#Who do you think taught Anakin all that chaotic nature of his???

[eveningserenityyy]

Padawan Obi-wan: What the fuck?

Qui-gon: Language, Obi-wan.

Obi-wan: Sorry master.

Obi-wan, clearing his throat: WHOM the fuck?

[dalekofchaos]

The Dark side is not inherently evil

The Jedi taught the dark side was always evil. It was quicker, more seductive. Yoda said once you go down the dark side it will forever dominate your destiny.

But we all know that the Jedi dogma has been proven false by Anakin Skywalker and even Luke admitted they were wrong. Their main error is they think the dark side is evil. It certainly is not. It can be used for evil but it isn't evil.

The light side can also be used for evil. The Jedi used the light side to become arrogant, self serving, distant, and cold.

The entire Clone Wars was based on the Jedi believing that the Star systems in the Republic could not break off. Were the Separatist evil? Or did they simply want their independence? Remember the whole dispute in Naboo started because the Republic starting massive taxes on trade routes. Very similar to what happen when England raised taxes in America. So was America evil for wanted their independence? The majority of Separatists were evil yes, but from a certain point of view, you can argue that the majority of The Separatists just wanted free of The Republic’s corruption, The leaders were corrupt, but the people who wanted freedom were good. The Separatists were good from a certain point of view

The dark side is simply the other side of the coin of human emotion. The light side is about thinking, calm, defense, and knowlege. The dark side is about emotion, love, anger, fear, and passion.

The aspects of the darkside (fear, anger, love, passion, attachment) are not evil. They are basic human emotion. Being angry and fearful is an important part of the human experience. But when these emotions spin out of control then things go bad.

But the aspects of the light side (passive, defense, knowlege) can also lead to disaster. As seen in the PT.

True balance is only achived when one masters both the light and dark.

The Jedi lost balance because their dogmatic teachings did not allow for darkside emotion to be experienced and understood. So when a Jedi did go to the darkside he did not know how to control it.

The Sith were the exact opposite and only knew the dark.

I think both Luke and Snoke(at least in TFA) were slowly realizing that true mastery of the force requires knowledge of the dark and the light. That they are 2 sides of the same coin.

The light and dark are merely tools. Depending on the use and understanding of these tools, we get good and evil. Being fully submerged in the light did not prevent the Jedi Order from the wrong they did. I think balance is the key, and something the ST is alluding to. Snoke believing in balance yet using it for evil. Luke coming to the same conclusion yet using it for good.Though I think the true balance is something like what Qui-Gon-Jinn attained. He was more submerged in the light, yet enough in the dark to use his own mind rather than becoming a blind follower of the Jedi code.

The dark side is only seen as evil because the Jedi deal too much in extremes. Completely ignoring/controlling your emotions or completely given in to them. A health balance of both is better.

There is some truth to Anakin’s “From my point of view the Jedi are evil”  The Jedi were supposed to be guardians of peace, and servants to the entire Galaxy, yet when it came down to choosing a side, they chose to alienate all planets that fell under Confederate control. How many people in the Confederacy died needing their help, but weren't given it because the Jedi allied themselves with the Republic? After you watch the Clone Wars series, you see so many examples of times when the jedi order was becoming corrupt. They had become militarized in a time of war when their original intent was to be peace-keepers and defenders of the weak. Anakin recognizes this and starts to believe that there might be better alternatives to being a jedi. It almost seemed like the jedi were going to fall prey to their own arrogance and hypocrisy. SO many people along the way warned them. So many people said they were straying from their path and rules. It was like that at every turn. It was like they enjoyed the power. Honestly I see why it was so easy to believe the jedi turned on the Republic. They used clones like they were expendable, they played general when they weren't supposed to be offensive, they enjoyed positions of power... Remember when Palpatine said there wasn't really that much of a difference between the Sith and the Jedi? I recalled Mace Windu's line that Palpatine was too dangerous to be left alive, is also what Palpatine said to Anakin when he killed Count Dooku. Remember when the Jedi Council feared Anakin's potential and Yoda saying fear leads to the dark side. When Palpatine accused that the Jedi were trying to betray him as Chancellor it turned out to be true. Ki-Adi-Mundi specifically said "If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office". And Mace Windu said "The Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition". Remember when Mace Windu openly displays his mistrust with Anakin. Then putting him on the council but not make him a master, which hasn't happened in the history of the Jedi Council. And then they ordered him to spy on the Chancellor's dealings, which Obi-Wan had to tell Anakin covertly because this assignment "was not in the books". I think that is why in the EU Luke reformed the council and even had a kid of his own. Anakin was right.

