source of the presence. A strike from his fist burst right through the ceiling and let him escape into the cold night air. As soon as he was out, Dante looked to his left and right, spotting his siblings, who had the same idea. Vanica’s face was twisted into a sadistic grin, but Zenon remained composed; While Dante and Vanica had fun on their minds, Zenon was evaluating the very serious consequences that might come from their actions.

The tree reacted to her mana, I felt it too. If we can let it suck up more and more from her-

It’s right then that I spot the trio heading towards me, black shadow streaming in their wake. That’s them! That’s the Dark Triad! My heart skips a beat, and I let my Grimoire flip open once again. It starts to glow, and power starts to accumulate in the palm of my hand. 

This is it, at last!

Defeat these three, and we’ll win, I know it already. My mind starts to shut down, zeroing in on the imminent fight. Like a tunnel, all I can see is them.

Fight… fight them… WIN.

I spread the fingers of my hand as I start to raise it. My feet swing down from behind me to slow my body down, bracing it for impact. Light starts to shine from my palm, and all at once it elongates into a broad, bright sword.

This is Patri’s sword… but…

The light intensifies further, concentration. The light starts to thin and elongate further, into one, long blade. Just like an epee, the tip sharpens to a deadly extent, like a needle poised to pierce skin and flesh.

“Light magic: Judgement Day!”

I finally clench my fist, grasping the handle of the sword. I tear my eyes away from its length and back towards the Triad. With a grin, I point my new spell at them. The mana around me solidifies under my foot, and with one mighty push, I lunge.

Moments before collision, Dante’s eyes catch onto the black mark on my head. And for a fraction of a second, something within him hesitates. 

That mark… how does she have that mark-

The thoughts don’t catch up with his body, and he hurls himself at me with the fury of a typhoon.

None of us are prepared for the outcome of the next five minutes.

AAAAAAAA next time: chapter 20. There is a massive fight. Morris gets his way, and something terrible happens... as usual.

[isaacthedruid]

Steven Universe’s Representation and Music: an informal essay

As the first animated Cartoon Network show created entirely by a woman, Steven Universe’s run lasted for five seasons, a movie and a sequel-epilogue series. The show was far from perfect and its fandom wasn’t the best either but there is something so special about a show that followed lesbian space rocks and a young boy saving the world.

More specifically Steven Universe is about a young boy named Steven, who is half-Gem, half-human who protects the town of Beach City from evil. Gems are a kind of alien who take on the form of pastel-coloured women, to better assimilate with the rest of the world.

Rebecca Sugar, the creator, explains her colourful characters in a behind-the-scenes promo:

“I always dreamed of making a show that would have this mix of fantasy and reality. So, I wanted to make these fantasy characters that enjoy being with Steven as much, if not more than they enjoy being fantasy characters. The characters aren’t perfect and that’s what makes them so great.”

Steven’s family are known as the Crystal Gems, a group of rebels who fought against their government thousands of years ago and now live on earth. Steven’s mom, Rose Quartz was at the forefront of the fight, she did extremely terrible things and when she gave up her gem—-so Steven could be born—-she was left unable to form a body ever again. Steven, with only his dad and three alien women, must attempt to fix her messes and deal with the repercussions of his mother’s actions.

One of the main mechanics within the series is known as fusion, in which two or more Gems become a single being who is stronger and more powerful. The fused form takes on the physical, mental and emotional aspects of those who are part of the bond. As mentioned and discussed many times within this blog, fusions are a physical embodiment of different kinds of relationships. And for a show starring a primarily female cast, they do not shy away from using this mechanic to tell queer stories.

So explicitly that in 2018, the show had the first-ever lesbian wedding in a cartoon. Of course, representation wasn’t always as accepted in Steven Universe. Just two years before the big wedding, higher-ups at Cartoon Network told Rebecca Sugar, they not happy with the multiple queer relationships, so much so that they were ready to threaten cancellation.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she expressed:

“If this is going to cost me my show that’s fine because this is a huge injustice and I need to be able to represent myself and my team through this show and anything less would be unfair to my audience.”

Being LGBT herself, identifying as bisexual and non-binary, representation is important to her. For many queer people, especially grown-ups, they hope to see themselves represented in kids’ media today as they never had growing up. They want nothing more for children’s shows to say that being “different” or not fitting in with our heteronormative society is actually normal.

Within Steven Universe, you can find woman-loving-woman relationships, non-binary and intersex characters, woman-loving-non-binary relationships, asexual coded characters and basically every other letter in the acronym.

Rebecca Sugar even acted as the exciting force for LGBT inclusion within Adventure Time, originally working as a writer and storyboard artist before leaving to create her own show. She pushed for making the ex-romantic queer couple to be canonically part of the story and for it to not just coded into the dialogue.

A few years later, she returned to the show, multiple times, to compose over 20 songs that would air over the series 10-year-long run such as, “I’m Just Your Problem” which had lesbian subtext that would be confirmed later.

Some other iconic songs including “Fry Song“, “Remember You“, “Good Little Girl“, “Everything Stays” and even the finale song, “Time Adventure“.

