#george lucas is a really really bad writer

[david-talks-sw]

I got a good feeling about "The Acolyte"

Not even kidding. Like, I've spoken before about why I'm wary of it.

George Lucas' Star Wars is something that intentionally has black and white morality, rather than shades of gray. Those movies are meant for kids and projecting a "gray" morality onto them then proclaiming it was George's vision all along is doing so in bad faith.

The narrative of the Prequels doesn't frame the Prequel Jedi in as negative a light as Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, etc etc do.

See here for more details, but bottom line: yeah, a show that has a darksider as the underdog is bound to demonize the Jedi (who are the actual underdogs in the Prequels), and obviously that rubs me the wrong way.

BUT.

The trailer looks fucking cool. It really really does.

And more importantly? I've done some research... and Leslye Headland is ticking a lot of good boxes, in my book.

1. The Acolyte won't be a 10-hour movie.

I've criticized Disney Plus shows before, explaining that a big source for most of their issues is that these series are being structured as "long movies" rather than, y'know, actual shows.

But in this interview with Collider, Headland addresses that: it'll be a series. Not a long movie that you need to watch across four weeks.

Thank God. You have no idea how much that comforts me. Finally a showrunner who's, y'know, actually running a show.

And this goes hand in hand with what she told IGN, here, about how she's going about building suspense.

Yes! Exactly! That's how it's supposed to be!

Like, compare this to Baylan Skoll's storyline in Ahsoka.

In no possible way was that emotionally-fulfilling. For 8 episodes we had no idea what he was after, and the season ended where we still don't know. What does he want? What is he after? Your guess is as good as mine, it's something Mortis-related.

So yeah. Maybe getting the Emmy-nominated trained screenwriter on board to run this was a good idea.

2. Maybe the Jedi will not be as demonized as I originally thought.

Don't get me wrong. 80% of what she says about the Jedi makes me cringe. It's the typical fan's interpretation and y'all know I disagree with that interpretation.

It's painful to see her refer to the Jedi as an institution (not how the Prequels' narrative frames them) and to see her frame "Balance" in the "oh there's so many of them and just two Sith, that means the Force is out of balance" meaning... but at least she acknowledges the Jedi are a benevolent institution.

They're not an "elitist force hiding in their ivory tower" as others have described the Jedi.

Moreover, there'll be a variety of Jedi POVs, many personalities.

Yord Fandar, is described as a strictly by-the-book Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower.

The question now becomes: will the narrative frame him as "your typical Jedi" or is it just this one guy? I'm hoping it's the latter.

I also like how her reasoning goes re: Jedi drawing their lightsabers.

Which explains the hand-to-hand combat seen in the trailer.

This teenager is coming at Carrie-Ann Moss with a dagger, of course the Jedi won't draw her saber.

3. She's a fan of Star Wars... but a screenwriter first.

You can tell in the interviews she's a fan. She's using words like "BBY" and "EU" casually. In the above-linked interviews she's bringing up the Nightsisters, Timothy Zahn, The Clone Wars, she mentions she has a tattoo of Ralph McQuarrie's concept art of Leia, the High Republic books, etc.

She's done her homework. She's a fan.

But the vibe I'm getting from these interviews is that she's weaving in these various lore-elements in a more organic way, rather than in the "fan-servicey" way Dave Filoni has been doing in his shows.

The references and Easter Eggs will be there, but the narrative won't bend over itself just so you can get it. Crafting a good story comes first, and Andor is a beautiful illustration of why this is true.

Which is why I was never bothered about one of the writers never having watched Star Wars before getting the job. You need those fresh eyes when you're tackling something of this scale.

That makes sense to me. Maybe it's because of my own screenwriting experience, but yeah. That out-of-the box perspective is precious.

And like, obviously, that writer watched the films eventually, but for some reason everyone who bitched about Headland omitted that detail and opted for a more bad faith interpretation.

Hm. Wonder why.

Maybe it's the same reason that months ago this clipped audio circulated socials without context, in which she debates whether Star Wars only came from George Lucas and only Lucas is the key.

The FULL context of that interview reveals that she's actually:

debating the "autheur director" myth and positing that it was achieved by a collective of excellent filmmakers and craftspeople that George was skilled and smart enough to recruit...

the studios now think it's a simple as hiring one guy and throwing money at him, because they have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. See Napoleon (2023) for example.

Yes, she also does a jab to the Prequels, which speaks to the generation of fans she's a part of... but overall she's giving Lucas props whilst also stating an ideological difference, that's it!

George is a proponent of the "autheur" theory, Leslye isn't.

However, guess what, in like half the talks George gave post-selling Star Wars? He's giving shoutouts to everyone who helped make the first film, even remembering their names.

So I'm not even sure he'd vehemently disagree with Leslye, in fact they'd prolly have a conversation about it and immediately bitch about how stupid studio executives are :D

But that's not as incendiary, is it? Again, the more I do the research, the more it feels like the reason most of these influencers are hating on her is purely sexist.

I mean, on IGN she's even acknowledging that she does plan on taking stock of fan reactions for Season 2.

It's not a guarantee that she'll incorporate the feedback, but at least that's more consideration than, say, JJ Abrams or Rian Johnson gave the fandom.

She's even bringing the moral ambiguity that the Gray Jedi-loving edge-lords love so much.

"No, she's a woke feminist! Anything she does is evil! Eww, girls!"

🙄

Needless to say... I'm gonna give it a shot.

I think it's gonna be a good show, I think it's gonna be a solid story.

I'm crossing my fingers that they won't as biased against the Jedi as it seems they'll be. Even if they are... if it's still an enjoyable experience, I'll gloss over it.

As @gffa states in this post:

Worst case? It's not a story from George. I can dismiss it from my headcanon without a moment's hesitation :D

[gffa]

Hi Lumi. This year I’ve watched The Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, and Tales of the Jedi and I’m watching Ahsoka as episodes are released. But I feel like I’m missing some context as to why people are wary of Filoni. What things should I know so I’m caught up, so to speak, in the fandom discussions?

Hi! That's a lot of Star Wars to watch in a year, I hope you're having fun with it all! And I will gently remind everyone that Filoni is not the be-all-end-all of Star Wars creators--Henry Gilroy was there for TCW and Rebels, too. George Lucas was holding writers' meetings years after the show started (at least into 2010!). The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are far more Jon Favreau's shows. The Bad Batch is Brad Rau and Jennifer Corbett. Resistance was developed by him, but was run by other producers. It's just that Filoni tends to get the most camera time and has become the face of Star Wars creators. That said, the issue with Filoni is kind of two-pronged, though, they overlap. 1. He's done a lot of interviews where he's said a lot of anti-Jedi things that have drifted from reasonable critiques in the beginning to eventually "Qui-Gon Jinn was the only true Jedi. [blatantly wrong citations]" This has put a lot of people off him as a creator, because we love the Jedi Order that Lucas talks about and established, which Filoni has actively contradicted over the years, despite being promoted as someone who follows Lucas' themes. And it's hard not to be aware of his interviews when watching his shows and it's hard to enjoy shows that do your faves dirty, you know? 2. His writing has become weaker over the years for a lot of us--Rebels is a show most of us love and found to be incredible. Many of us really love The Clone Wars, which he was heavily involved in/was probably the central voice after Lucas started phasing out. But his biggest story told over the course of those series--basically, the story of Mandalore's history and fall to the Empire--has been extremely thin for a lot of us. And a lot of us get frustrated at his inability to be objective when it comes to Ahsoka's character, that we love her as a character very much, but it hasn't felt like Filoni really knows what to do with her character arc and yet almost everything he writes is centered around her. His final season of The Clone Wars? Gave her the walkabout arc and the Siege of Mandalore arc, both of which often did not hold up well under scrutiny. His episode of The Book of Boba Fett? I actually really loved it, but it absolutely just stopped the pacing of that show to focus a lot on her. More on Luke, but he couldn't resist putting her in there, either. Tales of the Jedi was half devoted to Ahsoka and so much of it wasn't even about her time as a Jedi! We're frustrated because he doesn't set things up well anymore--Morgan Elsbeth is a Nightsister?? Why wasn't that established in The Mandalorian instead of pulling out randomly in Ahsoka? Why does Sabine Wren suddenly so badly want Jedi training, when they barely even had a conversation in Rebels?? There's a lot of good that Filoni has given to Star Wars, I think he genuinely cares about the Force and what it means--he's very consistent on how it's not easy and how it takes discipline and control, that he has been consistent on how anger and fear are paths to the dark side, even his episode of TBOBF had Ahsoka saying, yeah, attachment is a path to the dark side, because the Jedi mean "attachment" in a more Buddhist-aligned way. A lot of his writing for the character of Ahsoka is actually pretty good, like I've been enjoying her being a prickly, traumatized hot mess in the show! It's just that I kind of hate all the interviews he gives and I think he's a lot less objective than a lot of fans and media coverage that would hold him up as a perfect writer/interviewee about all things Star Wars, and it all comes together to make him kind of a hot-button topic.

