I wish I knew how to talk. December and 2020 plans, and star wars. (Patreon)

So november ended with a whimper.   It did what I needed it to, though.  If I can just put two hours a day on homelands I can finish.  It's just being disciplined and finish.  Most of November and a Good chunk of december were eaten up too.  I got a short story out of me for MLP, I'm working on another chapter of Gallus, and I'm hoping to get Homelands 22's rough draft out before Christmas.

At the moment, I've been involved in a lot of preproduction with Fault.  One of the things we had to nail down was 'How does magic work in this game world?'  How does it work, what does it look like, what can you do with it, and stuff like that.  It was seventy pages.  That's a lot of text.  A lot of it is going to go in game or other places, but I can show you a little bit.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b1CoJH-0C_B_FspzV1KRhYmIWUbPDaWZUtHMdIhwqDI/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PDv600Vj3pGajLvYmBpaf1Io9dgS3Pz2e1-05QGRors/edit?usp=sharing

This is only the basics, and it's still being tweaked.  Eventually we want to get this all on line for folks.  But yeah, it's a lot of pre-production work.  Just a list of the main points for the glossery was six pages.  What I'm working on now.

I also saw Rise of Skywalker...

::Deeeeeeep breath::

Don't see it.  I didn't want to.  I didn't plan to.  I wanted to just... not.  But I kinda couldn't.  Like, I knew it was going to be bad.  Very bad.

So last night I went and saw it and... yeah.  So, the Last Jedi was a bad movie, but it was a movie.  It merely made bad choices, but the film itself was coherent.  This movie is like they put all the footage into a box and shook it, took two hours of running time, and called it a day.  They would have been better off simply redoing The Last Jedi.  Strike that... they would have been better off just not making movie 9.

It was heart breaking.  I was crying at the trainwreck, because even if Disney did try to redo the trilogy in 10 years, they'll never get the original actors back.  This was their one shot and they blew it.  There's plenty of other reviews out there, but the plot holes, the contrived explanations, and the cheap emotional thrills... they're just... dumb.  Like... bad fanfiction.

The Last Jedi made horrible choices, but they were choices.  These were just... dumb.  Like they just grabbed their first run of ideas and said 'yeah'....

Sigh...

Anyway... that's all depressing.  What would I do for the next Disney stuff?  Well, the Mandelorian is off to a good enough start.  Haven't seen it myself.  No disney + subscription.    Maybe I'll buy it on DVD if it's ever available.  But that's not enough.  What would I do if I could.

Go forward.  I'd go forward 100 years.  I'd leave the old star wars behind.  Kill the past.  In the future, we have a clean slate.

So I'd have the galaxtic politics balkanize.  No more 'good side, bad side'.  I want some frigging nuance.  No more 'light side, dark side'.  Break the duality.  Go for new stuff.

So we'd have the Empire.  Not the Galaxtic Empire or even The Remnant, because how insulting is that?  No, they're just The Empire thank you very much.  And yes, they are oppressive... because they have to be.  A century of isolation and sanctions have starved their resources, and they've got to have an iron grip to prevent famine.  Their colors are black and red, but they're no longer building death stars.  They're still building capitol ships, breaking down and recycling as much as they can, and doing so with expertise, but the squander of the past is done.  They also have force users.  Not Jedi.  Not sith.  Not interogators.  Imperial knights are special forces, wearing full black body armor, carrying a carbine for ranged attacks, a light saber for close in attacks, and a red light shield on their other arm.  Why?  Because they frigging learned!  They embrace discipline of action.  They follow orders and sacrifice themselves for the survival of the empire.

Now, there are still Jedi.  The Republic remains, but it's essentially on borrowed time, because the weaknesses of a paralyzed democracy never got solved.  The Empire rose for a reason, and if it weren't for external rivals, they'd collapse completely.  However, the New Jedi are trying to hold true to 'the ancient teachings' and stay out of politics.  However, the teaching has softened a bit.  It acknowledges that the dark side exists in all of us, and that there's times when it's appropriate to express, as long as you can return to the light.  They embrace the discipline of faith.  Believe that the force will provide, and it shall.  You just need to take the first step and the last step, and trust the force will fill in between.  Their color is green, the opposite of red.

