#celestialily

[specterthief]

@celestialily sumi has her initial false awakening by rejecting reality and further embracing the delusion maruki created, so cendrillon having the same helmet on her as the ones worn by the people being brainwashed in "treatment" fits with that, especially with the fact that cinderella was chosen in the first place based on the idea of "the spell wearing off at midnight"!

the throne with the veil on it that sumire is sitting in in in the palace on 1/9 also has the exact same heart pattern on it as cendrillon's cape, so that's another place where something is seen in both cendrillon's design and maruki's palace:

and maruki's also able to control cendrillon, and she proclaims the palace as where she belongs...

so i feel like there's some really interesting and ultimately unused implications here that like... considering the context of sumire's initial awakening, like. maruki basically created cendrillon. she's a product of his palace. i feel like they could have gone a lot harder with that tbh

tumblr ate my tag for some reason but i said on the original answer, this is just feeding me wishing sumi had gotten a different persona when she had her real awakening

(and yeah, the brainwashing headsets are little azathoth brains, they're creepy!)

[threadsketchier]

great! thanks! every time the march plays i'm gonna be thinking of "SON SON SON WHERE'S MY BOY WHERE'S MY SON" until the end of time XD

the truest way to enjoy it

[mlmanakin]

all of us rn are jus... just *incredible* clowns..... anakin "clingy depressed murder-horny" skywalker, ahsoka "we'll have plenty of time to catch up later" tano, darth "whaddaya MEAN obi-wan didn't show up???" maul, all the "god i can't wait for the last skysnips hug" fans... palpatine & filoni running the goddamn circus in the background watching us all play boo-boo the fool huh😔🤡😭

old friends not forgotten, a summary:

and we’re all of them

[mikami]

uhhh i guess "the dramatic latin chanting in the anime soundtrack is neat" would qualify as a popular opinion? i mean it certainly sets the mood

YOU CAUGHT ME. Here’s a popular opinion I definitely agree with!

The Latin chanting is epic and the OST of the anime generally has a very unique atmosphere, I really appreciate it! I wish I knew things about music theory so I could say some smart-sounding words about Songs Good, but I don’t, so I’m like...... that’s all I got. YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED AN AGREEABLE TAKE.

[padawanlost]

do you know if the disconnect between how anakin & obi-wan perceive their relationship (obi-wan calling them brothers, anakin more viewing obi-wan similar to palpatine - ie a father figure) was an intentional choice, or the offhand result of multiple author's interpretations over time? considering the jedi eschewing of biological familial bonds, do you personally view the "master-padawan" relationship as strictly equivalent to teacher-student, or encompassing more familial elements as well? :D

I think it’d be fair to say it’s both. the movies and George himself made pretty clear that Anakin and Obi-wan’s relationship was a troubled one and every author took it a different way. Obi-wan is Stover’s favorite characters and with what he knew of the ROTS and how his relationship with Anakin was going to be portrayed he created some beautiful moments between the two. But even he knew the relationship wasn’t perfect, the doubt, the distrust, the insecurities that plagued both characters were all that. 

Overall, Anakin and Obi-wan’s relationship were pretty well defined in the EU even with it being explored by multiple authors. I’d say it’s consistent even if sometimes biased depending on the author. Also, the difference – father figure/brother – makes perfect sense because their relationship covered a lot of years. They were introduced to each other when one was a kid looking for a father figure and the other was becoming an adult. Of course they would see their relationship differently. And, as they both grew older and more mature, it changed into a more balanced relationship, where they had easier time seeing each other as equals.

In the books/comics set before the Clone Wars they relationship was portrayed very differently than in TCW or ROTS because it *was* a different relationship. As George said, Anakin and Obi-wan only became close friends AFTER Attack of the Clones. And it think all the authors were faithful to that, even if the current fandom has a hard time accepting that.

As for the whole ‘family’ thing, I think it really depends on your definition of family. I look at my family and friends and then I look at the Jedi and we are nothing alike. I’d never refuse to mourn them, rejoice their passing or sacrifice them to altar of the greater good without considering a great, devastating PERSONAL loss. Because that’s the difference, isn’t? They Jedi are a community of detached people who can’t form PERSONAL, FAMILIAL bonds so their idea of ‘family’ is nothing like ours. To them ‘family’ = community and to us it means personal relationships. I do believe they consider themselves a ‘family’ I don’t think their idea of family is anything like ours. 

And i don’t think we should use Anakin’s relationship with Obi-wan and/or Ahsoka as a measuring stick for typical Jedi behavior because the story makes blatantly clear that these people are the exception.  When we remove them from the equation, it completely changes the picture. typical jedi behavior for masters and padawans is them risking and sacrificing everything for each other. It involved a lot of respect but no deep personal attachment because it’s forbidden. For typical behavior we have to look at Luminara and Barriss, Mace and Yoda,  Dooku and Qui-Gon and, yes, even Qui-Gon and Obi-wan. They are close, they care, the trust and respect each and they are ‘family’ but their relationship are not the relationships we have with our families, with our siblings, parents or even close friends.