So, a lot of people LOVE Filoni's work, a lot of people are frustrated by it, a lot of people are casually fine about it, a lot of people HATE Filoni's work and it can be a fun mix of any of the above or even other issues that come up. (And that's all fine! I have my views on Filoni's work, but it's fine if others hate it more than I do or love it more than I do, there's room for us all, all of it is valid.)

But I think if you want to understand some of the roots of this corner of fandom's frustration, two (admittedly long as heck) homework assignment reads would be:

- My own rebuttal to Dave's behind the scenes Mandalorian Gallery talk (this is jokingly referred to as "Davegate" because I refused to take it too seriously) - @david-talks-sw's collection of comparisons between Lucas' commentary on the Jedi and Filoni's commentary on the Jedi

This response itself is more focused on laying out the problems a lot of people have with Filoni's writing, but also honestly I still have my giant collection of Jedi source material citations that quotes his commentary, I still bring up Filoni's quotes in current meta a lot, I still talk positively about the things I enjoy from his shows, so overall there's equal amounts of both praise and criticism here. So, as short as I can make it (which isn't very, shut up, I know! XD), that's basically what people mean when they say they're wary of Filoni.

[kcrabb88]

ok I'll bite. what are your thoughts on stewjoni biology?

Been waiting for a time when my frustration at the use of this trope (more than the existence of the trope) built up enough to be brave enough to answer. The usual disclaimer applies: people can write what they want. I'm not an anti. This is not a moral debate. People can have whatever kinks they want in fic. It's just my observations on how I'm seeing queer characters written in Star Wars fandom and how gender roles is being put into things based on what parts people have. Which, I thought we were not doing that anymore?

For the uninitiated, Stewjoni biology is a fanon concept where Obi-Wan is dual sex (he has a penis and a vagina and associated internal workings). The concept on it's own is fine. It's Star Wars! There is probably all kinds of biology and coming up with something for a planet with like, zero lore cause it was made up on the fly by George Lucas is creative! However. It's the execution and sameness of this concept that has started to uh, get under my skin.

So, I have a lot of thoughts on this, and they are two-fold and related. I think, likely without meaning to do so consciously, people are starting to assign personality traits to certain genitalia, and, in larger ways (due to other trends in Star Wars fandom) are re-inventing gender roles under the guise of queerness (which is, you know, kind of the opposite of the point of queerness!) Most fics I see with this concept (I said most, not all) simply ... have it there. There's not really an exploration of it so much from an intersex and/or trans point of view. How does this impact Obi-Wan's love life? Does it at all? How does it impact his life generally? What are his thoughts on his gender? Are dual sex people discriminated against in any way? I'm sure that is in some fics! But a lot of the time it pretty much goes down to "oh look he has a cunt!" Which I mean, that's not a mortal sin! I just think there could be things that are explored with it that aren't being explored. It's largely there to simply be another place for Obi-Wan to be penetrated.

The second, and likely more controversial part of my thought process, is that I find it. Kind of odd that it's Obi-Wan in particular this has been assigned to. Obi-Wan has what society might consider as more "feminine" traits. He's kind and he's patient and he prefers diplomacy over fighting. Now, this is not inherent to women, but society (and socialization) assigns these traits to women. So, I see a fic. It has this dual sex trope. Said dual sex trope LARGELY focuses on the fact that Obi-Wan, has a vagina. These fics are usually smut fics. Obi-Wan is usually a submissive in them (the conflation of "prefers to bottom" with submissive is a whole other rant and so is my Obi-Wan is sexually versatile agenda). Usually the other characters are, most of the time, a bit Super Masculine. The Super Masculine Man has a penis. The Less Masculine Man, Obi-Wan has a penis too but that's in the background. The focus is on the vagina. So it comes across as These Traits Are Assigned to These Genitals. It comes across as gender roles 2.0. The "feminine" one is the one who's submissive and has the genitals that are associated with cis women. He's the one who "takes it" as I've seen it phrased one too many times. Dirty talk in fic is fine! But the constant emphasis on that kind of phrasing in this situation has kind of off-putting implications as far as writing queer men goes, and kind of has some accidental misogyny in it to boot.

I will express again, these are deeply my opinions. No one who does this is bad or wrong and I have fic writers whose work I enjoy that use this trope. I just think that sometimes fandom picks A Thing To Do and then doesn't do it differently from each other, or take a step back and be like, huh, maybe we could examine this. I think it's one of those things that started off interesting and got flat over time. I'd love to see this concept explored! I'd love to see more trans Obi-Wan stuff! I just am not a fan of how this concept has been executed.

[marvelstars]

George Lucas and the prequel trilogy

"I knew if I'd made Anakin 15 instead of nine, then it would have been more marketable. If I'd made the Queen 18 instead of 14, then it would have been more marketable. But that isn't the story. It is important that he be young, that he be at an age where leaving his mother is more of a drama than it would have been at 15. So you just have to do what's right for the movie, not what's right for the market."(George Lucas)

George Lucas may not be a perfect writer but I really liked to see how aware he is of his lack of skills writing dialogue and the fact he very purposely didn´t make a marketable movie with the usual action formula for blockbuster summer films, he´s trying to make an opera story with elements kids would like to see, I personally do think the prequels could have been done better and the passing and some creative decisions could have been changed to make the story more understable, especially the part where Anakin grows into his own as a adult and general in the clone wars and Jedi instead of telling this story in another format because he took more care in showing his fall. We can´t appreciate the fall if he didn´t see his rise properly.

Still I like the fact that he´s purposelly making unpopular decisions but that have a reason for his story instead of using the same old tired formula for action movies.

Everybody was expecting a teenager darth vader, dark but cool and Lucas goes completely left field and shows a kind and generous slave kid who had to leave his mother to get his freedom, who inmediately gets on the bad side of the Jedi Order Council not for a fault of his own but mostly that he´s inconvenient, his existence is inconvenient, the Jedi don´t need chosen ones because they already got rid of the sith, there´s nothing to change here, nothing at all and he suffers the same rejection Padmé suffered at the Senate when she pleaded for her people´s safety.

I think this is so interesting in how Padme(14) and Anakin(9) are kids given adult responsibilities who try to understand the brutal adult world they live in one as a slave another as the leader of an occupied planet and try to make a difference, not quite managing it but seeing things in a very idealist form, just like their children did in the OT, their tragedy is mainly the fact this adult world still has rules they have to follow and try to work within a system that has become stagnant and corrupt, while their children could burn it all down because everything outside of them and their side was evil, this is not the case with Anakin and Padme, they have to pick and choose a not so bad decision out of many bad choices, their world isn´t good vs evil as it was in the OT, it´s grey vs dark and in the end those choices destroy them both but also give the way for their children to fix what was broken in their world in the first place and honestly this is so much more interesting than the classic story of the hot couple who falls in love and saves the day at the end of the story.

[jedi-enthusiast]

Did you ever see that trailer for that SWTOR expansion Legacy of the Sith? It was one of the most anti-Jedi things I have ever seen in my life and painted them as being no better than then Sith, and that made me so mad!

No, I haven't seen it and---at this point---I'm going with the "canon is what I decide, fuck you Disney" way of consuming any new Star Wars media.

George Lucas created Star Wars and the Jedi, and he was very fucking clear that the Jedi were the good guys---so I know that, above all else, I'm right when I say that the Jedi were good. I know that, whatever anyone else says, the Jedi were moral and good and they were doing their best in a shitty situation where they just could not win.

Which means that all of the other stuff that's coming out where people are leaning into the edgy "everyone's actually evil, and there's no good in the world, and good guys can never actually be good because who would actually ever be selfless and kind????" narrative that's, for some reason, gotten so popular nowadays---I'm either ignoring it or taking it with copious amounts of salt.

That Legacy of the Sith expansion? Ignoring it.

Acolyte? I might just watch it so I can hate on it, but honestly I'll probably just ignore it.

