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#and i love me some mara jade
liminal-zone · 1 year
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Dinluke is such a fascinating and delicious ship because, like, Luke embodies the curly blonde haired idealistic twink darling AND an overpowered eldritch monster of UNSPEAKABLE POWER and ALSO a daddy issues kid who was and is very much underloved. And Din is just a terrifyingly talented warrior with the simple needs of following a code and loving his son plus he’s also so touch starved that feeling could probably power an entire planet.
The threads I always want to pull on are: Luke as both a darling and a terror, straddling both spaces, and getting Din’s goddamn helmet off in the most angsty ways possible. 
I THINK THERE IS A FIC IN THERE???
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phoenixkaptain · 1 year
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Gotta be honest, the idea that Luke wouldn’t send a child alone in an X-wing with only a droid for company is funny to me.
Like, we’re talking about the same Luke, right? The one who spent years bulls-eyeing womp rats and took the experience from that to then blow up the Death Star? The one who was like “This is a trap… I’m gonna walk right into it.” The one who was like “I will rescue my dear friend by waltzing in without a disguise and being as obnoxious as possible.” “How do we get out of this situation? How about we convince these small bear creatures that our droid is a god, that will probably work.” “I know Darth Vader is a murderer who murdered my Ben and is trying to murder me and all, but he is also my dad and therefore I love him.”
Luke would send a child in an X-wing without even fucking thinking about it! Do you REALLY think LUKE SKYWALKER is a reasonable human being?? Are you honestly trying to tell me that this man who has been driving the same fucking ship for like ten years would understand how dangerous it is to put an unsupervised child in a vehicle??? Do you really honestly truly think that Luke knows how to care for children????
You see, a lot of people like to portray Luke as perfect. And this is the same issue I have with people who portray Obi-Wan as perfect, or Yoda, or Mace, or literally any character in all of Star Wars because the whole point is that the are flawed human beings!
But it’s ESPECIALLY egregrious with Luke because I don’t know where any of you got this idea that Luke is a sweet summer child??? This man has a death count of over one million. This man had Seen Some Shit that it is literally impossible not to be affected by. Why do so many people assume that Luke at the end of the Trilogy is the same as Luke at the beginning of the Trilogy? He’s changed! He’s a different person! That’s what makes the Original Trilogy such a good trilogy!! It’s basic storytelling!!! A character canNOT be at the same place mentally as when they began the story, or else it’s not a good story!
But also, I hate the way this colours shipping fics with Luke. Like, listen. There is no ship where Luke should be the straightman of the relationship. Luke Skywalker just is not normal. He’s weird, he’s deranged, he’s so strange; he cannot be a straightman, it just doesn’t work. It’s so completely out of character it isn’t even funny.
The joy of shipping Luke is that every single thing that you can ship Luke with will come out the other sode looking rational.
Han Solo is a smuggler who hangs out with a Wookiee and who does extremely dangerous, stupid shit, but next to Luke?? Rational. Normal. Someone who uses their brain, Luke, take notes-
Din Djarin is a bounty hunter who decided that he would rather destroy an entire group of highly dangerous men than give up the cute kid he just found. But compared to Luke? At least he has equipment on him!
Mara Jade literally was mind-controlled by the Emperor and was Darth Vader’s coworker and was also a Jedi (something that no rational person would be honestly) and even she comes across as normal compared to Luke Skywalker.
I know this is rambly and disjointed and I know people disagree with me, but like??? Yes, I think Luke is great with kids. Yes, I think Luke is a good teacher. Yes, I think Luke is the type of person to wave goodbye as an infant flies off in his warship. I think Luke is the type of person who would throw a child into the air way too high and then catch them. Where did the idea that he’s the responsible parent come from? Luke is teaching infants how to use laser swords, do you REALLY THINK that’s what a responsible parent would do????
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david-talks-sw · 1 year
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An argument I hear from time to time is the following:
"I don't care that this novel is considered Legends, if it was canon when George Lucas was in charge of Lucasfilm, it's still canon to me now. Whatever George says is what counts, I don't care what Disney says."
Putting the Expanded Universe's Star Wars and George Lucas' Star Wars in the same basket. And that's, uh... inaccurate.
So without further ado, let's explore:
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George Lucas’ involvement in the Expanded Universe
Early years of the EU...
When the first bit of EU content came out in the form of the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Lucas was too busy working on the films, so Alan Dean Foster wrote it by himself (which explains why Luke and Leia's relationship plays out romantically).
After the movies came out, when new material was going to be created, George told Lucas Licensing and other authors that the Prequel era was off-limits to write about, because he might tell that story one day.
Beyond that, they could go to town and write sequels, for instance. After all, part of why Star Wars was created was to let people's imagination run wild and George was happy to let other artists play in the sandbox he created.
That said, things were very clear from the get-go.
These weren't his stories.
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The Thrawn books, Dark Empire, all this material was explicitly just Tom Veitch and Timothy Zahn and whoever else's creation. Not George's, who was described by Lucas Licensing's Lucy Autrey Wilson as "not very involved".
The most he did was answers "OK/Not OK" questionnaires about what the EU writers could or couldn't write.
Telling Yoda's backstory? Not OK.
Telling Han's backstory, between the Prequel and Ep. 4? OK.
Having someone wear Vader's suit after his death? Not OK.
The Emperor returning in a clone body? OK.
So that's it. That was his involvement in the 90s.
Him saying "don't write something set during this/that period".
"OK/Not OK" questionnaires.
It's also worth mentioning he didn't approve of Mara Jade, Luke's wife in the EU. In his mind, "Jedi don't marry".
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Rather, the character herself wasn't an issue... until she married Luke. When Timothy Zahn asked for Luke and Mara to be married or engaged, back in 1993, Lucasfilm initially vetoed the idea.
According to Brian Jay Jones (author of "A Life", George Lucas' biography), in 1995 George convened a 'Star Wars Summit' wherein he gathered licensees and international agents to Skywalker Ranch to reinforce "the need for him to maintain quality control, especially in the areas of publishing, where some characters—such as Luke Skywalker, who’d been given a love interest in a fiery smuggler named Mara Jade—were living lives far beyond the ones he had written for them in the original trilogy".
Sources:
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During the Prequels...
George Lucas was writing and directing three movies with large themes, shot almost back-to-back, commuting between Australia and California. That's hard enough as it is.
Also, in the 90s, most movies were still shot on film. During the making of Phantom Menace, Lucas shot parts of the film by combining prototype digital Sony cameras and using them in combination with videotapes, rather than shooting on film.
For Attack of the Clones, George worked with Panavision and Sony to develop fully digital cameras, which eventually became the standard.
As if that wasn't enough, by making the Prequels, Lucas and ILM were also creating fully-digitized worlds (Coruscant, Geonosis) and characters (Jar Jar, Yoda) and laying the groundwork for the CGI technology that has now become essential for today's blockbusters.
Having established all this...
Do you really think he had the time or the patience to read through a bunch of novels and guidebooks?!
Simply put: George Lucas was too busy revolutionizing cinema to be involved in the development of the EU.
So if you ask George who Tahl or Vitiate are, or what the Stark Hyperspace War or a vapor manifold are, if you ask him to recite you the Sith Code... he'll grumble and say "heck if I know".
He outright admitted that fans know more Star Wars lore than him.
Because SOMEBODY ELSE wrote that stuff.
And he let them do it because:
It made money. A lot of money, especially after TPM came out. Money that could fund his next films. You don't mess with licensing. Hell, it's why he was so cool with there being all those Star Wars parodies.
He didn't see those stories as canon anyway, so it couldn't hurt. He saw them as a separate universe, an alternate timeline wherein the films happened ALONG with all these other tales.
So associating the EU content with Lucas is unreasonable. He was too busy, so he just let Howard Roffman, Lucy Autrey Wilson, Sue Rostoni and Lucas Licensing do their thing and crank out new stories and transmedia content for the fans.
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It was a one-way relationship. The licensing parallel universe needed to have some internal consistency AND adhere to what Lucas established in the new films movies (which was difficult because they weren't involved in the production process), but he didn't need to be in line or consistent with anything they established.
Now, George did set some guidelines/boundaries and there were obviously do's and don'ts. But once those boundaries were set and the brief was established, the authors had a lot of freedom and, like, 99% of their interaction was with their editors from the respective publishing houses (Scholastic, Del Rey, Dark Horse) and the folks at Lucas Licensing.
George was only really brought in to sign off on, like, some of the major plot points only once in a blue moon. Stuff like:
"Let's make a Maul novel". George would go "fine, just keep him mysterious."
"What species should Plagueis be?" George: "he could be a Muun, here's concept art."
Nothing more than that. Again: the Expanded Universe was other storyteller's interpretation of what Lucas had created.
Sometimes, it was spot on and it aligned with George's vision.
Other times, this additional lore was created by writers who didn't know what he was doing with the Prequels, so they were in the dark regarding certain plot points.
And then you have the authors who absolutely disagreed with George's vision of the Prequels, or of Star Wars, in general, but wanted to engage with the material nonetheless.
Which is why, whilst sometimes the EU fixed some plot-holes, sometimes the EU had inconsistencies.
