#tfa iceberg

[menori-ori]

Here we have my ocs in Thorns and Thrones au belonging to @pastelpaperplanes

And IceBerg is saying hi to Miss Silvus( @slickver-draws oc)

[polyhexian]

TFA and earthspark are so far from eugenesis. They're so fun. Watch cyberverse. Watch rescue bots. Finish TFA. Watch prime. Hell, watch G1. Transformers go!. Beast Wars. Read mtmte. There's so much good content to enjoy before you reach the bottom of the iceberg and you need to consider reading eugenesis

[windydrawallday]

Hey. Thanks for the reply. My friend typed that. They get REALLY angry because of the Lockdown X Prowl ship, and I respect their opinion, thinking that Lockdown is an abusive individual who beats Prowl in an abusive relationship, but not attack and harass artists for that. Again, I'm really sorry for my friend. I just wish they would change.

If that first and last part is true: keep them in good company.

The way I read them, even if yeah made me very mad and were super rude (hating something and more if is fictional NEVER justifies what they did), put me too on the edge of feeling something off… like they were seeking something else and that all this shipping hate was just their nearer, easy outlet. That is why I decided to be patient and wait… and see if they could make a more approachable stand.

And believe me when I say this: invading the virtual space of a fellow human and making them feel like a criminal for interpreting fictional ideas that don't hurt anyone is never, EVER a way to cope with the fear and fury those ideas produce in you. Hate breeds hate… and then, hurt for both parties. I think there's something more under all of it, and making a boogeyman from a fantasy pairing to fight against is just the tip of the iceberg; I suggest reflecting more about it with your friend, in a critical and objective way. For me, reading this [wiki article] aided me a lot to expand my knowledge about the nature of the events and feels stories with "dark" characters and themes can provoke in people. Is a very complex and long theme. But if it helps to put some peace or open a new perspective in them, it's worth the time!

I'm not gonna deny the Lockdown in the canon is the prince of jerkasses in the TFA cast (Megatron is still the King coff) but the one I interpret under my wing is more of a petty rascal badbutt than anything else (I enjoy putting flaws and more grey morality to characters), so I can promise there's nothing abusive on my work (just a very tick-of-processor and tongue-tied bounty hunter).

I swear, I have my own blacklist of themes, characters, and things I don't enjoy or squick me… but what I gain in searching intentionally every piece of media that upsets me, including the non-canon work of others? What do I gain in telling others they are wrong for finding joy in what I couldn't because there's still something to heal in me but instead of seeking help, I purge my fears in the form of discouraging and confusing text?

N o t h i n g.

But I occasionally find those "boogeymen" and-- They scare me. Sometimes even makes me cry. But I don't fight them back by confronting creators. Is not the responsibility of creators for my safety. And they can make mistakes. We are imperfect. Instead, I open a new canvas or doc and depict smiles, cuddles, and soft kisses, I find soothe in taking control of what once made me sad and hurt. I make it mine. And no one can take that from me. The boogeyman now is just a silly colorful sock with a painted smile.

And this. This is something that everyone can do. And is something that enlightens and makes you bloom in true feels, even being productive if you like that haha.

But that's it. Thank you to you for leaving me this message! There's nothing more calming for me to have closure.

But for you two? Especially your friend: they need to find closure. And that path is beyond my power. Only they can decide if to keep stuck in the now or confront the boogeyman and paint a smile over it. It probably won't be easy but is better than sitting down and drinking from the bottle of poison that's hate, slowly dying inside.

Cheers, and good luck!

[starpeace]

reverse unpopular opionion for the sequels bc im an unironic sequels fan and i need support

unironically the force awakens is my favourite star wars film and i’m going to watch it today because i finished some assignments and i deserve it

i said this yesterday but i fucking love this movie. the opening scene is phenomenal and i think about it constantly. poe dameron as the quintessential daring pilot who has humour and courage without it destabilising our perception of kylo ren as a threat. kylo ren as a faceless horror (yes i think kylo ren is a good character in this movie). when he stops the blaster bolt?? force interrogation?? the unconventional force powers of early tfa kylo ren go so hard. also like, the essays have already written about how revolutionary of a character finn was in tfa so i’m not going to go over that material again but he’s so good in this movie

[hail-the-supreme-leader-kylo-ren]

TROS TRAILER BREAKDOWN

Here’s a collection of thoughts/things I noticed in the Rise of Skywalker trailer.

