#did I like seeing hayden and the clones last week

[plowolffe]

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#me and the bf are watching andor right now #bc we heard it was the best sw show on disney and so far everyone is right #within the first 10 mins I knew it would be good — the scripts are very well done and I really appreciate (so far) the lack of key jangling #no ‘remember this character remember this remember that’ it feels more like an indie sci-fi so far less like Star Wars #which is GOOD! I only didn’t want to watch it because I have a weird dislike of diego l*na but so far he’s been great #we’re on episode 4?? and we haven’t seen a single stormtrooper which is really great they are showing a lot of discipline here #whereas kenobi ahsoka and mando do nothing but piss me off #did I like seeing hayden and the clones last week #of course I did. was it good #no absolutely not that episode was trash like everything other episode so far in ahsoka #I’m still tuning in but I’m not optimistic #anyway andor good #txt

[anakin-pilled]

𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 - anakin skywalker x fem! reader (part one)

pairing: anakin skywalker x fem! reader

wordcount: 4.8k

warnings: minimal uses of y/n (trying to avoid writing this as much as possible but sometimes u need to!), awkwardness, anakin needs a break, POV switching (im trying something new, but its still in 3rd POV), reader is a popstar (very loosely based of taylor swift), too many scenes (i'll limit it next chapter) rating: 18+ (my blog is 18+ only)

rating: 18+ (my blog is 18+ only)

taglist: lmk if u want to be added!

author's note: well, here it is!! my first anakin fanfic!! i was listening to gorgeous by taylor swift and it just reminded me of how much i hate beautiful men (hayden christensen) and the effect they have on me and then this feeling just spirialed and became a fanfic--and my first ever mini series! i'm aiming for four or five parts? enjoy!!! (proofread but if u see a mistake pls tell me). sorry if the first part is boring, i'm just trying to set the vibe and introduce the major plot elements! creds to saradika for the header!

All Anakin Skywalker wanted was one, uninterrupted kriffing break. Yet, even that seemed like too much to ask from the Maker. With an annoyed sigh, Anakin quickly ended the call on his comlink and made his way out of his living quarters and towards the Jedi Council’s meeting room. “What do they want from me now?” Anakin thought to himself. 

It wasn’t unusual for Anakin to sport an attitude, but lately, his foul mood had been exacerbated in the last few months for several reasons. Anakin’s recent breakup with Padme laid heavy in his heart. As the war raged on and both of their duties called them away for weeks, even months, at a time, the young couple rarely had time to see each other. It was supposed to be a small break at first–Padme was working on an important bill that could change the tide of the war, so she wanted to focus all her energy on gaining support for the bill from fellow Senators and campaigning for its passage on the Senate floor. So, Padme suggested that she and Anakin take a quick pause on their relationship until she was finished with the bill. But even after the bill passed, Padme was too consumed by her senatorial duties to put her all into a relationship. Anakin was just as busy on the battlefields, traveling to distant systems, and ensuring that the Separatists did not win any more than they already had. However, he was still willing to put an effort into their relationship because he loved Padme more than life itself. Padme was Anakin’s first love, and they had already been through so much together. Didn’t that mean something? It was late one night when the couple retired to Padme’s apartment that she dropped the news. Anakin felt as if his whole world shattered. He begged on his knees to Padme, to give them another chance. She insisted it was for the best and that she would reach out to him in a few months when she felt ready. Anakin would be lying if he said a part of him was shocked. After all, Padme put her job as Senator above everything else. But still, it hurt knowing that the one person who he would abandon everything for, would not do the same for him. 

Aside from the breakup, Anakin was tired of the constant fighting, the rising death toll, and the never-ending chaos that always seemed to follow him. The 501st Clone Battalion’s most recent war campaign was brutal, and they lost a few men to Trandoshan separatists while in battle at a small, Outer Rim planet. Anyone could see that Anakin thrived in war. He was nicknamed the “Hero With No Fear” for a reason. But, the death of his men, or any man under Republic forces, always left his heart and mind unsettled. 

As Anakin reached the door to the Jedi Council, he quickly shook his head as if to ward away his dark thoughts. He really should meditate more. The door opened and Anakin was greeted with the sight of the Jedi Masters sitting in a circle, he noticed many of them appeared via holoprojectors. 

“Hello masters,” Anakin said with a bow. He looked around until he met eyes with Obi-Wan, who happened to be off-planet at the moment. Obi-Wan gave Anakin an uneasy smile which blared the alarms in Anakin’s head. Anakin was already in a defensive mode due to his rocky relationship with the council. 

It was Mace Windu who spoke first. “General Skywalker, we have called you here today to discuss an upcoming mission. It is to our understanding that you are currently on a break right now, however, you were specifically requested by the Chancellor for this task.” It must be an important mission if the Chancellor himself requested that Anakin carry it out. 

“There will be an upcoming charity event hosted in honor of the Republic to raise funds for the war effort. The event is being held in Corulag in ten rotations from now. While Corulag is part of the Republic, there have been recent Separatist activities within the planet and its system,” Master Windu continued.

“And what will I need to do while in Corulag?” Anakin asked with a slight edge in his voice. He really didn’t want to travel off-world.

“You will be the personal escort and bodyguard to the charity’s main event, singer (Y/N) (L/N). She will be performing a show as part of the charity and her presence is estimated to bring in a lot of credits for the war effort. While we don’t personally believe there will be a threat on her life, the Chancellor suspects that the Separatists may try to infiltrate the singer as a way to ruin the charity’s efforts.” 

Anakin felt his annoyance flare up again. He was being taken away from his well-deserved break time to babysit a singer? This was a job that even a Padawan could carry–Ahsoka could do it with her eyes closed. 

Even through the holoprojector, Obi-Wan could see the tale tell signs of his former student’s growing anger. He pitied the boy. Obi-Wan felt that Anakin deserved his break, especially after his most recent mission. However, it was not up to Obi-Wan alone to make these decisions. With the war prolonging itself more than necessary and the expenses rising every day, the Republic needed as many credits as it could get from its supporters. Obi-Wan quickly piqued up from the side to calm his friend, “Anakin, the Chancellor personally requested you as the singer is a family friend of his, and he trusts you. The Council will discuss giving you vacation time after completing your mission.” As vexed as Anakin might have been at first, he certainly didn’t want to disappoint the Chancellor. He had no choice but to accept the mission. Anakin silently nodded to the council. 

“Recieve more instructions tomorrow, you will. Rest for now,” said Yoda from his chair. 

And with that, the meeting was over. Anakin said his goodbyes with a bow and walked out.

After Anakin left the meeting, he headed towards the Jedi Archives to conduct some research on his new mission. He wasn’t interested in who the singer was, or what she did. Rather, he wanted to know what kind of person she was–was she a controversial celebrity, or did she stay in the lines? Anakin prayed he wasn’t dealing with some crazy, entitled celebrity who did whatever she wanted. That would make his mission harder than it needed to be. He had heard of the singer’s name in passing from Ahsoka, who kept up with recent trends via the HoloNet. As a General and a Jedi Knight, Anakin no longer had the same sense of freedom that he had as a Padawan, even though he had much less freedom than his other Padawan counterparts. “Perks of being the Chosen One, I suppose,” Anakin bitterly whispered to himself. 

Anakin filtered past the front desk of the Archives after giving Madame Jocasta a quick nod and small time. He wanted to be in and out so he could get food from the Temple’s cantina before retreating to his living quarters for the night. 

“What do you mean they are assigning a Jedi Knight as my security detail?! I thought this was supposed to be a simple concert for a charity event, why are they assigning a Jedi if there is no imminent danger?!” you exclaimed to your manager, Gido Frisco, with a pointed look. 

When you agreed to perform at this charity event, you did so because you wanted to help raise credits for the Republic. Your management discouraged you from having any outspoken opinions on politics as it could lead to alienation from fans and tabloid backlash. But after your home planet became a recent victim to Separatist forces, you could no longer idly sit by and continue living as if the war didn’t affect you. When the charity’s organizers approached you to do this event, you happily agreed because all the credits earned were going to a meaningful cause. To the Republic. To democracy. 

The event was to consist of several performances by famous artists from throughout the Core Worlds, but you were the headlining event. Though you would humbly deny it, your popularity superseded everyone else set to perform. The media and your fans dubbed you “the Galaxy’s princess” due to your popularity as a singer across the Galactic Core. You hated that nickname. You were very far from a princess–you were just lucky enough to be born with an innate musical talent. Nonetheless, you were still treated as if you were royalty. 

“Look, I’m going to be blunt with you. There has been Separatist activity in and around Corulag, but we don’t predict that it will directly affect you. Think of the Jedi as an extra security personnel. They won’t let anybody or anything hurt you,” explained Gido. 

“Who is we?”

“We as in myself, and the Chancellor. He was quite worried for your safety when he heard of your acceptance to perform.” That made much more sense. The Chancellor, an old family friend of yours, often looked out for you throughout your years on Coruscant. You had no family on the planet as all your family lived on Bar’leth, only visiting you every few months. While you saw them as often as you could, the help and care they provided you was limited to messages on your holo tablet and calls via communicator. The Chancellor took it upon himself to help you whenever he could. You were extremely grateful for his help, but you couldn’t help but feel unnerved by the thought of having a Jedi accompany you. You knew Jedis were the peacekeepers of the galaxy. As the war started and worsened, the Jedi were thrust into a new, partial position. Where the Jedi went, trouble unfortunately followed. Would more trouble follow you if you were accompanied by a Jedi than if you were not? Only time would tell. 

“Very well. And when will I meet this Jedi?” 

“You will meet him tomorrow morning. Please do not stress the situation. We are merely taking precautions. Rest for tonight and we will talk more in the morning. Goodnight, princess.” And with that, Gido walked out of your apartment and you were left alone.

You walked outside and onto your balcony and observed the night sky. Your eyes followed the speeders flying through the air–a cacophony of honks and whizzes! reached your ears. You leaned upon the stone masonry of the balcony’s railing and rested your elbows on its surface. You then laid your cheek in your palm and closed your eyes as the lights of Corscuant reflected off your statue. You took into the slight breeze of the night and enjoyed this moment of serenity. Who knows what the next few rotations will bring? You could only hope you would suffer a nicer faith than your home planet. Your eyes opened, and you retreated into the lush interior of your apartment and began your nightly routine. 

Holy kriff, this man is kriffing gorgeous! Those were the first words that popped into your head when you saw the Jedi knight walk into your living room. It was early in the morning. You thought he was only supposed to accompany you at the charity benefit, but your team thought it would be best if he accompanied you throughout the week as you prepared for the event and ran errands. 

As he walked closer to you, you felt your mouth run dry and a creeping heating sensation sprouted from the base of your neck to your cheeks. You could only hope he didn’t feel the heat radiating off your body. He was wearing dark-colored robes, with a maroon long-sleeve undershirt, and only one leather glove on his right arm. Was this a fashion statement of some kind? Gido spoke up before you could say anything. 

“Welcome, and thank you for being here Jedi. I can assure you that it means very much to us and I hope that you find yourself comfortable for the next few rotations. Our team will do its best to ensure you are properly accommodated. My name is Gido Frisco, and I am (Y/N)’s manager.” Gido reached out his hand for Anakin to shake. Anakin took his hand in a firm grip and replied.

“Thank you. My name is Anakin Skywalker, general of the 501st Legion. I will do my best to keep (Y/N) safe.”

Anakin. You had heard of him before–he was the Republic’s poster boy and a very successful leader. Though you knew of him, you had yet to put a face to the name until now. Instead of making eye contact with the man, you simply stared at the ground until Gido included you in the conversation. 

“And this is (Y/N),” Gido said. 

You then looked up at Anakin and made eye contact with the gorgeous man in front of you. Your eyes widened slightly as you took in the color of his eyes. They were a dazzling shade of blue that was highlighted by the scar running down the right side of his forehead to underneath his eye. 

There was an awkward moment of silence before you stuttered as you reintroduced your name to Anakin and shook his hand. Shit, he's strong, you thought as he shook your hand with a firm grasp. If there was one thing you were weak for, it was a strong man. A strong, beautiful man!

“Pleasure to meet you too. I’ll be at your service this week,” Anakin stated with a small smile. Kriff, even his voice was attractive! You could only stare at him and nod. You were truly at a loss for words. Wait, can he hear my thoughts right now? You thought to yourself. You heard the Jedi could use the Force to read minds, but you didn’t know if this was just a rumor. You hoped it was just a rumor or you'd find yourself burying yourself six feet under the ground out of embarrassment.

“Well, now that you two are acquainted, I’ll be taking Anakin so we can go over the security details. Stay here until then.” Gido then led Anakin out of the room and that was the last you saw of the Jedi until dinner time. 

When Anakin woke up the next morning, he walked toward the Temple’s catina to grab a warm cup of caf and breakfast. The food was meager most days, but it beat having to live off the plain-tasting ration bars that he ate most of the time when he was on missions and campaigns. As Anakin walked through the tables to find a seat, he was greeted by the site of his former master sipping on a cup of tea and conversing with Ahsoka. 

“Ahh, Anakin. Nice to see you this morning. I am terribly sorry that you have been called upon for another mission. I do believe that your rest was well-deserved, but unfortunately, I had no power over this decision,” Obi-Wan stated as he continued to sip on his tea. 

“Thanks, Master. I can’t say I’m particularly excited about this, but hopefully, after this is done, I can properly enjoy my rest.”

“Master, you’re so lucky! I am so jealous of you right now. I wish I could join you, but Master Sinabu has requested that I assist him in a few lessons with the younglings,” Ashoka pipped in. “Hey, do you think you could get me an autograph?” She was excited. Ahsoka was no stranger to being in the company of high-profile people, but most of the time, it was limited to officials and members of the Senate. Boring! The thought of her master working with one of the most famous singers of this generation was honestly hilarious to her. A part of her wished it was her on this mission instead. The last time Anakin was on babysitting duty was when Ahsoka first joined Anakin as his Padawan was to rescue Jabba the Hutt’s son. Much like Anakin, Ahsoka believed this task could’ve been carried out by a Padawan, but as Obi-Wan explained to her, the Chancellor personally requested Anakin for this task. 

“Snips, I’m there to protect, not get autographs. Try practicing your mediation skills, and maybe I’ll get you an autograph,” Anakin said with a small smirk on his face. Much like him in his Padawan days, Ahsoka found meditating tedious and boring. He honestly should meditate more to set a better example, but Anakin’s teaching method was more of “Do as I say, not as I do.” 

“Oh come on Skyguy! You owe me this favor after I saved your butt back on Florrum. What would you have done if I wasn’t there to save you from all those assassin droids?” quipped Ashoka with a slight raise in her eyebrows. Damn, she got me there, thought Anakin to himself. But, he wasn’t going to let her have this win so easily. One might say that Anakin was acting immature for his age, but he and Ahsoka’s relationship thrived off witty remarks and friendly competition. Anakin’s relationship with Ahsoka was one of the most precious things in his life. 

“Except I won our last sparring battle. That makes us even, no?” Ahsoka’s smile quickly dropped, and she glared at her master. Anakin took a sip of his caf and continued, “Only kidding, Snips. I’ll try to get you that autograph. I might be too busy trying to keep this singer out of trouble.”

Obi-Wan observed his former student and Ahsoka with fondness. “Do not worry, young one. You will beat Anakin one day. A student is only as good as their teacher, and you have a good teacher. I would know–I taught him,” Obi-Wan joked with the two. “Anakin, I hope this mission goes smoothly. I know how badly your last assignment went.” Obi-Wan placed his hand on Anakin’s shoulder and squeezed it.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Though Anakin’s ego subsided since he lost his arm at the Battle of Geonosis, it didn’t mean he liked talking about his failures. The Separatists somehow acquired important Republic intel and managed to ruin Anakin’s battle strategy with a surprise attack. He and his men just barely made it out on time before a full Separatist takeover happened. Anakin’s appetite was ruined by the thought of it. 

Suddenly, Anakin’s commlink beeped and he knew it was time to head out to the hangar and receive his instructions for the week. He said his farewells to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka before going to the hangar, where he was surprisingly greeted by the Chancellor. The older man smiled at Anakin and shook his hand.

“Anakin, my boy. I cannot express my gratitude to you for accepting this assignment. You see, I specifically asked for you because I knew that I could trust you with my dear family friend. I do hope that you take care of her well.” 

“Of course, Chancellor. She will be safe under my watch.” 

“Now, she shouldn’t give you any trouble. She is a well-mannered girl. However, I have just received secret Separatist intel and wanted to share it with you before I visit the council. According to the intel, Count Dooku has ordered intelligence to interfere with the benefit. Our report says that he is planning on hacking our broadcasting signal and threatening the talent for the whole galaxy to see. For what, I do not not know. While we do expect the benefit to raise many credits for the Republic, the show will also provide a boost in morale for the citizens of the Republic. I theorize that Count Dooku wishes to ruin the public’s perception of the Republic’s efficiency and control over the war and the talent are a way to do this,” explained Chancellor Palpatine.