The Ahsoka show? I'll watch it, but my expectations are very low.

Etc. Etc.

People can say whatever they want about my doing this, but honestly---thanks to Disney handing over a vast amount of creative control to people who don't actually give a fuck about Star Wars and people like Filoni, who's now just pulling shit out of his ass to lift up his OCs--- with the newer stories and timelines and shit, you almost have to make up your own reasons for why things are happening/why certain characters are doing/saying things.

Take Bo-Katan for example and how the writers are portraying her in the Mandalorian.

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They're completely ignoring the fact that she was a member of Death Watch (a violent terrorist organization), that she had a hand in her sister's death (since she did help Maul alongside Visla, even though she was vocal about not wanting to/thinking it was a bad idea), or that she even fucking had a sister.

So now, since all of that is happening, you have to figure out for yourself why, in-universe, Bo-Katan is ignoring all of that---and that's obviously going to be colored by whether you like her or not.

Is she ignoring that she was a member of Death Watch because she thinks it doesn't matter/wasn't a big deal/wasn't bad? Or is she doing it because she can't face the guilt she feels over having been apart of it?

Is she ignoring that she had a hand in her sister's death because she doesn't really think she was responsible, since she vocally didn't support helping Maul? Or, again, is it out of guilt?

Is she not mentioning Satine because she wants to erase the fact that Mandalore was successfully peaceful for decades under Satine's rule until she [Bo-Katan] fucked it up and basically kicked off the whole "Mandalore basically dying/hanging on by a thread" thing, so she doesn't want anyone to know that? Or is it because she's still filled with so much grief and guilt that mentioning Satine is literally painful for her?

You have to make those assumptions and those decisions, because the writers just don't give a fuck anymore.

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So, with that in mind, everything that George Lucas didn't have a hand in, especially regarding the Jedi? I'm taking it as a suggestion, and a suggestion only.

[supremechancellorrex]

Now, I gotta say, I find it interesting how there are some people that target you for stating your opinion on fiction. I've had this same Jedi-stan user sending me tens and tens of comments which are based on denial and opinion rather than any logical argument. Now, they're telling others not to read my arguments because... what, it's too scary? They literally reblog my post with a quite insulting argument and then quickly block me because they don't want me to respond.

Well, too bad.

This isn't even an argument based on logic. You just stated your opinion and acted like it was a fact, anyone else who believes differently is doing so "foolishly", more "foolishly" than a child apparently. Because despite much evidence to the contrary in children's media, apparently 'villains' never have any depth or say the truth ever, according to you.

Slick: "Yes, she offered me money. But she offered me something more important, something you wouldn't understand: freedom!"

You know the one thing Slick doesn't actually have? It's freedom. Because, he is a slave, that is a fact. Let's go through the fact that slave isn't a title you award but a state of existence and being, a slave by definition is: "a person who is forced to work for and obey another and is considered to be their property; an enslaved person." That is the clones to a T. Just because Slick was selfish doesn't just invalidate he described a situation which still has not been refuted and instead has been only proven over and over again.

Now, you say "the clones are property of the Republic", and they are under the command... of the Jedi, who are generals and part of the Republic command structure. Legally, the Jedi may not have a say in the fate of the clone troopers other than being in charge of their daily actions and organisation for years, but illegally? Are you claiming that the Jedi could not even think to organise a mass desertion? When the law is unjust, you challenge it, you break it. Now, you try to absolve them here by saying that they had no choice because the Separatists were a threat to the Republic, an institution that supports slavery for its own ends. You may hate it but "Cool motive, still slavery" still applies here. Any institution that supports having an enslaved army does not deserve to exist, and that includes the Jedi Order's support of the Republic.

As for your non-sequitur on the placement of the episode, this is just pointless. There is no basis to discount an episode just because it wasn't in Season 4. This adds nothing to your argument and is just a complete fallacy.

You can't really make this argument on a number of basises. One, the writing intentions have clearly changed since that initial George Lucas' quote decades ago. Not only this, but George Lucas doesn't even own Star Wars anymore and Disney are now in charge, with Dave Filoni and a number of other writers making significant contributions.

Dave Filoni: "So I think that trying to draw these paths of the Jedi and the choices they make and how they wind up good or bad … Yoda isn’t afraid in the prequels to say the Jedi are flawed and that they’ve become greedy and self-interested and arrogant. That helps you understand why they’re going to lose the Clone War and why they’re so ripe for the picking."

I think this quote speaks for itself. Also, I think it was very clear that George Lucas, a man well-known for changing his mind and who was still the executive producer, was on Ahsoka's side in the Wrong Jedi Arc. Otherwise at some point the narrative would have refuted her assertions on the Jedi Order, that's just basic storytelling.

Now, onto the clones. You essentially admit that the draft is essentially slavery in the clones' case. The clones are property and are referred to as such, they can't leave, they can't vote, they have no rights and this has been the case since they were fetuses in tubes. Let's look at Umbara again.

Fives: "We did it. We took Umbara."

Captain Rex: "What’s the point of all this? I mean, why?"

Fives: "I don’t know, sir. I don’t think anybody knows. But I do know that someday this war is gonna end."

Captain Rex: "Then what? We’re soldiers. What happens to us then?"

Considering the fact that the Senate are voting on whether to "decommission" the clones like a product in the Bad Batch, I think it's safe to say that Captain Rex's fears were confirmed. Senator Riyo Chuchi, an actual good person in a bad system, is literally fighting to give the clones any rights at all in the Bad Batch, and she is a lonely voice.

Riyo Chuchi: "[The Clones] are not droids to simply be shut down. These are soldiers who defended us, defended our worlds"

Meanwhile, when the Jedi wax on about the end of the War, they just assume they'll be fulfilling the same duties they did before the war. This is because the Jedi are privileged and are treated as citizens during the War, able to walk around completely uncumbered and engage on a conversational level with the elite. They can also leave the Order, especially if they break the code, which is not something allowed for the clones. They may be servants, but they aren't property, and they have more tools to push back and fight the Senate, which they can walk around freely in a venerated position. You practically say this throughout your argument. Over all, the Jedi are drafted, the clones are slaves. There is a difference in the power dynamic.

The Clone Wars waived the right to be dismissed solely as "It's just a superificial kids show, don't criticise" when it decided to deal with dark, serious topics, including the Republic's growing authoritarianism, political maneuvering, slaughter and murder. All those cases of the Jedi challenging their leaders simply make it more egregious that the Jedi never advocated for the clones to the same level. The fact Mace Windu is willing to fight tooth and nail for the Zillo Beast, however demonstrates no passion to fight for the clone rights, who are slaves soldiers under his command, is actually a pretty bad look. There are also clones that died around the same time as Even Piell, yet they get no rites either.

It's funny you mention Qui Gon Jinn because his opposition to the Jedi Council has been noted previously and it is a critique of the Jedi Order.

Dave Filoni: "I think Qui-Gon in a lot of ways represents the kind of path the Jedi are supposed to be on. He’s the one that’s the most compassionate. But he has no ambition to be part of the council. He feels he can’t do what he needs to do if he’s a part of that. That thinking and that philosophy is from what Dooku taught him. Dooku was a free-thinker and was looking out for people."

Oh, you know Dooku too? The guy who said "The Jedi blindly serve a corrupt Senate that fails the Republic it represents." Looks like he imparted some spirit to his Padawan. Ultimately, this actually supports my arguments that the Jedi Order have lost their way as an institution. Now, earlier you say it "sucks" the Jedi can't allegedly speak out because of the draft, at the same time you... have Jedi speaking out on every topic that isn't clones. Hmm.

Well, mademoiselle-cookie, you have crossed into antisemitic territory here and it's shockingly disgusting of you. The Jedi should not be considered an expy of Jewish people, because that would be really racist of the writers and very misrepresentative. Jewish people are not a fictional order of magic monks that wave lightsabers around, fighting wars with state-owned clone slaves, believe it or not. Going through your argument until now has been bearable, but this really takes the cake. I've warned people to stop using real-life minority groups as meat-shields for their fictional favs, however it seems that privileged people will often use minority groups instinctively for their benefit. The fact you accuse me, a mixed race gay man, as being the type to fall for Nazi lies because I critique the Jedi Order is just the icing on the cake.

Also, you argue "it's a kid's show" and then it's a direct allegory for the Holocaust, one of the darkest periods in human history, at the same time, huh? If this were the case, it would mean it's portrayal is even more important to critique without exception.

