#george lucas must be stopped

[david-talks-sw]

What's 'Star Wars' about?

A while ago I got an 'Ask' that concluded with "what is Star Wars about, if not the Jedi, right?" And weirdly enough... I have to disagree.

I mean... to me? Yes. Star Wars is about the Jedi. A Jedi-less, Sith-less, lightsaber-less Star Wars movie or series will struggle to get me on board (which is why I was surprised that I loved Andor so much).

But if you read everything George Lucas said, if you think about the Jedi's place in his two trilogies... they're not front and center, right?

Sure, there's Luke Skywalker... but he's a learner, in the Original Trilogy. Same goes for Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in the Prequels. They're going through character arcs.

Otherwise, the Jedi are either used as mentors to the protagonist...

... or to deliver exposition...

... but they're mostly vectors Lucas uses to present his thesis.

Functionally-speaking, the Jedi are important in that they embody the Buddhist philosophies the movie's themes are based on.

But when it comes to the plot, they're secondary. That's because the the themes of these films are bigger than the Jedi themselves.

So the question becomes... what's are the themes?

The primary goal of the Star Wars films is to inspire kids to start thinking outside the box and teach them a set of values and psychological motifs that have been passed down through mythology and fairy tales.

These values can be summed up in the dichotomy between greed and compassion / selfishness and selflessness / pleasure and joy.

We all have both aspects and need to strike a balance between the two. After all, being greedy ultimately comes from fear and being afraid can happen to all of us. Problem is, unchecked fear can lead to anger, hate and a whole lot of suffering.

The more selfish you are, the more you want things and the more you're afraid that you'll lose everything you have, you'll get angry when someone tries to take it and that will hurt everyone around you.

In other words, fear is the path to the tempting/addictive Dark Side.

Thus, seeing as we'll be inevitably tempted by the Dark Side and give in at some point (because nobody's perfect), we should aim to be as selfless and compassionate as possible for our own good... but also for the greater good, because we're all connected to a life energy. You can call it Qi or God; in Star Wars it's known as the Force.

As such, we all form a symbiotic circle and working with that in mind is better than putting ourselves first and draining from everything and everyone around us.

But we also need to be careful because there will be people who give in to that selfish side and will try to control everything. When the time comes, we must stand up for what's right.

So that's Lucas' thesis.

If I had to sum them up, the six movies illustrate it as follows:

The Prequel Trilogy is about the consequences of greed, explored through Anakin on a smaller scale and the Senate on a larger one.

The Original Trilogy shows the triumph of compassion, through Luke, Leia & Han and the Rebellion's fight against the Empire.

Lucas talked about it multiple times, the Prequels are about how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and how the Republic becomes the Empire, and in both those cases, it happens because they're greedy.

The Senate is greedy in the more classical sense. They could give a shit about "symbiosis", no they're taking bribes, letting corporations dictate policy, using loopholes to keep themselves in power and halting any meaningful progress out of fear that the new status quo will conflict with their own self-serving goals.

Anakin's greed manifests in a different way. He turns to the Dark Side because of his attachment. He wants to stop Padmé from dying... but not because he wants to save her, rather he wants to save himself from feeling the pain of loss again and will do anything to not have to live without her, her own wishes and the natural cycle of life and death be damned.

In both cases, they cave under pressure orchestrated by Palpatine, but nobody puts a gun to their head. They make a deliberate choice that comes from a selfish place, and neither one takes personal responsibility for it, they blame others, the Separatists in the case of the Senate and the Jedi in Anakin's case.

The Republic becomes an Empire with thunderous applause, betraying the people it was meant to protect.

And when faced between doing something he knows is right and giving in to his selfish desires...

... Anakin elects to do the latter, thus betraying his family and leaving the Force in darkness.

These selfish choices impact the galaxy as a whole, including the only characters in the trilogy who were doing their best to be compassionate and live in symbiosis: the Jedi, Padmé and Bail.

These champions of the Light Side are stuck playing catch-up or helplessly witnessing the events unfold, throughout the trilogy. They're playing by the rules and Palpatine uses this to his advantage.

Thus, as the galaxy tears itself apart because of Palpatine's manipulations, the Jedi and Bail are ignored and gradually weakened until they're either rendered irrelevant or killed.

A new order is born, one built on blood, lies and greed: the Empire.

But a new hope remains.

While before, the Jedi and people like Bail stood alone as everything around them became willfully corrupt... now, a Rebellion inspired by their legacy has banded together to overthrow the current order. But they don't fight for power or personal glory, they fight for altruistic, compassionate reasons. There's a sense of general responsibility that moves them, they're all doing their part.

On a larger scale, we focus on the Rebels, who are tired of seeing people suffer and decided this needs to stop. They have gone from being passive, to proactive.

On a more personal scale, we see the evolution of Luke, from naive farmer to a hero, and guess what? More and more selfish people - like Han or Lando - are inspired to join the Rebellion, after seeing the exploits of Luke, Leia, or even Ben.

It all culminates in the final film, wherein:

The Rebels band together with the Ewoks - literal teddy bears whom the Empire, in their arrogance, never even considered to be a threat - to destroy the Second Death Star and free the galaxy from imperial tyranny.

At the same time, Emperor Palpatine pressures Luke, who is tempted by the Dark Side like his father was.

But instead of giving in to his selfish desire to kill Darth Vader for all the horrors he's done...

... he finds the strength to rise above it, instead showing compassion for his father, which, in turn, inspires Anakin to do the same.

He faces a choice, like he did in Palpatine's office, two decades prior...

... and this time he chooses right.

Children teach you compassion. Anakin lets go of his fear and anger, and saves his son at the cost of his own life, finally bringing balance back to the Force.

Good triumphed over evil. Its champions achieved victory by being selfless, hopeful and fighting together / helping each other.

And that's it, that's how the movies thematically tie together.

As you can see, the Jedi aren't that directly impactful on the overall plot, because it revolves around Anakin, Luke and the respective factions/institutions around them.

But what the Jedi do bring to the table is their ability to teach and inspire others, both in-universe and out. They're spiritually impactful.

The Jedi are the epitome of compassion, and it's partially through them that George Lucas teaches his values to the audience.

[artist-issues]

You know... it also just seems really weird that Disney has been going out of it's way to subvert everything from its past.

If I put myself in the mind of "everything we were founded on, and everything we create before ~2016 was bad" I don't see why I'd keep going. Like... if Disney thinks Disney sucks, why be Disney? (money IG)

You're right! It must be a very discouraging thing to work for Disney nowadays, if you're the kind of person to think about legacy, or occupy your daily thoughts with some degree of foresight.

The truth is, there is a part of Disney that is successful because it was innovative--it raised the bar and set the culture.

But there's also a part of Disney that is trying to guess what the culture likes, and capitalize on that popularity--the culture tells it what to do.

That's all organizations. Some are brave and say, "no, this is who we are and what we believe, and you can take it or leave it." And usually the culture takes it, because the culture is inspired by strong leadership and clear identities.

But then they get a big following. And it's almost impossible for the organization that used to shape the culture to do anything but become terrified that they'll lose that culture. So then they start making decisions based out of fear, and self-glorification, and insecurity--the total opposite of the confident, bold, innovative identity it used to have.

Disney used to say "oh you think cartoons are just gags? Let me invent the first ever animated feature film--in color! See you in the National Film Registry, skeptics."

It used to say, "oh, you critics think all my fairy tale and animal movies are too light? That they've got no weight to help the kids face real life? Let me make a smash-hit about a Nanny who convinces a work-and-harsh-realities-obsessed father that what his children really need is a spoonful of sugar. Because yeah, life's hard, but that's why we make the job a game."

It used to say, "you think the animated genre died with Walt? You think everyone would rather watch George Lucas movies than a cartoon fairy tale? Let me introduce you to an Academy Award-winning Princess story we call the Little Mermaid. You can stop digging our grave; we just saved animation."

It used to say "you think it can't be done? Hold my mouse ears." And it just did it. And didn't care if audiences said silly, shallow things like "girls don't need to be rescued by a prince!!1!" Or "grown-ups don't watch cartoons lol!!"

Nowadays, though? They're so big they don't know who they are anymore. And they're so big they're scared to lose anything, or take risks. I'm sure there's a lot of political pockets involved, too. They don't dare say anything but what the loudest, most complaining members of our society tell them to say.

They're no longer trend-setters and trail-blazers. They're a monument that is whatever the loudest people tells them to be. Has to suck, when you're the company that followed Walt's "Keep moving forward" motto.

[longtallglasses]

“I’m gay,” he blurts out suddenly, because if this is how his life is going and he’s gonna die in the next 12 hours he at least needs to let Mike know that.

“What?!” Mike whips around so hard he almost loses all balance and falls to the ground. He catches himself thankfully right before he does.

“I’m gay,” Will says again when Mike is in front of him. Mike’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open just a bit. Will doesn’t feel any emotion to his confession at all, it’s not news to him obviously, but whenever he imagined finally telling this to Mike he thought it would feel so dramatic. That it would feel like he was ripping open a part of himself, but given everything it feels like he’s just letting Mike know what his star sign is.

Mike however looks like he’s gonna have an aneurysm. He’s short circuited. He’s dumbfounded. Will is honestly a little surprised this is so shocking to him like did he never even consider-

“Uh-.. uh I know.” Mike stumbles on his words like bambi.

Wait what?

“What do you mean you know?”

“Uh, that I know… I know you’re- you’re gay.” Mike stammers out like he’s never said the word in his life.

“Did Lucas tell you?” Will accuses. He doesn’t want to think about the state that Lucas must be in but if he told Mike anything…

“No! Wait, Lucas knows?”

“Yeah, I told him. How do you know?”

“Well, I..” Mike struggles, “I just assumed… No! Not that I assumed, I just inferred.” Mike rubs a hand over his face, “Well, you know, I figured it out, kind of… like I just realized you didn’t really like girls, which is okay! I mean I get it girls are whatever… but then you know how obsessed you were with George Michael… well I just put two and two together and-”

“Ok, Ok,” Will stops him there, “how long have you known then?”

“I don’t know.. Um, like since last year?”

Will lets out an internal sigh of relief. Ok, he can work with that. He would’ve thought it was earlier given when Mike had started to stand farther and farther away from him, this trip excluded for obvious reasons.

“And you’re cool with it?” I mean he has to be at least pretty cool with it if he’s with him here right now.

“Of course! Of course I’m cool with it, I lo- I- I, you’re- you’re perfect.” Mike settles on and Will sees the look of strained cringe Mike just can’t disguise, and he can’t help but laugh at how utterly ridiculous and pathetic his best friend is.

Mike chuckles at himself too. Sheepishly running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, you know what I mean..”

Will forces himself to not laugh in his face any longer, at least they can still do this. He might be dying soon and a ghost of a witch might be after them and their friends, but this can still feel nice.

“Yeah I do, it’s okay. You’re perfect too.” He still blushes as he says it even if it's supposed to be half a joke. The huge megawatt smile that blooms across Mike’s face after he says it is pretty worth it though.

Mike tries to tamper it down by looking away and clearing his throat, but he’s not too successful, so Will helps him out.

“Let’s, uh, let’s get this stuff up,” he says to break the moment, and Mike is happy to spring to action to not talk about this anymore.

from my blair witch project wip mostly spoiler free lol things are getting spooky but you gotta come out to your crush before you die...

[gffa]

I’ve been thinking about Yoda and Anakin’s scene from Revenge of the Sith again and I think it’s important to point out the flow of the conversation and why Yoda says, “Mourn them, do not.  Miss them, do not.” and when he says it and what his advice is when Anakin asks him for help. Yoda: “Premonitions, premonitions. These visions you have...” Anakin Skywalker: “They are of pain, suffering. Death." Yoda: “Yourself you speak of, or someone you know?" Anakin Skywalker: "Someone." Yoda: "Close to you?” Anakin Skywalker: "Yes." Yoda: "Careful you must be when sensing the future Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side." Anakin Skywalker: "I won't let these visions come true, Master Yoda." Yoda: "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is." Anakin Skywalker: "What must I do, Master Yoda?" Yoda: "Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." The conversation is specifically about fear of loss, not about grief after a loss happens.  I think it’s entirely reasonable to read this conversation--especially given that Yoda’s advice is centered around training yourself to let go of what you fear to lose, meaning you still have it in your hands and you haven’t lost it yet--as saying that Anakin needs to stop mourning someone who is still there with him. Don’t mourn someone who’s still alive, don’t miss someone who’s still right there, rejoice that you have them in your life, these people who will eventually join the Force, because that’s how life and death work. George Lucas has always been explicit about how letting go is a central theme of the movies and Yoda has always been a narratively reliable person when it comes to explaining the worldbuilding in-universe in a way that matches up exactly what Lucas says is how it works.  This conversation is meant to be taken as good advice and I honestly don’t think “you should never mourn anyone” is Yoda’s takeaway, especially not given that we see the Jedi having funerals, we see them having one in Episode I, we see them having funerals in The Clone Wars, we see them mourn for the person once they’re gone. When Anakin asks, “What should I do?”, Yoda’s advice is to talk about attachment and jealousy and greed, things that Anakin displays about someone who is still with him, someone he’s desperately holding onto right now.  He’s pre-mourning Padme before she’s even gone, that’s why Yoda warns him about sensing the future can be tricky, because it’s not that mourning is bad in and of itself, but that if you’re mourning someone who is still right there, you’re falling down the rabbit hole of attachment--the fear of losing someone that’s so bad you’ll let a thousand people die just to save that one, because you are afraid to live without them, because that’s what your feelings demand--and that’s exactly what Anakin is doing. Yoda’s not saying you can’t grieve for someone you’ve lost.  He’s saying don’t cling to them so tightly because you’re afraid of losing them, that you’re grieving them before they’re even dead.  Rejoice that they’re still here with you, as long as you have them.  Train yourself out of those bad thought patterns and negative spirals.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Jedi Night"

Right, just going to go ahead and pass around the boxes of tissues.