Much like the show as a whole, there is something so special about the music she writes. In total, there were over 160 songs written for the franchise, some being short little tunes, no longer than a minute while others were full-blown musical numbers. No matter, all of them have their place within the show. Often when the character can’t express lines through speech, music is utilized to provide a more raw and poignant portrayal of their emotions.

Why Steven Universe is so widely loved is due to the music, as the overall story is not even close to perfect. Yet, everyone can agree on one thing, the music is unbelievably good. What is interesting is the different styles of melodies and backtracking used in the various songs, even more impressive is that every character has their own instrumental motif.

Steven’s motif is the ukelele as he is often seen playing the instrument himself, performing short little melodies and even writing the in-show version of the theme song. Additionally, Steven’s music uses a large amount of Chiptune synth, electronic music which is created using a programmable sound generator. Both instruments have a very childlike feeling to them, Chiptune especially as it is normally used in video game music like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one of the main musical inspirations for the show. As Steven is the lead, most of the music has Chiptune somewhere in the score and fun fact, the first song in the show, sung by Steven, “Cookie Cat” was actually written on an old Gameboy.

Amethyst is very loud and fun, her motif is electric drums which is extremely reflective of her character. As she can be angry from convincing herself that she is not good enough to happy and giggling from pranking Steven, her instrument can be used in so many ways as she is not a simple character. No matter what, for the few songs Amethyst has on her own (or in the score), her drums provide such an interesting emotional response to the situation.

Garnet is a fusion, so her motif is actually the combination of two instruments. Ruby is a drumbeat as she is a fiery and loud character, she is chaotic while Sapphire is her opposite. Sapphire is calm and collected, she has ice-related powers and is represented by Synth music. The characters together have a perfect unity, expressed by Garnet’s synth bass sounds, she is the equilibrium of two very contrasting characters. The music associated with Garnet, uses primarily the synth bass but Ruby and Sapphire’s individual instruments can be heard throughout her music. All three instruments are also heavily representative as Garnet’s main dancing style is Hip Hop which clashing with others’ softer dancing styles.

Despite, not being alive during the show, Rose Quartz still has her own musical motif as she plays a large part in Steven’s growth throughout the series. As well as being in many flashbacks, she is represented with strings, more specifically, the violin. Rose’s story is rather sad which quite is visible within her associated music, yet, she was also an extremely powerful character as she led the fight against the Homeworld government. Her strength can be heard with strong uplifts and swells in the music. She is never seen playing an instrument unlike the rest of the main characters but one person who plays hers is Pearl, a character Rose was possibly in love with.

For the complex and beautiful character, Pearl, her motif is classical and swing piano. She is visually represented as a ballerina for a large majority of the series, dressed in a leotard, a small skirt and ballet shoes. Apart from Garnet, she is one of the calmest characters in the show. She is a perfectionist and is knowledgeable on many topics. She has a dark past and her fair share of trauma, all of this is wrapped up in her music. From her traumatic past with Rose Quartz, the violin had been heard throughout her music, yet, when she finally dealt with everything, the violin was lost. Swapped out for a new instrument, a bass guitar which she learned how to play at the end of the series. Pearl is a character who has been through a lot and her music reflects it. As she grew, her music changed with her, becoming her own instead of something built off of Rose’s.

My personal favourite song is “It’s Over Isn’t It?” which is this heartwrenching and emotionally painful ballad sung by a broken woman. Pearl was in love with Steven’s mom. Yet, the feelings were not mutual or at least ended being reciprocated as Rose left her for Greg, Steven’s dad. It hurts because Rose didn’t just leave her, Rose Quartz also passed away. As the song goes:

That they didn’t really matter until you I was fine when you came And we fought like it was all some silly game Over her, who she’d choose After all those years, I never thought I’d lose … You won and she chose you and she loved you and she’s gone It’s over, isn’t it? Why can’t I move on? … Who am I now in this world without her? Petty and dull with the nerve to doubt her What does it matter? It’s already done Now I’ve got to be there for her son

Without Rose, Pearl has lost her place in the world as all she ever knew was her. Yet, now she is left to help raise a half-human baby and go on with her life. It makes it more difficult as this baby is the product of Rose and the man that she left Pearl for.

Pearl doesn’t want to hate Greg, she is angry at him but she doesn’t have hatred towards him. They may not be the best of pals at the start of the series but in the song called “Both of You“ has Steven, finally, begging for Greg and Pearl to just talk to each other.

Why don’t you talk to each other? Why don’t you talk to each other? Just give it a try Why don’t you talk about what happened? … You might not believe it but you got a lot in common, you really do You both love me and I love both of you … I know you both need it Someone who knows what you’re going through

An interesting thing about this song is that Steven is this to them, the person with Rose’s gem is singing to the two people who fought over Rose. It makes me wonder if this could be Rose speaking through Steven to her two loved ones. Whether it is or not, doesn’t really matter to the overall story but it is a fun idea to look at.

Overall, these songs are a literal representation of dealing with ones’ emotions in a healthy way, something that Steven Universe actively tries to teach their younger viewers about.

