#attachment - as defined in star wars - is not a positive trait

[inkoutsidethelines]

"no attachments" in SW literally just means "don't be selfish and possessive". that's it. that's all there is. doesn't mean jedi can't have friends and loved ones. they can. just. don't be possessive and selfish about it. don't murder thousands of people in an effort to save one.

[mollymirror]

m o l l y   l e n o r a   p r e w e t t

basics:

name: molly lenora prewett. pronunciation: maa·lee lehn·aw·r·uh prewet·t. meaning: molly- sea of bitterness, star of the sea, rebellion. lenora- sun’s rays. birthday: october 30th. age: nineteen. pronouns: she & her. sexuality: heterosexual. siblings: fabian prewett, gideon prewett. parents: peter prewett & melody prewett nee macmillan. other family: . languages: english. irish. current residence: arthur weasley’s flat. hometown: galway.

wizard fun:

hogwarts house: gryffindor. year of graduation: 1979. occupation: part-time seamstress at twilfitt & tatting. pet: a cat named lavalump, but known as dubby. two pet chickens named cherry cola and nilla wafer. blood status: pureblood. species: witch. patronus: elephant. elephants are traditionally considered a symbol of good luck, wisdom, fertility, and protection. the elephant is also associated with offering energies of protection, love, loyalty, and quiet courage. people with elephant patronus are brilliant and often make excellent researchers or scientists. these people have deep emotions and will respond to those feelings from a place of inner knowing. the family is essential to them, especially the very young and the very old. folks with this spirit animal always have a soft spot for the weak and the helpless. loyalty is the elephant patronus’s strong suit, and they remain loyal despite challenging circumstances in all situations.  boggart: the idea of her family hurt and her unable to do anything to help. recently, the idea that something could hurt her children, too. amortentia:   butterscotch.  molly will happily add butterscotch to anything. she is certainly convinced there is nothing better tasting in this wide world.  fresh laundry.  chores were always something that molly was expected to do, but she was happy to help. laundry fast became her favorite thing to do. she finds folding it to be a good way to calm her nerves.  apple.  the smell of apples always bring her back to baking or to the orchards that grew not far from the house or eating on a hike or snacking away the afternoon. no matter what, they always bring her back to a happy memory. wand type: 11″ alder wood, unicorn hair, unrelenting.  alder is an unyielding wood, yet I have discovered that its ideal owner is not stubborn or obstinate, but often helpful, considerate and most likeable. whereas most wand woods seek similarity in the characters of those they will best serve, alder is unusual in that it seems to desire a nature that is, if not precisely opposite to its own, then certainly of a markedly different type. when an alder wand is happily placed, it becomes a magnificent, loyal helpmate. of all wand types, alder is best suited to non-verbal spell work, whence comes its reputation for being suitable only for the most advanced witches and wizards.  unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the dark arts. they are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.  affiliation: neutral.

appearance:

height: 5′3″. hair color: honey russet. eye color: hazel. typical hair style: a loosely curled bob is the most frequent hairstyle that molly sports. the next most frequent is two buns on top of her head. she loves pigtails and plaited pigtails too. she does like to experiment with different ways to wear her hair, though, and likes to use a lot of clips and ribbons.  fashion style: molly fashion a good bit of her own clothes. she wears a lot of knits and denim. she prefers things to be in warm colors and has a preference for stripes, overalls, and soft textures. she wears clogs or sneakers most often. molly tends to prefer shorts and skirts to pants. a lot of hand-me-downs have been incorporated and refashioned in her wardrobe, too. she loves to wear baseball caps. overall, she definitely has a bit of a tomboy look. [ fashion ] distinguishing features: molly is perhaps best known for her red hair and remarkably friendly face. her eyes are very kind and she smiles more often than not. she has freckles over her nose, cheeks, and shoulders. she has scars on her elbow from falling out of a tree, on her knee from jumping off a broom, and one on her hand from a baking incident. 

personality:

positive traits: genuine. maternal. nurturing. negative traits: anxious. busybody. temperamental. theme song: wildwood flower by the carter family.

headcanons:

when she was still living at home, molly’s room was littered with all sorts of stuffed animals. some hand made. she just loves them they’re so cute and fluffy and cozy. if anyone has ever gotten her one, she doesn’t have the heart to throw it out, and they sit in every available corner of her. they all have names, and the older ones have very defined personalities too. her favorite ones are on her bed. they’re the a-team. 

molly has the knowledge of incredible table manners. her mother spent a good deal of time teaching her how to be a polite member of society. however, molly doesn’t always put this knowledge into practice. it’s not that she’s purposefully rude. only that sometimes, her manners are forgotten in favor of elbows on the table. usually she isn’t bothered by anyone else’s manners unless they’re really, really bothersome.