Live reaction version.

And here we are at last. The entire latter half of the season had already began shifting at "Rebel Assault", but here the shift becomes permanent.

From the promos and synopsis put out before this episode, the genre-savvy among us could kind of already tell what was coming. But it was still devastating.

All right, enough stalling, let's get into it.

Aww man, this is the same spot Ezra sits in the finale isn't it?

Dammit we're barely ten seconds in and I'm already sad.

The Loth-wolf theme is heavy over this scene as Kanan is bombarded with an audio portent and foreshadowing of things to come in the WBW.

"You want a ride?" "The Jedi Temple is in danger." "Kanan, you haven't gotten me a present since we met." "You can learn what it truly means to be a Jedi." "You didn't prepare me for this, Kanan." "There's something I need to tell you." "I know I can always count on you."

Kanan hears mostly himself, and the two most important people in his life--Hera and Ezra. He hears Ezra's despair at losing him, and his resolve in entrusting his life and mission to Sabine. He knows the Jedi Temple is in danger. He's connected deeply with the wolves at this point, and either knows or at least suspects what he and Ezra will be asked to do.

This is probably where those extra episodes explaining Kanan's backstory and connection to Lothal would have come in handy. As it is we get the mysterious voiceover dump and have to piece things together after the fact.

What I think makes the most sense is that the Loth-wolves stopped Kanan from going to rescue Hera last episode precisely because--connected deeply as they are in the Force, associated with the WBW--they could see ahead to the potential futures of that course of action and knew that if he went after her, he would die. No matter what he did, no matter which way he moved, one way or another, it would happen. So they warned him. They showed him why lay ahead.

If you do this, we cannot save you, they told him.

And that's why he spends so much of this episode trying to mentally prepare the others, especially Ezra, for his absence.

Because the wolves still a Jedi to save the Temple from Palpatine's evil intentions.

Kanan is resolved in his purpose: He's going to save Hera. He's resigned to his fate: He will trade his life for the chance. And he's determined in his resilience: "Then I will make it count." He won't just make his death a meaningless sacrifice. He will ensure the completion of her mission, honor her by fulfilling the end goal of her failed attack. He will save Lothal by destroying the fuel pods and bringing the factories to a halt. He will give his life for Hera's dream.

Kanan proves in the end that he understands how to love without attachment. (Also why he makes Ezra formulate the plan, because he knows his feelings are compromised when it comes to Hera.) He will not cling selfishly to her. He will free her and then let her go and then let his own life pass away. He will take his place in Hades, and then teach Ezra how to grieve. Because Ezra won't be able to save him.

Because you can't go back down into Hades to retrieve the ones you lose.

“In mythology, if you go to Hades to get them back you’re not doing it for them, you’re doing it for yourself. You’re doing it because you don’t want to give them up. You’re afraid to be without them. The key to the dark side is fear. You must be clean of fear, and fear of loss is the greatest fear. If you’re set up for fear of loss, you will do anything to keep that loss from happening, and you’re going to end up in the dark side. That’s the basic premise of Star Wars and the Jedi, and how it works."

George Lucas, Mellody Hobson George Lucas - Virtual Speaker Interview, 2021

I love this shot, Ezra entering lightsaber-first, a visual emphasis on the fact that they are Jedi, and the Force requires much of them. Much sacrifice, much compassion, much selflessness. To whom much is given, much is required. With great power comes great responsibility.

All that jazz.

Kanan is preparing Ezra for the greatest responsibility he's going to have, to be asked to do what is right regardless of what it will personally cost him. And he's about to become a very painful object lesson.

He also talks like he's been given multiple visions of the future and is arranging things specifically so that they'll fall out in a specific way. It mirrors how Ezra speaks in the finale--If Thrawn shows up too soon, then this path, if he doesn't, then this one.

Some very painful paralleling that you don't realize the first time through.

Ezra's a bit uncertain at first, but honors Kanan's request, and gets started formulating a plan to get them into the Capital.

OH HEY WOULD YOU LIKE TO DESPISE PRYCE A BIT MORE?

Conducting the interrogation personally in her own office is quite the flex.

Once again paralleling to the Season One finale, another character comes in to start the questioning, and gets awfully personal with the digs, bringing up the interrogated party's painful past and history. In this case, Thrawn has brought Hera's kalikori down from its pedastel in his office on the Chimaera--that "place of honor" he promised her--in order to rub it in how he's deciphered the cultural meaning behind it.

Really leaning in hard on those icky cultural appropriation vibes aren't we, writers? Let's be clear, it's not that Thrawn was curious about Twi'lek culture and researched what meant what on a kalikori that's so gross, it's that he did so in order to learn more about Hera specifically so that he could hurt her more personally, namely by taunting her about her dead brother. It's the context, not the curiosity.

Thrawn is an Imperial warlord and only comes into contact with these cultural relics because he's a member of the tyrannical force currently oppressing those cultures. If he really respected or cared about them as items important to the people the Empire was conquering, he should leave them in their damn place. OR, if destruction of the relics at the hand of the Empire was inevitable, he should save them from that destruction and then be finding a way to give them back to the people they belong to or the closest equivalent. Instead he hoards them in his own art gallery to dissect and study to glean more insight into the cultures, so that the Empire might better defeat them.

Yeah no, the staging parallels to the Grand Inquisitor are super 100% on purpose and deliberate.

Also! Because I like ruining people's days, would you like some more Fridge Horror that you may or may not already have seen if you've been following me?

IT-O droids monitor prisoner vitals. Heartrate, blood pressure, adrenaline, other hormones and physiological markers. Hera's already pregnant at this point. Possibly far enough along that the IT-O was able to detect it.

Thrawn and Pryce might knowingly have tortured a pregnant woman.

~You're weeeeeeeeeelcooooooooome.~

Love Sabine whacking Zeb and shushing him to not interrupt Ezra as he's meditating and sensing out.

Also this look. <3

And also the soft conspiratorial smiles between Ezra and Sabine as they vibe on the same wavelength in regards to this plan.

The Kiners go all out on the music this next scene, as we montage building the gliders and Kanan preparing to shave and cut his hair, fully reclaiming his identity as Caleb Dume, The Last Padawan, again.

Kanan's theme plays, in bright flute, with bouncy string accompaniment. It's ritualistic how he moves. Like a samurai slicing off his topknot. Luke's Theme crossfades in through his to mark the heroism of the moment, as the preparations are finished.

And thus begins a long series of hidden goodbyes.

"This is one of those times I'm glad the Force is with you." Zeb says, about how crazy the plan is, and Kanan just silently puts a hand on his shoulder, the last time the two men would ever speak.

(The animators also go all hell out, making this episode one of the most gorgeous yet put to print.)

Cut to our favorite blue asshole. And he's been summoned to Coruscant for a meeting of heads of state to quibble about budgetary proportions lol. Of all things to yank Thrawn away from Lothal, it's politics and bureaucracy, par the course. Thrawn seems offended and claims Palpatine assured him he supports the Defenders.

And while I'm sure Palpatine has paid a bit of lip service to Thrawn's face... yeah no sorry honey, Palpatine was always going to go with the Death Star thing, it's been in the works since before the Clone War broke out. The only issue is that it's sucking all the funding and resources of everything else dry because of the constant delays and problems (Krennic is apparently mismanaging to hell) so now they are considering ganking money from other various projects to feed it.

And that's just... SO like the government lol.

So exit Thrawn, straight into the Thrawn: Treason novel. And I am still SORELY disappointed that Zahn did not take full advantage of the fact that Treason was basically a Rebels tie-in in order to have Thrawn sloooooooowly losing his mind and patience over things dissolving on Lothal while he's not there so that by the time we get him back in the finale, his irritation and annoyance is peak comedy and perfect characterization follow-through.

"I was gone for ONE HOUR and you blew up my project???!??"

The gliders are telegraphed to us with a very slight sound effect, and the rigid wings. So it's amazingly effective at fooling the Troopers lol. Rukh on the other hand has probably picked up a whiff of Zeb lingering on the others so he's alert.

Aaaaaand hidden goodbye number two, frick my heart this one hurts. There's so much Kanan can't tell Ezra, lest the fear of loss cripple him and make him unable to act, drive him towards the Dark Side. Kanan needs Ezra to be able to function for this mission, so he just praises Ezra for being a good listener--a veiled admonition for him to continue listening to the will of the Force, to his instincts, to the wisdom of others, to the wolves--and tells him and Sabine, "May the Force be with you."

He entrusts their safety to the Force, and tells them to trust in it in turn.

"Ezra and Sabine have each other, they'll find their way home."

Oh boy, on this edition of "Terrible Rebels takes that make zero sense except to the perpetually offended", there were actually multiple people who complained about Hera's confession coming about as a result of the truth serum, and they were mad that her loopy state because of the truth serum was played for laughs.

To which all I will say is, shut up, Hera drunk on truth serum is hilarious. Maybe quit having such a stick up your butt about bad things happening to female characters and let them get in on the jokes and slapstick occasionally.

Heroic Main Theme here as Kanan makes his entrance.

About 90% certain the thing Hera wanted to tell Kanan here was that she was pregnant. I refuse to accept that time on the fuel pod as the first time she told Kanan she loved him. Does not make sense, rejected.

Not gonna comment much on the Kanan/Hera scenes, they're adorable and sweet and heartwarming and heartbreaking in hindsight but I will say this soft romantic cue that accompanies them is very lovely.

Pryce sounds more than a bit pissy that Hera got rescued right from under her nose. This leads directly into her recklessness later with the fuel pods.

Love Ezra and Sabine casually commandeering a gunship. "I'm the backup pilot, so I'm in the back." And the Troopers just accept that logic lol.

And the "something" Kanan needs to tell Hera is either that he knows she's pregnant (but maybe doesn't know she knows?) OR about his upcoming expiration. Too bad Rukh interferes.

Oh hey, another sad parallel, neither Jedi have their lightsaber for their moment of ultimate sacrifice.

Hgngnh watching all the pieces move into place for what I already know is coming is awful.

Still cannot get over just how polluted the streets are, look at that rust colored smog.

Lol Ezra's little fist pump, completely forgetting where he is a moment. He's so cute I love him.

Their teamwork in taking out the other Imperials is great too.

*watches the kiss, sighs with sadness*

You did not have to dig so hard into the mood whiplash guys. You really didn't.

All right, let's just... pull off the bandaid.

The animation, the music full of mournful male chorus and high siren wail, the muted soundtrack, the emphasis on Hera and Ezra, that Kanan is so deeply utterly in tune with the Force that his blindness doesn't even matter (which is what his eyes clearing up was, clumsily, attempting to convey) he can see them...

And then he's gone.

And how awful it was for Ezra, who literally just felt his bond with Kanan snap inside his head, to have to be the competent leader and shout at Sabine to, "Go! Go!". For him to have to be the one thinking clearly, because Hera is completely numb and in shock.

Sabine wiping her eyes as she flies them out of there, somehow still able to see through her tears.

And then a stark white and gray titlecard as ashen dust flickers down around the text.

:((((((((

Frick man it still hits hard. Looking back though, it was inevitable. The death flags were all there, the pieces all set up and in place. This wasn't done on a whim, this was meticulously thought out, to devastating effect.

I was never quite as emotionally attached to Kanan as a lot of other people in the fandom, and I'm also a grown adult, so Kanan's death, while incredibly saddening, was not nearly as emotionally devastating to me as it was to quite a few younger viewers. For a lot of fandom this was their first time experiencing a fictitious loss like that, of having a character, a person they had as a staple in their lives, suddenly leaving it. Leaving behind an empty hole.

And that's one of the reasons I have to respect the writers for doing it. They had a story they needed to tell--about loss, about dealing with grief, about how to pick yourself back up and continue doing the right thing, as a Jedi specifically for Ezra, and as a person for everyone else--and they knew they needed to give it the weight and gravitas it merited.

You can't cling to things forever. It's one of the core staple lessons of Star Wars, the "point of the prequels" to borrow a common if oft-misused phrase.

Loss will happen. Death will happen. Do not give into fear about it. Do not let your fear of loss drive you into darkness.

Give yourself time to process the loss. Let yourself grieve.

And then let go.

So I appreciate that the next few episodes are spent almost as if in a funk, the cloud of grief hanging over us as we process through our loss with the characters and then pick ourselves back up and return to the mission. Because the war isn't won yet, and there are still things left to do.

It is darkest before the dawn.

[writerbuddha]

Why Anakin Skywalker was wrong to try to save his wife from death?

There is a confusion among Star Wars fans regarding the Jedi views on life and death, Anakin Skywalker's premonition about Padmé's nearing death and Master Yoda's advise on how to deal with it, with many believing, the Jedi advocated aloofness, deference or inaction. In this post, I'm going to explore:

What Jedi philosophy is, according to critics?

What Jedi philosophy actually is?

Anakin Skywalker's problem and Yoda's advise

"Mourn them do not. Miss them do not." - How the Jedi cope with loss?

What Jedi philosophy is, according to critics?

Some who are voicing criticism agains Yoda and Jedi philosophy, are believing, this is the thinking behind the Jedi teachings of letting go of attachments, accepting change and death as a natural part of life: You should love, but keep everything and everyone at arm's length, so you won't be suffer when you inevitably lose them, you won't be afraid of losing them. Settle for what you have, whether it's good or bad, don't crave anything, so you'll never be disappointed. Let life flow as it must, don't resist whatever it brings, accept it and take it with serenity, the good and the bad. Relinquish your expectations, relinquish your false sense of control over the universe, so you will have lasting, undisturbed peace, stability in the sea of uncertainties. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.

What Jedi philosophy actually is?

