#KANAN'S THEME

[kyberkanan]

the soundtrack of ahsoka (2023) really has SOOO much heart, like i can’t get over kanan’s theme playing when jacen’s listening to the waves. or when hera’s theme plays when ezra says “i think i might be going home after all”, his home is with his mom :((

[kanerallels]

The good news about the Star Wars Rebels season four soundtrack being released is that I can listen to what is objectively one of my favorite Star Wars themes of all time, "Prepping For Rescue"

The less good news is HOLY KARK the rest of this soundtrack personally attacks you from here onwards

[heyclickadee]

I rewatched “Jedi Knight” the other day, since my brother is watching Rebels and I thought, may as well, and.

Ya know.

If there’s an episode of The Bad Batch that’s an inverse of “Jedi Knight,” “Plan 99” is it.

I love both episodes. I do. They’re painful, but they’re both very, very good. In fact, right now, sitting very solidly in my ‘Tech lives’ mindset, if you pushed me and asked which one I thought was better, I’d probably say “Plan 99,” just by a hair—though that changes on a day to day basis.

They’re both successful at doing what they set out to do, but they’re doing very different things. The way it’s structured, the way the beats play out, the emotions that hit, “Jedi Knight” is 5000% a character farewell episode from beginning to end.

“Plan 99” isn’t. At all.

And unless it turns out I’m really wrong, that’s a good thing.

[dreamoflosingsleep]

KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS KANAN JARRUS

[bikananjarrus]

new wintery blue icon and mobile theme 💙🩵💙

[gffa]

I think Ahsoka has been overcooked and undercooked in Filoni’s brain at the same time, I think he’s spent so long thinking about this story he wants to tell that he’s no longer writing the connections that the story needs, that those of us outside his brain haven’t had the last ten years of simmering with to assimilate into our background noise, while also I think he hasn’t spent enough time really digging into the smaller details. Sabine’s character is the epitome of this for me--there’s clearly so much thought he’s given her in this show, the little details in that room that are so packed full you’d need to pause the video to see everything, where you can see Ezra’s helmet or Sabine’s helmet on the quick pan through the scene, where the scene she cuts her hair is a callback to Kanan cutting his hair as he’s ready to step back onto a new path, the Ezra hologram that was specifically for her, she’s allowed to be angry and messy, etc., you can’t say that Filoni didn’t give her a ton of thought! But she’s also undercooked in this show because there’s this entire relationship she had with Ahsoka that takes place off-screen and dramatically changes their dynamic without acknowledging that it’s a change for us, the audience. And there’s an entire motivation for “Why the hell does Sabine want to be a Jedi?” and “Why did Sabine set aside her Mandalorian armor?” that’s just not there because I think Felony has spent so much time thinking about Sabine’s journey, about her connection to Ezra and how to weave Ahsoka as a mentor (because of Ahsoka’s own issues with masters and apprentices, he wants to play on those themes), that he’s been writing this in his head since he first finished the Rebels finale’s script, that he’s no longer writing it on the actual paper for us the audience. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s spent too long with this story in his head, so he’s just made connections that have become part of the scenery for him, like, of course Sabine set aside her armor, of course Sabine was training with Ezra’s lightsaber with Jedi training, of course she’s Ahsoka’s Padawan, meanwhile I just finished watching Rebels and am going, “Dave, what the hell are you talking about, none of that was in the show I just finished speedrunning to watch this show!”

[tea-partea]

Oooh I love this analysis! It’s so fun how all the characters have their own unique themes in the music throughout Rebels! Can’t wait to hear them again in Ahsoka, too! Now I have to go listen to the Rebels soundtrack so I can recognize them all.

Ahsoka- Notes on Episode 2 and Kiner’s musical score made by a Sabezra shipper. (You’ve been warned.)

Ahsoka hears voices. She seems to be hearing Sabine’s dream. Sabine is dreaming of Ezra once again. A fragmented rendition of Ezra’s theme can be heard very briefly along with the voices in the dream, but the music is mostly mysterious and unrelated to any other character’s theme.

Baylan & Shin at the stone circle. The end of this track reminds me of purrgil song. I didn’t see them until someone pointed them out in this screenshot.

Lothal tower. Ahsoka hears voices from the past (Sabine vs. Shin fight). Ahsoka’s theme (fragment). Flute plays during loth-cat’s appearance.

Ahsoka inside the tower scene: Music from the Clone Wars is heard. A quiet quotation of Ezra’s Theme is played by the cello when his hologram is activated. Ahsoka destroys assassin droid.

Hospital scene with Sabine trying to recover the droid’s memory. “It’s now or never” is a line that Sabine says that was spoken by both Ezra and Sabine in Rebels. Hera’s Theme can be heard when she tells Sabine “You did good.”

Morgan arrives at the stone circle. Morgan opens the star map for Baylan & Shin. Mostly new musical material here. Thrawn’s theme is heard when Morgan mentions him. There is purrgil imagery in this scene and the first mention of the Eye of Sion. Sinister and mysterious music is used here with a big crescendo to end the scene.

Ahsoka arrives on Corellia. Incidental music here does not use familiar themes until Hera asks Ahsoka to teach Sabine again. The music here is based on Ahsoka’s Theme until Hera asks that question.

Sabine & Huyang and the lightsaber. Sabine says it is “Ezra’s lightsaber.” Huyang says it is hers now. No music during most of the conversation. Sabine says she does not have the talent “like Ezra.” We finally hear Sabine’s Theme when Huyang says “The only time you are wasting is your own.”

Hera & Ahsoka on Corellia. Incidental music doesn’t make use of familiar themes until we hear the first three notes of Ahsoka’s Theme when she leaps out of the window. Fight with Inquisitor and droid. Hera & Chopper in pursuit of stolen SSD hyperdrive. Action sequences have new incidental music.

