rose-griffes:

Is there any kind of non-shippy fic exploring Rey and Kylo’s Force bond? Because honestly, that whole Force bond is ripe for dramatic exploration (think Ezra Bridger and Darth Maul), but it definitely throws me off any interest in reading it if there’s a mutual romantic feelings element. (I wouldn’t even be that keen on Kylo having one-sided feelings~ for Rey, given the whole “blame her for Snoke’s death and later order her ship to be shot down and also try to kill everybody in the resistance” thing.)

Honestly, the Force bond stuff has a lot of fic potential for not-at-all-romantic Rey and Kylo. Not something I’d want to see in episode IX, but in fic it would be fascinating to explore the idea that Rey tapping into Kylo’s Force-abilities is something that can be affected and even stopped… and that Rey might have to re-learn how to do certain things in the Force for herself once the Force-bond is severed. Or that Kylo could tap into what Rey knows by using that Force-bond, and he attempts to harm the Resistance with what he learns.

People posting fic to AO3 need to learn that the & represents a non-romantic connection. In other words: there are multiple reylo fics using the tag Rey & Kylo Ren that should instead be tagged Rey/Kylo Ren.

Seriously there is not enough genfic about Rey and Kylo, and not enough genfic in general though that’s another (if related) complaint. Her becoming more powerful through the Force Bond is in fact an interesting idea that should have been shown and dealt with in the movie, and I think it also serves as a metaphor for the way people can hesitate to cut off unhealthy ties because they gain something through them–including survival itself. Like maybe Kylo threatens to cut the bond himself when Rey rejects his offer, warning her that she will lose her accelerated learning and will be defeated, giving her a real choice to make and actual suspense. She would in fact start losing, but the ship getting cut in half would save her much like the planet falling apart in TFA saved him. And then there would be other fallout later, Rey has to find harder but ultimately more lasting ways to train, Kylo uses information he gleaned from the Bond as you say. Like, give me actual consequences, choices, and tension. I did like that the idea of Kylo Ren as some poor misunderstood woobie was thoroughly trashed and Rey had one of the better arcs in the movie having to grow beyond her insecurities that he preyed on, but the execution was weak compared to the potential of the idea.

Here’s a tribute video I made to one of my favorite Star Wars characters of all time! Seriously, props to John Boyega for bringing this character to life. It’ll be great to see him in the sequel to TFA come next year for IX! It took for years, but better late than never for a proper sequel.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Rose’s hair… why is it so bad? The movie even makes a joke about it (can’t remember if that scene got deleted or not) when Finn tries pushing it down when they go undercover. Just, like… who okayed that hairstyle? When I first saw her, I thought, “well, that costume doesn’t look Star Wars at all,” but later I realized her mechanic suit actually looked great. Why the ‘do?

themandalorianwolf:

Considering Loan Tran is beautiful and looks amazing, I don’t know why Johnson stuck her in that bag and odd haircut. No matter, JJ is home.

Because Racist Johnson couldn’t have Loan outshine the skinny white girl, that’s why. Daisy was insulted in the opposite direction, incongruously and ridiculously plastered with makeup as she was.

BB-8 attempts to repair Poe’s X-Wing (colorized)

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Sometimes I fantasize about being the one to write the TLJ novelization so I can throw shade at the actual film as much as possible and just give off subtle Twitter clues that I hate it. The Reylo fandom would be especially fun to screw around with.

Just alter the framing and it could actually be made into a better story, too. The reylows are already in denial that tlj trolled them, imagine what a novelization could do 😂

thelastjedicritical:

themandalorianwolf:

awesomeswimmer21:

skywalkerrains:

awesomeswimmer21:

skywalkerrains:

themandalorianwolf:

awesomeswimmer21:

themandalorianwolf:

“Rian Johnson wasn’t hired to do Episode IX because he’s too busy! JJ was available and doing nothing!”

JJ Abrams is probably one of the most sought after directors in the business right now and talk whatever crap you want about him, his name right now is attached to some of the critical acclaimed things that it would take longer to list than it would be to list the almost laughable resume Rian Johnson has.

Disney and Lucasfilm had to do freaking backflips and jump threw fire hoops just to get JJ Abrams from Paramount. Disney and Lucasfilm had to pay to hire JJ Abrams, just so they could pay him again, just so he legally could work on IX.

Put that into perspective. Disney and Lucasfilm would have rather spent millions to get JJ Abrams back, then give Johnson Episode IX and watch him completely destroy the franchise beyond repair that even Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 would blush at how bad he fucked up a franchise.

JJ Abrams was hired to come back to direct IX because Rian Johnson was poison and everyone knows it. IMO, Johnson’s trilogy officially died the same day Bob Iger apologized for letting Lucasfilm be ran so ass backwards and then killed off any spinoff movies till only Qui-Gon Jin knows when.