Anakin furrowed his brows. “Seems like Count Dooku is running out of scare tactics. Chancellor, the Jedi will ensure that the benefit proceeds as expected and that no harm comes to anyone there.” 

The Chancellor smiled at Anakin’s words. “Thank you, my boy. Now I mustn’t take any more of your time. I will let you go now. You will receive more information on the Separatist intel later on.”

Anakin and the Chancellor shook hands once more before Anakin boarded his ship and plugged in the coordinates provided to him by the council. 

Anakin’s first impression of you was that you were pretty. A delicate kind of pretty that Anakin had only seen in one other person before, Padme. But as quickly as the thought entered his conscious, he pushed it toward the back of his mind. What was he even thinking? He chalked up to him missing Padme. Yeah…Anakin just missed Padme and now that he was in the same familiar situation that he was in a few years ago when he first met Padme, familiar feelings are rising. After all, this wasn’t the first time Anakin had been sent on bodyguard duty for a well-known beautiful public figure. 

Your manager introduced himself to Anakin and then introduced you to him. Though he wasn’t excited about this mission, he couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit relieved that he would be staying in your luxurious apartment for the next few rotations until you traveled off-world. It wasn’t very often that the Jedi were afforded such accommodations. Anakin had spent his fair share of nights seeking refuge in strange, foreign biomes with only mere sticks and leaves as shelter. If he couldn’t sleep in the comfort of his private quarters at the Temple, he might as well enjoy the lavish high-rise Coruscanti apartment. 

Despite Anakin’s initial impression of you, your reaction toward him was…intriguing. Based on his research last night, Anakin couldn’t anything on the HoloNet that painted you in a bad light. Sure, there were the occasional tabloid articles that made outrageous claims about you, but all of those were overridden by the amount of good publicity you got. Charismatic, friendly, confident, a sweetheart–these were all words used to describe you by the various media outlets. But the person standing in front of Anakin seemed everything but that. 

Your nervous energy radiated off you and permeated Anakin’s senses through the force. You avoided eye contact with him until your manager forced you to properly look at Anakin and introduce yourself to him. You definitely didn’t seem as confident as the Holo Net made you out to be, but Anakin didn’t fault you for this. He’s sure you felt nervous in the presence of a Jedi because it implied that there was some danger lurking around. If there wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been assigned to his task. What did you know about the terrors of war and the cruel reality of death and destruction? You were just a rich celebrity located within the safe confines of the Galatic Core. Anakin felt a twinge of jealousy at this notion. He knew that he belonged with the Jedi, but Anakin couldn’t help but feel envy at the fact that you were simply an innocent civilian whose daily life was virtually unaffected by the war. You didn’t have to witness violent bloodshed, say goodbye to your comrades, and live life constantly on the move. Sometimes Anakin longed for his days on Tatooine when he lived with his mother and worked in Watto’s workshop. He was a poor slaveboy, but at least he had his mother, and life was relatively peaceful. Before Anakin could harp on these thoughts any longer, he caught a stray thought that didn’t belong to him. 

Kriff, even his voice was attractive! Anakin was sure the thought didn’t belong to Gido, so he could only assume that it belonged to the woman standing in front of him. Anakin internally smirked to himself. Could it be that Anakin made you nervous for reasons other than him being a Jedi? Perhaps…you found Anakin attractive. Anakin didn’t care if you found him attractive, but it did boost his ego a bit. It seems his split from Padme was affecting him more than he thought. Since when did trivial things like this matter? 

Anakin looked over you once more before following Gido to discuss the schedule and plan for the upcoming rotations. 

Dinner was…awkward, to say the least. It was just you and Anakin eating in your dining room. Gido had some business he needed to attend to so he could not join you for dinner. Anakin insisted that he could eat somewhere else as he did not want to intrude, but you insisted that he eat with you. It was the polite thing to do. But after you insisted that Anakin sat with you, you realized that you had nothing to talk about. A singer and a Jedi Knight turned war general? What would you have in common? A pregnant silence enshrouded you both. Only the soft clinks of silverware could be heard. 

You sipped on your water every few bites to calm your nerves. This was so unlike you! Honestly, you were never one to shy away from anyone’s presence. A part of your job was selling a likable persona to the public–countless interviews, media appearances, meet and greets! You had done these all with grace and a smile. Yet you couldn’t find the proper words to say to the gorgeous man sitting right across from you. Geez, he must think I’m one of those stuck-up celebrities, you chided in your head. You were far from stuck up, but something about Anakin set your nerves on fire and made the social part of your brain feel like mush. Sweat started building up in your armpits as you thought about it. You had to do something to salvage your reputation and stop yourself from sweating through your outfit.

You cleared your throat and looked up from your dinner plate. “So, Anakin. How do you know the Chancellor? I hear you’re friends with him.”

“I’ve known the Chancellor since I was a little boy. We first met when I left my home planet after I was discovered by a Jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn. He was Naboo’s representative back then.”

“Oh, that's interesting. My family goes way back with the Chancellor too. My father and him studied at the same university on Naboo. Though my father was a few grades below the Chancellor, they became good friends,” you replied. 

Anakin nodded at your story before focusing his attention elsewhere. You internally deflated once you saw he did not seem to care about keeping a conversation. However, if you were going to spend the new few rotations together, you’d rather it not be more awkward than it already was. 

“Uhm, where are you from? You mentioned that you left your home planet. I’m not from Coruscant either! I am from Bar’leth.” 

“Tatooine,” Anakin answered curtly. The way Anakin said Tatooine almost made you think that he disliked his home planet. He didn’t say it with any fondness, or longing. 

“That’s in the Outer Rim, right? I’ve never been. How is it?” you questioned.

“Hot, lawless, and sandy.” Another short answer.

You got the impression that Anakin wasn’t exactly fond of his home planet, so you decided to change the subject of conversation. “You travel a lot as a Jedi. Which has been your favorite planet so far?”

Anakin was silent for a moment before, as if he were thinking deeply about it. In reality, Anakin knew his favorite planet. Naboo. He only paused for a moment because he was unsure if he wanted to reveal this information to you. Though it was seemingly an innocent question (and it was), Anakin felt it was a vulnerable question. Naboo is the planet he spent days frolicking in the lush, romantic meadows with Padme, falling deeper in love with her as the days passed. Naboo represented a part of Anakin that no longer existed–an Anakin that didn’t know the pain of losing a mother, losing a part of himself in the process. When his mother died, gone became the young boy with a golden aura and eyes full of hope. On Naboo, Anakin was still bright and naive with a laughter full of joy and excitement. That Anakin died the day he and Padme set out to find his mother on Tatooine. Anakin wished every day to the Maker that part of him could come back from the dead and replace who he currently was. To better days.

“Naboo. That’s my favorite planet,” answered Anakin. He decided to be truthful instead of responding with a random planet. Anakin didn’t know what compelled him, but he knew you were only being polite. 

“Naboo is beautiful. Though I mainly grew up in Bar’leth, I spent a lot of my childhood summers in Naboo. I don’t think there is any other planet with views as stunning as Naboo,” you revealed. 

You felt that there was nothing else to say. The remainder of the dinner was quiet. Though there wasn’t as much tension as before, it was still awkward. You finished your dinner as quickly as possible before retreating to your personal quarters for the evening. 

To be continued!

#kendra's works !!! #star wars #star wars anakin #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin x reader #anakin skywalker #anakin x you #anakin skywalker x you #darth vader #darth vader x reader #hayden christensen #tcw anakin #star wars fanfiction #star wars fandom #the clone wars

[renegade0897]

HOW IN THE FUCKING FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE KNOWING NOW THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED?!

I've had at least 2 brief dreams regarding Star Wars in my 27 years of existence.

The 1st one was when I first saw Revenge years ago. I still specifically remember saying to my cousin "what if he didn't turn? Would those kids have survived?" That was fucking 18 years ago, I was 9 years old then. 2nd dream was when I first watched the duel between Obi Wan and Vader last year. Same dream, "Would it have been different had it not turned? A What If?"

What in the hell, this opens so much justification for us to have a Star Wars What If. IT JUST DOES. THIS EPISODE ALONE, EXUDES SO MUCH EVIDENCE MY LAWD, YOUR HONORS. PROSECUTOR PRESENTS THE EVIDENCE TO THE JURY YOUR HONOR!!!!!!

I have always thought of seeing Hayden in Clone Wars form, even if it meant just fanart but holy fucking shit David Filoni, you just dropped a heartstopping MOAB there just like Luke's fucking hallway scene in The Mandalorian. This is something I will keep on thinking about for days, even weeks on end. I have this extremely soft spot for Hayden, not because he's Canadian but he played Anakin so well and I knew I had to defend him from the detractors back then. Now, he's come back in the midst of a literal love tsunami and he cries about it, and that is just the most wholesome thing I've seen in fandom since Spider-Man: No Way Home when all three Spider Men were finally together and both Toby and Andrew were officially canonized into the MCU. And can we just talk about Ahsoka? This Gray Jedi has come a long fucking way from the little padawan that a lot did not like a decade ago to literally one of the best aside from Anakin, Obi-Wan and Luke. I know I know I'm a stan but she also exudes Master Qui Gon energy, because both her mentors were apprentices of his, so naturally his teachings would pass down to her. AND I FOR ONE DO NOT HAVE ANY QUALMS ABOUT THAT!

This I think is the best Star Wars we've gotten since Andor, and I still need to watch that as well. DAVID FUCKING FILONI, YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN. YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!!!!!!! DAYUUUUM! 🤣😁😁

Ctto

#star wars #hayden christensen #rosario dawson #dave filoni #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #matt lanter #ashley eckstein

[charity-angel]

So, this is mostly because I need to vent about something, but...

This time on Ahsoka:

- never thought Huyang would end up as my favourite. I love his bitching about them not doing as they were told. Ahsoka is getting it in the montrals ALL THE WAY to Ezra. She'll never hear the last of it. And neither will Sabine, when they rescue her. And him with Jacen - that is going to be an epic relationship when the kid starts training. (Huyang as the new Yoda - grandmaster to all, all the sass, less of the outright lunacy.)

- ANAKIN! okay, yeah, so technically he appeared last week, but that was so much fun. Hayden looked like he was having an absolute BALL. And we got to see him playing Clone Wars Anakin, who is far superior to the angst ridden movie version. And, as bonuses -

* bb Ahsoka. Who, very interestingly, was wearing entirely the wrong outfit for it being "one of their first missions". I wonder why that might be? A touch inappropriate for a real-life child to wear? Hmm?

* REX! Rex in armour, and a single line, but I feel it bears saying again. REX!!! (I so wanted him to lift his bucket, and be Daniel Logan under there. Still time I suppose - I reckon Skyguy is going to appear again.)

* Did anyone else look out for familiar armour? Like, as soon as the first clone appeared?

And now, the point I forewarned you about. And anyone who actually pays attention to my rants about appropriate tagging will probably have guessed:

- why does it have to be BLOODY PURGILL??? That's rhetorical - I know why. I realised after the first 2 eps they were going to appear. That was, after months of telling my family I was really looking forward to Ahsoka, and then trying to tell them about her without their eyes glazing over, my brother asked me what I thought (no one else had watched yet), and I realised. Purgill. Blasted purgill in all their tentacley glory.

I just don't watch when they're on screen. I probably miss some things because of that but, just, nope. They were bad enough in Rebels, and I can usually cope with animated.

(Not always. Not a fan of Morgana in Little Mermaid 2, and I noped out of Finding Dory when I saw the poster. Apparently she's sweet, but no. Ursula, otoh, is almost entirely fine, despite the fact she's probably the cause. Octopus baddie, THAT scene, on a big screen at age 4? Yeah, it's probably her. I can never watch Blue Planet. Can't even deal with cuttlefish. Yeesh.)

And, just so I'm not leaving this on a negative, or my own personal weirdness, I'm pretty sure there are other people in the World Between the Worlds who might want to say hi to Ahsoka (and Ezra). Just sayin'...

#ahsoka #sw ahsoka #ahsoka s01e05 #ahsoka 1.05 #ahsoka 1x05 #spoilers

[mallwalker]

ANAKIN. i love you. im so fascinated by whether this is legit anakin force ghost or just ahsoka's imagined version of him (more likely?) and the implications of both... he was like genuinely scary too I LOVED THE FLASHBACKS i thought they were so well done i saw a couple people saying "is anakin even fit to teach ahsoka anything about being a jedi" it is genuinely amazing how hard you missed the point of that. the de-aging wasn't bad at all i think he was too smooth in the last ep but it worked really well in this one. baby ahsoka was so well cast i think that's the most it's ever hit me that like oh there were actual kids commanding in the clone wars. like middle schoolers. rex was a fun cameo i do wish they were better at disguising the volume

on the flip side they have done hera soooo dirty... my disliking her casting was more of a personal thing but there has been no point in this so far where hera has demonstrated that she is in any way a competent leader or worthy of holding the title of general and i think mon mothma and the senate would have been 110% justified in stripping her of her rank. hera has NEVER been the kind of person to drop everything and put others at risk for her own purposes i don't even understand why she was the one pushing for sabine to help ahsoka find ezra in the first place. hera was willing to let her own crew die to serve the needs of the many MULTIPLE TIMES in rebels she is not doing ANY of this to find someone who's been presumed dead for a decade.

kanan mention :3 also jacen is sooo cute i love him

dave filoni voice And this is ahsoka shes a super powerful wise jedi she was anakin's padawan she has two lightsabers and they're WHITE and she's like a samurai and she has eeeeeeeeeeevery force power she can fight really good and sense memories from things and talk to animals and feel force users from really far away and see the future and and and . Did you know that characters are actually MORE interesting when they have one (1) unique thing they are good at and not all of them

can we please not drop the thread about ahsoka being a bad jedi teacher this is important to me. please please don't devalue everything anakin said just because he tried to kill ahsoka at the end Please

mildly annoyed by the use of world between worlds imagery without it actually (?) being the wbw but not enough to care tbh

i do think hayden was really really good in this i am mourning the version of live action anakin&ahsoka i had been imagining for however many years where anakin was just a really annoying force ghost engaging ahsoka in devils advocate philosophical debates 3 times per episode and also fucking with her things because he figured out how to push stuff julian bbcghosts style

EZRA NEXT WEEK LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

#charlie dot txt #ahsoka spoilers

[chokemeanakin]

Give Me Love

Chapter Two

Wc: 1.5k

MASTERLIST

Since then, you had made a considerably stronger effort to get over your intimidation of Anakin. It was hard to accept that the man could turn you into such a sensitive little girl so easily. Your childhood shyness came back full-force around him. You could flirt and tease and play with any guy, but the minute he so much as looked in your direction, you froze. Clammed up. Lost all thoughts that might have been formed in your head, and stood there like a cadaver. Brain dead.

You hated the reasoning for it even more. You were demoted to a shell of a human being around him because he was pretty? How pathetic of you.

That wasn’t the only reason. Yes, you had always thought he was beautiful in ways you’d never seen before and know you will never see in anyone else. But that first night walking home with him cemented your feelings even more-- he was charming, and funny, and sweet, and ambitious-- and so so intelligent.

He had walked with his hands clasped behind his back like a prince, gloved arm in his flesh hand, guiding you leisurely through the streets as he waited for your shorter legs to keep up. He had smiled at your attempts at conversation, and inquired about your training as a field nurse at the Temple medbay. As if he really cared. He even pretended not to notice the goo-goo eyes you had shot him for a fleeting second, when you finally mustered the courage to look him in the face as you bid goodnight.

He was so handsome. Such a gentleman. So sweet and caring and brave. And strong and determined and on and on and on. He was everything. And that’s why your existence crumbled around him, because you felt like anything you did might annoy him, gross him out, make him detest you. Your self-esteem was never perfect, but around him it tanked. The thought of him dreading your presence scared you into motion, fleeing before he could realize how ugly, or annoying, or terrible you might be.

You knew it confused Ahsoka. She’d seen you play guys until their jaws were on the floor, whining and drooling after you like dogs. But as soon as her Master’s voice came over her com? You were a shaking, whimpering mess.

Her little plan had worked though. Soon, you were risking a quiet, “Hello, General Skywalker,” as she urged you to greet him over the com. You had twisted your hands together so hard the joints in your fingers popped, forehead breaking out with a slight sweat. But you had addressed him directly, even if it was over com. Baby steps, Ahsoka commended you.

And then, you had agreed to walk her to the starfighter hangars one afternoon-- a place he was notorious for hanging out, and one you had adamantly refused even stepping in the direction of. When you got there, he was, of course, under his yellow Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor, tweaking something with a wrench in one hand and a blowtorch in the other.