on her own, molly can struggle to fall asleep. her anxiety often gets the better of her if she’s lying quietly in bed for too long. at home, it’s easily solved by putting on records (or if it was too bad the boys would sit with her). at school, she was more like to smoke so that she drifts off quietly.  now, she will wait for arthur to come and cuddle with her. once she is asleep, molly sleeps like a rock. there is almost nothing in the world that can disturb or wake her up.

biography:

the prewett family had never been the elite of pureblooded society. more often than not, they hovered somewhere near the middle. with enough influence that they could easily marry into the most ancient and noble house of black, but regarded by many to be less than due to their lax attitude about the strict purity of blood. the macmillan family had been treated little better. the distinction being that the macmillan’s wanted more. when a young melody macmillan expressed her desire to marry peter prewett, her father didn’t approve at first. the couple had to threaten to elope with one another before they finally relented and allowed them a proper ceremony.

they agreed that their family would not be focused on the power of a name, but the love they would share.

fabian came first. gideon wasn’t long after. hand in hand the prewett boys brought light into the world. the old country home was filled with laughter as they learned to talk and play and toddle about. their father often exclaiming that he didn’t know two things so little could cause so much of a ruckus with a hearty laugh. their bliss only grew more with the news that melody was pregnant once again.

molly lenora prewett was born the day before all hallow’s eve. the autumn leaves covered the ground in hues of scarlet and fiery orange. one twin says that it rained all morning the day that their little sister was born; the other twin says that he can remember the sun shining down on them as they waited for news on their mum. the only thing that they agreed on was that molly came in a little pink blanket, she was the loudest thing they’d ever heard, and they loved her entirely.

the young molly knew a life filled with blanket forts tied to every corner of the ceiling, baking pies on sunday evening with her mother, long walks out to the garden to help her father degnome the plots, a brother for each hand, mountains of stuffed animals, and so very many grass stains. it was a life filled with peace. it was a place where molly could be comfortably fearless. even as a little tot, molly recognized that her brothers would run into any fight without a second thought, but it would be a miracle if they remembered to tie their shoes first. it became second nature to care for the more obvious things they missed.

when the twins left for hogwarts, the house was noticeably quieter. molly got bored easily. without any traps to watch out for or presents to find, the suddenly singular girl had to find other avenues to focus her attention. she began to spend more and more time learning from their mother. molly learned to sew, to knit, to bake, and to brew what is universally regarded as a damn fine cup of tea. that time with their mother refined molly. it dulled the edges of her otherwise sharp temper and made her more receptive to where value can be found.

in the blink of an eye, it was her own turn to attend hogwarts. while she’d been nervous, molly wouldn’t let a soul see. fabian and gideon spent the entire night before ‘helping’ her pack her trunk with everything from the potted plant in the kitchen to lavalamp, her sweet kitten. it wasn’t until later that she realized they’d just been trying to distract her from her anxiety keeping her up all night. on the train ride to the castle, she wondered if she’d been in a house with one of them. it would feel weird not to be, but she suspected that she wasn’t quite clever enough to be in ravenclaw. the sorting hat seemed to agree. molly took her seat at the gryffindor table proudly.

molly was successful in school. she always managed to finish her homework and made good marks on her tests. there wasn’t any particular study that she outshined in than others with the sole exception of charms. there was no charm that little molly couldn’t figure out how to cast given enough time to practice. unlike her brothers, molly was perfectly content to stay out of trouble unless provoked. that being said, it was quite easy to provoke her. molly’s temper was legendary.

as the ominous clouds of war gather on the horizon, molly knows where her loyalties lie. her heart is with her family. however, she was never a warrior or soldier. molly held no interest in fighting or battles. she wanted to build a family and home like the one that she’d grown up in. she wanted to make sure that there was something worth fighting for in the end.

then she met arthur weasley. he was perfect. molly had never met a man in equal parts so brave, clever, and kind. she was always shocked to find that he wanted to spend time with her too. the two grew closer and closer. even when he left school, they continued to write. molly would look for simply any excuse to go see him during her breaks. it came as a shock to no one, but her, when he finally asked her to be his girlfriend. there was no other option, but yes, even though molly still wasn’t sure it was a title she deserved.

rather hastily into their relationship, molly realized that something had changed. several things actually. arthur seemed more distant. he disappeared for hours with little explanation. then came her morning sickness. then came a brand new panic. a child? arthur instantly asked her to come live with him, and molly agreed. it has been a few months, but she still has not told anyone else about the situation. not even her family. she barely has the nerve to mention her fears about the hours that arthur comes home. this is what molly had always dreamed about and yet, it felt out of sorts somehow. she isn’t sure what to make of it except to try and make the best of the situation. but how long can she be an island of hope in an unforgiving storm?