But are there sith?  Not really.  Instead, there's the Actuaries.  You see, the Corporations haven't been idle.  They know this is their chance to cement and expand their control over their sector, and force users are really good agents once they're disentangled from all that 'light side, dark side' garbage.  Instead, the Actuaries see the universe as a balance sheet.  Light side on one side of the ledger, dark side on the other.  They see themselves as brokers for this power, and the Corporate sector are the highest bidder.  Of course, there's also struggle between the various corporations and the Actuary, with some wondering just whom is pulling the strings of whom.  The Actuaries embody disciplined will, and their color thematics are yellow, the color of gold.

There's also a 'good' competitor to the republic.  The Free Alliance is a federation of star systems around Tantoonie and other systems in the sliver of space.  They're tired of the Empire's opression, the Hutt's predation, the Corporation's exploitation, and have claimed a huge part of the outer rim as 'off limits' to these powers.  Ironically, they're more unified than the Republic, who sees them as rebels.  However, the Alliance has the Freebooters.  They thumb their noses at the notion that meditation and discipline is the only way to use the force.  You just use it. You get as strong as you can, and you use it in the best way you can think of.  Just leave the world better.  Of course, Freebooters come in conflict with... well... everyone!  Each other.  But generally, the Freebooters try to make things better for others.  They're passionate will, doing what they care about.  Their thematic colors are blues.

The Hutts haven't been idle either.  They've been exploiting whatever the Corporate Sector leaves untouched.  They've become a military power in their own right, building their own warships... granted it's more suited to raiding and smuggling, but it's still a powerful fleet all put together.  And the Hutts have also nurtured their own force users.  Ravagers.  And Ravagers do not give a fack what you think.  They do what they want to do.  They do it because it's fun.  Because they're pissed.  There's no hierarchy, because fuck hierarchy.  There's just right now.  Most of them are addicted to Hutt chemicals designed to redline their force powers in a fight.  Fuck lightsabers.  They use light whips.  Lightgauntlets.  Light chainsaws!  Because they're cool and they want to and FACK YOU!  They embody passionate action and their color is purple.

Finally you have the collapsed sector.  Space that everyone would recolonize if there wasn't so much fighting.  The Mandelorians are technically the power, but they're splintered and scattered.  The whole region is falling into a dark age, with many fearing the contagion will spread.  Force witches terrorize populations into surrendering tribute while mandelorian squads try to organize into a force to take their feet again.  There is an order trying to bring some sort of stability to the region.  Warders are a group of force users who have largely agreed not to kill each other.  Otherwise, every warder is on their own.  Do they want to be a hero?  Fine.  Do that.  Do they want to be a mercenary?  Fine.  Do that.  Every member is free to walk their own path, so long as they walk.   They embody passionate faith, and their color is the orange of a setting sun.

Now there's three more force organizations.  You have the Witnesses.  They're strictly neutral, studying the events and trying to understand what happened 100 years ago versus what is happening now.  They don't get involved and are free to choose their own path, so long as they send in regular reports of their observations.  Their color is gray and they embody balance of will.  

Next you have the Mystics, who every one agrees is useless.  They generally find somewhere out of the way and try to learn more about the force, how it works, and what can you do with it.  Their color is white, and they embody balance of faith.

And lastly you have the Brotherhood.  These are criminals, assassins, and various scum who were handed over to be managed, killed, or reformed.  They are reprogramed through various force techniques to understand their crime and be given a chance to redeem themselves.  They see Vader as their inspiration, but also a cautionary tale.  You can do wrong.  You can do better.  The Brotherhood acts as a force powered police force and embody balance of action.  Their color, appropriately, is black.  THEY ARE NOT EVIL.

So who are the bad guys in this story?  Well... there really isn't one.  Instead you have political, economic, and cultural interests all clashing.  And so into this story you can put new, non-chosen one protagonists.  Maybe the corporate sector is trying to get the Republic and Empire to reopen new conflicts so they can sell to both sides.  Maybe a superweapon is found in the Collapsed Sector and a Warden and Jedi have to keep it out of the hands of a Ravager who wants to carve their name in Corusant's crust.

Maybe you have an Arbiter having to work with a partner who's now in the Brotherhood to investigate a planet where all their workers mysteriously disappeared.

Whatever.  You have choices on the table.

Anyway, I'll try to post more often.  I always feel guilty or stupid with this patreon.  I know I should be posting every day, but I just don't know what to say.  Sorry.

See you in 2020.

Somber