But, moving on from your just completely inappropriate allegory. So, the Jedi have a "choice" as you just state. That's much more the clones ever had and that is a privilege. You're essentially arguing for the Jedi to stand back and do nothing by choice while earlier you also argued that the Jedi had to do something in regards to the War as it was the moral choice but also that they 'don't' have a choice. Meanwhile, the Jedi were shown to be willing to overthrow Palpatine given the 'proper motivation', but due to their lack of compassion I guess the enslavement of millions of men such as the clones just wasn't important enough. Your argument falls apart because the Jedi did try to overthrew Palpatine in the end, just not for the slaves.

Using the "Bad guys lie" trope in an absolute capacity is also not an argument. You're just stating your opinion as a fact again and it's very 'convenient' your metric. I could reply "Good guys can be wrong and don't always tell the truth" and we'd, like your point, get nowhere.

Finally, an interesting point. There's no denying that Ahsoka did not make the situation as squeaky clean in her desperation, however ultimately my point still stands that Mace Windu, and I quoted him, said "I understand your sentiment, Obi-Wan. But, if the council does as you suggest. It could be seen as an act of opposition to the Senate. I'm afraid we have little choice."

At the end of the day, the Jedi do have a choice despite what Windu says. The choice was political. The ruling isn't unanimous, because doubts are expressed, but as Mace Windu says what they view as important in response to Obi-Wan saying things don't add up regarding Ahsoka is to focus how it looks to the Senate, a Senate that supports authoritarianism, corruption and slavery. The Jedi arguably lie to themselves and say they support justice, but they don't ultimately. As Jedi Master Dooku, the described "free-thinker", says: "The Jedi blindly serve a corrupt Senate that fails the Republic it represents."

Hmm, you don't seem to understand what an "unreliable narrator" actually is. With your use especially, every single character ever could be described as an unreliable narrator, I can describe Mace Windu as an unreliable narrator or Obi-Wan. I could literally flip your argument and claim the Jedi are unreliable narrators who only think they're doing good because they were raised in an environment which told them this from a young age and ultimately they were propping up a failing, authoritarian, corrupt 'Republic'.

I don't think you realise that Ahsoka's story would not have been presented the way it was in Season 7 if the narrative was not on her side. There were key cues in its structure and quotations that were critical of the Jedi Order, who were mostly in opposition to Ahsoka narratively.

Ahsoka: "This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi. I had, too, until I was reminded of what the Order means to people who truly need us.” 

What a coincidence that Obi-Wan, a man gifted with the gab, fails to counter this criticism as well. Just like Slick.

We literally see the Jedi propping up the Republic system for the near entirely of the War. They allowed "the destruction of innocent life-forms", the clones, men brainwashed and forced into combat. They also conducted military investigations, deferred to the Senate, and I think it's very telling that Rex did not reveal Cut Lawquane's location to either the Jedi or the rest of the Republic. As Generals, they are a part of the hierarchy, and they support the Republic, a hegemony of laws and demarcations. Also, last I checked, Satine isn't a slave, I only wish Obi-Wan had gone out of his way to protect the clones as people, but I guess he only does that for citizens.

As for Order 66, again, this isn't an argument on your part. I'm well-aware of events, nor did I say they deserved to be murdered. The Jedi Order, specificially their leadership, made "poor choices" and it screwed them over. I also find your Nazi allegory more disgusting personally, but whatever. Now, let's see what the Jedi are actually doing.

Dave Filoni: "They’ve, as an institution, existed for a very long time. It doesn’t mean they’re evil or bad, but they’re making a lot of poor choices, and they can’t get out ahead of things in part because they’re desperately attempting to do things the right way and take an even stance.”

The centrist stance the Jedi take on most matters clearly contributed to their downfall. They made "poor choices" and I am critiquing them for it because allowing slavery at the heart of the Republic is not just a poor choice, but a stupid and immoral one. They are 'desperately attempting to do things the right way', but they don't, and this is why actual criticisms are levied at them. Again, I never argued the Jedi were evil, I argued they should be held accountable for their flaws and mistakes, like everyone should be.

I like how you completely misunderstood my point here despite many other people getting it. The problem is that the Jedi do have a choice, it's just a difficult one. However just because doing the right thing is difficult does not mean you shouldn't do it. The problem with the Jedi allowing countless clones, who are slaves, to die for years and that not prompt them to confront, combat or even overthrow the Republic is it makes them very morally bankrupt. As soon as the Republic said it was going to utilise slaves, the Jedi should have realised the Republic was the enemy of human decency itself. But, as we know from just watching Star Wars media with basic critical thinking or this exchange in Rebels...

Ezra: "Master Yoda, you’re powerful. You must know a way to destroy Vader and his Inquisitors.”

Master Yoda: “Padawan, thousands of Jedi once there were. Then came war. In our arrogance, joined the conflict swiftly we did. Fear, anger hate. Consumed by the dark side the Jedi were.”

I think you need to add more depth to your idea of "good". The Jedi were complicit in their own downfall. The fact you have to jump through so many 'logical' hoops to 'explain' and 'absolve' them is evidence enough. The fact you also dismiss all criticism of the Jedi as anti-Jedi propaganda, even when coming from its own members, from Yoda to Ahsoka, who clearly the narrative sides with. Now, as for your 'the citizens did nothing too' whataboutism argument? Yep. So, if you're arguing the Jedi are as bad as Republic citizens who also enabled clone slavery, then sure, a little 'harsh' of you, but that's what you're actually saying here. Plus, you keep both stating the Jedi have a choice and don't have a choice when it suits you throughout this argument.

And, regardless of whether the SW writers verbally acknowledge the word slavery, it is the story they present by saying the clones are "property" who "have no representation in the Senate". You should watch the Riyo Chuchi episodes in Bad Batch again, because this should be impossible to miss in the discussion of "clone rights". Your attempted use of 'rhetorical' questions instead of an actual argument is also pretty uninspired.

You literally didn't "debunk" anything, mademoiselle-cookie. As usual, you used ad hominem attacks, misused terminology, made antisemitic allegories, and now you're upset someone expressed an opinion you dislike. The fact you warn other people not to read my opinion as if you're the guardian of Jedi stan tumblr and they couldn't bear having someone make a post they don't agree with is also hilarious, I would hope people are full of sterner stuff. After all, people always have a choice, whether to read or not.

[thepagansun]

how did Donald Duck influence Star Wars? And wasn’t Indiana Jones inspired by Scrooge, not Donald?

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg mentioned that they were inspired by Carl Barks' comics.

So was Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy and "Godfather of Modern Manga."

And Donald Duck was going on adventures with his nephews in the Carl Barks comics long before Scrooge McDuck was created and this is precisely why DT17 and other media trying to give all the credit to Scrooge but forgetting that Donald was the FIRST just proves my point in my frustration with them.

Everyone just thinks it was Scrooge McDuck thanks to the later Don Rosa's work: "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" which was loosely based on Carl Barks' works (Don Rosa exaggerated a lot of Scrooge's abilities at the expense of Donald's).

This is why I advocate for giving credit where credit is due when it comes to canon characters and where I feel DT17 really dropped the ball. Donald was an adventurer looong before Scrooge and some of Carl Barks' best comics don't even have him:

-"Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold" - Carl Barks first full length comic

- "Mystery of the Swamp" - Donald and nephews encounter gnomish creatures in the Everglades which some think were the inspiration for the Ewoks in Star Wars

"The Mad Chemist" (the comic credited with discovering the chemical compound methylene 20 years before it was actually studied and verified!)

-"Lost in the Andes" - Carl Barks claimed was his best work

- "The Golden Helmet" - Donald and nephews: whoever possesses the golden helmet is ruler of North America

- "The Ice Box Robber" - The comic that showcased Donald having WWII PTSD

- "Sherrif of Bullet Valley" - Donald and nephews in the Wild West

- "Dangerous Disguise" - a comic about spies where a Donald look alike commits suicide by jumping out of a window

- "Luck of the North" Donald and nephews rescue Gladstone in Alaska

"Old California" - Donald and the nephews seem to time travel to California in 1848 and they witness the family there living their lives. It turns out they were in a bad car accident and were on the hospital in a coma for weeks. But the house is still there.

"A Christmas for Shacktown" - Donald and the nephews find ways to raise money for the poor kids in town

"The Gilded Man" - A search for a rare stamp leads Donald and the boys finding El Dorado

- "The Forbidden Valley" - Donald and the nephews discover a lost land of dinosaurs

Just to name a few. There are plenty more.