To say Steven Universe is a good show only for its music would be a false statement, it’s one of the strongest aspects but without the story or the characters, the music would fall flat and not have any of its passion.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 134

134

Keith took his time, Lance’s legs wrapped around his boyfriend as they took things slowly. Kisses eased away anxieties. Touches rewritten on his skin. It was slow, sometimes painfully slow, yet caged by Keith, Lance felt warm and safe. Soft words of love fell between pants and moans, falling to babble as they came. He loved hard, fast, and dirty sex with Keith, but his soul had needed this. All this love poured out between them with no need to rush. A few touches were bad, he’d panicked, but Keith would kiss the spots that’d make his heart stop with fear. Accepting that there broken bits that Lance really didn’t need to be afraid of because Keith didn’t see them as broke, just slightly dented around the edges.

They’d cuddled as they napped, waking once or twice, sleepily wanting more of each other. Being the drama queen he was, Lance cried from how happy and loved Keith made him feel. Keith getting teary too. It’d been nice until dawn, when his stomach rebelled.

*

Keith had let him know Shiro was coming over, Lance planning to nap with Kosmo. What he didn’t expect was to overhear the conversation he’d been dreading quite so soon. From years of experience he knew legal proceedings could take months, and he’d selfishly kind of hoped it would. He felt good... ish. He could still feel Keith on his skin. Smell his boyfriend in the air and hear his voice in his ear as they’d reconnected physically. He didn’t want to interrupt but things sounded as if they were getting heated. Shiro demanding to know when he was going to talk to Lance about Rome, Keith saying he didn’t want to go.

Wrapping himself up in his favourite blanket of Keith’s, a soft red on that screamed his boyfriend’s name yet had been brought for him when he’d been preheat, Lance took a few breaths before letting himself and Kosmo out of Keith’s bedroom. Things weren’t good. Shiro and Keith stood at opposite ends of the living area. Shiro stuttered to a stop when he saw Lance, mid-explanation that Curtis was going to Rome, as was Krolia. Seeing him, Keith moved over to him

“Babe? Are you okay? I thought you were resting”

He’d gone all out in Keith’s collar bone. Small hickeys and nip marks, with two very clear fang marks just above his boyfriend’s collar bone on the right. Biting more possessive than feeding. His ego wanted to show off that such an amazing man loved them. He was tired. He still battled with exhaustion, but seeing they had their own schedule around his injections, he’d been able to sleep as much as body seemed to need as a minimum to keep him up right

“I was, but I think we need to have a talk”

“It’s okay, Shiro...”

“I know you’re going to Rome”

Keith’s eyes widened as he shook his head, clearly sprung

“That’s...”

“I’ve been preparing myself for this. I think we should talk”

Keith looked so sad. Lance wished he could kiss away his sadness like his boyfriend had done last night

“I... but... you... need your rest. You’ve barely slept. All this vomiting isn’t good for you or the twins”

“I’m okay, I think we should talk. I don’t want you and Shiro fighting”

“We’re... it’s...”

Lance opened up his self made cape, wrapping it around Keith. He wasn’t okay but Keith needed to decide what he was going to do

“Come here, we’ll sit on the sofa and talk this out”

“I don’t want to go”

“I know, but we need to listen”

Keith wore a scowl on his face, Lance sitting between his legs with the blanket wrapped around the both of them. Beneath Keith was rubbing his stomach, the feeling calming. He secretly thought Keith was a big puppy, but belly rubs would make him more of a puppy than his boyfriend. Sitting on the coffee table, Shiro looked stressed. Lance wished he’d pushed for Shiro and Curtis to stay the night. Maybe then he’d have relaxed... or got laid. With neither brother seeming in a rush to talk now that he was in the middle of the two them, Lance supposed he was going to have to be the adult.

“Basically, you guys are headed back to Rome and you want Keith to come with you, but Keith wants to stay here. Is that right?”

Keith huffed

“I don’t see why I have to go when I’ve already submitted my report”

Shiro groaning at his brother

“You know that’s not always enough. They want a statement of that day”

“Lotor’s supposed to be covering it up!”

“We have conflicting reports. Lance needs to come in for recorded questioning. I know he gave a statement but we need to start again from the start. Kolivan will be questioning him”

“He’s not ready!”

“If I could avoid it, I would. Curtis is still shaken too. It’s not like I don’t understand”

“Curtis isn’t pregnant!”

“Enough!”

These two were likely to give him a headache. Both brothers shut up

“Okay. Keith, I know about Rome. I already worked out this would happen. Coran’s offered me protective custody. I can’t go to Rome. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready for that. A pregnant vampire in the Vatican sound really kind of insulting to the faith there. Shiro, I’ll talk to Kolivan. I know what giving evidence is like... Babe, I know you want the very best for me, but... I think you need to go to Rome”

The effect was immediately. Keith climbing out from behind him over the back of the sofa

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Babe...”

“No. I’ve been trying to figure out how to stay and you want me to go?!”

Lance flinched. Cranky Keith was scary. Keith made it sound like he was trying to throw aside his feelings, like last night seemed to mean nothing to Lance. His heart hurt.

