all my stumbling phrases

As a writer, I frequently struggle with plot. Is it believable? Is it surprising? Is it exciting? Sometimes, it feels like plot is supposed to be what makes a story interesting. What makes for a cool adventure? The prevailing mindset seems to be: how high can you raise the stakes?

• a planet-killing weapon
• outnumbered pilots in a space battle
• impossible lightsaber duels
• shocking parentage
• a second planet-killing weapon
• an impossible space battle

• Can Luke trust in his abilities?
• Will Han commit to the cause?
• Should Luke still try even in the imminent possibility of defeat?
• What does Luke risk of himself – not just physically but spiritually?
• What will Luke do when two of his core dreams clash? (his longing for his father and his desire to protect his friends and uphold the moral good)
• Can Luke reconcile the darkness within himself?
• What is the power of our faith in others?

I finally finished Good Omens!!!!!!

I know everyone else has probably already watched it and said their bit by now but I just wanted to flail about it for a little bit so! I quite enjoyed it. It's a very unique style (which I was probably more conscious of because I watched it with my spouse, who thought it was a bit strange at times), but I think it fit the mood perfectly. Now I say that, but bear this in mind: it's been over ten years since I've read the book. While I know undoubtedly that I very much loved the book, had you asked me any time before the Good Omens panel at NYCC, I would have only been able to tell you the following about it:

• an angel and a demon team up to prevent the apocalypse
• there's a boy who's, like, uh, the anti-christ? maybe?
• oh wait, something something 4 horsemen riding motorcycles

That's it, that's the most I could have told you. If even that. It's quite bizarre too, because you would think something so good wouldn't be so forgettable -- it feels wrong to say that, but it was. I think even a year after I read it, I was recommending it to someone and I was like "...well I can't really tell you what it's about, but just trust me that it's very good." I think it must be "forgettable" (for lack of a better term) because there's quite a lot going on, it's a lot to keep track of.

I'd been meaning to reread the book for awhile, but anyways when I found out they were making a show, I hesitated and decided not to because well, my experience with Harry Potter tells me that it's never as enjoyable that way. I just end up focusing on what was Different, which isn't the point. 

So thoughts:

Michael Sheen was brilliant, as per usual, and so was David Tennant (not a Dr. Who fan so I'm less familiar with his work). I also enjoyed Anathema's scenes, and Pulsifer's (I most definitely forgot about their subplot). Also, that's it, Aziraphale and Crowley have perfected the slow burn and there can be no other. Has anyone seen the memes about all the times they happen to run into each other -- including the apocalypse -- being God's attempts to get them together? Like a writer frustrated that her characters just won't seem to get together already? Phenomenal. A+. 

Enjoyed the music, cinematography, editing, all of it. It's sort of beautiful and the aesthetic is just spot on. It does move kind of fast, which was only frustrating for me because Amazon doesn't play well with Chromecast -- we had to cast the browser tab, basically, which meant we had some buffer issues occasionally, but mostly it was fine. I just want to watch it over again and reabsorb it. Maybe I'll reread the book again soon. Because what I love the most is the story, the message, and all. 

ANYWAYS. I'm very much looking forward to being able to reblog Good Omens posts on tumblr rather than quickly scrolling past them trying to avoid spoilers. Hooray! 

I just watched The Clone Wars s5:e16, "The Lawless" and...

( the WORST of spoilers, do not read if you don't already Know )

Today's the day! The sun is shining! The tank is clean! -- Wait, no, that's not right.

*ahem* I FINALLY WATCHED THE ONDERON ARC.

(And by the way on that note, I must mention the sun is very much not shining.)

Anyways.

Overall, this arc absolutely lived up to my anticipation for it. Ever since I started writing rebelcaptain fic and researching Saw, I’ve looked forward to seeing his younger self. Besides that, the story with the other characters is also incredibly compelling. And hey! Lux didn’t bother me half as much as he did in the past. I guess that’s growth.

I thought the art for this arc was amazing, specifically the scene when they first land on Onderon and you see the backdrop of the stars behind the jungle canopy. The character development and relationships were very much the kind of conflict and dynamics I'm interested in (I mean, I could do less with love triangles, but you know what? This one didn't really bother me that much.) And the themes were on point!

( More specific thoughts )