Jolee Bindo is a perfect example of how the dark side is not completely evil

"Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save, not condemn you."

Jolee used the dark side of the force because he realized it wasn't inherently evil and a person could control it without succumbing to doing terrible things.

And speaking of KOTOR. Revan chose to embrace the dark side and create his own Sith Empire to prepare the galaxy for the True Sith. He chose to embrace the dark side to save the galaxy from the Sith. At least until TOR ruined Revan’s character

"Perhaps Revan never fell. The difference between a fall and a sacrifice is sometimes difficult, but I feel that Revan understood that difference, more than anyone knew. The galaxy would have fallen if Revan had not gone to war."

Is the Dark Side evil? Well answer this: Is it evil to hate, or is it good to hate evil? Is it evil to love, or is it only evil to love evil? I put it to you that under the right circumstances they are both virtues, representing the creative and competitive instincts that created civilization and brought about all true beauty in the galaxy. They can be the worst of us, but they are most definitely the best of us.

The Jedi will tell you that both love and hate lead to evil, and that their cold, remote order embodies all that is good. But under Jedi rule - and make no mistake, the Jedi are the iron fist concealed by the "democratic" velvet glove of the Republic - civilization has stagnated, moving no further in more than a thousand years. Perhaps the Jedi shackling of the soul prevents some evil, but how much good has it also prevented? The advancement of art and science both demand passion, they demand sapients explore all states of being open to them. The Jedi have enforced peace, at a price that cannot be borne.

If the Jedi are good, why does slavery persist in the galaxy after a thousand years of their rule? Why can the Hutts rule as petty tyrants over billions of innocents, right under their noses? The Jedi do not seek good, they seek balance. And where is balance? Not in the beauty of life, in the spiralling of helices and the eternity of destruction and renewal. There is only balance in lifelessness, in the desolate wastes, in the grave. It is no accident that the Jedi are ordered to celibacy, the women to remain fallow and the men to leave their seeds unsewed. The Jedi are ever suspicious of the very best in our nature, prejudiced against its unpredictability and lack of "balance".

I will tell you, the Jedi are evil. For a thousand years, they have forced stagnation on the galaxy, by repressing the at times chaotic, but ultimately sacred instincts of all sapients - instincts which have no place in their universe. And of course we have stagnated - without love, without hate, why do anything? Why not sit down calmly and simply die?

The Dark Side is not evil - it only appears that way because those who would use it, who would break the stultifying hold of the Jedi on the Force, are so sought out and persecuted by the supposedly dispassionate Jedi that they must act radically to survive at all. The Jedi are ever-vigilant against any rising force that could threaten their own monopoly, so those who would seek a better way are chained to violence, not by the nature of the Dark Side, but by the Jedi Order's own intolerance.

The Force comes from the life force, and the Dark Side is creative, chaotic, and beautiful, like life itself. The Dark Side is not evil. It is merely power, and power is only evil when wielded by evil hands - just as the so-called Light Side has done great evil in the form of the Jedi stranglehold on the galaxy. The Dark Side gives us abilities to control our fate, to protect our loved ones, to seek out new frontiers of the mind undreamed of in the pedestrian ambitions of the Jedi. They are abilities I can teach you, if you wish...

[icsek]

Obikin Equestrian AU Part 6/10

Or read here on AO3 as ‘Pursuit’

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

It was amazing how quickly someone could become such an important part of life in such a short period of time. Ben was amazed at all the places he looked for Anakin to be outside of the barn in the few days he was gone back home. Meals were lonely without Anakin’s witty commentary and there were far too many leftovers for dinner. The pool was empty except for a few leaves that had managed to fall in the water. The couch was lonely in the late evenings. The house was far too quiet without his presence. All the little places Anakin had inserted himself in the previously tidy life he’d had.