We open with Rey ‘Jedi’ training, with the helmet and droid thingo which is a callback to Luke’s training with Obi-Wan: “Stretch out with your feelings!”. But since she’s dropped the helmet, looks like she’s surpassed what Obi-Wan taught Luke, or the training droid has gone crazy. 

This visually parallels the Force cracking the ground between Kylo and Rey on Starkiller Base at the end of TFA. Also Rey has the ‘red string of fate’ tied around her right-hand (which we also saw in the teaser, see below), so this is likely the same sequence of ‘Jedi’ training with Leia in the forest. ALSO related to the ‘string of fate’, there’s a damn rope there in shot running across the valley.

Cool shot, it brings to mind when we were first introduced to Rey, scavenging a Star Destroyer on Jakku in TFA. I’m certain this is the Death Star ruins, because she does have her bag on her, which we know she brings with her to the ruins from the teaser footage (see below), and that also explains why she’s wet! 

[Those last 2 shots are from the first teaser trailer] Note: Rey, Poe and Finn all have bags, and Poe has an injured his arm and has wrapped his scarf around the wound. 

Poe is making a speech to the Resistance, and note he has his left arm injury properly bandaged now (the wrappings are white).

Here’s a shot of the Resistance in a ship or hanger, and they look under attack as blaster fire shoots in the background. Most Resistance folks are running away, but (Dominic Monaghan), Connix, and Rose aren’t retreating but looking on at something horrible unfolding. Rose keeps moving towards what’s upsetting her (probs Finn being hurt less be honest), and it kind of looks like Dominic is calling “Rose” to get her attention and convince her to retreat to safety like everyone else. Also note that the orbaks riders are already there with the Resistance.

Here’s Finn, Poe, and Chewy and it looks like they’re in the same forest that Rey’s training in, so this is probably the Resistance’s new “headquarters/base”. Note that Poe has his injured arm wrapped up in his neck scarf he wore on Pasaana, so he hasn’t given his Resistance speech yet, and both Poe and Finn have their saddle bags.  

She is one angry bean! Also, note no bag. 

Kylo/Ben’s Darcy moment. #imdead

He looks SO sad and serious approaching her. 

He flips his lightsaber up and over slowly, so that the ‘blade’ is facing away from Rey, which to me looks like a “I don’t want to fight you” move. 

I have no idea what this iceberg floating in space is, but its visually EPIC. Note there’s some kind of ‘factory’ on the top left hand part, that is producing steam from lots of pipes. And there’s also some form of ~buildings~ underneath it too with steam also, but on the underside of the berg the structures are made up of cube forms. Is this perhaps where Palpatine’s headquarters is, secretly hidden in the Outer Rim?

Here is Palpatine’s throne, which has the newly created ‘Sith’ symbol on the back of the chair. Also note that there is blue flashing lightning happening in the background of this scene. 

Here are an Imperial Star Destroyer powering up and rising from the icy cold water. Is this on the ice-berg?? This explains where the Imperial fleet came from that we saw in the teaser trailer. There is also blue flashing lightning happening in the background of this too.

I don’t read/view any other SW materials besides the films, so I don’t recognise any these ships except the Falcon but this is obviously the Resistance’s fleet ready and assembled to fight Palpatine’s Imperial Fleet/The First Order.

This is Rey in her bloat/ship going on solo to the Death Star ruins.

Note Rey’s look of concern/disbelief in the background, at what Babu Frik is doing to C-3PO’s memories/system. 

That looks like a droid or person in shiny armour on the right, that captures BB-8′s and Dio’s attention in Babu Frik’s workshop. 

So the gang is in Babu Frik’s workshop all wearing big ass jackets, and Zorii Bliss is there so this obviously take’s place on Kijimi. And Poe is still wearing his scarf, which likely means that they haven’t visited Pasaana yet and he hasn’t been injured yet. 

They cut to this shot, bit this is not Babu Frik’s workshop, this is likely at the Resistance base as you can see the Resistance members in the background are in their beige uniforms, and those rebels/resistance green map/screens are visible too. 

Same with this shot, it’s not the same scene as the workshop. Poe isn’t wearing his scarf and jacket.

Finn, Poe and Chewie are on board a First Order ship. Note the lighting panels look very similar to the ones in the Empire magazine photo of Kylo in the FO hanger (see below). Poe does not have an injured arm, and both him and Poe have their saddle bags on. 

On Pasaana, during the speeder chase, BB-8 cuts into a cylinder of something that leaks yellow dangerous stuff. Also I think Chewie is in the background, so BB-8 is on his speeder.