If anyone is expecting to get more of TLJ is IX, I hate to break it to you, Disney and Lucasfilm want IX to be nothing like that hot piece of trash. They can’t publicly bash it or disown it due to that would make them look bad, but be assure that they Rian Johnson screwed up. If they didn’t think that, Johnson would be the one directing IX, not JJ. If anyone, including Johnson says otherwise, they don’t understand filmmaker, in denial, or a damn liar.

Seriously, if they wanted a repeat or direct continuation of TLJ why wouldn’t they just use RJ who would’ve been way easier and cheaper to get?

It would be disturbingly cheaper. Just comparing JJ’s IMDb page to Johnson’s is laughable. The only other big films Johnson has done besides TLJ, was The Brothers Bloom (2008) and Looper (2012). Both of which are now forgotten. Meanwhile if you blink, JJ Abrams has already sneaked into your home and uploaded a copy of his new Cloverfiled movie that is just a 2 and half teaser for IX.

The lengths some people go to in order to worship RJ makes me laugh. Honestly he is the worst. He caused a bitter split in the Star Wars fandom and screwed up a 40 year old franchise. Give me JJ over RJ any day.

Do you have links for the Bob Iger apology and the official cancellation of RJ’s trilogy? I would love to read them if you do!

@skywalkerrains Here is the interview The Hollywood Reporter did with Iger a couple months ago where he basically admitted that he made a mistake in pumping out so much so soon:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-iger-disneys-streaming-service-james-gunn-star-wars-slowdown-1145493

As far as I’m aware (someone correct me if I’m wrong), RJ’s trilogy hasn’t been officially cancelled or anything, but many people think it is because in recent interviews with higher ups, such as this one, they haven’t mentioned the trilogy when talking about future projects and I haven’t heard any news about the trilogy in months. I personally don’t think it will happen, but that there won’t be any official announcement since that might look bad. I think they would just bank on most people forgetting that it was ever a thing.

@awesomeswimmer21 Thank you so much! I hope like crazy RJ’s trilogy gets offically cancelled.

That would be a glorious day indeed : D

IMO I doubt it’ll happen. Johnson’s trilogy will just get locked in “development” for years until its’ eventually canceled due to schedule conflicts. If Johnson was actually going to be making a new trilogy, do you think he would have started working on his busted ass new film “Knives Out” or been working with Lucasfilm to start production on his new set? The fact that Lucasfilm hasn’t mentioned a word about this says something loud.

The last news including facts about this trilogy was RJ saying it was so hard to write bc it didn’t include the Skywalkers. We all know he couldn’t write shit even WITH the Skywalkers. I would bet that there isn’t even a half solid outline for this trilogy out there…

Who knew that handing a multimillion dollar movie to a director with zero blockbuster experience and very little cred in even indie productions wouldn’t turn out well? The outcome was impossible to predict! ¯_(ツ)_/¯

lj-writes:

sithchirrut:

This line – “[Finn] is in another form of training alongside General Leia” – from John’s interview with Fandango for the D23 Expo, along with the theory @lj-writes came up with about Rose and Paige Tico belonging to the remnant of the Republic’s navy and being survivors of the Hosnian genocide and furthermore about the joining together of the Republic Navy and the Resistance, made me think about how the lines would be drawn up and what roles Rose, Finn and Poe could play.

For Finn I could imagine that he might have some issues with the top down authority of organized military even though he knows that the Republic isn’t the First Order, given that he’s been abused by such authorities his whole life. He might be siding squarely with Leia in any power struggle. (Finn as Leia’s protege? Is that what John’s line is hinting at?)

Poe is probably having a massive case of divided loyalties. He’s a Leia fanboy if there ever was one, but he’s also very much a man of the Republic. He only went against them not just because he was convinced that there had to be done something about the First Order, but because if it was Leia Organa who asked him. If it had been anyone else who led the Resistance, I’m not so sure he’d have joined them no matter his issues with the Republic. When the inevitable power struggle between whoever leads the Republic navy (Laura Dern’s character?) and Leia he might not know who to back, he’ll likely argue for joint collaboration, but given how much of the Republic feels about Leia… that might not be possible.

This leads me to Rose Tico. If @lj-writes theory is correct and Rose, Paige and Cobalt Squadron are part of the Republic navy, they’d likely fall at the other end of the conflict. I could see Rose as someone young and idealistic, who looks up to Finn because “omg a real living hero!”, but who’s also very firmly on the side of the Republic and who might see the Resistance as dangerously volatile. Not to mention resent them – openly or covertly – for “causing” the Hosnia genocide. Even though she might logically know that the only one who caused that was the First Order when they first built Starkiller Base and then fired it at a civilian system. But logic can mean little when you’re as deeply traumatized as all genocide survivors are.

