sonthechest

[sonthechest]

I too like the idea that you can work (hard) towards being a jedi (just like the original film told us) and thought the way Sabines arc showed that was beautiful I also quite enjoyed Star Wars showing someone struggling to access the force well and learning to work with it at their level rather than it just coming easy to them.

Also there is a lot of stuff in film canon (in *all* extended canon tbf) about a persons force sensitivities showing in lots of ways beyond the usual can move things with their minds and fight good stuff - like being a good pilot, being good at tech, or good at influence and persuasion, being 'lucky' (*cough* Han Solo *cough* *cough*) etc.

I would argue (and I could for an entire dissertation) that Sabine shows many (if not all) of those traits in the canon of both Rebels and Ahsoka way before we get to her being able to pull her lightsaber towards her or yeet Ezra.

I think her stunt riding under the E-Wing in ep.1 of Ahsoka hints at it as does all her vandalism, both artistic and explosive, and getting out of dire scrapes in Rebels (there's an argument to be made for her artistic ability being force assisted too - like coming up with *exactly* what was needed as a symbol in the rebel phoenix and especially in her ability to 'read' art and artefacts) her ability to get feral creatures to trust her is in there too - tho' it's not as prominent as Ezras obviously. (All of which doesn't even get into her ability to wield the Darksaber properly - one of the biggest signs of all.)

So I get annoyed when people say there was no sign that Sabine had jedi potential and that they hated her accessing the force in the Ahsoka finale.

Honestly I felt the same way when people wanged on moaning about Rey "suddenly' being able to use the force in TFA. I was like but we've seen that she inexplicably, for her situation, is good with tech (can understand BB8 immediately and fixed his antenna) similarly can pilot and is a good one - even before she touches Lukes lightsaber or gets scanned by Kylo Ren there is enough other stuff that showed she was force sensitive in the same way both Anakin and Luke were shown to be force sensitive in previous films.

Its always the same thing - an odd push back against female characters and the force, weirdly, most of all when they are written and presented exactly like male characters and the force.

I'm interested to see how this gets built on with Sabine going forward because Mandalorians and the force is clearly a subject that interests Faverau and Filoni so I'm sure people who think Sabine has 'ruined canon' are going to be upset for a while longer!

“Sabine being a Jedi ruins canon” no it literally doesn’t. Girl trained for TEN YEARS with Ahsoka and finally opened herself up to the force. Plus obi wan literally says in the first movie that the force is an energy field created by all living things. So everyone has the force in them, but most Jedi are typically “force sensitive” meaning it’s easier for them to tap into it. Savage oppress literally had never used the force before but after some training he learned to utilize it. Sabine using the force is very plausible and this is the hill I will die on

#sabine wren #star wars fandom #ahsoka #star wars #rebels sabine

[sonthechest]

Nice to see this - hopefully it won't be a problem and everyone in this community remains cool and chill about shipping the *characters* and causes not one single problem for what seems like a cast of sweetie pies who are nothing but generous about their fans.

(In addition to the comment about Ivanna coming from a conservative country - its also worth remembering Ukraine - whom she is an ambassador for and one of her countries rising celebrities in terms of recognition - is at war with Russia being under threat of invasion from them and Russia is not simply 'conservative' on gay rights it has a policy of demonizing and scapegoating the LGBTQ community - including putting them in prison camps and encouraging hate and violent attacks towards them. In 2022 Putin brought in even stricter anti-LGBTQ laws making it illegal for anyone to 'promote' (whatever that means) same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are "normal." Meaning even being accused of or even alluded to being anything other than straight can lead to arrest or put targets on peoples backs.)

Not implying anything about any actor in real life is always a good idea.

Begging people not to pull a Klance or Destiel(Cockles) with Wolfwren. I’ve already seen parasociality (I have fallen victim as well) but if y’all start openly shipping Natasha and Ivanna or asking weird or harassing questions at cons, we’re fucked.

Even if you don’t give a fuck about respecting actor’s privacy regarding their relationships (which you should if you actually like their work), at least consider that Ivanna is currently an ambassador for a conservative country. If this started causing trouble for her, she could completely walk from the production altogether. And if that doesn’t happen, there’s still the fact that the producers and actors won’t like the backlash from Wolfwren antis and there will be a lot of basis for that backlash if we start behaving unhinged.

