So, let's say George Lucas was more self aware producing/directing the prequels and hired you to reign him in/keep him on track. How would the prequels be different?

What a fucking FUN question. :D I've been chewing over this in my inbox for a couple days.

Honestly you couldn't pay me enough to write for Star Wars, and that's not just because I'd be fired on my second day for making it so gay. I think there absolutely are problems in the prequels, but I also think no matter what films they made, it was going to be a difficult tango of trying to keep an existing fanbase happy while attracting new ones, doing the old story homage but also not just retreading stale territory, and the fact that an entire generation came up with headcanons for what the Clone Wars or young Obi-Wan or Vader was like in that era, and no matter what you do, someone was going to be disappointed.

I also have a ton of sympathy for Star Wars writers in general - I see stories like Mike Chen who wrote the Brotherhood novel having to get the book together in three months over 11 drafts or the Rebels writers working unpaid nights and weekends to try to land the story they loved decently because they weren't given enough time or money. I don't know what it's like to write or create content for Lucasfilm, but I can't help but think of Warren Fu, who created the iconic General Grievous design for Lucas, later drawing himself as Sifo-Dyas being drained of blood to create Grievous. The metaphor he chose there is, um, interesting, to say the least, and I wonder how it reflects on his time at Lucasfilm. I see these anecdotes all the time of writers and creators working incredibly hard for little money or recognition and then their passion project gets changed or sidelined by the powers that be within the franchise.

ANYWAY THAT SAID HERE'S HOW I'D FIX THE PREQUELS- I think it's really a matter of redrafting what's there because so much of it is really good and has great potential. I just rewatched the Phantom Menace, so that's on my mind. Yeah, I remember being little enough that Jar Jar Binks was funny to me - I love Ahmed Best - but having just rewatched it, Jar Jar gets a ton of screentime and that could be better balanced. AND oofa-doofa, the racist accents/stereotypes. Cut cut cut. Rework.

Otherwise, I think there's a tendency - and some of it was the popular movie tropes at the time the films were going out - to rely on Idiot Plot. OOPS, Anakin didn't mean to go to the big space battle!!! He just won the day on accident!! To a lesser degree, many other characters make it through the movie by just sort of guessing and lucking their way into it as a narrative choice. Just going by the fact that the films need to be about the good guys losing because it's a prequel for a saga with no Jedi, I'd like a little bit more agency for them. More moments of saying "yes, I want to do this" and less "wow, what the hell is going on?!"

The other big change I'd make is give Obi-Wan a much larger role in the Phantom Menace, and Padme a bigger part in both AotC and especially RotS. (Actually, she really kicks ass in TPM. That moment where she shoots through the window and the duel of the fates music swells? Ascension guns!! I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.) I think Anakin is the most sympathetic when he's seen through the eyes of characters who love him and vouch for him. And Obi-Wan is honestly barely in TPM - it's all Qui-Gon, who I love, but I could see the film being really successful through him as our perspective/focus character instead. The way that Luke Skywalker takes us with him on this adventure and shows us the story. Obi-Wan could do that very effectively. And as much as the prequels are about Anakin's fall, they're also ultimately a story of Obi-Wan's survival.

And I'd cut Count Dooku, for no reason other than I don't like how weird I got about that guy.

Please let Eris have her vengeance without condemning her please let Eris have her vengeance without condemning her please let Eris have her vengeance without condemning her please let Eris have her vengeance without condemning her please let Eris have her vengeance without condemning her

Also about the Duke holding himself to higher standards thing something about the black boy being unable to afford slacking off in a way is peers are allowed to/are comfortable with? At least to himself? Cmon….

byler is going to be canon in an unforgettable way but at what cost

do you guys remember when Attack On Titan had a fucking Looney Tunes Babies style spin off where all the characters were in junior high and the titans were just bullies and eren was mad at them because they ate his hamburg steak and it was legitimately better than the original

Why put the accountability on them? Especially when they have proved that they are either not worthy of your trust or lack basic sensibilities. If you are tired of childish behaviour, then step away from childish people. Just how much will you try to school them? If you are tired of late night thirst trap texts asking “do you wanna come over tomorrow?” don’t respond. Text them the next day in the afternoon and say “I’m good, thanks for asking. You?”. If they reply saying “point taken” you can continue talking. My point really is though that at this stage of your life, you need to downsize  — downsize on the bullshit, on the dissatisfying, on the unnecessary. Would have loved to not have to use these adjectives for people but what to do? It is what it is. Petites misères de la vie humaine. Little miseries of human life. But really, though, you have the power. Take charge. Not of others but of your own life. You are not a dead fish to go with the flow. And you are not a disinterested bystander in your own life. You are not somebody that things just happen to. You are many things, but you are not passive. Never passive. Active voice, active choices. 