Sabine returns to the tower. Sabine’s Theme is heard as she lays out her armor. After she cuts her hair the first two notes of Ezra’s Theme crescendo as the scene changes.

Hera, Chopper, & Ahsoka on Corellia. Ahsoka gets a holo from Sabine saying that she’s ready. This is new incidental music until Hera’s theme is heard as she watches Ahsoka’s ship leaving at the end of the scene.

Sabine at the mural. This is new music until Sabine walks toward Ahsoka. A subtle rendition of Ezra’s theme is heard here. From NLB’s acting and the music we know she’s going on this quest because of Ezra. ❤️

Ahsoka & Sabine depart. Segue to the Eye of Sion under construction. Morgan mentions Thrawn and his theme is quoted briefly under her dialogue. The other music used is new.

End credits music: Intro, Sabine’s Theme, Ahsoka’s Theme, Hera’s Theme, and a reprise of Ahsoka’s Theme.

When they find Ezra and Thrawn I hope we hear more of their themes used with the end credits. I loved how Kiner sometimes changed the end credits Music for Rebels to fit with the mood of the episode. I hope he will do that in this series too.

Bonus: a new arrangement of the End Titles Music.

[spectre-week]

Join us for Spectre Week!

This is a fanwork event week celebrating the Ghost Crew from Star Wars Rebels, AKA the Spectres.

May 25-31, 2024.

No prompts! Just a theme: Tales of the Spectres.

Alllll the backstories! Inspired by the Star Wars animated Tales… series, our theme will focus on the Spectres’ lives before they became a crew, a team, and, in some ways, a family.

Each day of the event will feature works about the day’s Spectre:

Day One-Spectre One (Kanan)

Day Two-Spectre Two (Hera)

Day Three-Spectre Three (Chopper)

Day Four-Spectre Four (Zeb)

Day Five-Spectre Five (Sabine)

Day Six-Spectre Six (Ezra)

Day Seven-Free

The only limitations for fanworks are these:

Character: Feature one character per day, on the appropriate day.

Timeframe: Tell any part of their backstory that you want, from birth until just before Spark of Rebellion.

NSFW: This event is open to NSFW content, but please tag it as such and place it under a cut as needed.

Other than that, the rest is up to you! We’ll send out more info soon, but we hope that’s enough to get you started. If you have any questions, Just Ask!

Please reblog to spread the news!

[astheforcewillsit]

Discussing themes of selflessness and sacrafice further, I understand that the fandom tends to negatively view the comparisons between the Jedi Order and Christianity negatively, but I do think there's some positives in those comparisons.

I see Christian themes in the self-sacrificial ways that specifically Kanan and Ezra act in the face of their own mortality and potential death.

In fact that same theme is seen in Jedi like Yoda and Luke as well. Even Obi-Wan (who we all jokingly call space Jesus).

They are willing to sacrafice their life because their higher power guides them to. They aren't forced to do so, and they know it will involve suffering, but they do it because it's the right thing to do and that's what they've been taught.

Even Ahsoka, who's famously not a Jedi, was willing to die with Anakin.

Kanan accepts that he'll potentially need to sacrafice himself, and Ezra does too. Ezra is upset by it and doesn't want to have to sacrafice himself, but he does. It's screams of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

I don't think comparing the Jedi to a selfless figure like Jesus is bad, or drawing parallels between the Order and Christianity is bad either. Rebels itself has always had heavy themes of the Abrahamic religions in it, and I think this is just another great example of it.

And I don't it's all just Christian. I think Star Wars in general is an accumulation of many religions. But Christian parallels between the Jedi Order and Christianity don't always have to be negative, especially when they're there.

[kanerallels]

Zero Hour is great for many reasons, including but not limited to:

"You talk too much"

Zeb and Rex hanging out together

Kanan picking a fight with the Bendu who immediately goes Galadriel being tempted by the Ring mode

Kanan taking out more AT-ATs

Literally everyone references Sabine so much it's so sweet how much they miss her

Wedge!!!!!!

Kallus's little smirk in the elevator

Sato's sacrifice

"I get the feeling Thrawn is actually trying to kill us this time." "That is only funny because you're still alive. Now please, come home, love"

Mandalorians kicking butt my beloved

"Looks like the family's back together again"

Sabine and Ezra being together again my beloved

Kanera acting VERY married in this episode

The theme when they escape from the blockade? Hecking CHEF'S KISS

Kanan being kind and forgiving to Kallus I really really love that scene

And of course, the Bendu accidentally implying that AP-5 is more powerful than a mystical Force being

[monvante]

persona non grata ╱ myg, 𝟏.

per·​so·​na non gra·​ta: unwelcome or unwanted. not popular or accepted by others.

pairing: myg x f!reader

genre: suspense / noir / detective au

rating: mature | 18+

chapter word count: 3,067

content warings: crime, blackmail, missing person investigation, themes of violence and murder, 90's cult references, corrupt cops, mentions of physical fighting, cockroaches, depictions of dementia, substance abuse & addiction, reader is grieving a breakup;

next chapter | series navigation | masterlist

chapter i. goodbye, kanan.

Tuesday night, March 18th @ ViCAP Unit, Missing Persons Dept.

Your hands don’t feel clean. They just never do. 

“It’s that same nightmare,” you rub them together, finding comfort in the heat.

Yoongi looks at you. He says nothing, because of course he doesn't. He already noticed the dark circles under your eyes this morning, how you looked at your cup of coffee with a bit more disgust than usual.

He admired your hatred, your devotion to your spiteful heart.

