NaNoWriMo updates (also, happy Thanksgiving!)
First off, a very happy Thanksgiving to my f-list! I hope you all have been having a wonderful day.
Second off, currently have 62,908 words. Jesus. This was actually one of the easiest portions to write, because I like Lando one hell of a lot (he's one of my favorite Star Wars characters. I dunno, he's just charming, he's complex, and he's nigh impossible not to like. Helps that Billy Dee Williams does a great job in the role). That and it's really cool just getting inside his head when he ultimately ends up betraying Han (although also sad, because...y'know, let's say that things just get worse for our heroes. I mean, Empire Strikes Back could be subtitled Han Solo and Company and the Terrible Horrible No Good Really Bad Day just because of how much shit happens to them. I know it sounds redundant, but poor Han and company. I mean, Jesus). I've always found Lando's arc in Empire Strikes Back interesting, especially considering how they take what could be a black and white situation and paint it very gray. What Lando does is awful, but at the same time, he's doing it if only to protect his people, which makes me feel sorry for him. Honestly, whenever I watch Empire Strikes Back, I do feel bad for him, because he was in a pretty damn tight spot (and ends up getting screwed over by Vader anyway). Piett does a good job of adding gray on the Imperial side (as does Vader, later on), but Lando just adds some more gray...well, I guess in general. He's not betraying Han for the sake of it; he has genuinely good, human, understandable reasons for doing what he does, and it's one of many reasons that Empire Strikes Back is so awesome; it allows for shades of gray in between black and white. Black and white definitelly has a place as well, I think, but I've always found shades of gray to just open up more interesting story developments. That and it's more true to life as well; I think it's very rare that there's black and white in real life. (Emphasis on "rare", because I think there are instances when you can point out the good guys and the bad guys in a situation) But yeah, getting into Lando's point of view was actually pretty sad here, because he doesn't want to betray Han and the others (in fact, he's taken a liking to them), but he doesn't want Bespin to end up a wreck or the mining operation shut down. So Ventress has got him backed into a corner (and even bullied some of the others into going along with her).
So yeah, I'm also a bit exhilarated because I'm getting closer to the climax (which is going to be a pretty long haul, as Empire Strikes Back has a pretty complex climax -- you've got Luke and Vader's duel on one end and you've got Leia and the others trying to get Han back from Boba Fett on the other, and considering that Vader, Padme, Terminus and Luke are coming to Bespin with Mara, I have a feeling that things are going to get more complex from here. That and Vader and Terminus having to fight Ventress, which is going to no doubt break their hearts). And I think I got into Lando's head pretty well. A bit unsettlingly well. Kind of excited and nervous about all this, so yeah...I'm excited-nervous.
Second off, currently have 62,908 words. Jesus. This was actually one of the easiest portions to write, because I like Lando one hell of a lot (he's one of my favorite Star Wars characters. I dunno, he's just charming, he's complex, and he's nigh impossible not to like. Helps that Billy Dee Williams does a great job in the role). That and it's really cool just getting inside his head when he ultimately ends up betraying Han (although also sad, because...y'know, let's say that things just get worse for our heroes. I mean, Empire Strikes Back could be subtitled Han Solo and Company and the Terrible Horrible No Good Really Bad Day just because of how much shit happens to them. I know it sounds redundant, but poor Han and company. I mean, Jesus). I've always found Lando's arc in Empire Strikes Back interesting, especially considering how they take what could be a black and white situation and paint it very gray. What Lando does is awful, but at the same time, he's doing it if only to protect his people, which makes me feel sorry for him. Honestly, whenever I watch Empire Strikes Back, I do feel bad for him, because he was in a pretty damn tight spot (and ends up getting screwed over by Vader anyway). Piett does a good job of adding gray on the Imperial side (as does Vader, later on), but Lando just adds some more gray...well, I guess in general. He's not betraying Han for the sake of it; he has genuinely good, human, understandable reasons for doing what he does, and it's one of many reasons that Empire Strikes Back is so awesome; it allows for shades of gray in between black and white. Black and white definitelly has a place as well, I think, but I've always found shades of gray to just open up more interesting story developments. That and it's more true to life as well; I think it's very rare that there's black and white in real life. (Emphasis on "rare", because I think there are instances when you can point out the good guys and the bad guys in a situation) But yeah, getting into Lando's point of view was actually pretty sad here, because he doesn't want to betray Han and the others (in fact, he's taken a liking to them), but he doesn't want Bespin to end up a wreck or the mining operation shut down. So Ventress has got him backed into a corner (and even bullied some of the others into going along with her).
So yeah, I'm also a bit exhilarated because I'm getting closer to the climax (which is going to be a pretty long haul, as Empire Strikes Back has a pretty complex climax -- you've got Luke and Vader's duel on one end and you've got Leia and the others trying to get Han back from Boba Fett on the other, and considering that Vader, Padme, Terminus and Luke are coming to Bespin with Mara, I have a feeling that things are going to get more complex from here. That and Vader and Terminus having to fight Ventress, which is going to no doubt break their hearts). And I think I got into Lando's head pretty well. A bit unsettlingly well. Kind of excited and nervous about all this, so yeah...I'm excited-nervous.