“Say hello,” Ahsoka had grit through her teeth, jabbing you in the ribs with her elbow. You winced and rubbed the spot, freezing in place as Anakin rolled out from under the starfighter and lifted his goggles onto his forehead. It pushed his bangs up, the curls sticking up cutely, making your heart skip a beat.

“Thanks for walking me, Y/n,” the Togruta padawan stressed your name pointedly.

“Uh… you’re welcome, Ahsoka.” You flinched as she raised her eyebrows, shifting your gaze to the man beside her. “Hi, Anakin.”

“Hey, Y/n,” his answering smile was blinding. Your veins filled with lava. Hearing your name formed from his sultry voice, dripping off his lips like honey, dancing across the room and tickling your ears with butterfly wings… it felt more like a blessing than a greeting.

It got easier with time. Baby steps was right. Soon, you weren’t turning on your heel as soon as you saw him walking down the same hallway, instead passing him quickly and returning his casual head-nod. If he caught sight of you in the mess hall, he’d wave and offer a small smile, a gesture which you returned. You had even managed to get that awful stutter under control, able to form words around him like you weren’t a newborn baby.

Ahsoka was proud.

And then. And then. And then.

He had snuck up behind you one day as you were cleaning up your station in the medbay. You had been switching gauze pads, removing stitches, and setting bones from clones and Jedi all day until the last patient came in, a clone bleeding from a slashed artery in his thigh where a bounty hunter had stuck him with a knife. He was lucky he got to you in time, or he surely would have bled to death. You managed to staunch the spurting flow of blood enough for him to be prepped and brought in for surgery, and then your shift was over. You were scrubbing the tiles clean of the results, scrubs absolutely drenched in blood, when Anakin knocked on the doorframe.

“Hard day?” he’d asked, eyes sweeping over the gory mess of the usually stark-white room.

“Quite typical, actually,” you grimaced, mind still reeling from the adrenaline. You guessed that’s why you had the confidence to actually speak to Anakin right now, as well as look at him without falling to your knees. Well-- you were already on your knees, so all you had to battle with was the flurry of butterfly wings in the pit of your stomach.

“Did he live?” Anakin walked a couple steps into the room, arms crossed, avoiding patches of dried blood on the tile.

“He’s in surgery, but he’ll pull through. Amazing, considering how much blood he lost.”

“I can see.”

You scrubbed away at the tile for a moment, strangely unbothered that he was seeing you covered in bodily fluids. You were most comfortable when you were in your element, and well, here you were-- quite literally in your element.

“Can… I help you with anything?” your heart lurched as you questioned him for the first time. Demanded his attention for the first time. Braced yourself for those heavy eyes to land on you and squeeze the breath from your lungs.

But if he was hurt… well… it was your job to fix it. Stupidly-strong crush or not.

“You can, actually.” He stood over you, looking down with a small tilt to the corner of his mouth. A flush rose to your cheeks as your eyes sifted over his body, looking for any wounds that might be visible.

“Nothing like that,” he shook his head, and then knelt beside you as he realized you weren’t going to stand. He reached into the soapy bucket beside you and grabbed a sponge, helping you scrub the floor clean of blood. “I was wondering… Obi-Wan and a few others from the Council have tickets to go to the Opera tomorrow eveing. They want me to go with them, but…”

You chanced a look at him, and he was wincing. “Well, let’s just say the Opera’s not a very entertaining place to be on a Friday night.”

You laughed lightly, nodding in agreement. The Opera was such a prized part of being on Coruscant, where all the wealthy and important people go to watch a swirling ball of light for hours. You never understood the novelty of it, but you found that everyone was afraid to call it out on its blatant dryness.

“So…?” you mused, dipping your sponge back in the bucket to get more water.

“So, I was thinking you could put me in for a checkup at that time just so that I’d have an excuse to bail.”

“You want me to give you a checkup?”

“Not actually,” he squeezed pink, soapy water into the bucket. “Just schedule one, so I can take the card and show it to them and then not have to go to the Opera. And to pay you back, I’ll take you to Dex’s for that breakfast-dinner you, Sabè, and Ahsoka do every week. Since you’ll be missing it to help me, and all.”

Your head rushed with blood, swimming as you took in his words. He wanted to take you to dinner?

No, he wanted you to help him. But… he didn’t have to pay you back. He wanted to do that. He was also waiting for your answer, so you got your wits together and accepted, eyes locked onto your scrubbing sponge as you replied,

“I think I can do that. As long as you show up here at exactly 8pm, cause that’s when my shift ends and there’s a 5 minute break as night shift takes over. I’ll let you in, and then we can sneak out the back.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Anakin flashed a dazzling smile at you, and for the first time, you were able to meet his shining eyes straight on and smile back.

Taglist:

@a-sterism @artiza-n @monamourani @anakinlove @haydens-moles @anakinswhore @ani-skyvvalker @sarahb1024 @anakinsbestgirl (why don’t they tag 😔)

Join the taglist!

#give me love #Anakin x fem reader #Anakin fic

[gffa]

Hi!  I don’t think it’s easy to put Anakin and Padme’s relationship into just one category or the other, that we see it’s both of these aspects to their relationship. On a storytelling level, on a very foundational level, I think there has to be love between them, because why else would we at all care about the tragedy of them, if they were only obsessed with each other, rather than genuinely loved each other?  If there was no love there, why would we care at all when they fell apart? At the same time, they do fall apart and that’s something that’s been building since the first episode.  They never get a chance to really know each other--how can they?  Anakin and Padme met when he was 9 and she was 14, for a week or two at most, during an incredibly busy time on Naboo, so it’s not like they would have had time to get to know each other very well. He spends the next ten years dreaming of her despite not talking to her in any way that we see (and I think the implication of AOTC is that they have not been in contact, given that she’s surprised to see him all grown up, and the way they introduce themselves to each other), of course he’s built up this idea of her in his mind. They know each other for about another week during Attack of the Clones, put into really intense circumstances, and then marry each other despite not having time to get to actually know who the other person is.  Padme talks about how getting into a secret relationship like this might destroy them, she’s already acknowledging that this would put a huge strain on their relationship, but they throw that caution to the wind because their feelings have been wound up so intensely. This also comes along with what happens on Tatooine, that Padme sets aside that Anakin murdered indigenous children in his anger and this is really important to their story, not just because she should be seeing some giant red flags or having some reaction other than “to be angry is to be human” (when talking about the murder of children), but because it’s going to come into play in Revenge of the Sith, where Padme absolutely knows what happened the last time Anakin had dreams about his mother.

She’s the one who knows those dreams were nightmares, she’s the one who knows what Anakin did to the Tusken children after those dreams haunted him, and she says, “It’s just a dream.” when she sees Anakin getting disturbed about her in ROTS.

Padme is just as blind to who Anakin really is as Anakin is blind to who Padme really is--partly because they never have the time to get to know each other, even the week or so that they spend together in the movie (during/after TPM and during/after AOTC) are times where there’s so much going on, that even if a week or so were enough time to get to know someone (it’s not), they wouldn’t have been able to.  Naboo was being invaded!  Padme had an assassin trying to kill her!  Anakin was freaking out about his mom!  An entire war was unfolding around them! And even after that, the war kept them apart for months at a time, they probably spent far more time apart than they did together. They both idealize the other to an extent, they’re both tremendous romantics, they love the epic, sweeping romance that they fling themselves into--Padme just as much as Anakin.  Her heart absolutely wins out over her mind when it comes to him, because she is just as into this romance that sweeps them off their feet. That’s why the scene from The Clone Wars’ first season, where Padme is trying to get important work done--work that has other people’s lives depending on her--that’s interrupted by Anakin because feelings are more important to him than the people she’s trying to help, is important to show that she absolutely gets swept up in this.  Padme wants this grand, sweeping romance just as much as Anakin does, she melts when he hands over his lightsaber and leans in to kiss her, because this speaks so strongly to her heart. That’s a fantastic scene because it shows the beginnings of how things are going to go so wrong, how they’re sweet and loving in that moment, but it sets the stage for how they don’t handle their shit and how they’re ignoring the bigger problems in the room. It leads to scenes like what happens with Clovis in season five, where Padme repeatedly tells Anakin that she’s not romantically interested in Clovis and he still is so jealous that he tries to forbid her from doing anything with him to help uncover what’s going on on Scipio.  She has poured everything of her heart into this relationship and still when Anakin walks into a scene where they’re kissing, even when it’s clear to the audience that Clovis initiated it, Anakin says that he thinks Padme was the one kissing Clovis, that he still questions if she has feelings for him.

We, the audience, see that Clovis tried to push himself onto Padme, but the conversation between Anakin and Padme afterwards has none of Anakin saying anything about that, instead he specifically says--while he’s defending himself and trying to explain his actions after beating up Clovis--”It’s just, when I saw you about to kiss him--”, showing that it’s about his lack of trust in her, his lack of understanding that she’s truly committed to him, despite everything they’ve said to each other. It’s a direct line to Revenge of the Sith where Anakin is so easily willing to believe that Padme would betray him (by siding with Obi-Wan behind his back, also believing so easily that Obi-Wan would side against him, despite that Obi-Wan has practically been trying to move mountains to help Anakin), showing that these misunderstandings about who the other person is have been there from the beginning and are never fixed. And, ultimately, they don’t actually talk through any of what happened with Clovis, they take a brief break, shit on Scipio hits the fan, he saves her life, they cuddle on the roof of the banking building, and that’s it. They come back together because of intense circumstances creating intense feelings all over again. It isn’t just the secrecy that tears them apart, it’s all the internal stuff as well, the things they don’t address, the things they ignore, the things they don’t see about each other, the way they both won’t make a real choice between their duty and their personal relationship.  Both paths are valuable to each of them, both paths are good--being a Jedi, being a Senator or having this passionate marriage where you want to take off and do whatever you want whenever you want, but as Dave Filoni says it’s about:  “What you choose to do and how you choose to have a relationship, what you sacrifice, then that becomes a bigger deal when he’s made an oath to the Jedi Order to be selfless, to put everyone else ahead of himself.” The oaths they both swore to something bigger than themselves are a big deal and Anakin and Padme both never really figure that out for themselves. And that’s why they’re ultimately torn apart, because Anakin got attached (in the Star Wars meaning of the word) and fell to the dark side because he refused to actually achieve balance within himself, that he rejected the Jedi teachings on how to love without possession. “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 year 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. “But he has become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation. And it feeds into fear of losing things, which feeds into greed, wanting to keep things, wanting to keep his possessions and things that he should be letting go of. His fear of losing her turns to anger at losing her, which ultimately turns to revenge in wiping out the village. The scene with the Tusken Raiders is the first scene that ultimately takes him on the road to the dark side. I mean he’s been prepping for this, but that’s the one where he’s sort of doing something that is completely inappropriate.“   --George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary “He turns into Darth Vader because he gets attached to things. He can’t let go of his mother; he can’t let go of his girlfriend. He can’t let go of things. It makes you greedy. And when you’re greedy, you are on the path to the dark side, because you fear you’re going to lose things, that you’re not going to have the power you need.”  --George Lucas, Time Magazine interview And that’s how we get to this:

That they were in a relationship wasn’t bad, but that Anakin’s attachment to his mother and to Padme led him to do terrible, horrible things, it led him to mistrust Padme even when there was nothing to indicate that she had betrayed him, that these things happened all along the way. They did idealize each other, they did romanticize each other, they did ignore the looming specter of the oaths they swore were being damaged by the way they lived their relationship, they never had time to know each other, Anakin’s feelings for her were the most important thing thing for him--even more important than what Padme herself wanted. “Nothing is more important than the way I feel about you,” he says.  Which is romantic until you realize the lengths he’s willing to be entirely literal about that. “And the bad part is saying, 'I'm doing this for Padme.'" --George Lucas directing Hayden Christensen in Revenge of the Sith on his turn to Darth Vader, that the justification of doing this for her is the bad side of him. Another interesting perspective on this is from the Star Wars Adventures 2019 Annual comic, where Breha talks about Padme to a young baby Leia, which is mostly about Padme’s legacy and the plot-related things she achieved, but briefly talks about her relationship with Anakin, and describes it as, “As fate tried to dictate her response, as love almost diverted her from her quest...”

Breha isn’t someone who would be against love if it were done for the right reasons, she’s married to Bail Organa and we see in Leia: Princess of Alderaan and From a Certain Point of View that they love each other very much.  For her to say this about Padme’s relationship, it says a lot. Now, all that said--and, yes, I’ve given the pairing a real scrubbing because there was a lot to establish and I find those aspects of their relationship fascinating, but this part is just as important--they also genuinely cared about each other. Look at the scene in season 7 of The Clone Wars, where (setting aside that he’s sneaking around to do it), Padme’s advice to him is really warm-hearted and she does gently tease him about his personal feelings driving him too much sometimes, getting him to acknowledge it, showing that Anakin does have the wisdom and training to recognize this. As well as it shows that they gain comfort from each other, they’re soft with each other, they both genuinely enjoy the other’s company:

That’s an incredibly lovely moment, the hand touching says volumes about how they feel about each other, what that small gesture means to each of them and their feelings towards the other. Or, backing up a ways, to further the idea that of course there was love here, look at the way their wedding was shown to us--it’s beautiful and perhaps there’s a touch of bittersweetness to it, but it’s genuinely shown in a gorgeous, romantic way.

It’s even paralleled to the scene of Luke and Leia at the end of ESB, furthering context that there’s a lot of genuine love and care here. (Not to mention the focus on the way they touch hands at their wedding, the way the music is epic and sweeping, telling us with sound and visuals both, that this is a beautiful moment in this very moment.) Or look at how they are in Forces of Destiny:

These are two people who want to be together, you can see it in the way they huddle together and the way they speak to each other. Or look at the beautiful way their kiss is framed in the Age of Republic comic, it’s clear from the visuals that it’s meant to be a romantic, sweet moment. Even if we can talk about the bigger context around it, how Padme is keeping secrets from Anakin and her handmaidens, not letting anyone into her thoughts, the moment itself shows us very clearly that they’re in love, the romance is meant to be seen as genuine:

Or there are some really cute, genuine moments, like in the Star Wars Adventures main series, where Anakin and Padme go on a vacation together and there’s some very cute flirting:

There is nothing about this that’s not completely sweet and adorable!  (And there are some other moments in those two issues that are more cute, sweet flirting.) I don’t think you can have one without the other--Anakin and Padme’s relationship is full of a lot of really disastrous elements on a foundational level.  The lengths Anakin is willing to go to for her, that his fall is directly attributed to his unwillingness to accept the Jedi teachings of that you can (and should) love, but you can’t possess someone, you can’t be greedy about being owed that person, those are baked into the relationship. But so are the cute moments, the genuine care they had for each other, that none of the tragedy would have any meaning or impact if they didn’t genuinely enjoy being around each other, if there wasn’t something genuine there.

#anakin skywalker #padme amidala #anidala #meta #long post

[the-original-b]

Archangel Chapter 11: Talent Scouting

Format: Prose / Fiction, multi-entry

Part in Series: 3 of 9 (Previous Chapter | The Beginning)

Word Count: c. 2,600

Summary: Khai pressures Krueger to contain a rapidly deteriorating state of affairs.

Krueger stepped through the glass doors of the Sixth Avenue office—dressed in a commando sweater and dark jeans with classy shoes under his pea coat—and headed towards the conference room.

Danielle straightened up behind her desk as she noticed him walk past her. “They’re waiting for you inside, Mr. Krueger,” she said.

He thanked her with a nod and proceeded down the hallway, past Khai’s old office which CJ Silvio now worked out of, and entered the conference room to join her and Everett to discuss their next steps after the events at Pharaohs a few days ago. Visible on a computer monitor at the end of the table was Hayden.

“Gentlemen, Miss Khai.” he greeted them. “Is Mr. Desmoulins joining us?”

“We’re ironing out the connection now,” Khai noted. She wore a dark suit with a white blouse and black peep toe pumps. “It’s one thing to set up a video call, but another entirely to set one up with him.”

“The man lives in military grade encryption,” Everett added. Today he wore a conservative blue suit with a pale gray shirt underneath.

“It’s how he’s stayed invisible for so long…” she added sotto voce. She tapped a few more keys on the laptop Hayden’s face was on. “Got it,” she said, turning the device toward the other men in the room. “Brandon, can you hear us now?”

“Loud and clear,” Brandon voice confirmed through the speakers.

“Perfect. In the room you can see I’m here with Mr. Krueger and Henry Everett. Also joining us via teleconference is Mr. Hayden.”

“Hey, everyone.”

“Greetings,” Hayden said. “Good to see you’re all well.” He folded his arms atop the desk he sat behind.

“Same to you, sir.” Khai said, sitting down and facing the laptop. Krueger and Everett took their places standing behind her. “Have you heard any updates from Dana and Charles?”