“Cockroaches.” Your sad chuckle is but self-mockery. Your gaze is crestfallen.

He’s left to calculate within the machinations of his mind whatever meaning there is in your nightmare. 

Yet, Yoongi finds none whatsoever.

“Have you eaten?” 

“Why?”

“Just asking,” he shrugs. “Take tomorrow off,” Yoongi hides his hands inside the pockets of his trench coat. His concern is disguised in his eyes, looking out the foggy windows of the department office. “You need it.”

“I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Let it go.”

“He was eight years old! He was a child!”

The air tightens in your lungs and your throat thickens with silence. You didn’t mean to sound so exasperated, you didn’t mean to sound like anything, but you’ll have to be the first to face your emotional ties to the cold case of a young boy whose face is ingrained in the back of your mind.

Yoongi gulps ⎯  it’s the first thing he does when the truth’s engulfed in his stomach. You glare at him, but he doesn’t budge. Not for a few seconds at least, taking a few steps back as he still refuses to look you in the eye. All cops are cowards.

“You wanna know why we got this case?”

Your brows perk. 

“It’s not because we’re good,” he scoffs. “Last year... I confronted McKinnon about the money. He called me a snitch… I didn’t- I didn’t tell him you were in on it, but I figured he knew. That bastard just.. kept looking at me with those filthy eyes and I- I hit him, okay? I got him good. He deserved it.”

“Is that why you kept avoiding me all those months?”

“Kind of. He said we wouldn’t come out of it alive if the ACU so much as dreamt of it… So I kept quiet. He gave us a case full of dead ends and shit evidence to keep us busy… Said we deserved it.”

The Anti Corruption Unit had been onto the agents’ tail that month. Not that it matters. Nothing was found.

“Why– why didn’t you tell me?”

He runs a hand through his hair, slowing down his breath. In the same second, he fails himself and his fury comes out in full force.

“Fuck’s sake! And risk you being dead? Or worse?!” 

There are drops of sweat down his temple. You can see them because the yellow street lights glisten against his skin and you figure he’s telling you the truth. Even if he wasn’t, you’d be inclined to believe him. 

No one else in this godforsaken unit has a commitment to the truth like Yoongi. 

Thursday morning, March 20th @ ViCAP Unit, Missing Persons Dept.

Agent Gerwig gives you a warm, tight-lipped smile when you pass her down the hallways. You hurry past the agents down the coffee machine, avoiding small talk and nearly tripping down the stairs on your way to Yoongi’s desk. 

The insides of your stomach are twisting and turning as you rush inside, uninvited and breathless, waiting for him to acknowledge you behind his incessant typing and the meaningless emails he reads everyday. 

Yoongi seems as still and lifeless as ever, which somehow comes as a comfort to you. 

“Days off are supposed to make you look better, not worse. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He types as fast as he comes up with witty remarks. 

“That’s because I have!” You spit back, fists closed tightly around the newspaper in your hands.

He quirks up one brow, enough for you to know you’ve got his attention.

“Here,” you toss it onto his desk. “Read it.”

November 27th, 1991. Solved case: Thanksgiving kidnappings linked to man apprehended by police.

“That’s Adam Bowen. He got arrested a night after Kanan went missing,” you huff, catching your breath. “They never considered him a suspect because… the timelines didn’t add up, apparently.” 

Yoongi looks up at you from the large frame of his glasses.

“And?”

“Police always suspected he worked with his brother… but they never found enough evidence to prove it. They never even found said brother, the guy disappeared out of thin air and Bowen never told them anything. Not a word.”

He leans back, stretching his arms. His gaze diverts away from you or the paper altogether and he’s staring into space, seemingly at a loss for words.

“They got one brother, huh? Looks like it was enough for them to settle it,” Yoongi clicks his tongue. “Sloppy as all hell.”

In your heart, there’s some feeble hope, but most of it has been filled with despair and a fierce jealousy towards anyone who still maintained a sense of normalcy. Your last seven years have been haunted by nightmares, tainted by the faces of all the missing person reports hanging on your walls.

“We got a second half of the story to figure out.”

Yoongi nods. He closes off his laptop and puts his hands around his gun belt.

Friday night, March 21th @ Agent ___’s home.

Circe’s orange tail swirls around your leg before she’s meowing next to her empty bowl, with cute and threatening eyes glaring into your soul. You can barely catch your breath on the couch ⎯  you got shit to do. 

Her paws trail happily after you once you’re pouring the pack of Whiskas onto her tiny plate, making a mental note to throw nearly all the home decor away before Easter comes. The apartment is filled with portraits, vases and candles Yuri generously left you with. 

Such courtesy of your ex-fiancée to have abandoned all your memories and stories behind. 

You’re running out of coffee, hope and sugar.

Yuri was not a bad man. It’s what you told yourself, once. He wanted the kids and the white picket fence life, away from violent gangs and city lights, where he’d craft the perfect nuclear family, worthy of homemade apple pies and Sunday barbecues.

But you liked the urban loneliness, your shoebox apartment and the green subway lights on your way back home. You liked the comfort of knowing every neighborhood like the palm of your hand, the ins and outs of every highway and the thought of heartless strangers passing you by, not caring for your name.

You missed him. His warm body pressed against yours and his golden, brown skin; you missed him selfishly ⎯  your comfort zone walked away and resentment grew alongside the fondness. 

You hoped he was happy without you, but not too much.

When your co-workers asked you about him, a few days after he packed his bags, all you gave them was a shrug and a poor explanation, the kind that everyone does: we were incompatible, it wasn’t meant to be, I wasn’t ready. The list went on and on.

The only one to not probe was good old loyal Yoongi. He was indifferent enough to other people’s personal lives not to ask. When you told him, he patted you on the shoulder awkwardly and placed your coffee by your desk with extra whipped cream. 