Inconsistencies such as Ki-Adi Mundi being a Knight on the Council, who is married and has kids (when the Jedi being prohibited from marrying is a major plot point in the Prequels)...
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… or the Jedi being essentially superhuman (when one of the narrative reasons Qui-Gon is killed is to show that the Jedi are mortals, not supermen)…
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... or other stuff like Mace having a blue lightsaber for a period (because who the hell knew purple was an option?!) or some Jedi having red lightsabers, or Sith Lords being able to become ghosts after death, when that's a feat you can only achieve by being selfless.
It's also why you get conflicting definitions of what the Jedi call "attachment" or conflicting narratives trying to reframe midi-chlorians as a cold, intentionally-flawed way of seeing the Force (when they're meant to be a beautiful metaphor for symbiosis and how the Force works).
And it makes sense that some of this stuff wouldn't track, considering how Lucas stated multiple times that he didn't have anything to do with it, that it was a separate universe from his own...
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Safe to say that if George had any involvement in the EU, it was so minimal that he, himself, didn't count it as "involvement".
Additional sources:
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Later years of the EU...
After the Prequels were over and done with, Lucas created The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni. At first, he'd just suggest a few storylines, but he quickly got VERY involved in the whole process. Far more involved than he ever was with EU content.
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And y'know... Dave Filoni is a massive Star Wars fan and an avid EU reader. So, from time to time, Filoni would bring up EU material for Lucas to consider during the story conferences, and they'd look at what was out there together.
But it's important to note that George's stance toward the EU didn't change and became a rule for everyone on the writing staff: the EU content was nothing more than a pool of "fun what-if ideas" that they could draw inspiration from.
If they could, they'd try to not mess with continuity... but if the story called for it, they could retcon anything without batting an eye. Because it wasn't canon to them.
It's why author Karen Traviss quit working with Lucasfilm after the Mandalorians were retconned into pacifists in The Clone Wars.
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The only things that were truly canon were:
George Lucas' own word.
The movies.
Previously established The Clone Wars lore.
And that's it.
Everything else was somebody's else's concern. Not George's.
Sources:
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This way of seeing the EU continued all the way to the time shortly before George sold the company to Disney as his drafts for the Sequels featured:
no Jacen, Jaina or Anakin Solo (Han and Leia's kids from the EU),
a still-alive Chewbacca (who died, later in the EU),
no "New Jedi Order".
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Every version of George's Sequels ignored the EU.
Which would explain why the EU reboot was planned in the summer of 2012 (when Lucas was in charge)!
I'll repeat: the EU reboot was planned months BEFORE George Lucas sold the company to Disney.
Because of course it was! It's a natural result of 30 years' worth of content that's so intermeshed that it would stop future artists - namely George himself - from creating anything else.
Sources:
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Exceptions to the rule:
1. Comics (kinda)
He did read the comics. Or at least, he gave them a glance.
Aside from the fact that he grew up reading comics, understand that George Lucas is a visual artist, first and foremost.
That's what he's about and that's what he loves, that's what speaks to him. There's a reason his upcoming Museum of Narrative Art will feature comic panels and pages of all kind.
During pre-production on Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Lucas had the art team draw concept art before a script had ever been written so he'd have ideas for set-pieces.
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Later on, J.W. Rinzler pitched him the idea of adapting his early drafts for Star Wars into comic form. Lucas' initial reaction was going "hell no". Rinzler had concept art made…
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… and George took one look and was on board.
So it's not a stretch to assume that a book telling a story through beautiful drawings would catch his attention more than a novel.
Case in point: He knew who Quinlan Vos was and was enamored with the character. He knew Aayla enough to put her in Attack of the Clones after seeing a cover of Republic by John Forster featuring her (below, left).
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(although, it's worth pointing out that he doesn't call her out by name a single time, in the director's commentary of the Attack of the Clones, she's just the "Twi'Lek Jedi" and her inclusion was done mainly to add more diversity to the Jedi fighting in the arena)
Over a decade later, when the comic Star Wars #7 came out in 2015, Lucasfilm acquired artist Simone Bianchi's original 20 pages and cover art for George, so he could feature it in his the Museum of Narrative Art:
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So at the very least, he looked at the comics and admired the visuals.
Whether he actually read the comics in detail or just skimmed through most of them because he liked the pretty pictures (likelier, imo) is an entirely different matter.
Sources:
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2. Video-Games (kinda)
Lucas would periodically check in on the status of LucasArts games, lending creative input and advice.
Sometimes, his advice ranged from "weird" to "he's gotta be fucking with us, right?"
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Apparently, he advised the team developing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed that they dub Starkiller "Darth Insanius" or "Darth Icky".
And you know what? I have no trouble believing it.
Firstly because if you're going by the idea that he gave no fucks about the EU, then of course he'll come up with "meh" names. But also, this is the same guy who created "Winkie" in 2012/2013, the character who'd go on to be named "Rey".
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He also told the team creating Star Wars: 1313 that he wanted a fresh face as the main character, then only weeks before the game was announced he went "let's make it Boba Fett".
Finally... the cancelled Darth Maul game by Red Fly.
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Codenamed “Damage”, then “Battle of the Sith Lords”. Think Batman: Arkham City meets Star Wars.
Red Fly pitched it as a coming of age story where we see Maul be kidnapped, tortured, eventually joining the Dark Side, and ending in TPM. Then they had interactions with LucasArts and found out Maul survived his fight with Obi-Wan.
The game went through several iterations, partly because the people at Red Fly were kept in the dark about the developments in The Clone Wars (Season 4 wasn't out yet), and even when some tidbits came out and they knew characters like Savage Oppress and Death Watch would be included, they didn't get more details.
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Whatever. They do their best to make something from what they're told. Then they have a meeting with George. As this GameInformer article explains:
“A friendly George Lucas entered the room and was eager to hear the pitch from Red Fly’s creatives. “Before they could finish their spiel, Lucas cut them off, stood up, walked over to [two Sideshow Collectibles statues of Darth Maul and Darth Talon], rotated them to be facing the same direction, pushed them together, and said ‘They’re friends!’” adds the source. “He wanted these characters to be friends, and to play off of each other. […] The problem with the idea of Maul and Talon teaming up for a buddy cop-like experience was that they were separated by over 170 years […] When this vast time divide was brought up to Lucas’ attention, he brushed off the notion of it not working, and said that it could instead be a descendant of Darth Maul or a clone of him.”
So now the game is about a descendant of Maul, guided by his ancestor and fighting a redesigned Darth Krayt, etc?
The game was eventually cancelled when George sold the company.
Worth pointing out that this was circa 2010/2011... around the time that George started working on his Sequels, according to Jett Lucas. And we know that the treatment for the Sequels that Lucas presented to Bob Iger featured old man Maul and Darth Talon as the villains of the trilogy... take from that what you will.
3. The Prequel novelizations (kinda)
They were all given a copy of Lucas' screenplay.
While most of their work was with Sue Rostoni, Lucy Autrey Wilson, and Howard Roffman on the Lucasfilm team (like some of the other authors), Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Matthew Stover all spent a bit of time with George before writing their respective novels.
George told Terry Brooks to write some additional material for Anakin Skywalker because there wasn't enough of that in the movie. He was shown rushes from the set, they "opened the safe" for him. When Terry had further questions re: midi-chlorians and the history of the Sith, George goes on a 30-minute monologue about all that.
R.A. Salvatore had a 45-minute interview with him that turned into a 3-hour chat. He was able to go back to the Ranch a few times during the writing process, and one of those times George chatted with him and his wife during lunch. He was shown various cuts of the film and concept art.
Matthew Stover and George talked for a whole afternoon (I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume he was also shown the other stuff like some cuts/deleted scenes, concept art, etc etc).
Was there a line-edit of the ROTS novel from Lucas? Regarding the Revenge of the Sith novelization, some people bring up the idea that George Lucas did a line-edit on the book because Stover wrote this statement on theforce.net:
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That said...
Stover, also stated that Lucas told him to write whatever he wanted as long as it was good,
he also said he didn't actually see Lucas type the edits,
an anonymous Del Rey editor stated on theforce.net that the notion that George edited the novel himself is "extremely incorrect".
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There's enough "reasonable doubt" for the argument to be made that the Revenge of the Sith novelization was edited the same way as any other Star Wars novel, rather than by George himself.
The fact remains, though, that it was a novel written by someone who understood the source material, as it was explained to him in detail by George Lucas himself (a luxury many SW authors never got).
Lucas' backstory for the Sith in the TPM novel: If Pablo Hidalgo is to be believed, the backstory of the Sith, as detailed in the Phantom Menace novelization, came from Lucas.
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(Obviously, I'd allow for the very likely possibility that there was some embellishment by Terry Brooks)
20 years later, however, it seems George decided to stick to the idea that there was no war between the Jedi and the Sith.
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Final thought:
A lot of people will insist that George was involved in spite of all the above-posted evidence. Saying stuff like:
"But [X person] said that it was canon..."
Sometimes, they’ll link you to this whole website collecting quotes of other people saying "the EU was canon" (never George Lucas except for, like, one/two quotes where he acknowledges the existence of Sequel books which MUST mean he saw them as canon, right?) and...