Rey is then seen throwing it at the following Storm Troopers that are trailing her on another speeder, and the two Jet Troopers in the air. 

Meanwhile on the other speeder, Finn C-3PO and Poe seem to be having a successful time against the Troopers. Note Poe is wearing his scarf, Finn has his saddle bag on, and C-3PO seems okay he’s cheering like Finn.

This ship that is shooting at the First Order X-Wings and Star Destroyer looks very much like the Resistance Y-Wing seen in the lego that has the characters of Poe and Zorii, so one of them could be piloting this. 

Here we see an epic shot of BB-8, Finn, and Jannah leading her people on their orbaks on the side of ... a Star Destroyer?? Note the blue lightning happening in the background and the Imperial Fleet in the sky behind them. 

This is the Emperor’s throne room in the Death Star ruins, so this happens likely before their watery fight outside. Rey still looks pretty angry, with her saber lit, but Kylo/Ben is giving super patient vibes with no saber lit. HE WANTS TO SORT THIS SHIT OUT.

Here’s Finn, with Jannah behind him on the similar Death Star ruins we’ve seen Rey and Kylo fighting on. Looks like Finn is yelling “REY!!!!”, maybe he’s watching their fight ensue. Or maybe she’s being captured again, mirroring TFA. He’s still got his bag on.

Here’s Rey and Kylo destroying (on purpose or accident?) the stand that holds the charred Vader mask. Note Rey has a dagger in her left hand, and it looks to me like Kylo is reaching out with the force for the Vader mask with his left hand. Are the fighting over it, or both wanting to destroy it?

Here Finn and Poe and C-3PO all look very serious, Poe has his gun out. We can assume this is Pasaana because of he’s wearing his scarf, and the cave’s colour/texture looks very much like the rocky formations of Pasaana (see below). The blue light cast over Finn on the left is likely coming from Rey’s lightsaber. This looks to be from the same scene as the image that was shown at D23 (see below). Also Rey, Finn, and Poe all have their bags on them!

Here we get a true sense of how big this epic last star “war” really is. Again there’s more blue lightning in the background. (I don’t understand the science behind how the resistance members are breathing right now, maybe the ships are very low and still within a planet’s atmosphere?) Also I’m not a ship guru, but are they riding on a FO ship? What ever ship it is, it seems to be an ally ship, as not in the same formation as Palps’ Imperial fleet. 

Cue more trademark Palpatine blue lightning flashes. Ben looks SO cut up. He’s also very dirty which reminds me of this D23 photo of him (see below) where he also looks pretty miserable. He definitely looks like he’s stepping up to face something epic (probably Palpatine or Dark Rey) to help save Rey/the day.

Then we get Rey facing Palpatine, and he seems to be in an apparatus that is keeping him alive/helping him hover/stand/whatever he’s doing while he’s intimidating her. She looks so smol. There’s some runes carved on the floor. Also, there’s more blue lightning happening.

Then lastly, we get this shot of Rey, with more blue lightning action. This shot is a little eerie, with the lightsaber reflecting in her iris making her look almost like an AI robot. But then faintly she smiles and it seems genuine.

[levlumos]

How do you feel about Reylo?

I don’t throw out the word ‘hate’ a lot because it’s a strong word but I hate that a franchise I’ve loved throughout my entire life decided to indulge the delusional fanatics that are obsessed with a genocidal maniac and the person he tortured both physically and emotionally as a romantic pairing. There’s nothing romantic about abuse, point-blank, and their whole dynamic was toxic at best. They had no chemistry, there was no reason to try to force a love story there, and there’s also something that feels lowkey racist about the fan-base and the studio deciding that Kylo Ren was their leading man, both in the sense that he got the most screentime and also the love story, while ignoring the noble Stormtrooper-turned-rebel (which is one of the coolest storylines they could’ve come up with but they somehow shelved that despite Finn being a main character?) love interest that they set up in TFA and the incredibly hot Oscar Isaac pilot that they gave THE ICONIC “I KNOW” LINE TO IN TLJ WHEN HE MET REY while they’re both men of color. All that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reasons to hate Reylo but I don’t want to get too bitter so I’ll just say I’m glad Kylo’s dead and Rey ended the series with her two space boyfriends, Finn and Poe, who are also dating each other.

Ask my character “How do you feel about ______?”

