No one's ever really gone

First, let me get my (spoiler free) Rise of Skywalker hot take out of the way: I loved it. My dad loved it too, and he's been a Star Wars fan since A New Hope came out. It's not a flawless movie, I had a few plot quibbles and thought the big halfway-through-the-movie twist was really dumb, but I thought it was a perfectly fun, beautiful-looking, heartfelt Star Wars movie. I went twice and cried both times. I want to buy one of the lightsabers. I want to be Dark Rey for Halloween.

My first Star Wars movie was Phantom Menace, and I think this shaped the kind of fan I am and how I reacted to the sequels. I was nine years old, and I still remember how excited my dad was to take his kid to see a new Star Wars movie in theaters. That excitement died a quick and terrible death, but it gave me the Star Wars bug: I loved the grungy ships and the cool creature costumes, I loved Darth Maul's double lightsaber and Padme's senate gowns and the fight between good and evil. It led me to the original trilogy, which I loved even more (Luke/Leia was my first ever ship). My introduction to Star Wars came with the heavy knowledge that as George Lucas giveth, George Lucas taketh away. Only Sith deal in absolutes.

I love the sequel trilogy, but I feel like I experienced it on the sidelines a little bit. Rise of Skywalker was the first one I saw in theaters; I didn't see The Last Jedi until the week before TROS came out (partly because it got such bad reviews; I could see the plot problems but I enjoyed the hell out of that one too). I played around in the fandom for a bit in 2016, and I dipped back in occasionally in the past couple years, but it was never my main fandom. Partly because I was behind on canon, partly because the whole fandom was a cesspit of discourse and shipping drama, partly because I had other fandoms I cared about more.



( Cut for Rise of Skywalker spoilers )

I'm trying to follow Rose Tico's advice, and save the things I love instead of destroying the things I hate. I want to catch up on Rogue One and Solo and The Mandalorian, and maybe dip my toes into the EU. I'll write the fic I want to read, and maybe it'll make another fan like me happy. 

ETA: I made a Star Wars wishlist for snowflake challenge, mostly asking for EU and fanwork recs. Pop over there if you have something to rec!

Snowflake Challenge, day 6

Snowflake Challenge number 6: In your own space, make a list — anything between one and ten things is a sweet spot, but don't feel constrained by that! - of things that you wish existed in fandom or elsewhere, or that you'd like someone to make for you. Are you dying for podfic of your writing? Do you need icons for a character that doesn't get much fanart? Is there a story you want to read? Are you looking for new canons to get into? Would you like a collaborator for a project?

Maybe you want more people to talk about a certain fandom with, or you'd love to trade ficlets with somebody over email. Maybe you're new to a fandom and would like some recs to start reading, or communities to join. This is the time to ask!

The Rise of Skywalker got me back into Star Wars in a big way, so that's what my wishlist will focus on! Star Wars fandom is so vast and convoluted that it can be hard to find things you like, or even to find a good entry point to the genre you're interested in. I've seen all nine main continuity movies and read a lot of fic, but my experience with the EU is limited to a kids' Jedi school novel I read in the early 2000s. I make some ship-specific requests below, but I'll read pretty much any ship as long as it isn't bashing other ships.

Here's my post-TROS Star Wars wish list (here lie spoilers):

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