[whentheynameyoujoy]

The Problem with Rey, or Where I Fail to Ignore the Bad Trilogy Yet Again

So, in a grand tradition of ignoring my New Year’s resolutions the second after making them, I hereby give up on trying to be less of a sourpuss this year and am going to once more plunge into the pit of negativity that’s the sequel trilogy. Namely, I’m going to put my two cents in that scene in TROS.

Or rather I’m going to try and sus out why it raised no eyebrows with me as I was watching it in the theatre, beyond the obligatory “Oh, callbacks! Cameos! That’s nice. Fuck off.”

After all, it absolutely should have. It’s an ostensible backslide in what passes for character development in these movies, a reversal in the texture of the hero’s journey, of the ST’s sketchy hint of the characters changing from broken immature children into self-actualized adults. And let’s not forget about the horrendous messaging that sees Rey forever entombed in the role of a pure virgin maiden, a replacement golden child that’s vindicated in her tendency to define herself through relations to others instead of becoming her own person.

Christ, the thing is literally golden.

And then it clicked why none of this raised any alarm bells with me.

I just fundamentally don’t take canon Rey seriously as a fictional character.

Mind you, this goes well beyond my inability to play with TROS on its own terms and stop riffing it (though it is a problem) or to view it from the Watsonian perspective instead of constantly remembering that the only reason the movie even exists is not to tell a story with any narrative integrity and artistic honesty, but to make a bazillion dollars and thus it can do without my emotional investment (though that’s also true).

My chief issue is that Rey as a character barely exists.

Now, what I mean by that is that Rey doesn’t conform to the definition of a fictional character as a purposeful construct, a set of distinctive traits making up a defined psychology that informs one’s behaviour and allows one to dictate the plot as its active agent, thus driving the story forward.

What’s confusing about this is that at the start of TFA, Rey had by far the strongest characterization out of anyone, original characters and new (although this stops being true pretty much the moment you notice it).

When we first meet Rey, she’s busy living what can only be described as the Star Wars equivalent of a Dickensian existence—a parentless teenager forced to fight for survival, figuratively and literally, and earn her own living from a very young age. What her life lacks in support and stability, it makes up for in hard labour, hunger, and a crushing sense of cultivated loneliness. There are no meaningful relationships—friendly, familial, or romantic ones—and no prospects, only a desire to escape, or to be more precise to be taken away under a set of specific circumstances. And of course there’s the nagging fear that this might actually be it for her.

This will never stop being ingenious.

What’s most interesting about Rey at this point, though, is her contradictions. As we later learn, she has lashed her sense of identity to the idea of being a temporarily abandoned child, and thus she’s forced herself to live a life of perpetual childhood, waiting for her parents to come back and pluck her from Jakku instead of moving on and carving out her own existence. In a very real sense, although her life has many outward marks of adulthood, she refuses to grow up, going as far as styling herself after her former childhood self and naively asserting her belief that of course putting her life on hold and spending it stuck and waiting is eventually going to be rewarded.

At the same time, though, there are already some cracks in the childish façade that allow us to see the real person beneath—someone with a strong sense of right vs. wrong, to the point where she’s willing to put herself in danger and accept hardships on behalf of others. But her willingness to engage in conflict without a second thought can also be read as underlying anger issues stemming from her sense of abandonment, and a sign that a certain jaded bitterness may have already set in, as evidenced by her unwillingness to deal with BB-8, a non-familial entity, as a friend after saving him.

All of this creates a character who’s barely holding it together, someone bursting out of the childlike costume they’ve constructed for themselves, their mask about to disintegrate and reveal a deeply broken person underneath; a little girl who’s too busy looking into the past instead of living in the present, who doesn’t see herself as an agent in her own story but as someone who’s given meaning by others.

In other words, Rey’s challenge at the beginning of ST is to confront the truths and issues she doesn’t want to face, destroy her shell, and emerge into adulthood as a fully-realized woman.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of psychology as much as I did back in 2015 because it’s the last one she’s going to get.

The moment the movie dies.

From the second Rey meets Finn, she leaves TFA as an agent who shapes the story by her own psychology and development, and spends the rest of the runtime as a passive object that’s dragged along by the plot while having no effect on it, instead being jostled around by the actions of others. Up until the final fight, Rey:

runs away from an enemy she never engaged, who means nothing to her and she nothing to them;

is ambushed by a guy and his pet fuzzball, neither of whom she’s ever met;

is forced into defensive action by a bunch of gangsters who, yet again, have nothing to do with her or her journey;

accidentally releases a convenient plot device she didn’t intend to release. This doesn’t amount to anything;

is introduced to a map she didn’t search for, leading to a person she doesn’t know, has no connection to, and no reason to be interested in;

ends up on a planet she didn’t know about and had no plan to visit;

has her inner conflict verbalized to her by discount Yoda;

has her lights punched out and is bridal carried by the galaxy’s most try-hard Bad Boy Who Ever Baddied for unintentionally viewing the central McGuffin of a storyline that has nothing to do with her or her character conflict;

gets interrogated by an admittedly gorgeous mop of hair which triggers her Force powers, somehow. She never reflects on this;

gets saved by the screenwriter by using a Force power she had no reason to suspect existed.