Damn Ashe back at it again with the dogshit persona takes

My very bad take and theory is that Tposey’s gonna kill off Sterek. His jealousy is just that strong.

The poster has Derek in a very Iron Man/Tony Stark in Endgame vibes and I can see them using it as “plot” to give Eli motivation and whatever. 

The Nogitsune is the main villain and that was STILES’ thing, so as a middle finger to DOB for not coming back I can also see them killing him off to use his death to reawaken or make Allison stronger or whatever. 

I hope I’m wrong. I hope ALL the Hales live. But Tpose and Jeff are mad salty that their main OC isn’t the most popular character and are still mad about Sterek and yet are still using Sterek baiting to try and get fans to watch their movie. 

generally speaking i think the vast majority of the people who worked on spn were competent professionals who were decent (or better!) at their jobs. i am not a trained professional and know nothing about tv and i believe they are better-suited for their jobs than i am. i have very little ego to speak of. all that being said, even with the caveat that i have not seen seasons 11-15 yet, i truly believe i could have written a better spn finale. this is not a compliment to myself.

So, I read Love & Beast right before I went to bed. I fell asleep not long after, but... I feel like Koga regressed a little during that story. I love him regardless, but the fact that he kept referring to Rei as "vampire bastard" the entire time. It'd be one thing if like he was constantly agitated, but a lot of the story was him concerned over how Adonis is doing. Which, I mean, that proves he hadn't completely regressed in his development since ! into !!. Like, why is he suddenly treating Rei poorly again? Once or twice, yeah ok. But the entire time? I squint my eyes. He also called Kaoru playboy again on multiple occasions.

But after reading this story & then considering the fan translation of their climax event, I squint my eyes even more. Like the climax event they comment on when being referred to by the nicknames. Rei says it takes him back while Kaoru admits he prefers it over the stiff formalities. Why they need to say that if Koga still refers to them by such? Ofc there's gonna be slipups & inconsistencies considering different writers & people working on it. But like - why'd Koga not once call Rei Sakuma-senpai or Kaoru Hakaze-senpai??? Huh? What this about? He was annoyed a good few times, but it wasn't constant.

for a moment I was so confused like “why is spinelli beefing with Cody???” …girl the blackmail

Books I just remembered exist: the Airheads Series by Meg Cabot.

What The Fuck Was That (Honorific).

x

Greetings heretics, I know I promised more work, but I’ve become reaware of my tendency to overwrite in every field of prose, other wise know as Two Weeks have passed!

Are you really even a writer if you don’t allow it to emotionally destroy you every now and then? If it’s not ruining your life, is it worth the theoretical paycheck? The money’s hypothetical, the ego death is hungry.

But I come to you with a return of everyone’s favorite game-show, I Know There’s A Word For This, But Christ On A Stick I Don’t Remember! (title pending)

On tonight’s performance, what the hell is it called to do something on moral grounds, like on principle? Doing something because it’s important, or part of a philosophical standpoint or legal code et c, instead of any real emotional investment.

Current stand-in is cursory? Which is not incorrect, but it’s not right, either?

I don’t know, this is kicking my ass, so I toss it to you, lovely participants! First person to drop something in the replies, or just send an ask or something gets a whole gallon of mystery meat!

Where did it come from? We don’t know!

What’s in the bucket? Probably a biohazard!

Why are we giving it away? What the hell else are we going to do with it?

Stay crunchy out there heretics, a little pain in the diet only hurts some people.

DON'T MIND THE DIRTY MIRROR IT'S BEEN A HOT MINUTE 😫😫

i know you are not making cataclysmalbound anymore but sometimes when you post art of the refactoring characters they remind me of the cb characters but in a really cool way. like you have some special guys in your brain no matter what and somehow you are going to tell a story about them. hope this makes sense :)

WAAAAAH THIS IS ACTUALLY SO SWEET NO I THINK IT DOES MAKE SENSE... going to blow up and cry over this for real. so cool that people are able to see the remnants of the cb characters in the rf cast :) cyan brain guy universe easter egg