Lance’s voice wobbled. It was easier to stare at the blanket fisted up in his hands than look at Shiro or Keith

“It’s not that... I... I don’t trust a lot of people. With this... it’s more than me. I killed Sendak and I lost control. But what happens now? Do Honerva and Zarkon come after us? What happens with Lotor? And with his Generals? What happens with Curtis and his curse? Will Krolia be disciplined for her actions? I know James and them saw the scene. I overheard them talking about how I’d killed. They sounded... delighted. Lotor... he did try to protect me. Allura would have told us if he was like Sendak inside, but he... he’s never had friends. Just people he was told he was superior to his whole life... of course... of course I want you here... but it’s not safe... I think... I think I should let Coran hide me. While you’re gone... it... it can’t take more than few weeks to straighten everything up, right? And you... you’ll be home for Christmas? I... don’t... I don’t want this coming back. I don’t want to raise our twins with the constant need to look over our shoulders... I want this to be done. I want to know what... I want to know what’s happening”

“And I can stay here. Shiro can keep me informed”

Shiro was great at long unexplained absences. No offence to Shiro, but he could keep a secret if he had to or he thought it best to protect Keith

“Like how he kept you informed when he was gone for that month? You worried so much for him. You need answers. You need closure”

“No. What I need is to be with you”

Keith was making this so hard. Lance wanted to be the strong cool adult... and was failing miserably

“Babe, please... please. I love you. But this is so big and scary that I’m afraid simply being in Platt will result in something happening. I’m not saying this because I don’t think you can protect me or because I love you any less. If the rumour gets out that I’m gone, then things in the city might start quieting down. Sendak’s goons won’t be hunting for me here if they know I’m gone. So it doesn’t have to be for long. It doesn’t even have to be for the full time of all this stuff happening in Rome. If you go, then you can find out what’s happening. You can explain it to me and I can understand. I think... you should talk with Krolia and Coran”

“So just like that you’re going?”

Lance snapped. He felt shitty enough trying to appeal to Keith’s rational side. Standing up, he threw the blanket at his boyfriend

“It’s not “Just like that!” None of this is “Just like that!” You keep acting like you think I want you gone! How could I ever want you gone?! I want him gone! I want Sendak out our fucking lives! I want to go home! I want my cow and my cat! I want my life back! I thought this was going to happen and I tried to tell myself we’d have more time! This isn’t fucking easy! I woke up feeling so good about last night, and now I feel like it meant nothing because you won’t listen! I know you don’t want to go. I know it, but I can’t! I’m selfish and cowardly. I’m klutzy and stupid and I couldn’t come up with a good idea to save us all that didn’t make me turn into a monster! My only thoughts were keeping Curtis safe and getting back to you! I want it over, Keith. I want to... I want to exist knowing there’s no one coming to kill me or our babies... I don’t want you to go... but I can’t go with you...”

Shiro gathered him up against him. Lance sinking into the hunter’s hold as he cried. He was pissed at Keith, but madder at himself for being too scared to go to Rome and support their friends. Coming around the sofa, Keith placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder, Lance pushing him away, Keith looking hurt as Lance sobbed out

“Don’t! Don’t touch me if you think it’s that fucking easy to leave you alone”

“I don’t want to leave you...”

“I don’t want to live without answers about what comes next... I don’t want to keep falling harder in love with our twins if they take them from in the end”

He didn’t care if he wasn’t making sense.

“Lance, nothing’s been decided. I can tell you right now none of us will let anything happen to you or to the twins. There would have been just as many consequences to us killing Sendak as you. Matt and Rieva are coming with us, but they’re going as character witnesses. This incident left us all shaken. And we’re not rushing to decisions. You’re right. We do need to talk to Coran and with Kolivan. This win came at a price and all we can do is weather things out. I know you’re frustrated and scared. You’re allowed to feel what you’re feeling. I’m sorry you heard us fighting”

“I’m sorry... I just... hate fighting. I don’t want to lose anyone else”

Keith cuddled into him, his boyfriend resting his face against Lance’s hair

“I’m sorry. After last night I thought maybe it was saying your goodbyes”

“I don’t want to say goodbye...”

“And I don’t want to leave you. I’ve only just got you back”

“I know... I wanted more time too...”

Lance went wobbly at the knees. Both brothers catching him. Shiro helping Keith lift him up, instead of being normal people and letting him sit back down on the sofa. The idiots fussing

“Has he had much blood this morning?”

“A bit. And some last night”

“Do you want to bring him back to VOLTRON? He can have his shot and you guys can come back here and rest”

“Yeah. I’m still worried he’s throwing up too much”

“He is awake you know”

Lance grumped at the pair of them. Idiots. Great big idiots. He was simply tired and needed to go back to bed where it smelt of Keith. Keith was good about the injections. Normally he’d “distract” him with kisses before stabbing him. Coran preferred to do it himself so he could do that concerned uncle thing. He was kind of tired of it. He wondered if he could get Coran to give him an ultrasound so Keith would have fresh memories of seeing their twins before he left

“I never said you weren’t, babe. Do you want to go now? Or do you want to go back to bed?”