As George Lucas explained, the Jedi are trained to understand that the reality of nature, of God and of life is that things come and things go; they won't stay in our lives, and for this reason, we cannot hold on to anything. While they're in our lives, we shall enjoy, love and protect them, care and fight for them, rely on them, but we must be able to accept the change, and death is the biggest change of all. The Jedi are trained from a very early age to learn how to let go of everything, that is to release the fearful hold on the things and people they love; or in other words, to cease their attachments, the love characterized by the desire to hold on to that we find joyous, pleasant, pleasurable.

Non-attachment is the acceptance of the inevitable reality that all things and beings are impermanent and not desiring the impossible, that is to make them permanent: it's the way to enjoy the sunlight in its fullest, but to allow the sun(s) to set in peace, without fear, anger and pain. To love without attachment is to love compassionately - to seek to bring happiness to, and alleviate the suffering of others. This love, as opposed to attachment, doesn't feed into the fear of loss, it brings lasting, true joy, the joy of love, forms a sense of oneness with others, that stays with us and endures all change, all loss, all death.

Anakin Skywalker's problem and Yoda's advise

Since Jedi philosophy requires its followers to do anything that is humanly possible to protect their loved ones from harm, one would wonder, why Master Yoda advised Anakin Skywalker to accept the approaching death of the love of his life, instead of urging him to do everything he can to prevent it. The reason for this is that although both Yoda and the Father assures us, the future is always in motion, and nothing is set in stone, the premonitions Anakin had about the death of his wife were not warnings about a preventable possibility. George Lucas made it clear: Padmé's death was "preordained."

Anakin "knew she is going to die" and he "knows he can't have [the life he wants with Padmé and their babies]" and his quest to save her from death is "going against the Fates and what is natural." He didn't seek to heal a wound, to cure an illness, to keep his wife safe during childbirth. He knew that her death is inevitable, but he wanted to hold on to her, he wanted to stop her from dying, to stop the suns from setting, to stop change, to alter the way of the universe. The problem Anakin Skywalker seeks help for is: "I had premonitions, I know someone I love is going to die. I don't want to lose them, what can I do?" And the answer to this - the only possible answer to this - is what Yoda gives: "Death is a natural part of life, nothing goes on forever. What you can do is to not desiring the impossible, that is the impermanent you fearfully grasp on, to be permanent. Accept what is the natural course of life. If you don't, that will only bring you pain."

"Mourn them do not. Miss them do not." - How the Jedi cope with loss?

For every living things, whether to be sentient or non-sentient, there is beginning, and there is end, there is birth and there is death. If we have a realistic, mindful approach to life, we can see and accept this. Obviously, the disappearance of a loved one from our lives will never be easy, will bring sadness, and their absence will always be felt. But the severe pain, sorrow, regret over this, the anguish that we are not with them, the intense yearning to be with them, to get them back is stemming from our desire to hold on to what we find pleasant, good and joyous, from the inability to accept that we can never truly have, own, possess anything. If we cease the unrealistic and unreasonable yearning, we're able to allow change, to allow death to enter into our lives and seeing it as a natural part of it. And we can be at peace.

The Jedi are too saying good bye to their loved ones, remembering the time they had with them, but when their loved ones die, they let go, allowing death and change to enter into their lives, without fear. And if we love compassionately, as Lucas says, we're safe from the fear and pain of loss: compassion, unconditional, selfless love, that is to want the happiness of the other person, wanting them to be free from suffering, is devoid of the impulse to have, to possess, to own, to hold on to, thus, it's a love that is aligned with the reality of life. It creates a sense of oneness with others, birthing the joy of love, which is, as opposed to attachment, which is being sealed together by the love of joy, cannot be ceased by change and death. For this, "do not mourn" is not to say, "push out the pain, the sorrow, fight it down." It's to say, "They must go; so let them go. Do not yearn for what is impossible. Keep loving them, so you can keep them in your heart, as you move on." And when we take in to account that in George Lucas' Star Wars nothing ever really dies, since Lucas' metaphor for God, a unified reality to life, a universal life-force, a consciousness, a spirit, from which the life, the consciousness and the spirit emanates into temporary vessels of crude matter, and back into which the life, the consciousness, the spirit of all that ever lived, merges upon death, is an unquestionable reality, it should be clear that it's Yoda who sees and understands the way of nature, life and God.

[marvelstars]

The end of the Sith

"I will throw away everything I have, everything that I have grown to love and throw away my life to save this person" Anakin Skywalker - ROTJ(GEORGE LUCAS)

Something that always gets my attention when I see ROTJ appart from Luke and Vader father - Son relationship is the way Vader choose to stop his master from hurting Luke.

Palpatine was completely distracted while he tortured Luke, making Vader suffer seeing it, so it would have been possible for him to just use his sword to kill Palpatine or even the force to send him towards the reactor shaft, instead Vader choose to carry his master himself, letting his lighting hurt him to the point of being electrocuted, you can even notice the time in which Palpatine changes the strenght of his attack from merely hurting Vader, he after all was careful not to destroy Vader´s internal systems when he punished him, to actively try to kill his apprentice before he killed him and Vader just carried on and let him, he withstood his attack as long as was neccesary until he threw him into the reactor.

Then Vader just stays there, looking down to where he had just sent his old master, his slaver, his old father figure, the person who rescued him from mustafar only to seal him in his armor, who has been with him for the last 20 years and you can just see he´s wondering if he should go with him as well, he just stays there, on the edege looking down until Luke brings his father back from that edge, literally and methaphorically and gives his hand a squeze to console him of the excruciating pain he must be feeling in that moment. Almost as if Luke sensed his father meant to go himself down the reactor shaft.

Then I remember Lucas commentary, Vader for good or ill, LOVED the Emperor, despite everything but I think Vader remembered, in this moment, not only Padme´s smile or his mother kidness which he saw in Luke, he remembered the chosen one prophecy as well, the promise he had represented to the Jedi and to the galaxy

"the coming of a powerfully Force-sensitive being who would restore balance to the Force by destroying the Sith"

Well, he was now a Sith as well, not just his master so for him it would be only fair to share his master´s fate while Luke´s love for him keep him over that edge and fully brought him back to the light in spirit.

Vader dying destroying his master wasn´t an accident, it was intentional, he complied with the chosen one prophecy by destroying the Sith, meaning his master and himself and freed the galaxy from the Sith Empire.

This also broke Bane´s lineage, because Vader didn´t kill his master for power, for revenge or for hate, he did it out of love for his Son, while still loving Palpatine, he did it for love and justice, both values Anakin always held tightly close to himsef and this is what gave him the oportunity to become a force ghost, to become one, you have to leave everything behind, including yourself, Vader threw his life, his master, his love, everything he was the moment he decided to save his Son and restore justice.

[bellmo15-blog]

Naga Mikaela's Trade Offer

And here we have some more old art from ol Ammer done for me. This time the very first sketch drawing from him. And just like how the Fully Detailed pic of that month was of my sona, this one was of another one of my main OC's, Mikaela (Naga AU version!) Insert you George Lucas meme about poetry here. I mean it's still technically May 4th somewhere in the world so it'd fit.

Do you remember that trade offer meme from a few years ago? You know, the meme of that guy in the fancy business suit making a trade offer which lead to a bunch of memes and edits online? I do. I thought it could be fun to get a pic of a hypnotic serpent doing that. And honestly I could end this description right here if I wanted to because just me saying that under this pic speaks for itself! Naga Mikaela doing the trade offer meme. Sadly for like I bet a majority of you people reading this it's an exclusive trade offer and one I doubt Naga Mikaela would make to most of you.

Naga Mikaela: I don't know, with the way some people are actually thirsty for both me and my human counterpart despite the fact that you've gone out of your way to let them know her and I are canonically lesbians they would probaply be wanting me to make this offer to them anyway. And then kiss them lovingly on the cheeks. Because of course they would.

Hey it could be worse. At least they aren't forcing themselves onto you like some clingy stalker who can't take the hint your not interested in them.

NM: .........

... Some clingy stalker who can't take the hint your not interested in them has tried forcing themselves onto you back in your own universe, haven't they?

NM: Yep. Thankfully, one of the many benifits of having hypnosis is that it's an easy solution to any problem. Speaking off *eyes start glowing a hypnotic colour* Aren't you in the middle of binge watching Invincible right now? Why not go continue that ssshow your clearly enjoying?

... @.@ Yes mistress......

NM: Now that he's gone, yeah looking back this is a pretty amusing pic. And I must say, I love how I was drawn in this one. Little wonder Bellmo is supporting this guy on Ko-Fi. Say, do you think Ameer would notice if I took over this account and asked him to draw nothing but me while pretending I'm Bellmo? After all, he did such a good job on this pic, why stop at him drawing me only once, heh heh heh. Say, how would you all like to make a trade offer right now? I receive: a watcher to admire the stuff I get of myself... And maybe some other characters two. You receive: More commissioned drawings requested by me! NOT BellmoTheGreat, ME! Oh if only I could hypnotise you all though text.

NM: Artist is AmmerAshourDraws.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Adam B. Coleman

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Since George Floyd’s death, formerly liberal-minded Americans started validating the anti-racist question of the century: What shall we do with the poor unfortunate Negro?

This singular question popularized a corporate philosophy that is the antithesis of civil-rights law, encouraging employers to entertain an individual’s immutable characteristics as part of the application process.

Business tycoons like Mark Cuban have drunk the diversity, equity and inclusion Kool-Aid despite it containing corporate carcinogens and have chosen to die on the hill of DEI in the social-media public square, Twitter/X.

In an exchange with prominent X user @TheRabbitHole84, who was advocating meritocratic employment, Mark Cuban admitted he takes into account an individual’s identity before hiring: “I’ve never hired anyone based exclusively on race, gender, religion. I only ever hire the person that will put my business in the best position to succeed. And yes, race and gender can be part of the equation. I view diversity as a competitive advantage.”

This public admission of identity-based hiring practices prompted Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas to remind Cuban his actions are unlawful.

Mark Cuban, she wrote, “EEOC Commissioner here. Unfortunately you’re dead wrong on black-letter Title VII law. As a general rule, race/sex can’t even be a ‘motivating factor’—nor a plus factor, tie-breaker, or tipping point. It’s important employers understand the ground rules here.”

Lucus then provided a link to a thread in which she was quoted with a legal reminder for businesses across America who are practicing what Cuban is preaching: “[Lucas] said she sees ‘significant legal and practical risk’ in many corporate diversity programs. ‘Equal opportunity is our charge,’ she said of the [@USEEOC]’s mission, ‘but the law does not demand equal outcomes.’”

When businessmen like Cuban advocate identity-based hiring, they’re tacitly admitting they don’t believe these individuals are capable of competing without corporate training wheels to roll them into employment.

They’re confessing that when a black person like me walks into their office looking for a job just like everyone else, they see me as an object that requires pity instead of a human being who deserves respect.

Cuban states he sees “diversity” as a competitive advantage thanks to employees having different perspectives, but what this does is reinforce race and sex essentialism: We must all think the same because we are part of the same group.

But proclaiming you want diverse perspectives based on identity markers is a ruse to sanction breaking the law because there are no two individuals who have the same perspective on everything, no matter what they look like.

By default, we are all unique and see the world differently despite occasional overlaps in viewpoints.

Cuban and others like him completely overlook something when considering immutable characteristics in employment: If any discrimination is allowed, then what’s to stop it from one day being applied against any of us?

The lesson we learned after instituting the Civil Right Act’s Title VII wasn’t just that refusing to hire black people is wrong — avoiding hiring anyone based on that person’s identity markers is wrong full stop.

It might be en vogue today to pity black applicants and want to give us a leg up, but who’s to say that in the future there won’t be a demand to boomerang back and correct an overcorrection in hiring, harking back to a distant past mantra of “Blacks need not apply”?

DEI encourages corporate saviorism as a necessary benevolent act, but it’s a disingenuous practice that sees minorities as incapable of excelling without someone else pulling us up to prosperity.

It makes intelligent men like Cuban speak dogmatically about people who don’t look like him, reinforcing how we are being held down by invisible systems and only wealthy white men like him can (and must) save us.

Mark Cuban: We don’t need saving or want your pity.

If you want to help us, treat us like everyone else and let DEI die.

Adam B. Coleman is the author of “Black Victim to Black Victor” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Follow him on Substack: adambcoleman.substack.com.

--

==

Oops.

[tessiete]

Please. I beg. Stop talking about how Obi-Wan and Yoda wanted Luke to kill Vader. That is not what that scene is about. It's not. Please. Please.

When Luke says, "I can't kill my own father"

And Obi-Wan says, "Then the Empire has already won"

It's because Luke's UNWILLINGNESS TO LET GO OF THAT ATTACHMENT (ie. his duty to his father) will prevent him from accepting any other necessity of the situation. He's going into a showdown with Vader telling Obi-Wan he's already made up his mind on how he's going to act. The Empire will win because if he won't even consider killing Vader then he will never be able to act for the greater good. He will sacrifice the galaxy in order to pursue the course of action he has pre-determined. And the Emperor will use that against him. Like he did with Anakin.

This is not to say that Obi-Wan doesn't think Luke might *have* to kill Vader, but that it is not the point of their training Luke.

And there are lots of interviews with George Lucas about the evolution of this conflict and final confrontation. What stays constant is Obi-Wan's hope that Anakin WILL be saved. Despite saying that he's more machine than man, every iteration I have read about has Obi-Wan lingering specifically to help save Anakin.

In one version, he and Yoda appear as ghosts to interfere with the Emperor in the throne room. In another, he makes it explicit to Luke that he is maintaining his physical form in the netherworld waiting for Anakin to join him.

He knows that Vader must either be saved OR killed. But he doesn't commit to either. Luke does. And that's the danger.

If you refuse to do what is necessary in order to pursue what you most desire, then your attachment blinds you to the dark side.

That is why Luke triumphs. He finds a way to win that doesn't sacrifice his soul. The Jedi are about self-mastery, not self-abnegation.

