Star Wars: The Ancient Force

FIXING PLOT HOLES, CLICHÉS, ADDING DEPTH, ETC.

My aim was to help strengthen the Star Wars world without changing canon. Canon is god, but as even CinemaSins points out in no less than 300 sins, every story has weak points. Below are a few weaknesses in the films and my methods of toughening them with an elegant band-aid.

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==Force vs. Force user==

Why doesn't every wizard just say Expelliarmus Expelliarmus Expelliarmus, or better yet, Avada Kedavra Avada Kedavra. The same with the Star Wars equivalent: Force Pulling another Jedi's lightsaber away, or just Force Choking the brat. Rules must be made, otherwise it hurts the head. To fix this hole, I created the rule that various actions with the Force cannot be achieved on or adjacent to another Force-sensitive person because the essence-flow of both people would collide and interfere.

Except wait... now there's no Force Fondling...?!

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==Evil is cliché==

The Ancient Force aims to show that there is a very human side to the Imperials and Dark Side users, to show they are not a mindless evil for evil's sake but simply humans trying to be achieve happiness without regards for others. Hence the talk about the Imperials' depressing food and glimpses of their social interactions revolving around honor, desperation, personal fulfillment, and avoiding pain.

"Evil" in every shape and form is cliché. It has no depth or relatability. Lucas based the Imperials off of Nazis, but even Hitler had outstanding charisma and promises of ending a great depression. With Hitler's good intentions yet sick human flaws, he manipulated good desperate people like us into becoming monsters.

The Emperor and every evil that Lucas created can have this depth too, we just have to find it. Except Jar Jar Binks. He'sa pure evil.

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==As bad as stormtrooper-aim==

Though in reality, stormtrooper-aim is probably closer to real-world aim than anything, they still can't hit. And thanks to one friendless stormtrooper, R.I.P., now we know why.

"Mass-produced pieces of crap. They shoot randomly. They are impossible."

With thousands if not hundreds of thousands of troops, even their undies are mass-produced. That's probably a stormtrooper's first job as a kid. Gotta have something to look forward to.

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==Force's emotional influence==

In Star Wars, emotions affect the Force's alignment. In The Ancient Force, the opposite is also true. This two-way street not only allows for more drama, but it mimics the way our hormonal chemistry really works, plus fixes a particular conflict in plot. This conflict was created when Yoda said once you start down the Dark path, you'll be Dark-aligned forever, but then Luke went down that path when he cut off his father's hand, yet didn't turn Dark permanently. This would suggest that a 900 year old master was wrong, or at least intentionally overgeneralizing to teach Luke's impressionable mind. But then why did Vader return from the Dark Side so late in the game when he could have chosen to at any time. Simple fix: they don't have complete control over their "choices;" Yoda is half right and half overgeneralizing: one can easily turn Dark permanently, but not necessarily.

One could also see this conflict in plot as the result of the galaxy having no schools of psychology to explain emotions and instead must rely on the inaccurate nonsense of religion.

Otherwise, if you go with "Yoda was wrong or overgeneralizing," you could explain it as they have complete control over their choices but Vader just said "screw all ya'll" in that he no longer had anything to live for after Padme, and after giving-in to a perfectly normal temper-tantrum-of-slaughter and feeling too guilty to act on his own choices ever again, hence following Palpatine's choices. Try handing any livid teen a gun and see if he doesn't make Grand Theft Auto real. This is why I don't own guns... too many people, so little time before I'm found...

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==Wardrobe symbolism==

Imagine an RPG character waking up every morning, looking at their wardrobe, and saying "This bikini armor will do nicely!" then spending the next half-hour lacing up their knee-high boots...

In Star Wars, they don't have mornings, they have symbolism. In portraying Luke's internal pain and fall towards the Dark Side, his black outfit in Return of the Jedi was a visually symbolic choice made by Lucas, not by Luke. But it can be both!

In The Ancient Force, the Force's alignment can influence conscious choices, much like our internal chemistry influences us. Therefore, while Luke believes he chose black to look professional or serious, he is unaware that his lean towards the Dark Side helped influence his choice through affinity, as there are many ways to look professional.

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==Who can be sensed? 2 rules==

The Force is in all things, so theoretically a Force-sensitive can sense the location of all things. This allows for missions to be a bit too easy.

The easy route is to say it simply requires training. But I like depth and redefining canon. So I looked at Return of the Jedi to elaborate on. Luke could sense Vader from a long distance, but no mention of the more powerful Emperor, nor any mention of sensing anyone else, even Leia when she was lost on Endor.

First, I created the rule that Force-sensitives are easy to feel due to their concentration of Force essence, whereas non-sensitives are hard.

Second, the Leia and Emperor bit I call a lack of Luke's skill, but with Vader I call it a deep connection with the Light. So I created the rule that part of the Light's power (the true Light, not the Mid) is connecting to people, i.e. the opposite of the Dark's loneliness and hatred. With all their dire loneliness, Luke and Vader certainly wanted to hug. I'm envisioning it now... how freakin' cute, and creepy...

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==Who can heal?==

In the Legends/EU, various Jedi have been known to heal, some with the aid of particular crystals. I didn't want to override long-established healing methods with my world's rules on healing, I want both to be possible for whoever wishes it to be.

In both the Legends/EU world and mine, a Jedi can use Light Side or Dark Side powers without necessarily being permanently aligned to one or the other. Thus, in either world, any Jedi could potentially heal. However, with my version of the Light Side, it's only natural that only Light powers can heal, and only natural that happiness for that person would cause it, it being the opposite of hatred for the person. But it's not for me to overwrite fanfic history, hence Luke and Terigo's discussion about Dark healers.

In their discussion, for readers that wish the Legends/EU rules to be true, their discussion establishes that essentially anyone could use the powers of Light to heal, or since Terigo didn't see the Dark user heal, she could've just not seen them use healing crystals.

But for those that sway towards only-Light-users-can-heal, then focus on Terigo's line: "or maybe I'm wrong..." She could certainly be wrong about what she thought happened, that the Dark user did not heal.

It's up to you.

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==Light Side vs. Light Side==

While in other Canon/Legends/EU stories there has been the "Grey Side" of the Force or "grey Jedi," I never thought the characteristics of the film's Light Side were truly opposite of the Dark Side, that the Light Side is in fact the "grey/middle" side. The Dark Side is hatred, aggression, and fear, so when you use the Yin/Yang model of Light/Dark, you can assume that if all Dark characteristics are negative or destructive or aggressive, then Light must be positive or constructive or bonding characteristics, i.e. antipathic vs. empathic. This is not what the films' Light Side establishes itself as. Its emotionless or apathy is that of a grey or middle side, not Light.