On the one hand... of course they'll all vaguely say he's "involved" and tip-toe around the subject; it's technically true and, again, they're trying to make money. It's a business, folks.
On the other... yeah? Duh. Of course it was canon to Lucas Licensing and the authors who wrote for the EU. But it wasn't canon to George. And I just gave you a whole bunch of quotes directly from him and/or the same people quoted on that website, all confirming that he didn't see them as canon and he wasn't involved (or barely was).
Other times, we're straight-up approaching "burying head in the sand/lalalala I'm not listening!" levels of justifications.
Like, we just talked about the Sith's origins, right?
I remember a while ago, this Star Wars YouTuber was reviewing this quote from Lucas, in The Star Wars Archives: 1999-1995:
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The YouTuber's reaction the second after reading the quote is saying:
"And of course, what George is referring to, here, is the Battle of Ruusan and the Brotherhood of Darkness using the Thought Bomb created by Lord Khan to kill the Jedi Lord Hoth and…"
My guy! You read a whole excerpt that started with "there was never a war between the Jedi and the Sith" and the words "Ruusan" or "Thought Bomb" never being mentioned once in the passage (or in the TPM novelization)... and concluded that George was referring to the Jedi/Sith Battle of Ruusan? And all that other EU stuff?
See what I mean, folks?
Now, look, I grew up with these stories (heck, I grew up with these stories in three different languages). So I get it. I know they're awesome.
And, yes, there is a difference between the kind of content we used to get and the content we're getting now (for one, lightsabers used to be lightsabers, in video-games, not baseball bats).
But if you're trying to prop up the EU, the facts show that the "George Lucas signed off on them" authority argument isn't a valid one. Because he clearly wasn't very interested or involved in it.
And why would you want to use this authority argument, anyway?
You shouldn't need to say "this came from Lucas" to like those stories. They don't need to be George Lucas Approved™ to matter and to be validated as "worthy of appreciation". They're valid on their own, they're great stories. And if you like them better than the Sequels, go to town. I know I do.
The only thing you can't do (with a straight face, at least) is hold them up as "the True Lucas-Approved Canon™ as opposed to the Disney Trash" in a rant, because you'd be wrong and/or lying. Neither had Lucas' hand in them in any meaningful way.
Finally... I was devastated when the EU was officially made non-canon, in 2014. And for a few years, I saw the new Star Wars continuity through this lens:
"Any EU content is still canon unless it's directly retconned...!"
Trust me, when I say that only pain lies that way. Because that's not how a lot of Star Wars creators, including the Flanelled One himself, see it. The way they saw/see it is:
"Unless it's been shown in a movie or TCW... it's a legend, it might have happened."
This line of thought seems to be increasingly applied to the new Disney canon too, by the way. "If it's not shown on a screen, then it's probably canon yet also up for grabs to be retconned."
And the sooner you accept that this is how it's being treated, the sooner you accept that the EU was never canon to Lucas or Filoni...
... the less painful it'll be when, I dunno, you watch The Acolyte and it's nothing like the Darth Plagueis novel or Plagueis himself is absent, or he's there, but as an Ithorian instead of a Muun.
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(note how I didn't use the word "painless")
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hannagoldworthy · 6 months
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WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS LEGENDS
One take I regularly see from the “Jedi Critical” corner of this fandom always manages to baffle me: “In Legends, Luke Skywalker corrected the mistakes of the dogmatic Jedi Order!”
Since my days as a dumbass first-time tumblr user, in which I was rather sternly corrected by older users if I got too aggressive in my arguments, I’ve tried to steer away from pointing out how STUPID that take is. But? Nothing’s saying I can’t make a post of my own about it!
So.
With the bare minimum of due respect.
What fucking book did you read where Luke Skywalker corrected his own fucking mistakes, let alone those of any Jedi who came before him?
Because from what I’VE read? Luke had a nasty habit of doing the same things everyone criticizes the Prequel Jedi for doing, only ramping the ante up in a way only a Skywalker trained by TWO of the Disaster Lineage can.
Mace Windu threatened a “helpless” old Chancellor in his own office and was trying to assassinate him? Gag me. Luke Skywalker electrocuted Shimrra Jamaane to death with Force Lightn-pardon me, “eLeCtRiC jUsTiCe.”
The Jedi Order of the Prequels used Padawans as “child soldiers”? Please. Luke Skywalker possessed the body of his nephew to duel Exar Kun…when Jacen Solo was TWO, a FUCKING TODDLER. That’s not even getting into the number of very young teenagers who died horrible deaths as SOLDIERS in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong - for pity’s sake, Anakin Solo was knighted at sixteen and KILLED AT SEVENTEEN, where his grandfather’s knighting at nineteen was considered a rush job!
The Galactic Army of the Republic was a slave army? So was the army of YVH-1 battle droids built to battle the Yuuzhan Vong invasion! “Oh, but those were just droids” yeah and? The anti-Jedi folk cried when Anakin Skywalker was rightfully punished for not wiping R2’s memory of sensitive battle information, and they’ve outright said they have more sympathy for the battle droids than for the living, breathing people defending themselves against the battle droids. Not to mention, Legends had a Droid’s Rights movement in full swing at this point in time, so? YVH’s were people programmed from “birth” to die in battle. Next question.
Obi-Wan was too mean to Darth Maul and Darth Vader when he cut off their limbs? Alema Rar would like a word! Luke Skywalker permanently crippled her lightsaber arm, his sister cut off one of her feet AND one of her lekku (brain tails, that HAVE HER BRAIN IN THEM), AND put her in the way of a spider-sloth that BIT HER IN FUCKING HALF. And this was after Luke helped raise her as a youngling and HAD A VISION OF HER TURNING TO THE DARK SIDE, and did FUCK-ALL to prevent her from turning!
On the topic of doing fuck-all to prevent something…oh, was Obi-Wan Kenobi unable to prevent his Padawan from being groomed by a Sith Lord? Well, Luke Skywalker GAVE his son Ben as an unofficial apprentice to Jacen Solo, who turned out to be Darth Caedus and mentally, emotionally, and physically tortured Ben for six years! And, while Obi-Wan did not like Palpatine and continuously advised Anakin not to trust him without even knowing Palpatine was Sidious, Luke fully suspected Jacen was headed down a dark path and still encouraged Ben to be his apprentice because he was afraid of the Skywalker legacy dying with him.
Obi-Wan Kenobi flirted inappropriately with enemy generals? Luke Skywalker banged them. No, seriously, Legends Luke’s sexual body count is in double digits, the man was an unrepentant fuckboi. Mara Jade, Calista Masana/Mingla, Gaerial Captison, Shira Brie, some blonde named Mary who was in one comic to die at the end, fucking ABELOTH? Yeah, Luke only married one of those women, BUT HE FUCKED ALL OF THEM. And now, we have the DinLuke ship (which only exists in fanon, so I will count it as Legends) to mirror the Codywan ship (which actually has some basis in canon), just to cement that Luke Skywalker is a persistent playboy for BOTH teams. He loves them and leaves them like a pro.
Oh, there’s a persistent fan-theory that Korkie Kryze was Satine and Obi-wan’s secret love child? There were rumors that Brisha Syo was Shira Brie’s daughter with Luke…rumors that were credible enough that Luke had to do his own investigation into the matter. Shira Brie, aka Lady Lumiya, whom Luke blew to smithereens when she tried to kill him, and fought her with no mercy when Darth Vader pieced her back together and sent her to fight him again. So, while Obi-Wan has a rumored lovechild from a respectful relationship with a woman who opted not to tell him, Luke legitimately blew up his alleged baby mamma in the void of space with the bare minimum of regret.
Yoda and Obi-Wan sent Luke to kill his own father because they couldn’t manage to do so? Luke sent his niece, Jaina Solo, to kill her TWIN BROTHER because he could not bring himself to kill Jacen himself. And, while Luke was understandably torn up about killing Anakin, Jaina had a Force-bond comparable with a canon dyad withh Jacen - it hurt her a lot more when she killed Jacen than it ever would have hurt Luke to kill Vader. She nearly DIED of heartbreak, that’s how bad it was.
Obi-Wan hurt Anakin’s trust by faking his death and going undercover? He beat the crap out of Anakin to maintain his cover? Luke hurt Leia’s trust by faking turning to the Dark Side, becoming a reborn Sidious’s new apprentice, ACTUALLY FALLING TO THE DARK SIDE, and mentally fighting Leia WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT, to the point she WENT INTO LABOR EARLY.
Obi-Wan beat Anakin in a duel and left him to burn to death? Luke Skywalker BEAT THE LIVING HELL out of Vader until Vader was wordlessly pleading for MERCY, which he DID NOT DO ON MUSTAFAR.
Now.
Is there any nuance in Luke’s situations, throughout all of these examples? Yes, there is...but there’s also nuance in the Jedi’s situation in the Prequels, which no one seems to acknowledge in their case. So, whatever grace I extend to Legends!Luke being an imperfect and fascinating character, also extends to the Jedi being imperfect and fascinating characters in their own right.
I love Legends!Luke BECAUSE he reminds me of the Prequels Jedi, not because he corrected any of their “mistakes” (he did not. He very clearly did not). So don’t come at me saying Legends!Luke was better than the Prequel Jedi. I have read the books! I have kept the receipts! AND I WILL USE THEM.