[msookyspooky]

   Terrible Trilogy

Part 19

wordcount: 9000

Gale moved along the busy street on a mission; straight to the Studio Archives. She marched with purpose to the door, ready to open it and get to the bottom of this…Locked.

"Oh shit." She hissed under her breath as she knocked on the door before she tried looking through the glass. "Hello?" 

'Well shit…Guess it wouldn't be the first time.' She thought to herself as she looked around before digging in her purse for a credit card to swipe.

"HEY-"

Gale jumped with a gasp, turning around to come face to face with her dramatic, very ANNOYING doppelganger.

"Jeez." Jennifer mumbled while Gale glared at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gale demanded as the younger woman scrunched her face at her.

"Being Gale Weathers. What the hell are you doing?" 

Gale leaned forward and hissed out. "I AM Gale Weathers." 

"Hey, this is how I see it. I have no house, no bodyguard, no movie and I'm being stalked." She ranted matter of factly. "Because someone wants to kill me? No, because someone wants to kill you. So now, starting now, I go where you go. That way, if someone wants to kill me, I'll be with you and since they really want to kill you they won't kill me. They'll kill you." She tilted her head. "Make sense?" 

Gale blinked with a dumbfounded look. "NONE." 

Jennifer gave a tilt of her head. "You know, in the movies, I play you as being much smarter." 

"And a sane person!" Gale gave with a sarcastic smile. "For you; That must be quite a stretch." 

Jennifer gave a forced smile that faded as soon as it came. "That's funny." Jennifer's eyes darted to the door, whispering to Gale. "Need to get in that building?" 

Gale stared at her a moment before nodding. "Yeah." 

"There a story in that building?" 

Gale huffed. "Maybe." 

Jennifer ripped out a Sunrise Studios keycard from her pocketbook with a smirk. "Gale Weathers would find a way." 

She went right past Gale's face to slide it. The light turned green as the door unlocked to give them access. Gale rolled her eyes with a sneer at the fact the Stab cast, that included Jennifer, had access cards and she didn't. 

"Bitch." She grumbled under her breath as Jennifer opened the door. Gale was hot on her heels, rushing to the open door first. "Alright, wait! Just-" She held up a finger to Jennifer in warning before going in. 

 "Don't tell me what to do." Jennifer retorted before shutting the door behind them both. 

Gale zoned out as Jennifer talked all the way down the stairs, making remarks here and there as her eyes scanned for any sign of life. Both women turned towards a coughing down the hall, glancing at one another before going. 

Gale instantly got in front to do the talking. She wasn't about to let some media darling steal her spotlight. 

She reached into her purse as she spoke. "Um, excuse me. I'm Gale Weathers and I'm here researching for the police-" She smacked a photo of a 20 something year old Maureen onto the desk. "This photo. It was taken at this studio. Her name is Maureen Prescott. Back then it was probably Maureen Roberts." 

The older woman filed her nails while giving them both a bored expression. Gale stopped to look at her with raised brows once she truly looked at the woman. "Hey, are you-" 

"No." She cut her off.

Jennifer's mouth hung open with wide eyes. "But you look just like-" 

"Like her?" She gestured to a picture of Carrie Fisher on the wall. "I've been hearing it all my life." 

"It's uncanny..." Jennifer gave in astonishment at the woman that was a complete look alike.

She sighed as she finished filing her nails. "I was up for Princess Leia. I was this close. " She gestured with her fingers as she got out a cigarette. "So who gets it? The one that sleeps with George Lucas." 

Gale saw how closed off she was and knew she had to get back in her good graces fast. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up a-a sore subject." 

The woman gave a wry smile. "Sure you didn't. None of them did." She took a long drag from her cigarette before speaking. "So, how can I help you? Or do you want me to tell you who you look like?" 

Gale quirked a small smirk at the catty remark. "How about some information on Maureen Roberts?" 

The woman looked uninterested. "I don't work for the cops, Sweetie. I work for the Studio." 

Gale tilted her head with a hum as she reached into her purse. "Really? Well. Would you work for…The President?" Gale slid her a 50 dollar bill. She felt smug until she saw the raised brow the woman gave her and the disbelieving scoff from Jennifer.

The woman smiled and slid it back over. "The President…Of the Studio." 

Jennifer huffed over at Gale. "God, 50 dollars? Who are you? A reporter for Woodsboro High?" 

Gale felt her jaw tick at the arrogant tone in Jennifer's voice. A 50 usually worked…She did have to make out with that one security guard but that was early in her career. Just the name GALE WEATHERS used to have people in awe…But after that broadcasted lawsuit, her name felt tarnished now and here in the city of the Stars; she was a nobody…She hated this shit.

Jennifer plucked off a gold ring and smacked it onto the desk over the picture. "It's worth two grand…So. Are you going to help Gale Weathers or not?" 

The desk clerk eyed it with interest as Gale was forced to eat crow yet again by this young starlet that had made her entire personality around copying her and possibly doing it better. Between Jennifer and YN this entire time, she felt pushed in a corner. She couldn't even talk to Dewey without resentment between you two coming up eventually. Gale felt…Out of her depth.

The woman nodded with a sly smirk, pocketing the ring with her cigarette dangling between her two fingers. She got up and urged them to follow her. They were led to the back where rows and rows of filing cabinets lined down the halls. 

They went past the newest cabinet.

"Which ones would have the actors in Stab?" 

The clerk shrugged. "Depends. We go by actors, not movies. But I can tell you at least a few names new to this job are in the cabinet next to where you're standing." 

Gale glanced over to it and stopped them. Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Are we not on limited time here?" 

Gale was irked that punching her in the face the night before didn't hinder her at all from copping an attitude…It was like talking to an annoying kid sister copying her older sister and Gale didn't like it. 

"In a minute. I want to look at some names…" 

Gale had this weird feeling. A feeling someone on Stab could be doing this. In fact, all the leads pointed to it. She wasn't about to tell Jennifer so she could steal the spotlight yet again for Gale's idea. It only made sense to get as much on them as she could. She opened the door with the help of the clerk.

The clerk gave her a look. "I don't have all day." 

Gale nodded and thumbed through files, most of them unfamiliar names of newbies in the industry.  She found Angelina Tylers file, skimming through it to see nothing out of the ordinary. She lived in a small town Gale recognized as one near Woodsboro. Probably even went to rival basketball and football games with Woodsboro kids as their opponents.

'Interesting.' Gale thought. It was definitely a bit strange her going to a school so close to Woodsboro  High but other than that wasn't anything too bizarre. Gale almost gave up, about to close the cabinet and look at Maureen's file…Until she got to one file name that perked her interest. 

She tilted her head, remembering the cops mentioning the name vaguely as playing Stu. "...Dennis…Rafkin." She mumbled under her breath while Jennifer was way up ahead, arms folded impatiently and the Clerk leaned against a wall smoking.

Gale opened the folder and almost dropped it. Flashbacks of that face hit her like a ton of bricks. He looked…He looked identical to Stu Macher. It wasn't like he didn't have a unique face. Billy Loomis was easily dismissed as just another pretty face but Stu Macher had an unique look about him. She got flashbacks of that night, him holding his blood stained abdomen with a deranged grin. Spit and blood on his chin as his eyes bore into her and Billy came towards her as she clicked the gun. 

Flashbacks to Windsor College where he stood with piercings and blonde fluffy hair. Hands up as Halie McDaniels held a gun to his back…'Tim' was a bullshit lie. That kid was Stu Macher. She knew it, YN knew it, she knew YN knew it and YN sued her for something she obviously had more of a hand in then what she led on. Gale was certain she was involved and hiding something…Seeing the photo. That same cocky grin on his face…The photo…Dark hair, less piercings than Tim but more than Stu, and a lot more filled out than an 18 year old kid….But still…The resemblance.

 It made her stomach sink. On one hand, if she's right, she could make headlines and clear her name. Dewey would realize she wasn't the bad guy here and his precious YN wasn't so innocent…On the other hand, if this was Stu…If Stu Macher returned…The implication of that nut job being behind this scared her.

"Hey!" 

Gale jumped out of her skin, the folder falling onto the ground as Jennifer came up to her. "What are you doing? You wanna find Maureen's file or not?" 

"L-Look!...Look-" Gale picked it up and furiously pointed at the picture. 

Jennifer scrunched her face. "Yeah? He's the guy that plays Stu in the flashback. He's a sleazeball too. As if he could actually have a chance with THIS." Jennifer rolled her eyes as she gestured to herself.

Gale's eyes bulged. "He's playing Stu Macher! Seriously? Don't you get it?" 

Jennifer narrowed her eyes. "Yes? Your point?" 

"He looks!-" 

"Shocker; Like Stu Macher. God, get a clue already! It's Hollywood, lookalikes are part of the job. You're not in your little neck of the woods anymore." Jennifer jerked her head towards the clerk.

The Carrie Fisher looking clerk took a drag of her cigarette and called out to them meters away. "Come on or I'm going back to my desk and locking the gate." 

Jennifer gave Gale a look before walking away. Gale sighed to herself…She felt like a fool, of course they were going to get someone to look like Stu. But…Something…Something about the eyes. The eyes of this 'Dennis' were so damn familiar…Too familiar. Something felt off about him more than just the uncanny resemblance to the deranged teen he was playing. 

She flinched when she thought she heard a noise near the lockers at the end of the hall. She put the folder back, not closing the door as she crept over to the source of the noise. She was never one to hide away from something suspicious until she felt a hand on her arm.

"Come on, Old Gale!" Jennifer dragged her and Gale instantly snapped out of Detective mode at the name.

"I KNOW you didn't just call me old." 

"It's a term referring to you being the original. Stop being touchy." 

"Yeah? Want to hear a term I have for you?" 

Gale Jennifer argued as they both made their way down the hall of files to the clerk…

Gale hesitated as she swore she heard something again…Without thinking, she grabbed the file and tucked it into her purse while no one was looking. Something was off about it and she was bound to figure it out.

There was an unseen figure, hiding, having snuck down after they did. Eavesdropping while staying hidden. He clenched his fist and silently gritted his teeth in frustration as he watched her walk away with what he just knew was his file. He cursed under his breath, waiting till they had their backs turned down the hall before rushing out of there.

He raced up the stairs before slowly walking out, trying no to look suspicious.

He eased himself towards the wall before rounding the corner of the building when a group of Astronauts walked by. 

"Well?" Billy asked with a raised brow, eyes darting around himself constantly.

"Gale Weathers has it. She knows man, I know she does!" Stu hissed before throwing a silent tantrum. Punching the air with a growl before grabbing his short hair.

Billy sneered at him while grabbing his arm to jerk him in towards the studio's back door. "That's just fucking perfect!" 

"What do we do,man? Do we?-" He made a slicing motion over his throat. 

Billy softly groaned in annoyance, looking stressed before licking his lips and staring at Stu. "Alright, alright!...We'll figure it out. Right now, we need to find YN. She'll be alone like an idiot, knowing her. Perfect for the killer to strike…We finish this once and for all." 

Stu nodded. "I'm itching for it. The sooner we end this shit, the better." 

—————————————————––———

You stood at the sink in the bathroom until you heard something in the bathroom stall. It had become second nature to be mindful of your surroundings. What happened at Woodsboro, Windsor, the stalker, the endless pranks, now this. 

At first you sighed to yourself, looking in the mirror at your own tired eyes staring back at you. "Come on, YN." You whispered.

But then…You heard something again, something in the stall creaking. Your face scrunched as you ever so slowly turned around and lowered yourself to crouch down. Your eyes narrowed when you saw black boots getting up on top of the toilet in the stall.

You stood back up and clawed into your pocket for the can of mace clipped to your belt you took out from your purse. Now, you were glad you did instead of digging for it. You stalked towards the stall, acting like you were walking past it before kicking it open near the handle as hard as you could. You got ready to aim at whoever was stalking you when a woman yelped and things clattered to the floor. 

You recognized Angelina as she was hunkered against the wall on top of the toilet as you sheepishly snapped your mace shut again.

"...Angelina?" You slowly enunciated, you had to think a moment before her name came to you.

Her face lit up when she saw you. "Oh. My God!…Yes! I'm Angelina Tyler, I'm Sidney in the flashback and Jenna they're introducing as the final girl this time since uh...Well, I mean…I'm not…I was." She mumbled awkwardly. She ran a hand over her head and got off the toilet. " Wow, I'm so embarrassed. I didn't even realize last night who you were at Jennifer's party. I mean, YN! The original YN! I can't believe it, I mean, you're one of the only true friends Sidney had left in her last moments. The stories you probably have, the secret girl talks, the memories!-" 

The entire time you were glancing down at what fell from her hands…Your heart stopped as you saw a Ghostface Mask on the bathroom floor near her feet as well as a red cellphone.

You bent down to pick it up as Angelina stammered. "I- I thought…Well if there's no movie, no one would care if I took some souvenirs!" She reasoned as you picked up the mask and ran your thumb over the material… "Souvenirs?" You retorted with a skeptical stare. 

The last time you held one was when you hid in the closet that night 5 years ago. 

Angelina continued to talk as you looked back up at her with the mask in your hand. You both stood up as she gave you a sad smile. "I may never win another role, so these may be my only memories, you know, of Hollywood." She stuttered as you stared back at her. "I-I know it's weird, cause it's your life and your friends lives and all, but…I wanted to make you proud, YN. I wanted to make Sidney proud. It's not right how they had that one actress portray you and I didn't want them doing it again to Sidney. Even how Tom was talking about her. Well, I guess we shouldn't speak badly about the dead is all…I really wanted to do her justice…I actually think Sidney was a much more interesting character than Jenna is; for what it's worth." She looked at you earnestly. A catch in her voice and a sad smile on her face.

You couldn't help frowning at that before handing her the mask back. You noticed how she looked relatively fine despite everything you all went through last night. No visible marks on her. "O-Oh um…Well, I'm sure you would have done a good job." 