[mandaloriangf]

Remember when after The Sin episode of The Mandalorian everything was like remixes of the I abandoned my boy meme? That’s what I miss about Star Wars, the irreverence and the fun. The ST introduced so much racism and horrible things into the mix and it poisoned fandom.

as much as r/prequelmemes gets annoying its kind of proof that whether or not something in star wars is good or bad, as long as people have fun it doesnt really matter. tfa was fun, but tlj and tros felt far more like bot generated movies meant to make as much money as possible and thats just the tip of the iceberg. like you said, the fandom is poisoned. it was never perfect before, but its so much more toxic now than it ever was. 

[thornsickle]

Stories are great. But what makes a story a great story? It’s execution. Have your story and then tell it in the best way possible. But if you have no story? You’re wasting your time. Because art of any shape or form, no matter how big or small, cannot lie. This was a cash grab, and no other film has managed to show that with such painful clarity.

I love Rey and Ben. In fact, I love all the sequel trilogy characters. But this has ended exactly where we started, with the last Jedi defeating an empire and standing lone and strong. This galaxy has not changed, it took one step back and one step forwards. It’s painful because we saw the potential here and it was squandered because a major corporation pushed to have these films made and story suffered as a result. I am not saying what happens in this film angered me, I am not saying I feel disappointed because what I wanted to happen didn’t happen, not at all, on paper most of this aside from Palpatine I think is actually pretty good and even moving.

But this film showed us the very worst that can happen with a major corporation production, and our fears about the loss of creativity were shown through this film’s desperation to please, despite knowing at the back of their minds I’m sure that is the death of creativity itself. I do not hate this film, I am sad and feel immense pity because I know and believe this crew, including cast but also the creative team behind this, did everything they could to make this work.

I don’t blame any single person, not really, despite my posts which are true I think but not the whole truth and we all know that this issue is not that simple. I will go see this film again, but I know the problem is bigger than this film’s plot. And that is not at all a satisfying thing to say. LF HAVE TO take a long look in mirror and seriously consider what Star Wars means and what it could mean in the future.

Not what it could be. What it could mean.

Take a step back, enjoy Christmas. Expand and read watch other more compelling material, or even material you already know succeeds where this did not. But also consider this issue with Star Wars is far more deep seated than we could possibly imagine. I hope Star Wars will evolve and become more than it is today. And I am prepared to wait for that. But it won’t happen if they keep going as they are, and it has nothing to do with expectations.

As I said, care for the story you are telling, but consider why, more than how, and how more than what.

Maybe their intention was always for someone else to take the Skywalker name and therefore the Skywalkers legacy to end. But did they truly know what they were doing and therefore plan this story out properly with this intention from the beginning? Tros proves the fear we had when TFA was released, that they did not, despite our hopes. This is more than simply disappointment for this film. It is disappointment for Disney’s lack of foresight and respect towards the art of storytelling and being bold with new ideas. Because that is what Star Wars represents more than anything. Unfortunately this trilogy represents anything but that.

You know though what I did see as a result of this? Incredible passion for us, yes, the fans, we treated these characters with far more respect than it’s creators ever did, across all groups, and we went further in trying to understand, even if we were barely touching the tip of the iceberg, the core of what made Star Wars, Star Wars. I only hope one day these fans will have a chance to put their own stamp and release stories of their own, whether it be in this galaxy or a galaxy they create entirely on their own, far far away from anything else, just like one checker-shirted man did all those years ago when he first saw a vision for a film set in outer space...

[klm-zoflorr]

Noticed Rey's outfit from TFA looked a lot like a Southern Water Tribe Warrior, and gave it a go! Excuse my shitty icebergs

[these-are-the-first-steps]

JUST SEEN THE TRAILER- TIME TO BREAK IT DOWN!!

So my brain refused to pay attention to both audio and visual at once with this, so my break-down is first with the dialogue we hear (which is the first thing that kept drawing my attention), and then with what we actually see.

DIALOGUE:

-Ok, who the fuck is that talking at the front end?? I *think* it might be Poe? Because it matches the pitch and tone of Oscar’s voice when he’s talking to 3PO, HOWEVER--- -”Good people will fight if we lead them!” jesus fuck that sounds like Adam??? It sounds like Adam. His voice DOES pitch up quite a bit in passionate moments- see TFA’s forest fight. It sounds like his same voice there here.

-”People keep telling me they know me. No one does.” SAME, GIRL, SAME. “But I do,” a very SOAKED Kylo Ren says as he emerges from the wave to confront this off-the-rails prodigal! GO GET HER, BBY!!!