“No, and that’s what concerns me. Karin’s seen a steady increase in the Dragon Tears’ popularity in her territory, but she and I have been in regular contact; and Herman’s reported no problems in his area. The others have had their hands full for months, and now that I haven’t heard from them since last week the rest of us are more than a little concerned.”

“That bad?”

“It isn’t just the drugs, it’s the problems they invite. Police budgets have been slashed nationwide, and the hardest-hit cities have turned to the private sector to compensate.”

“Castle Security Solutions,” Krueger noted. “I’ve seen a news story on them the other day.”

“It’s no coincidence they’re expanding while the Dragon Tears become more popular,” Khai noted.

“Are you suggesting they’re connected, Miss Khai?” Hayden queried.

“I’m saying there may be a causality, sir; that somebody stands to profit from the expanse of one or both of the two forces choking the Partners today.”

“I agree,” Everett added. “And thanks to Krueger, I think we know who.” He looked at the monitor. “Mr. Desmoulins?”

“Special Agent Peter Cross,” Brandon said. “Born August 14th 1966, UT San Antonio class of ’88. Eight years with the FBI, then transferred to the DEA in ’96. He spent three years there, then moved to ATF. He changed hats a third time and joined the CIA in 2002, after which the records stop.”

Krueger arched his brow. “The United States Government?” He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one foot.

“We don’t know that for sure, but it does make sense,” Brandon mused. “If the CIA is sponsoring an effort to destroy the Partners, they’d want somebody like Cross at the tip of the spear.”

“Not their wheelhouse,” Khai commented. “That’s more the FBI’s job.”

“Also doesn’t make sense that his story stops after his start with the CIA,” Everett noted, his hand on his chin. “I get the feeling there’s more to this Peter Cross than the records show.”

“Especially since the buyer named him,” Krueger added, just loud enough for the others to hear.  He leaned on the back of a chair to Khai’s left. “Is it possible he’s changed sides, started working for another criminal organization?”

“Possible, but not likely; the only other major player in the region is the Company,” Khai said. “And after the ordeal with Osiris, they’re hardly on my radar these days.”

“Mine either,” Hayden said. He brought his knuckles to his lip as he looked away from the camera, breaking eye contact as he considered the new information. “Do we know if Cross is operating in the Tri-State?”

“I found an office in Long Island City,” Brandon said. “Registered to a Rook Capital. He’s listed as Operations Manager.”

Krueger and Khai shot each other looks.

“Then I think that’s where we should start,” Hayden concluded. “Mr. Krueger, head to the Rook Capital office tonight.” Hayden lowered his hand again. “Surveil the building and report back what you find”

“Understood,” Krueger said.

“If I may, gentlemen,” Brandon suggested, “I think I have a better idea. I wrote a script that clones a computer’s internal drive and writes it to another location. I call it the Intruder.”

“The one used at Miles Orham’s cabin?”

“The very same. I think we can use it again here, but we’ll need an access point for it to work.”

Hayden nodded. “I agree,” he said. “That is a better idea. Mr. Krueger, if you can gain entry to the office and upload Mr. Desmoulins’ program into their server room, I believe we’ll gather all the information we need.”

“I’ll get it done, Mr. Hayden,” Krueger said with a nod.

“Excellent. We’ll reconvene after we’ve made more sense of the data.” He reached for something off-camera. “Good day.” His visage disappeared immediately afterward, and the four remaining people on the conference call shared a moment of silence.

“I’ll make the needed modifications to the Intruder,” Brandon finally said. “Krueger, can you come by later today to pick up the drive?”

“Absolutely. I’ll get the address from you while I’m there as well.”

“Awesome. Let me know when you’re on the way. Mr. Everett, Liz, take care.” And just like that, Brandon Desmoulins disconnected from the conference, and Khai shut her laptop before turning to face the two other men in the room with her.

“Well,” she said.

“It sounds self-explanatory to me,” Everett said. “We plant the Intruder, wait for it to do its job, and decide our next steps after we analyze the data.”

“We might run out of time before then.”

Everett shot her an inquisitive look.

“Rook Capital… Rook, the chess piece.”

“Castle,” Everett concluded. “The private contractors?”

“Not a doubt in my mind.”

“I caught it too,” Krueger added. “It can’t be coincidence that Cross is part of their office in Queens, he has to be connected to the private contractors coming up in cities across the country.”

“All the evidence points to that,” Khai said. “And if all is as it seems then there’s no time to delay here…” She stood up from her seat, adjusting her glasses. “We have to kill him.”

“Liz,” Everett said, raising a hand to chest-level. “You’re talking about killing a possible U.S. Government agent. That’s a sure-fire way of drawing attention that we cannot afford.”

“It’s also the only way we can guarantee avoiding the same thing that’s happening to Dana and Charles right now, and to stop whatever’s brewing from destroying the whole organization…” She took a breath, placing her hands on her hips and shutting her eyes. She opened them again and met Krueger’s gaze. “Milo, go see CJ in the armory.”

“Liz,” Krueger began.

She started toward her desk at the head of the conference room, by the window overlooking Sixth Avenue. “It won’t be easy, but if you can get in and out before they know what happened, I think we can slip the noose before they get a chance to tighten it.” She took a seat and woke her desktop computer.

“Liz, I was ordered—”

“It’ll be tight, but there’s a safe house in Sunnyside, on 40th Street. You can lie low there while things settle down—”

“Liz..!” He got her attention.

Khai looked away from the monitor to face him.

“That isn’t the job,” he specified. “You heard Mr. Hayden, this is strictly an infiltration assignment.”

“I did,” she said, “but it may be too late to do anything about whatever facts we dig up by the time we analyze them all. We need to solve the problem before it becomes one.”

“And I agree with you there,” Krueger said, leaving his place at the table to approach her. “But this is different—you’re talking about having me remove a possible Federal Agent.” He stopped barely two feet from the edge of her desk, then placed his hands onto the desk top. “A long time ago I stood right here in front of your predecessor, and promised to kill him in his sleep if he ever ordered me to do something I’m not comfortable with.”

Khai didn’t take her eyes from his, even as she leaned back into the chair and uncrossed her legs. She wasn’t even aware of the distance she tried to create between them until she blinked, realizing what she was actually feeling wasn’t shock, but fear.

“I don’t want to have to revisit that threat.” Krueger finally said. He maintained his flat tone, deadly serious. “Least of all to you… but if I have to, I will.” He straightened his posture again, looking down at her. “I was issued an order, Liz. And I don’t intend to deviate from it.” Krueger turned on his heel and headed toward the exit, his hands in his coat pockets. On his way out of the office he acknowledged Danielle again and passed through the glass doors to the elevator down to Sixth Avenue.

Everett shuffled uncomfortably after Krueger left. “That wasn’t something I should have been in the room for. Sorry, Liz.”

“No, you’re fine,” she reassured him. “Really…” She let a quiet sigh escape her lips. “You know, that’s the closest thing to a fight he and I have had in the almost two years we’ve been together… I was always nervous about that, but now I think I was scared of the wrong thing.”

Everett followed her eyes darting across the top of her desk. He noticed her reach for a pen and absentmindedly tap its point on an old post-it note. He’d seen that look on her face before, and could practically see the gears turning in her head as she worked through what must have been a problem she’d revisited and resolved dozens of times already. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” she declared, trying to convince herself more than him. “Yeah, it’s just… easy to forget who he is sometimes.”

“A good-hearted man?”

Khai looked up at him and, after a brief pause, exhaled. She shut her eyes and put the pen back down, then brought her hand back up to remove her glasses and rest them by the pen. She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and first finger then pinched the bridge of her nose before allowing her hand to slide down her face to her mouth as she opened her eyes again, staring ahead blankly.

Everett looked over his shoulder to the conference table and headed over to retrieve a chair which he placed in front of Khai’s desk. “Don’t tell me,” he began, sitting down. “You’re considering ending your relationship with him; you’re listing the pros and cons in your head and trying to come up with any good reason to let him go on your own terms before you’re forced to make that choice.”

Khai quietly laughed and shook her head. “That obvious, huh?”

“You may as well be an open book,” he returned, smirking.

Khai relaxed her smile and brought both her hands together, resting her chin on her interlaced fingers. She shut her eyes again and placed her face into her palms, exhaling slowly. She interlaced her fingers again, looking over her knuckles at him.

“And now, you’re realizing he’s not only the best thing to happen to the Branch, but also to you.”

Khai nodded. “I know,” she said. “And as much as I try to rationalize and poke holes in the pros, I can’t find a single reason to make it worth breaking up with him in the end.” She dropped her hands and turned her head to look him in the eye. “But I’m scared, Henry,” she admitted. “I hesitated even bringing him to the Brooklynite that night. I didn’t think I’d fall for him…” She shrugged. “But I did. A kind, charming, good-looking guy with a tragic past; I didn’t stand a chance,” she laughed. “I ignored my doubts and let myself get closer to him. No matter how many times I think I made a mistake with him, then realize I didn’t, I still feel like I’m going to screw this up somehow. And that terrifies me.”

Everett gave a half-suppressed chuckle as he considered his next words. “Forty years ago, I think I heard those same words come out of your father’s mouth when he tried to talk himself out of proposing to your mother.”

Khai laughed again. “I guess the apple plopped straight down,” she jested. “What did you say to him?”

“I told him he was the smartest person I knew. Then I chastised him for not being able to see the obvious choice,” he added with a smirk. “You inherited his brilliant mind, Liz. The two of you work through problems the same way—you consider all the approaches, all the variables, and by the time you reach your solution you realize you knew the right answer from the beginning.” He shrugged. “This is no different. I think you made your decision before we even started talking about this.”

Khai opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal, but stopped herself when she realized he was right. Sure Krueger caught her off guard with his parting words, but he said what he did because of who he was and—more importantly—who he wasn’t. Khai rested her cheek in her hand as she considered Krueger, weighing his numerous good qualities against his few bad ones. She tried to justify splitting with him in light of any hypothetical and actual threats to their relationship, and a soft smile washed over her face as she realized she couldn’t.

“There’s a reason you invited him to dinner that night, Liz” Everett concluded, leaning forward. “Remember that.”

~~

Krueger headed down Sixth Avenue and crossed at 51st Street to head toward the garage where he parked his car. He slowed after he made it across the street, then sighed as he stopped in his tracks. He stood off to one side to let others pass him as he slid his hands into his coat pockets and stared absentmindedly into the sky, re-playing his meeting with Khai, Everett, Brandon, and Hayden in his head over and again as he considered the information. After a while he fished into his coat pocket to find his mobile phone. “Ich werde es bereuen,” he said to himself as he dialed the number when he found it in his list of contacts.

“Mr. Krueger!” CJ Silvio’s voice on the other end answered. “What can I do for you?”

“I need something precise and powerful.” he said. “Last-minute.”

“How powerful are we talking?”

“Hole-puncher.”

“Uh…” Silvio shuffled audibly on the other end. “I think I can put a list together. Rifles or handguns?”

“The latter. The quieter the better.”

“Oh, well that narrows it down… I’ll have to see if we have any of those left in the armory.”

“Meet me there in thirty minutes.” Krueger ended the call and headed for the garage on 51st to his car.

(Masterlist | Chapter 12)

#fiction #original work #original content #original fiction #prose #story #creative writing #drama #crime story

[cogentranting]

Some Thoughts on Attack of the Clones

Corde’s like “I’m sorry senator, I failed you” but dying in Padme’s place is literally her job description and she does it perfectly

Palpatine is the one who suggests Anakin and Obi Wan guard Padme-- is he trying to play matchmaker??

Within the first twenty minutes of the movie we’re given a very clear picture of Anakin and Obi Wan’s complicated relationship. They’re laughing and bantering one minute and very tense and antagonistic the next. You can see some of Obi Wan’s shortcomings as a mentor (he’s impatient and clearly frustrated with Anakin a lot and doesn’t seem to have a good sense of how to help Anakin through any of his emotional difficulties) and we see the kind of student Anakin is (he can be witty and likable, and he’s smart and talented, but he does not  listen to anyone, he’s incredibly reckless and impulsive). It’s a really interesting contrast to the master-padawan relationship of Qui Gon and Obi wan-- that one seemed much more clearly a father-son, teacher-student dynamic, while Obi Wan and Anakin struggle a bit trying to figure out what they are--- sometimes they have that dynamic, sometimes it become more like friends or brothers. Obi Wan would never have talked to Qui Gon the way that Anakin talks to him. And once we see the two of them in action it’s clear that they work together very well, but in a very chaotic, always one step away from disaster sort of way. 

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to be the death of me” oh it’s so simple but I love it so much

The way Yoda acts in his Youngling class is much more similar to the way he acts in episode 5 than at any other point in the prequels. Therefore we must conclude that Yoda is just treating Luke like he’s 7. 

If my planet got invaded and our teenage queen raised an army and then stormed the palace and personally captured the leader of the invaders, I think I’d want to keep her in office too. 

Is the sand line dumb? Yes. Is Anakin right? Absolutely. When I was little we duct-taped our back door shut so sand wouldn’t blow in during the dust storms. Sand is the worst. 

The romance in this movie is written really awkwardly at times, but there are moments when both Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman seem more relaxed and they have chemistry and they seem genuinely to enjoy each other. There are just some really good glimpses of the love story we could have had if the dialogue was little less stiff. 

Anakin and Padme really sat down to a meal that was just fruit and Padme tried to eat a pear with a knife and fork

I really do love the prequels. But it’s a lot easier to love episode 2 if you just skip the fireplace scene on Naboo. 

The mystery element of this movie really makes it stand out from the rest of the saga, and I like that. 

I also really enjoy seeing Anakin return to Tatooine as an adult, even though it’s a relatively small part of the movie

There’s also some really nice contrast between how Anakin interacts with Watto as a jedi, vs how Qui Gon did. Qui Gon would never have been as aggressive, blunt, even threatening as Anakin is. It’s a good showcase of how Anakin operates and a foreshadowing of where he’s headed. 

we were robed of an emotional reunion between Darth Vader and R2 and C3PO in the original trilogy

I just want to know what Owen and Anakin’s relationship would have been like if they’d interacted for more than a minute

John Williams is a gift. The music when Shmi dies and Anakin attacks the tuskens. and then the Vader theme coming in when Yoda senses what happened. So good. 

“Anakin do you copy? This is Obi Wan Kenobi.” How many Obi Wan’s does Anakin know? You really had to throw your last name in there?

Shmi’s grave is right there at the house that Luke grew up at, and Owen seems to have known Shmi, which means Luke probably grew up knowing at least something about Shmi...

The arena sequence with the different creatures is another part of this movie that I really really like. The creatures are fun and the different ways that each of them fights it is great and it’s just a good time. 

Bringing C3PO into the action on Genosis was... such a choice. 

Wait those are the deathstar plans, i forgot about that. Galen Erso is a liar, he didn’t design the deathstar, some Genosian dude did. 

The first duel with Dooku is a really underrated fight scene. THe part with Anakin and Obi Wan is pretty shot but it’s intense and it has good character moments built in and it’s pretty brutal and establishes how powerful Dooku is. 

Anakin and Padme aren’t even a little bit subtle about their relationship. 

The timeline of this movie is weird. Obi Wan definitely seems like his story line takes only a few days. Anakin and Padme behave as if it’s been weeks. 

Why is Dooku “count” instead of “master”??

The structure of this trilogy is really unique and interesting as you watch everything fall apart. I don’t know of another like it. 

#star wars #attack of the clones #star wars rewatch 2020

[jmgiovine]

My Path with the Force

: A Star Wars-fan Chronicle.

                                                                                           by. J.M.Giovine.

A long time ago, back in the 90s, I was 5 and the remastered edition of the Original Trilogy was released on VHS format. Star Wars entered in my life. I remeber those good old days. Since I’m the child of a failed marriage, my father used to pick me up every single weekend to take me for a ride for some father-and-son time, just the two of us, sometimes with my dad’s family as well. Like I said, good old days. Before that, my whole world turned around Batman and Jurassic Park, as well as pretty much every single Disney-animated flick I got my hands into. One of those weekeds, my dad took me to a Toy Store, and my wonder solidified the moment I saw a giant box-set of MicroMachines figures that immediately draw my attention... and eventually became my first merchandise (purchased by my dad as a gift) of the soon-to-be-my favorite franchise, ever.

Fun thing was, I never saw any of the original films, nor played any of the LucasArts videogames released back then. I entered into this fandom as an innocent five-year-old poser, but obviously, my curiosity and wanderlust won’t stop there. Eventually, I’ll turn to acknowledge the franchise from a movie perspective, ironically, almost immediatelly after acquire my most precious set of ships (which I still possess, for the most part). That very same year, my grandmother came one afternoon with several copies of VHS tapes on her bag that she proudly showed to us; the rents of the week. Little I knew, that would be it, the moment I’ll be acquainted with the Original Trilogy for the first time. Fun thing was, my grandmother is a considerably devoted catholic, and an awfully religious person (she’s nuts), but if I ever have to feel grateful about something she did for me, was introducing me to two different worlds I love: Indiana Jones, and Star Wars. She knew the films (at a certain degree), and basically spoiled me Vader was Luke’s father the very moment I pop A New Hope’s into the VHS. But I didn’t care back then, because I was hooked. Somehow, I realized, this was it; “this is the universe I love”. 