Saturday afternoon, March 22nd @ Rosefell Nursing Home.

Violet Bowen was not, by any means, what you’d call a reliable witness. She seemed pale beyond human comprehension and her words mostly consisted of hummings or muttering. The moment you saw her, you felt a sting of empathy too strong to ask her of her missing, possibly outlaw brother.

She had no other relatives nor close visitors, except for a caring ex-neighbor who’d bring her flowers every Friday. With nails painted a deep shade of red, she looked to be around eighty, but you couldn’t quite tell. Violet was in poor condition, plagued by dementia and the loneliness of lost loved ones. 

Her caretaker is a vibrant, blonde nurse. A blonde Southern belle whose name tag read in big, uppercase letters.

CAROLYN R. NURSING ASSISTANT

It’s Yoongi who interrogates Violet, remaining unaffected by her lost gaze and brown eyes. He flashes her a picture of her brothers back in the 80’s, sporting what looks to be fluffy mullets. 

She smiles then and her shaky hands point at Adam, but nothing else comes out of her aside from a gleam of life in her eyes. Even if she knew where they were, she wouldn’t tell them a word. 

Carolyn’s smile grows disconcerted. Her hands lay on Violet’s forearm as she pulls a thick chunk of her blonde hair out of her face in typical Southern charm. 

“I think my girl’s had enough here, yes?” She forces a grin, glancing over at Violet. “If you’ll excuse us, it’s tea time.” 

Carolyn helps Violet out of her seat and into the cafeteria. You’re not sure if it’s bad timing or a deliberate attempt from the nursing assistant to end this conversation, but you’re leaning on the latter. Off they go, taking slow, mindful steps away from both of you.

You refuse to look at Violet’s way. Something about her made you want to cry your heart out; the thought of loneliness being an imminent threat to you, too. 

“It’s pointless, Yoongi,” you mutter in your seat, slouching your shoulders. “She’s not going to remember anything.”

He hates to agree. Yoongi tsks, fiddling with his watch.

“Did you check her records at the reception?” He glances over at you, mind brimming with some sort of nefarious idea.

“Yeah,” you nod. “I mean- I didn’t check if she had any funds… It looks like all her properties and money were confiscated by the government, but I should run a background check on her bank accounts, to be sure.”

Monday afternoon, March 24th @ Tech Unit, Information Management Division.

Jenny’s doodles lie by her desk, making the room feel like a high school classroom. You haven’t spoken to her since December; what was once a blossoming friendship wilted away thanks to your cowardice and the desire to protect her from Deputy McKinnon’s claws. If Jenny found out, she’d jump the gun. 

And she didn’t have the best aim.

Her Naruto sketches have improved greatly since you last saw them, a massive improvement for just a couple months. Both of you used to laugh at her poorly drawn stick figures, now it looks like she’s ready to take her comics career seriously. You’re happy for her ⎯  she’ll find a way out of this hellhole.

The air is thick and humid in the early Spring, but filled with an extra layer of awkwardness when she sees you from across the room. Jenny’s strides towards her desk are heavy with grief and resentment, but she holds her gaze your way.

“Have you had enough space from me after not picking up my calls?” She slides onto her chair, scribbling a few notes onto her monthly planner. “Long time no see, idiot.”

You don’t have much to say for yourself, even when your chest pangs with her affectionate, yet sarcastic use of the word idiot. 

“A lot happened, is all,” you gesture sheepishly, hands reaching for the insides of your pockets.

“I can imagine.”

“I’m sorry, Jenny… I didn’t mean to-” 

She looks up at you, eyes drenched with irony and something.. something which you can’t name. If it’s hatred or love, you can’t tell.

“Wat’cha want?”

You swallow dry and uneasy, unfolding the paper on your hand with Violet Bowen’s name and address. It’s crumpled and a little thorn ⎯  you were ready to throw it away seconds before coming into the Tech Unit.

“I- I need a background check on someone,” you mutter, lowly. “Bank account activity… Credit cards… Anything you can find from the last… thirty years, maybe?” 

Your attempt at a chuckle fails, denouncing your regret. Jenny notices the furrow of your brows and how concerned you seem, ripping the paper away from your hands. 

“Sure.” 

The seconds fill with silence. You stand by her desk, waiting for a snide comment, a spiteful joke, anything. She looks at you like she knows you want to apologize again.

“Nice sketches!” You smile as a desperate invitation to make friendly conversation. 

Jenny doesn’t cave in.

“You’re dismissed,” she nods at the doorway and hops onto her laptop. “I’ll text you when I’m done.”

Monday night, March 24th @ Agent ____’s home.

“Hey,” you mutter over the phone. “Just checking up on you and mom.”

“Finally!” Albeit sarcastic, your younger sister’s voice is nothing but chirpy, as it has always been. “We miss you, you idiot. You know that, right?”

Over the phone, you can hear your mom’s laugh and a few unintelligible words. It seems she’s adjusting to your dad’s absence. Somehow, you had stopped calling after the funeral. It’s not that you didn’t miss them back ⎯  you were sick of being flooded with memories every time you’d hear her voice. Like your dad was still there too, right beside her.

“Sorry, sweetcheeks. I’ve just been busy.” The explanations and apologies roll off your tongue.

“You know you can’t avoid us forever, right?” Her voice is so sober, it’s as if she’s older than you by a million years. 

When you gaze out the window, loneliness overcomes you. The years spent playing hide and seek in your childhood home are long gone, replaced by miles of distance between you and your family ⎯  how you became so caring and so bad at expressing it like your father. You hate how much of you is made of all the people you love. And miss.

