Updates!

I don’t normally do updates on this blog, namely because I don’t think that they really add anything to the experience. They’re also clunky, rough and lack the immediate oomph that make my other stuff, even the bad stuff, stand-out to you, the reader. However, I’m making an exception. So much has happened to me, both personally and generally, that I haven’t had much time to write anything this month outside of this really short piece. And while I won’t go into everything, because some of it is confidential, I’ll keep it to four sections and see where this goes.

Get ready:

Job Woes:

As many of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter know, and even some who don’t, I have a new job in December. Or, I should say, I acquired the job in January, as December was the probation period. It’s a retail position in a former Sears location that’s about an hour away from where I live by bus in good traffic, and it’s been giving me a routine and an excuse to wake up in the morning during the week. Despite it being only part-time, it’s also been giving me a source of income, which has, in turn, helped give me a sense of independence.

Up until last week, I was working there four half-days a week. Sundays were the volunteer days, or the days where I went by the schedule of the charity organization that found me the job. The other days, Monday, Thursday and Friday morning, I was paid. It also helped that I met up with the organization from Sunday partway through my shift, as I got a lift home instead of busing. It was a pretty comfortable arrangement, to say the least.

Unfortunately, through no fault of my own, last week changed the arrangement. I’d put in a request to change my Friday shift to Wednesday, as I hated working there on Fridays, as early as two months ago, and was initially elated that my request was approved. It meant having to change some Wednesday appointments around, which I didn’t mind, and I was waiting for the date of my new schedule to come out anxiously. It wasn’t until last Friday that I got wind of some employees downsizing due to business slowing down, and I had one of my shifts cut entirely. I’d still be working Monday and Thursday paid, but instead of Friday being moved to Wednesday, Friday was axed altogether. Bummer.

So that was a little disappointing and stressful, a fact compounded by the feedback that I wasn’t being efficient enough with my time. I had to work faster, and I’m now under stricter supervision to work my way up to a desired speed. I still enjoy my job, and my bosses, but that pressure has left me more tired and with less energy to write.

Writing Goals:

Speaking of writing, to be more positive, I finally got the drive to start writing fiction again. And give me credit, I actually finished a first-draft of a potential graphic novel I’ve been aching to write for years now. It’s rough, and I need to do some massive fine-tuning of the ideas present in it, but it’s done! I won’t give any details away about its plot or characters, but I’ll say that it’s currently about 55 pages long, give or take.

This begs a few questions: firstly, how do I go about finding a publisher? Better yet, how do I go about finding an editor? I know that paying people to look over your work is costly, so I might consider reactivating my Patreon page to help me out in the near-future. I also might consider getting a government grant to help pay for some of it, even though I’m not a fan of being in-debt.

So yeah, that’s exciting. It’s also why I haven’t had much attention for blogging lately, though, hopefully, that’ll change come June.

Solo Escapades:

I saw Star Wars: Han Solo this past week. I know that’s technically not its real name, but like with Star Wars: Rogue One, it doesn’t sound natural to use its actual title. Anyway, the movie was…fine. Not great, not awful, but fine. I definitely enjoyed it enough, but I wouldn’t see it again. It’s easily mid-tier Star Wars for me. That puts it right near the final prequel film, but below the originals, the newer trilogy and the last spin-off.

I mention this in-light of the absurd backlash the film’s received from die-hard fans. I’d initially planned a full-out rant about how dumb the complaints were, but I ran out of steam fast because it felt like padding. But either way, it’s ridiculous that people are complaining about trivial details that, honestly, are a staple of the franchise as is.

Not that the movie is flawless, mind you, but my point remains.

Star Power:

Kirby: Star Allies, while ridiculously short, is a fun game. Like, really fun. Like, as fun as I’d expect from a Kirby game. Like, almost as fun as Kirby’s Epic Yarn was. Like-I’ll stop now, I think you get the picture.

I kinda knew it’d be enjoyable from the moment I downloaded the demo a few months back. I’m honestly surprised, however, that it took me this long to buy the actual game, though, as I’ve been itching for some Kirby action for a while. But whatever, it’s fun. It also has a great final boss, easily one of the franchise’s best to-date.

Shame though, like I said earlier, about its length. Seriously, I beat it in two days, and I wasn’t trying to either!

Anyway, that’s about it for my updates. Hopefully I’ll have something more substantive next time.