Angelina smiled with disbelief. "Wow just…The real YN. I wish I could have talked to you more last night. I wish…" She hesitated before swallowing and forcing her smile. "I wish it would have worked out." 

She shrugged with a sad smile. "Are you going to Roman's birthday tonight? It's at John Milton's house. Maybe we could…Catch up? Talk more, I have so many questions." 

You shook your head. "No, I'm not. Sorry." 

She forced a smile and nodded. "That's a shame…Well, I'm glad I got to talk to you one last time." 

You licked your lips and looked down as she walked past you…Something about her just felt off to you. The way she looked at you, her boots, her phone and mask on the floor, her barely having any marks from the explosion unlike everyone else involved.

You chalked it up to paranoia as you glanced down to see her hairbrush on the bathroom floor. You quickly picked it up and called after her as she went out the other side door leading to Stage 16. 

"Hey!" You scoffed and went through the door, expecting her to just be right there but she wasn't. "Hello?...Angelina!" You moved a curtain and went down a small set of stairs in the dark building, going to the lightsource. You hadn't been to this area of the studio the last two times you were here, not really. You looked on in awe as you walked through a small opening to see an exact replica of the Prescott house.

 You definitely didn't expect that.

Your eyes widened as you turned to see you just came out of a replica of Stu's front porch. Just to glance around and see Kenny and Gale's news van beside Dewey's old patrol car. It was a crude mashup of Sidney and Stu's yards. You stepped off the porch, looking up to see the beautiful stained glass in Stu's old Victorian home his family owned, now completely ruined by the fire that night. It was a giant blast from the past you weren't prepared for. 

You were sure your yard and house would have been included if you hadn't sued them to make sure your character was never tarnished in these movies ever again. Maybe even James house or Casey's but they seemed to be focusing on Sidney. You weren't sure if this was some kind of prequel to what happened or if they needed Sidney's character for something else? In all honesty, you were glad their plan was to make a new imaginary character named Jenna or whatever. You wanted your friend's memory to be left in peace from this franchise just like yours that you had to fight to keep away from these money hungry Hollywood types. 

You glanced over to a tiny field with a dark backdrop. A bunch of blood around a sheet. You stared at it long and hard before creeping up towards it. It was no mistake it was supposed to be James. The police report…Hearing him that night, screaming your name in ungodly pain. It made you grimace. You bent down, hesitating for just a second before you ripped the sheet off. The hairbrush still in your hand as a weapon just to see it was a sack filled with sand to look like a body. 

You released a heavy breath and placed the sheet back over the sack. "Jesus, get a hold of yourself…It's a prop." You grumbled.

 You crouched there for a few seconds. You used to think James had it all coming to him. Now? He had something coming to him, for sure, but not like he did…Especially since the ones that did it were so, SO much worse. You rolled your lips before mumbling under your breath. "James…I kind of wish we would have never dated. Actually,  I really wish we wouldn't have. Bet you're wishing we never did too, all things considering…" You deadpanned. 

In life, he'd actually get a chuckle out of that. He had a dark, fucked up sense of humor. Especially if you didn't find it funny. That just made it extra hilarious to him…Too bad he was over his head; he just wasn't as 'bad' as he thought he was. Not compared to Billy and Stu, at least.

You sighed a moment before standing back up. Looking around yourself as you move away from the gorey field to your other surroundings. Angelina's brush leaving your mind. 

You crept closer to Sidney's makeshift home, curiosity getting the better of you. You stopped to see Stu's garage door. You stood there a moment, eyes wide and eyebrows up with a pained expression. The image of Tatum's body hanging from that cat door permanently sealed into your mind. You had so many nightmares about it. For months after her death, you couldn't even think of her without the image popping into your head…Then the memory of you spitting in Stu's face and trying to hit him after he acted like her death was nothing. Right after Billy kissed you as you were blissfully unaware he had just killed her. They killed your best friend, they knew they would from the start, they lied to you…And they didn't care. They still don't care! The idea they could see her body hanging, neck twisted with blood dripping down her hand without any reaction made you sick. They knew her longer than you did, Stu was dating her and didn't give a single fuck about her body so maimed. 

You didn't want to know where or if they had a scene with Sidney's body or Stu's living room. You just didn't want to go there again.

You sucked in a breath and forced yourself to go to Sidney's front porch right next to the makeshift garage. 

You walked in through the cheap replica door and was surprised to not see her entryway to her grand home she lived in. Instead, it was a rendition of Sidney's room. You looked around at the posters, mostly correct probably thanks to Dewey and Randy's input as tech advisors. You saw cassettes and clothes…And even a newer version of her stuffed tiger she slept with on her bed. You looked around, memories of sitting on the bed the one or two times you did come over. 

You frowned as you pressed your lips together and shook it off. The innocence you all had forever gone and your memories and photos being all you had left. You subconsciously held Sidney's locket as you sat on the bed. 

Sidney's voice ringing out in your head at a specific memory when you spent the night with her and Tatum for the last time. "Think we'll still be friends even after graduation when we have to start adulting? Even if you ever move from Woodsboro or something?" 

You finished the memory outloud to yourself. "Of course we will…" 

You jerked when you heard something outside the set. You got up and looked out of what was supposed to be Sidney's bedroom window. You looked around the relatively dark set to see nothing. You swallowed, feeling the need to get back to Dewey outside when suddenly a door shut behind you.

You slowly turned around, fear stricken as you stared in shock…That door wasn't closed before. 

You got out your mace, it was faster than getting your gun as you went to the door. Besides, you couldn't have that gun on Studio property so the less you showed it off, the better. You went to the door, mace in hand. You went to open her bedroom door before looking at the closet door conveniently behind you. You whipped around and jerked it open, mace ready just for nothing to be there but clothes. 

You opened it fully to stop the other door as a barrier before looking out the door you swore closed on you…Nothing. You left it like that and slowly walked backwards, you knew something was wrong. You had no choice but to back up to the window, breath shaky and grip tightening on the mace as you swore the door moved. 

You readied yourself before releasing an ear piercing scream as glass shattered behind you and a ghastly figure slammed through the window to grab you. They dragged you backwards out of the room faster than you had time to react. Both of you smashed onto the ground onto a picnic table for the crew as they struggled to raise their knife at you. You grappled them, fight or flight mode kicking in the survival training you knew as you forced their arm down with your legs before cocking a fist back and punching them. It only provided you enough time to get up and run as they were barely fazed by it. They tried to slash your ankle as you jumped over the knife and grabbed some things off a table to hurl at that. 

They were blocking your exit, you had no choice but to run into the house again from a different door that led to the porch again. 

"DEWEY!....RANDY!" You screeched, complete terror in your voice. You had to fight them last night and the idea of facing them again scared you to death. You didn't even have time to get your gun until you could hide, you knew they were just right behind you. You had to go and slam the door shut, entering the set of the house again. Locking it as a trembling sob escaped you. 

You jerked the curtain, looking around before a door slammed open inside and you released a scream. The Ghostface killer ran towards you with a knife above their head. You ducked right when it pierced the door and you ran as fast as you could up the stairs. You grabbed any props you could to throw down the stairs at the killer after you. Finally you rolled a table filled with heavy props down the stairs. They blocked it but it gave you enough time to run as you went through a door and gasped, grasping the door frame in this labyrinth of a house. It dropped down 10 feet to another part of the set with a bedroom below. You steadied yourself before an idea came to you. You grabbed the door and quickly climbed to the inside wall where the foundation boards stuck out. You waited till the killer opened it, knowing you went that way before you grabbed their costume and yanked them forward. They lost their balance, unlucky for you, falling onto the bed below. 

You swung back over, out of breath and trying to keep your balance when you saw them jump from the bed and run to a door downstairs to get back up to you. 

You ran to the staircase to see where they were. Common sense told you that they'd be there trying to get you but who knew in this crazy, makeshift home they built. You couldn't go downstairs without the fear of them catching you…You were trapped. You sucked in a breath and released a cry for help. Calling Dewey's name to come save you. 

"Psst…YN, I'm in here." You heard a female voice through your sobs. You looked up to where the voice was coming from, thinking it might be Angelina trying to help. You still had your mace in hand as you crept to the room. You went to reach for your gun but the voice sounded again. "Over here…I'll protect you." 

You scrunch your face with tears down your cheeks as you crept over to wherever the voice was coming from. You paused, bent down and quietly got your gun before opening the door as you tried to stifle the sobs wanting to escape you. 

"Yes, come here to the bedroom…" The voice mumbled. The minute you stepped inside, you saw a scene you didn't expect. Police tape you had to move as you saw fake blood splatter the walls and the pillows. Neil and Maureen's picture on a nightstand with Sidney in between them. Broken everything caked in blood. You sucked in a shaky breath as you saw the white sheet with blood all over it surrounded by crime scene lines on the ground…This…This was it. This was what gave Sidney nightmares. What shaped her into a reclusive and fearful girl after that night. This is what happened months before you moved to Woodsboro, what Billy and Stu were capable of even before they met you…It made the idea you knew a 'softer' side of them ridiculous when you saw the carnage that laid before you.

You shook your head, gun shaking in your hand knowing poor Sidney had to stumble upon this at one time. You whipped the gun to the nearest door when the voice sounded again. 

"I lied, YN. I can't protect you at all. You don't deserve to be protected! No one protected me!...You didn't protect Sidney." 

You shook your head, looking around the room for wherever the voice was coming from. 

"You let my daughter die!" The shrill voice you realized must have been imitating Maureen Prescott rang out in the room. 

You gazed at the blood everywhere, the ruined home, the sheer sadistic rage Billy and Stu did to this woman as tears streamed down your face. All the words they said about Maureen. "She was a slutbag whore spreading her shit all over town like she was Sharon Stone…" Billy spat in disgust. "Let's face it Sidney, your mother was no Sharon Stone!" Stu gleefully exclaimed without an ounce of empathy as Sidney stared at them both while you just watched. 

Putting a scene to the story. Knowing they were taunting Sidney that night over doing this to her mother…All for cheating? It made you physically ill. You didn't know if they were telling the truth or not over sexually assualting her that night and honestly it didn't matter! This…This made Sidney and Tatum's death look mild. It was probably how James or Casey and Steve's deaths were…The two you shared a room with right now; They were monsters. This scene proved to you they were always monsters…Billy was right and you were wrong; They really were acting all those years and you really didn't know them. They were NEVER anyone's friend. You thought you'd puke if it wasn't for the fear that took over you. 

You heard Dewey's voice outside. "YN, where are you?!" 

"YN?!" You heard a different voice from outside, you couldn't tell who it was but you didn't give a shit at this point.

You didn't hesitate to run to the window to yell for help. Screaming to the point your vocal chords scratched. You shouldn't have turned your back but the fear was clouding any judgment as you were desperate for help. 

"DEWEY!...DEWEY! Help me!" The last words cut off into a shaky cry.

"YN…" 

You heard the voice behind you… You turned around to see the bloody sheet rise up and take a form. "Come here. You can take my daughter's place!" The arms reached out and you aimed your gun and shot them…Just for it to not faze them at all. You shot again and again just for them to keep coming. You shot one more time, missing and hitting the wood of the house. The figure rushed you from under that bloody sheet as you shot at them, arms outstretched as you screamed and toppled out of the second story window. Rolling off the roof and crashing hard onto the ground. You had a hold of your gun the entire time, refusing to let go of the one thing you thought could save you. You forced yourself up, gun aimed at a figure you expected to be in the window just to see no one there. 

You lowered your gun and stared up at it, tears in your eyes and terror on your face as the lights to the set flipped on. Dewey called your name, rushing over to you ahead of the cops. 

"YN?! Are you okay? What happened?" He exclaimed as he held your shoulders as you gripped onto him.

"T-The killer! Dewey, he's in the house, he's upstairs!" 

Dewey looked at the house as he helped you stand up and gently pried your gun from your shaky hands. He held you close to him as you clung to him. Cops went into the house upon Detective Wallace's orders. 

Dewey frowned deeply. "YN, you weren't supposed to go in that house. It's all set up for a murder scene of Mrs. Prescott. I'm sorry you had to see that." 

You released a shaky sob as you looked up at him. "N-no, Dewey! He's in there, I swear…I swear!" 

Dewey nodded and held you close to him as the cops searched the house. You saw Angelina and another guy came around the side. And Mark ran past them straight to you. 

Suddenly, Randy came around the other side of the back of the house, out of breath. Closest to where the killer could have vanished from.

"YN? YN, what happened? I heard screaming!" He came towards you and Dewey eyed him.

"Where did you come from, Randy?" 

Wallace yelled no one was up there down to Mark. There was no way!...You and Dewey stared at Randy. Tears streamed down your face as you shook your head at the thought running through your mind. 

"What?" Randy gave you a bewildered look right when Mark intercepted, shoving him against the porch. "Hey! What the hell?!-" 

"Shut it! Why did you come from the side of the house like that? Huh?! Where were you while YN was being attacked?" 

" I- I was getting stuff from my locker, it's a way to get to the backroom I heard screaming!...She was attacked?!" He looked over at you as you clung to Dewey. "YN, are you okay?" Randy squawked out as he was forced against the wall as Mark glanced over at you and Dewey.  

The other cops continued to search the house as you trembled against Dewey, locking eyes with Randy…You didn't know what to believe anymore. 

————————————–———–—––———

 You all stood outside of the studio as Angelina was found and questioned by Wallace a few feet away and Randy was questioned in front of you by Mark. 

Mark wore a pair of aviator shades as he leaned on his car to talk to Randy while another cop stood beside him; ready in case Randy tried to bolt. 

"So you're telling me you just went to your locker to get a cassette tape-" 

"It's long breaks in between shifts. I pass the time with it!" Randy exclaimed with annoyance. 