I still think about it. What was it at first? I mean, I can answer that almost right away with a 6-hour-long explanation why I love this universe, but to be fair, I really wonder what was back in the day in my earliest childhood years, the very essential element that made me fell for it. The space ships? Maybe, that’s probably a reliable esthetic trait that’ll captivate any small child. Perhaps the whole Jedi mythos presented lightly between the three episodes, later explored with a larger detail in further entries and titles from both, the Expanded and New Canon. Which 5-year-old child wouldn’t want to be a Jedi Knight just as Obi Wan, or Luke by the time he showed up in Return of the Jedi (1983), weilding his brand-new green lightsaber in order to defeat Jabba’s band of criminals and guards. We’re getting closer. But I suspect there was more to it. Of course, being a grade-school kid my thoughts never went anywhere further than my visual and spectating admiration for the trilogy. That lasted 2 more years, 2 years of me asking like crazy the whole action figures and vehicles I was so desperate to possess and play with. Hardly I was gifted with some of the merchandise, aside my beloved MicroMachines set, and then, it came 1999...

I can just imagine, for the elder people, what this meant back at the release of The Phantom Menace (1999), although, it kindda happened the same way in 2015; people went nuts and fans all over the world realised it returned. Star Wars was back, but not in the shape of a horrible remasterization in a re-release of a classic film(s), but as a brand new episode. Something that’ll continue the story left behind more almost 20 years ago. Young version of characters we all loved from the first ones, as well as new introductions of characters that, from the distance, looked like they had certain potential. I mean, I just remember Darth Maul being literaly everywhere at stores, promos, banners. The guy everyone thought would be the new face of these new installments, just as Vader was years ago. The rest, well, what can I say? But this ain’t a review. To be completely honest... I liked it. Never watch it at the theater (until the 3D re-release back in 2012), but I immediately bought the VHS. My grandma and aunt actually went to the movies to see it, they hated it.

But obviously, I had my reservations in regards of the newest Star Wars flick, and my hopes to see an actual connection between this “new” vision, and the episodes I’ve learn to love these past couple years. So, you could say, I decided to give it a pass and accept what I was experiencing. Back then, having already 7 years, my judgement towards films wasn’t-let’s say- well defined.To me, if something belongs to what I already know, it was alright, but deep down, I knew something wasn’t right with this newest film, it didn’t feel the same. Was I set to become one of those folks that’ll limit themselves to what was already stablished rather than to accept new ideas and concepts inside a franchise set to expand? Well, thankfully, few years later I’ll understand it was all due to how poorly the film was crafted. Also... yeah, Jar Jar...

But not everything was that bittersweet. I fell in love with the franchise right before seeing Phantom... so by the time, all toy lines (Kenner, particularly) were everywhere from both, this newest episode and the original trilogy line, which endured several years afterwards, before the newest 2004 line. I acquire several other figures, and I was enjoying myself pretty much alright. I couldn’t wait for more, and only two episodes left, my childhood excitement grew exponentially by the realization that, soon, I’ll possess 6 VHS of my favorite saga ever (ha!). Like that, and continously buying as much merchandise as my parents were capable of, 2002 came along. The so-much-expected episode two came, and this was officially my first Star Wars film ever experienced on the big screen. Save your pity, please, I don’t need it.

I was aware, probably for the first time, of the quality decaying this franchise was suffering, probably the moment I saw Hayden Christensen portraying the long-expected-hero Anakin Skywalker. If I ever check a top 10 list of the worst casting choices ever made, this guy would probably be in the first 5 spots, easily. Even the toy-brand seemed... I don’t know, uninspired? Yeah, not much of a big change, but somehow I felt way attracted for the lines of episode 1 than this one. The starships never took my breath away (except for a fully renderized Slave I, the very first Original Trilogy starship brought back for these films), nor the aliens or the newest incursions of Jedi felt innovative or interesting enough. Probably the Clones, but I have to admit, my interest for this army came years later, when Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars, as well as the Expanded Universe’s stories were release, in order to fill the gap left by Episode’s 2 need of ending at the very beginning of the long-awaited wars.

Another spark of honesty, I never watched the show on it’s innitial release, in 2003, since I never had cable, ergo, never saw Cartoon Network, even though I really wish I could’ve. My initiation with the short cartoon came a year later, and a year before the heavily anticipated release of Episode 3. The first time I did came around the show was at my highschool tutor’s house. Every day, after my school schedule, my mom sended me every afternoon to my tutor’s place, literaly, on the street behing mine’s. Why here? Easy, after finishing my whole homework (for the next day) we got some spare time before our moms (we were several other kids at the house), and that’s when, located at the livingroom basically identical to my place’s, my tutor’s son was watching some tv. He looked nerdy af, and what was he watching? No more and no less than the show’s second season, episode 19: Anakin VS Asajj Ventress.

After that, my next step was some of the best I’ve had in regards of the franchise: the Original Trilogy DVD release in 2004. Just as my dad did, back in 1997, in 2004 I spend my first Christmas with my dad’s family, and one of my presents (one of my all time favorites) was my very first DVD player, also, packed along the remasterization (one of many, Christ...) for the same format that launched also a brand new toy series better known as the Original Trilogy Collection from Hasbro. I was one step closer to fulfillment, and for the first time I had the Original Trilogy in my power. At the same time, my highschool’s best friend lend me the DVD of Tartakovsky’s series from 2003, recently launched in a compilation of the entire 20 episodes. That’s when I saw the whole show for the first time. Again, aside of my bitterweet experience with Episodes 1 & 2, I felt great passion towards Star Wars, once again. 

My first Star Wars game also came in 2004, the same year I first acquire my Game Cube console, that meant I was finally able to buy Rebel Strike: Rogue Squadron 3 and I was pretty much at candy land. I played Rogue Squadron 1, for the Nintendo 64, a while ago, and I was pretty much addicted to the epic arcade game, located at a Peter Piper Pizza near my house. On the videogame background, this was the only thing I needed so far, until I realize of the existance of other games such as Battlefront, Jedi Academy-Outcast, and countless other elder games I never had the chance to play. Probably my official first Star Wars game was the PC exclusive, Dark Forces 2, but I never managed to finish it (I still hadn’t have the chance to, since I’m no longer able to play it), but overall, Roque Squadron 3 was everything I needed, surely I wouldn’t mind experience other stuff, specially when first realizing about the existance of the memorable Knights of the Old Republic, a game I considered for superior gamers back then. 

2005 came, the first trailers for Revenge of the Sith were everywhere and dropped every 5 seconds. But that wasn’t just it. I was able to follow the weekly release of the Clone Wars Season 3, that was supposed to end the series right at the very beginning of Episode 3, which it did. My best friend and I saw the series finally together, at his place; pizza, soda and chips, the two of us excited for the finale and, oh boy, we were. With Revenge... it came my first official midnight release, something that’ll take a while to return to my life, mostly after highschool. My entire family and I went to the movie-theater, and it became one of my most beloved experiences in a movie, from my entire life. Back in the day, that movie gave me everything I wanted out of a franchise I followed. Every single plot-detail, every single arc, fanservice (which I didn’t know it was back then), and full circles leading to Episode 4 were there, in all their glory. And, the less I know, it hit me: this was my last Star Wars. Only two episodes at the movie theater, the rest experienced at home-video. Not that I regret anything, but its never easy to let go something so attached to our lives. If I only knew...

Not much to say about the next years. A new decade arrived. I was way past buying and collecting figures or vehicles, and in regards of the films, for some reason, I never acquired the prequels on DVD. Somehow I felt as if I was already complete with my Original Trilogy. I really wanted The Clone Wars series on DVD, but never managed to buy them, either for the lack of money, or I never found them at local stores (even nowadays its extremely difficult and expensive to get). In 2008, The Clone Wars came out... which was already extremely weird, considering some of the characters from the original animated series came back, like Asajj Ventress, and naturaly, since I ended my journey with the saga, I lost my entire interest for Star Wars material furthermore, I ignored it. Therefore, I never saw nor the movie or the newest 3D Animated show, created by Dave Filoni, a name I’ll learn to admire and respect almost a decade after. We’re talking a complete absence of interest for the franchise during a 4 year period until the impossible happened...

George Lucas, after a personal professional defeat, sold his epic and extremely profitable (still) franchise to Disney, now belonging executively speaking to Kathleen Kennedy, who immediately confirmed to the world what we all thought would never come: a brand new episodic installment in the franchise will eventually be made... continuing the events concluded on Episode 6 and completely throwing away everything that happened before the sale, that is, everything considered aside of the films, the former Expanded Universe, being the Clone Wars the only property still considered important and canon inside the newest Disney reign. Suddenly my love came back, just as it is when you’re in a marriage that is merely a dry relationship  between to irrelevant individuals and then, out of nowhere, you remember how lucky you are of having that person by your side. But it wasn’t just me, the whole world went bananas, and everyone needed 2015 to arrive, as of now.

And so it did. The Force Awakens came on December of 2015. It quickly became one of the highest grossing films of all time. One of the most succesfull releases ever, Hollywood-speaking. Fans were excited, hopeful and, let’s be honest, fearfull for the upcoming results. We were still harmed for the prequels and we needed Star Wars to be what we loved in the first place. To me, it was, I felt like experiencing Star Wars for the first time in a long while. I felt that excitement, the struggle, the emotion and power I felt when watching my old VHS, back in the 90s. This was the worthy succesor I was expecting. Star Wars was everywhere and, once again, I felt like a five year old. Of course, my curiosity and dissappointment appear once I saw people felt... conflicted by this new episode. Somehow people really didn’t feel like enjoying something so reminiscent of the old-school franchise we all grow up loving, instead, they criticized the fact that “we didn’t got anything new” and the film relay so much on nostalgia and similarities to the original episodes. Of course I never felt that way, at least, not in a negative way. 

But that didn’t matter! Hope was still foreseen and Disney also anounced their next installment as a prequel that’ll take place right before A New Hope (1977), and so, the first “A Star Wars Story” was meant to be released on December 2016. Rogue One was a blast, and unlike Force Awakens, it seemed this was what every single fan was expecting. Classic Star Wars, a brand new take on this world that’ll fill a gap left on episode 4 and, what we all agree was the best aspect of the film; a complete tone of war and battles worthy of any great moment in the franchise. People started to believe Disney was actually caring about the franchise future, and the horizon offered a bright looking for the next installments. We had Star Wars literally everywhere, and new films (both, episodic and spin offs) were already scheduled, also, bringin important names in the director’s chair for each one. Me, personally, I liked fine. I understood why people loved it, and I understood why this could easily foreshadow episode 7. Overall, I thought it was an excuse to showcase a pop-corn spectacle, but yeah, a pretty entertaining one, but non of the complexity and creativity from the originals were there, making it a little disposable for my taste. Regardless, I didn’t mind, and I felt as excited and hopeful as I was a year before it.

I guess I wasn’t entirely prepared for what came on 2017; the whole The Last Jedi controversy. Rian Johnson wasn’t that known, except for directing one of the favorite sci-fi flicks from 2012 and two of the best episodes of Breaking Bad. People either hated it, or just liked the film. Me? It’s hard to say but I enjoyed it pretty hard. The next episode got me hooked, invested and intrigued all the way through. At the midnight release, on December, I watched the film with my cousin and my best friend (who just finished watching the whole film-saga, and she became instantly a fan), and the three of us were dazzled all the way through. My realization came when I arrived home that night and found out, all my contacts on Facebook were ranting the hell out of it, specially the elder ones. I was confused and, downright, alone when it came to my joy towards Episode 8. The fandom lost their minds, and the hatred rised considerably againts the new direction given by Disney and Kennedy. Star Wars quickly stopped being what it was before; the saga we all had tons of fun discussing and talk about. Suddenly it became hard to talk about the saga, and the passion seemed to have been drained from it, something that I confirmed when Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) was released.

The second spin-off in the saga became the biggest box office flop for the franchise on that very same year and critics partially seemed to like it. For audiences it was as harmless and inconsequential, pretty much unlike the overall received of Rogue One. But, one thing was for sure; the franchise hype was starting to fade. From my own perspective, I started to lose interesting, but not for the same reason not-pleased fans were, but because I felt the polarization all over the place. Again, Star Wars wasn’t fun anymore. 

However, and after the anouncement of Abrams returning to the franchise in order to conclude it, somehow I felt the excitement once again. Slowly, and once 2019 arrived, I slowly started acquiring new Star Wars merchandise, from the LucasArts videogames I wasn’t able to play back in the day, like Republic Commando, Battlefront 2 and Jedi Starfighter. Also, I got my 5 Black Series figures, from 2016 to date, being Ahsoka Tano my first, then Thrawn, General Kenobi, Darth Maul and the Second Sister. The trailers for The Rise of Skywalker were dropped and my hype was real. Also, Disney + would release the very first live action tv series on the saga, with The Mandalorian. 

So, somehow, 2019 exploded in Star Wars, and I wasn’t the only one. On November, only a month-away for Episode 9, The Mandalorian made all of us fell in love with the franchise, making us feeling like we were discovering something that we needed and wanted at the same time. Also, people played Jedi Fallen Order, and everyone loved it, unfortunately for me, I haven’t got the chance to do it as well. Nevertheless, my amazement belonged completely to Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, with 8 episodes of aproximately 40 minutes each, and providing wonderful connection between Clone Wars and Rebels, this time, with the whole esthetic scenarios and props from the Original Trilogy, all this before watching the last Episode.

And so, the saga came to a supposed ending, at least, in regards of the Skywalker installments. That was it; no more title cards in the middle of the open space, no more drama between the Skywalker family, no more John Williams. Sigh. Well, for my eyes, I was partially pleased, but I had my issues. Call it an overall excess of expectations, call it non-blinded judgement, but there was something missing, something worthy of the franchise I have loved most of my life. It could’ve been better, for sure, and the commitment from the previous two was lacking. Abrams had the opportunity to go all the way with something memorable (something accomplished by Endgame, for example), but for what it was, it was just good enough. That’s it. My inner child never died, but wasn’t completely baffled or amazed. Serviceable, and that was it.

But that’s not the end, for me. I’m still acquiring the novels and comic books (which I started buying back in 2015), and my collection of figures and merchindise is still growing, slowly. Also, several tv-shows are scheduled to be release in the next years, so, Star Wars isn’t over. I’m still excited to see this franchise expanding, and my devotion hasn’t change a bit. I’m still a fan, despite the ups and downs. I guess when it comes to the Disney domain, I’m glad, considering Lucas didn’t wanted to direct or make any more sequels or spin-offs so, without the company’s purchase, Star Wars might still be a franchise entirely for the geeks, and being pretty much resting nowadays. I’m glad it is back, and I’m glad there’s more to explore, perhaps not as people wished, but there’s no denying, the saga may have concluded, but it is far from being over, or dead, and I’ll be there, experiencing it, consuming it, and being in love with it, pretty much, until I become one with the Force.