Only then does she wake up from her slumber to:

fight Kylo Ren in order to protect the unconscious Finn, a type of action she’s performed twice already in regards to BB-8 and thus is nothing new for her;

and finally, having failed to reflect on being Force sensitive or express an ounce of political opinion, join the Resistance for some reason and decide to take on the responsibility of finding Luke Skywalker, a person who still means nothing to her on any level.

Simply put, Rey spends the majority of the movie treading water and then being catapulted into a position the screenwriters want her in, without first sending her on a journey which would bring her to the Resistance and Luke as a natural result of her own choices and actions, not of a series of plot contrivances.

This is further made worse by the fact that Rey’s psychology from the start of TFA when she was still in that wonderful character study test tube? Yeah, it stops existing. Or rather it stops dictating her actions and behaviour. Gone is her unwillingness to permanently entangle herself in the affairs of others and only doing so after a reluctant flare-up of empathy. Now she’s a good sport who’s just happy to be included, guys! There’s also this slight problem where her background leaves no marks on her. She has no interpersonal problems, no trust issues, no bitterness, no jadedness, no sense of abandonment, she isn’t clingy or stand-offish like most people with her experiences would. There’s only the face of childlike joy as she simply goes along for the ride because the movie needs to happen.

And these checks J.J. signed in TFA? They get cashed in TLJ where Rian Johnson is asked to wave his arms and work with a character who’s in a situation she has no internal reason to be in. As a result, instead of having a solid, meaty foundation to examine why Rey has immediately latched onto the Resistance and Jedi after spending so long defining herself through her parents and having no personal or ideological reason to be interested in either, we’re just asked to nod along and pretend that Rey being so deeply invested in any of this makes sense and isn’t worrying in the slightest. And then comes the end where any notion of moral complexity is flushed down the toilet as Rey pulls a Kylo and instead of incorporating what she’s learned into a new worldview and altering her journey, she digs in her heels and returns to the Resistance as, sigh, the last Jedi while, yet again, never examining her attachment to either. The found family trope is awesome, guys, let’s not question it.

So I must admit to not really understanding where this outrage about Rey being locked in permanent childhood by the end of TROS is coming from. She’s never stopped being a child. The sequel trilogy has always preferred to view her as a pure ray of sunshine (pun very vomit-inducingly intended) and an embodiment of good that’s free of internal conflict; a figurative representation of a child who’s spent the movies in a state of arrested development (a few unmotivated moments in TLJ being a notable exception), cycling through different parental figures until she’s finally gotten it right and can now restart her childhood, new and improved.

You may call it yucky but I don’t see how it’s surprising.

[tobiandjane]

name: tobias garrett williams

age: 18

gender: male

appearance: for the first half of the book, his hair is washed and pale due to numerous do-it-yourself dye jobs with an inch of naturally, dark colored roots. the second half it’s a dark maroon color after ryn demands it be changed. his hair is grown out to his ears in a moderate and messy manner. he has deep green eyes (without a hint of brown). vitiligo on his neck that stretches up to cover the bottom of his jaw and onto his cheek just slightly. defined jaw and semi-defined cheek bones. wears really simple clothing (you could find it in the basics section at old navy). has several piercings including: double lip piercing (called spider bites), an eyebrow piercing, two black studs and a bar piercing across his ear. he has a leo constellation tattoo on the side of his wrist (which is really important), tall (6′3), lean but slightly toned. 

background: tobias williams has had everything but an easy life. tobias and his dad were very connected in his early life, until his dad decided to get up and leave without notice during the second semester of his sophomore year. not only did it shatter tobias, but his mother as well. tobias and his mom were at each other’s throats up until the second semester of junior year, around the one year anniversary of his father’s sudden leaving, when they realized they had to stick together. after the wars of bickering ended between tobias and his mother, they had each other’s backs and were now closer than ever. tobias’s mom runs an incense shop called woodland essences, which is just a cover on the fact that she is a complete and utter stoner, and allows tobias to smoke with her, too. she claims it takes the edge off of things, and it’s a good coping mechanism. tobias likes the way it makes him feel, so he can’t help but give in. he knows it’s wrong, but at this point, he’s done so many wrong things. in fact, that’s all tobias thought he was good for, causing trouble. so that’s what he did. and a lot of it, too. 

relationships: very close with his mom, best friends with scotty, eventually becomes ryn’s boyfriend

sexuality: straight

positive personality traits: CAN BE gentle, caring, compassionate, willing, funny, loving, honest.