Is that what Rose and Finn are talking about here?

Rose being passionate about the Republic – and maybe showing some of her pain from the destruction of her home? Finn understand her pain and objectively her position, but still holding his own?

And this scene (from the BTS video)

Is Rose and Poe agreeing on something? Maybe the Republic navy’s stance on something, while Finn is taking Leia’s position?

Thanks goes to @lj-writes for that meta and for subsequent discussion in private about Rose, Finn and Poe. Her’s is half the ideas in this.

I love how you’ve pieced together the different interviews and pics to elaborate on what TLJ might look like in case of a Republic-Resistance conflict! Yeah, the picture of Finn and Rose now that I see it again in that light could be confrontational. At the very least it looks really passionate. FinnRose feels ❤

Finn could fall squarely on Leia’s side, but my guess is she’ll have to give him a lot of freedom if she wants to keep him that way. He’ll take a long time to trust authority if he ever does, and he’s likelier to throw in with her if she offers him a path to something he wants (a plan for Stormtrooper liberation, perhaps? Breaking abducted children out of a First Order facility? Finding his family?). My guess is, she’ll need to become a partner rather than an authority figure to him if she wants his trust.

Then there’s the question of whether SHE can trust HIM after his bald-faced lie to her near the end of TFA. I mean he did it for a good cause and delivered on lowering the shields anyway so I doubt she’ll hold it against him, but she should at least know this young man is at least as ruthless and reckless as she is when it comes to doing the right thing. I wonder if she sees in him the young woman she was, with trauma the size of a planet and nothing to lose. I would not be surprised if she trains him as a leader the Resistance needs.

No, Leia won’t hold a grudge, but she should be wary because Finn is a man who smashed his own idols (Jewish hero Jewish hero) and holds nothing and no one sacred except perhaps his friends. On that note, Poe could be the trusted bridge between these two formidable personalities. I mean Leia can cut some slack for her son Poe’s boyfriend, right?

Also! Speaking of planet-sized trauma, can we FINALLY have Leia grapple with being a genocide survivor as she interacts with the Republic refugees? How ironic is it that this may become a conflict between those who have survived the unimaginable, a clash of pain against pain? Will she find common ground with the Admiral and Rose and Paige? Will they find themselves clawing at each others’ bleeding wounds and doing things to each other they couldn’t have imagined? (No that is not meant to be kinky, you perverts. *is a pervert*) And can a Star Wars movie finally do more than squeak by the Bechdel test?

Finally, that last pic to me looks almost conspiratorial. Maybe this isn’t the final shot and they’re adding things like control panels and holos, but for now with that setup and lighting it looks like a clandestine meeting, with too few people and an odd composition of a new recruit, a mechanic, and a pilot to be a formal meeting. Is this where they discuss the mission to the casino planet? Is this the start of their Hail Mary pass out of the Republic-Resistance conflict?

Thanks for liking my addition and the great new thoughts! (I like how it took three tries for Tumblr to tag me.) Thanks to your find about Cobalt Squadron I am suddenly so fired up about this movie.

Reminder that this pre-TLJ speculation still makes for a MUCH better Resistance plot than the one we got. Even more frustratingly, if you squint this is the story told in TLJ except far more meaningful. This was also back when I was actually excited about Finnrose, smh.

lj-writes:

I don’t get why people think Finn both being a military leader and having the Force is somehow strange for Star Wars. After all, we have a rather outsized example of this already.

It’s not just the combination of Force and military abilities either, but also the characters’ story positions. Finn being the “war” part of the triad gives him the position Leia should
have occupied in the OT, the character with ties to both the military
and the Force who embodies what the war is about: The human face of the
Empire’s atrocities, the survivor who chose to fight. Leia should have
been the central figure of the war and not Han’s plus-one on what
were essentially his plots and missions.

Done right Leia would have been
more like Katniss in The Hunger Games, damaged and traumatized from her
experiences, inspiring by her story and example. RO tried to shoehorn
Jynn into Katniss’s Mockingjay role except it never worked because Jynn
didn’t have the representative story. Obviously the Mockingjay figures
were Cassian and the Jedhans (Bodhi, Chirrut, Baze), but yet again SW
shied away from giving center stage to victims of wide-scale atrocities.
It shied away again with Finn in TLJ.

This refusal to have central Mockingjay figures, I believe, reflects SW’s basic ambivalence as a franchise that is more comfortable with destined saviors than with exploited and destroyed peoples saving themselves. Maybe that comes of SW being a USAmerican franchise dealing with fascism, the contradiction of a country that is fundamentally fascistic and imperialistic trying to tell itself a story of being antifascist and anti-imperialist. America can’t face the full implication of truly upending its fascist underpinnings, in fiction as in reality. Instead the brutal form of fascism is replaced by the “soft” fascism of worshipping benign supermen.