“Now. Then it’s out the way and we can relax for the rest of the day”

“Mmm. That sounds good. I think there’s a special on Big Foot tonight. Maybe we could order some Italian and have a date night?”

“I’d really like that”

He was becoming a lazy vampire. Sleeping, eating, cuddles... He felt like he was getting his way too much, but Keith had pointed out that he did try to be considerate of Keith when it came to what they watched. Horror movies were no go for now, but he’d also steered clear of romcoms. Every night kind of felt like date night when they were alone together. He wanted to make memories of Keith being okay and happy... now he’d have to try and make as many as he could before Keith left.

[jimtheviking]

So now that it's been a while since the ST ended, I'm gonna talk about why, of all three movies, the only one that worked for me was TLJ, and why The Mandalorian, Rogue One, Rebels, and Clone Wars are the best bit of New EU out there.

Okay so, first off, the basic thesis of this is that, when Star Wars works, has always been a story about one thing, and one thing only: Hope. And when it hasn't worked, it's been about how Cool and Badass and Edgy and Dark things can be in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

So, let's start with the beginning, shall we?

The Force Awakens is a bad remake of A New Hope. And I don't say that just because JJ Abrams can't write or direct for shit (he can't, btw, but I'll get into that later.) I say that because, well, it's true. It's almost a shot-for-shot remake of ANH, except that unlike ANH, there is no sense of hope in the entire movie. Rey, Finn, and Poe are thrown into a Terrible Situation and they never once have any display of fear or doubt. They're confident and plucky and ready to win the day. At every point, even their lowest, they're plucky and scrappy and fighty and are never allowed to feel anything. And that means they can't hope for better things, they can't fight for a better world, because to their characters the better world is already there. It's the world they're in, because they can get what they want through Pluck and Scrappiness and Fighting Spirit, and never have to worry that it won't be enough.

Don't get me wrong, TFA is, of the two JJ films, better by a mile. Mostly because it has a coherent plotline. But it's still not good. Even when Han is killed, there is no chance to mourn him. There is no "I just can't believe he's gone" moment. There's a duel and a celebration. Leia feels his death and that could have been interesting to explore, but nothing gets done with Rey or Finn. Rey attaches to Han as a father figure, but it was Finn whose character was hamstrung most by Han's death. Finn should have been mentored in the ways of Roguish War Heroing by Han, just as Luke would mentor Rey in Jedi-ing, and Leia mentored Poe in Leader-ing. That is how the new Trio was shaping up to relate to the Original Trio, and should have gone that way. But no, JJ had to kill Han off for absolutely no purpose.

And there was no purpose to Han's death. I will get to that in a minute.

When Obi-Wan died, he died knowing he was buying the Trio time and that his sacrifice would help the Rebellion destroy the Death Star and ultimately prevent future Alderaans from ever happening again (and it did!) Obi-Wan dies in A New Hope because he knows that, like Leia said, he was her only hope. The only hope for the Rebellion. For the Galaxy. And, right after Scarif, he was the only hope she had. But now? On the Death Star? Surrounded by Storm Troopers, facing down his old padawan, his brother, his best friend? Now there is A New Hope (see what they did there?) and it's in Luke and Han and Leia and he doesn't die in vain. He sacrifices himself and that lets hope live on.

When Han died, it was, thematically, the exact opposite of Obi-Wan's death. Because Han wasn't expecting to die. Han's whole walking to meet Ben thing was him expressing hope - hope that his son would return to him, that there was good left in him - and then he was killed. Hope gets you killed in this movie, and it doesn't help anyone do anything. It doesn't save uncounted billions. It doesn't stop an evil Empire from terrorising the Galaxy. It doesn't inspire other people. It just gets you a lightsaber to the belly and kicked into an abyss. Han's death served no purpose except to show that Ben was evil. As if massacring untold hundreds of civilians to find the location of Luke wasn't indication enough. We knew Ben was evil. It was the entire point of the character. Killing Han was just to reinforce that hope is foolish.

Luke, as well, was terribly served in TFA. Luke Skywalker, who triumphed over evil despite hovering so close to the edge of it time and again, who does the right thing all the time, who every chance he gets tries to help and save people? That Luke Skywalker? He just fucked off to who knows where. Gone. Entirely. No explanation. Luke, who constantly failed in his Jedi training, but never gave up hope that he could become a Jedi, like his father before him. Luke, who knew he wasn't ready to confront Vader on Bespin but hoped he could get there soon enough to save his friends. Luke, who knew that there was no way he would be leaving Jabba's palace without a fight but still had hope that the Hutt could be negotiated with. He just...gives up. No explanation or reason given. Just...goes.

And that is the most wildly, painfully out of character moment in the entire ST for me. Because Luke was always Hope in the OT, and in the Filoni shows, and having him become Hopeless and leave? An absolute affront to the character.

But I digress.