“You there?”

“Y-yeah, yeah I’m sorry.” 

“I swear to God, you gotta stop doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“This.” She pauses. “Acting like we don’t exist. Seriously. We miss you.”

A pang of guilt flashes through your chest. 

“I know.” Your voice is small through the phone again. In between the anxiety and the seconds, you fiddle with your bracelet. “I’m sorry.. It’s been hell.”

“I promised you I wouldn’t tell mom about your breakup, but she keeps asking me. It wouldn’t hurt if you opened up for once.” She sounds more hurt than angry, vindicating your mother after all the months you spent avoiding calls and texts under the pretense of your busy adult job.

Even in the softness of her voice, her words feel harsh. You gulp down a threatening tear, staying silent on the phone. She was still right, though.

“Listen, we love you, okay? I don’t know what kind of shit you’re going through because you won’t tell me everything.. but dude, please, seriously just come visit us sometime. I know you’ve got your job and all, but act human for once. Please?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll try. I promise.”

“Good. I gotta go now. Mom wants to go grocery shopping for some french-whatever-pie and I promised her I’d help. Give Circe my love!”

You chuckle, sadly.

“Yeah… Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll see you guys soon.”

When the call ends, silence deepens. It’s your own doing, you know, but that doesn’t make it any less suffocating. Even when you crave solitude, you’re just plagued by loneliness. 

Wednesday morning, March 26th @ Java café.

Today, Yoongi thinks you look a little better. And by better, it means rested. Of course, your gaze is still very much zombie-like, with glimpses of terror in your eyes when you look away. 

But in this line of work, it ain’t all rainbows and sunshine.

It’s never rainbows and sunshine, he realizes.

“So,” you sigh.

“So.” Yoongi punctuates, giving you room to breathe.

Your eyes are distant, watching children play in the puddles from last night’s rainstorm. The weather has been cruel to this city, punishing sinners and saints alike with a dreadful fog in the mornings and plenty of humidity to drive your hair follicles to the brink of insanity.

“Bowen’s alive, Yoongi. There’s a big chance he just… got away with it.”

Your words aren’t met with so much enthusiasm. You suppose it’s the skepticism in this field ⎯ even the good news don’t feel like good news. Before his questioning and theorizing begins, Yoongi brings up a valid concern.

“Why didn’t his brother spill his whereabouts, though? It’s not like Adam had any reasons to protect his brother any longer.”

“Unless he did.” You counter-argue.

“Why, though? It doesn’t make sense. In ninety percent of the cases, you know what happens. So-called partners in crime turn against each other. It’s good ol’ politics.” Yoongi leans back in his chair, nodding at the waitress for more coffee.

“Maybe he had something to lose,” you purse your lips. The biting of your inner cheeks is such an instinctive habit of yours that it barely stings until you realize how much tension you’re holding in. “Or someone, you know?”

“Several someones.” Yoongi blinks. “Do you remember the Mormon Heritage cult?” His eyes narrow as he scrapes the top of his head.

Your back and forth is interrupted by the local waitress pouring hot black coffee onto Yoongi’s cup. He seems like he’s on a roll today ⎯  it’s his third cup. That you know of.

“Uhhh, kind of. They were a thing in the nineties, weren’t they?” 

“Yeah.. well… the Satanic panic might’ve contributed to that,” Yoongi nods, slipping his mobile out of his pocket. His fingers are hasty, typing up a Google search so he can word vomit every single fact possible. “But we know that the Jesus believers can somehow always be worse.”

He sounds so snarky, it earns a laugh out of you.

“The Bowens were around that time,” he says. “I mean ⎯  the connection seems unlikely, but with these people, you never know.”

You sigh. 

“McKinnon didn’t give us this case for nothing, huh?” Even with half a smile on your face, you can’t help but feel defeated.

“Cheer up, buttercup. I think we got a lead.” He smiles with his teeth for once in a lifetime, raising his eyes from his phone to meet yours. You know he is up to no good ⎯ and that can only be a good thing.

“Buttercup?”

monvante © 2021 - 2024. all rights reserved. do not copy, edit or redistribute my work.

[inafieldofstarflowers]

Today’s thoughts are about Rebels and the theme of home, and more specifically about Ezra Bridger.

One thing I love about Rebels is how each of the characters has their own reasons for choosing to fight the Empire—Hera grew up in this fight, Zeb is responding to his past inability to protect his people, Sabine is trying to make amends for her past decisions, and Kanan is just trying to survive after Order 66, figuring out what it means to be a Jedi. They’ve all had to, in some way, leave their people behind to pursue this fight, and that’s where we are when we meet them—when Ezra meets them.

And the thing about Ezra is that he doesn’t want the fight. He doesn’t want to join the rebellion, he wants to fix his home. But, when he gets dragged off anyway, he hears about the wookies being taken from their home, and it resonates with him; and because Ezra is, at his core, a good person, he helps them—and then he can’t stop himself from helping, and with his new family by his side, he doesn’t want to.

During the show, each of those characters faces reckonings with their past, not just once, but repeatedly. Not only does Zeb help the Lasats they meet, he is constantly coming encountering Kallus, who puts a face to the loss of his people. Hera has to work with her father, and then Thrawn steals her Kalikori. Sabine has to fight against her people, and then fights for them. And Kanan trains Ezra, immersing himself back into that life he had to run from, in many ways, with Order 66. In episodes one and two, the troops are shocked to see a Jedi, but he and Ezra slowly become well-known—he stops hiding.

In the midst of all of his family reencountering their homes is Ezra, refusing to leave his behind. Ezra never falters in his commitment to Lothal, and to its people. It’s Ezra who saves the governor, it’s his voice that gives the people hope, it’s him who pushes for the rebellion to act. He never gives up on it, never loses sight of his home, and I think that’s a big part of what draws the others back to their own homes.