-”And now, your coming together....is your undoing.” You know what’s fuckin weird here? Palpy doesn’t even really sound happy about it?? Like he’s almost...sad??? What even??? What is going on here???

-heart-string pulling like from 3PO was UNCALLED FOR, JJ. )X

-”Confronting fear...it’s the destiny of a Jedi!” says the guy who came from a LONG LINE of Jedi who ran away lmfao. Ok, Luke, ok....

-Carrie’s voice as the last voice in the trailer? Yes, thank you, I have been fed.

VISUAL:

-Rey tossing down Luke’s old training visor- so, we’re training. Rey’s working hard, but her training transitions right into what she’s done her entire life- scaling derelict ships for parts. Why do all new things always lead back to the old, I’m sure she wonders? The look on her face reads exasperation. She’s DONE this before- wasn’t that old life supposed to stop?

-Lando seems to become a rallying point for the fractured and beaten resistance. <3

-The kids (Finn, Poe, and Rose) go on adventures, through jungles and deserts! The old sand yacht seems to make a reappearance- do we go back to Tatooine? The fuckin...shitty epicenter of the whole skywalker lineage? What are they there to look for, I wonder, if so?

-Rey looks....downright angry on the downed death star (are we agreeing that’s what it is?) when Kylo appears, and Kylo, as the last trailer snippet showed us, really seems to have his head on straighter this time- he’s serious, but he looks VERY collected- he knows what his business with Rey is, and he is (deathly) calm about fulfilling it- whatever that might be!

-The iceberg island looks like something out of Farscape’s “Unrealized Realities” episode. In that episode, the iceberg was an ephemeral construct created by dimension-jumping beings to steady and sustain the show’s hero to figure out just *why* he wanted to go home so bad- and why he wanted to use something that could easily be turned into a galaxy-destroying super weapon to do it. So that iceberg, which was a stepping stone not just through TIME but DIMENSIONS (unrealized realities- the what-could-have-beens in every single instance of every being’s existence) is giving me serious “Unrealized Realities” vibes, which....well, it might fit into the theme of all this. If you want some crazy science-philosophy downloaded into your brain, please check out that episode.

-that’s the fucking game of thrones throne- JJ whyyyyyyyyy

-that imperial star destroyer looks like it is LITERALLY coming out of the ice- has it been hiding all this time?!!!

-The falcon clearly has plenty of friends- I think the resistance is probably OK.

-Kylo and Rey’s clash in the splash looks more passioned than deadly. It’s like when you’re really REALLY upset and you smack a pillow a bunch- are you really out to damage your fluff or are you just hitting it because you don’t know what else to do? That’s what those sword swipes look like to me.

-ALSO ALL THOSE STRIKES ARE ON REY- THAT’S KYLO ON THE DEFENSIVE, HE’S NOT ATTACKING HE’S BLOCKING HER STRIKES.

-At least the resistance friends look to be on a First Order ship as they shoot down troopers and not some haunted imperial one.

-Carrie, I cry.

-I....is that a pod racing homage? I’m even more convinced it’s tatooine.

-Who is flying that...A-wing? Is that like a resistance A-wing?

-I don’t get the horses. Stop trying to put horses in star wars ok. At least make them slime aliens or something.

-The room where Palpy and Luke and Vader had their infamous showdown and our two children are just standing in it *staring at each other*  I really really cANNOT.

-Finn is suddenly at the clash ‘n splash now, too? Looks like he’s yelling “REY!” like when Kylo carried her off in TFA? In fact that whole scene looks like an echo of that. I wonder what Rey’s reaction will be to it this time- she knows both men much, much better now, and I get the feeling that Finn’s not gonna be the type to understand aggressive courtships.

-Rey and Kylo are destroying things together. This is good. But it almost looks like they���re in some weird Cloud City?? I slowed down the trailer to stop on that frame and the thing they’re destroying looks almost like some sort of decoy puppet- it’s got a head and the shape of a body under a cloak. Could it just be some avatar of Palpy or something? Or actually him himself? Would that be too much to give away in a trailer? lol. What kind of Jedi/Sith tech can we find that might fit the description of an animated avatar to work on one’s behalf at a safe distance? I’m super into this idea now. Also, Rey is holding a knife now- a new weapon!! It doesn’t seem like destroying that thing was much of a challenge for them either, and Kylo still has his mask on, so perhaps this is at an early part of the movie before he loosens up a bit more?

