#also with some later clones being blond and less standard because of the Jedi's influence on Kamino

[gaeasun]

Dropping new theory for Rex's hair: As a child, Rex was born blond, but was given gene therapy by the Kaminoans to change it to the typical color. As an adult he now bleaches it back as a "screw you" to the Kaminoans

[bedlamsbard]

VERY SCATTERED thoughts on Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule -- not terribly spoilery, but probably there’s some if you don’t want to not be spoiled at all.  I’m just going to copy and paste from last night’s Twitter thread(s), so this is definitely not in the top ten most coherent things I’ve ever written.

Under a cut for anyone who is avoiding spoilers.

Light of the Jedi is fine. Weirdly paced, probably a nightmare to read if you're going to read it over several days rather than in one day because of the size of the cast of characters (go back to doing those, Lucasfilm), very much a Western. 

I will say this, as someone who came out of the EU: this book is REALLY jarring to read if you're familiar with the EU, especially the Old Republic era but quite a lot of the later-set stuff as well. It's essentially a reset, but there are things in there that are just ???? like, okay, we're going to change where bacta comes from, sure...? why...?  hyperspace is weird and scary a mere two hundred years before TPM.  why...?

I had this vibe from A Test of Courage (which I read first), but I'm getting it here too -- the Jedi seem more...Christian. It's not something I can put my finger on or point to anything really specific, but something about the approach feels far more Western. I know the promo and publicity for the High Republic series leaned hard into the Knights of the Round Table vibe and it's very...I mean, I can't argue?  I'm not totally comfortable with it?

Coming out of the PT/TCW era as well, these Jedi seem more...what's the word I want. They're not necessarily different philosophically (except for the fact they read more Western-influenced than Eastern), but they're...smoother. That's not a great descriptor. The PT era Jedi feel scrappier, and I don't necessarily mean that just because we mostly see them in the midst of the Clone Wars. (I came out of the PT-era EU, not just the Clone Wars era.) Maybe this is the event that's going to scrape the Jedi down to bare bones and sharp-edged teeth. Maybe I missed something not having read the PT-era new canon. Again, like, I don't think they're philosophically different, they're hmm. less...desperate?  and certainly part of that is that the PT Jedi are in their twilight, even before the Clone Wars, and the High Republic Jedi are at their height, but... *flips hands* I don't know.

also I'm going to be honest if I saw the words "we are all the Republic" one more time I was going to lose my mind. this is particularly noticeable because the government is apparently just the Chancellor and two ministers. you are telling me the Senate doesn't care?  perhaps I am particularly sensitive to this because of the U.S. politics we are all suffering through but WHERE WAS THE SENATE.

the Nihil are whatever.

a lot of the design choices in this book feel very Rule of Cool, which going by the way that the designs seem to have been done may actually be true. (lightsabers...holstered?)  (honestly I have my back up with how SW introduced them by basically going "ALL RIGHT COSPLAYERS HAVE AT."   and I feel kind of weird about the fact they went for the blonde white woman as their main Jedi.)  just a lot of this feels very "okay what if we do THIS because it's COOL" which like as a fic writer sure! fine! that's great! I'm tired.

I can't believe we have to live through three phases of this for at least the next three years.

anyway it's fine. the pacing in Light of the Jedi is fucked up -- mostly it's fine but then there's the back third and that's...not...great. especially if one is trying to apply timeline logic.

***

[this is a separate thread I wrote about the same book]

was not expecting the trend in new canon Star Wars to be authors being really weird about writing nonhumans but whatever like, they're doing it, but the descriptions are...weird.  it's the less fucked up equivalent of "she breasted boobily"

this is something I think about a lot because I write from Twi'lek POVs all the time, so I am probably more sensitive to it than average

would you describe a human in this way? no? then don't do it. (I should specify because lolsob people, would you describe whatever your idea of a Standard Person is in this way? no? then don't do it. because people are also weird about describing, amongst others, women and POC.)

this sort of thing isn't, like, BAD but it also feels very...unnatural.

IDK, this is one of the Star Wars things that I'm unusually sensitive about.

the author is less weird about describing some of the other nonhumans so I think it's entirely possible he doesn't think his audience knows what the fuck a Nautolan is

um.

if you didn't already know what Togruta looked like this description would make zero sense so it's kind of just reading like the author going "Togruta are sexy, check."

(I swear I'm getting other stuff from this book too, it's just the description thing is what I'm attuned to so it's getting the most commentary from me.)

[subthread in response to a question I got about this sort of thing]

I don't know that there's a pattern -- I'm not doing much SW reading because I don't generally find it enjoyable anymore, but what I usually look for are 1) in a close third person POV how is the author having the character describe themselves?

and then, is that described in a way that feels natural? (thinking about Freed having Hera call her skin "jade-colored" or here "tentacles emerging from the back of his skull.") is there an ever-present awareness from within the character that they're not "human-standard"?

2) how much does the narrative exoticize their non-humanness -- Soh talking about Togruta in this thread is a very obvious example, even if that's not a Togruta describing themselves.

if it feels like the narrative is going "LOOK! THEY'RE NOT HUMAN!" and then lays out the ways how based on their physical characteristics. and what the narrator chooses to describe and not (skin color, lekku, horns, etc.)

there can also just be some REALLY weird phrasing around the way authors choose to describe nonhuman characters -- thinking about EKJ's Ahsoka talking about how "her head had grown again", that'a a phrase that lives rent-free in my brain.

also Soule has a weird quirk I've noticed where nonhuman characters are not described as being "a Twi'lek" or "a Tholothian" but as "Twi'lek" or "Tholothian" -- using the species as an adjective rather than a noun, which grates a little on me because it's not SW standard.

and then also the decision about what's being described sometimes just feels WEIRD in a Star Wars setting, and it's particularly glaring here because there are some species Soule's singling out to describe and some that are just allowed to exist.

*snaps fingers* and also if the author will identify various nonhumans as their species, but never specify that humans are humans, even while describing skin tone, eye color, etc. (I mention this because I JUST ran into this in the book.)

the human default is really jarring in this book even if there are a ton of nonhuman characters, because he tends to not specify that the humans are human. like, I'm more attuned to it than most of the audience for various reasons, but. *flips hand*

like, this is definitely a thing I'm unusually sensitive to because of Backbone, so. *shrug*