By the time you reach the final moments of the battle on Lothal, Ezra has made peace with his decisions. He’s resisted the pull of the dark side, overcome the devastation of losing a master, and even denied Palpatine’s temptation for him to be reunited with his parents. In the rebellion, Ezra has grown into something more than he was before, and this time he chooses to rebel, and to do it in the name of Lothal. And he does it by using the force, not to fight, but to flee—except now, he’s not running from something out of fear, but out of determination. This time, Ezra makes the choice to leave his home behind, so that he can make the galaxy a better place for its people.

And his final message to Sabine was that he was counting on her. He didn’t say what for, but he didn’t have to, because she knew. He was counting on her to bring him back to his home, just like he helped bring the rest of them back to theirs.

Ezra Bridger is the heart of Rebels in so many ways, but this is and will probably always be my favorite.

[totally-correct-star-wars]

Kanan: Sabine! For the love of god, please turn down that music. I have a hangover. Sabine: *blasting the mii theme at full volume* That sounds like a you problem, not a mii problem.

[gffa]

One thing that was really good about episode 4 of Ahsoka is that it knew exactly what the theme needed to be, the same thing that it always comes back to in Star Wars: Attachment. Ahsoka starts the episode off by saying that, if they can't get to the map, they may need to destroy it, stranding Ezra, because letting Thrawn come back is worse, knowing what would happen. Sabine's big temptation in this episode is exactly that--Baylan promises her that she can see Ezra again, because she thinks he's the only family he has left that she can do anything for, because she's so afraid to live without something that she makes a deal with the dark side. It's the exact same situation that Ezra had to make at the end of Rebels--he could bring Kanan back, but it would mean destroying all that Kanan saved in that moment, possibly even tear open time itself. He could have brought his parents back, but it would have let Sidious into the World Between Worlds to tear everything down. Which was the exact same situation that Anakin faced, that Ezra's was a riff off Anakin's, the willingness to trade the entire galaxy's freedom and lives for the one person (who wasn't even actually dead, either!) he was too afraid to live without. Which was the exact same situation that Luke faced, that he could save his friends if he would just give in to the dark side. It's the recurring theme of Star Wars, to face what attachment means to the Jedi, who are based on Buddhist monks, that attachment means the fear that makes you cling to someone or something so hard that you only end up hurting yourself--and Sabine, in her Jedi training, has to face this choice and she couldn't do it, she couldn't be selfless enough to let go and we can see it's going to be a shitshow. It's such a human, empathizable choice, she lost so much, her family is dead, she thinks Ahsoka is dead, she's been stagnating since Ezra left, she feels lost and adrift, of course she makes the wrong choice, of course she gives in to the fear that is attachment, and of course it's going to be awful. OUR GIRL IS GOING THROUGH IT, PLEASE BE KIND TO HER!!!!

[candiedstardust]

I know, I know. I drive everyone CRAZY regarding Rebels. But like??? I love it. How could a lonely, sentimental girl like myself NOT love Rebels or be totally normal about it??

Connection is one of the things that stands out to me. They were all incredibly alone before they met each other.

Hera separated herself from her remaining family on Ryloth to fight the evils of the galaxy on her own and was kinda intent on keeping it that way. Kanan might have had a handful of superficial relationships, but he always bounced from place to place, keeping his past hidden and focusing solely on his survival. Zeb thought he was the last of his kind after everything his people were put through. Sabine’s family completely turned against her after the horrific things she went through trying to protect her people, leaving her to carry so much pain. And Ezra’s baby self had been entirely on his own for half of his life at that point after his parents got ripped away from him.

They were all set on being alone because it’s what they knew, it’s what they EXPECTED, it’s what kept them safe. They were all so familiar with loss and pain and suffering, and little by little, that changed. They had an opportunity to become a little bit softer, a little more vulnerable, because they had a family again to rely on. They had the chance to care and be cared for again.

This show is just a gentle reminder to me that there’s always going to be a hard world out there, but that there’s a lot of good in it, too. Denying yourself connection makes it a lot harder to see just how much good there is, or how much good you can do with the support of good people. I know it’s not like a main theme or anything, but it’s what I get from this silly little story.

I’m going to bed now. But-

Reach out to someone you care about today~ Interact with your favorite mutuals~ Give someone you love a hug~ Snuggle with your pet(s)~ Just connect with someone and remember to see some good today 💚

[mydogatemymotivation]

Kanan Jarrus and Buddhism

This is a very long post. (oh my god I’m so sorry. It got away from me. I just kept going)

Kanan Jarrus is the best example of Buddhism in Star Wars, if not one of the best examples in modern television. Disclaimer: I have only a surface level understanding of the religions I’m about to get into, so if you know more about these religions or time periods in history, please share the info you have or share sources. Pretty please. I love history. Especially Religious History. Ok, moving on.

One last disclaimer: None of this will be a perfect one-to-one retelling of any religious mythology or ideology. It’s about the overarching themes and lessons.

I don’t know whether the Jedi are strictly Buddhist in teachings. I don’t think they are, I think they pull from a lot of different Eastern religions. However, at the time of the Clone Wars, I think they mirror the institution (for lack of a better word) of orthodox Hinduism at the time of Buddhism’s founding.