negative personality traits: CAN BE mean-spirited, sarcastic, unmotivated, judge mental. IS ALWAYS rebellious, obsessive (without realizing it).

notable characteristics: vitiligo, piercings, constant hair change, likes to skate, is self-destructive (in the sense that he enjoys smoking). 

excerpt:

Tobias Williams was never naturally mean-spirited or angry, but his aggressive tendencies and negative attributes to his personality had grown more and more malicious over the past few years and finally, he hit a breaking point. It felt as if his entire body was on fire, his veins had shattered in to millions of tiny shards, and his heart was close to imploding. Tobias pushed the door of his 1969 Chevrolet Half-Ton open so intensely, the door could have broken right off the silver hinges. But that wasn’t a concern to Tobias in his current state, his main concern was the god-awful email that had appeared on his phone while he was out, getting things for school (which he already hated the idea of).

It felt as if there were weights attached to Tobias’s ankles as he marched up to the door of Woodland Essences, his mom’s incense shop. Just as he had before, Tobias ripped the door of the shop open and, this time, slammed it behind him. When Tobias met gazes with the glaring eyes of his mother, he folded his arms. The stare between Tobias and his mom was held for a few seconds, and she had made it clear to Tobias, she wasn’t going to talk first.

“What the hell, mom?” Tobias knew he misspoke, but betrayal such as this hit him harder than anything else did. The worst thing you could do to Tobias is betray him, treat him like he didn’t matter. Treat him like he existed one day, and was a ghost the next.

“Do not take that tone with me, Tobias,” his mom said calmly, but in a stern manner. She had adapted to Tobias's outbursts, as they were becoming more and more common. In fact, she believed there wasn’t much hope in curing Tobias’s violent impulses. Quietly, Tobias’s mom stood up from her chair behind the counter, “What are you so flustered about?” She asked, even though she knew exactly what was wrong.

“You talked to the principal about my grades and now you’re making me follow Ryn fuckin’  Wilbury around for my entirety of senior year? Are you kidding me,” Tobias’s mom wanted to butt in, yet he continued venting his wrath, “That girl is a stuck-up, wannabe, cheerleader, bitch. Everyone pretends to like her because they’re all intimidated by her book smarts.”

Tobias’s mom simply gave him a sad look, “I didn’t think you’d be angry, you told me you needed help,” Tobias shook his head. He didn’t mean literally, but maybe it didn’t come out in the joking manner Tobias thought it did. Tobias’s mom continued speaking, “I’m sorry, Tobias, I can’t retract the deal, and as your mom, I believe you need this help. Somewhere in there, you know you need it too,”

Tobias stood and didn’t say anything, his pale hair slightly damp from the humidity of the fading summer days, stuck to his forehead. So, his mom continued,

“Who would I be to turn down help that you clearly need? Makes me look pretty bad, don’t you think?”

“I guess,” Tobias muttered, scuffing his Vans along the wooden floor of the shop, grumbling.

(tobi westport, misaligned stars 2019)

tag list: @tenacious-scripturient @fantasy-studiies @novicewriterstuff @ren-c-leyn

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[sl-walker]

Maybe you’ve done this before, but can you speak to how you came up with all the Blackbirds’ personalities and/or goals? Like what inspired them and such. I think we know the story behind a few, like Raze, but I’m curious about all of them!

Oh gosh.  I probably have in pieces, but I’m totally down with answering it. XD  Thank you for asking it, too!  This’ll get long-ish, so under the cut it goes.  But the easy answer is that all of them actually evolved very organically; aside a few notes, I didn’t really plan any of them.  They just kind of happened in the best way.  But for more detail, read on.

Shiv I stole from a short comic where he was actually fridged at the end on Orto Plutonia.  His habit of writing to his dead brother charmed me and broke my heart, and his own end was just a big ole nope.  Maul needed a sergeant, I wanted Shiv, so I grabbed him.  Even in the short span we saw him in quasi canon, he displayed a dry sense of humor and a quick wit (and some skill at words), so I just built on that limited framework.  He would have had to have been highly trained to be an advanced scout like that, he would have had to have been level headed, and beyond that, he really just grew into his own person organically.  Him wrestling with losing his twin, him having to process that while coping with the burden of leadership, with a new squad on one side and a green CO on the other, all of that just kind of happened as the story went on.