#wolfwren #star wars #characters not actors #ship the characters #carry on being as nice as you all seem #shin hati #sabine wren #ahsoka

[sonthechest]

SEVEN + ACE 📺 Tales of the Tardis (2023)

#i sobbed #my doctor #my ace #doctor who #seventh doctor

[sonthechest]

This criticism is pretty much what I've been also saying about Ahsoka. I absolutely loved the series I think its the most fun and the most properly Star Wars content I've seen on Disney+- it reminds me of the original trilogy in all the best ways.

That said the shorter episode count really effected it (especially the last two eps), rumour is it was a fight to get it up to 8 as the execs wanted 6 and Filoni originally planned 12. After the critical success of Andor you'd think Disney would have learned that letting creators make what they intend is a good thing but turns out cutting residuals was/is more important to them which shows the problem with all entertainment now being made or managed by finance companies disconnect from anything except their way of thinking and of measuring success by shareholder profits only, exec bonus size only and looking only to the share index and the market not to their customers (us viewers).

As the writers strike resolution showed us content like Ahsoka was also hamstrung by a lack of budget for anything other than first drafts with no resources for on set or post filming rewrites - something that I hope the changes from writers strike success will stop happening and mean an improvement to all content from now on.

Finally Ahsoka has actually not done that different numbers to Andor or actually that badly. The way Disney calculate their ratings and *decide* what they are is - as a person who worked for years in broadcast tv and knows a lot about it - notoriously bullshit. They use the unprecedented subscription numbers and viewing levels of the pandemic lock down as their baseline comparison when calculating so they can always complain numbers are down - because that means they can pay the people who make them content less (again).

They are making billions more a year than anytime in the companies history and paying their exec and senior partners the highest dividends and executive wages in their history. Don't believe their mendacious bullshit.

As someone who will defend Ahsoka tooth and nail and finds much of the criticism lacking, here’s what I thought could be improved:

1. Eight episode seasons are a bane on streaming, and it was a detriment to Ahsoka. The fact that Andor got 12 and Ahsoka 8 sucks, partly because I think Ahsoka needed those extra episodes far more to flesh out the dynamics and go further into motivations.

2. The mystery box reveal of Sabine and Ahsoka’s falling out, like so many mystery boxes, was unsatisfying and hastily done given how much that whole mess clearly contributed to both their actions, with Ahsoka being intentionally stoic and reserved and Sabine feeling lost and abandoned. I don’t know if this is something that was going to be dove into later, but I think it should have been given more time.

3. I thought the direction of the final episode wasn’t great. The blocking and pace of all the fights except Morgan and Ahsoka felt off, and Sabine using the Force did feel slightly weightless. I think Natasha did fine, and I liked that her hands were trembling when she pushed Ezra, but something about those shots didn’t land.

4. Marrok was pointless and seemingly existed for Ahsoka to have a cool kill. I don’t think we had time for that with only eight episodes.

5. The balancing act of trying to satisfy Rebels and Clone Wars fans while not completely alienating Mandoverse and movie fans didn’t always work and led to silly things like Sabine’s “I can’t see. How am I supposed to fight?” line, which is a fun reference for film only fans but makes no sense in context for Rebels fans who wonder how she forgot Kanan was blind.

Otherwise, there are things I would have liked to see that are in my wish list for Season 2. Kanan appearing as a vision or in a flashback would have been great. Letting Hera hug her adult children, Sabine with her jetpack, referencing the fact that she was the one who gave Bo-Katan the Darksaber…but these are more personal wants than active criticisms.

I think a lot of the flaws with Ahsoka were based on current streaming conventions, and I hope changes being implemented after the writers’ strike will help course correct.

[sonthechest]

This is why I love this hellsite - beautiful and beautifully written by @swashbucklery and elegant in its dealing with the vast amount of bad faith asks and takes about this pairing.

Talking about bad faith 'takes' deliberately deciding to hate and destroy a thing (as apposed to discussing it with legitimate well meant criticism) I've seen a disappointing amount of them about the Ahsoka series in a way that is deliberately anti-woman and anti-multiculturalism gatekeeping by parts of the fandom in the same disgusting way the Willow series was dogpiled.

I tire of the misogyny and racism in star wars/lucasfilm fandom.

The attitude to Sabine in those fanboi circles when she is explicitly *exactly* the kind of character they would love if she was a man and played entirely the same way is especially rankling when their vitriol seems to boil down to: How dare a female character be a complicated disaster and make mistakes, how dare she use the force and also be good at fighting, piloting and tech and, most unpleasantly, how dare the actor not be white.

Out of curiosity why do you ship sabine and shin ?