-fuuuuuuckin star destroyer o’clock!! D:

-Something’s reflecting off of Kylo’s face here. Is some sort of old holovid playing? What is he watching? What is he being shown?? He looks almost...hurt. Caught off guard by whatever it is he sees!! :O

-This bit with Rey almost looks like the item in the top left corner could be Vader’s mask, but I think it’s just that fuckin discount iron throne palpy bought at the wrap auction. Because standing in front of it in a black cloak is probably whatever husk of the former Emperor is left...

-Rey looks emotional in this closeup. Is this where she sees her darksider self? She seems sadly accepting of whatever it is she’s looking at, and that would fit the bill- “Nobody really knows me” and here she is confronted with the Dark truth she’s never actually vocalized. Niiiiice. This is why Kylo knows you, baby!! <3

-The last three shots of this trailer are of Kylo and Rey, and AT LEAST TWICE this was edited to show Kylo and Rey pointed towards each other shot-wise. None of it was aggressive, all of it was weepy begrudging. And I, personally, can work with that.

God speed, Space Babies!!!! I am SO ready for December!!!!

[pacificwanderer]

I’m kind of lowkey annoyed at how they’ve been squeezing Kylo into almost every other Age of Resistance comic? Presumably to boost sales or because he’s popular, but like first the Finn comic then the Hux comic. And it’s not like I disagree with the portrayals or anything, they’re fine and in-character, I just wish the comics would be actual highlights for the titular character, focused on them, instead of random Kylo appearances

(he’s really fucking popular, Nonnie, and they’re doing what will make them the most $$$). Comic books aren’t really known for being, well, super profitable (anymore?), so they’re going to do whatever they think they can to boost their sales, like you’ve said. Another reason is that he’s thematically linked to Finn and I really think we’re going to see them both interact (and come to terms with each other) in TRoS, so I’m not surprised to see them interacting.

AND AS FOR THE HUX ONE. Straight the fuck up, that’s shipping bait. The author was even on twittter teasing fans about it (anyone who’s reading this and is now paranoid, don’t be lol, it’s a popular fandom with a really loyal fanbase that will buy shit, just like a lot of other sectors of the fandom are :)) They know who spends money, and shippers love to spend money on their ships, so it’s kind of smart of them to do this. Also, they have a whole rivalry thing going, so I’m not really surprised to see them highlight their relationship. This is a pre-tfa comic, so it’ll be interesting to see how things end up considering they’re not exactly friendly towards each other.

I mean, I love Phil Noto and Tom Taylor, so I was going to get it regardless, but plenty of people out there will probably pick it up just to get a whiff of their ship, and that’s fine.

Honestly, it’s kind of how Vader works his way into many other comics. They know who sells and they’re going to play to their audience. Where fandom can be a little more liberal in what it chooses to focus on, when you’re looking for sales, you have to write (and draw) to market. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is (thanks, capitalism).

If you’re looking for more Hux without (as much) Kylo, Phasma is pretty good and there’s some depressing kid Hux in the Aftermath series. For what it’s worth, the Holdo/Maz Age of Resistance Special comic doesn’t have Kylo. And I don’t think the Rose one will either, so it doesn’t seem like all of them will have Kylo stuck in there.

But I’d kind of gird your loins because I think this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as content for Kylo goes (so he’s going to be popping up everrrrrywheeerreeeeee).

Anyways, have faith! Cheers!

[menori-ori]

The sea at night

I made it bioluminescence and also the jely fish

Kid can't sleep so he looks at the sea (he still on “The Beastia”)

[looselucy]

ok so I was re-reading the faux affair and in the 2nd last chapter you mention ‘golden’ and ‘sunflower’ are you psychic or did you just randomly manage to predict 2 songs from fine line years before they came out?😉

RIGHT? This is one of the reasons that me and some fellow friends on here have decided that I might be a witch. The golden and sunflower stuff throughout TFA was the tip of the iceberg.

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

So, Star Wars: Episode IX has been seen and I have a lot of thoughts.

The thing is, I’m having trouble processing everything....so for right now here’s just a random collection of thoughts/observations, etc.

There will be spoilers, so they’re under here

~Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter?  This is honestly the only thing that I genuinely did not like.  I was so glad when in the last movie it was revealed that her parent’s were “no one”.  But JJ Abrams must not have been a fan of that choice, so he decided to do a “but wait, there’s more!”  I don’t think she needed to be related to anyone.  Though this is still better her than her being a long lost Skywalker/Solo.  

