veronica

There's a lot going on. I'm nervous because I have a lot to do for my job and also my union is having a strike vote in a couple weeks. And I'm afraid that after having been very protected during all this, Rush to Reopen will finally grab me and try to force me into the place I would usually have to work at a lot, which is awful at the best of times but would be a death trap now. But I'm lucky, I also am one of a number of comparatively more forceful and influential people who also don't want to be sent there.

Which is to say... I'm going to be talking about media and Star Wars now

Movies I've logged:
The Iron Giant (1999) ★★★★1/2
The Color of Friendship (2000) ★★★
The Fox and the Hound (1981) ★★★
The Prince of Egypt (1998) ★★★★
Mission: Impossible III (2006) ★★1/2
Babe (1995) ★★★★
Oliver & Company (1988) ★★★
How to Train Your Dragon (2010) ★★★★

I'd originally planned to pair my review of Delilah S. Dawson's Black Spire with I guess my review of the Galaxy's Edge theme park it's a quasi-advertisement for, but that part's getting unwieldy and I'll also want to post it under a lock due to the photos, so instead because I've finished Phasma I’m going to post these together, as Black Spire is really like a sequel to Phasma. Outside of anything else, I enjoyed both of them – Dawson's creation Vi Moradi is a really fun character and I'm glad that whoever TPTB are at Luscasfilm plucked her out of Phasma to be the face of Galaxy's Edge and so gave Dawson the opportunity to write a book more centered on her.

And, well, Dawson may have the wickedest imagination I've seen from a Star Wars writer and yet avoids the performative edginess of the SW comics and some other media so. Good job, thanks for the beetles.

( Phasma )

(  Black Spire )

In other Star Wars book news, I had been thinking about reading Queen's Peril to see if it had less of what made me really dislike Queen's Shadow, but then varadia read it and spent the entire day sighing loudly at me so I'm probably going to hold off on that.

(I have Shadowfall with all its precious Hera Syndulla cameos to read, anyway. Which speaking of the next EA game is going to be a fighter pilot game and yes okay one of my first thoughts was 'can I get a Hera cameo' and YES, YES I SURE CAN.)

Sorry for yet another absurdly long Star Wars review post, but -

( My very mixed feelings on the final season of Clone Wars. Obviously spoilers for that, a couple spoilery comments about Star Wars Rebels, and for some reason some contextual discussion of the clones and Order 66 in the Star Wars canon )

Anyway, that is my very long Clone Wars comments. I also finished the Black Spire novel and am combining that with my comments on the Galaxy's Edge park, so my next post will be mostly positive! And hopefully include pictures, we'll see if Someone lets me share my photo of her being interrogated by Stormtroopers for the second time in one day.

(Also it is incidentally George Lucas's birthday today, ah. Happy Birthday! I'd maybe feel more bad about being so casually critical but you have $5 billion and wouldn't let Princess Leia wear a bra so I think you'll be okay.)

Movies I've logged -

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) ★★★★1/2
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) ★★★1/2
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) ★★★1/2
The Sword in the Stone (1963) ★★★
Tigertail (2020) ★★★★
Mary Poppins (1964) ★★★
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) ★★★★
Before Sunrise (1995) ★★★★1/2
The Jungle Book (1967) ★★1/2
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) ★★★★
The Aristocats (1970) ★★★
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) ★★★


And a couple books –

( Wicked Wonders by Ellen Klages )

I don't have a lot to say about Black Beauty. It was definitely a book about a horse. That was on the tin, I can't complain. There were points where I was thinking "Anna Sewell you are really stretching the horse relevance to make pretty unrelated political comments" but.


Beyond that, we're still locked down! Not that much is happening. Despite working from home it feels like a struggle to get through those days of work, even if I vaguely have more energy around them? But it's just even harder than it usually is to feel either motivated or focused, even though there are things I am doing and still am able to do. Kind of. But my supervisor has this a lot worse for various reasons and so I haven't really been very pressed at all about productivity. And I am getting things done, it's just. In any case, still ridiculously lucky, so it's hard to complain about much.

Otherwise, I went on my periodic Sims binge because The Sims 4 was on sale for like $5 and I'm an idiot. I've gotten really into an app called Happy Color that is like a coloring book app but it's just color-according-to-the-numbers, so a relaxing dream for kids who wanted to color inside the lines. It has a ton of free content so I don't mind that it also makes you watch a lot of ads, I just wish those didn't so frequently involve weird murder puzzles? Which is made all the weirder because the apps they're advertising seem to mostly be games about landscaping? I just wanted to relax and mindlessly color pretty pictures please stop threatening this guy with lava I don't.