[softieskywalker]

apparently in the disney comics he got killed by vader not too long after rots from some bullshit comedy misunderstanding... some clones were jedi-hunting, and fox saw this one random spooky dude with a lightsaber on the battlefield and tried to blast him for being a jedi. so sidious forgot to program the chips to be like "hey that spooky dude is with me"??? idk. but fox deserved a better death than that tbh

rip fox, that sounds hilarious and rough (like any death by vader’s ego i guess)

[rebelsofshield]

in celebrating the end of your weekly comic reviews, do you have any particular series/runs/issues that you personally found the greatest fun/engagement in while reading? are there any ones that stand out to you as being particularly memorable/enjoyable? thanks for all your hard work in continuing to run this blog! :D

I’m so glad that you’ve gotten some joy out of this blog over the years. It really is one of my favorite hobbies to run this and I lose sight of that sometimes in the amount of work it can be when trying to write content alongside all my other responsibilities.

There have been some really great Star Wars comics over the last several years since the Marvel purchase. I’ll do a brief run down of my ten unranked favorites.

1. Darth Vader written by Kieron Gillen and art by Salvador Larroca

Probably the first must buy Star Wars comic. While the art at times can be a tad too photo referenced, the characterization of Vader is top notch and features some essential moments for him. It also gave us such wonderful new additions as Doctor Aphra and Triple Zero.

2. Doctor Aphra  written by Kieron Gillen and Simon Spurrier and art by Kev Walker, Emilio Laiso, and others

Speaking of which, I adore Doctor Aphra. I think she’s an incredibly fun addition to the Star War mythology and it’s great to see such a complex queer character leading a line of comics. The original run written by Gillen and Spurrier is filled to the brim with off the wall, creative storytelling decisions and smart personal story telling. Can’t recommend it enough.

3. Lando written by Charles Soule and art byAlex Maleev

Charles Soule is pretty rightly realized as one of the best comic writers for Star Wars and his first major swing at the franchise, Lando, is one of his best. It’s a hesit book that quickly takes an unexpected swing towards cosmic horror.

4. Kanan written by Greg Weisman and art by Pepe Larraz

This should be required reading for Rebels fans. A great little origin story for one of the series’ best characters that sports some amazing art. Also, probably the best post-Order 66 clone content out there. At least until Bad Batch.

5. Darth Vader written by Charles Soule and art by Giuseppe Camuncoli

The other amazing Darth Vader book. This comic is probably the best source for those that want to dive deeper into the lore of the Dark Side. Some great moments of mythos building in this and some great character moments as we see Anakin come into himself as Dark Lord of the Sith.

6. Han Solo written by Marjorie Liu and art by Mark Brooks

Amazing art and fast smartly written action, this Han Solo mini-series is a smart and inventive interstellar racebook that is a blast from start to finish. Probably the best Han centric story out there.

7. C-3PO: The Phantom Limb written by James Robinson and art by Tony Harris

This might be a weird pick, but I adore this story that tells the origin of C-3PO’s red arm. It’s a completely unnecessary concept for a comic but it ends up being a fascinating little story about finding humanity in opposing sides during wartime. In droids no less!

8. Captain Phasma written by Kelly Thompson and art by Marco Checchetto 

I think the fandom collectively was pretty disappointed with the sparse screen time for Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma. This short but potent four issue series bridging The Force Awakens to The Last Jedi is probably the best content we will get for the character and charts the brutal morality of this masked villain in great fashion. Marco Checchetto also kills it on the art.

9. Age of Rebellion: Boba Fett written by Greg Pak and art by Marc Laming

By and large the “Age of” maxi-series produced some serviceable but often forgettable comics. The real standout occurred midway through with a great little space western starring the galaxy’s most famous bounty hunter. It begins with Boba Fett riding into town on a robotic horse and continues for twenty gorgeously drawn and understated pages. 

10. Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle written by Cavan Scott and art by Derek Charm and others

While the playful and accessible stories of Star Wars Adventures are a joy, they certainly aren’t going to be a standout for all fans. While I do recommend the mainline of this IDW published series as well, the best work this line has produced was this brilliantly rendered Halloween miniseries. Filled with perfectly creepy little Star Wars adventures spanning the history of the franchise and some wonderfully dynamic art by Derek Charm in the frame story, this was maybe some of the most creatively daring work that a Star Wars comic could produce. A spooky good time through and through

[jasontoddiefor]

hey, just wanted to ask if i could point out a totally minor word choice question in ch 4 of "as Lightning to the Children eased". when ani's thoughts became more emotions/expressions & less like tangible words, i think he actually might be communicating on a sentient level (since sentience only refers to feeling/perceiving/experiencing sensory details - dogs have sapient thought). did you have that in mind, or were you thinking of sapient thought (possessing intelligence/self-awareness)? (1/2)

(2/2) I apologize for bringing it to your attention if you prefer not to receive questions/comments like this about your fics; nobody really cares (including me) about specific word choice when the story is so engrossing & wonderful (super pumped about shmi's orange lightsaber btw), and I'd hate to annoy you over something so minor. I just like the idea you explored of ani showing love thru sentient expression & confusing everyone around him who are used to words/sentences like normal ppl XD

First of - this made me cry. People asking after such details is EXACTLY the kind of stuff you hope for as a writer. Seriously, you made my night! Especially since that is one of the smol details i actually thought was really neat to put in! foreshadowing, though art my friend But yes! Words, no matter how precise, are limiting and when Anakin doesn’t have the words to communicate, he kind of shifts out of that and,,, also out of himself. The lines between what is him and what is Force blurs and nobody really likes that at all because it’s low key terrifying. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka kind of deal best with it still.

So, bottom line, i love to hear your thoughts!!!