Snokescreen

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a divisive movie. Some of that comes from ill-founded places (i.e. the diverse casting, the socio-political undertones), while some is more sympathetic (the movie flipping established canon on its head and starting from ground zero). Then there’s aesthetic divisiveness, like plot-holes and unanswered questions, which can go either way. Personally, I happen to love the movie even with its flaws, and have warmed up to it even more from when I first wrote about it for The Whitly-Verse. Yet even with my appreciation and respect, there’s one detail I can’t overlook. Let’s discuss why Snoke’s a wasted opportunity.

Forewarning, my complaints aren’t your typical “Snoke is a terrible character” or “Snoke is a shallow villain” retorts that so many have espoused. That’d be a waste of my time, even though the latter is true. I also think that tossing him into the pile of previous Star Wars baddies, while accurate, doesn’t do my concerns justice either. Rather, this is more based on what the Star Wars universe as a whole has done. So be prepared, like the film, for potential disappointment.

Let’s start at the obvious place of comparison with Snoke: Emperor Palpatine. Snoke, like Palpatine, is initially presented as the puppet master behind our antagonist. Snoke, like Palpatine, has corrupted a once-up-and-coming Jedi and turned him against his order, a fact made worse by said order failing him. Snoke, like Palpatine, also controls a military, is ruthless, is deformed, has Sith-like powers and openly tortures the protagonist by tormenting them in the face of all odds. And Snoke, like Palpatine, is defeated anticlimactically by both his hubris and the underestimation of his own apprentice’s loyalty.

If I stopped here, I’d be defeating my own argument. Because Snoke is basically another Palpatine. He’s another old, withered mastermind with immense power whose fate is the most-disappointing part. (Let’s not pretend Palpatine being hoisted over a rail like deadweight is brilliant writing. Especially given how powerful he is.)

But I’m not stopping there, because Palpatine’s story doesn’t end with the original films. Deride The Prequels all you want, but they upgraded Palpatine’s character immensely. Like Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, they took a boring character who dies anticlimactically and added layers. They gave him depth, a backstory, motivations, a rich connection to our baddie and, yes, even some cool lightsaber moments. Palpatine went from a boring deadweight to a cunning and menacing threat, a master manipulator who had The Separatists and The Republic around his fingers, and a charming old man who could fool everyone, the Jedi included, with his warmth and charisma.

This is important context for any and all complaints I have with Snoke. Because while The Prequels fleshed-out Palpatine, you had minimal screentime to flesh-out Snoke. Star Wars: The Force Awakens began with an established relationship between Snoke and Kylo Ren, one where it’s clear that the two had a history. The movie hinted at a backstory the led to Kylo Ren to his side, which was built on in the first-half of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Yet it never came to a satisfying head, getting tossed aside because “not important”.

Except…it is. If Snoke were an essay, he’d be a failing grade. Because why present an argument, expound on it, and then throw it away? You might be onto something, and it could be clever, but theory and practice aren’t one-in-the-same. And unlike how the ending of The Avengers: Infinity War throws you for a loop, the loop here feels cheap and manipulative. It’s unsatisfying.

It’s not even that I needed something grandiose with Snoke. I’d be fine with him as another baddie that props up our main villain, had he had a line or two about his origin: what’s his deal? Why did he pick Kylo Ren to be his right-hand man? Why should I care about him? We’re given nothing, and that frustrates me.

Which is why the claim that “he’s not relevant” still bothers me. I don’t mind that he was taken out so easily, as I liked the ensuing battle that followed. I don’t mind that he was never meant to be the main focus, as I like Kylo Ren. I wouldn’t even mind if we never saw him again, as his story’s now over. But I do mind that he was never given the same care and attention Palpatine had, especially considering the newer movies’ potential to rise above their predecessors’ mistakes.

Perhaps this’ll be rectified come Episode IX. Perhaps there’ll be a line or two that’ll make my frustrations moot. Perhaps. But in the meantime, as it stands currently, my arguments shouldn’t be invalidated. They should hold weight, irrespective of whether or not it’s “too late” to retroactively fix this gaping concern. And that they’re being brushed off because “who cares”? Well, I do. And it’s unfair to assume that I’m wrong.

That being said, I’m looking forward to the future of Star Wars and what it has to offer. I only wish that Snoke could’ve been handled the slightest bit better.