The great thing about the Carl Barks comics especially when it came to Donald was that although he still had bad luck, it showed him also have great skills in practically everything and it tackled deep emotional issues and real world events such as PTSD, spies/espionage, danger/adventure, poverty, but in a way that was relatable and entertaining.

Donald mixed the best of high action adventure with scenes of intimate, heartwarming domestic life with his nephews. It was literally the best of both worlds: adventure and domestic life.

So the world needs to know that actually it's Donald Duck that deserves the credit for the success of the Carl Barks comics. Not only was Donald first but he was used as the protagonist for many more comics than Scrooge. And I hope if we ever get another version of Ducktales that the writers actually credit Donald as he deserves and not a bunch of semi newbies that don't even exist in the original comics.

There's so much he inspired and influenced that people don't know and so it's unfair for him to be sidelined as he was for characters that haven't accomplished one iota of what he has.

It's time to give credit where it's actually due: to Donald Duck.

[grandhotelabyss]

What we really need is a book in the style of Craig Seligman's Sontag and Kael: Opposites Attract Me about Sontag and Paglia.

I thought Deborah Nelson's Tough Enough—which I liked—should have ended with a Paglia chapter. The fact that it didn't, and for what I take to be political reasons, suggests why Paglia has the upper hand in my view: she's not going to be as easily recuperated by the institutions while she's alive. It's hard to imagine Paglia earning the admiration of a consummate professional like Merve Emre. Which is ironic, because Sontag proudly never taught and expressed only bitter contempt for academia while she was alive, while Paglia has faithfully taught for pretty much her whole adult life, if at a wary art-school distance from official academe. (Sontag was good at finding people, even princesses, who would pay her bills; Paglia perhaps not so much, or perhaps, to give her more credit, she regards herself as having a vocation.)

Politically, Sontag was always on the right side of bien-pensance, which I find slightly contemptible; people are allowed to change their minds, but still, if she'd maintained the political views she held in the '60s into the '90s then she would have been on the Michael Parenti side of Yugoslavia (or, conversely, her '90s views in the '60s would have put her on Updike's, Ellison's, and Nabokov's side of Vietnam).

On the other hand, Paglia was and remains too credulous about pop culture, and Sontag's later turn against it—if at times too much in the style of what Kael called the Come Dressed as the Sick Soul of Europe Party—was basically right. Almost her last act on earth was to canonize Bolaño, while Paglia was claiming George Lucas as our greatest living artist.

Paglia's historical scope and emotional register are broader, and for this she'll always have my heart; Sontag couldn't have written a Paterian prose-poem in honor of the bust of Nefertiti or of a Tamara de Lempicka painting. But Sontag probably was more politically sophisticated, and the moral conscience that mortified and tormented her aestheticism created tremendous drama, and for this she will never lose my admiration; Paglia couldn't have issued the prophetic injunctions of Illness as Metaphor or On Photography.

Hilariously but predictably, the moralist Sontag was apparently bad news as a friend, lover, or family member, if gossip and biography are to be believed, while the aesthete Paglia is by all accounts a perfectly kind person in private life.

(When dealing with moralists, you should always bear in mind this line from "The Soul of Man Under Socialism": "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." When dealing with aesthetes, you should always bear in mind Basil Hallward's charge against Lord Henry Wotton: "You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing.")

Paglia lived one side of the binary dividing them to the full, every inch the diva dancing a step of Apollonian precision even in Dionysian frenzy, whereas Sontag allowed—or couldn't have avoided it if she'd tried—Athens and Jerusalem, never mind Apollo and Dionysus, to go to war inside her mind. In that sense, they're not an equal match. I probably love Paglia more as a writer—that is, I love the spectacle she creates on the page—whereas what I love about Sontag, not that she didn't write many unforgettable sentences, is the exemplary tragicomedy of the life of her mind.

I suppose those are some notes toward the book we need.

[chaos0pikachu]

Hi Chaos,

I keep seeing people post about x director and their thematic parallels and storytelling, and I can't help but think that it's the writer who does all those things!!! And it's so frustrating seeing the director get the credit for the screenwriters' work. I am also in the TVDU fandom, and to this day, I've never seen the director get the credit for what is clearly a writer's work. We praise, and we curse at the writers every time. We know their names by heart. Even in kdrama fandoms, I've seen the writer get the credit they deserve. So I'm just baffled by why the director is being credited with 'making' or 'writing' a show in the eyes of the public. I understand that they are more visible than the writers, but its only a matter of looking it up on MDL. (And the only writer who gets full credit for her work, MAME, is also cursed/called names by a lot of people). ( Can't forgive the fact that MAME did not write the TT show. What's the difference, you ask? I point you to Big Dragon, Kinnporsche (positive), Step by Step (negative). ) (Sorry, I feel very passionately about this.)

Lol nah I love this chaotic passion and I love how folks are so open about how Mame is treated in fandom is weird, actually yes spill those feelings to me it's safe here

I've written and rewritten this answer like five different times b/c it got so long but fuck it under a read more cut for other stuff but here's my general gist on this: I think it comes down to a few factors - visibility, apathy, ignorance and probably other stuff but I'm not a behavior scientists I'm just a bitch with a blog. As always y'all take what I say with some season salt mix

So, visibility.

It's really easy to credit whichever person is the most visible on a project with a majority of the work. We understand, as people, that many many folks work on these shows, but it's much easier to attribute the bulk of the project with a few individuals.

Actors used to be at the forefront of this, in recent years as social media has chipped away at the fourth wall, writers and directors have also risen in prominence in the discussions of film. But like, producers can and do have a huge impact on the way I project takes form and shapes yet you hardly ever see fans talking about x, y, z producers' influence on a project.

I think the only times I see a producer come up in discussions of a project is Kevin Feige (almost universally positive) and Kathleen Kennedy (almost universally negative). And that's really b/c both of these ppl are visible - they're a part of the promotional tours, they're walking the premiere carpets, they're giving interviews, etc. But it's all very bias b/c fans look at a singular body of work - Feige's case Marvel films, Kennedy's case Star Wars - of both of these producers and b/c they made either things they liked or hated.

But like, a quick bit of research and you'd see Kennedy has been a producer on some amazing and even classic projects: Gremlins, Back to the Future I & II, The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Schindler's List, ET, The Color Purple, Hook, Jurassic Park, The Sixth Sense.

She's even been a producer on the Star Wars things people did like: The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and The Acolyte. She's been a longtime collaborator of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has eight Oscar nominations as a producer but she was a producer for some mid Star Wars films and she's the devil incarnate. I don't even care that much about Kennedy or Star Wars shit but I'm not gonna pretend there's not bias in her case that's similar to how fandom views and treats Mame.

And on the flipside she's been a producer on shit or mid projects - like the Star Wars films and Signs, the Flintstones - which is just typical. You work long enough in the industry and you'll make or work on mid to bad projects. See Ridley Scott's career of epic highs & epic lows.

[It's interesting to me that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni get all the credit for shows like The Mandalorian but Kennedy gets no credit whilst on the flipside JJ Abrams gets like no blame for how mid to bad Force Awakens & Rise of Skywalker were but Kennedy did get blame. And I'm speaking broad strokes here, yes I'm sure JJ did get some cranky posts about his part in RoS but in general Kennedy got more.]

Which leads me to the next factor, ignorance.

I think ppl are gonna like take offensive to that word but I'm using it super neutrally ignorance is just a lack of knowledge.

We're all ignorant about stuff like fuck don't ask me about how sales tax works I don't know. Lacking knowledge is just a fact of life we can't be experts on every single facet of the world, life, etc it's impossible and that's fine. Just own up to the fact you don't know and if you want to know do some research because learning can actually be really cool and fun and shit. Except sales tax I'm not learning all that.

But from my general observations of BL fandom well a lot of people are ignorant on how film making works. Hell a lot of ppl outside of BL fandom are ignorant about how film making works - the implosion in the 911 fandom is showing out re: this lmao literally right now - and again, that's fine. It's really Not A Big Deal. I'm no by-the-by expert either. I think the grind comes when folks try to be Breadtubers and others take said posts as gospel knowledge when by my observations it's a lot of opinion and/or misinformation.