To be clear, I’m talking about the public perception of Hinduism as an institution, not necessarily the religion. I don’t have a clear enough understanding of Hinduism to have any kind of meaningful discussion of the religious aspect (if anyone has good sources, please let me know). To put this very, very, very simply, orthodox Hinduism has a concept of Sanatan Dharma the “Eternal Order”. There is the Brahman which both is the universe and created the universe. Brahman established and maintained order. The Vedas, Hindu Scripture, encouraged acceptance of one’s place in life – no matter how difficult or impoverished – while priests lived well from temple donations. The human soul is immortal. And there are the concepts of karma (action) in accordance with dharma (duty) to break free from the cycle of rebirth and death (samsara) and attain union with the oversoul (atman). That’s what I have in my notes, but keep in mind that Hinduism is so deeply complex that this explanation is the equivalent of someone burning instant noodles then trying to judge Cutthroat Kitchen. So. Take what you will, research the rest.

Part of the problem, at the time of Buddhism’s founding, which was around 563 – 483 BCE, Sidhartha Gautama’s estimated lifetime (the specific dates vary greatly, but his estimated lifetime is all around the same time period), was that the Vedas were all written in Sanskrit, which most people didn’t read, and the average person relied on Hindu priests to read the Vedas for them. On top of that, there was the caste system, an incredibly complex system, but put briefly, if you were born into a poorer caste, it was because you belonged there or had done something in a past life to warrant the suffering you were enduring. The fear of death was also looming. With the soul being eternal, death meant rebirth, possibly into another life of suffering, and people wanted a way out.

I’ve made about five different versions of this paragraph, but I keep getting dragged into other points I want to make, so I’ll leave it at this. A self-governing universe, and the eternal soul are the two main parallels to Hinduism. And 10,000 knights is a considerable number – if they spread their impact more individually. They weren’t meant to be a full fighting force, as a unit. Institutionalizing created resentment and division. They shouldn’t have consolidated. They were involved in politics that they shouldn’t have been, and they were living well in their Temple on Coruscant, presumably living off taxpayer dollars. Could the people of Coruscant afford the Jedi? Very probably, but should the people of Coruscant have to pay for a religious order that’s infiltrating their political sphere? No. All this to say, all institutional (not individual) religion is wrong. I’ve seen some posts joking about how the Jedi are Catholic because they punish people who practice differently than they do, but Hinduism has done the same with the caste system. Because people with the power to even the playing field don’t want to give up their advantage – in any religion. But I’m losing my main point.

How does any of this relate to Kanan?

There are Buddhist ideals within the Jedi Order and the Jedi Code, but they are fully realized with Kanan. And to realize these ideals, Kanan had to be removed from the Jedi. If you don’t know the story of Siddhartha Gautama, I’ll recap briefly. Siddhartha was a Hindu prince. His father was told that he would either be a great king or a great spiritual leader. His father didn’t want him to be a spiritual leader, and kept him locked away, essentially, but one night, Siddhartha snuck out. He then saw an aged man, a sick man, a dead man, and an ascetic man (ascetic: characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons). He panicked, realizing that he too could age, get sick, and die. While he was upset, the ascetic man was at peace, and Gautama decided to follow a religious life. So, on another night, he left his palace for good to seek enlightenment. (I don’t know where else to put this, but there’s some sort of symbolism, in relation to Buddhism, about the jedi temple being turned into a palace. I feel like that means something deeper than the obvious jab at the jedi.)

Kanan’s story isn’t a one-to-one retelling of the Buddha’s, but I do feel like he hits all the main points, and that’s what I want to expand on. First, I want to make a case for the four signs.

The aged man: Rex. A relic of a bygone age, and a symbol of the end of the Jedi. Not his fault, but that’s what he represents to Kanan. Seeing him so unexpectedly, and so much older frightened him.

The sick man: Maul. Not necessarily physically sick, but sick, nonetheless. Watching that sickness spread to Ezra and realizing how sly and corrosive it was had to have been sobering. As much as he was trying to coach Ezra through his call to the dark side, he was learning from Ezra, too.

The dead man: Luminara. This one was my brother’s idea, I was originally thinking something more symbolic and was going to say Caleb. But Luminara as a confirmation that there is no going back, that the Jedi are truly dead and gone, makes more sense.

The ascetic man: Dume. Not the Bendu. When I was talking to my (aforementioned) brother about this, he was telling me about someone who’d made a post about how it was bad karma to euthanize a suffering animal. That the animal must’ve done something in a past life to deserve the suffering he was enduring in this life. He was, of course, shot down by everyone else. That even if it was bad karma to put this animal down, letting it continue to suffer was worse. It’s better to take the hit on your own karma for kindness, than cruelty. The Bendu reminds me of the first commenter. Neutrality to the point of indolence.  To the point of pain and suffering. You aren’t supposed to turn your back on the world or the pain of others, you’re supposed to alleviate it. Dume, and his lothwolves, were the ones who were willing to get involved in protecting their home world. Not just for themselves, but for everyone on Lothal. Because they understood that suffering couldn’t continue. You’re a part of the world. You’re not supposed to detach from it.

This leads me to my next point. Attachment. The great question mark of the Jedi Order. I think the reason people struggle so much with the concept of attachment is because many Star Wars fans don’t know much about Buddhism – and this is the place where the Jedi and Buddhists overlap the most. It will be easier to speak about this if we change the language. Don’t think “attachment”, think “craving”.

This is the crux of Buddhism’s “Four Noble Truths”.

Life is suffering.

The cause of suffering is craving.

Ending craving, ends suffering.

There’s a path that leads away from suffering and craving.

Say you go to a dinner party. When it ends, you don’t throw yourself on the floor of your host’s house and demand the party continues. You thank your host for their time and leave. You go in knowing the party will end, and you accept the end gracefully when it comes. If you go into the party craving more time than you’re allotted, being attached to the idea of staying, you’ll suffer when the party ends. But even if you accept the party will end, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself when you’re at dinner. Eat, drink, be merry, just know you will have to go when your time ends.