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starplusfourletters · 5 months
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I finally finished the last command
and it was a romp (spoilers)
Chewie spends the whole book on the edge of a nervous breakdown but buddy you very much did that to yourself. Sure, you swear a life debt to a guy who turns out to be One of the People in the Galaxy That Things Just Keep Happening To. Bad luck, bound to happen sometimes. But then you decide that life debt extends to his wife knowing FULL WELL that Even More Things Just Keep Happening to HER, and then they go and have TWINS? That’s on you, bud.
Mara “I still do want revenge on Luke Skywalker yes definitely now hold that thought I need to go risk my life to save Leia and the twins” Jade. Mara you’re embarrassing yourself.
Actual conversation:
Leia: Thanks again for saving my life. Mara: Don’t thank me until after I’ve killed Luke which I still absolutely want to do. Leia: So uhhh why’d you do it? Mara: I’m just opposed to kidnapping. Leia: Were you kidnapped? Mara: I dOn’T wAnT tO tAlK aBoUt iT yes. Leia: ... Mara: YOU THINK THIS IS ABOUT MY TROUBLED PAST?? Leia: … Mara: BECAUSE IT’S NOT Leia: … Mara: Anyway here’s the information only I can provide that will turn the tide of the war. It’s free. Friends and family discount. Leia: Thanks. Mara: I’M STILL GOING TO KILL YOUR BROTHER Leia: That’s nice, dear.
MY KINGDOM FOR GHENT. His dad boss forgets to pick him up from AV Club so he spends two months wandering unrestricted through the capital building and then cracks Enigma because he’s bored
A TWELVE-DAY Character Bonding Hiking Trip??!? Zahn’s really outdone himself this time
WAIT THIS WHOLE TIME MARA DIDN’T KNOW LUKE AND VADER ARE RELATED?? Omigod that’s HILARIOUS. I mean, yeah, I guess it just never came up? And she didn’t watch the OT movies? That’s very funny to me for some reason. I definitely assumed she’d gotten that memo
Oh man it really feels like I should have seen that reveal coming and I absolutely did not. Gawd I love the 90s. Wowowowowowow. Chef’s kiss. I have so many questions about the Bespin janitorial system
“LUUKE” I’m dying
Admiral “It appears to be a trap.” Akbar
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Good vs. Evil Star Wars content to bring you “the two Evil factions getting in each other’s way vs the two Good factions getting in each other’s way until they all realize we’ve hit the end of the book and just start attacking everything indiscriminately”
The Climactic Battle Scene:
Luke: Fighting his clone! Han: Pew pew pew pew! Mara: Psychic defense! Psychic attack! Leia: Dual wielding blaster and lightsaber! Karrde: In the back, petting his doggos and talking on his phone I was legit worried about his safety in this book. But he's not dumb; he knows he doesn't have enough plot armor to take on the Big Bad. He is simply the best there is
Wedge / Aves is the rarepair I didn’t know I needed
RUKH!!
Oh thank God the doggos are okay
So as far as I can tell Thrawn made one mistake that wasn’t just bad luck and it was doing a shit job of getting Mara out of the way. The dude really should have had MORE of his enemies killed
Thesis statement: Aww Themb! <3
Now I just need to watch someone explain this series to Ep9-era Palpatine. Preferably in the style of Worthikids.
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lephamquynhnhu · 9 months
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Millenial Aegis
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Chapter 1
Jing Yuan x Fem!reader
WARNINGS/ TAGS: Arranged marriage, reader has a default name, OOC.
Word count: ~1500
Summary: He is so stubborn to give up on you, and you are too hard-headed to reciprocate his affection. When do you both stop torturing each other?
It was a gorgeous day in the mellow Autumn season, and you came to Lord Jing Yuan's office in an outrageous mood. When the guard reported you in, the general's lips immediately curl upward as seeing your presence.
Hello there, need anything, Miss Jin Zhi? - His eyes softened when he diverted his attention from the pile of paper at hand. 
You tried to calm your disdain while confronting him because the opposite man was the legendary General of Xianzhou Luofu. Due to his unreasonable decision, you had to abandon the business travel and run from the Jade Gate to face him.
''I want to talk in private space, so would you please be so kind as to ask your men out?''
''Of course.'' - With an abrupt motion from his hand, the guards were quickly dismissed. As long as there was nobody, you immediately requested him to revoke the marriage arrangement formed three days ago.
''Revoke? What do you mean by revoke?'' -  The general raised an eyebrow and asked inquiringly.
''I meant what I said. Call it off!'' - You gradually lost emotional control and raised your voice a bit higher. And the No is his answer, simple but determined. 
"Lord Jing Yuan, we met two months ago when you saved my life from mara-struck Cloud knights, and I appreciated that. I thought our relationship could not grow higher than that, but you found my address and colluded with my father to arrange a wedding without my consent." -You lower your voice to veil the fury increasing tremendously.
''My apologies if I went too far, but I am very much in love with you and won't let go of you that easily.''
''So, no matter what I say, you won't revoke the marriage arrangement, huh? I don't comprehend you, and what kind of love when we just met one time?'' - A rampage started boiling your blood at his declaration, but the illogic of Lord Jing Yuan was the utmost thing that accelerated your fury even more.
''It is love at first sight, and you need me.'' - The general whispered behind your ear, his hot breath fanned your sensitive skin. 
''I don't!'' - Finally, your poker face broke, so you couldn't keep calm anymore and hissed harsher than you wanted while circling to distance yourself from him. However, He was not totally wrong. You are the only daughter of one of the most prosperous merchants in Xianzhou, or correctly 'was' because the business transaction has not flourished lately, and your family also incurred some financial debts.  
Jing Yuan gave a light chuckle and eyed you with a glint of mischief, but his tone implied seriousness.
''Then why did you come here? To force me into breaking up with you? Because you know, I'd rather die than give up on you.''
You grind your teeth and the nail-pressed crescent shapes in the palm.
''Very well then, I have nothing left to say, yet I want you to know that I won't hold any feelings for you, and it is suffocating when marrying the one that does not love you.'' - Sensing this conversation would not lead to anywhere, you decided to leave pronto because his high status is not something that you can easily deal with. Perhaps, there is another chance in the near future to have the general give up on you.
 ''If you object to the wedding that much, why don't you spend more time and effort at my side to convince me?'' - He asked you with arms crossed.
''May I remind you something important, Lord Jing Yuan? Although we will marry soon, you and I are still single now, and I am also a maiden, so it is inappropriate. People will talk, and rumors might creep up my father's name. I don't want to taint our fame, and it is useless to negotiate with you right now. We will meet later in our wedding ceremony.''
Before you opened the door and walked out without glancing back, he strode up to you and swirled your silky lock affectionately. The general hoped you could enjoy the marriage happily, but you quickly disclaimed it. Jing Yuan gave an exasperated sigh, a faint sadness reflected in his amber orbs as he watched your retreating figure.
One month before the wedding ceremony: 
Mother took you to try numerous wedding dresses, but you did not bother to let your mind care about them. The process was completed up to 80 percent, and the wedding invitations were sent across Xianzhou. "This will be one of the grandest weddings in Xianzhou Luofu. You are so lucky to be our ladyship." - the tailor chirped when taking your measurement. Of course, you know your fate was blessed when you became his wife, but you don't love the general.
Two weeks before the wedding ceremony: 
Everything brims with a traditional vermilion hue. Roses and peonies are themed flowers that record your father's estate. All your dowry and necessaries have already been moved to Lord Jing Yuan's.
Mother always told you would fall in love with him soon enough, but you suppose differently. What will happen if you don't? You immortals are unlike ordinary people. If the situation is dire, you and he will suffer for eternity. 
"I don't love him, but I don't want to torture the general either."
You internally sighed while thinking about the dream of liberty to travel through various worlds and learn new things. Unfortunately, you have to quench it now. Sometimes, you have an impromptu intention of running away from Xianzhou, yet you forbade doing so because of the family's fame and the strict rules.
The day arrives, and everyone is busy getting ready for the ceremony.
Your anxiety rises higher and higher when the ladies-in-waiting fly back and forth to make you presentable. The preparation started at dawn as they put makeup on your face and ceaselessly admired how beautiful are you. The expensive wedding dress adorns your noble figure with precious gem hairpins, an exquisite necklace, and diamond earrings that complement your frame. You bring a hand to touch the golden brooch that settles neatly on your hair that used to belong to the dowry of Lord Jing Yuan's mother, which you received last week.
Suddenly you want to cry badly. You wish you could rip off the wedding dress, throw away the invaluable accessories, and run away where the feet take. However, you can't.
After finishing, the housemaids leave you alone in your room and wait for the general to come to hold the ceremony.
It is about noon, and the general finally comes. He looks very handsome in his elaborate wedding attire today. Many guards are standing by the door of your room. They are not allowed to enter unless he gives them permission first. With three knocks on the door, he walks into the room and searches for his bride.
Hearing the footsteps, you abruptly pull down the head veil and sit straight on the mattress. Although your vision is restricted right now, you can sense his existence. General Jing Yuan sees you sitting there, looking like a flower petal. He smiles softly before taking a seat beside you.