Yet, this was his employee and student, no more than just a boy compared to him. He was sixteen years Anakin’s senior, almost forty while Anakin was barely in his twenties! It was wrong and horrible, but he couldn’t get him out of his head. He’d went out once more to try and get Anakin out of his head, but this time he’d been unable to find someone to spend the night with because they didn’t have the right shade of blue eyes, the golden highlighted curls, the half smile with the right side just a bit higher than the left. It was pitiful and borderline humiliating that a man of his age could be pining like this over a boy.

Still, he couldn’t deny that Anakin was surprisingly mature where it counted, despite his propensity towards immature humor. He was disciplined, reliable, determined, and a very hard worker. All things that had surprised him considering his more laid back personality. While the few times he’d seen Anakin’s room in the barn it’d been a chaotic wreck, the feed room and tack rooms were meticulously organized and clean to satisfy even his own anal retentiveness. Everything at the barn ran so smoothly between Anakin and Felix that he rarely had to do more than make the exercise and lesson schedule then school the horses he had in for training. It had been a nice change in pace from feeling the need to run everything or it wouldn’t be done RIGHT.

At the barn, Anakin was his kindred spirit, someone who held the same standards of care he did. At the house, Anakin was the life that made it feel more a home. He wanted Anakin in his bed, yes, but more than that, he wanted him in his home.

He wanted a life with Anakin in it as more than his employee or fuck buddy, like as his partner. The thought made Ben stop. Lust was easy to explain away. This... more than lust feeling, it was something he couldn’t explain or rationalize to himself.

Now he was getting too far ahead of himself. Putting his cart before the horse.

“I wish my life were as simple as yours, Happy.” Ben patted the older gelding on his neck, “It would definitely be easier, meals twice a day prompt on the stop, everything taken care of for you, plenty of grass and hay, someone cleaning up your shit several times a day. Have you missed him too?” Happy snorted, shaking his head, “You sure about that,old friend? I know he feeds you extra cookies even though I’ve told him not to do that.” The bay gelding’s ears flicked back, pricking up at the word ‘cookie’ making Ben chuckle, “We’re getting soft in our old age.” Another snort, “Fine, I’m getting soft in my old age.

“So what should I do? Take a risk and possibly lose the most talented student I’ve had the pleasure of training? Not to mention the best barn manager that’s ever graced this farm. Keep pining after him like the sentimental old fool I’ve become?” He leaned forward as if Happy could actually speak while he plodded around the ring, “Hm? What’s that? Well, yes, I suppose that would be a good course of action. So, next time he does one of those adorably awkward flirting attempts, and they are truly pitiful, Happy, I feel bad for him most of the time, I’ll just flirt right back.” Ben smiled, feeling more at peace than he’d been since Anakin had come to work for him.

Later as he watched Anakin’s yellow truck pull down the long drive, he couldn’t help the thrill that ran through him at seeing him again. Three days without his crooked smile that lit up his face was enough. Ben waited by the front of the barn, noticing the dust that the truck was kicking up and not really caring for once though he resolved to turn the sprinklers on to run a bit in the morning.

Anakin backed his truck up into his usual spot next to the farm truck and waved at Ben with that smile he’d missed as he got out, “Hey Ben!”

“Hello, Anakin. Did you have a good time?” He struggled to not pull the younger man into what would be a very uncharacteristic hug.

“Yeah, it was nice. Got all my stuff this go round so should be a bit more prepared. Oh, Bail and Breha said hi too.” Anakin didn’t quite meet his eyes, but Ben was far too overjoyed at just seeing him to really notice. The bruises at his elbow were now to the pale sickly yellow color and he seemed to be moving much better than he had been when he’d left.

“That was nice of them.” He commented absently. Ben took a moment to enjoy the way the torn faded jeans hugged his narrow hips and the blue t-shirt clung to his broad chest. The same features that had haunted him in his dreams.