~And I couldn’t help but be reminded occasionally that this was not the movie they had intended to make from the start.  We know that TFA was supposed to have a story arc for Han, TLJ for Luke and this one was supposed to have a Leia arc.  But unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen now so they had to shift gears.  I will say, that the character didn’t die the way I had expected.   I thought that maybe she’d be on a ship and it would get blown out of the sky at the beginning of the film.  But it was nice that they were able to spread out the footage they had of her to make her last nearly the entire film.  Though I am kind of confused...did she give her life force to save Ben?  Or did she use it long enough to stop him from killing Rey?  Because Rey saved him after she stabbed him...but then he and Leia both disappeared after he saved Rey.  This might become more clear after another viewing...there was a lot going on.  And the Force healing thing did feel a bit deus ex machina...don’t know if that was something established in an EU book (even though they aren’t canon) or maybe the clone wars TV show, but it wasn’t an awful addition...I just wish it had been introduced in an earlier movie.

~There are some GORGEOUS shots in this film.  A lot of them were seen in the trailer, like that star destroyer fleet with the lighting behind it, the iceberg, some of the shots on the sunken Death Star....

~UNEXPECTED CAMEOS!  I actually gasped when I heard “Hey Kid”, because I knew that voice.  That scruffy-looking nerfherder came back for a quick chat!  Though, to be honest, I feel like the main reason Harrison Ford came back was because of Carrie Fisher.  I feel like they may have originally wanted a scene between Leia and Ben, but because that was impossible, they asked Harrison Ford to come back and he agreed.  But, my heart skipped a beat when they did a variation on “I love you/ I know”!  The way it happened in this film was something I thought might happen in TFA between Leia and Han....but seeing it between father and son did get me in the feels.  I also liked the super quick cameo of Wedge Antillies at the end!  I was not expecting to see him, as I think he turned down the opportunity to be in TFA, so that was nice.  And the unexpected return of Wicket the Ewok!  And I just looked it up, and he was played by Warwick Davis.  And the other Ewok was played by Davis’ son! 

~It was nice seeing Billy Dee Williams again....though admittedly, Lando doesn’t have a ton to do in this movie.

~There were also a ton of actors I wasn’t expecting to see in small roles, like Dominic Monaghan, Jodie Comer and Richard E. Grant! 

~I love Oscar Isaac more and more each time I see him on screen.  And when he asked Zorii if he could kiss her and she said no, all I thought was “are you stupid?  I would not care if there was a Star Destroyer hovering over my head.  If Oscar Isaac asks to kiss me, I’m saying YES!”  Isaac also has amazing chemistry with everyone, to the point where I could have bought him ending up with Rey, Zuri or Finn.  Sadly, Finn/Poe did not become canon, and after watching the first two film before today, I still thought that it would have been totally plausible....but alas, it was not to be.  But seriously, I like the arc his character took throughout the trilogy, and how he is trying to be a leader and being unsure of what to do next.   

~Flashback training montage of Luke and Leia!  With young CG Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher!  I almost thought Leia’s saber would be purple, since I think it was in the EU novels....but I guess they wanted that “twin lightsaber” look for when Rey and Ben took on Palpatine.

~Something I really liked was when the Luke raised the X-Wing out of the sea.  That was always something that bugged me about The Last Jedi, we were shown that ship underwater and he never raises it?  It was like not firing a Chekov’s gun.  So I’m glad they remembered that was there and brought it back.  

~It’s interesting that they did the “sucking the life force out”, because wasn’t that a theory as to why Padme died for no real reason in Revenge of the Sith?  Maybe they wanted to be: “see it is a real thing!”

~Part of me wonders if some of the things that happened in this movie were things that would have happened in Episode VIII if JJ had directed.  Mostly the idea of Kylo Ren turing back to the light side....I remember before the last movie came out, there was a theory where people thought that Kylo would turn back to the light and Rey would go to the dark side.

~I do like that they kept the “Force Time” (c. Jill Bearup) link between Rey and Kylo Ren...even though it was apparently only happening because of Snoke....but either way, I thought that was cool...and that it evolved to being able to take/hand off items through it.

~I was originally mad that Ben and Rey kissed, mostly because of the gross feeling I got from the last movie with the whole “you’re no one, but not to me”...though you can argue that those aren’t his actual feelings now that he’s Ben again.  But I was more ok with the kiss when he died/became one with the Force...though it still felt a little pointless.  They didn’t need to be in love....I liked the idea of them being friends, due to their bonding through Force Time.