Let’s take a look at Anakin and Kanan, and their respective love interests. Anakin didn’t understand not to crave Padmé. Even when he thought her time was ending, he craved more. Not for her, but for him. She was a famous senator during wartime. There were already several attempts on her life before they were even together. Did he think it could last forever? He didn’t want to think about the end. He didn’t want to believe it could end. When the end was in sight, despite knowing she was as human as he was, despite knowing she couldn’t live forever, he threw himself on the floor demanding her life continue.

Kanan would never. He was fully aware of the fact that Hera’s life would end one day. Whether it was when she was a storied old woman, or the very next day in a battle gone wrong. In the episode “Protectors of Concord Dawn”, Hera is very nearly killed by Fenn Rau, one of the rare fighter pilots that was able to best her. Had this happened to Anakin and Padmé, Anakin would’ve teetered on the edge of the dark side, going after Rau for revenge, craving more of Padmé’s time or Rau’s death as penance for him nearly losing her. Kanan, however, went to Rau in peace. He was worried about Hera (and slightly distracted, considering Sabine was able to sneak aboard the Phantom) but he was levelheaded, and was able to complete Hera’s mission for her.

Kanan was able to love Hera, without being attached to her. Without craving her. He was happy with her, and when it came to an end, he accepted it, and was able to let go. This was the lesson he finally fully realized when he met Dume on the road. That his time would end, but there was nothing to fear when it did.

In my opinion, Hera fits in two different places in the story of Siddartha. When Siddhartha first left to pursue his life of enlightenment, he tried to live an ascetic life, a life of devotion to religion through suffering. But he didn’t reach enlightenment, only more suffering. This ends eventually, when he can’t find what he’s looking for, and he ends his starvation when a milkmaid, Sujata, offers him food (though there are other versions of how Siddhartha ended his asceticism). After years of study, Siddhartha went back to his palace to get his wife, Yasodhara, and his son, Rahula, both of whom stayed with him until his death. I see Hera as Sujata, the woman who offered him food and a new path, and as Yasodhara, his wife. During his time spreading his teachings, Siddhartha had five believers – disciples in a way – who traveled with him, even back during his asceticism. Kanan, similarly, has five traveling companions while he teaches Ezra his ways.

When Siddhartha died, he died teaching a lesson.

Make my teaching your light – rely upon it

Make yourself a light – rely upon yourself

Control your mind – your mind will make of you buddha or beast

Death is but a vanishing of the body

He passed away, with his wife and child by his side, and was eventually cremated.

After his death, we never really saw him again. We had a brief glimpse of Dume, and a memory of him through Hera’s eyes, but it wasn’t him. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, Leia, and Luke, all had force ghosts. I know that it was a technique that only a few knew, but I don’t feel it represents the best of the Jedi’s teachings. Speaking of Buddhism, I feel as though learning that technique is making the active choice to forfeit escaping the cycle of reincarnation. They’re Boddhisatva’s, not Buddhas. A bodhisattva is just that: someone who can reach enlightenment but chooses to teach others the path instead. The only true Buddha in Star Wars is Kanan, even shaving his hair in his last episode, as so many Buddhists do.

The Jedi do have many overlapping ideals with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. I think it’s irresponsible to say that they are only one of those or are definitely not one of those. Star Wars is popular all over the world, but there’s no denying that a large chunk of the fanbase is in western countries, and the writers are almost always from western nations. And I say that because many of the people interpreting Star Wars, and almost all the people writing it, have a certain Christo-centric lens. Maybe the Jedi order does pull from Eastern religions but acting like the people writing these characters don’t have bias is wrong. Acting like there is no other religion mixed into the Jedi is just blatantly false.

As I said, I don’t know much about Hinduism, so maybe there is a deity that fits the bill, but if you look at the Sith, they are demonic. Not in a Christian fearmongering way, but in a legitimate, they’re based off demonic characters in mythology (all religion is mythology, it just is, please don’t start). There’s a reason Vader’s palace is on Mustafar, the Star Wars equivalent of hell, there’s a reason Maul has horns. But I’m getting sidetracked again. I’m trying to say that these characters and their motivations are better understood when you take a realistic look at their inspirations. Kanan, and the Jedi’s meaning of “attachment”, is better understood when you study Buddhism. Everyone who watches Star Wars is taking their biases into the world with them.

I need to wrap this up because it’s waaaaaay too long already. But I’m going to leave you with three things. Buddhism’s eightfold path, the Jedi code, and the Sith code.

Right Understanding

-We should learn and try to understand the truth

2. Right Purpose

-We should always try to do whats right

3. Right Speech

-We should be truthful and kind in all we say

4. Right Conduct

-We should try to behave ourselves at all times

5. Right Livelilhood

-We should earn our living in a way which will not harm anyone

6. Right Effort

-We should constantly try to improve ourselves

7. Right Thought

-We should have good and pure thoughts because words and actions arise from thoughts

8. Right Meditation

-We should concentrate our will when we meditate

    There is no emotion, there is peace.

    There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

    There is no passion, there is serenity.

    There is no chaos, there is harmony.

    There is no death, there is the Force.

Peace is a lie. There is only Passion.

Through Passion, I gain Strength.

Through Strength, I gain Power.

Through Power, I gain Victory.

Through Victory my chains are Broken.

The Force shall free me.

I did my best with the religions that I spoke about, and I’m not trying to needlessly criticize any of them. Some people in each religion are good, some people in each religion are bad. I tend to view actual religious practices as neutral, and dependent on whose practicing them. So if I got anything really wrong, or really egregiously offensive, please kindly let me know, so I can try to fix it.

It may read like homework to you, but I promise I’m having fun.