[idk what yaoi framing is but it isn't a real film making thing; comics and film are two different mediums y'all]

I saw this a lot in the BBC Sherlock fandom ppl with very strong voices claiming x, y, z is how television works and, well it wasn't lol like this very consistent argument I see in migratory conspiracy shipping circles is actors and showrunners just be lying in interviews to "hide the big romantic plot twist" for said MCS and that's just not true. It's not trueeeeee that's not how PR and marketing works. So many MCS fandoms pull out the "we were baited b/c they posted The Ship on twitter" and harass the showrunners who have nothing to do with the official twitter. That's an entirely different department of the show/film. Marketing is a different department from the film crew.

But most people don't know this or don't consider this b/c a lot of folks don't know the inner workings of film, or publishing.

Like whoever runs the Seven Seas social media is in a totally different department from who's acquiring licenses for titles and who's editing the books themselves. Likewise yelling at a showrunner b/c the trailer for an episode advertised a scene you were excited about and then the scene wasn't in the episode? Not the showrunners fault they don't cut the promos that's a different department entirely.

I'm not knocking ppl for not knowing stuff like this, it's not like it's inherently common knowledge. Like hell if I know how the education hierarchy works I don't work in education. The issue - if it can be called that - comes in when people make assumptions is all and spreading misinformation.

In the case of Mame you're right she didn't write Tharnype on MDL she isn't even listed as a producer (idk if she is and it's listed elsewhere personally I find MDL very unreliable since it's fan edited) the show is just based on her novel but she's the one who gets all the hyper focused critique not the actual screenwriter nor director. Similar for any other Me Mind Y show. They're all just considered "Mame's work" and not like, a group project (which is what film making is lol).

Now, I'm no expert on how the Thai film industry works. I imagine the hierarchy aspects are, if not the same, at least similar to American film hierarchy. Meaning producers, and directors have a lot of power in terms of what gets put on screen.

I will say from what I've seen folks do wear multiple hats on Thai productions so like the director might also be the screenwriter, or the screenwriter might also be a producer, etc so that could also add to some of the overlap in credits.

I don't use the term "apathy" as a negative here. Fandom is first and foremost a hobby and a hobbyist space. I do not research every single show or film I watch either. Hell I struggle with watching as many BLs as other people who are just straight up powerhouses with how much they can watch.

Not being interesting in the deep ins and outs of How A Thing Is Made isn't a bad thing, focusing on only "the faces" of the project isn't something I'm gonna hold against people either.

I do think if you're going to be giving a Roger Ebert style critique or go for a more academic reading of a piece of media then yeah, you might have more of a burden to do some research if only to not spread misinformation. Or at least, to properly give credit where credit is due.

Personally, I'm of the mind fandom - in general not just BL fandom or whatever - is to concerned with like, "being right" about the media they watch and being seen as pseudo authority figures at times. That Big Name Fan aspect of it all, the social clout that comes with it - saw this with a lot of bbc sherlock wank - and genuinely, bro who fucking cares?

It bothers me when fans feel guilty for liking a thing big voices in fandom claim are Bad, Wrong, in a breadtube voice like who caaaaaares there's so many shows I could break down via film techniques for why I dislike them but like I'm so lazy bro it's not that real if you like 2gether I'm so happy for you light up like a firework baby

[unless you like star trek into darkness and then your wrong pikachu has spoken es lo que es]

anyway idk where I'm going with but yeah those are my general thoughts I guess on why ppl might attribute or heavily focus on the director vs the screenwriter of a project

[just-prime]

*rubs temples* How is it that for all Filoni’s critique of the Jedi’s philosophies, SO MUCH of his work is basically a PSA for why Jedi practicing non-attachment is Good, Actually?

Maybe, if Sabine had learned the value of letting go, not allowing her emotions to rule her -

It just. I know they’re not going to use this! And they could! They could make it about how Ahsoka was afraid of the wrong things, by refusing to teach people because of their anger risks a self-fulfilling prophecy or *something* substantial! Not what this light show of a holding pattern was.

*also rubs temple trying to figure out how the fuck to phrase this*

Because here's the problem...Filoni doesn't think attachments are bad (not exactly at least) but ends up creating "critique" that are all so disjointed that none of them tie together well enough to make any fucking sense. So the natural response is to go, maybe the thing he's trying to critique is actually right because he is being so incompetent about how he is critiquing it.

If that makes sense...?

Like, lets even just looking at the Ahsoka show in a vacuum of the interior rules that the show have given us.

Ahsoka is a jedi, Sabine is a padawan, Anakin was Ahsoka's master and the only one who ever actually cared about her.

Filoni really enjoys kissing Anakin's ass, something that we saw a ton during the lead up and the advertising with the whole "Anakin was the coolest and awesomest and the bestest Jedi to ever exist" shit.

And so it's fucking hard to actually critique the Jedi and their flaws (of which there are many) when Filoni is out with logical fallacies galore! And writing Mortis as a way to justify his own personal headcanons about how The Force with a capital F effects good and evil, and how attachments tie into the equation.

Again, Filoni is knocking down canon left and right, regardless of if he created it.

The Jedi have a no-attachments rule.

REGARDLESS of the moral or ethical or Anakin related consequences of this...It still exists, and Filoni shouldn't just get to have his cake (Ahsoka being a Jedi) and eat it too (her being totally okay with attachments and everything that comes with them)!

It's like I've brought up in previous posts about this, the example I always go it is that midichlorians exist in the Star Wars universe, regardless of if we think they are stupid or not, they are there. The Prequels firmly established them, and many other properties since then have cemented them. And I'm not saying George Lucas's word is law (the man has a lot of WEIRD ideas) but I am saying that Filoni clearly doesn't give a shit as he runs free with the keys of the castle and no one in the writers room but himself.

I hope that made sense. This show was unique in its way of pissing off the pro jedi folks, the anti jedi folks, and the jedi neutral folks all in one fell swoop due to its inconsistency.

[vetinarivimesy]

Gargh I genuinely wish I liked this show more - I like the returning characters, I loved all the intriguing hints of new lore stuff, aesthetically it looked fantastic... The casting was mostly perfection. I could even (mostly) put aside my increasing annoyance at post-Lucas-Star War's increasingly negative stance on the jedi that seems to be influenced by the fans who were adults when the Prequels/90s films came out who insist that those films were all about how the jedi were evil actually, when... No seriously those films were aimed at 12 year olds how did the very basic genocide is bad actually message fly over their heads so collectively?

​But ye gods I really felt the whole, Filoni's been working on 20 minute episodes his whole career with this one. 

I think the thing that properly tipped me over from, I'm enjoying this show, but it's frequently frustrating, because I am unfortunately a fan with opinions... into no, this thing is just frustrating as the finale rolled to its extremely predictable end that he'd not so much done an Empire ending, as promised, yet again, to answer the questions he'd been posing throughout next time... Only next time is hardly guaranteed, as sadly epitomised by the waste of Ray Stephenson's rather intriguing character - let alone the way both Claudia Black and Wes Chatham were essentially one step above being glorified extras.

Eh I liked Mando S3 and even BoBF I adored Andor and Kenobi - I'm hardly impartial. I even quite like Ahsoka for what it was, rather than allowing my sheer annoyance at what it wasn't get me too enraged at all the George Lucas never implied that moments with his worldbuilding - stated very publicly to be the opposite to Filoni's takes several times.

I loved the new galaxy, the Purrgils, getting to see the Rebels gang again, most of the Baylan and Shin stuff and Claudia Black getting to be a terrifying Nightmother, the Kintsugi troopers, and the extremely blatant Stargate type worldbuilding can I copy your homework stuff. Even Huyang in live action, as frustrating as the constant jedi-negging by proxy was... Ezra was perfect. Love the little crab people and seeing Chopper, as toned down for live action as he was.

But Filoni, Dave, Hat-Man, please, if you're going to do glacial and epic mysteries that end on an Empire style cliffhanger at least give us some reassurance that you have a plan and know how all the plot-threads are going to go? And that your worldbuilding is in fact internally consistent actually and not just based on vibes with some degree of yeah this does have coherence... The occassional utterly incoherent aside, for you to go oh yeah, the New Republic are all fucking terrible actually, as bad as the space nazis actually, moments were not reassuring. And in the hands of a different writer I'd have been fascinated by the Sabine getting the force stuff... But I really sincerely do not trust you with this.

You keep leaving extremely important character and worldbuilding moments off-screen, not even summed up, just stated in a sentence then rapidly glossed over. With excruciating lengths of time given to portentious dialogue and incoherent ramblings about how the jedi deserved their own genocide actually.