And we've been cooking a lot of things out of the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Cookbook. Which given that we've now made a lot of things from it I may write up a review of it as well at some point. There was I think a previous official Star Wars cookbook, which had recipes for Star Wars-themed food like 'wookiees cookies' and 'Boba Fett-uccine.' This one tries to create food that would exist in-universe, which given that the movies don't exactly have a strong food tradition outside blue milk seems like it would be a challenge, and also comes off like a lot of time was spent flipping through the food-related articles on Wookieepedia which, you know, relatable. But despite our initially making fun of its name, this book's 'topato soup' has become a quarantine staple for us, it's pretty easy to make and nice and warm and spicy. Granted I've also now made two loaves of Twi'lek mushroom bread. Which you know, is naturally what I've been doing rather than sourdough. But that's where a lot of my 'I don't have to commute now' energy has been going.

( Movies I've logged beneath the cut because um, it's been a lot )

So… yeah, things sure are happening!

Hello from Brooklyn, now one of the epicenters of coivd-19. As we had our first possible tenuous exposure to covid back on March 9, we have pretty much been in social-distancing mode since then, working from home and only going out to the grocery store/pharmacy or for brief exercise walks. On my end, the courts have all closed, but they're now running online hearings for certain emergency issues so it's not really any less work. Other than I don't actually have to go to court, which is not nothing. I've been a little envious of people talking about how they have extra free time, if I'm being honest, while I feel like nope I pretty much have the same 9-5 job, I just have a little more energy from not having to deal with a commute. But also now with every archaic logistical problem with the legal system thrown into super sharp relief.

But we're also extremely lucky. I've had zero indication of job or pay insecurity so far (there's the matter of our union contract expiring in July but uh, we'll see – regardless given the fallout this will all have on the courts I don't see them wanting to lose anyone at the moment). varadia moved down here last year so I don't have to deal with this alone. She sold her old condo back in January which is epically fortuitous timing and gives us a comfortable pillow in savings. And we got in a trip to Star Wars Land at DisneyWorld, which included briefly getting to see my mom, in mid-February. I don't know when I'll be able to physically be near my parents again – so far neither of us have shown symptoms I think are likely covid related (I've had the occasional cough, but I think that's from postnasal drip due to my allergies/rhinitis being worse than usual from being stuck inside), but there's no way of know if we're pre- or asymptomatic and for the moment we basically have to assume we are. So… who knows, there's no real timeline in this.

But I know, this is what we're all living with, who wants to relive it. I was trying to keep a coronavirus journal for a little bit but it feels the same as when I was trying to journal after Trump's election – I already lived through all of this, why am I making myself do it again. But given that there's also being Stuck At Home, there's not a whole a lot else to talk about because otherwise it's taking long baths while reading or watching all Disney movies in chronological order because damn it I paid for this disney+ subscription or rewatching Sexy Tudors for some reason (I started it but now we're at the fall of Anne Boleyn and I don't want to keep going…). Maybe some day I'll finish the fic I'm currently working on, though this was a bad time to be stuck with a fic that's very much getting myself to write the Upsetting Thing I'd Usually Sidestep, so.

I guess there are books that I've read, which:

( Exhalation by Ted Chiang )

( Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain )


( Little Women )


And in inevitable Star Wars media, I also read the third Thrawn book, but I'll complain about space fascists separately. And I guess I could also write about Star Wars Resistance since I did watch all of it (short version: it died as it lived, not knowing wtf it wanted to do), and eventually the return of Clone Wars. I'm currently reading Delilah S. Dawson's Black Spire, and I do want to talk about visiting Star Wars Land as it was an all-around positive Star Wars experience, but I'm thinking about waiting until I finish this book and just writing about the two together because… yes it is a Disney park advertisement. I do also think it's doing a pretty decent job of being more than that but. It is definitely also that.

(I should also talk about Doctor Who sometime given that I did watch it, and it actually did a thing that I love and really never get, but was also... not great.)

In any case, that's the update from the social distancing front – it sucks, but we're also really fortunate.

And now I can safely post these - I've logged most of these on Letterboxd, aside from the very last two which I haven't gotten done yet because I can get lazy and slow -

( 119 movies I watched in 2019 )

This is yet another Star Wars post, though with only one review because I rambled on for 5000+ words, why.

So I read Alexander Freed's Alphabet Squadron and for the most part really loved it? It may be my favorite Star Wars novel now (after A New Dawn, which still wins for on-point Hera characterization, fine). There were a few things I didn't like or that so clearly came off as Editorial Mandate, but overall it tackles a lot of interesting concepts successfully where other writers have fallen, and adds many cool and creative elements to the universe that I haven't seen before.