"Right…But care to explain to me, Mr. Meeks, how you didn't hear YN until my partner arrived?" 

Randy huffed with a distressed look on his face. "I'm clear on the other side of the building; I came as fast as I could. I'm not exactly the roadrunner after my incident 3 years ago." He looked at you with pleading eyes. "You guys can't actually think I did this! I would never hurt YN!" 

Mark gave him a dry smile. "Yeah. I'm sure all the other Ghostface killers told her the same thing." 

Randy glared at Mark and got a little too close while yelling at him. "Listen here, Detective. She's my best friend, alright? I'd never do this! I wasn't the only one in the building either! What about Angelina?! Or Tyson?! Huh?! Where were they during all of this?! Or even you-"  

Mark pushed him back against the car when Randy got too close. You saw Randy's Adam's apple bob with a harsh swallow as Mark glared him down, hand still pressing him into the side of the car. 

"That…Is for my partner to find out. How about you answer my questions like why you chose to go off alone or how you just so happen to not hear her screaming for help?!" 

"I-I-" He stammered, eyeing you as you just frowned and stood next to Dewey. Mark let go of him and Randy slowly shook his head. "I'm telling you…I needed a cassette from my locker. I didn't hear YN till I got halfway back here and that just so happened to be when you all got there. That's it!" He looked at you with pleading eyes. "YN, please. You gotta believe me, I'm begging you." 

You sucked in a shaky breath as you held yourself. Dewey rubbed your back with a sad look on his face. You looked back up at Randy as Mark watched you.

"...Randy…I believe you." You mumbled, not nearly as convincing as you tried. 

Randy stared at you as Mark rubbed his nose and stood up fully.

"No one else saw anything but YN, Kincaid. You can't lock someone up for that. Especially someone with disabilities that backs up his case." Dewey added.

Randy threw up a hand. "Thank you, ex deputy Riley." 

Dewey cringed to himself. "And YN didn't see the guy behind the mask and no one else was around. Same as last night. "

Your expression faltered. "Are you...You don't think I imagined it, do you?" You asked with a crack in your voice. 

"No! No, but no one else saw anything but you." Randy gave. "We're just stating the obvious right now so the Detective here doesn't get jail happy with me…No one ever, ever survives in horror movies once in a jail cell; it's a death trap!" 

Dewey cringed. "And…YN, it was a murder scene. A very triggering murder scene with props…And I found you sleeping in your clothes. I'm starting to worry about you." He offered hesitantly. 

Randy shrugged. "I mean, lack of sleep does shit. I thought I saw Pinhead in my mirror after going 3 days without sleep during college." He hurried up and saved himself as you shot him a dirty glare. "I'm just saying! I got a little weirded out myself seeing them film the flashback at Sidney's house! I'm not saying you didn't see something but-" 

Mark eyed you and it felt like Windsor again. 

You gritted your teeth and clenched your fist. "I cannot fucking beileve you people right now! I was not dreaming, I wasn't hallucinating, I am not crazy; he was there!" You pointed to the studio as your voice raised in anger. "He was there in Woodsboro!" 

Mark gave you a look. "That's not Woodsboro, YN." 

You rolled your head back with an annoyed groan. "You know what I mean! He was THERE. He or She or whoever this is…Did we not all almost blow up last night?!" You scoffed. "No, I get it. No one saw me attacked last night, they didn't see me attacked today so clearly the freak living in isolation just lost it!"

"No one is directly saying that, YN! We're just trying to get to the bottom of this playing a fucked up game of 'guess who?' here." Randy argued.

"But you're both thinking it! What is it going to take for all of you to realize I'm not some fragile basket case?! You both don't even know the half of it just-" You closed your moth and gritted your teeth in frustration.

Mark eyed you. "...Alright, I think it's best if I take you back to the station. We can get a safe house and-" 

You remembered Billy and Stu and instantly refused. "No." 

Mark raised a brow behind his shades. "No? Miss YN, I need a witness report-" 

"And with due respect, I think you can do that here, Detective. "

"I need a written report."

"I'm not going to a police station to spend the night where either the killer will be there to trap me or they'll just wait till I leave." 

Randy tsked. "She's got a point." 

Mark gave an irritated look to Randy before gently grabbing your shoulder. "Can we talk?...Alone?" He pointed at the cop "Watch them." as he pulled you off to the side far away from anyone listening. 

Mark leaned against the wall looking down at you. "Why are you being so stubborn about this? You'd think you'd want safety from the police." 

"Yeah, cause it's clearly protected me so much in the past." 

Mark ran a hand over his hair and took off his shades. His piercing blue eyes staring down at you as he whispered. "...What are you so afraid of? Other than this killer. Whatever it is you need to tell us...You need to tell me."

You looked away. "Nothing! This is…This is just bringing back bad memories. That's all. No one believes me, being chased down and almost killed…Maybe I'm scared of me? Ever think of that? Maybe I really am going crazy like everyone says and the killer is using it against me or I'm making a huge mistake!" You swallowed, eyes burning as Mark frowned. 

"A mistake?" 

You gathered yourself with a heavy sigh. "...Coming here….Not that I had a-a choice but…Still." You mumbled, trying to save yourself.

Mark paused, looking at you before he placed a hand on your shoulder. "Hey, you're not crazy. I've seen crazy, you're not crazy or imagining any of this. All we're doing is trying to get to the bottom of this and sometimes that can come off like no one's on your side. I'm just playing the logical Detective role. So how about I level with you as Mark instead of Detective Kincaid?.…Whoever this is, we'll get them if it's the last thing I do. But I really think it's a good idea to come with me to the station until we can find a safe house or something for you. It's for your safety, YN. Whatever it takes to keep you safe." 

You gave a downward smile that faded. "Detective, that never works. The killer will get me before you have a chance to help." 

"You don't know that! You don't-" He took a heavy inhale through his nose. "Fine. If you're going to be stubborn…At least I know you have weapons to use." 

You looked surprised as he gave you a scolding look. "But I question your aim. There's 22 bullet shells lodged in the ceiling of the set. What were you shooting at? Casper?" 

Your face scrunched in confusion. "What?? That's impossible! I aimed and shot right at them. I'm a damn good shot and I know I shot them." 

"Then why was there no blood?" 

You faltered, truly puzzled at that. "I…I don't know." You looked back at him. "Look! I know how bad this looks, okay?! Sleep deprived, traumatized woman that is surrounded by reminders of the worst time in her life while a killer is after her and all her friends. Okay, I know! But I know I'm not crazy and I shot at the killer…People are dead, are they not?!" 

"Yes and I'm just trying not to have any more." Mark nodded to himself. "A gun you're not supposed to have on these grounds isn't going to always work so…Here." 

You looked surprised when he took out a small flip phone from his pocket. "What is this?" 

"A burner phone till we can recover yours. We found pieces but the base is missing…Riley suggested it." He saved with a slight cough while glancing down at his shoes. 

"And you bought this with your money?...For me?" 

He looked back up at you and gave you a charming smile. "Yes, believe it or not, not everyone is a bad guy trying to kill you. I know it's better to think that but...There are people that truly want to help you."

You smiled softly as he continued speaking. "It's okay to ask for help, YN. Especially if you're in danger. This way, if you feel unsafe, you can call me. I'm on speed dial number 1. Along with Randy, Dewey and Gale's numbers…I think in that order." 

You eyed him leaning his tall frame against the wall.  You smiled softly. "Thank you. I really appreciate it….So, you're number 1 huh?" 

He cocked a toothy grin your way with a chuckle as he looked back down, a tint to his cheeks. "God, that was arrogant, wasn't it?" 

"No…A bit presumptuous of you I guess." You smiled as you looked down at it. "And you'll be able to listen to my calls too, I presume?" 

He scoffed with a smirk. "It's not bugged, Miss YN." 

You huffed. "Suurree…So, you won't hear me and Randy probably arguing about this later because he's mad at me for accusing him and I'm a little peeved at him and Dewey acting like I'm  seeing shit. Or even my family calling and me having to explain the last few days of absolute Hell I've dealt with. Or more personal stuff like what movie I'm planning on seeing if I live or what places I'm going to if I live-" 

 "Or on a much lighter, optimistic note; what's your favorite flower? Maybe…Favorite candy?...Ideal place to go for an evening after we nab this bastard?" Mark commented, glancing at you through his lashes with a small smile.

You felt your face heat as you bit your inner cheek to prevent the giant, goofy grin that wanted to make its way to your face. "Are you…Are you asking me this to find the killer that just attacked me or?-" 

His smirk dropped as he straightened himself. "Wow…Sorry, you're right. That's inappropriate." 

You shifted in place with a slight shrug. Trying to find the words before they shyly came out. It wasn't everyday a very attractive slightly older Detective that you had so much chemistry with asked you out. "Well…Maybe I'd spend an evening with you at the shooting range just to prove I'm a good shot…Maybe even better than LAPD's top Detectives." 

Mark gave you a hearty chuckle, his entire face lit up at that. "I would gladly take you up on the offer, Miss YN. Annnndd I'm looking forward to you calling me Mark." 

"Only when it's solved, Detective. Then you can call me by my first name only. No more Miss YN like I'm in school or something. " 

He looked back at you, his smile fading. "...Are you sure I can't convince you to just come back to the station?" 

"Is it a law?" 

"Not necessarily." 

"Then no, and if you try to force me and something happens to my friends while I'm a sitting duck? I'll never forgive you or the LAPD…But are you going to be there? Just in case I change my mind?" 

"Absolutely. And remember my number is in that phone…Call anytime you need me. Even just to talk." 

You nodded as Mark put his shades back on.

Mark reluctantly led you back to Dewey and Randy before heading out. You could tell he wanted to stay or to find some law to have an excuse for you to go with him against your will but decided it was best if he let you make the choice. 

Once he left, you started walking and Randy and Dewey followed after you. 

"Guys, No-" You had to stop, terrified they'd get too close to your car and therefore Stu and Billy.

Randy gave you an exasperated groan, taking it as an angry gesture on your part. "YN, can't we just talk? I didn't do this, okay?! I would never, ever hurt you…You know that." He whined out the last part, getting closer to you. You stayed put even if every single fear you'd pushed aside resurfaced…If anyone other Sidney herself would hate you for the truth. It was Randy and Dewey.

Dewey added in. "YN, come on. The way Randy came was technically a short cut we've all used…I'm just sorry I wasn't there for you." 

"Dewey-" 

"No, I keep failing at this. I swore to keep you safe and you got attacked twice in two days. When you went missing last night after you told Tom off and Randy left too I assumed he could watch you. I shouldn't have assumed! That was my job-" 

You whipped your head towards Randy with wide eyes. "...What?...Wait, what?!" 

Randy gave Dewey a glare before looking at you. "YN, you went out and after a minute or so I looked for you to talk you into ignoring Tom before going back in to look for you there. I didn't think you went to the fucking woods! Then Stone showed up stabbed in the back and I looked for you through the house during the fucking chaos that was last night!...That's it!"  

The strength of the killer and Randy being able to pick you up easily, him knowing the set after a few days he was here, his love for horror, how much he loved Sidney and the betrayal he would feel if he found out you were hiding her killers, now him missing twice when you were attacked. Yes he was hindered from his body but…What if it was a lie? What if he was more able bodied than he told you or acted? How far would he be willing to go if he found out within the last 3 years the giant secret that you allowed Billy and Stu to get away?

"YN?" 

You shook your head and walked away. You didn't know what to think. You never ever wanted to think it was Randy, ever! But...It was too coincidental.

"YN!" He sounded desperate, just like Billy did on that sidewalk 5 years ago. 

You turned around with a pained look on your face. "Don't follow me; Neither one of you!...Please. I'm sorry, I really am, but...If you want me, call me. "You gestured to your phone still in your hand. "Kincaid can give you this new number or I'll call you." 

"YN, wait!-" Dewey urged. "When did you get a phone?"

"Kincaid got it for me. He said you suggested it. Doesn't matter, better yet, I'll call you. " 

Dewey went to say something but Randy interrupted him. "Are you kidding me, YN? I'm not a fucking killer! How can I possibly be the killer?!" 

 You shook your head at Randy. "Randy...I just need time to myself. I was attacked for godsakes."

"Which is why you don't need to be alone, damn it!" Randy fumed.

You wanted to stay. You want to stay with the only two people that you thought made sense but right now nothing was making sense. Billy and Stu were lurking somewhere and the sooner you got out of here, the better.

"YN! YN, please don't do this!" Randy yelled after you as felt your throat burn and you hurried to your car. You heard Randy arguing with Dewey as you left.

"Why the hell did you say it like that?! You made me look like I slipped out just in time for her to be attacked!"

"I'm sorry it slipped!"

You ran the rest of the way, trying to distance yourself. You didn't have to unlock it, you left it unlocked for Billy and Stu. 

You got in your car a long ways away from Randy or Dewey as you slammed your hand on the steering wheel with a pained, frustrated yell. Your worst nightmare possibly being true, that whether you liked it or not, Randy was a suspect now.

You wanted so, so, so badly to not suspect Randy but there were too many coincidences. Thus killer was personal and knew EVERYTHING from that night. If it wasn't Randy then it was Billy and Stu...Or...Or-

You rested your head on the wheel, sniffling before someone touched your shoulder. You jerked back to see it was Billy and Stu in the backseat.

"Guys, I-" 

"We know. " Billy interrupted you. "We headed back once the Detective left." 

Stu gestured to a note in his hand as he leaned against the seat. "Looks like your playmate left a note. It was in the car when we got here...Also looks like your 'use poor Stu as bait' plan didn't worth either." 

You hesitated before reaching for it, unfolding it to see the message. 

'You're all going to die.'

"...Real original." You mumbled in disgust.