“You okay, Ben?” Anakin was staring at him with a hint of worry in the furrow of his brow.

“Yes, sorry, just haven’t been sleeping well. Do you need any help with your stuff?” He could see the duffle bags in the bed of the truck, based on the number he’d finally brought all his clothes. Hopefully more of those tiny running shorts he seemed to prefer for their morning workouts.

“Nah, I think I got it. Did you just want to do dinner in town tonight? I know I forgot to text you when I was leaving.” Anakin brushed some of the curls from his face only for them to fall right back in his eyes.

Ben nodded, “We can do that. I was just about to feed and do turnout for the night, sent Felix home early as it was his daughter’s birthday.”

“Great.” His smile lit up his face and Ben felt like he was standing next to the sun, “I’ll get this stuff put away and then we can go.”

Ben had hoped dinner would include more of the flirting he’d grown used to, but none of it came. The conversation was pleasant enough, interesting stories about some of the ponies Anakin had ridden through the years while Ben added some of his own. They’d been laughing by the end, the ridiculous stubbornness of pony antics and the horrible shows enough to have tears in their eyes. Then they’d gone home, the car ride uncharacteristically quiet but peaceful. Ben was disappointed as they said goodnight, but he’d been this patient and Anakin had spent the majority of the day driving.

Disappointment came in their morning workout as well when Anakin showed up in a pair of plain black track pants and a loose t-shirt. His form during their yoga was near perfect and this time he’d faced Ben instead of putting his back to him. Their run felt like it took much longer without Anakin’s ass on display in front of him. After their run, Ben had teased Anakin about wearing respectable workout clothes and only gotten a shrug in return with the explanation of him finally having all his clothes.

At least breeches didn’t hide his ass so thoroughly and gave him plenty of time to admire while Anakin warmed Artoo up for their lesson. He’d made sure to lunge Artoo a few times last week so he wasn’t entirely fresh, but at the rate he was kicking his heels up they’d be getting very little done during their lesson.

Surprisingly, Artoo settled right in once they began the actual work in the lesson. There were still a few hump ups and head tossing, but Anakin rode right through them and pushed him right back into frame. Their trot looked good, he didn’t have to remind Anakin to sit up or to pull his shoulders back even once. Their canter was passable, a good start as they built up more collection and hind end propulsion. Ben was pleased with himself that he’d managed to create such a good match. Artoo was young and stubborn, but so was Anakin. They would end up tough to beat in a few years.

If he were honest with himself, Anakin would be tough to beat in a few years on just about any horse. Ben made sure he rode all different personalities and movements on a daily basis so he didn’t fall into a rut of learning just one horse inside and out. It wasn’t just that, though, Anakin was a natural and it showed through as a beautiful image. There wasn’t a horse in the barn that he didn’t look like he belonged on, not one he couldn’t read. It was something that couldn’t be taught, the same gift Ben had, to just know the horse and what it was thinking.

Of all the views he’d had of Anakin, from the tiny speedo to the yoga pants, the one of him on a horse was still his favorite. It was right. It was where he belonged.

Even if he never got to call Anakin anything other than his student, he’d be grateful that he got to watch him ride.

[waywardravenmedia]

Star Wars Myths and Musings. Episode III: The House of Atreus and Dune

Episode III. The House of Atreus, Dune, and Star Wars.

Catch up on Episode I and Episode II

Some may not be familiar with the mythology involving the ancient Greek story of the House of Atreus, but it has held sway over many mythic developments from antiquity to modern novels, especially Dune by Frank Herbert. At its core, it involves familial/ordained duty in conflict with personal morality/self-determinism, and the abstract of justice, but most of all redemption.    

Let’s start with a scant overview of the Greek myth of which there are a few versions and literary offshoots.

The House of Atreus.