#starwars #fan #chronicle #starwarsfan

[pokefan531]

Star Wars Retrospective - Original Trilogy

I'm doing retrospectives of each Star Wars Trilogy. We're starting off with Original Trilogy first. I'll move to Prequels and Sequels.The first thing to ask is how I got into Star Wars or how I know about it. As a pretty young kid, I saw my parents watching Return of the Jedi, but I only saw one or two scenes. I seen involvement between Luke and Vader inside the new Death Star, and I also remember seeing Yoda in Empire Strikes Back, but those are the parts I only saw as a pretty young kid. Years later, I got Star Wars Racer for Windows. I played the game and it was fun. I never saw any Star Wars movies at that time. A year later, I watched Attack of the Clones, but we'll get into that in the Prequels Retrospective. After that I played few games like Galactic Battlegrounds, Rogue Squadron, and GB Star Wars game. I played NES Star Wars on an emulator I found. I knew about Darth Vader's existence, but I never knew about him or most characters. That was until I started playing Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy. I got the game for Windows a day after my cousin got PSP and Lego Star Wars 2 for his birthday, and I decide to get the game myself. It was a very fun game. It was in November 2007 when we started playing Lego Star Wars. The game is fun, and it's around the time The Complete Saga came out. Until Disney's Star Wars, TCS was the Complete Saga. I didn't read much on the space scroll, so I didn't know a lot about the films besides the gameplay. Weeks after, my cousin brought in Star Wars movies for us to watch. Here are the results:Actually, since I played the lego games, I know how those films would play out, but I don't know all of it since I rarely read the scrolls. Episode 4 was entertaining. I first thought it was pretty adventurous. I was interested of the beginning, since I see stormtroopers shooting the rebels, and Leia putting the death star plans and the message to R2-D2. Seeing both R2 and C-3P0 trapped in Jawa's Sandcrawer got me to know everything about Jawas. I was glad C-3P0 got Owen to buy R2 and they stayed with Luke. I was surprised both of Luke's Uncle and Aunt got founded and killed, and he sees their skeletons. It feels like Luke had no choice, but to do some mission with Obi-Wan. I thought the cantina was a fun place. At times, I thought the props like the automated doors feels a bit wonky, but I knew it was a very old movie, so I didn't mind. I did watch the special editions first, so I saw Han talking to Jabba, and I thought he looked a bit fake. Cutting to the death star adventure, their mission were pretty interesting. The entire scene where they go to the detention level and rescue Leia, I liked how they made it there to rescue Leia, and escaped with her. Obi-Wan fighting with Darth Vader was kinda simplistic, even when I first saw it. With Obi-Wan dying, I found it interesting he can still walk to Luke with the force. Also, I did like how destroying the death star went out. Overall, Episode 4 went pretty well when I first saw it.Around the time, I think Episode 5 and 6 are better. Empire Strikes Back felt very natural and memorable. When I first saw it, I thought it had more depth as a movie. The action and the props got better, and the lines are more memorable. I was happy to see Obi-Wan again, as a ghost. Battle of Hoth was more interesting to watch than to play in Lego Star Wars due to its difficulty. I realized those air space battles have a lot of video game versions. I thought Darth Vader was amazing as a villain. I understand why he is everyone's favorite villain. Luke and Yoda interactions seemed funny. I thought it was interesting on Luke's character because I knew he wouldn't be a great jedi since he has other things in his mind. Obi-Wan did say he's not ready to be trained. As a kid, I never knew about him fighting Darth Vader inside the tree. I didn't really get how Darth Vader was there for few years. I also liked the connections with Han and Leia. The bickering with both of them seems to not be actual bickering that I see on TV shows at the time, and it was interesting because they were helpful and respect each other more as the movie goes on. The entire Bespin scenes have a lot of interesting moments. Han getting frozen got me attached to know how Leia and Chewie feels when he gets frozen in carbonite. As for Boba Fett, I thought he looked cool, but he doesn't do much other than following Darth Vader around. The fight between Luke and Darth Vader looked more interesting than the duel in the first movie. Luke jumps everywhere, using the forces to throw objects, and the interaction between Luke and Darth Vader. I never knew Darth Vader was his father until he admitted it. I could see why Luke freaked out about it, yelling Noooo. Despite seeing the parodies like the Fairly Oddparents parody and Toy Story 2 Zurg scene, I never think he was related to Luke until I watched this movie. That's very interesting even though I saw the parodies first. This movie is the reason why I think it's better than A New Hope, while both being great movies.The last movie of the trilogy is also a good one. As a kid, I thought it has really great connections between Luke and his friends, and even Darth Vader. Boba Fett did more action, and I laughed how he died in Lego Star Wars. I didn't mind Jabba as a kid, nor the freaks in the palace. However, the dancing in the special edition, I could tell it did not look faithful to the rest of the movie, and I think the two aliens were weird. Anyway, the actions on the movie looks pretty interesting. The battle on Jabba's ships, the Scout vehicle on Endor, and the Battle of Endor. I was kinda sad to see Yoda dying, but it was interesting to hear Luke is related with Leia. As a kid and even now, I liked the Ewoks. I never found them annoying. I get why people don't like them, but they never took affect on the movie for me. I laughed when C-3P0 was floating with a chair. As for Luke and Darth Vader, I see their second duel as something special. I think this is my second favorite lightsaber duel of the trilogy because this shows the relations between the two and Luke learning the dark side is not really good. My first favorie is from ESB like many people. My favorite scene of the movie is when the Emperor shocks Luke and Darth Vader decides to do the right thing by throwing him to his death. It's because it shows very redeemable moment Darth Vader has for Luke. Of course, it was pretty sad to see Luke watching Vader dying. The Battle of Endor was my favorite battle because of the end of the empire and seeing the connections with Han and Leia, and Luke and Darth Vader. Back then, I found Admiral Ackbar to be an interesting character, mostly because the way he speaks. At the end, I was waiting to see Ghost Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda because of the games. When I saw Hayden Christansen, I thought to myselfwhen did the movie came out. I knew it came out in 1983, and Episode 3 came in 2005, and wonder how Christansen looked the same, until I learned about the special edition. I know this is the most hated change that George Lucas has made, but I never had anything against Christiansen. Anyway, I liked the entire ending and showing the universe celebrating.The three movies are very likable, especially the last two. I used to favorite 5 and 6 the most, but over the years, Empire Strikes back is my favorite Star Wars movie, the entire saga. I would show this trilogy to anyone of I want to introduce them Star Wars. Those are really good classics. Also, Lego Star Wars 2 and The Complete Saga are recommended for playing the movie, and I can also include Super Star Wars games. My next part is me reviewing the Prequel Trilogy. I am gonna go more about my first reactions just like the OT here. I will explain what I think about it. Also, this is my first actual retrospective post, so I may type it like an average blogger.

#star wars #original trilogy

[ladynonsense]

A buttload of ideas about crazy-ass Perfect Match twist endings

I’ve been discussing this at length both publicly with @drakewalkerwhipped and privately with @littlecrookedheart and I haven’t really put together a single coherent narrative but I feel like SOMETHING unexpected is coming and here are a gazillion ideas I’m finding myself hung up on:

- There is no Soo-Jin. Or rather, MC is Soo-Jin. Or rather, MC is a Match clone of Soo-Jin, who is likely dead. Receipts: the name itself is a unisex Korean name, like Kai Park. Soo-Jin comes up a LOT for someone who is NEVER shown and only ever interacts with one character, off-screen. Khaan’s backstory given in the first chapter where he appears about a long lost love of his life. His immediately being drawn to MC but reluctance to get emotionally involved. This depends on some other items in this list to make sense. Such as...

- Hamza is a Match developed by Khaan and his old partner (Soo-Jin?) rather than being a real child. This could be an incredibly tragic detail so I’m kind of hoping it’s not true. But it’s the only thing that seems to explain my “MC is Soo-Jin” theory if MC is male (although I suppose it could be a matter of Khaan/Soo-Jin adopted a child/used a surrogate and then Soo-Jin died).

- Less specifically, MC is a Match. This explains the lack of backstory, lack of apparent occupation or any responsibilities back in NY, and the fact that everyone seems so irresistibly drawn to them (as if they were specifically designed to attract people and make them feel good). I suspect MC is a particularly advanced Match, and that their relationship with Hayden may have been some kind of test to see if they could create emotional bonds with each other and to see if that would help them evolve somehow (and it did, as is explicitly stated by Hayden in last week’s chapter).

- Eros is more heavily invested in cyborg (human/Match hybrids) technology than they’ve let on. This is the main thing that Rowan discusses in our very first meeting with him!! It’s obviously an integral part of his vision and I can’t believe that he’s NOT largely focused on it. He is excited about the Matches’ immortality, but he’s also excited by the notion of humans becoming immortal through his technology.

- We know that the technology to create fully artificial but human-passing Matches like Hayden is new. But I suspect they’ve been experimenting on actual humans a lot longer.

- I think Steve used to be human. Maybe not the version of Steve that we know; as far as we can tell he’s as artificial as Hayden. But I believe that there was a real man (or teenage boy) that we see in the photo at Robert’s house, and I think something happened to him, and Eros was able to preserve part but not all of his memories/consciousness, later putting it into a fancy new Match body.

- I think MC might be in a similar boat, and may seem particularly advanced because they’re an experimental cyborg rather than a Match. I found it weird that Eros acted like MC “passed” their test when it certainly didn’t seem like a pass/fail scenario. And I wonder if maybe Nadia is aware of all this and is somehow under Eros’ thumb a little bit because they were able to bring back her lost cousin.

- Here’s a big one for me: I think Eros can only create Match clones of other Matches OR cyborgs where they’ve already dug around and digitized their brains. So of course that explains Harley, and if you’re going along with my other theories here, it also explains Keegan. So let’s talk about Dames...

- In the Eros files we see, Steve and Damien both are referred to as “Eros Candidates”. I believe Steve was a candidate for some sort of mysterious cyborg program...and I think Damien was too, but he was rejected. My best guess is he came to Eros years ago, traumatized from Beitan and depressed over having fallen for MC but failing at initiating a relationship at that point. I don’t know if he came to them as a dating service or if they had some other front at that time to find potential subjects (he would possibly be an appealing one due to his specific skills, excellent physical shape, etc). They would’ve been concerned about his recent trauma and the fact that he had a romantic attachment to someone else already in the program, and his general investigative nature, as his file notes. But they very well would’ve only found this out after really digging into his brain (he expresses disbelief that they could’ve had this info...how else would they have learned all this?) and extracting what they wanted, then interfering somehow with the memory of having gone to Eros at all. This explains all those memories/fantasies they had of his in Tokyo, as well as how they were able to create Dames at all. Who knows what they left behind in Damien’s head at that point, to allow them to, for instance, immediately upload an up-to-the-moment memory log to Dames the minute they replaced him at the Arctic headquarters. 

- Who else do we see robot clones of? Alana, but there’s no evidence of self-awareness or anything uniquely Alana about her beyond her appearance. Nadia is mentioned, but again, no real evidence that they’d been programmed with the depth of consciousness/unique personality that Keegan and Dames had.

- They obviously lack the capacity to truly copy an entire human over to a Match, as we can see from Dames’ shortcomings (that we’re told our fatal). So I’m guessing this is Rowan’s most pressing goal, because he’s not one to stop short of granting himself true immortality.

- Or, the entirety of the past 2 books has been part of Eros’ matchmaking quiz and we’re going to wake up back in the headquarters back in chapter 1 and be introduced to a Match of the LI we’ve chosen. Surprise!

#perfect match #fan theories #particularly elaborate fan theories

[stormholtnoble]

In Your Arms (Damien Nazario/MC)

Book: Perfect Match 2

Pairing: Damien/MC (Lily Park)

Rating: PG-13 (mention of sex)

Word count: 2900

Summary: After rescuing Damien from Eros, Lily tries to comfort him while wrestling with her own feelings of guilt.

Author's Note: Hi guys! So the word count on this got out of hand quickly, I’m sorry about that. This is my first Choices fic and I'm really excited to put it out into the world! If you want to be tagged in possible future fics (I'm thinking of a Damien/MC prequel series) please message me. Enjoy!

The room was quiet. She was sitting on the bed, back against the soft headboard, as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness around her. Noise from outside could only be heard dimly, an echo of a life that seemed so far removed from her reality. Someone honked on the street and another yelled something in a language she couldn't understand yet she remained sitting, barely acknowledged it. She was far too concentrated listening to Damien's soft breathing. His head was lying on her lap, his eyes closed. He was sleeping, seemingly soundly for now. She could imagine he didn't have many good nights sleeps these last few weeks, not when he had been a prisoner and tortured. She couldn’t see the bruise from the slap she had witnessed via the video, not in this lighting. He was so exhausted when they entered their, his, hotel room but Lily insisted that he should take a shower, that it would do him some world of good. He didn’t protest and once he was out he didn't tell her if she had been right or not, he simply fell on the bed, put his head on her and fell asleep. She absentmindedly played with his hair as she watched his chest rise and fall.

Left to her thoughts, she replayed the night’s events. She kept thinking about Dames, about the last conversation she had with him in their Tokyo hotel. She felt incredibly guilty that she had not been able to keep her promise, that despite their efforts he fell into the hands of the enemy. She felt even worse about the fact, and she would deny this to anyone until the day she died, that given the choice she would trade Dames for Damien without thought, regret or hesitation.

She knew she hurt Dames. It was clear every time he looked at her. The others in her group were able to see him as an individual, something separate from Damien. She imagined that they didn't constantly miss Damien, that they were able to, unlike her, forget that Damien was missing minutes maybe even hours at a time. Every time she saw Dames, even though there were no reasonable explanations for it, for a fraction of a second she thought Damien, her Damien, had come back. And every time it wasn't the case, which was all the time, her heart broke over again.

Damien woke with a jolt. He panickily looked around not recognizing his environment until his eyes set on Lily.

"It wasn't a dream, right? You're here?"

She kissed him on the forehead and passed her fingers through his hair again, trying to sooth him as much as possible.

"We're here. Together." A few moments passed in silence. Lily slid down on the bed and Damien moved his head away. She was now lying beside him, their faces inches apart. "I missed you so much."

Damien took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. The corner of her lips slightly curled, enjoying the feel of his stubble on her skin. She brought her hand to caress his cheek enjoying this new sensation.

"I'm sorry for the beard."

"I like it" she assured him, smiling, her thumb still caressing his jawline.

"You do?" His tone was a mix of surprise as well as joy. It was the most carefree she saw him as since his rescue.

He had kept quiet during the ride back, his head resting on her shoulder, refusing to make much eye contact. Later, in the hotel lobby he just responded to questions about his well being with yes and no answers as Alana dealt with the hotel administration desk.

"I didn't get a room specifically for you. I figured you'd want to look after Damien tonight.” She handed one of the keys to Lily with a sad smile and added “If he wants to be alone, I'll let you crash on the couch in mine."

"Thanks Alana." Lily answered sincerely, a little amazed at how understanding and kind she had become since first meeting her. 

If Damien asked to be alone she would grant his wish no matter how much she just wanted to hold him. But if it was Lily in Damien's position and she had just spent weeks isolated in a cell at Eros she wouldn't want to be left alone. Damien didn’t protest once Lily closed the door behind them and as of yet didn’t mind sharing his bed with her.

"Damien..." She tried not to think how much she wanted to kiss him and feel his beard brushing and tickling her cheeks. The sting from the rejected kiss still hurt, no matter how understandable it was given the moment. Another thought seemed to be weighing her down, her guilt making her more nauseous now that Damien was with her again.  

Lily and Damien never had the couple’s talk, mutually agreeing on postponing it to a time they would be back in their normal life in New York and never formally agreed to be exclusive. But she couldn't help but to think about the night she unknowingly spent with Dames as a worst betrayal than if it would have been with anyone else. There was no example of a timeline of when one was supposed to come clean about this, but she imagined the sooner the better. Dames had told her that Damien would forgive her, but she didn't want to sit on it too long. "I have to tell-"

"I slept with one of them," Damien blurred out, taking Lily by surprise. "I mean... she just... she was you. Or that's what I believed at the time. She came in, bursting into my room accompanied by Hayden. It turned out to be Harley, but you know... They said the others were helping you from afar thanks to Sloane’s hacking. They brought me to a safe house that she said Alana had procured. We were supposed to rendezvous with everyone else in a different place the next day. That night... we... I... And once morning came Eros walked right in, Cecile at the head. For a second, I thought Alana might have doubled crossed us again, or worst they got to Nadia and the others during the night but then Cecile typed something on her pad and you, she just shut down. That's when I realized..." Even in the dark Lily saw Damien's eyes glistening, his voice breaking apart in certain moments.

"Damien, I’m sorry that’s horrible. Did you... did you see her again after that?”

“Twice after that. I don’t think she realized that she wasn’t you know... Started going on how she felt, how such she missed me, how much she...”

Damien didn’t finish the sentence seemingly lost in thought. Lily took his hands in his, trying to comprehend being in such a situation that could only be describe as mental torture.

“I did too...” Lily finally a moment in silence. “Dames and me. It happened before we realized, before when we still thought we had all made out..."

Lily moved closer to Damien, pressing the side of her cheek to his chest. Last time she had been so close to him like that was in Paris when she believed they had just slept together on the Eiffel Tower. The only time they had truly been this intimate was on the train heading to Moscow. She heard just how fast his heart was beating and looked up.

“I feel so guilty.”

“Lily you have no reason to be.”

“Yes I do. I left you behind and it took me days to realize that you weren’t you. And then no matter how hard I tried to make Dames feel okay I still ended up hurting him. I kept causing him pain which killed me because he was essentially you and watching him look at me like that, watching you look at me like that knowing I was the reason behind it. But it was worse remembering that it wasn’t you because talking to him, seeing him hurt me. I think I kept letting myself forget because it just became too painful and I’m- “

“I don’t want you to blame yourself for any of it, do you understand me. I’m the one who got caught, I’m the reason Dames was with you in the first place, I’m the one who failed you-“

“Damien you-“

“I don’t want you to feel bad or guilty about it. None of it was your fault, not my capture nor Dames being with you. And I don’t care what you did. I’ll never hold it against you.”

Lily moved a little bit away from Damien, so she could look him in the eyes. She felt a stabbing sensation in her heart when she saw the hurt that was in them. And it killed her that here they were helpless, tugging the fault back and forth. It wasn’t fair to either of them. Eros was behind it all.