''Hello, my dear. How did you sleep?'' -  The general says with a smile.
However, you only respond with a cold voice and an unwavering manner.
''Enough of chit-chat. We should get to the altar and sanctuary.'' 
''Yes, let us go'' -  Lord Jing Yuan stands up and holds out his arm. You do so and place your hands on his arm. After a moment, he takes you by the hand and leads you to the entrance. Once outside, he escorts his bride through a long corridor until he reaches the venue.
You are now standing in front of the master of our wedding ceremony who reading the statements. The atmosphere tenses, and everyone stops chattering as he speaks. It feels like the temperature drops down several degrees, and the heart beats violently in your ribcage. The anxiety rockets highly, and you subconsciously grip the general hand with your shaking one.
The general holds onto you tightly and smiles gently as he whispers in your ear.
''Relax, darling. We're almost done.''
The heat radiating from his hand calms your anxiety effectively, and the ceremony goes swimmingly. After the vows, Lord Jing Yuan has to receive guests, and you wait for him in your nuptial room until midnight.
The general's estate is an enormous building divided into three core swings East, West, and North. His private chamber and study room possess the Northside, and the remaining others are for administration, employee lodging, and leisure areas. The wedding milieu was tense but bearable, yet spending time waiting for someone until midnight was far more uncomfortable as if you slumbered in the void forever.  
"I am bored right now. Maybe, I will look around this room first." - You monologue and dismiss the maid-in-waiting even though she tries to warn you that bad omens will come when you pull off the head veil without His Highness's consent. However, you don't bother to care anyway. Lord Jing Yuan possesses abundant rare books, so they might help you to kill some time while waiting for him. Time passes by faster when occupying your mind with something interesting as you are inclined to search for another book, a familiar footstep stops right at the door. 
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kalak · 11 months
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Luke/mara fic rec list
These are some of the best mara/luke fics I've read - feel free to add more in rb/comments!
Repair by BananasAreForParties - Graphic Depictions of violence, fluff and angst, whump. 20k complete. Mara Jade came to Aran to trade. She acquires nutcakes, Imperials, and one Luke Skywalker, condition: damaged. Hurt/Comfort fic.
Reccer's note: Their awkward but geniune flirting in this is so cute
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, You Aren’t Even Stuck In Your Tower by PrinceJakeFireCake - fluff, secret identity, 6k complete. Mara Jade, an ex-spy for the dragon, Emperor Palpatine, now a knight of Princess Leia Organa, is on a mission to rescue the princess’ twin brother from the tower he was locked in.
A.K.A.
Someone had to write Luke as Rapunzel and I am someone
Limpet AU series by frodogenic - humor, family fluff, 89k complete. Newly returned from the Unknown Regions with Darth Vader, Admiral Piett doesn't expect much of a welcome from the New Republic. And not in a million lifetimes would he have predicted that their very first guest would be Luke Skywalker. After all, Skywalker and Vader are still mortal enemies...right?
Reccer's Note: this series is so good, like, insanely good. I keep rereading it.
Take My Breath Away by atamascolily - hanahaki disease, 1k complete. Luke collapses during a sparring session, coughing up blood--and flowers? A concerned Mara drags him to Cilghal for medical treatment, but the answers aren't what either of them expected.
Catch and Release by frangipani - rated E, sexual experimentation, 10k complete. So let me get this straight," Mara says."You decided that to entertain yourself while I'm offplanet you're going to get licensed to pilot a Mon Cal cruiser?"
He frowns. "You say it like it’s ridiculous.”
"Those ships aren't even made for human pilo--" She narrows her eyes. "Oh no, it's the challenge thing, isn’t it?"
Or the one where Luke and Mara try to bang while keeping Luke's pulse within a specific range. Absolutely 0 science knowledge went into this. Consider yourself warned.
Who Needs a Cover Anyway? by JediDryad - misunderstandings, jealousy, 1k complete. Against his better judgment, Luke agrees to act as "Jedi Ambassador" on a mission with Mara and Lando. Will he be able to keep his feelings to himself or will observing their relationship be too much?
Miscommunications by JediDryad - misunderstandings, 849 words complete. Luke sends Mara a nervous rambling message inviting her for a visit. What she receives is something quite different.
Family Planning for the Force-Sensitive by beautifultoastdream - domestic, fluff, 13k complete. Two years after Exar Kun is defeated, Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker are married. Mara is uneasily settling into life as a Jedi trainee and as the New Republic's representative to the Smugglers' Alliance. But when Karrde's vornskrs have a strange reaction to her during a routine meeting, Mara learns that something else is about to happen ... And it scares her more than C'baoth.
Slight AU from Star Wars Legends, fluff and angst.
The Trouble with Bootie Comms by frangipani - 3k complete. "I have an issue with my apartment right now," Luke said. Mara was pretty sure why.
Luminous Creatures by celinamarniss - daemons, action/adventure, enemies to friends to lovers, 30k complete. Mara has never been prouder when Asyr settles early. He shifts into the form of a night felinx when Mara is thirteen, a whole year early. It’s a good body for stealth, her trainers tell her, and praise them for it.
Luke is the last of his friends to have his dæmon settle. Speculation drifts through his childhood. What sort of animal do you think your dæmon will choose? asked by adults with indulgent smiles and between children as their dæmons flit from form to from in impromptu races across the desert sand.
Strange Bedfellows series by celinamarniss - action/adventure, humor, light angst, 37k complete.
Reccer's Note: this series has a very domestic couple feel to it and I love that.
Under the cover of Darkness by randomlyimagine - time travel, fix-it, 57k complete...ish. (there's a sequel that is tbc.) Being pulled back through in time, getting to see the Old Jedi Order, Ben, even Anakin Skywalker, before he Fell…it was an opportunity Luke had never dreamed he’d have.
If only he and Mara hadn’t been pulled back in the middle of a mission where they were undercover as Sith.
slipping into the ground or into your arms by BananasAreForParties - rated E. Fluff and angst, mutual pining, implied/referenced child abuse, 41k complete. More than colleagues. Less than friends. Better than acquaintances. They remain in balance. The Command, the dark whisper, slumbers and Mara has no desire to poke a sleeping rancor. To dance with Skywalker. . .could it ever be worth the risk?
Mara and Luke succumb to the gradual formation of their Force bond through an activity far more pleasing than fighting for their lives.
the history books forgot about us by celinamarniss - happy AU, 2k complete. Jedi apprentice Asha is sent on a quest to find the legendary Luke Skywalker. She thought he was a myth!
better tell 'em while they're here by philthestone - 4k complete. Jacen discovers a Fish in the new fountain just outside of the Old Palace's reception hall, which obviously means that the Imps are planning to take over the galaxy. Jaina thinks that everything would be alright if only Nik could remember where he put his pants.
And of course, Uncle Luke's getting married today.
(AU for the EU)
Reccer's note: recommend reading the whole series. This fic has such a human warm fuzziness to it.
Boundaries series by frangipani - rated E, smut, 106k complete. A year after the events of the Last Command, Mara is still in Coruscant attempting to fulfill her Smuggler's Alliance duties while continuing her Jedi training. Former Emperor's Hand, turned smuggler, government liaison, and Jedi apprentice...she's long known that the only way things work in the new life she's made for herself is through clearly delineated boundaries.
It's really too bad Luke Skywalker unwittingly keeps taking them apart.
The Son of Suns trilogy by blank101 (link to each installment: Into the Storm, in shadows and darkness, at the Brink of the dawn and the darkness) - graphic depictions of torture, psychological torture, sith!Luke. 721k complete. Darth Vader captures the passengers of the Millennium Falcon after their attempted escape at Cloud City, sure that Luke will convert to his cause and aid him in overthrowing the Emperor. When his plan is rebuffed he falls back on more desperate measures and hands his son over to Palpatine, who begins to systematically take apart Luke’s life to create a new Sith, turning him against his allies, his father and his beliefs with devastating consequences for both the Empire and the Alliance, as events cascade beyond anyone's control.
This is a completed trilogy, featuring Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Palpatine, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Mara Jade, Mon Mothma, and Crix Madine.
Reccer's note: I really love this one - both for the sith!Luke portrayal, and the conflicts luke and Mara go through.
Drive You Mild by obaona - sith!Luke, drama/romance, 70k complete. How do two powerful, individualistic people who were formerly enemies unite? Emperor Luke Skywalker, meet Jedi Knight Mara Jade.
Misc - archive sites/author recommendations
Mara and luke archives
Utopicworld.net
LiveJournal community
Jedimordsith, frangipani, JediDryad, celinamarniss, BananasAreForParties, and evilmouse are all great writers and you should check them out!
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astriiformes · 4 months
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Having some emotions about internet friendship again. As you do.
When I was still in high school, over a decade ago, I got a message from another tumblr user who was excited to see that I headcanoned Luke Skywalker as aro/ace but still enjoyed his relationship with Mara Jade in the Legends books (back then just. the books). We quickly became mutuals and have been in touch ever since -- including through some really rough patches in my life. (I still remember she was one of the people who I messaged with shortly after getting out of the hospital in 2017 when my mental health was seriously dangerous, which meant a lot). The first time we saw each other in person, at Star Wars Celebration in 2019, she picked me up off the floor and spun me around a good five times, we were so excited to hang out.
