Tag: ask

I’m a firm believer in Force-sensitive Finn. However, having been let down by Star Wars before in a VERY big way, I’m trying to prepare myself for the possibility he isn’t explicitly a force user in IX. Thoughts on what his plot and character arc could look like in a satisfactory IX where his abilities are limited to what we’ve already seen? Or is there no satisfaction without Force-sensitive Finn?

The most satisfying one for me personally would be a Stormtrooper uprising because it engages the most with Finn’s background and the moral dilemma he represents. Force sensitive Finn for me is just established canon whether IX chooses to show it or not, and the only thing that keeps audiences in denial is racism (which is why it’s a good idea for IX to make it explicit, of course). What I find REALLY interesting Force-wise, personally, is not even so much Force sensitive Finn as Force immune Finn, leader of the uprising, having a showdown with Kylo Ren. But if I can’t have that I see an uprising without explicit Force sensitivity to be the next best thing.

May I ask why you produced reylo content? Was it more an exercise in trying to write that dynamic or something else? Maybe it’s hard for me to understand because in my view, there is nothing interesting, new or exciting about Rey and Kylo’s dynamic at all, and I find Kylo Ren and Adam Driver to be physically unattractive. But I am curious about what people who I know to be non-reylos “see” in that ship in a creative sense.

I find that dynamic interesting in a horrible kind of way, yes. The manipulation, the way Kylo tears Rey down, uses her vulnerabilities against her, and tries to make her depend on him. I’ve discussed this before but he reminds me of my dad that way, maybe because all abusers have the same playbook in the end–insisting the people who love and accept you do not truly love you, that he is the only one who understands you and has your interests at heart, that he hurts you for your own good, that you deserve this treatment, that he is the best you are ever going to get.

The first piece of reylow content I produced was a headcanon/outline type post about Jedi Rey and convicted war criminal Ben Solo in a complicated and painful prison romance (link). If BS is as redeemed as he’s ever going to get, paying his debt to society and doing some good as a former terrorist who understands and knows the FO, would a romance between them work? It’s certainly not a straightforward and fluffy romance in my envisioning, but rather one tainted by mixed motivations and likely traumatic bonding.

In retrospect I think I gave BS way too much credit, even if the intention was to give him all the advantages I could think of. Now that I read the post over I think he’d be at best a “well actually” and “both sides” type of conversationist about the war, deceitful and revisionist in his recountings. (”Well actually we were more well-intentioned extremists…” “What about the civilians on the Death Stars? Doesn’t it say something that my idols growing up were Uncle Luke and Uncle Lando, who–from a certain point of view–were as much mass murderers as I turned out to be?”) The New Republic would never give him a public platform for fear of radicalizing others, despite repeated requests, and he would complain about freedom of speech lmao.

I also think now that Rey should be at most snookered briefly before she sees through his self-serving dishonesty and walks away for good. Tee el jay already did that story, though, so I don’t see the need to retell it. An older and more confident Rey wouldn’t even fall for BS’s bs anyway. The thought of BS being a sealion yammering away in prison is somewhat entertaining, though.

The other piece of shipping content I produced was a fan video to Blurred Lines (link). Yes, the Rape Song. I found it hilarious and horrible at the same time to work on, laughing at the whole idea of reylow as a wholesome or fluffy ship, not to mention the deplorable fandom conventions surrounding it. I did tag it #anti reylo rather than #reylo as a courtesy to shippers, especially ones who might be sexual assault survivors.

I’ve wondered since, though. Doesn’t my Blurred Lines video count as shipping material? Don’t the so-called anti-reylo edits like the “It’s not a fucking woman’s job” one (link)? Can it only be considered shipping content if it’s fluffy or at least ultimately affirming of the ship? For something like reylow, in particular, isn’t poking fun at the grossness of the whole concept also a valid part of shipping, provided everything is tagged and warned appropriately of course? In a section of the fandom that has Handmaid’s Tale AUs and Native American AUs and teacher-student AUs, why should only material that says rape is actually uhhh bad be off limits? Since when do we hold up romance as some ultimate purity of feeling, when romantic attraction can be as destructive and fucked up as any other urge we have? 