"I'm going to make them suffer for this. They can’t go on like this. What they do to you, to me, to Nadia... that’s just torture. They’ve mentally tortured us. All for the sake of what, research? How is this suppose to improve humanity? We can’t let them continue. When we first escaped Eros and we went into hiding... All I wanted was to hide somewhere with you and Nadia forever. Not anymore. We can’t let them continue. What’s to stop them from doing this to others. What’s to stop them from slowly kidnapping real people and replacing them with clones. After meeting Rowan, after seeing everything he and Cecile have done we can’t put this pass them. I know that you’ve just been through hell and you might want to leave this behind you and I’ll understand if you-”

“Are you crazy? I’d never leave you to deal with this alone.”

“You just lived through a nightmare. And I wouldn’t be alone, I’d still have-”

“As long as you want me by your side, I’m there. I told you once that I’d follow you to the edge of the world. That hasn’t changed, my feelings for you haven’t...” He brought his hand to her cheek, gently cupping it, his thumb caressing her. “Lily, you’re so courageous and I’ve always admired that about you. I care for you so much, more than I ever cared for anyone. I’d do anything to keep you safe. You were all I could think about when I was with Eros. I didn’t care what happened to me as long as you... as long as you were safe and happy.”

“Do you really think I’d ever have a chance of happiness without you in my life?”

“I was hoping you could. Eventually yes. After meeting the fake you, I figured, I thought they could have sent a fake me.” Lily thought of Dames and her heart clenched. I am Damien he had told her. “And part of me hoped that maybe if it meant you were safe that you’d settle into a normal life with him by your side.”

A silence filled the room as Lily pondered what Damien just said.

"Do you remember Peter?"

“Peter?” The abrupt change of subject disoriented him at first. The only Peter Damien could think of at this moment was Lily’s last boyfriend before Hayden. It made him a little uncomfortable that she was thinking of him as they were in bed and he was being vulnerable with her. He shifted, unconsciously trying to create a little bit of distance between them. He decided not to play dumb. “Your ex-boyfriend Peter? Yeah, vaguely.”

He remembered how happy they had been together and how unlike a lot of her other boyfriends he hadn’t been a complete jerk. Damien thought back to when Lily confessed that after almost a year together she was ready to move in with him, that after all these years this may be the long haul. Shortly before the move was supposed to happen they broke it off which caught him completely off guard. As a private investigator, Damien was good at reading people. He was shocked when Nadia texted him the news as he hadn’t managed to see any signs of discomfort or unhappiness between them, or any signs that people exhibit right before a break up. He brought it up eventually, his curiosity overwhelming him. He approached the issue with Nadia, trying hard to be as casual about it as he could, fear she might accuse him of harbouring feelings, which was the case. Nadia however had remained suspiciously tight lipped about the affair. Talk to Lily about it. But Lily herself, who never shied away about sharing details about her relationships with Nadia or Damien didn't revealed much. She had been strangely okay about the break up, disproportionally so considering how much she had loved Peter.

“I never told you why we broke up have I?”

“You gave excuses without ever telling me why. I mean you’re in your rights not to tell me, you didn’t, don’t owe me an explanation.”

“He asked me to stop seeing you.”

Damien sat up brusquely. He went by his interactions with Peter in the weeks leading up to the breakup quickly in his head, thinking if there was something that he said that Peter would have interpreted the wrong way, guilty that he had been the reason.

“I don’t... Why?”

“He correctly guessed that I had feelings for you. I never admitted this to him, but he was right. He didn’t so much want me to cut you out of my life, but he did say he was uncomfortable with me spending time alone with you. He gave me a choice: I could either stay with him and see you under his conditions or I could leave him.”

 “You chose me? You...” Damien remembered sitting across a bar table from Lily and Peter. Lily grinning so wildly as she looked at Peter. “You loved him."

"Of course I chose you Damien. I may have loved him but not nearly... He could’ve fallen out of love with me at any moment, but I knew you'd never leave me. Even if back then I believed you’d never reciprocate any romantic feelings for me... I didn’t want to change one single aspect of our friendship." Lily sat up and touched his face. "Even if I didn't get to see you one day, I knew I would see you tomorrow or if not the day after that because someone we fell into a routine that going three days without seeing each other was unnatural. Not a day went by that I didn't know when was the next time I would see you. Up until a few weeks ago in Paris when I realized that you weren't there. It killed me, Damien, not knowing when or worst if I would be with you again."

Damien, speechless, brought his face closer to hers. He slowly approached his lips to her, giving her plenty of time to back away, to reject the kiss if she didn't want to continue. She accepted the kiss and responded in kind, bringing her hands at the back of his neck to steady herself. She brought herself closer to him and in his weakened state Damien wasn't able to hold her weigh so he laid down on his back, his arms around her waist bringing her down on him. They continued kissing, deepening the intensity. They continued for a while like this, as his hands glided up and down her thighs to her lower back, enjoying the feel of her wondering lips, now kissing him on his neck. He felt as she started to tug on his shirt, lost in the moment.

“Would it be okay...” Damien whispered, out of breath and softly. Lily stopped and straightened up, waiting for Damien to finish his sentence.  “Would it be alright If I just held you tonight? It’s just that with...”

Lily immediately got off him thinking back on a similar thing he once told her. I know this is the sappiest thing ever, but I just want to hold you. No matter how much she wanted Damien there was something good about being wanted for more than just sex. The fact that he wanted her presence more than her body made him that much dearer to her. As she laid on her side, facing him he put his head on her upper chest, kissing her shoulder a last time, a sign of thanks.

“This is so nice. I could spend every night like this.”

“Me too,” she smiled as he felt him snuggling her neck, his beard tickling her. She kissed him on the top of his head, smelling the hotel shampoo he had used earlier. “Nothing is stopping us from doing so.”

Damien looked up and met her eyes. Lily saw something in them that she had seen just once before, as they sat on a large boulder under a sky full of stars. She saw true vulnerability in them.

“You’d have me every night Lily?”

“Without a doubt.”

Soon after Lily felt herself become more and more sleepy, the last of today’s adrenaline finally leaving her body. As Damien’s soft breathing filled the room once more, she felt herself lulled into the best sleep in over a month, Damien safe in her arms.

Tag List: @endlessly-searching-for-you @littlewonderbear @kinda-iconic @indescribablechoices @christopher-powell @paintitnoir @cocomaxley @clarissafics @superwholock-diaries @endless-vall @pisia001 @smritysriv @findingdrake @agent-bossypants @princesskennarys @penguinsomething @perksof-everything 

Thank you so much for your encouragement 😊 also if I tagged you and you did not wish to be tagged just message me and I’ll undo it, no hard feelings I swear!

#playchoices #mc x damien #damien nazario #perfect match #choices

[endless-vall]

The Journey - Part one - Perfect Match fanfic - Robot!Damien POV

Summary: A continuation to Survival. 

Set after the finale. Robot!Damien and the gang had figured what had probably happened, and took a break to figure their next move in Paris. Now, they’re finally ready to go back to New-York and resume their search of Damien.

Author’s note: I was long planning on continuing that fanfic, but not in a one-person POV kind of way. A second part is coming up, this time from Amy’s (the MC) POV. Stay tuned! 

Team #Damienwasreplaced all the way.

Tagging: @mariamatsuo @writtenbycandy @asprankle @liam-rhys @flynnomalleys @damienazariostan @lizeboredom​ @endlessflame​ @simplyaiden @kamybelen-blog. Comment on this post to let me know if you wanna be tagged as well.

The downing realization that you’re a robot wasn’t an easy thing to deal with.

Let along the realization that you’re a cloned robot version of a real, human person.

Damien, or, rather... Robot Damien, was sitting in his hotel room in France. The gang decided to hang there a couple of weeks further, unsure of how to deal with it either.

Amy did her best to support him and not to show her true feeling about the situation, but under all those smiles and reassuring glances Damien could see she was worried about the real Damien, and where he might be.

It was strange, to think of it that way... Since the Damien that sat in the hotel room felt every bit as real.

It’s just... That he wasn’t.

Sloan had checked. She’d opened a part of his arm and he was all wires and plastic underneath.

Hayden was helpful. He knew exactly what he was going through.

Well... Mostly.

Thinking you’re a real human and then learning that you’re not? Check.

Knowing, in you’re head, that you’re Damien Nazario, the private detective that was also about to date Amy? Not so much.

Knowing there was another version of him out there, a real human that had the same thoughts and memories as him, but was flesh and blood was the weirdest thing he ever had to wrap his mind around.

The gang had speculated, compared timelines and researched, getting to the conclusion he had to have been swapped during the showdown, where all Eros’ matches attacked them and they lost touch with him.

Oops... With Damien.

But they also concluded that Eros must’ve planned this. That they had this-- Him, ready even before the swap.

Maybe they prepared it when they held Damien captive in a cell. Maybe they even started working on this prototype when he first approached them in New York.

It was weird thinking you were a part of a plan. A weapon, maybe.

But it could also explain how his memories felt... Well - Not really his own.

Amy noted how strange it was when he kept talking about being this ‘new version of himself’ and that he ‘couldn’t wait to get back to New York and start a new life’ and something clicked in Damien’s mind. It made sense.

She was right.

He did feel like a new version of himself. Maybe because he was.

The old version of himself must’ve been real-Damien’s memories.

But how did Eros manage to extract that, anyway? 

The downing, horrifying realization that the level of their technology proceeded anything they could humanly expect made them shiver to their core.

A knock on the door cut Damien’s line of thought.

“Come in,” He shook his head, trying to shake all those thoughts out his head with it.

Amy peeped inside. “Hey,” She said, in a soft voice.

“Hey.” He couldn’t help but beam at her. He was in love with her, even if those feelings weren’t “real”. They were for him.

She smiled back and entered the room.

“So...” She shifted her weight from one leg to another, before walking over and sitting over his bed next to him.

“So?” He asked, trying to read the expression over her face.

She was wary. Like she always was since she learned the ‘truth’ - in the Louvre.

Wary but still trying her best to make him feel welcome and valid. She was the softest, kindest person he knew. And knowing what she was capable of, the lengths she’d go for a loved one, made it even stronger.

She was an adorable badass.

God, Damien wanted to kiss her.

He hadn’t kissed her since... Since they were on top of the Eiffel tower.

Everything seemed simpler back then. Sometimes robot-Damien wondered if he’d rather not know.

He came to the conclusion knowing was probably better, but he found himself doubting this conclusion from time to time.

He didn’t know how she’d feel if he had kissed her in that moment, but he didn’t want to put her in that complicated position. So he settled for reasurring hand holding and comforting touches.

“We’re thinking of going back to New York.” Amy finally blurted out.

“Oh.” Was all he could get out of his mouth.

He blinked at Amy, unsure what to say.

“What do you say?” She asked, blinking at him as well, curious.

“What do you mean?” He wasn’t sure what was her point.

“Well, you’re a part of this decision, obviously. Dummy.” She play-punched his shoulder and Damien chuckled.

“I am?” He was honestly surprised.

“Of course you are!” Amy insisted, placing a hand over his own.

Damien smiled at her, hesitatingly. “I... I guess we probably should, then.”

“Really? You feel you’re ready for it?” She asked.

Obviously it wasn’t going to be an easy journey and Amy was still very determined on finding real Damien, but... If this Damien that was sitting in front of her really loved her, how could he deprive her of that?

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He assured her with a determined smile, and gave her hand a light squeeze.

“Great.” She beamed at him. Her eyes were glinting with something Damien wasn’t sure how to describe, other than saying it was truly mesmerizing and beautiful.

“Great.” He repeated.

They chatted a while longer, going over plans and engaging in small talk, and before they knew night had settled over them and Amy was heading back to her room.

She was standing in the entrance to his room, waving goodbye. “I’ll tell Sloan to book us some tickets. We’ll talk tomorrow at breakfast over all the remaining details. OK?” She asked.

“Yeah, sure, sounds great.” Damien nodded at her, one last time.

“G’night!” She yelled, before disappearing and letting the door close behind her.

“G’night.”

As promised, they discussed everything over breakfast. Sloan planned everything.

Maybe she over-did it, too, since she definitely looked like she could use some sleep.

Hayden was chuckling whenever she started day-dreaming and he’d nudge her back into reality, before she’d awkwardly apologize and continue back with her story.

Before long, they had a solid plan and everything was looking brighter for the gang.

Well... considerably lighter.

“Are you ready to do it?” Amy made sure, one last time right before they were about to board the plane.

“Absolutely.”

#playchoices #playchocies fanfic #perfect match #Team DamienGotReplacedByARobot #damien nazario #damien x mc #pm #my writing #fanfic #Robot!damien

[themeatlife]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - A Review

AND Reranking the Star Wars Movies

The Finale (Maybe)

2019 saw the end of several major pop culture series: The Avengers, Game of Thrones, and the Skywalker Saga of Star Wars (or at least it was proclaimed, we shall see a decade from now if it is resurrected). Having a major finale was en vogue.

So here is the spoiler-free review. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was enjoyable. It was imperfect, with a handful of glaring flaws, but nothing that would prevent die-hards or casual fans from enjoying the experience. You get the scale of things and at moments visually it is almost overwhelming. The action set pieces are fantastic. All-in-all, worth seeing in theaters.

Now for the spoiler-rific review below the line. If you haven’t seen it and don’t want to be spoiled (why are you reading this) then scroll until “The Star Wars Countdown” headline is at the very top of you window/phone screen.

——————————————————————

I’m probably going to skip a few things but this is the main storyline.

Palpatine has never really left. He’s been in the background in the Unknown Regions raising the Final Order, a super-ginormous fleet to rule over the galaxy once and for all.

We catch up with our new trilogy trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe and what is left of the Resistance, led by General Leia. Leia has also taken the lead in mentoring Rey in the ways of the Force. News of Palpatine gets to them and the trio find themselves planet hopping on a quest first to find a dagger which is the key to finding Palpatine and then a programmer to get C3PO to translate script on said dagger. Along the way they are being hunted by the First Order and Kylo Ren. This sequence is very Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but better executed.

Once the dagger is decoded, it leads them to the remains of the second Death Star where they must retreive a device with the coordinates to where Palpatine is. There is first a showdown between Rey and Sith Rey a la Luke in the forest in Degoba. Then is the showdown between Rey and Kylo where Rey ends up stabbing Kylo with his own lightsaber (Kylo was distracted by a dying Leia, Force-calling out to her son with her last breathe) and then Force-healing him and leaving him on the planet using his Tie Fighter with the device. Kylo then sees a vision of his father Han Solo telling him Kylo Ren is dead and his son Ben lives. Ben then leaves to chase after Rey to attempt to help confront Palpatine.

So Rey arrives on Exegol where Palpatine and the Final Order are gathered and preparing to deploy, leaving a signal for her Resistance friends and Ben to find. While Rey confronts Palpatine, the short handed Resistance tries to take down a communication tower in an effort to prevent the fleet from deploying. Epic battle ensues. Lando Calrissian comes with reinforcements for the Resistance while Rey almost gives in to Palpatine in an effort to save her friends. Ben comes in and they both fight Palpatine. Ben goes down and Rey uses the lightsabers she and Ben were using (coincidentally Luke and Leia’s lightsabers) against Palpatine’s Force Lightning, eventually killing him and herself in the process. Ben revives Rey and then kisses her (WHAT?!?) and then dies. The Resistance takes down the Final Order. The Resistance returns to their base, the new trio hug it out. Then the film ends with Rey returning to Tatooine where the saga began, burying Luke and Leia’s lightsabers and with their Force ghosts looking on takes on the Skywalker last name.

So my issues...

So, Palpatine is back? Last we saw his body fell down a shaft in the short-lived rebuild Death Star, thrown over by Vader in an effort to save Luke. I’m not sure how that even works that he’s back. I know they touch on it in the movie but seemed like we were done with the Emperor three (or is it six?) movies ago. But as a villain, Palpatine is effective.

The quest for the dagger and map device thing was a bit much. That actually could have been a movie itself. Like could have essentially replaced The Last Jedi with that quest. As much as I liked the The Last Jedi, I think a lot of the internet fanatics didn’t. And that hurt the Star Wars powers that be. And much of The Rise of Skywalker felt like it was actually attempting to write a lot of The Last Jedi out of the Star Wars timeline.

And yeah the Ben-Rey kiss was sudden. They seemed to have a very non-romantic connection so that was kind of out of place. Maybe it was more a goodbye kiss from Ben than anything, but it felt out of place.

And then the new trilogy as a whole. Although there was a new trio of main characters, the storyline was really dependent on the trio from the original trilogy. If the Force Awakens was the Han Solo movie and the Last Jedi was the Luke Skywalker movie, the Rise of Skywalker would have been the Leia Organa movie. And in many ways it was, but then it wasn’t. There is only so much you can do with extra footage. Rest In Peace Carrie Fisher, this movie needed more of you in it.