I'm in Arizona right now, finally seeing her in-person for the second time, and mostly tagging along to a lot of doctors' appointments because she's also the friend of mine who was in the really serious car accident in October. And honestly I'm just so glad to be here with her. Caring so much about people who live so far away is hard at the best of times, and even harder at the worst. But it's so worth it. I have made such good friends online, bonding over such niche, geeky things, and there's just no way to put into words how much that has meant to me over the years.
Life is rough. I wish I could protect everyone I love from having bad things happen to them, but since I can't, I guess I'm just glad I have so many people to love anyways. And especially grateful for the weird little corners where I have met so many of them.
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I Want You For Worse Or For Better
Words: 776
Warnings: probably poor writing and OOC characters but whatever
Star Wars Masterlist Main Masterlist 1989 (TV) Event Masterlist Join My Taglist
I have never written for Luke officially so um...yeah! Can be seen as any Luke, tbh I'm imagining a version of Luke who is mature like he is meant to be in Return, but still has some of the idiotic boyish things like in A New Hope
I also got the idea of how to write this when I was in the shower so...that's fun
This is the "How You Get The Girl" part of my 1989 event!
Anywho, enjoy
Love Z <3
"You'll need to stand there like a ghost and be shaking from the cold." Make did it pain her to say these things to him just for him to use them on another girl. "She'll then open up the door and probably say something like, 'are you insane?'" She knew she was for agreeing to help him. "then you'll say that say, 'it's been a long six months' and you were too afraid to tell her what you wanted before."
"And it'll work? Just like that?" The guy asked. His hair that had turned a light brown from it's previous sandy blonde shook as he moved his head.
And she nodded, "Yes. This is how you get the girl." She sighed, "But then if she asks what you mean exactly, then you gotta tell her this: 'I want you for worse or for better. I would wait forever and ever. Broke your heart, I'll put it back together I would wait forever and ever.' You got it?"
He wrote down what she was saying before looking back at her "Just do these things and I'll get Mara Jade back?"
She nodded, "Yeah...that's how you'll get Mara Jade back Luke."
He smiled and hugged her tightly, "Oh I am so happy to have you as a friend, Y/N. I-I would be lost without your advice."
She nodded, "Of course, what're friends for?"
What are friends for as more than to love the one person who they could never have as their heart belongs to another. As to be the person that they always go to whenever the relationship turns sour.
What else are friends for than to allow their heart to break for the other to be happy?
--------
Luke laid back on Y/N's bed, staring at the ceiling. "She's mad again and I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Y/N sighed and turned from the screen she was looking at. "Remind her how it used to be." When she saw his raised brow she elaborated, "Like how those pictures of you two of all the kisses on the cheeks." She brushed hair from her face, "Why's she mad at you anyways?"
"I didn't go do something with her because something else came up. And I didn't tell her as I didn't think it was that important...I guess it was."
She hummed, she understood how Mara Jade felt. Luke running off to do something else instead of what he promised. Especially after the fact that he was meant to help her with some paperwork the other day but then brushed her off for something else more 'exciting.' Letting out a breath, she offered this; "Well...tell her that you lose your mind or something after leaving her all alone without telling her why."
He looked at her hopeful, "And this'll work?"
"It should." It would for me.
--------
"--I'm done Luke! Figure out your own feelings and relationship and then come to me!"
She angrily grabbed her jacket and stormed out of his room. She was angry beyond belief. How could he do this again? Ask her to see a film and then asking her questions about how to get Mara Jade to like him again. She was so tired of trying to help him while pushing her own feelings down. She was just so done.
----
Hours had passed when she heard the knocking on her door. She tried to ignore it, but whoever it was was persistent and continued to knock. She sighed and carefully got up, walking over to the door. She pressed the button and it hissed open. She looked at the guy in front of her. His hair soaked from the rain outside. He was shaking as he stood in front of her, waiting for her to do something.
"Oh my...Luke, what the--are you insane?!"
"I'm dumb. I'm so incredibly dumb."
"What're you--"
"You've been here the whole time that I've been obsessing over Mara Jade. You. You are the one who's been giving me advice on how to get a girl when the girl should have been you all along."
"Luke--" She started but he stopped her.
"--You're the one that I want. For worse or for better. I will wait until the end of time if that's what it takes for it to happen. For us to happen. Please let it happen Y/N. Please."
"Luke..."
"But if you truly don't, then that's fine. I'll go and--"
"Don't.'
"What?"
"Don't go. I want you too. Maker knows I do."
He smiled, "Then here I am."
And that's how it works, that's how you got the girl.
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antianakin · 2 months
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I recently saw a post talking about how Filoni likes to steal/copy other ideas in his work and was wondering if you know of any examples? I can see how Kanan from Rebels could be based off of Rahm Kota from the Starkiller game, but I can’t think of any others.
I don't. This feels like it requires WAY more knowledge of Legends stuff than I am ever interested in having.
However, Lucas himself did a lot of incorporating visuals and thematic elements from other films into his own work, some as intentional homages to films he loved, and some as ways to sort-of subtly say something about his story by inviting the comparison to the other film. So I don't know that Filoni doing something similar is all that nefarious.
Lucas also took PLENTY of stuff from Legends works and incorporated it into his own when he liked it, and not always without making changes to it so it fit into the story HE was trying to tell. Coruscant as the name of the capital planet of the Republic came from Legends, Quinlan Vos as an actual character came from Legends, and Mandalorians in TCW were obviously brought in from Legends. I'm sure there are MYRIAD other examples, but these were the three that came to mind immediately.
If we aren't going to condemn Lucas for doing stuff like that, it seems somewhat unfair to condemn Filoni for doing anything similar.
I'd also point out that often if you see similarities between characters, it's because there's only so many character archetypes. People have also complained that Reva Sevander was just stealing from Jedi: Fallen Order's Trilla Suduri. I saw people complaining that Shin Hati is clearly just a variation of Mara Jade. But I do not personally find any of these characters to be all that similar at all. Just because similarities exist does not inherently mean that they're the same character under a different name, especially because two characters that might seem eerily similar to one person might feel entirely distinct to someone else. Without the characters sharing literally the exact same name and background, I'm not sure it could adequately been considered "stealing" so much as "inspired by" which isn't exactly a crime or an indication of bad writing.
There's plenty of reasons to condemn Filoni for what he chooses to put into his work already, I don't know that this is one of them, though. At least, not for me.
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mxanigel · 5 months
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10 some # of characters | 10 some # of fandoms | 10 a negotiable number of tags
thank you for the tag beloved @poetikat <3 <3 <3
1) Hange Zoe + Levi Ackerman -- Attack on Titan. (They're a unit to me, okay?) Hange is an energetic ruthless clever jovial skilled enby who has captured my whole heart. Levi is crude and harsh and strong, someone who needs and deserves love AND HE WILL GET IT.
2) Beatrice the Golden Witch -- Umineko When They Cry. My ultimate "I support women's wrongs" character. Queerqueerqueerqueerqueer. I can't explain too much because MASSIVE SPOILERS but she is everything. ahahaha.wav (Her Japanese voice actress is freaking incredible.)
3) Renne Bright -- The Legend of Heroes series. My beloved Angel of Slaughter. What you've been through. How you've fallen. How you've gotten back up. How you've faced the demons of your past and the unexpected family in your present. You're loved for who you are, not what you could have been, and that's one of the most precious things I've ever seen.
4) Lloyd Bannings -- The Legend of Heroes series. I don't know where to start with this guy. I love him. I know I'm cheating by not choosing a different fandom here (even though he was introduced in a different game from Renne), but he is MY BOY. He sees the good in people and ensures that his actions are driven by evidence and truly cares about those around him. Part of my inspiration for OC Shion Miller tbh.
5) Toothless -- How to Train Your Dragon. Flying black cat who breathes fire. 'nuf said. :D
6) Mara Jade -- Star Wars. Female Force-using badass with a lightsaber and a dark background and red hair and falls for Luke and and and AUGH. She is why I fell for the Expanded Universe. She is why I fell out of love with Star Wars when Disney made those novels not canon. I still love Star Wars. I just can't engage the same way I used to.
7) Qifrey -- Witch Hat Atelier. I'm not even four volumes into this breathtakingly-drawn manga but this man provides one of THE best examples of a mentor-mentee relationship that I've ever seen in fiction. He sees his apprentices as individual, unique humans each with different strengths and different needs. And he teaches them magic in line with those strengths and those needs. While acknowledging that they're human and don't need to be perfect. He's the kind of mentor I want to be to my students.
8) Saeki Sayaka -- Bloom Into You. Oh girl. You deserve the world. And yet you fell for a girl who would ultimately fall for someone else. Despite all the things you did for her. It's fine. You're fine. You'll be okay. You'll find someone new. Who will love you and challenge you and and and I JUST LOVE HER ARC OKAY?
9) Anora Mac Tir -- Dragon Age. Queen. I love Loghain and she loves Loghain and SHE STANDS UP TO HIM. Yet her behavior UNDERSTANDABLY changes depending on whether the Warden spares her father. She deserves the world and more.