I won't get into what TLJ did right (almost everything re: Luke, Rey, Leia, and Poe, and that throne room fight especially) and wrong (the handling of Finn, Space Monaco) but suffice it to say that TLJ at least understood that Hope was what made Star Wars good. Because Luke's sacrifice at the end of it was done just like Obi-Wan's. Luke did what he did, knowing he would die, but also knowing that it would buy time for Leia to escape. So long as Rey could get to her in time. He had Hope in Rey, and he had Hope in his own actions, and that Hope was rewarded. Luke dies, and dies a hero, dies giving Hope to the Resistance, dies a meaningful death for a hero to die.

And then we get to TRoS.

Oh god TRoS.

So, you know how I said JJ can't write or direct for shit? Here's a great example. Because we had Rey, a Jedi now like Luke had been, and ready to discover what being a Jedi means to her, and how she fits in the wider, larger Galaxy as a nobody, as a regular person who somehow became Greater than she started. As someone who isn't from a line of Force Users or other Super Special People becoming a hero and finding her place. Rey, who began her story on a desert planet, hoping desperately to be a part of some bigger dynasty, not having any confidence in herself being Rey from Nowhere, finds out she IS Rey from Nowhere, Daughter of Nobody, but becomes a Jedi, a Protector of the Galaxy, an important person in her own right, the Saviour of the Resistance. And then we find out she's the granddaughter of one of the most powerful Force users ever. And she makes herself a part of the Super Special Force User Dynasty. Completely destroying any character growth from the previous movie, because it's no longer Rey succeeding on her own, it's Rey being a Dynastic Heir.

Rey begins on a desert planet, digging things out of the sand, and ends on a desert planet, burying things in the sand. Rey begins not knowing who she really is and desperately wanting to, and ends up finding out, rejecting it, and claiming some other random legacy. Rey is no longer Rey from Jakku, she's Rey Palpatine and she wants to be Rey Skywalker so she just...claims it. There was a chance for Rey to be a beacon of Hope for other people who aren't from Force user lineages. But no, she's the child of a clone of the Emperor and decides she's a Skywalker because of an unexplained phenomenon that linked her to Ben. So without the Super Special Lineage, what hope does anyone have of changing the world for the better? None.

And, back to character deaths, Leia and Ben dying were two of the most hopeless scenes in all Star Wars. Entirely without hope. Utterly.

Why?

Well, let's start with Leia. Apparently, in the novelizations, she'd been forcing herself to stay alive to run the Resistance because no-one else could (despite like, a massive increase in operations staff, and, you know, Poe having been Leia's protogée in her Leadership Crash Course) and had been hearing Luke tell her it's okay to just let go and become one with the Force (what??) And so when she does decide to do that, it's when she transfers her life-force to Ben, to redeem him (maybe? At that point Ben hadn't had his weird Harrison Ford dressed up in Han Solo's costume hallucination, and it's not really clear why she's doing this in the film) and thus have him the Galaxy. Okay, that could work, but then Ben dies. And then dies again. Twice. (Though, really, only once, because apparently he got caught on a rock and broke his ribs and twisted his ankle when he fell in the pit, but you only learn that in the novelization. But I digress.)

So Leia's sacrifice to redeem her son is ultimately futile, because Rey managed to kill Palps on her own anyway, with the help of all the Jedi in the Force, and Ben was mostly dead. Then Rey dies from the exertion of it all, and that would be a shitty enough ending, bleak and hopeless - the only way good triumphs is by destroying itself - but then Ben comes back! And saves Rey using the healing powers Obi-Wan Kenobi used on Luke in A New Hope and Rey used earlier in the movie! Leia's sacrifice was meaningful! It redeemed Ben, who saved someone's life!

And then he dies.

Which makes Leia's death pointless again. Because she used the last of her life force to make her son Good, and then he just...dies.

And Ben's death is Hopeless in and of itself too. I'm not a Reylo fan - that dynamic just does not do it for me, generally, though there are some few well-written execptions - but how do you begin to say "The Power of Love can triumph over everything, even death!" and then kill off the person who did that? Like...that just says that Love and Sacrifice for others is pointless. That Hope is pointless. Because with Ben dying, Leia's sacrifice means nothing, and his own death means nothing because Dying Saving Someone You Love is just Suicide with Extra Steps if there's no Hope of Survival to it. The tragedy happens when a character dies hoping they can still make it back to the person they love. Ben, on the other hand, just...dies. The movie tells us that he's not worth surviving this, but Rey is. And so what, exactly, was the point of either Leia's sacrifice or Hope for her son?

Now let's get to the Filoni shows.

Clone Wars was a tragedy. Clone Wars, from the very beginning, was going to end badly for everyone involved. And it did. But even up to the end, they held out Hope that it wouldn't. And even after it happened, the survivors still Hoped that they could bring a return to Good. Obi-Wan sees literally everyone he loves die in front of him. Whether it's Satine or his fellow Jedi or Anakin, they all die. And yet he continues to Hope that the Light Side will prevail. Ahsoka loses everything and leaves the Order, but she still has Hope that she can make the Galaxy a better place. Rex loses his entire family, but Hopes that there are others out there who, like him, were able to avoid Order 66.