Tally's definitely been my answer to the habit of people writing mean, snarky medics.  I wanted one who was kind to the people in his care, who believed in consent and autonomy.  Beyond the fact that the squad was built around Maul -- who would need someone like Tally if he was ever going to learn how to be a person -- it’s just enjoyable to defy the trope.  Originally, he was going to be older, more along Husk’s relative age, but it was clear right off that he wasn’t.  Of all of them, I think I most end up projecting my ‘politics’ onto him; his open cynicism, his belief in solidarity, his subversiveness and distrust of the establishment.  But Tally, no joke, grabs the reins every single time I write his narrative.  All of the Blackbirds feel really real when I write them, but he’s the one who often surprises me.  I don’t so much think I came up with him as that he ended up with some part of me and then went on to totally do his own damn thing.  And if that sounds crazy, I’d love to see someone else try writing him organically and find a different result.  LOL!  He’s just a really strong personality.

Smarty is a total geek, except not.  Because unlike the stereotypical geek portrayal of like, the 1980s, he had no trouble getting laid.  He wears graffiti on his battlefield armor. He’s skinnier and softer looking than most of the others, but he’s also kinda fearless and badass.  He’s apt to go on and on, but he’s also sharp as hell.  I loved the idea of a clone who self-studied everything because 1.) he was intensely bored on Kamino, and 2.) because he has a genuine, enthusiastic passion for learning.  Like-- honestly, most of the Blackbirds are subversive not just in narrative, but also outside of it, because defying tropes is a lot of fun, narratively.

Castle’s personality is partly because I love engineers.  Scotty from Star Trek is my hero, has been my whole life, and Castle is kind of a sideways homage to him.  His skill and talent at building or repairing things, his steadfastness, but also his occasional struggles understanding what’s going on with people internally speaking.  Scotty’s his own thing entirely -- don’t even get me started there, the Arc of the Wolf can be googled -- but Castle shares some traits with him.  Castle is also a bit more like the clones we see portrayed in canon, which makes him an interesting perspective in this group of odds, ends and eccentricities.

Husk also serves that; of all of them, he is in the mold of Rex and Cody.  I wanted someone who was older and had been around for damn ever, who got the full load of indoctrination, both Mando and Kaminoan, and who would offer a more ‘traditional soldier’ perspective on things.  One thing is absolutely sure, though, is that I never, ever wrote Husker to be villainized because of that.  His view of things -- though it’s evolving now thanks to experience and kinship -- has always been just as legitimate a take as the other Blackbirds and I never wanted him to be portrayed in a bad light because of it.  I also wanted him to be 501st originally because that would be an interesting bridge between Skywalker and the Blackbirds, and an interesting conflict Husk would have to work through.  His personality kinda grew around all that; his fierce love and loyalty to his brothers, his unique place trying to balance who he was raised to be while being surrounded by the other, more subversive Blackbirds.  (He was named in homage to Bill Adama in BSG, too.)

Your boy Misty is kind of the most normal of everyone, honestly.  He’s the one who’s managed to not be traumatized by war, or by their upbringing, or by anything else.  He’s actually incredibly resilient in that regard.  It’s not that he doesn’t feel things deeply, but he seems to have kept from letting those get hooks into his brain, and that’s no small feat in their galaxy.  His genuine love of the water was the first thing I knew about him, and it’s remained kind of a constant in how his personality develops.  His ability to be a fair leader when put to it, but not enjoying the role, for example; his absolute confidence when he is in charge of something like a water rescue.  I’m really looking forward to doing more with him in Year Two and highlighting just how good a specialist he is in that, as well.

Brody was always going to be a slicer, but like the others, his personality just happened over time.  I knew he’d be a bit cynical because he already has more exposure to the wider galaxy than the others, but I didn’t anticipate a lot of the nuances.  Like his idealism finally getting stoked by Radio Anarchy.  That was a lot of fun to see, and brought home that he, too, is a young guy and not immune to hope.  The Llanic arc was a big one for Brody, not only in terms of development, but in terms of his entire life after this.  His mischief at the Viable ad was also a Moment(tm), but if you asked me what his actual defining arc would be, it’d be Llanic, and it happened kinda on its own.

Raze, as I’ve said, ended up being homage to my son; the ADHD, also the introduction of meds and how those made his life easier, also his cuddly nature and kindness and generosity.  His artistic lean, however, is in homage to my oldest kid.  I knew he’d be kind of distractable, never on time to meetings, hyper competent in his field, always down for a hair-pet and someone to snuggle up to, and oddly enough, Raze is the one who doesn’t surprise me often.  LOL!  I guess because I live with his inspiration.  His being ace just-- was.  I didn’t intend it, but it happened; when I was writing the camping fluff back in the day and Tango was lamenting, Raze was just like, “Nah, not interested.’  He’s just a wonderful, positive presence, and while he’s having an awful time with survivor guilt right now, he’s still wonderful.  And I honestly don’t know of anyone who doesn’t love him.

