Hey Nonnie! Yeah, I think you would be able to follow it all! There are plenty of nerdy nods-back to the original trilogy, but the basic assumed knowledge that the films build upon is this:
– Darth Vader is the guy with the helmet and heavy breathing from the old films. He is the dad of Luke and Leia. Very dramatic reveal, many memes, etc.
– Once upon a time, the Galaxy was ruled by a republic. There were lots of Jedi (mindbendy force-using warriors).
– Darth Vader et al threw down the republic, and replaced it with the Empire.
– Leia & Luke et al overthrew the Empire. Leia gets it on with Han (Harrison Ford). Luke becomes a Jedi.
*CUE THIRTY YEARS*
Basically, that’s ALL you need to know in order to understand the basic set-up. There is so so so so so soooo much more, of course, but that is the essential stuff… and they have cleverly woven all this information into key places in the film anyway. So don’t let the fact that there is a pre-existing body of stuff deter you from diving in and knowing these amazing new characters, Nonnie! It’s SO WORTH IT 🙂
Ok but I feel like this guy knew him and I want that story
Need to know the relationship between Finn, this stormtrooper, and the one that died in Finn’s arms.
I already read a fic that gave the dying trooper designation FN-2003. I need some fanon to fill in the gaps.
I think Finn made friends fast, boy had like six people shouting traitor at different points of the movie.
FN2187 was popular and his defection pierced the hearts of the entire fn troop
YOOOOOOOO I HAVE THE CANONICAL ANSWER FOR THIS AND I’M SEEING ALL THESE TR-8R POSTS I CANNOT STAY SILENT.
Greg Rucka’s Star Wars novel Before the Awakening is A) Quite good and B) Explains much about Finn’s stormtrooper training and social circle leading up to the movie.
In a nutshell:
Finn was trained in a squad of four boys: Him (FN-2187), Nines, Zero and Slip.
Nines and Zero have nicknames based on their alphanumerical designations (Zero’s is FN-2003, likely used by the ficcer mentioned above, Nines ended in 9s, etc.). Slip was called slip because he was a fuckup.
Turns out, most troopers have nicknames
Why does FN-2187 not have a nickname? Because nobody really likes him. An older trooper tells him straight to his face: he’s an outsider. It just happens to some troopers.
Why is this extra tragic? Is it because Finn’s a shitty trooper? NO. He’s actually top of his little trooper class. He’s the fucking bomb, with a blaster, with tactics, with hand-to-hand weapons. Phasma’s got extremely high expectations for him. (what a fuckin mary sue amirite)
So why is this actually extra tragic? What’s Phasma’s one problem with him? Finn cares too much. He cares about keeping his squad alive.
He cares about going back for his friends more than the mission objective SOUND FAMILIAR?
So Phasma tells him to stop coddling Slip or face consequences. He does.
And then: the skirmish on Jakku. A trooper dies and Finn loses his final shred of faith in the First Order. Who is that trooper? PROBABLY SLIP, IT REALLY SEEMS LIKE. Basically Finn’s brother, even if he never really fit in with his squad.
And then: the first thing Poe does is give him a nickname based on his alphanumerical designation JUST LIKE HIS TROOPER FAMILY, NINES AND ZERO AND SLIP, WHO NEVER LIKED HIM ENOUGH TO GIVE HIM ONE.
IN CONCLUSION the trooper in the gifset above who recognizes Finn on sight (and who has been meme-nicknamed TR-8R) is likely Zero or Nines.
The fact that Rey’s natural weapon is a pole/quarterstaff thing makes me really hope this is where she’s headed.
I am really hoping for this, except with a longer handle in the middle and a shorter blade on each end. Tell me she couldn’t engineer that, I dare you. And it would be cool.
OR she could keep her normal weapon and pimp it out with lightsabers.
Kylo Ren would be so jealous.
hehe
me: *watching the force awakens*
me: …
me: i am in love with poe dameron he is the love of my life…
me: …
me: i am in love with finn he is the love of my life…
me: …
me: i am in love with rey she is the love of my life…
Aw Yiss 