Rebels shows us that Ahsoka and Rex's Hope wasn't misplaced. That there was still a chance for them to do Good and for the Galaxy to resist the Empire. For Rex to find other Clones. For Ahsoka to find a purpose again. The crew of the Ghost hoped that what they would do would bring about a positive change. Kanan sacrificed himself knowing that Ezra, Hera, and Sabine would be able to help the Rebellion. Like Obi-Wan, he knew that he was not the only Hope - that Ezra and Ahsoka and Obi-Wan would continue on the path of the Jedi, even if the latter wouldn't join the Rebels, and that Hera's leadership ability and Sabine's connection to Clan Wren would help the Rebellion in coming battles. He died hoping that there was a greater good being served with his sacrifice, and it wasn't that he wanted to die - him looking back to Hera was all the proof that was needed - but that the survival of Hope was important.

Rogue One is pretty self-explanatory. Rebellions are built on hope. What did they send us? Hope. Always, every time, when it comes to it, Hope for the better is what people sacrifice themselves for. They don't do it because they don't feel like their lives are worth it. They do it because if they didn't, then Hope would die instead. And Hope is what makes life possible.

The Mandalorian keeps up this trend, too. Din was doing his thing, collecting bounties and not caring about anyone or anything but The Way until he meets the Child. And at that point, he feels something, a greater purpose, and when he's given his task by the Armourer, he accepts it. At first, he wants to complete a Quest, but as time goes on, he bonds with the Child and, once he realizes that, everything from that point forward is Din Djarin, the Mandalorian, a faceless and ruthless hunter, hoping that he can make this child's life better in some measurable way. When Din finds a settlement that's in trouble, he could just get what he comes for, but he knows that the people are suffering and you can't ignore that he has the Hope that the Galaxy will, one day, be a better place, and he can make it a bit better by doing what he does. So he does it. And keeps doing it. Because the people are hoping for salvation and, even if he's not what they want, he can at least fake it well enough that they don't realize it.

So yeah.

Hope is what good Star Wars media is about. It's what it's always been about. And when it's ignored, we get TFA and TRoS.

[loopy777]

Return of the Jedi is often looked upon as the weakest of the original trilogy. If you share that opinion, what do you think would have improved it? Aside from the Ewok thing, I think they could have gone with a different climax that doesn’t involve a second Death Star (maybe an old timey ship-to-ship style battle with the Executor but in space?)

Yeah, having another Death Star is definitely a bit tired. I appreciate that it came with a bunch of different visuals thanks to its half-finished nature, destroying it didn't involve another trench run, and it allowed for the biggest and most technically accomplished space action of the entire series (they did that all with real models and compositing! CGI may look nice, but it's easy), but having another super-weapon -- never mind the exact same thing as the first movie -- feels lazy.

In the early drafts, the creative team had been toying with something involving the Imperial Capital, but the action never really went beyond Death Star-esque space stations and a forest moon. I think something could have been done with the capital planet itself, but that would have required more budget than George Lucas wanted to spend, and his vision possibly wasn't even technically possible at the time.

Also, I do agree that that Ewoks are perhaps a little too kid-friendly. I think the theme works, with the 'primitives' defeating the more technological Empire, and I even think it was implemented in a believable manner. But the whole 'teddy bear picnic' look of it (as Carrie Fisher called it) was probably too much for the aging primary audience, never mind the adult fans, and there didn't need to be so much silliness and comedy with them. It's the same thing that sunk Jar-Jar and the Gungans in Phantom Menace- cute bumbling critters are fine, but then the audience isn't really going to warm to them winning a war. I don't mean that the fight needs to be all gritty and violent, but leaving the slapstick to just Wicket and letting the other Ewoks looks like experienced guerillas would have probably accomplished a lot in endearing the idea to the audience.

More than the teddy bears, though, I think the look of Endor's moon itself doesn't meet Star Wars standards. It's just a forest, the same thing you can see in any low-budget fantasy movie. Sure, there are a few more redwoods in RotJ than in LotR Knockoff #47, but it's still a step down from what came before. Tatooine was probably the most boring-looking planet before that, in terms of environment, but the sci-fi civilization built on the desert made it interesting. Endor's moon is just a forest and the Ewok treehouses. There's no wow-factor, especially after ESB upped the game from the first movie.

Overall, though, I think the main problem with RotJ is one that isn't really visible on the screen. It's the primary culprit behind the lack of enthusiasm people feel for the movie, IMO.

I'm talking, of course, about the pacing.

The first part of the movie, the rescue of Han from Jabba, feels like a stand-alone adventure more appropriate to an episode of a TV series. It has nothing to do with the conflict with the Empire, and has this slow rollout of the cast that definitely feels like it's reintroducing the audience to them, an odd choice for the last movie in a trilogy. Nothing is accomplished by it except reestablishing the status quo, getting the whole cast ready to return to the real story. It's the most visually impressive location in the movie, with the rancor and all the alien costumes, but in the end Luke just fights his way through it. Throwing Luke and company into something a bit more involved, like if Jabba was meeting with another crime lord and Luke played them off against each other or something, would be a bit more engaging. But that would still leave this section of the movie feeling separate from everything else. I'm not sure how to solve that, as it is a bit of business leftover from ESB that has to be tided up in some way, and it's a good example of why playing things by ear can be really hard even for people who are good at it.