Zeus had a son named Tantalus. Being a bit audacious and arrogant, he wished to test the gods omniscience. Being of the twisted sort, he killed his son Pelops and cooked him up and served Pelops pies (not really pies but you get the picture and it might remind you of the Rat King in Game of Thrones). All the gods could tell except Artemis because she was preoccupied with the kidnapping of her daughter Penelope, so she took a bite. This earned Tantalus a fate where he was sent to the underworld where he would be forever hungry and thirsty but water and food was just out of reach. Thus, the word tantalize. He started an imbalance/curse but would not be able to restore balance/lift the curse, which is the essence of the mythic cycle.  

Pelops was restored to life. He had two sons named Atreus and Thyestes. They competed against each other and wanted the throne of Argos. Some trickery involving a sheep happens along with Thyestes being a rather poor brother by having an affair with Atreus’ wife Aerope, and he ascends the throne. But, Atreus takes it away and like most brothers, a bit of revenge was taken though in extremis. Following in his ancestor’s unwise footsteps, Atreus killed Thyestes sons, cooked them up, and fed them to his bro, who in an odd sort of shaming was sent into exile for consuming his kids. Now, every good ancient myth/drama needs more taboos, as if cannibalism isn’t enough, so a bit of incest goes down with Thyestes and his daughter Aegisthus. Guess who dies as a result? Atreus. It is a cycle of selfishness and revenge. The sins of the past climb down the generations and reflect the previous transgressions.

But that’s not the end. Atreus had two sons (yes, the parallels are obvious) named Agamemnon and Menelaus. Yup, The Odyssey guys. To cut to the chase, Agamemnon pisses off Artemis just like dear old grandpa. And because Agamemnon really wants to go to war with Troy, he must supplicate the goddess to gain the desired wind so his fleet can set sail. What is called for? Yes, you got it. Another sacrifice of a child. More taboos equal more fun.

Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia so he can go to war and keep his promise to his brother to get Helen (of Troy) back. This, as you can understand, quite irks his wife Clytemnestra. The cycle of selfishness and revenge is renewed. She has Agamemnon killed when he gets back and this calls for their son Orestes to kill his mom, as per tradition, which he does with some help from his sister Electra (not the assassin who has a thing for Daredevil).

With no one to avenge Clytemnestra, the divine Furies/Erinyes go after Orestes. Jump to the end, Orestes is made to marry Hermione (not the Granger), daughter of Helen and Menelaus. This is after Apollo, the good old shiny god, sets up the first trial/courtroom in Athens so to end this cycle of retribution. Some say this myth illustrates the advent of the jury system and the growth of civilization from a clan modeled reality where blood is answered with blood, and that in turn must be answered with blood in perpetuity. Resolutions and justice could now take a foothold from the chaotic past. That is what I was taught but what I always took away was that the original sin of the patriarch infected the family line and redemption for the family could only come with stopping the cycle of violence and embracing a non-violent course of settling contentions.

Where does this fit in with Star Wars and Dune?

First, both are family sagas. Second, the sins of the family or father must be redeemed by the sons. The imbalance that was caused by an initial “divine/spiritual” action had to be brought back in balance with the natural/physical world.

It is evident that Dune influenced science fiction after its publication. The direct line of influence by the House of Atreus on Dune is overt in the name of protagonist. Paul Atredies. Atreus is translated from ancient Greek as “No Fear” or no tremble to be accurate. The descendant of Atreus are called Atreidai in the plural or Atreides in the singular.  Overcoming fear is a big deal in Dune. It is spoken of in the Litany Against Fear by the Bene Gesserit and it is fear that keeps the Bene Gesserit from being “all places at once” with a powerful prescience ability that Paul obtains. Fear as a subject matter addressed in science fiction would be forever different after that, and in Star Wars, it is fear that consumes Anakin Skywalker and transforms him into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. It is fear that Luke Skywalker must overcome to redeem his father Anakin Skywalker.

Sure, subjects, topics, themes, can and do flow from many sources but Dune has a direct line from the House of Atreus, and Star Wars borrows a trajectory from foundational science fiction/speculative fiction to manifest a space opera coalesced from mythology. Just the similarities in location and character show the connections. Luke Skywalker is royalty even if he doesn’t know it. His mom was Padme Amidala, once a Queen of Naboo. Paul is the son of Duke Leto Atredies. Both must live in deserts. Powerful emperors plot their destruction or corruption. Both seek the greatest source of power in their universes. Luke the Force and Paul the control of prescience and the Spice Melange, which allows for controlled interstellar space travel and thus is the source of economic control of which all are bound.