So yeah. I produced reylow or “Reylo” content not in the sense that mainstream shippers do with their fake Bullshit Solo who only exists to erase and one-up Finn’s trauma. That fakeness is what makes me nauseous about the ship, not the idea of exploring these characters’ dynamics including in a romantic or sexual sense. (But as for actual sex… nah. Like you I find Adam unattractive, and the farthest I’m comfortable going is KR as a rapey incel who gets his teeth kicked in by Rey.) I enjoy poking and prodding at an abusive fictional relationship. What I hate is the lie that it’s not abusive.

Get this straight right now. You don’t fucking know me. I never said keep silent you witless asshole I said YOU say it if you have something to say. Stop using black people to hide behind because YOU don’t want the shit. I was raped at 13 so fuck YOU for saying I don’t care about child sexual abuse or grooming. I truly hope your antiblack ass finds some other fandom to pollute because you’re a piece of shit and I really hope black fans are seeing you show your ass like this and act accordingly.

You didn’t even read my previous reply it seems. I did not “use” anyone, I didn’t hide behind anyone (if I had you wouldn’t have found me lol, the Wolf protected my identity and I’m the one who said it was me), and I would have had no compunction against moving on this myself if it weren’t for the sensitive racial issues involved.

Don’t lie and backtrack, you would still have been mad if I had made the post myself. Your major complaint in the previous ask was that Wolf and I had opened up Black fans to racist harassment, which would have been true no matter who wrote the post. So yes, you did in fact complain quite vocally about a sexual predator being exposed, and your history does not make that any less wrong.

And if racists do try to use this exposure against Finnreys as a whole, or to paint Black men in general as predators, guess what? They can’t, not without looking even stupider than they already are, because it’s a Black man who took it on himself to expose the predator. It’s almost like Wolf taking lead instead of me hopefully mitigated rather than aggravated any potential damage, how about that!

Why did you use a black person for this outing shit when you know good and fucking well that anything reylos can use against black fans they will use? But you just don’t gaf about people getting slurs from reylos because of a dude no black blogger really even fucked with because we knew he was trash from the jump. If you don’t have the balls to speak for yourself, keep your ass out of things having to do with black fans. You don’t get the blowback so keep your fucking mouth shut.

Bold of you to assume @themandalorianwolf was my stooge or dupe when he took the issue seriously from the start, spoke to the person who came forward to get the facts, and was as horrified as I was when he got the details. He chose to go public, and I advised him to, not because either of us thought the person accused was in good standing (I wasn’t even surprised when I heard it was him tbh) but because it was the most effective way to warn people away from him who might not know, particularly minors. Because that’s what you do when there’s a predator in a community. You may have known he was trash, but kids and others newer to the community could still be drawn in. We already know at least one was, and that’s one too many.

I obviously do have the gonads to speak for my own damned self lmao. I’m talking to your dumbass, aren’t I? I have never hidden the fact that I went to Wolf with this, and I did so because I know the sensitivities and horrible histories involved with accusing Black men of sexual predation. I knew Wolf would be a more effective and credible speaker, and he agreed. He’s getting completely undeserved shit for doing the right thing and he knew that going in.

And guess what? If you want me or anyone to stay silent about grooming minors because it involves a Black fan, you’re being an apologist for sexually exploiting kids. Full stop. If you’d rather sweep sexual abuse under the rug than it be out in the open so perpetrators stay away and potential victims are warned, then YOU are the one advocating against keeping kids safe. You’d rather tolerate a known predator being free to prey on kids, based on the fear that racists are going to racist if you expose him–like they even need an excuse? Yeah, then you’re part of the problem. Go live with your cowardice and your complete disregard of children and victims.

“Ditz” may have been a poor choice of words. I just meant she’s incredibly naive and doesn’t understand economics. PS– sending d*ck pics is disgusting and ineffective and I would never do that to anyone. (I’m also confused as to why anyone would think I would send them to a politician and expect a response?)

She has room for improvement, sure. The unemployment rate mistake is embarrassing, especially for an economics major. And it was a joke, hon–if you don’t want to be mocked, maybe don’t sound like the kind of guy that sends dick pics and is made when the woman doesn’t respond.