The next major problem with the pacing comes on Endor's moon, when Luke and company spend so much time meeting the Ewoks. I don't think it's a long time in actual count of minutes, but it's a slow bit that's probably more drawn out than it needs to be. The original Star Wars was a location-hopping adventure with wonderfully-paced forward momentum buoyed by some fun moments of natural downtime. ESB was a chase sequence spiced up with the ramping romance between Han and Leia, with Luke's powering up and exploration of the Force inter-spaced, culminating in the heroes suffering major dramatic defeats. But RotJ starts with a side-quest, then Luke gets the truth about Vader in a good scene that's still just people sitting around and talking, and after a speeder bike chase (that again is probably too long) the heroes take their time becoming friends with Ewoks in a forest. Star Wars was exhilarating before this, and now it's laboring to the finish line while dithering to clean up its own subplots.

(Note: I do NOT advocate avoiding the due diligence of cleaning up subplots in order to try to maintain a propulsive plot, and the final movie certainly isn't the place to be throwing new subplots in. That's how you get Rise Of Skywalker, and no one wants that.)

When the big finale starts, with Luke confronting Vader and then the Battle of Endor kicking off, the pacing finally gets back on track, IMO. George Lucas knows how to edit together an action sequence, if nothing else, and knows when to cut back to the slower but more emotionally meaty Luke-stuff with the Emperor.

However, I do think the parts with Han and Leia can come across as a little rote, since their action isn't really tied to any story or character arc for them. It's functional enough with them both leading the rebellion, but there's nothing particularly dramatic about it for them, and they're just busting one small bunker, compared to Lando taking on the big examples of Imperial might, the Death Star and the Executor Super Star Destroyer. Han and Leia don't even get to fight one of the big walkers, they just fight the smaller chicken-walkers! And I think Lando's role does feel more like part of his character arc, with him being a respectable leader for the good guys in a nice uniform, and using his cleverness to keep the fleet alive long enough to assault the Death Star.

But, strangely, the moment in the whole Endor battle that feels the most like a culmination is when the Executor Super Star Destroyer is destroyed, and none of the main characters are even involved in that! Sure, blowing up another Death Star is fine, but we've already done it. No one has blown up a Super Star Destroyer before, and that got built up through the whole previous movie.

Fortunately, everything about Luke's big climax with Vader and the Emperor is functionally perfect, and that's the part that people were most interested in, so I don't think that RotJ really stumbles at the end. It succeeds and does deliver a lot of what people had come to like about Star Wars. It just doesn't do it as intensely or smoothly as the previous efforts, so it feels weaker.

So if I were to try to create a 'stronger' RotJ, I'd probably shave the Han Rescue down to a quick action-packed prologue, do the Vader=Father explanation for Luke as a mix of Obi-Wan's explanation with a trippy Force Vision Quest with some interesting visuals, then have the Rebellion assault the Imperial capital in a mix of space and ground battle. I'd get rid of the whole concept of the forest setting and the spear-wielding primitives, since that's the same metaphor as the Empire and Rebellion, anyway. I'd also make the Rebellion fleet smaller and more desperate, connecting it clearly to the losses from the previous movie, and the attack on the capital is some kind of desperate last ploy, motivated by some kind of time limit. Luke still confronts Vader and the Emperor alone. For Han and Leia, I wonder if -- instead of simply having them fight -- they could maybe rally some downtrodden local citizenry to help take down or turn off some big Imperial Plot Thingy, giving them a chance to show leadership and unite the Rebellion with the people it's been fighting for, or something like that. Han could even tell the locals about the Force, something they've never heard of, living on the capital. And Leia gives them the chance at freedom.

Hm, perhaps the first assault against the Imperial Palace fails at first, with a bunch of Rebels dying but Leia and Han escaping, leaving Lando and company stranded in space with the baddies? Then Leia and Han need to find an alternate way to accomplish the goal, giving the 'meet the locals' sequence a bit more intensity and a time limit, but still serving as a bit of downtime between actiony bits. Or the final half of the movie could be all action, with the relative downtime being Luke's part with the Emperor and Vader in the palace. (This is the kind of thing decided in the editing room.) Then the Rebel assault can be continuous, and about to lose when Han and Leia show up with reinforcements. Movie audiences love that. They turn off the Imperial Plot Thingy. Then Lando lands the decisive blow on the Executor, which crashes into the Imperial Palace just after Luke escapes in the wake of Vader's death.

Anyway, that's all off the top of my head. But you see where I'm going with this. Keep it moving, keep it intense, keep it new and interesting, don't get too hung up on the Vietnam War metaphor that inspired certain themes, and try to put more characters arcs into things so that Harrison Ford doesn't spend the next 30 years talking about how much he wanted his character to die.

Maybe we can have a village of Ewoks living in the capital sewers, along with other Downtroddens. There's no reason not to have any teddy bears.

Star Wars is supposed to be fun, too. And a little silly.