STAR WAAAAARS

[sholio]

Aside from the things in the previous post, everything else is Star Wars right now. I've fallen back into it hard.

Comments

[rachelmanija]

Oh, the prequel is by Greg Rucka! He's very good.

I managed to see the movie 100% unspoiled - I did not even know that it had a female lead - and that was a complete delight to me, as was Finn. I have gotten so used to movies right now being less progressive/diverse than when I was a kid, which is pretty appalling considering how white and male they were then. It never occurred to me that the movie would be about anyone but a new set of white guys. And not only was it not, but there are women all over the place, as soldiers and pilots and what have you. It was a scruffy future that I could have a place in, and that was amazing to me

[sholio]

I am just weak, weak, weak for the "lonely survivalist wanderer in a wasteland finds some friends" thing. WEAK FOR IT. Especially when the wanderer is a scruffy young woman. (Or a scruffy old woman, but that literally never happens. The only example I can think of, sort of, is Elizabeth Moon's Remnant Population, which I adore.) That said, I absolutely loved the stuffing out of Finn too, because yeah, one of my other favorite tropes is the character who is supposed to be a weapon, a cog in a machine, but rediscovers their humanity and learns how to properly "people" again. Really, this movie could hardly have done a better job of hitting a bunch of my narrative kinks. Poe I am mostly fond of because he's terribly pretty, as he doesn't get much to do here. However, my initial reaction to him was, "Omigod, you're pretty. Can we keep you?" AND WE DID! (Also, he seems sweet. I hope he gets more character stuff in the next movie.)

I have gotten so used to movies right now being less progressive/diverse than when I was a kid, which is

[roga]

Ooooh, that novel looks so intriguing, and it's by Greg Rucka! BUT. I'm new to this whole Star Wars thing, and don't know how much fandom normally takes into account tie-in novels from the SW universe; will people treat these backstories as canon or not? Will reading them interfere with my ability to enjoy other backstories people write in fic just because they haven't read the novels themselves? I don't know!

Very tempted to read it though, esp with your rec.

[sholio]

My general feeling based on other fandoms I've been in that had a lot of tie-ins and extra-canonical background resources (such as Stargate) is that people will completely ignore it as canon for fic. I definitely haven't seen anything specifically referencing it so far, though granted I'm not reading a lot of fic. And it is good! ... at least I thought so. It's pretty short for what you get, and I feel like it's aimed at a youngish audience, but it was really enjoyable, certainly up there with the good fanfic I've read in this fandom.

My own reaction is that, since it isn't clear whether it's meant to be 100% canon or not, I'm incorporating the things I like into my personal headcanon, and ignoring the things that don't work for me. So far, that seems to be working fine.

... fwiw, ymmv, etc. :D

[leesa_perrie]

What about the books written before A New Dawn (which I hadn't heard of)? I read a lot of them for a while, epsecially loving the ones by Timothy Zahn I seem to remember, before stopping for reasons I'm not really sure of now (wish I'd read the lot, tbh). I know that all the books had to be vetted by Lucas Films at the time, but have never been sure if they were considered canon or not.

Not that I'm thinking of writing or reading fanfic any time soon, just wondering how they fit, or don't fit, with the new movies.

(Btw, what's EU? I'm assuming not the European Union, lol!)

[sholio]

Yeah, I felt a bit ridiculous at myself for buying it, but then it was really great!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I think the new movie made me feel really good about the whole franchise, and the direction it's moving in
Yes, yes, yes!

[sholio]

Yes! :) It's such a great feeling.

[alessandriana]

That's interesting that you feel that lack of urge to write fic about it-- I went into AO3 looking for fic today, and just kind of noped out after a couple pages, and I don't even know why. Nothing looked awful (though I object to Rey/Kylo Ren on principle), I just... hmm. Didn't want fanon to overtake my perceptions of the characters, maybe? Don't feel like there's many holes to fill? The movie stopped at such a clearly in media res spot that I'd rather just wait to find out what's actually going to happen rather than read about what fandom thinks is going to happen. (Plus, a lot of the new fic is shipping the Rey/Finn/Poe OT3, and I'm just not quite there yet with the characters.)

On the other hand, I just finished a rewatch of the original series, and I find myself really, really shipping Han/Leia. OH NO.

[sholio]

I don't have a problem with people shipping or writing about Rey/Kylo Ren, if it floats their boat, but that pairing is SO NOT MY THING, omg. My Kylo Ren OTP is Kylo Ren/Rey's lightsaber.

Didn't want fanon to overtake my perceptions of the characters, maybe? Don't feel like there's many holes to fill? The movie stopped at such a clearly in media res spot that I'd rather just wait to find out what's actually going to happen rather than read about what fandom thinks is going to happen.Yeah, I think these two things are a huge part of my own lack of interest, as well. With the Big Post-Canon Fixit fic we were talking about in chat, I realized that in order to write it, I'm going to have to come up with answers to all the mysteries canon has dangled in front of us: who Rey is, how Snoke is connected to everyone, what the First Order's next move is, and so forth. And I don't want to tie myself to personal headcanons on any of this! I just want to know what canon is going to do next! Same thing with reading fic about most of the character

[alessandriana]

I realized that in order to write it, I'm going to have to come up with answers to all the mysteries canon has dangled in front of us

Yeahhh, that's a lot of effort to put into something that you know for almost sure is going to get jossed within a year and a half. I will be curious to see if anyone else does write something similar, or if the fandom mostly trends towards short fic.

(I will admit I have considered writing the fic-- very short and brief-- where Han falls off the bridge, gets sucked into an air vent like Luke in ESB, and gets rescued... but that's mostly pure wish fulfillment.

I also hope someone writes the pre-canon Han/Leia story about the good times. That, I will read.)

[sholio]

WRITE IIIIIIT! /shameless

I might just end up writing little idficcy wish-fulfillment snippets instead of a whole epic. Mostly involving reunions, or Han and Rey bumming around the galaxy being space pirates together.

... ahaha, I can't reblog this to my tumblr because I'm still trying not to reblog too many spoilers, but it made me grin: this fanart. (Though it's still fairly heartstabby.)