Tango ended up being one of the most complex of the Blackbirds!  Like, there is part of him that is definitely me -- “HDU write about this person I love inaccurately, I’ll just have to do it better than you!!!” -- but most of him is actually not.  Like-- his actually-pretty-inaccurate crush on Maul. LOL!  He loves the idea of being in a relationship with Maul, but doesn’t quite grasp what that would entail realistically?  The crush and literally everything else about Tango happened in the course of the story.  I knew early about his fanfic leanings, but not how he would get there; I knew about his superstitious streak, but not that he would end up slowly losing it piece by piece in favor of something he can control, namely his writing.  His feelings about Rabbit and what happened to Rabbit are more added layers to his complexity.  And while Raze is the teras kasi protege, it’s actually Tango who’s probably a bit more Force sensitive than the norm.  Nothing to Jedi levels, but there’s something there.  His future’s going to be an interesting one.  (And Etah and Adao will be a running thread through the whole series.)

Rabbit was always going to be Rabbit.  I knew his name and Rancor’s before I even wrote the first chapter.  And I knew he wasn’t going to see the end of Year One.  I knew that he and his twin were both brand spanking new, and would therefore have to develop on their own, over time, and they did.  I had no real personality traits in mind for either, beyond their desperate attachment (and in fairness, co-dependency) with one another.  So, he happened.  And I wanted him to be a person, even knowing his fate.  I didn’t want him to be cannon fodder.  I didn’t want the audience to suspect what would eventually happen.  And when the time came, it was absolutely, critically important that when I wrote his end, I was sobbing on my keyboard.  I had to love him, and to do that, I had to write him well.  (And I cried so hard I could barely type, then I cried for hours after, too.)

Rancor is the least developed, but that was by design?  I still don’t know him as well as the others.  I know he’s Rabbit’s twin and some things about him now, as an individual, but Rancor himself has always been defined by his proximity to his twin.  He’s never thought for a second to step out into his own so far as to lose sight of Rabbit, and so he hasn’t.  We get hints of it -- his vote on Bravo-984, his punching a clone in the teeth at the climax of that training mission, his possessiveness and anxiety, his basic quiet competence when put to it -- but it’s only really going to be over time that he gets to figure out who he is.  He’s always going to be Rabbit’s twin, but now he has no real choice about becoming his own person, and we’ll see how that goes.

Thank you again for the ask!  I hope these answers work.

[altered-aegis-archived]

Kohaku’s Verses 1

SAINT SEIYA THE LOST CANVAS AU / SPECTER VERSE

 BASIC INFORMATION REAL NAME Kohaku Otomugi SPECTER'S TITLE Terrestrial Malignant Star, Peryton Kohaku OCCUPATION Scholar / Specter (Afterlife) AGE 17 HEIGHT 170 Cm BORN 24 August SOCIAL CLASS Noble / Specter (Afterlife) YEAR 17th Century NATIONALITY Japan FACECLAIM Ishikirimaru

SUMMARY In the Afterlife, Kohaku was serving Hades the King of Underworld while donning a surplice that resembles mythical creature Peryton. His black mirrored feathers are detachables and can perform various technique. One of it's main ability is to look into someone's past and connections with others. Peryton's wings also detachable at Kohaku's own will and can be a dangerous weapon with convenient wide-distant range capacity.

BACKSTORY The sixth son of the feudal lord in the northern imperial of Kyoto and raised by a single father. He believed in filial piety ideal while he himself was very discipline and delegate his administrative tasks in Imperial Court. His achievement in career was envied by his other six siblings and they ended up mistreated him throughout the remaining years he lived yet Kohaku did not bear any ill will against them and continue to treat them with respect while continue to strive for family's honor.

During one of the Imperial conquest, Kohaku was stationed in a camp together with his oldest brother who were also Samurai warrior under the Imperial order. Kohaku had already deviced a strategy and pleaded to his brother to follow the plan but his brother refused and stormed to the battlefield by himself. Seeing lack reinforcement in the garrison, Kohaku decided to protect the garrison by himself. Kohaku lasted for three days fighting with no supplies, but using his own intellect and skills to hold the garrison. It forces the enemy to retreat few times until the Samurai troops ambushed him from all directions. His brother and his father was caught along. His father was executed but his brother gained the favor of the enemy’s feudal lord and was released on condition that he sided with them. Leaving Kohaku the only remaining prisoner.

Few days before Kohaku can decide his own fate, his brother told the feudal lord about northern villagers are showing demonstration for government didn’t showed up to help after they suffered natural disasters, so the villagers asked for a sacrifice for God’s offering. The feudal lord agreed and ordered his brother to send one of the prisoner to the village to be sacrificed just for a gimmick. His brother used this as an advantage to get rid of Kohaku instead. Kohaku was blinded, knocked and beaten to death for the sake of the ceremony.