Then along comes JJ Abrams, someone in a position to know the contradictions and falsity in the story America tells about itself. He shows the New Republic’s compromise with fascism destroying it morally as well as physically, a year ahead of the 2016 election. He shows how the worship of the Skywalkers as the chosen line gave us Kylo Ren. He gives us Finn, one of the First Order’s victims, as a strong and central figure.

Finn in IX could be the character that Leia could have been–the one who ties it all together, the military plot and the Force plot, the story of war with the story of spirituality and morality. He could be the character that embodies both the evil of the First Order and the determination, on a personal, visceral level, to fight it. He could be the character that brings audiences face to face with what it means when people who are considered expendable in the quest for greatness stand up and fight back. He could solve the Star Wars dilemma and finally break the vicious cycle of destruction the galaxy far, far away has become trapped in. I certainly hope so.

(Spun off from a discussion with @fuckyeahrebelfinn [link])

#and this is exactly why I believed Finn and Rey’s seperation in TLJ could’ve been brilliant #bc Leia should’ve been the character to introduce Finn to this role in the ST #but then RJ…. whatever the fuck #now that one movie was wasted I’m afraid we can’t get into the politics of this the way we should have

That speculation was not baseless at all, given that John was saying in July 2017 that Finn would be in “another form of training” alongside Leia (link). This is so wildly out of line with what we saw in TLJ that I have to wonder if John was led to believe TLJ was going to be a different movie altogether. Or maybe it’s the way his answer was edited and the “alongside General Leia” comment wasn’t meant to go together with the training comment at all. It’s still really weird and yeah, either way a big opportunity was lost to have Finn interact with and learn from Leia.

I don’t get why people think Finn both being a military leader and having the Force is somehow strange for Star Wars. After all, we have a rather outsized example of this already.

It’s not just the combination of Force and military abilities either, but also the characters’ story positions. Finn being the “war” part of the triad gives him the position Leia should
have occupied in the OT, the character with ties to both the military
and the Force who embodies what the war is about: The human face of the
Empire’s atrocities, the survivor who chose to fight. Leia should have
been the central figure of the war and not Han’s plus-one on what
were essentially his plots and missions.

Done right Leia would have been
more like Katniss in The Hunger Games, damaged and traumatized from her
experiences, inspiring by her story and example. RO tried to shoehorn
Jynn into Katniss’s Mockingjay role except it never worked because Jynn
didn’t have the representative story. Obviously the Mockingjay figures
were Cassian and the Jedhans (Bodhi, Chirrut, Baze), but yet again SW
shied away from giving center stage to victims of wide-scale atrocities.
It shied away again with Finn in TLJ.

This refusal to have central Mockingjay figures, I believe, reflects SW’s basic ambivalence as a franchise that is more comfortable with destined saviors than with exploited and destroyed peoples saving themselves. Maybe that comes of SW being a USAmerican franchise dealing with fascism, the contradiction of a country that is fundamentally fascistic and imperialistic trying to tell itself a story of being antifascist and anti-imperialist. America can’t face the full implication of truly upending its fascist underpinnings, in fiction as in reality. Instead the brutal form of fascism is replaced by the “soft” fascism of worshipping benign supermen.

Then along comes JJ Abrams, someone in a position to know the contradictions and falsity in the story America tells about itself. He shows the New Republic’s compromise with fascism destroying it morally as well as physically, a year ahead of the 2016 election. He shows how the worship of the Skywalkers as the chosen line gave us Kylo Ren. He gives us Finn, one of the First Order’s victims, as a strong and central figure.

Finn in IX could be the character that Leia could have been–the one who ties it all together, the military plot and the Force plot, the story of war with the story of spirituality and morality. He could be the character that embodies both the evil of the First Order and the determination, on a personal, visceral level, to fight it. He could be the character that brings audiences face to face with what it means when people who are considered expendable in the quest for greatness stand up and fight back. He could solve the Star Wars dilemma and finally break the vicious cycle of destruction the galaxy far, far away has become trapped in. I certainly hope so.

(Spun off from a discussion with @fuckyeahrebelfinn [link])

Before TLJ, Star Wars didn’t have flashback sequences and exposition of what was happening on the screen, it relied heavily on “show, don’t tell”, and treated the viewer as someone intelligent enough to discern what was happening on screen with their own eyes. This is one of the true proofs as to what makes Rian a terrible writer, besides his desire to subvert a plot that already was when Rey dropped Kylo at the end of TFA.

themandalorianwolf:

TLJ in of itself is a failure for the reasons that it is a movie with only themes and no cohesive story or plot that warrants the claim of originality

And it just… speaks those themes (generally through the characters of Rose and Holdo) instead of showing them organically through story. That is terrible and preachy writing.