~On a side note, the beginning part of the movie did feel like they were heading down love triangle road for a bit.  It seemed like both Poe and Finn had the hots for her....and Finn never did get to tell her whatever it was that he was planning on telling her when they thought they were going to die.  And later when Kylo became Ben and they kissed, I couldn’t help but think “everyone wants to hook up with Rey...”  And I thought Finn and Rose were going to become an item?  They did set that up at the end of TLJ....and she didn’t have a ton to do in this movie either....

~Rey Skywalker?  I don’t hate it....but it felt a bit corny.  It felt like a fan service line....and there was a lot (possibly/maybe/definitly too much) fan service in this movie.

There is so much more that I am sure I’m forgetting!  But like I said, I’m having trouble processing everything right now.

But did I like it?  

Yes.

Did it give me the feeling of being a kid again?

Not really.  The only one of the new films that got me super pumped like that was The Force Awakens.  I did not feel like that after The Last Jedi, but I do like it more after watching it a few more times.  I have a feeling The Rise of Skywalker may be like that.  The movie is kind of long, but not in a bad way...compared to the Last Jedi, where there were a few sequences that could have been re-worked and trimmed...this movie doesn’t have that.  I can’t think of a scene that felt extraneous or anything that didn’t add to the plot in some regard.  I did look at my phone once to check the time, but not because I was bored, but because I kind of needed to use the bathroom and I wanted to see if I could make it to the end (thankfully I did).  Honestly, part of me wonders if it would’ve worked better if the movie was longer.  

Maybe after a couple of hours/days I could write something more cohesive.

*After thinking on things for a bit, the consensus of my thoughts seems to be: I liked the smaller fan service moments (mostly the cameos and Luke lifting the X wing), but not when they attempted to recreate moments (Palpatine/Rey in the Throne Room).  It felt like there were pieces missing from the story....like the original cut of the film was 3.5 hours, but a bunch was cut.  And that I don’t think this is the story they originally wanted to tell....and rather than working off of The Last Jedi and creating a story from that, we got a movie that tried to “fix” or ignore what happened and they tried to cram in two movies worth of story into one.  

*I just watched Chris Stuckmann’s review and I agree with what he says that the three films in this trilogy don’t fill a cohesive whole.  Meaning, they had a story set up in The Force Awakens, but Rian Johnson decided to deviate from that set up for The Last Jedi, mostly regarding Snoke and Phasma.   And rather than just going with the changes for this final film, we ended up getting a movie that tried to be a follow up to both.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

I will want to see it again to really gather my thoughts and opinions, and hopefully the film as a whole will grow on me the way The Last Jedi did.

[lueminous]

*lights cigarette*

Yes, there actually was discourse about kylo's build post tfa. Even though Adam Driver is basically a human shaped iceberg, there was quite a vocal contingent of people who insisted that kylo was slender.

[raven-m-3]

I got a really thoughtful ask in response to my “What Solo Tells Us about Reylo” meta about why the thematic parallels and inversions are so strong between Reylo and Hanqira / Qi’rolo. The parallels were indeed staggering- my mouth was hanging open most of the time in the theater. 

I’m still going to give an in-depth reply, but off the top of my head, I keep coming back to the simple fact that Disney / LF is doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on Reylo. It’s not even so much “doubling down” as it is the fact that Reylo- the romance at the crux of the sequel trilogy, and arguably the entire Star Wars saga- has been so meticulously, thoughtfully, and diligently planned from the very beginning. Sure, some plot threads have changed, but the overall direction of this sequel trilogy has been clear since the pre-production stages of TFA. And all of the canon films, books, and material we’ve gotten since Disney acquired LucasFilm have supported and built upon this underlying romance. 

And it’s not just Reylo that has been meticulously planned-- so too have the arcs of all the characters we know and love. Solo, for instance, gives us a romance that not only heavily echoes the Reylo arc in TFA and TLJ; it also ties into Han’s character arc and HanLeia both in the original trilogy and TFA. It also has parallels to the patricide in TFA, Han’s dice in the original trilogy and TLJ, and even harkens back to the damn prequel trilogy (Darth Maul, anyone!?). These are just the tip of the iceberg. I could probably write dozens of metas on all the thematic parallels,  callbacks, and plot-based tie-ins in Solo. 

I guess this is all to say that I’m just really blown away by the care and dedication that has gone into telling this story. It’s a beautiful thing, and I truly believe that Solo was not only an enormous gift to Reylo shippers, but more importantly, to Star Wars fans of all persuasions- prequel lovers, original trilogy lovers, sequel trilogy lovers, and beyond.