The book takes place post-Return of the Jedi and is about a group of pilots who are collected to hunt down Shadow Wing, a particularly dangerous Imperial TIE contingent. True to form (I think) for a Rebel story, this is a ragtag band that is sourced from various places - the squadron's organizers and de facto leaders are Caern Adan, a New Republic intelligence officer who is extremely determined and also totally out of his depth, and the book's protagonist Yrica Quell, a relatively recent Imperial defector who herself used to fly with Shadow Wing. These two recruit Nath Tensent, also a former Imperial defector who's more interested in being a scoundrel but especially hates Shadow Wing and so goes along with it; Kairos, who spends most of her time being a Mysterious Alien but okay I still love her; and Chass na Chadic and Wyl Lark, two long-term Rebellion pilots. Each pilot specializes in a different type of ship, hence "Alphabet." They operate out of the Lodestar, a New Republic carrier led by our Special Guest Preexisting Character General Syndulla.

A few of my highlights were:

- This is, I think, the first actual fighter pilot story of the new canon. I think some people expected that of Star Wars Resistance and it was… not. But this book is first and foremost about pilots, and the work of pilots. It also kiiind of wants to be about spies, or at least intelligence work, and it is the latter to some extent. But a lot of reading it felt like watching the pilot-heavy episodes of Battlestar Galactica. In a good way! And the "Alphabet Squadron" concept means organically incorporating basically every type of Rebel fighter, which is more fun than All X-Wings All The Time. Freed also very successfully makes space battles engaging on the page which is no small feat, there are multiple books where I've checked out on action and space battle action in particular because I can't follow what the author is trying to say. Freed works very well at giving the battles both beauty and horror, which makes them more emotionally engaging than a straight up list of maneuvers.

- With one exception, it's miles ahead of anything else I've read when it comes to handling Imperial characters. While the book shifts around POVs, the protagonist is really Quell, a pilot who defected from the Empire after Endor. And while she as an unreliable narrator tries to justify her actions, Freed through the narrative never does. He doesn't rationalize, justify, or defend her behavior in up until very recently supporting and perpetuating Space Fascism. He really doesn't engage in any of this "well sometimes they have a point in being mad at the Rebellion" kind of thing I've seen other writers do when trying to be "complex," nor does he take on the nihilistic attitude of "they're really all the same so it doesn't matter." Freed's narrative here understands that support for fascistic regimes is driven by emotion rather than logic, and that understanding makes for a richer story that combines Imperial defectors and Rebel stalwarts.

- Very creative additions to the universe: the interrogation ball droid reprogrammed to be a benevolent(?) psychiatrist like, *chef's kiss* there; Chass' music yes yes very good yes; Wyl Lark's whole background; Imperial numbers stations; Kairos in general; the Rebel pilots' nicknames for individual TIE Fighters; in general I thought Freed did really effective work with the planets, I was always really into it when I was reading about them and there was enough evocative detail to get a feel of the place without the narrative getting distracted.

- I like that there's a nice mix of humans and aliens? Tensent, Quell, and Lark are human, which Tensent and Quell are both ex-Imperials and so kind of have to be. Chass is Theelin, Adan is Balosar, Kairos is This Alien Species Will Not Be Disclosed At This Time. Anyway I was recently reading one of the Fantasy Flight Star Wars rulebooks which decided all Balosars are culturally conmen and grifters because of One Stupid Scene In A Movie and I'm still mad about it. why are ttrpg books so terrible at wordbuilding I'm saying

- For me, Freed managed to handle the darker themes/events of the book without falling into the kind of nihilism that has put me off other SW writers. There are some very dark elements to this story, but it's a full on war story and while I didn't always enjoy them, I did come out feeling like they were there for the purpose of a narrative about war and violence, and not the kind of performative edginess a lot of writers seem to like sinking into. I never felt like Freed was screaming "look how dark this is! This isn't your little kid's Star Wars!" and etc., and Freed also maintains the line of war is hell but also genocidal fascism so...

- Yes, okay, Hera was fine. It's fine. She's fine.

... and that's as much as I think I can say without going into straight up spoilers, so -


( Alphabet Squadron spoilers and me never shutting up here )

Happy Holidays! I've been pretty busy, as I've only had today off (I'll also be taking December 31 off along with Jan 1, but that's it), but I did manage to participate in Yuletide this year. And I got a really great gift!

Rules for Being a Good Friend (1114 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Miss Sherlock
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: None
Characters: Hatano Kimie, Tachibana Wato, Sherlock | Futaba Sara Shelly
Summary: After the first season, there are new rules.