[mariacallous]

To understand how the American media landscape fractured, one must first understand the brands that forged it. According to Faris Yakob, cofounder of creative consultancy Genius Steals and author of Paid Attention, advertisers created the neutral “view from nowhere” voice in media. In the 19th and 20th centuries, national brands looking to grow customers wouldn’t partner with biased publications. But everything changed when ad tech arrived.

“People started tagging their digital media buys so it wouldn’t appear next to topics like homosexuality, or Covid, to avoid getting into clusters,” Yakob says. “But that means that the news isn’t being funded. If you can pick and choose what topics to fund in news, you can distort what is being reported on, to some degree.”

That distortion, like the US Federal Communications Commission’s abolition of the fairness doctrine in 1987, is part of how America got into this mess. Similar to content recommendation algorithms, audience profiles in digital marketing created micro-targeted ads. Those ads are more valuable on multiple screens. Media executive Euan McLeod recalls growing up when “there was no choice” but to watch what his parents were watching. Now each person in a household might be watching something wildly different, and the shared experience has dissolved. Isolated artists are creating for isolated audiences. Is it any wonder that generative AI seems poised to tailor entertainment to audiences of one?

In this world, we can all be George Lucas, using technology to create special editions. Rick gets on the plane with Ilsa. Jack fits on the door with Rose. Ben Solo lives. As Marvel Comics writer Anthony Oliveira says, Andy Warhol was fascinated by the fact that people everywhere drank the same Coke. But the allure of AI content generation, he says, is the same as the Coca-Cola Freestyle: filling your own cup with someone else’s flavors.

But when everyone can just request the narrative path they want, opportunities to hear other people’s stories greatly diminish. “That is a very sad world to live in, because how else are we gonna be conveying our deepest hopes and wishes, what we think should be a vision of the world we want to live in, what we should worry about?" Yang says. "This is what story and art is for.”

Using AI to sanitize content in regions where certain subjects are banned is already possible, especially if actors yield likeness rights. Generative AI means that studios could edit or change the content of some films without consulting the people who signed a contract based on a script, and the only thing stopping them is the possibility of a defamation suit. It sounds unlikely, until you remember that multiple versions of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse appeared in cinemas.

And animation is an apt comparison: Most changes to entertainment production have made film and TV more like animation or video game development, not less. With current technology, actors can be little more than action figures smashing together, as weightless as they are sexless. With AI, the actors need never leave the trailer. Or exist.

“[Studios will] say it’s for the insurance,” says production designer Blass, suggesting a “Paul Walker scenario” in which a deceased actor’s performance needs generating, because that performance is one of the terms of the film’s business insurance. But in reality, these likenesses could be used to do things that actors would rather not—whether it’s a dangerous stunt or a sex scene.

Generative AI could also be used to edit films in real time, responsive to data-brokered preferences, with algorithms running A/B tests on how much nudity you want based on the customer profile you most closely match.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is: In the 1990s, Blockbuster Video refused to stock films like Natural Born Killers and The Last Temptation of Christ. But that tradition goes back even further. Otherwise known as the Hays Code, the Production Code was an industry standard of self-censorship guidelines for major US studios from 1930 to 1968, when it was replaced by the movie ratings system. The Code influenced everything from the Comics Code to parental advisory warnings to video game ratings. It’s why titles from major studios during that period don’t depict graphic violence. It’s also why they lack out-and-proud queer and interracial relationships. But today, a revived Production Code might have very different guidelines. For example, the Pentagon recently announced it would no longer offer technical support to filmmakers who censor their films for the Chinese market.

When I ask McLeod if he thinks America will ever re-adopt the Production Code, he’s unequivocal: “Absolutely. Everything goes in cycles.”

Hollywood’s Future Belongs to People—Not Machines

[gffa]

“The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through [Anakin’s] life and that he can’t hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally.”  --George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary In addition to the content we see in the actual films and TCW, this is why I think Anakin’s story has to be that he refused help, because this fundamental theme of Star Wars, that everything changes and things come and go, is one he wasn’t willing to accept emotionally. That’s a core theme of Anakin’s story! And we see that playing out in instances like when he changes the conversation when Obi-Wan asks how he’s doing, because he looks tired in Attack of the Clones.  We see that playing out when he lashes out at Obi-Wan and refusing to talk about the anger roiling inside of him after the incident with Rush Clovis in The Clone Wars.  We see that playing out when he goes to speak with Yoda and refuses to accept that people come and go, protect them while you have them, but if you’re mourning them before they’re even gone, you have to train yourself out of that, but instead he leans even harder into “I’m going to stop people from dying”. Anakin isn’t willing to accept these things on an emotional level.  He can teach them on to others, like with Ahsoka and Rex, he really seems to understand what he needs to do.  It’s incredibly sympathetic to have fears gnawing at you, despite that you know the right thing to do.  I don’t want to meet the person who has never struggled with their feelings and working towards making emotionally healthier choices, because that person would be unrelatable to me! But the story of Anakin Skywalker very much is that he was unwilling to accept things emotionally and that he became Darth Vader because of it.  The story of Anakin Skywalker is one where he had help from those around him, he had teachers and friends and people he could talk to.  Those people sought him out, those people taught him, those people complimented him, those people empathized with him, but at the very most foundational level:  Anakin's problem was that he couldn’t accept things emotionally.  He turned away from the fundamental emotional truths of life. That’s the story of Anakin Skywalker.

[meta-shadowsong]

An Argument With a Particular Word of God Quote

Note: I wrote this essay a while ago--several months ago--and then just kind of sat on it; but the quote it focuses on has been crossing my dash again the last day or so and it popped back into my head and I decided to go ahead and share.

So. There is a George Lucas quote, I believe from the Attack of the Clones commentary. And I have. Extremely Strong Negative Feelings About It.

The quote in question:

“[The fact that everything must change and that things come and go through his life and that he can’t hold onto things, which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally] and the reason that is because he was raised by his mother rather than the Jedi. If he’d have been taken in his first years and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn’t have this particular connection as strong as it is and he’d have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them.”

Okay. To be clear, my problem here is not with the attachment definition/philosophy that’s being posited here, nor with the description of Anakin’s attitude towards it. The first half of the first sentence, the part that’s bracketed--that’s all completely reasonable/true enough and I don’t have a problem with it.

It’s everything after that.

TL;DR: I think it undermines other key themes and conflicts with certain story/dialogue points in the rest of the saga (meaning episodes I-VI); and I feel like it says some pretty uncomfortable and/or negative things about emotional growth, childhood trauma, Shmi, and the Jedi Order.

Let’s break it down.

First, this only works if you look at the PT trilogy, Anakin’s fall from grace, in a complete vacuum, and ignore the OT and Luke’s journey. Because guess what? Luke was also raised outside the Order, to an even older age than Anakin, and while he struggled in ESB and he did in fact have to learn the hard way, he did learn. (Also, I haven’t rewatched ANH recently, and it doesn’t tend to get referenced much in these discussions, but I think it’s worth nothing that--yes, everything in that movie takes place over like three days and he doesn’t have a lot of time to think/process/start wallowing in his grief; but when you compare the way he handles things there with the way Anakin reacts in similar situations, and he’s already working from a more solid foundation, one that had nothing to do with being raised by the Jedi.)

Second, it’s a…weirdly deterministic take for a series that otherwise places a lot of emphasis on choice. On people choosing to do better (or to not do better). Again, that’s all over the OT, particularly with Luke and Han and again with the second half of Anakin/Vader’s journey. So this particular quote undermines that broader theme/message in a big way.

Third, it completely ignores the fact that this concept, about change being inevitable and you have to be able to move on and let go? Is articulated first and (arguably) most clearly by Shmi. Right there. In the movie just prior to this. That this man also wrote. (“You can’t stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting.” That entire scene.) The mother whose parenting Lucas is essentially blaming for Anakin’s tendency to codependency/unhealthy obsession in relationships.

I am. Really not okay with Shmi being thrown under the bus like this. And, like, there’s probably a broader cultural whatever about how motherhood is simultaneously idealized and ignored in modern (Western) culture and art, and how that influences the way Shmi is portrayed and used and eventually fridged, let alone how she’s talked about outside the text itself. But like. She did in fact say this. The fact that Anakin didn’t grasp it and internalize it is not her fault.

Which is sort of tangentially related to a sort of…broader issue I have with the worldbuilding, especially when it comes to this idealized philosophy, which is that…yes, of course the Jedi are the Good Guys, and the philosophy they live by is a good one (and also acknowledging its real-world Buddhist roots). I am not in any way disputing either of those points. But the idea that only the Jedi, and only by accessing Jedi training/philosophy/etc. through this pretty narrow set of idealized circumstances, can allow you to be a good person in this specific idealized way/to follow this philosophy of non-attachment and learn how to love without codependency, leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. Especially when you have the same lesson/philosophy/ideal coming from a completely different angle in the same goddamn film. In short, the Jedi aren’t wrong, but they don’t have a monopoly on being right.

Okay. Uh. So those are (that last tangent aside) the writing/structure problems I have with this quote. Namely, it doesn’t entirely line up with the themes and storyline of the six films as a whole, and it doesn’t even mesh with the prior movie in this same trilogy.

But there are other issues here, too.

For one thing, this is…this really doesn’t paint the Jedi or their teachings in a very positive light.

Like…this is basically saying, “of course the Jedi can teach people how to love appropriately and avoid attachment/codependency/obsession/dangerous emotional tangles, that’s What They Do, after all--but only if the student starts as essentially a blank slate and has nothing to unlearn.” That’s…not a good look.

Also, it’s kind of a shitty take on childhood trauma? Yes, it’s hard to learn and grow past these things, but the idea that it’s not possible, aside from the implications about the Jedi Order’s pedagogical abilities, is super discouraging for people who come to this path/philosophy later in life than the Ideal. It implies that emotional growth and healing aren’t really feasible and, again, the only way to be capable of this kind of nonattachment is to start from a blank slate. Which a) I don’t think that’s how people or emotions work; and b) again, a super shitty and discouraging thing to say to anyone who might want to try.

(And before anyone comes at me with ‘there is no try,’ that quote taken at face value has the same issue; but if you look at it in context, it’s about committing to a course of action and knowing what you’re capable of, especially in a fairly simple situation/when faced with a fairly straightforward problem. When you also take into account the later conversation about trying to reach Vader, there’s also an acceptance of the fact that there are other factors that are completely out of Luke’s control here, that all he can do is put his commitment and genuine good faith effort and make the attempt to the best of his abilities, but he can’t simply ‘do’ without the other party meeting him halfway. But that’s another essay for another time.)

Lastly, and this is a much more…it has as much to do with modern fandom discussions as with what Lucas specifically said twenty years ago. But there’s this tendency to use entry into the Jedi Order as analogous to adoption. And that’s not wrong! It’s in fact a pretty good analogy! Even before it got reinforced by certain conversations in the Obi-Wan series! But quotes like this highlight the problem with that analogy, especially when coupled with the age restriction on entry into the Order.

Look. There are a lot of issues with the modern adoption system. I’m not nearly qualified to comment on all of them, beyond acknowledging that Some Shit’s Fucked Up. (Not all of it! But Some.) And one of those issues is that, unless the child in question is a [healthy, white] infant, the chances of them getting adopted are extremely slim. Because there’s this attitude that they won’t really belong, they won’t really be a part of their new family, they won’t really bond/bond properly with their new parents, unless they’re brought in as a blank slate. That the (perceived) greater Difficulties in taking in an older child are Too Much/Not Worth It…that kind of attitude.

And, I mean, I’m not a parent, adoptive or otherwise. I’ve never been fully responsible for raising a child (or for any other human being), and I know that it’s a complicated and difficult decision/task even under the most ideal of circumstances. But the idea that older kids aren’t good enough/don’t count/will never really be the children of their new parents is something I know I’ve seen broken down as a toxic mentality before.

Especially in a culture (fandom) that places such a huge emphasis on found family/family of choice and the bonds that grow from there (aka, the refutation of that idea), why is it that, in certain Jedi-positive circles and when looking at quotes like this one from Lucas, it’s just accepted at face value when it comes to the Jedi Order and their adoption/recruitment practices?

Full disclosure, the age limit is basically The Problem I have with the PT-era Jedi Order’s general practices and the one thing that I genuinely think does at least as much harm as good (or the harm it does is significant enough) and should be re-evaluated when Luke (or Rey, or whoever) rebuilds; I’ve written about this before, but, among other things, this idea tends to become a feedback loop which sets the few exceptions up for failure, which then reinforces the idea that older students will fail, and on and on*; this aside from the issues it presents to the people who aren’t lucky enough to be found in the right age bracket or have the combination of Circumstances working for them that Anakin did to become one of the exceptions; the fact that there are no viable alternatives for training and/or support for said potential latecomers is also a huge part of the problem. Anyway, that’s definitely coloring my views here, especially when we look at the Implications rather than the parts where it’s contradicted by other points in the text itself.

I’m going to sort of wind up here by saying that…after all of that, I don’t think that this quote is entirely wrong, exactly. I’ve written about this before (although maybe not posted it, haha), but I do think that the Order’s habit/background of generally not accepting latecomers, combined with Anakin’s particular background and issues, mean that the Order as it stands in the twilight of the Republic was not necessarily a good fit for him when he was brought to their attention, and that he might have been more stable/successful if he’d been brought in earlier, or if the initial refusal had stood and he’d found a different path for himself.

But boiling that down to, essentially, ‘Anakin Wasn’t Raised Right,’ and in so doing a) ignoring the entire other half of this saga/some of the key themes of this saga as a whole; b) forgetting what Shmi said in the last movie/throwing her under the bus; and c) making everyone involved in this situation look bad…I don’t know, that’s really not the way to do it.