Okay anon so I am trying to figure out how to approach this ask because I know that this fandom has a real problem with bad-faith actors looking to troll Wolfwren shippers and I do not have the patience to deal with that, but also I do want to talk about them because they're lovely.

So. If you are asking because you're a troll, the answer is that I'm a big mean lesbian who likes ruining Star Wars and gets off on making innocent fanboys cry, #sorrynotsorry, it's part of my Terrible Queer Ruining Agenda and I am going to be doing it every second Tuesday until society as you know it has crumbled into gay dust.

If you're not a troll: because they hit this very particular combination of Trope Buttons that makes me ever so happy, anon!

Because it's about - like, there are ships that I love because they are a type of loving partnership that entrances me, where I see myself or see the type of love that speaks to my soul and want to enjoy the process of rolling around in it like a cat in nip. Then there are ships that I love because I'm attached to a particular character where like - this blorbo deserves the world and that includes a healing love, a warm love, a love that cultivates a space for them to rest after the harsh world around them has bruised them ever so.

THEN there are ships where - the dynamic fascinates me and I want to dig deeper into it. Where it's not about cultivating love as much as it is taking what's on screen to its gayest and most extreme possible endpoint, and that's where Sabine/Shin really gets me.

It's about the deep obsession of nemeses and the way that can feel inherently queer. It's about the ways that they are both mirrors and opposites. The way that Sabine carries so much anger and self-loathing and shame and guilt in her little heart and constantly pretends that she doesn't. The way that limits her throughout the series is riveting to me.

It's the idea of Shin, who in may ways is a more successful Jedi but in other ways is a sad, lonely little weirdo who has no community except for this weird old man and pretends that she's fine with it but can't be.

The way that they are both successes and failures in ways that mirror each other, the way that they orbit each other as nemeses and fight constantly but in their darkest moments have a weird little glimmer of - not love, but the beginnings of compassion.

And I have seen lots of writers and artists who look at that glimmer and see it as the beginning of a 200k slowburn story where they bicker and argue and slowly tenderize each other into being people who can be vulnerable, who learn to soften their prickly edges to fit around each other. And that's wonderful, and that's a beautiful way to ship Sabine & Shin.

For me, it's more about digging into that weird, fucked up little place of what if they didn't. What if they stayed fucked up and didn't soften but those orbits got closer and closer together. What if it wasn't toweringly romantic what if the orbit was the path of a comet colliding with a moon. What if that was somehow what each of them needed even though they both hated needing it. What does it feel like to confront the fact that sometimes our desires and what we want our desires to be don't align? What would it be like to envelop that in the complex ten-dimensional web of denial that both of them embody; desiring but pretending not to desire, indulging but pretending not to indulge. How far could that go before it hit a crisis point? What would that crisis point be?

There are so many stories there and that's fascinating and a thing that I find fun to explore in fiction, anon. If that's not for you, that's totally alright but there might be other dimensions that I described above where they ping with your interests more.

Or, they might just not be for you, and that's also okay.

#anyhoo this articulates my feelings about wolfwren #not since Buffy and Faith have I see such potential for disaster #also if all the boring Star Wars bores hate Ahsoka and wolfren so much why have all the action figures sold out? #all of @swashbucklery takes on Ahsoka are both hilarious and on point and her fic (all of her fic not just wolfwren) is astonishingly good.

[sonthechest]

This post isn't full of pretty pictures or entirely made of all caps shouting about how a show sucked to bring in the engagement which means so many of those who could do with a read and reflect probably won't even see it. Never the less here goes:

Please can you stop directing your burning hatred about something you felt personally wronged by in a show at the creators, writers or even actors of that thing you love! In almost *all* cases it will be the studio/company who payed for it who are at fault for the things that are annoying you (and having worked in tv and film I can guarantee it would have annoyed the show runners, creators and writers too).

Especially in the age of streaming.

Angry that stories feel like they dont get the character development and emotional depth you remember from shows of the past? Its because the 'studios' (which are now really huge mega-companies that operate more like the economies of some kind of ultra capitalist country crossed with an unregulated hedge fund) insist on less episodes (to make it so they pay no residuals) meaning your show that should have been 10 or 12 eps is now 6 or 8 and reduced down to rocketing the plot along, briefly introducing characters and fitting in its action scenes with no time for enough of that emotional development you want (see Ahsoka).