No? Too much to ask? One and a half plot-threads proved too much to keep spinning..?

Of which, admittedly James SA Corey/David Abraham/Ty Franck you are not you could barely keep one plot thread going coherently let alone the half-dozen or so they kept spinning all the way through.

Actually, no, you know what. Fuck it. This has annoyed me enough that I am going to go off and watch Wes Chatham not be utterly wasted in a glorified extra role, in a sci-fi series featuring mysterious rings and huge conspiracy theories by corporate and fascistic government powers alike fuelled by greed and capriciousness but above all about humanity overcoming.

At least that one doesn't flanderise its own characters and worldbuilding for the rule of cool, and the at times seemingly glacial (but not actually) very deliberately paced plot actually serves a purpose that comes together into something spectacular.

Its that or Farscape to wash the bad taste out. But that's another property heavy on the evil space fascists who never quite seem to get an in-universe comeuppance.

[emmie-tt]

Welcome to my Blog

Hi!

New Blog/Writer here. I'm Emmie and I have found a small love for writing and reading fan fiction. I'm new to the writing part and have been in a major writers block lately and decided to make an account in hopes I could find some people out there with the same interests as me. I'm asking for requests on what to write, down below this small paragraph is the fandom's I write for and my request rules. Please don't be shy and send them in so I can hopefully get my creativity flowing!!

HARRY POTTER

Harry potter

Draco Malfoy

Blaise Zabini

Ronald Weasley

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Ginny Weasley

Hermione Granger

Luna Lovegood

Neville Longbottom

Mattheo Riddle

Theodore Nott

Tom Riddle

Severus Snape (PLATONIC ONLY)

Lucius Malfoy (PLATONIC ONLY)

Narcissa Malfoy (PLATONIC ONLY)

Bellatrix Lestrange (PLATONIC ONLY)

Remus Lupin (PLATONIC ONLY)

Sirius Black (PLATONIC ONLY)

Regulus Black (PLATONIC ONLY)

Molly Weasley (PLATONIC ONLY)

Arthur Weasley (PLATONIC ONLY)

STRANGER THINGS

Steve Harrington

Eddie Munson

Billy Hargrove

Eleven (PLATONIC ONLY)

Max Mayfeild (PLATONIC ONLY)

Will Byers (PLATONIC ONLY)

Mike Wheeler (PLATONIC ONLY)

Dustin Henderson (PLATONIC ONLY)

Nancy Wheeler

Jim Hopper (PLATONIC ONLY)

Robin Buckley

Chrissy Cuningham

Lucas Sinclair (PLATONIC ONLY)

Johnathan Byers

Erica Sinclair (PLATONIC ONLY)

Joyce Byers (PLATONIC ONLY)

Karen Wheeler (PLATONIC ONLY)

TWILIGHT

Edward Cullen

Jasper Hale

Alice Cullen

Carlisle Cullen (PLATONIC ONLY)

Bella Swan

Emmet Cullen

Jacob Black

Rosalie Hale

Esme Cullen (PLATONIC ONLY)

Charlie Swan (PLATONIC ONLY)

Renesmee Cullen (PLATONIC ONLY)

Leah Clearwater

Sam Uley

Seth Clearwater

AVATAR/AVATAR THE WAY OF WATER

Jake Sully

Neytiri Sully

Ts'utey

Neteyam Sully

Lo'ak Sully

Kiri Sully

Tuk Sully (PLATONIC ONLY)

Tonowari

Ronal

Tsireya

Ao'nung

Roxto

TOP GUN MAVERICK

Nick (Goose) Bradshaw

Bradley (Rooster) Bradshaw

Jake (Hangman) Serisen

Pete (Maverick) Mitchell

PEAKY BLINDERS

Thomas Shelby

CHRIS EVANS / CHARACTERS

Chris Evans

Steve Rogers

Lloyd Hansen

Ari Levinson

Andy Barber

Ransom Drysdale

SEBASTIAN STAN / CHARACTERS

Sebastian Stan

Bucky Barnes

Lee Bodecker

MISC. CHARACTERS/PEOPLE

Elvis Presley/ Austin!Elvis Presley

Miles Teller

Jack Harlow

Taylor Swift

I WONT WRITE FOR ANYONE I DONT KNOW I WILL WRITE PLATONIC FOR ALL OF THE CHARACTERS I WILL ALSO WRITE FOR PREGNANCY AND THE READER AND CHARACTER HAVING KIDS :))

PLEASE LIKE RE-BLOG AND COMMENT

LOVE YOU ALL <3

RULES

Smut is allowed! I make no apologies for how bad it will probably be though

I wont write about R@pe, Abu$e or ince$st

All my writing will be fem/GN!reader, I wont go into detail about skin color, body type or really any personal details UNLESS asked to

I want to keep my stories fun so try and keep the requests non boring lol :))

If you have any questions please ask

I write it all, smut, fluff and angst

[gffa]

Hi! I want to ask you something since you know so much. I think I might've misunderstood some parts of Anakin bringing balance to the Force. I've always heard people say "there were too many jedi", that's why balance was needed and that's why they had to die too. I just believed that tbh. However, I saw someone say that the "Jedi act in harmony with the Force" which would mean the imbalance existed because of the Sith. Have I been fed empire approved sith propaganda all this time?

Hi! Here's why the idea that "too many Jedi = imbalance" doesn't work for me--during the time of the Empire, there were two Jedi (Obi-Wan and Yoda) and two Sith (Sidious and Vader). Are we saying that the time of the Empire was good and balanced? Because I'm pretty sure that's not the message of Star Wars! I just don't think the message of Star Wars would be "and then balance was brought to the Force through the murder of a bunch of toddlers asking for help". I'm pretty sure that "equal amounts of Jedi and Sith (like during the Empire) was BAD" is much more accurate to the tone of the movies. Further, to get into the whole "what is the balance of the Force?" thing, you have to start with the foundations of how the Force works, that the light side is good (compassion, love, selflessness) and the dark side (anger, hate, fear, greed, selfishness) is bad. That the way George Lucas describes the Force: “The core of the Force–I mean, you got the dark side, the light side, one is selfless, one is selfish, and you wanna keep them in balance. What happens when you go to the dark side is it goes out of balance and you get really selfish and you forget about everybody … because when you get selfish you get stuff, or you want stuff, and when you want stuff and you get stuff then you are afraid somebody is going to take it away from you, whether it’s a person or a thing or a particular pleasure or experience. [….] “Only way to overcome the dark side is through discipline. The dark side is pleasure, biological and temporary and easy to achieve. The light side is joy, everlasting and difficult to achieve. A great challenge. Must overcome laziness, give up quick pleasures, and overcome fear which leads to hate." --George Lucas, The Clone Wars writers' meeting That is 100% in line with Yoda and the other Jedi explaining how the Force works, which means the Jedi are correct about it and that's a huge sign that they're reliable narrators about the Force lore we learn from them! The Jedi are acting harmony with the Force, indeed. There's often the idea that balance means equal amounts of something, but I instead of think of it as balance as in stability.  The light side, which is love and compassion, can we ever really strive to have too much kindness and care for others in the world?  If there were more goodness in the world, would that make it unstable?  In contrast, if there's a lot hate, greed, and selfishness in the world, that does lead to instability, it leads to people hurting each other and making the world a worse place to live. So, why is there imbalance while the Jedi are around?  Well, the Force doesn't belong to just the Jedi, does it?  Over and over, the Jedi tell us that the Force is in everything, everyone and every living thing in the galaxy contributes to the Force.  Look at when the dark side is growing--on the cusp of the war!  Where there are so many people in the galaxy, trillions and trillions of everyday people being angry and afraid and hateful (both legitimately and not), that the Force is slowly being darkened.  There's so much anger at the state of the galaxy, so many people aren't helping each other anymore ("Mom, you said that the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other." --Anakin, The Phantom Menace) that the Force is darkening and the Jedi are only one out of every six billion people.  One Jedi cannot be enough light to counterbalance 6 billion people! Balance in the Force isn't really even about the Jedi, per se.  It's about everyone.  It's about people rising up against the darkness and saying they'll help each other.  It's about the Sith finally being gone from the galaxy, but the Jedi return to it.  Vader and Sidious both die, but Luke remains as a Jedi, this is a better, more balanced state than before, a triumphant ending to the OT. The Sith aren't the entire source of the darkness in the Force, I wouldn't say, but instead that the galaxy had become incredibly dysfunctional--that's a huge part of how the Senate had become more interested in its own greed than it was in helping the people they represented, it was a huge part of how the people were angry at being neglected, it was a huge part about how the Sith were stirring up and catalyzing that sentiment, and the Jedi were doing everything they could to help defend and save innocent people, they were the only ones (along with a handful of politicians like Bail and Padme) who were trying to help people and create good in the galaxy, but for every one of them, there were a dozen or more powerful senators who were selfish and greedy, for every war the Jedi managed to end, two more were popping up in another part of the galaxy. It was only once the people were willing to stand up and fight for themselves (as the galactic public wasn't willing to stand up for themselves ("The rift in the galaxy is not [the Jedi's] fault.  If more worlds would stand up for themselves against the Separatists, this war would have been over long ago." --Obi-Wan, The Clone Wars) instead of making the clones fight for them or turning a blind eye when the Jedi babies were murdered in their home, that the darkness could finally start to ebb again. The Jedi and the Sith play pivotal roles in the light vs the dark, but ultimately it's bigger than any one person or even any one group of people.  The Jedi are reliable narrators of how the Force works, they act in harmony with it to the best of their abilities, but balance isn't really about only them, it's about everyone. And balance isn't equal amounts of light and dark--that gets you the Empire.  Balance is when everyone works together and cares about each other and loves each other and is compassionate to each other--the light side is the balance!