But with all that, it was still an enjoyable experience. It was imperfect, but that’s okay. No Star Wars movie is perfect (except for Empire). If you want comparison, better than Game of Thrones, no where near as satisfying as Avengers: Endgame.

The Star Wars Countdown

I ranked these almost two years ago. It didn’t change that much but I did switch a few and added the newer ones after I rewatched all the movies in the lead up to the Rise of Skywalker release. I FINALLY got my wife to watch them all with me. Disney+ and Netflix came in handy. So here are the updated Star Wars standings. I’ll do my college football wrap up later this week.

11 – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Surprise surprise, I know.  But yes, Episode I is by far the weakest and most disposable of the series (as evidenced by the omission of it in the Machete Order). Most of the major plot points are brought up again in Episode II, so not really that important to watch.  And the action in it, while okay for the most part, do not make up for the most annoying and boring parts of the film – Jar Jar Binks, child Anakin Skywalker, and the Pod Race.  If you must watch it, the main scene you need to watch is the battle on Naboo where Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn and the Ewan McGregor version of Obi-Wan Kenobi take on double-lightsaber wielding Darth Maul played by martial artist Ray Park.

10 – Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

While Attack of the Clones is a step up from Episode I, this episode is plagued by two things: awkward pacing and the unnatural evolution of the love story of Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker.  The way the movie was paced it felt like it was going by too slowly at times.  Obi-Wan’s story arc kept me interested as he investigates bounty hunter Jango Fett and discovers the clone army.  But man, that Padme-Anakin story is rough.  Anakin comes off with a stalker-like creep factor obsession for Padme, and somehow Padme is infatuated with that?  Yeah I’m not convinced, that dynamic always felt super awkward and forced. Not that Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen couldn’t have chemistry.  It’s just that in this movie, they didn’t…at least not convincingly. Cool stuff on the back end of this movie is the battle on Geonosis featuring a gladiator-style survival scene for Obi-Wan, Padme, and Anakin as well as the Jedi coming to their rescue. Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu and Frank Oz’s Yoda show off some lightsaber skills as well.

9 - Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

This ended up being not as bad as critics made it out to be. It was fun and action heavy. I slightly different take on the Han Solo character by Alden Ehrenreich. It was fresh and it was Han as a young man less jaded than his original trilogy self. It was cool to see Woody Harrelson (Beckett), Thandie Newton (Val), Emilia Clarke (Qi’ra), and Donald Glover (young Lando Calrissian) in the Star Wars universe. There were a few things wonky with the movie though. I don’t know if I liked the live story between Solo and Qi’ra. The whole Lando and a droid thing was weird. And resurrecting previously deceased Sith Darth Mal felt a little empty (I know he’s appeared in other Star Wars projects but the cliffhanger at the end of this was Darth Mal’s first film appearance since Phantom Menace).

8 – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Out of the prequel trilogy, I like this one the best.  And while it was a longer movie (2 hours 20 minutes), it didn’t feel weighed down by some of the pacing issues of Clones.  The ever-present forced romance between Padme and Anakin is still there though, and it becomes the primary reason Anakin turns to the Dark Side.  While the premise seems feasible, the unnatural feel of the relationship hinders this reasoning.  Over the course of the prequel series, they did a good job of planting seeds to make it seem like the Jedi are plotting to take over the Republic. So as a secondary reason for Anakin turning to the Dark Side, this reasoning works.  Some people had a problem with the whole calling kids “younglings” but I didn’t really see that as a problem.  The Old Republic could have talked like that, so it wasn’t an issue for me. So minus the whole Padme-Anakin thing and an unintended hilarious “NOOOOOOOOO” moment when Anakin turns into Darth Vader, it was a solid movie.  It was sad to see several points where Anakin could have turned back but didn’t.

7 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Before going into this film, I have to say that doing away with having the episode number in the title was a welcomed change away from the George Lucas era awkward titling. When I first saw this movie, I was awestruck.  Filled with nostalgia.  Almost like seeing a Star Wars movie as a kid again.  But the second time around seeing it, I quickly realized that even though there were new characters that this was more or less a very borrowed plotline. It was basically the original Star Wars, only updated.  Rey (Daisy Ridley) was like Luke (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford, of course) like a less-Force oriented Obi-Wan.  The First Order is basically the Empire resurrected, the Resistance is the Rebel Alliance.  Starkiller Base is the Death Star.  And Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) killing Han like Vader defeating Obi-Wan.  But I was still thoroughly entertained, and the intro of Rey, Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and BB-8 was a welcomed addition to the Star Wars universe and The Force Awakens put down a solid foundation for the franchise to build upon for its new trilogy.

6 - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

See above for the review. I will say for all it’s problems it was enjoyable for the most part and entertaining as hell.

5 – Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

While The Force Awakens feels borrowed, The Last Jedi felt more like its own things.  Some critical of The Last Jedi felt it similar to The Empire Strikes Back. While it did have some similarities, I think the major differences (particularly the Force Chat and dynamic between Kylo Ren and Rey, and some of the backstory behind Luke and Kylo Ren’s relationship) make it so much of its own story. It is the peak as far as quality of the newest trilogy. One of the coolest scenes in the entire Star Wars franchise was Kylo and Rey taking on Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and his Praetorian Guard.  And while clearly the main focus of the film is the Kylo-Rey-Luke dynamic, the side plot of Finn and Rose (Star Wars newcomer Kelly Marie Tran) to Canto Bight in search of a hacker to disable a tracking device while Leia (RIP Carrie Fisher) and Poe try to lead the Resistance away in escape of the First Order were welcome storylines. Don’t listen to the haters online, this one is the best of the new trilogy.

4 – Star Wars (1977)

Wow, trailers back then are nothing like they are now. Yes, I refrained from calling this film “A New Hope,” simply because that was not the original name of the movie.  I respect this movie.  It’s the origin story of Luke Skywalker.  It featured ruthless villain Darth Vader (before we knew he was Luke and Leia’s father), a love interest (Leia before we and Luke find out they are brother-sister), and the cool rebel too cool to be in the rebellion (at first) in Han Solo.  But as most movies of the time, the special effects feel dated (much more so in this film than the other two in the trilogy).  And while it is the origin story, it was merely the tip of the iceberg. A strong foundation to build the rest of the franchise, but not the most compelling plotlines of the series (that is to come later).

3 – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

I had this film actually up at 2 when I ranked this a year and a half ago. It isn’t an essential movie to the overall Skywalker storyline of the main Star Wars installments.  But you get the sense of urgency and the sacrifice it took to steal the Death Star plans.  Rogue One is one part chase movie, another part heist movie.  Two types of movies I always enjoy.  The characters fill out in a short period of time and feel so rich.  It is the only Star Wars movie where all the main protagonist characters you are focused on the entire movie dies, making it not feel like a Star Wars film.  But the death scene with Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Imwe and Jiang Wen’s Baze Malbus as well as Felicity Jones’s Jyn Erso and Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor are equally heartbreaking and powerful.  The feels!  While the film doesn’t add to the overlying plot of the entire series, it does add a bit of understanding of just how big the stakes were in getting those Death Star plans and how invested the Rebellion was outside of the core characters of the series in trying to topple the Empire.  And then, well, Darth Vader totally owning the Rebels while trying to board Leia’s ship is badass and leads right into the original Star Wars.  Loved this movie.

2 – Return of the Jedi (1983)

A great conclusion to the original trilogy. We see the movie open with Jedi Luke displaying his control of the Force as the team rescues Han from Jabba the Hut. The Rebellion wants to strike one last blow to the Empire by taking out the rebuilt Death Star. The fight culminates on the forest moon of Endor. Luke reveals to Leia what she probably felt but didn’t recognize, that they are brother and sister. One of the strongest scenes was that final confrontation between Luke and Vader that ends with Vader saving Luke’s life from electrocution from the Emperor. Some people had a problem with the cute, fluffy Ewoks but I was okay with it. This is the movie where the extras added by George Lucas in the 1998 theatrical rerelease (and updated again in 2004) hurt the movie experience though. The extended musical scene at Jabba’s place was unneeded. We don’t need extra celebration scenes on other planets when its mission accomplished. And we didn’t need Hayden Christensen’s ghost in place of original Anakin actor Sebastian Shaw standing there with ghost Yoda and old ghost Obi-Wan Alec Guinness.  But other than that, this was my second favorite Star Wars movie growing up.

1 – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Out of all the series, this is the masterpiece. If you ever want to make a successful sequel that continues the original story and add to the overall depth of a film series, here was the blueprint.  From the opening battle on Hoth, to the core team getting split up, to Luke’s journey finding Yoda and training, to Han and Leia being chased down by the Empire, all the way to the climax of the film on Cloud City, we find our heroes being tested and pushed as well as finding themselves.  The Han-Leia love story holds up and feels realistic.  Luke’s internal struggle to train and fight off the darkness in him while confronting his fear of Vader feels realistic as well. And of course, the mic drop of all mic drops in sci-fi and maybe movie history – “I am your father.”  I was eight or nine years old when I remember first watching and actually understanding some of what was going on.  I remember yelling “WHAT?!?” as I watched.  The most iconic moment of the series.  It made this more than just a space opera.  More than just a sequel to a sci-fi hit. Those words made Star Wars into an expandable series that they have since built upon twenty-fold.  It turned Star Wars from a battle of good vs evil into an internal family struggle – the Skywalker family saga that impacted not just that family, but the entire galaxy.  Luke’s fear was no longer about confronting some ominous unknown bad guy. It was Luke confronting his father, one he never knew.  And the 1980 special effects hold up pretty well in this one.  

The Force will be with you. Always.

#starwars the rise of skywalker #starwars

[i-just-like-commenting]

Star Wars rewatch, part 5: Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith

General Impressions

I’ve been sitting on this review for a while because life has been busy lately – I’m starting a new job in a little over a week – and hadn’t gotten around to writing it. This film was a large part of why I wanted to do this rewatch, to see whether or not Revenge of the Sith was as good as I remembered it.

The answer is that I’d actually forgotten just how good this movie is. Like, seriously, I will fight you on this, RotS is a good movie. Not a great movie, and we will be talking about its flaws as I go along, most of which center around Padme. But it is a good movie, at least on par with Return of the Jedi.

It really does help, I think, to watch Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars immediately before this, not just because that film-length series ends right before RotS opens, but because there’s a certain stylistic match. A lot of the action moments in RotS feel very Tartakovsky-esque, and preceding this with an animated film made the CGI a lot more palatable – this looks very much like an animated film, just with live action performers filling in the human parts. It’s a definite upgrade from the previous sequels, sometimes looking absolutely gorgeous, especially on Coruscant.

Also upgraded? The acting. Hayden Christiansen is massively improved in this film. While still not an Oscar-worthy performance or what have you, he’s on the level of the original actors in the first trilogy, which is to say competent most of the time, and occasionally even quite intensely compelling. It helps that he and Natalie Portman seem to have settled on how to handle their ridiculous romantic dialog, playing it as “Anakin can’t do romantic interactions well, Padme knows this, finds it charming, and teases him for it.” The lines are still awkward but played with an awareness of the awkwardness.

But speaking of romance, having rewatched these, how in love with Anakin was Obiwan? The answer is a lot. I know, I know, when they met Anakin was a child and that’s kind of creepy, but by the end of RotS it’s hard not to read Ewan MacGregor’s performance as more than a little bit smitten. It doesn’t help that in Clone Wars, he and Anakin have an exchange that is a literal copy-paste of Han and Leia.

The music is also killer for this film, and supplements all of the best scenes, like the tale of Darth Plagueis, Padme and Anakin on the balconies at sunset, the implements of Order 66, Obiwan and Anakin’s final battle…this is a well-made film, you guys. But let’s dig into some of the flaws.

Continuity, part 1: Relation to the Other Prequels

You know, if the mitochlorians had just been introduced as “a kind of symbiont that can spontaneously generate life” as an explanation for Shmi’s mysterious pregnancy, I don’t think people would’ve had a problem with it. It’s that it explains connectivity to the Force that nobody likes. So the reappearance of mitochlorians doesn’t bother me at all in this context.

I mentioned in my last post that one cut of Attack of the Clones that I enjoyed deleted Anakin confessing the murder of the Sand People to Padme, and while I support that change, it would make that Anakin told Palpatine the truth that much more disturbing. Palpatine is genuinely manipulating the fatherless Anakin in a disturbing way.

The biggest problem in relation to the other prequels, though, is the demotion of Padme to side character. She’s very passive in this film, as being increasingly pregnant limits her ability to be an action girl. But it didn’t have to be this way – there are a sequence of deleted scenes, some of which are redundant and thus wouldn’t be more than about 5 minutes, that depict Padme being one of the founding members of what became the Rebel Alliance. It’s an unfortunate cut not just because it would have kept Padme as a more active figure, but also because one scene has Palpatine trying to sow doubts in Anakin’s mind about Padme’s trustworthiness, setting up that he will snap at the end and kill her.

Continuity, part 2: Relation to the Original Series

Which brings us to Padme’s death, the other big flaw in her character in this film. That she has nothing physically wrong with her, she just “lost the will to live,” is the dumbest part of this film, and one that was almost immediately retconned. I understand that Lucas was trying to say that the psychological effect of everything that had happened to her had as much to do with her death as physical injuries, but it could have been something more like “we’ve done what we can to fix her, but the shock and emotional strain is inhibiting her body’s recovery process.”

More significantly, though, Padme shouldn’t have died yet. Leia says very clearly in Return of the Jedi that she remembers her mother, so unless Leia can remember events from her birth…or did Bail Organa’s wife also die, when Leia was very young? Leia must have known she was adopted, why does she not mention that instead?

When I was growing up watching the OT, I’d always assumed that Leia’s mother remarried Bail and passed off Leia as their daughter. That wouldn’t work with the trilogy as-is, because Bail is too prominent and it wouldn’t be a good place to hide her.

So let me propose an alternative scenario: Padme survives, but is clearly never going to recover from her injuries. Obiwan persuades her to divide up her children to keep them safe, with her keeping one and other sent to live with Anakin’s siblings. Padme lives in hiding on Alderaan for a few years before ultimately dying, and Bail adopts Leia. She remembers her biological mother and thinks of Bail as her father. Maybe he’s a single father; maybe he’s got a husband. Either way, it fills in that continuity gap.

The other dumb connection to the main trilogy is the random scene of Chewbacca knowing Yoda. I have no problem with Wookies being in this film, or with Chewbacca being a former general who had to go rogue after the war was over, but him knowing Yoda? Pointless fan service, doesn’t add anything to his character.

The best connection with the main trilogy is that ending, though. Critics are absolutely correct that the reveal of Darth Vader being accompanied by an anguished “NO!!!” isn’t a good transition into episode 4, where you need him to be a terrifying villain. But it is the perfect transition into episode 6, where you need to realize that he’s a broken, miserable, hollow human being. So yeah, the correct order for the first time watching is, indeed, 4-5-1-2-Clone Wars-3-6.

On every subsequent viewing, though, make it 4-5-Clone Wars-3-6. 1 and 2 just aren’t good enough to justify rewatch.

Continuity, part 3: Relation to the Current Series

There is still a part of me that wants Hayden Christiansen to get his redemption and reappear as Anakin’s Force ghost with a good script and a good director and yell at his grandson about how badly he is behaving. Failing that, Ewan MacGregor as Obiwan.

That said, the status of Force ghosts are still strange in this universe. In a deleted scene for RotS, Yoda gets a message from Qui-Gon that he’s learned to basically transition his body straight into a Force ghost at the point of death, which is why Yoda and Obiwan can appear after their deaths. The scene’s actually in the film, but there’s no voice over and so we’re left to figure out what message Yoda got from Qui-Gon by ourselves. But why doesn’t Qui-Gon appear in the OT? Is there a point chronologically after which you can’t do it, and that’s why we don’t have Force ghost Anakin yelling at Kylo? How did Anakin know how to do this if it was something new?

I kind of want to do a “Reimagined Prequel Trilogy” that fixes these hiccups, with the premise that Tartakovsky could remake them in animated form. That’s not ever going to happen, any more than Game of Thrones is going to remake seasons 3 and on to actually match their source material, but I always like speculating on these things, it helps me as a writer.

Conclusion: Brainwashing as a Joke

C3PO gets his mind casually wiped at the end of this film, which by all appearance is standard procedure for protocol droids when they get new owners, presumably to keep secrets of their former owners safe and to ensure their loyalty to their new ones. This is absolutely horrifying if you accept droids as sentient beings, of course, and seems to be banned in the New Republic.

What’s unnerving is that in the captioning, R2’s reaction is described as laughter. He’s mocking C3PO for his plight. From this I can only conclude that the true tenderness of their relationship must have started after episode 3, and R2 right now is taking delight in the irony of his more obedient counterpart being victimized by a system he supported. Not a cool attitude, R2, but it gives him an implied arc, too, as the two droids grow closer.

#star wars #revenge of the sith #spoilers for whole franchise #review