Sherlock had been hoping for something more interesting, like the time Kento sent her on the trail of some stolen submarine plans. Or perhaps there would be something even more unconventional, like a giant gemstone swallowed by a prize tuna, or a family that believed their restaurant was haunted by a restless ghost. The death of a fence at the hands of a thief was hardly worth the trip. But at least the dead man had had decent taste in curry.


I watched Miss Sherlock a few months ago with varadia and enjoyed it, so it was great to have the opportunity to get more of it here. I can't talk too much about this fic with out spoiling the first season, but I really love the dynamics of Sherlock and Wato-san and Mrs. Hatano (the Mrs. Hudson equivalent), and the way the show adapted in original Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and the author does a wonderful job of working with that here, it's all really fun, and then also sweet, and nice to have after that finale.

I haven't had time to really look through anything else, but I hope the rest of you participating have had a fun Yuletide! Or just a pleasant/day week in general :)

So I'm going to try to stop being the worst and at least get this post up before author reveals – YULETIDE! I got three fics again this year!

My gift was:
Secret Santa Shindig (1337 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Pushing Daisies
Rating: Teens and Up
Warnings: None
Characters: Emerson Cod, Olive Snook, Narrator (Pushing Daisies)
Summary: Emerson Cod just wants to be left alone to knit. Olive has other plans. Nefarious breath holding plans. Well, kind of.

The facts were these... after several weeks of persistence; Emerson had finally given in to the continuous pleas from the terrible tag team trio that was Chuck, Olive and Ned. His giving in, of course, referred to his participation in a Secret Santa Shindig. A Secret Santa Shindig that meant gifting a present upon someone else in secret at the Pie Hole’s first annual Pie Hol-e-day. Not that Olive had taken any notice of the secrecy part of a Secret Santa Shindig and had taken upon herself to become the detective out of the quartet finding out whom each and everyone had gotten for everyone else. A job she was currently failing at with regards to one grouchy, grumpy, gruff, Grinch of a detective.

“You know you’re not even holding your breath.” Emerson muttered grumpily.

The Pie Hole has a Secret Santa! Olive is trying to figure out who got whom! Emerson is annoyed at everything! It is the best. Super adorable, and basically makes me want ALL the Pie Hole holiday shenanigans. (I'm pretty sure Chuck would have the most amazing Hanukkah sweaters, I'm just saying.) And also all the Emerson as a detective-mentor for Olive shenanigans. Because they are clearly the greatest. The author does such a wonderful job with the narrator voice and the two of them, I could easily see the scene in my mind, it was so great.


And I also got two Yuletide Madness treats!

economy of movement (120 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Brick (2005)
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Characters: Brendan Frye, The Brain (Brick)
Summary: Information is seeing things.

"Fresh bump on the back of your head," Brain said, as Brendan tossed him the Rubik cube. "You hanging with Kara now?"

I'm leaving it at that because I'd get too tempted to just quote the entire thing, but. It's Brick prequel fic, from a time I really love to see glimpses, and Brain makes fun of Brendan, which I also love. And the author totally nails the dialogue, so yes I am so delighted someone wrote this!


Perks and Caffeination (3902 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Characters: Leslie Knope, Tom Haverford, April Ludgate, Andy Dwyer, Ann Perkins, Ron Swanson, Donna Meagle, Ben Wyatt, Chris Traeger, April Ludgate
Summary: When lot 48 is about to be replaced by another shop, rumour has it the replacement could put both Leslie's store, Perks, and her competition from Eagleton, Caffeinenation, out of business.

“But Star-” started Tom before Leslie raised her index finger.
“Do NOT say that name, Tom.” She shook her finger back and forth. “You know we have to say They Who Shall Not Be Named, just like He Who Shall Not Be Named in the Harry Potter books.”

“You mean Voldem-”

“DON'T SAY THAT EITHER TOM, GOD.”

Parks and Rec coffee shop AU! It is super adorable, I am always for Leslie Knope's enthusiasm for EVERYTHING and also Harry Potter-related fanaticism. It's all-around really cute and hilarious.


And hopefully I will get around to reading more of the Yuletide collection. I have just been distracted recently with:

- Being sick (I'd kind of like to say that the end of Korra gave me literal heart palpitations... but it was more like not sleeping for three days made my body just go NOPE. But I'm better now!)
- Writing Korra meta (the last two minutes has like 1000+ words right now so help me)
- Scheduling 500 doctor-type appointments (maybe one day I won't mess up the insurance issues or get the date wrong and I will actually go to one of them!!!!)
- Other things I will talk about very soon! Yeah.