[hannibalzero]

Hi. What brought you to Obikin? What made you think : "Ok. I ship it."? (I ask with all the curiosity and respect).

I don’t mind sharing! It’s kinda a complicated answer. Sooooo way back in 2005 I went to see Revenge of the sith. I was 13 years old and just discovered deviant art. I know I’m old haha. So I saw the movie and thought that Obi-wan was acting more like Padme should of been, confronting Anakin trying to make him see what he’s doing is wrong. Padme did a little of it, shame they cut the knife scene. Okay we we are at the point where Obiwan yells “I loved you.” And Anakin yelled “I hate you.” Not meaning it. He never meant it, he just wanted to hurt obiwan. At 13 it hit me that, oh ohhhh they really loved eachother. More than the brother, master or anything. They where soulmates. This was wayyyyy before the force dyad was introduced. Anakin needed Obiwan and Obiwan needed Anakin.

Then I saw a tv special where George Lucas talked about who Obiwan and Vader are two sides of the same coin. They are Luke and Leia’s father.

Okay so back to 13 and being a budding yaoi fan girl. This was before it was cringe. There was this picture of a mpreg Obiwan and a protective Anakin Skywalker. The image stuck in my mind for a while. I moved on to different ships and yeah I still liked Star Wars but anime boys were life!

So moving forward I was 27 and just finished up watching the new starwars stuff. Yeah I had fun but eh? Kylux is a great ship btw. I missed the old stuff and rewatched the movies 1-6. Yeah it was cheesy but knowing it was written for children, Lucas little boys apparently. I saw them through a new light. I remembered that old mpreg obikin picture and thought I would see what the Obikin fanfiction looked like now a days. I read a few back in the day but nothing great.

I was blown away by the new fanfics and writers on ao3. I was very impressed and then inspired, maybe I could write something? There isn’t any more fics I can read! I’ve roleplayed for years I could write a bit. So I did, just to see if I could write alone. Honestly I was expecting to be ripped a new butthole for bad writing. At 18 I tried writing fanfiction for yugiyo and yikes…yikes man. But the Obikin community was loving and encouraging. I kept going. My writing improved, they loved my crazy random ideas and silly world building.

I love Obikin, the relationship between Obi-wan and Anakin. The fun cannon of Star Wars that can easily fit anything. They’re complicated relationships between Quigonjin, Dooku, Padme and yoda. The amazing fan-artist, how Ewan Megreger is handsome. ( one of my first crushes) along with Hayden Christensen. (That photo of him giving a lightsaber to his daughter?! 🥺)) being a romantic I wanted to give these characters a happy ending.

But the community, is what made this my favorite ship.

I know that was a lotta text, but you deserved a full explanation.

❤️🐰❤️🐰❤️🐰

All my love

Hannibella .

I think this is the artist. Geez 2005…that’s a looong time ago!

Side note? I miss iPods :(

[helbertinelli]

It's 2023, and dudebros are STILL complaining about how "bad the prequels are, the CGI in the prequels is bad, Anidala is creepy, the dialogue is bad, I hate midichlorians, George Lucas is a terrible writer and director, the writing and the story is bad, the acting is bad, OT is better". Being a prequels fan is so difficult and exhausting. Meanwhile, the sequels were DAMN AWFUL, but I don't see as much hate for them as I see for the prequels. That is unfair. How can dudebros keep up this sucky ass energy??? And then Disney still refuses to acknowledge the prequels and continues milking OT era shows and movies. I'm tired. I just wanna enjoy the prequels in peace! I wanna see more prequel content! I wanna see more prequel characters content! Dudebros and Disney ruin everything.

There's always gonna be people complaining. If you love the prequels just feel free to love them and enjoy them. There's plenty of other people who love them too and even more so than before when they were first released. If people are hating on the stuff you like, just block them and move on. Don't let them ruin your fun.

I'm actually grateful that Disney isn't making much content for the prequels though because I don't want them ruining them. Like TCW 2008 already messed a lot of things up. And all these new SW shows don't feel like SW tbh. They just feel like generic action movie in the desert. They can't even make cool costumes anymore. It's all just khaki or green jumpsuit or generic looking armor. It doesn't really scream fairytale in space. Don't even get me started on the plots, they're so lifeless and so unlike SW. SW stuff rn seems to be made by people who misunderstood SW completely and they just wanna push their interpretation of it onto people. So I'm glad that they're ignoring the prequels for now.

[crims0nwritess]

Introduction

Helloooo, this is my first tumblr post so I apologize for how bad it is😭

Anyways I write fanfics! Here are the fandoms I will write for:

Marvel

Stranger things

The owl house

Wednesday

Enola Holmes

Harry Potter

Avatar the last airbender/ Avatar legend of korra

Heartstopper

Limits/Requirements

What I will write:

Fluff

Gay stories (M/M & M/GN)

Character x reader

Headcanons

One-shots

Requests

Platonic stories with female characters

Poly Relationships

LIGHT smut/suggestive situations (!only for characters that are not underage!)

Imagines

Coming out imagines (trans/queer/ace/poly friendly!)

What I will NOT write:

Angst (im bad at it😭)

Straight stories (M/F)

Romantic stories with female characters

Long/Multi chapter stories

Character x character (unless its a poly ship with the reader)

Extreme age-gap

Pro-ships

Extreme smut

About me!

My name is Crimson!

Im gay

My pronouns are he/they

Very amateur writer

I prioritize requests!!!

I won't be constantly writing cuz ya know life but I will make sure that I see and respond to requests

I have an ao3 account with the same name but I havent posted anything yet😭

Characters

Will be accepting requests for these characters

Marvel

Peter Parker (My #1)

Andrew!Peter Parker

Tobey!Peter Parker

Marc Spector

Steven Grant

Sam Wilson

Bucky Barnes

Eddie Brock

Matt Murdock

Clint Barton

Scott Lang

Stephen Strange (Platonic only)

Pietro Maximoff

Tony Stark (Platonic only)

Thor

Namor

Vision

Wade Wilson

Steve Rogers

Bruce Banner

Shang-Chi

Scott Summers

Leo Fitz

Kang the Conqueror/Nathaniel Richards (New!)

Stranger things

Dustin Henderson (my #1)

Mike Wheeler

Will Byers

Lucas Sinclair

Jonathan Byers

Steve Harrington

Argyle

Jim Hopper

Enzo/Dmitri

The Owl House

Hunter

Thats basically it but I will do a lot of platonic imagines with all the other characters

Wednesday

Tyler

Ajax (my #1)

Pugsley

Eugene

Enola Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Tewksbury

A lot of platonic imagines for the rest of the characters as well

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Ron Weasley (my #1)

Neville Longbottom

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Oliver Wood

Cedric Diggory

Remus Lupin

Sirius Black

Avatar TLA/LOK

Aang

Sokka

Zuko

Mako

Bolin

+bunch of platonic stuff

Heartstopper

Nick

Charlie

Thats basically it

Extra

Please send requests! :) Im really bad at coming up with ideas lol

I probably forgot a bunch of stuff on here but yeah

Thats it! Byeee