Sins of the past or redemption of the father, or family, are the real pepper in the seasoning of the story and what drive Luke in Star Wars (in ROTJ at least) and Paul as he tries to reclaim the rightful place of power back from the Harkonnen, who he happens to be related to by his grandfather, which he doesn’t know until later just like Luke finding out about Darth Vader being his father. The old “We’re related” twist. In the end, Luke and Paul redeem their families. But, Paul really extends the House of Atreus cycle by becoming trapped by able to see the future but not able to change it (very common to Greek myths) and then having his son redeem him, even though it traps him into a destiny that isn’t so cool. Unless you want to be a giant worm that dies if it falls into water. 

"...perhaps the Skywalker family has a longer and more deeply rooted history with the Force than we know. "

The imbalance issue. Restoring balance to the Force is reiterated throughout the prequels and the tv show The Clone Wars. What created the imbalance in the first place? Tricky question. We don’t really know. Maybe that will be addressed in the upcoming movie The Last Jedi. But perhaps the Skywalker family has a longer and more deeply rooted history with the Force than we know. Maybe an ancient Skywalker was one of the people who helped trigger the imbalance and therefore the line of Skywalker was mantled with the responsibility to bring restoration? Sins of the father deal. In any case, Anakin Skywalker did bring the Force back into balance, or so we thought. This would end the cycle of storm and stress, tit for tat, dark and light, but as with any system requiring homeostasis, new introductions of actors or elements can shift to imbalance. Looks like it didn’t last long. Perhaps another family was involved in triggering of the Force imbalance in the past and needs to join with the Skywalkers to really restore it. 

In Dune, it is not Paul who does the real work to save the universe. It is Leto II his son who become a god-emperor/conquering worm. He, and Paul before him, foresees that human stagnation will lead to demise. Leto II recognizes that stagnation in human growth is the imbalance. To create a balance of potential, he becomes the architect of the Great Scattering where humans will need to leave the Known for the unKnown and ruins the old empire. This kicks adaption into gear.

One could parallel this with Anakin Skywalker being prophecized as the “balance bringer” and he does what he thinks is right for his new empire, even if it made him into a tyrant in an exoskeleton with lovely blinking lights and quaint quilted sleeves of black. Then, Luke just like Leto II comes about to save his father from himself and what he created. If you placed Luke Skywalker into a Leto II role, then the next logical step for his story arc would be he would take on his father’s task but direct it in such a way as to destroy it and create a new path or destiny. Leto II saw the error in the old rigid religious way of thinking regarding human civilization, status, and power so he altered it to be so oppressive that humans would eventually try to dismantle it. Casting it away. It worked. Though Luke tried to recreate the Jedi, it failed. He went to exile (Leto did a self-imposed exile before merging with the sand-trout) and seems to have had a revelation about the religious order he followed. In that “… the Jedi must end” from the trailer.  

There are plenty of other elements that link Dune series of novels to Star Wars such as a special set of warriors with super powers, religious sects with rigid doctrine, messiahs, clairvoyant abilities, mystics in the desert, prophecy, twins, dashing rogues who fall in love with a princess (Idaho and Solo rhyme), a penchant for combat with blades/light sabers, forbidden love, desert worlds, and of course odd colored eyes.  Lastly, I found it interesting that borrowing from the “Bible” was extant in both works. I mean, the reference to the New Testament is right there with first names, Luke and Paul, but that a whole other influence I don’t want to get into.

Like I have always said to my friends, I always thought Star Wars was Dune blended with tales of King Arthur, strewn with Greek and Celtic mythology, featuring psychic, super-powered samurais in space but it all goes back to the House of Atreus and this could give an idea of where it goes forward.  

So ends the musing of Episode III.

Vox clamantis in deserto.