*To avoid yet another long tangent…there is an interesting essay that could be teased out about that one line in the mantra, ‘there is no ignorance; there is knowledge,’ and how it relates to the idea of preconceptions. We see this in this particular discussion, both in a sort of positive light (when someone with no preconceptions approaches the Jedi path/philosophy, there is a strong tendency for them to succeed at it), and in a negative light (the feedback loop re: nontraditional students I mentioned). But it also comes up in other areas--look at how Force Ghosts are handled, for example. How much effort it takes for Qui-Gon to connect with Yoda; how the first assumption is that Yoda is hallucinating. Compare that to Luke, who has absolutely zero preconceptions/prior knowledge about how the Force works and how it relates to death, so that when he starts hearing (and later seeing) Ben, his response is ‘this makes as much sense as anything else I’ve learned in the last week sure let’s go with it.’ And, of course, Yoda that line about how wonderful the mind of a child is, uncluttered by such things. Not to mention the bit I mentioned earlier, about raising the X-wing from the swamp, and how that relates to preconceptions and expectations; also related is one of my favorite Qui-Gon quotes, “Your focus determines your reality.”

Anyway, I just think that’s interesting to contemplate--Jedi are people, after all, and this is a very People problem to have.

[writerbuddha]

Based on your recent asks, do you think any other Jedi (like Yoda, Obi Wan, Mace, etc) would've reacted the same way Padmé had?

In Episode III

In Episode III, Obi-Wan's reaction isn't that different from Padmé's. Obi-Wan's first reaction to seeing a security recording about Anakin killing younglings and being Darth Sidious apprentice is "It can't be." Padmé says when he tells her about it, "I don't believe you. I can't." She runs after Anakin, so he can reassure her, it's not true, although you can see that at some level, she feels it to be true. She realizes, "Obi-Wan was right. You've changed." And "I don't know you anymore." She indicates, she cannot follow Anakin the path he is going down, because of what he have done and what he plans to do, and she begs him, "Stop. Stop now! Come back! I love you!" Obi-Wan says, "You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind, until now- until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy" but he also tries to reason him during their duel, desperately telling him, "Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!"

What sets Padmé and Obi-Wan apart from Yoda, and possibly from Mace is that the wisest Jedi Knights are able to tell when they have to stop fighting for the one consumed by the dark side and start fighting for those who must be protected from them. It is always possible for someone to turn back to the light side, as one is not either this or that, but there is a point where we cannot wait for that to happen, because they would cause too much harm and suffering to others while they're on the dark side. So, they must be stopped. Yoda is just better at recognizing and accepting that point.

In Episode II

Wiping out the village is shown to be Anakin Skywalker’s first step toward becoming evil, and it's defined by Lucas himself as “terrible” and “completely inappropriate,” the narrative strongly emphasizes the severe reprehensibility of his actions, it's clear on that regardless how Shmi died, regardless who the Tuskens are, this is something that one must not do. And Padmé reacts accordingly: she is shocked. However, the massacre is markedly committed before Anakin turns to the dark side, as opposed to the slaughter of the younglings at the Jedi Temple, which is his first deed done as Darth Vader, signifying his fall. The Tusken massacre is a powerful warning against allowing fear of loss, stemming from attachment, to turn into anger over loss, resulting in horrible acts that we terribly regret later and, obviously, feeding into hate. And once Anakin's anger wears off, he is horrified of what he had done while he was under its sway, he is full of regret and shame, he is beating himself up for falling under the sway of his dark side. Padmé consoles him by telling him, "to be angry is to be human", which is also a warning to the audience: good people can do terrible things when they're overwhelmed by anger. "I am a Jedi" Anakin tells her, broken, "I know I'm better than this."

Many tend to interpret the Tusken massacre as an act that pollutes Anakin with evil in some way, or reveals an inherent evilness within him, but these ideas are profoundly rejected by George Lucas' Star Wars. Evil is something that you do under the sway of fear, anger, hate, aggression and selfishness and greed, and not something what you are. Anakin does evil under the sway of his anger, but once that anger wears off, he sees his action as evil. Whereas in Episode III, he is consumed by his dark side, he is not seeing his actions as evil, he rationalizes them, and refuses to admit that he is on the wrong. This is the profound difference between Anakin and Darth Vader.

So, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Mace and the others would have reacted the same way as Padmé did - they should've condemn his actions, but they wouldn't declare him evil. The Tusken massacre was the result of Anakin being unable to control his anger over losing his mother, turning into revenge. Some people assert - and because of this, they smear the Jedi for starting to train children as early as possible - that being good is a choice between doing good and doing bad, whereas genuine goodness must be cultivated: it's the ability to keep your dark parts under check. If you slip and fall, you shouldn't feel guilty. You should feel regret; you should resolve to try your best not to repeat the harmful action or mistake; you should reaffirm the positive direction you try to put in your life; and whenever it's possible, correct or counter the harm you made. So, Yoda and Mace and the others would focus on training Anakin, helping him to practice, practice, practice and practice.

This is signaled by the narrative as well: In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, Anakin is visibly distraught when he has to return to Tatooine, with Ahsoka casually quoting Master Yoda: “old sins cast a long shadow”, unwittingly addressing his issues. Anakin tells her, it means, “your past can ruin your future if you allow it.” In the Mortis Arc of the Clone Wars TV show, Anakin encounters with the likeness of Shmi, who asks him, “Tell me, where is your pain, so I might take it away?” Anakin recounts his regrets: “I was too late to save you. I failed as a Jedi and I failed you”, because, as he says, “I tasted only vengeance when I slaughtered so many to avenge your death.” The likeness of Shmi responds, "It is time you realize that your guilt does not define you. You define your guilt."

Should Anakin be in Jail for Massacring the Tusken?

It should be noted that in George Lucas' narrative, the Tusken Raiders are functioning as "violent savages". We can see that they're violent, beast-like, non-human marauder creatures who roam the deserts driven by instinct, who abducted Shmi Skywalker, one of the most compassionate, selfless characters in Lucas' story, and tortured her to death, just out of cruel whim, butchering or mutilating those who tried to rescue her. Her husband tells Anakin, “Those Tuskens walk like men, but they’re vicious, mindless monsters.” Lucas said, that scene was meant to establish the Tusken Raiders as "not completely human", they're "disliked" and "treacherous" and "deadly."

This story element has its origins in representing indigenous peoples and "the other" as stereotypes of violence and savagery, and it can be spotted in horror stories about the Assassins of the Middle-East and the Ancient Greek myths of man-killing virgin Amazons, and in the traditional Westerns, where Native Americans are portrayed very much like the Tusken Raiders in Episode II and IV. However, it should be noted that the figure of the Tusken Raider embodies the story element, and not serving as the Star Wars counterparts of the indigenous peoples who inspired the story element - nor it's a commentary on indigenous peoples. Today, it become popular to "fill in" the unknown past of Tatooine with the history of European colonialism, thus re-imagining the Tusken Raiders as demonized indigenous people rather than demonic indigenous creatures, but the legitimacy and merits of this fan-practice must be re-examined. Whether we agree with it or not, in Lucas' universe, the Tusken Raiders are violent creatures who may appear to be human-like, they're closer to the baboons of Disney's Tarzan. Indigenous peoples in his story are represented by the Talz and the Ewoks, not by Tuskens. Some would insist that if the Tuskens are really animalistic, vicious beings, Anakin massacring them wouldn't be an issue, so, they must be something more, Legends and Disney's stories are sort of catering this idea, but this confusion reveals that some failed to understand the core message of Star Wars.

The Tusken Raiders are meant to be human enough to register their massacre as something that is completely inappropriate and a terrible, but in the same time, they're non-human enough to keep Anakin the good person he was until Episode III, and not to send the message that one can murder human children and women (or children and women who are human in every way, except their form) and still be considered a hero until he turns into Darth Vader.

Lucas would says, “Anakin was a good kid, and even though he was a petulant, whiny teen – which I can say from experience seems to be the way it works; even I was one of those once – he was still a good person. Anakin has been struggling with some issues, especially about his mother, but also with Padmé and [deciding between] doing his job and his own, personal thing. And even in [Revenge of the Sith], the first third of it, he is fine. He’s a good pal to Obi-Wan and doing a great job.”

[dearviper]

Got a rather… meta fic request. Anakin x Neutral!Reader where they keep simping for him 24/7 and Ani finds out (it’s via dreams)

Again, takes place in ROTS. Reader lives in the real world and Ani is in Padmè’s apartment at Coruscant.

I just thought this would be funny and kinda embarrassing, considering that I am a BIG simp for Episode III Anakin lmao ajdjakdks

This is such a fun prompt! I hope I do it justice. Here is...

Your Wildest Dreams

Anakin Skywalker x Reader One-Shot

WARNINGS: None

AO3 Link

Anakin knew he was dreaming. There was a certain fuzziness around the edges of his vision, and the planet he was on was one he had never seen. 

The buildings were strangely designed and there was not a speeder in sight. Based on the antiquated wheeled vehicles he saw, he doubted repulsorlift technology even existed here.

Despite the strangeness of this place, Anakin felt no fear — only curiosity.

“Ah, this dream again,” came an easy voice behind him. He turned around to see your smiling face.

“I’m sorry, have we met?”

Your grin spread even wider. 

“Oh sure, loads of times.” You cocked your head to the side, taking in the sight of him. “Although I must say, tonight you’re looking especially good. I like the long hair a lot better than the old Padawan cut. That rat tail was just… ratty.”

Bewildered, he asked, “How do you know what my hair used to look like?’

“I know everything about you, Skywalker,” you beamed. “I’m your biggest fan. I have a thing for guys who are tall, dark, and handsome.”

Certain that you were just a figment of his overtired imagination, Anakin did not question how you knew his name. Nor did he address your blatant advances.

“Everything?” he probed. “Like what?”

“Hm, let’s see…” you trailed off, mulling it over. “Well, based on the haircut we’re in the third one-”

“The third what?” he cut you off, brows furrowed slightly. Though Anakin was unsettled, he was even more intrigued.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that,” you dismissed with a wave of your hand. “As for what I know about you, you were born on Tatooine to Shmi. You stayed there until Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan found you. Then you became a Jedi Knight, fought in the Clone Wars, trained Ahsoka, married Padme, and now here we are!”

You finished with a triumphant grin. It quickly slid off your face when you saw how pale he’d gotten.

“What’s wrong, Ani?”

“You know about Padme?” he croaked out.

“Sure, but don’t worry,” you reassured, sidling up next to him. “I’m not the jealous type.”

Fondly, you brushed a strand of hair behind his ear. Before he could respond, you leaned in and kissed him.

Anakin pulled back abruptly, staring at you with alarm. Groaning, you pulled back too.

“Damn, I can’t even get some in my own dreams,” you grumbled, more to yourself than to him.

“Your dreams?” he asked incredulously.

“You’d think my brain would at least let me live out my fantasies while I slept,” you continued, sighing melodramatically. “But, alas, I am doomed to look without touching.”

“Hold on,” he stopped you, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Yes, Ani dearest?” you replied with a saccharine smile.

“This isn’t your dream, it’s mine,” he contended. You rolled your eyes.

“Considering you’re a product of George Lucas’ imagination, I highly doubt that.”

“What?”

“Eh, there’s no point explaining it. You won’t even exist when I wake up.”

Aggravation building, Anakin raked his hands through his hair and glared at you. “I am real. You’re the one invading my dreams!”

You patted his shoulder sympathetically, and he bristled at the condescension.

The scene shifted suddenly, and you recognized the room as Padme’s apartment on Coruscant.

“Huh. This is new,” you mused, glancing around.

“No, it’s not.” He was trying to maintain his composure, but he was growing more bewildered by the second.

“Whatever you say, pretty boy.”

“Hey!” he objected with disdain. “I’m not… pretty.”

“Sure you are,” you disagreed pleasantly, beaming at him. “The prettiest.”

“You’re certainly a strange one,” he declared with a shake of his head. “What planet are you from?”

“Earth.”

Anakin snorted. “Now I know you’re not real. Either that, or you’re lying to me.”

You frowned at him, tilting your head to the side in confusion. 

“You’re usually a lot nicer in my dreams… In more ways than one.” You grinned wickedly and waggled your eyebrows. He only stared back in disbelief.

Standing up, you began to poke around the apartment. “Got anything fun in here?”

“Stop that!” Anakin snapped, slamming closed the drawer you had just opened. “I swear, you’re more nosy than a Kubaz.”

Pausing your prying, you turned to face him. “Is that a word I forgot I knew, or is my brain just making things up?”

Anakin grasped your shoulders and looked you dead in the eye. “I don’t know who you are or how you got here, but this is not a product of your brain. This is my dream.”

As you looked back at him, everything started clicking into place. You sucked in a queasy breath, shaking your head.

“That’s impossible,” you sputtered. “You’re not real.”

“I am,” he insisted, squeezing your shoulders for emphasis.

You froze, eyes widening. “So this whole time I’ve been flirting with you…”

“...I’ve been married to Padme. As I have been for years now,” he finished the thought for you.

You brought your hands up to cover your mouth in horror. 

“Oh my god,” you whispered. “I am so sorry, Anakin. Shit, I shouldn’t even call you that, should I? It’s rude, we don’t know each other. I didn’t- normally when I dream about you we-”

You cut yourself off with a mortified squeak. He arched an amused brow in response.

“We do what?” he prompted, mischievous mirth sparkling in his eyes.

Shoving your face in your hands, you didn’t finish your thought. Clearly enjoying your discomfort, he continued.

“Is it something to do with how pretty I am?”

You lifted your head back up to glare murderously at him, and he let out a loud laugh.

“I should have known you weren’t just a dream. You’re far too insufferable right now.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” he replied with a grin, clearly not sorry in the slightest.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” you muttered grumpily.

“Truly, I am. How ever can I make it up to you?” He was clearly mocking you, but you jumped at the opportunity.

“Let me use your lightsaber and we’ll call it even.”

“Absolutely not.”

Sighing in defeat, you flopped down onto the bench at the end of the bed. “No offense, Ani, but I liked you better when you weren’t real.”

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