Are you lamenting the 'terrible writing' of something? Well maybe now, thanks to the strike, the writers will be given more time to write and, as they also now have the right to second drafts and rewrites of content during filming, perhaps writing across all content will now improve. But imagine trying to get *anything* done right first draft - especially something as complicated as scripted entertainment in a high budget show with lots of effects - and being asked to churn it out in an ever shorter time frame for less and less money all the time and you could see how plot points could remain undeveloped, character relationships left out, seemingly obvious (to the viewer) connections not made. Now we know what restrictions were on the writing we as fans start to understand why with many shows they don't have their best episode until half way through or more because the writing team has by then at least had a little more time with what they are writing and understanding of the characters!

You know who's fault it is writers are given the shortest possible writing time frame (in the case of the Willow series it was just 6 weeks!) and no budget for multiple drafts and rewrites in response to shooting? Yes that's right - the studios.

You also know who likes to cancel content even if it did absolute gangbuster streaming numbers and was critically praised (like A League of Their Own) with no warning - the studios.

As fans we have every right to criticise what we love but as fans we also have power - so lets make sure we are directing that power in the right way and at the right people.

#star wars fandom #marvel #star wars #marvel fandom #dc universe #Netflix #amazon #warner bros #hbo #Ahsoka #willow the series #a league of their own #writers strike #actors strike

[sonthechest]

I know I am never going to be a Star Wars Fandom Person and that I am not reacting to Ahsoka the way the rest of the internet is reacting because that was, without a doubt, the funniest dumbest gay thing I've ever seen??? HER STORMTROOPER FRIENDS LEFT

AND SHE STARTED CRYING

AND THEN RAN AWAY ON A WOLF (yes it's a howler i know it's a howler shh) TO BE SAD IN THE MOORS ALONE FOREVER(????)

NO ONE GIVE HER A HUG THIS IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE, I need to see her carve BAYLAN SUX into the side of a spaceship with her lightsaber. I need to see her dramatically tearing up as she learns that Evil Doesn't Pay I want her to listen to Space Evanescence alone in her room in the dark I need her to go to the Space Hot Topic and spend too much money on nail polish that DEFINITELY DOESN'T MAKE HER THINK OF SABINE this is critical to my enjoyment of Star Wars.

#I'm going to be sad if we don't get at least a small moment of her alone on her wolfbathorse in the new wilderness she hates looking sad. #also she better be dressed so as to evoke Joan of Ark for a reason! #she better hear whatever force god/power Baylan is unleashing and go on a rampage al la Miss of Ark. #Also her and Sabine should paint each others nails (black) and angrily make out once Ahsoka adopts Shin as her second padawan.

[sonthechest]

What a time to be a Star Wars fan - especially one who loves disaster women/lesbians making terrible choices!

As ever @swashbucklery is making points about Sabine and Shin that have me spiritually kicking my feet and twirling my hair with delight and her moniker of space evanescence to describe them and/or their thing (especially Shin) made me actually laugh out loud!

Talking about twirling how about about we discuss Sabine spinning in here to deliberately strike Shins lightsaber and not Shin herself in the most flamboyant way imaginable (Natasha Liu Bordizzo bringing her black belt and whushu skills to the party) almost as if she's not serious about hurting her!

That's before we even get into that beautiful interview the Star Wars social media team (or, more likely, one low paid intern) posted of Ivanna Sakhano describing her and Bordizzo staring deeply into each others eyes while igniting their lightsabers before their first fight and feeling that they had *unlocked the secrets of the universe*!

AHSOKA Part Seven: Dreams and Madness

#wolfwren #sabine wren #Ahsoka #star wars fandom #shin hati #ezra bridger #ivanna sakhno #someone in their social media team is a wolfwren shipper #Ivanna Sakhno is delightful and I really hope Shin gets to stay

[sonthechest]

I'm sorry why has t'tinterwebs gone a little gaga over Sabine Wren you ask?Well, aside from a huge amount of us who already loved her from Rebels (for the following reasons) squeeing about how perfectly shes been realised in live action for Ahsoka, its because: she hates authority, has fought the Empire and still continues to fight fascism, loves a cute floof (Loth cat - be still my heart), does kick ass art work, makes lovingly hand customised outfits and is training to be a jedi, complete with her own lightsaber, without having demonstrable force ability (although I have a theory about her force powers that I'll get into another time).

Basically she is all of us Star Wars fans. I have hand made myself customised outfits, I have jedi robes and a lightsaber - just no force powers either, I'm even officially registered as Jedi for my religion on the official census of my country!

Sabine is all of us who want to follow the Jedi path - and she gets to be a bonus badass Mandalorian too! (Surely she'll be meeting Bo Katan again or even Din Djaren in this series?)