10) Ashley Williams + Kaidan Alenko -- Mass Effect. The one-or-the-other Virmire survivors (someday I may install the mod that enables both to live. SOMEDAY). I've romanced them with different Shepards. I've had those Shepards rekindle their relationships post-Horizon or never try. They're amazing wonderful nuanced characters who deserve more love.
Honorary mention: Lae'zel, Shadowheart, and Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3. I'm still in Act 2. There's so much I still don't know about these women. But I love them and I will defend them until I'm out of breath. And someday I will get to know Minthara and fall hard for her too.
no-pressure tagging @saraptor @spindleweedss @mxkelsifer @milesmentis @blightcaller @druckkugelschreiber @nightingalesighs @korblez @dr-paine @captastra @perhapsrampancy @socially-awkward-skeleton @valiantvillain and anyone else who might like to play~
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phoenixkaptain · 1 year
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Luke being the ultimate killer of Sith and Dark Jedi by doing the exact opposite of what the Jedi did.
Reva looking at Luke and seeing herself and being unable to kill him and he just inadvertently destroyed a powerful adversary by being unconscious. He defeated her by accidentally reminding her of how vulnerable she felt, and reminding her that she wanted to kill Vader out of revenge but that becoming him won’t avenge anyone. He defeated her by reminding her of the power of emotional vulnerability.
Darth Vader is defeated because Luke trusts him so much, trusts that this man who has slaughtered indiscriminately for longer than Luke has been alive, this man who killed Luke’s Master right in front of him and who cut off his own son’s hand while knowing it was his son, this man who basically gave Luke the choice to join his side or fall to his death- Luke trusts that dude, and Darth Vader is defeated by the power of fucking love. And emotional vulnerability.
Mara Jade is the Emperor’s Hand and literally threatens to kill Luke every time they speak and she is almost nothing but cruel to him but he believes in her and she sees that he just trusts her even though he definitely shouldn’t and that’s what builds to Leia asking her if she really wants to kill Luke, which makes Mara question if she ever wanted to kill Luke. Her defeat is through, you guessed it, the power of emotional vulnerability.
Vader and Mara both kill the antagonist for Luke. Vader kills Palpatine (sssshhhh, he killed Palpatine, let him have this shhhhhh) and Mara kills C’baoth.
But even before that, Luke tries to understand C’baoth. He doesn’t try to understand the Emperor, I admit that, but then, the first time he met him, the Emperor tried to convince him to kill his dad, and Luke doesn’t even try to kill Palpatine for that.
Luke defeats Sith the exact opposite of the way we see them defeated in the prequel movies, it’s really kinda funny to me that, like some Jedi, Luke has his own unique ability. Unfortunately for him, this ability is just the power to make people reflect on their actions and the motivations behind those actions. He also has the follow up ability of being vulenerable in front of people and people going “I can’t kill this little guy” which means that his true strength is his Ultimate Power of Emotional Vulnerability-
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david-talks-sw · 2 years
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Why do a lot of SW fans dislike the Prequel Jedi?
This was going to be the conclusion to this answer about "why a lot of people dislike Mace"... but it's just too long, so I decided to make it a post in its own right.
So why is Mace-- scratch that, why are the Prequel Jedi considered to be "unlikable" by a big chunk of the fandom? Especially when compared to Anakin "I killed a group of children twice" Skywalker.
Overall... I'd say it's three things.
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1) Some fans had different expectations.
I touched on this in a recent post: older fans, who are now at least in their 40s, grew up seeing Luke as the ultimate Jedi.
He's Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces, up there with King Arthur and Superman. He's, for lack of a better term, the chosen one.
So when the Prequels were announced and they knew they'd get to see the Jedi Knights in their heyday, they expected to see something like the Knights of the Round Table.
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A collective of errant warriors who go on exciting adventures, providing aid from place to place. Like Luke Skywalker.
Instead, they got this:
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"A bunch of monk/diplomats who sit around talking about taxations and trading routes and measure the Force based on cell organisms."
"They're nothing like Luke Skywalker! What the hell?" (I address why this is inaccurate here)
Then the second film comes out:
"Wait, Jedi can't get married now? So were all those EU books about Luke and Mara Jade bullshit?" (also addressed in above link)
Then the third film comes out:
"Palpatine is right there, why can't they sense him or read his mind? They're Jedi!" (explanation why here)
Also Luke is no longer the Chosen One apparently? Anakin is? How does that work?
Plus, the way they speak, their jargon, is waaaaay too formal, gone are the OT characters talking informal English with American accents and quips. Even the way these new characters speak - and not just the Jedi, the Queen too - seems detached from reality and makes them harder to relate to. (but we're talking about diplomats and royalty, so how else would they be talking?)
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2) How adult audiences perceive "morally pure" characters.
Even if one didn't have the pre-concieved notions about the Jedi... they don't seem to impact the adult viewers the right way.
Then again... neither does Barney the Dinosaur.
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Many are the conspiracy theories and negative discourse surrounding him (there's even an upcoming documentary about it). You know why? Because he's not meant to be a character for adults, who have outgrown morally black or white characters and are unable to relate to them... his target demographic is children.
They see him and go "I love you, you love me". We see him and go "What the fuck is this guy hiding? What darkness lies beneath that mask of optimism and joy?"
Same goes for the Jedi.
So I'd say what we have, here, is a similar situation as the one in the recent Rick and Morty episode, "Juricksic Mort".
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In the episode, a bunch of dinosaurs return to Earth and it turns out they're incredibly selfless, diplomatic, moral and spiritually advanced (kinda like the Jedi!)
Rick's reaction is - you guessed it - "what the fuck are they hiding?"
The dinosaurs turn Earth into a utopia, ending all wars, removing all conflict, bringing about world peace and giving everyone the chance to go on vacation... and everybody hates them for it and eventually wants to see them fail and step down from their pedestal.
The writing emphasizes their superior virtue so much that they actually come across as uptight and patronizing. This is done intentionally, so that it's difficult to find them likeable out-of-universe, and we relate to the earthlings in-universe who react the same way.
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Why do the audience and the characters react this way to characters who - again - are good and moral?
Because as Moriarty says in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows... hidden within the unconscious is an insatiable desire for conflict.
It's why the presence of conflict is so crucial in storytelling.
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It's why every scene in good movies presents some form of internal, external or philosophical conflict.
It's why protagonists need flaws to be interesting and relatable. Because we're flawed as well.
Also, the protagonist will eventually have overcome their flaws through an arc.
More importantly, the basis of all conflict, in storytelling, comes from something being out of balance.
And the Jedi are trained to not be that :D !
So on the one hand we have Anakin, a flawed, conflicted character who struggles with his inner balance, and on the other we have the Jedi, who are essentially presented as flawless and balanced.
What will a chunk of the audience do? They:
Won't like the Jedi.
Will project a flaw onto them (more on that in the next section).
Side with Anakin, the one that's as imperfect as the audience is.
Sometimes all of the above.
But the thing is, though... the Jedi we see in the Prequels are not flawless or perfect.
They are, for the most part, characters who have already completed their character arcs, characters who have already confronted their own inner flaws and overcome them.
And whenever these flaws resurface? Well, they've conquered them once, and they have the training, so they do it again.
Example, here's Yoda confronting and overcoming his hubris and inner fears:
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Has he done it before, in his almost 900 years? Probably, yeah. But it's not a one-and-done sort of thing.
But the Prequels are not their movies. They're about Anakin.
He's meant to be the more interesting character. And they're meant to be the ones with less flaws, because they're mentor archetypes and the Prequels show an interesting situation wherein the protagonist fails to listen to the mentors and fails to overcome his own flaws, which leads him to - instead - be doomed by them.
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3) Issues with the writing.
So, for the people who didn't like the changes but want to like the Prequels, there's a headcanon that seemingly fixes everything:
"The Prequel Jedi... are intentionally written as arrogant, hypocritical moralists. They are meant to come across as dispassionate. I mean, isn’t that what being a Jedi is, apparently? You purge yourself of attachments aka emotions, and act only logically (which was typically-encouraged behavior for a long time, in the US). They've become too systemic and lost their way." And guess what? With this interpretation, "Luke is special again! He's like Qui-Gon in that he found a middle ground between the unfeeling Jedi and the Sith, who have become slaves to their emotions. Like, sure, Anakin can be THE Chosen One, whatever, but Luke? Luke has found the balance, he succeeded where Obi-Wan, Yoda (who wanted Vader dead instead of believing he could be redeemed) and the other Jedi failed. So that's what the Prequels are about: the Jedi's failure."
The issue is, though... it doesn't align with what George intended. (as explained here and here).
But it does use most of the ingredients the films give us. Which - short of unleashing a barrage of George Lucas quotes, interviews and videos - makes it hard to disprove.
Because - seeing as the films aren't about the Jedi, they're about Anakin and his own inner demons - we don't see enough of the Jedi's culture and lifestyle and day-to-day unless it directly relates to Anakin.
So George's very clear idea of how awesome the Jedi are is never truly conveyed or fleshed out and as a result they feel like a group of people who always say "no" to the protagonist. The flawed, passionate and more relatable (by contrast) protagonist.
We get glimpses of it in The Clone Wars, but then it's tarnished by the fact that the Jedi are at war.
