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Jun. 8th, 2019 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsE.K. Johnston's Padmé book Queen's Shadow was good enough that I have now followed up with her Ahsoka tie-in novel (titled, helpfully, Ahsoka) and a.) it is not as laser-targeted to my interests as the Padmé book but it is also quite good! b.) I have so much respect for E.K. Johnston's determination to edge every big-name Star Wars character she's handed as close to canon queer as she possibly can under the constraints of her contract; a deeply noble quest and one in which she absolutely must be supported.
The book takes Ahsoka on her journey from keeping her head down as a fugitive in the wake of the [as yet un-filmed] end of the Clone Wars to becoming an active participant in the nascent Rebellion, by way of a small farming planet, where she meets a girl --
JOHNSTON: Who will be her love interest!
DISNEY: You cannot make Ahsoka gay.
JOHNSTON: OK, but I can make my OC gay, right?
DISNEY: Sure --
JOHNSTON: And give her a crush on Ahsoka, right? Ahsoka's a protagonist, it makes sense that people would fall for her, yeah?
DISNEY: We guess --
JOHNSTON: And then, I mean, obviously she'll confess her feelings to Ahsoka when Ahsoka rescues her from an Imperial prison --
DISNEY: Wait a minute --
JOHNSTON: And then I'll end the scene before Ahsoka has a chance to say anything more than "Thanks and we're not going to die!"
DISNEY: You're on thin ice here, Johnston.
JOHNSTON: SCHRODINGER'S GAY 🏳️🌈
-- and accidentally ends up organizing the resistance to Imperial occupation! She also befriends a smuggler family and fights some Jedi hunters while figuring out how to protagonist in a different way than the military leadership role she played in the war.
I generally appreciate both Johnston's big-picture and small-picture takes on the Star Wars universe; I like the broad sweep of Ahsoka's journey, but also the text was full of small pleasing moments, such as "Ahsoka is startled to find that the universe is full of people who are just ordinary good at things and not world-altering protagonist prodigies" and "Bail Organa is concerned that his daughter will somehow teach herself to read secret dossiers and get involved in the Resistance at the age of three."
My biggest complaint: I am here for the brief glimpses of Ahsoka's clone feelings that we got, especially at this particular moment in Star Wars canon time right after Order 66, but I wanted more of them! However, I understand that I cannot expect every good professional Star Wars fanfic to be perfectly tailored to all my interests.
The book takes Ahsoka on her journey from keeping her head down as a fugitive in the wake of the [as yet un-filmed] end of the Clone Wars to becoming an active participant in the nascent Rebellion, by way of a small farming planet, where she meets a girl --
JOHNSTON: Who will be her love interest!
DISNEY: You cannot make Ahsoka gay.
JOHNSTON: OK, but I can make my OC gay, right?
DISNEY: Sure --
JOHNSTON: And give her a crush on Ahsoka, right? Ahsoka's a protagonist, it makes sense that people would fall for her, yeah?
DISNEY: We guess --
JOHNSTON: And then, I mean, obviously she'll confess her feelings to Ahsoka when Ahsoka rescues her from an Imperial prison --
DISNEY: Wait a minute --
JOHNSTON: And then I'll end the scene before Ahsoka has a chance to say anything more than "Thanks and we're not going to die!"
DISNEY: You're on thin ice here, Johnston.
JOHNSTON: SCHRODINGER'S GAY 🏳️🌈
-- and accidentally ends up organizing the resistance to Imperial occupation! She also befriends a smuggler family and fights some Jedi hunters while figuring out how to protagonist in a different way than the military leadership role she played in the war.
I generally appreciate both Johnston's big-picture and small-picture takes on the Star Wars universe; I like the broad sweep of Ahsoka's journey, but also the text was full of small pleasing moments, such as "Ahsoka is startled to find that the universe is full of people who are just ordinary good at things and not world-altering protagonist prodigies" and "Bail Organa is concerned that his daughter will somehow teach herself to read secret dossiers and get involved in the Resistance at the age of three."
My biggest complaint: I am here for the brief glimpses of Ahsoka's clone feelings that we got, especially at this particular moment in Star Wars canon time right after Order 66, but I wanted more of them! However, I understand that I cannot expect every good professional Star Wars fanfic to be perfectly tailored to all my interests.