#oneofus #oneofus #oneofus

#ahsoka tano #sabine wren #star wars #ahsoka series #star wars fandom #rebels sabine

[sonthechest]

Picard S3 thoughts re: 6 etc

I can't have been the only one thinking that wouldn't it be great if they knew someone who was a superpowered human cyborg entity, well versed in everything about Daystrome, Soong, Data, AI and positronic bodies who also had access to all the knowledge of the old Borg and the NuBorg? Wouldn't she be useful, especially if she were Picards friend and everything - plus with the new threat of the Founders wouldn't it be helpful having Borg input about a species the collective were aware of because they couldn't assimilate them and therefore have intel about?

The lack of continuity to Picard S1&2 is ridiculous and infuriating because there is no way they wouldn't use BorgQueen Agnes Jurati for help if they had her as a resource - I mean even pre-BQ synthetics genius Agnes Jurati would have been an invaluable information contact, especially about positronic bodies, let alone with all the centuries of knowledge in super Queen Borgnes.

#star trek: picard #Picard #agnes jurati #the borg queen #picard s3

[sonthechest]

Dougie endorses this post (like Jake he is also the best dog)!

(and why is it otto)

#fandom polls #dogs of tumblr

[sonthechest]

Isn't this the absolute core tenant of the X-Files? Mulder is a true believer and absolute powerhouse of faith *in* *it* *all*. Scully is his polar opposite (and in fact must exist if he does for nature always finds balance). Hemce the supernatural, extra normal, heck even the extraterrestrial simply does NOT around her because she is not.having.it. However also consider this: Scullys utter faith in science and medicine is the mirror of Mulders supernatural one and, oh so infuriatingly, his lack of belief in it has just the same nullifying effect! Hence the frustrating amounts of wrong science and medicine so often goes for Scully in the series! #X-Files

ghost hunting team that keep a nonbeliever named steve around as an emergency supernatural suppressant

[sonthechest]

I'm tagging this:

Willow Series 2022

Jayde Claymore especially

But also Kit, Elora and Graydon

I feel its advice Willow would give and Boorman already lives

Also applies to:

Picard S2

Agnes Jurati especially but Seven, and Q I'm looking at you too.

The Borg Queen lives most of this but was pleased about the addition of gay sex - thanks Agnes!

2023:

1. GET! WEIRDER!

2. CHILL THE FUCK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. IF SOMETHING ISNT MAKING YOU HAPPY IT’S NOT WORTH IT

4. STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND START LIVING HOW YOU WANT TO LIVE

7. GAY SEX I GUESS

[sonthechest]

The venn diagram of people who complained Andor was too slow, too woke, too boring and not Star Wars enough and people who complain Willow the series is too silly, too woke, too childish and not serious enough is a circle.

#Andor #Willow #Willow the series #Star Wars gatekeepers can do one #As can Lucas 'fans' with their cast iron entitlement to only have their idea in their fandom head be what matters #having same sex couples in sci-fi/fantasy stories isn't 'woke' its just normal. #you know who would use 'woke' in their rhetoric? #The Empire - because they are *fascist* and hate any and all difference from subservient hegemony. #Bavmorda could care less about ladies kissing #Willow bad guys just want more chaos and power - very evil and very violent but not *facist* - so yay I guess...

[sonthechest]

Man, I can’t believe that Picard Season Two turned out to be a coming out story for the Borg, with the Queen finally realizing why Locutus had never quite worked out as a true counterpart for her.

#Borg Queen #Having a midlife crisis #Falling for a hot blonde in a red dress #Then living happily ever after #Maybe she gets a fast sports car or a motorbike too #Good for them #The Borg are now a fuzzy collective with two mommies #LGBTQI+ Borg...or wait..even better LGBorgTQI+

[sonthechest]

Snazzy poster from the official Star Trek twitter

#star trek picard spoilers #knowing their audience #Hello yes where do I sign? #agnes jurati #borg queen

[sonthechest]

What is this? The history of the Borg. Well, the only history that matters…  the ending. How it always ends for you - a lone Borgslayer, a United Federation… they come for you; for your top-shelf, overreaching, Icarus worthy arrogance. Prattling on is your choice of weapon. I can wait. You can’t be sad forever. Do the math. In this or any other universe you always lose. That’s why you fight so hard.

#agnes jurati #right-wing trek gatekeepers can die mad about it #Jurati changing the Borg with love (by essentially seducing the Borg Queen) is THE most Star Trek thing ever #She basically Kirk'ed Starfleets most dangerous foe! #borg queen #picard s2 #also give Alison Pill ALL the awards for this season please