Then there's the reads that could easily be disproved... had George been more explicit about what he was going for.
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"The Jedi Council bully a 9-year-old." This read could've been avoided had the scene ended with the Jedi telling Anakin that being afraid is normal, but his fear must be conquered otherwise it'll lead to the Dark Side. Which, they do, but in a vague way rather one with a kind empathetic smile.
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"Obi-Wan is always berating Anakin, their relationship is tense." The whole movie partially features an arc where their relationship is on the rocks, so removing the tension isn't an option. However, the interpretation that it's been like this for a decade (rather than recently because Anakin reunited with Padmé) could've been avoided if, instead of just a minute-long elevator scene, we maybe saw a set-piece of them on a mission, maybe showing them working in tandem and joking as they escape that nest of gundarks.
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More could've been done to frame the Jedi in the positive light thy were meant to be seen under. But again: the movies aren't meant to be about the Jedi.
Though it seems that a lot of people wanted them to be. And maybe that explains the hate re: the Jedi.
Older audiences wanted to see Campbell's Hero they grew up with again, they had a preconceived notion that the Jedi would be wandering, exciting adventurers... instead they got a bunch of "stale" diplomats whose whole job is to avoid conflict and adventure.
So instead of taking the story for what it was - a movie for kids - they projected a "morally gray" narrative that said these characters were flawed and weren't how they were supposed to be in-universe, when the truth is they weren't happy with the characters they witnessed out-of-universe.
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eulaliasims · 1 month
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Uni: Lina and Wren 1/2
The amount of uni posts on here is frankly getting ridiculous, so I'm going to break from habit and write the next few households in old school LJ/DW format with many picture, few post, instead of many picture, many post. Okay, here, enjoy. Or don't, you do you.
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Uni is unending and I'm going to continue to subject everyone to its timeless horrors. 🥰 So we're back with Wren and Lina.
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Lina has gained some weight since starting college, and she likes how feminine it makes her feel. Less exciting is needing to buy new jeans.
Lina: Wren! I'm going shopping, you wanna come?
Wren: No thanks! I'm learning how to make bouillabaisse!
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Dormie: Hey, I love your pants.
Lina: Hey, thanks, you too!
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Cute! Lina inherited her most obvious facial features from her dad, but she reminds me a lot of Mara-Jade with this hair.
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Wow, stealing from your little sibling? Harsh.
Ashley: Wren's not gonna read it, and I need to test my automatic newspaper recycler.
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Lina is into Trent Surfen. Good for her, I guess.
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However, Trent surfed off to class after a little bit, and Goth Dormie stopped to chat.
Goth Dormie: Ooh, darlin', I love that hair on you.
Lina: Awww, thanks!
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Lina: Has anyone ever told you you're, like, gorgeous? Like really pretty?
Goth Dormie: A few times.
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And then Goth Dormie rejected her, confusing both Lina and me.
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Wren: This is great, Lina!
Lina: I mean, it's just boxed mac and cheese.
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starplusfourletters · 5 months
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I read specter of the past (hand of thrawn book 1)
This turned into a liveblog srry
Me, reading the Thrawn trilogy: Okay obvi Mara/Luke is a slow burn
Me, skipping to the duology set 10 years later: GUYS YOU’RE LOSING DAYLIGHT
Oh no they have a passive aggressive “may the Force be with you” / “good luck” thing oh no I might ship it
Also the small existential crisis that ensues every time I remember Luke is (checks Wookieepedia) THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD. I cannot picture Luke Skywalker a day over 22 I think my brain would explode [actively represses the sequel trilogy]
This book is absolutely crawling with badass female smugglers and I’m living for it
Oooh proto-convor! [two pages later] OH NO PROTO-CONVOR DEATH ☹
Mara Jade, Force sensitive specializing in precognition, former Emperor’s Hand, second-in-command of the most powerful information dealing organization in the galaxy: Runs into a wall and spends the rest of the book knocked out
Lando “Could I Please Get Back to My Day Job It Has Been Two Decades” Calrissian. Just let the man mine in unlikely places it’s all he’s ever wanted
I got way too happy about the implication that the Imperial whose name I've forgotten figured out the tractor beam thing. He solved Science! Good for he!
Loving how everyone’s opinion on Karrde is basically “nice guy; sus that he insists on getting paid, though.” Like yes this is still a capitalist economy and he runs a business with a large number of employees
We interrupt your space fantasy to bring you a “Chicken Fried” music video with clone sleeper agents
Okay everybody place your bets is Car’das a secret brother, secret father, or ex-boyfriend (hype for some Karrde backstory and realizing the extent to which my brain has decided he and Kaz Brekker are the same person is Extensive)
Legit starting to feel sorry for Gilead “Sad Fascist Grandpa” Pellaeon. Somebody give this guy a peace treaty and a hug. Also more and more irked about No Prisoners why did that need a retcon
Really enjoyed the book’s interrogation of the premise “how do we actually make a galactic organization that includes cultures with mutually exclusive legal and ethical codes WITHOUT being fascist.” Felt very Trek. Actually went further toward radical inclusivity than Trek usually does; the Federation does have an element of “you must be this close to 20th-21st century American values to ride” which is its own kind of cultural imperialism and in this essay I will -
I simply cannot get enough of these books’ “protagonist stumbles, Kramer-like, into the Site of Maximal Galactic Importance Du Jour.” I will let you know when it stops being funny to me. Also really like how the villains are starting to learn to use it to their advantage; like yeah it DOES look like a conspiracy when you think about it
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lady-of-the-puddle · 9 months
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Welcome Back
Today I will be rating Beck's
Potential Partners?
The question mark is because some of them were definitely his partners, others will not admit it, and some came to...circumstances preventing a declaration of their love...anyway.
1. Bodhi
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Literally on screen for 30 seconds max
We all clocked that shit instantly
Never brought him up again (thx to retroactive backstory oops)
Beck was actually visibly sad about him tho to the point his boss/dad had to ask if he was ok
Absolute cute couple though
8/10 I knew him for five seconds and now I have to kill everyone in this room and then myself
2. Paige
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Y'all already know. Everyone knows. The whole grid knows.
The sexual tension is palpable
Which brings me to some difficult questions about the nature of programs and what physical functions they may or may not have.
Ugh I'm a sucker for the rivals to lovers thing tho
12/10 top ten hottest bi power couple if they don't kill each other first
3. Tron
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I went over this in my tron's exes list but I must reiterate cause reasons
Can you imagine meeting your hero, your icon, your savior and he's....a bit of a bitch??
But you learn and get to know him and he opens up to you and comes to trust you with his life UGH my heart
9/10 I rated this 7/10 before but I'm not scared anymore they're GOOD
4. Cyrus
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Look, he gets in with his bffs and the first thing they say to Beck is "you didn't tell us you had a new bf!" (Totally NOT paraphrasing that).
The fucked up stalker/victim pairing is SUCH good tea
And then he tries to kill him later? Delicious.
7/10 this one's for the toxicity 😏
5. Lux (I had to look up her name)
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okay this one loses points because they WANTED me to ship this when we already knew Paige existed
I don't like to be told what to do
I mean, it's ok Beck has two hands(more like eight at this point) I can work with it
loved her jaded perspective turning into hope before she was fridged for male pai- I mean derezzed for reasons relevant to the plot 👀 that was definitely neat
Consider: she is pretty though
4/10 they're both a ten but I'm a bitter bitch so sue me
6. Mara
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tbh she's such a cutie and deserves way better than whatever incel shit Zed has going on
no wonder she's in love with Tron/the Renegade (I mean, same) I would beg a superhero to save me from him too
she and Beck have such a good dynamic
would be such a cute friends to lovers pair
can you imagine if she found out her bestie was the renegade she's been visibly/audibly thirsting after? Queen shit.
8/10 This one is actually the least toxic here
7. The rebellion leader whose name escapes me (it's Bartik)
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so this guy appears in legacy as the rebel leader at Castor's before getting derezzed five minutes later (shocker there)
this one just kinda leaped into my brain when I binged the show directly after watching Legacy
can you imagine inspiring someone to change sides completely and then become the leader of the very fire you sparked long after you're probably gone? Endlessly romantic.
6/10 I have yet to have a really bad ship tbh
8. Pavel
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I hate it, you hate it, we all hate it
But it's still pretty hot
8/10 bitch on bitch violence
9. Zed
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Ahaha I hate it
he's way too comfortable with the evil bad guy shit happening around him.
honestly I have no idea why Beck is even friends with him
HOWEVER
jock/loser pairing
Beck CAN AND WILL fix him
3/10 I don't think we can save this one boys
BONUS ROUND:
10. Tesler
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LMAO I just thought of this
Why do I love it tho
Something about the Darkseid omega beam hands that make me think weird thoughts
Now I wish I had put this on my tron list
1/10 or 9/10 depending on the day
I really do love that Beck is just the most specialest boy, he's the grid's next top model, he's batman, he's everything. Istg this is a harem anime in disguise and I ship him with everyone.
I can think of at least two programs off the top of my head that I didn't include because I forgot until now, so tell me about your rare pairs, etc. I was thinking about rating Clu's crushes that he handles in a completely normal way next but that might be too much. This is what happens when we have no new content for 10 years.
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