RISING AS SPECTER In the Underworld, Thanatos; God of Death and also advisor to Lord Hades have sought potential on Kohaku to serve under Hades for the upcoming Holy War against Goddess Athena. He then prompted Kohaku with a surplice (Underworld's armor) that resembled mythical Peryton creature and asked him on his opinion if he ever have the power to kill. Kohaku was not fond of answering the question and pleaded to Thanatos to end him completely. Thanatos then insisted by sending him back to the world of living so Kohaku can see the ugly truth behind his uncalled death few days ago. As he reached for the living world realm, Kohaku was already donning the Underworld surplice since Thanatos was eager to observe his progress later on.

Kohaku landed back on the ground, spotted the villagers that killed him now holding up a festival by escorting his older brother's troop as they come to the village with tons of aid supplies. The surplices wing then reflected the past and the truth of his older brother. Kohaku then heard how his brother belittled him in one of the conversation with his guards and claiming the sacrifice was not for any God and it was nothing but only a gimmick. He only wanted to get rid of Kohaku so the feudal lord won't have any second thoughths of wanting to hire him as the army strategist. Should he hire him, his brother will be falling out of favor and he wanted to stop that from happening. Learning the entire truth, Kohaku then suffered from agony.

He fled and hid himself inside the forest in hope for not learning any ugly truth involving him anymore. However, the Surplice wings later whispered the past of Imperial family that he served before. hesitantly, Kohaku pulled one of the mirrored black feather and take a look at the Imperial's past. He suffered the sight when he learnt his mother was brutally 'silenced' by the Imperial family for holding royal's dark secret. At that time, Kohaku was only few months old. The past that he had witnessed from the mirrored feather further enraged him.

Afterward, Kohaku approached the village and destroyed it within a short amount of time. His older brother begged to not be killed by him and promised to offer him fortunes if it pleases him, but Kohaku killed his brother without mercy. Kohaku didn’t end it there. He massacred the rest of his siblings and even killed the Imperial Court’s family, before putting the head of the royals in front of the castle’s gate for public shows to stir up fear and panic. As soon disorders spreads more through the land, he returned back to the Underworld with no sign of remorse.

Kohaku rose as a Specter to serve Hades. He donned a Peryton’s surplice and bestowed the title of Terrestrial Malignant Star. (The title is originated from one of 72 Earthly Fiends in Water Margin, Huang Xin.)

SPECTER’S HEADCANON

PERSONALITY

When Kohaku joined the Underworld, his darker personality also emerged. He has learnt ways to be more manipulative, cunning, pragmatic, and controlling. This also means Peryton Kohaku still have one of his human trait (intelligence) inside him but became less empathy towards another. Kohaku shows no feelings even towards his Underworld comrade when they appeared to be harmed, proving that he has since disregard his empathy trait when he joined Hades. His intelligence makes him able to rely on a rather duplicitous talent to successfully manipulated few of living humans in order to complete Hades's conquest against Athena. This dark trait of him also even makes it difficult for enemies to decipher his movement.

ART OF WAR

||SHADOW|| Peryton’s wings can generate the shadow of his victim. It can create exact copies of a person and let the victim duel with their own shadow or someone else’s that they familiar with.

||AEGIS & CAMOUFLAGE|| Using the wings to create barrier to either defend from the enemy’s assault or to trap enemy inside by closing the wall. While shielding, it is also useful as an invisible camouflage.

||DISTORT REALITY|| His wings can change environment and reality in any way Kohaku wanted.

||DANCING WINGS|| He can make the mirrored feathers glides through the midair at certain speed to rumble the ground, decreasing enemy's morale. While if it’s not attached to the back, the wings will act as flying knives to search, trap and kill enemies.

||THOUSAND KNIVES|| A method of deploying surreal image of his feather to trick the enemy that was formed by his cosmos before deploying the real feathers to attack. However if the enemy did not dodge this, they would have received injuries as well as it was a projected dark cosmos in a small amount that could be harmful for the living.

||BASIC MARTIAL ART SKILLS|| His own physical defense and strength is quite impressive considering he was also affiliated to military during his human year.

WEAKNESS

||NECK AND LOWER BACK|| It’s the most vulnerable spot as neck was not covered by surplice and lower back area was not properly guarded due to the extensions of mirrored wings that doesn’t allow him to be more flexible.

||MIRROR|| Kohaku avoid looking at himself through reflections even through his wings. He stopped looking or looked away from the mirror ever since he served Hades. He was subconsciously realizing he was not the one he used to be. With unstable mind, Kohaku could be very self-disruptive and this could led to enemy's advantage on winning the battle if they are quick to defeat him.

PERYTON SURPLICES AND AFFILIATED MYTHOLOGY

||SURPLICES|| The armor (Surplices) that Kohaku wear was made of from Underworld. It is type of armor worn by 108 Specters that serves under Hades. They were made from Underworld's minerals and wearing it would allow Specters to travel to the Underworld without having to burn their cosmos. Each Surplices name are derived from beastly creatures from literally works and also from mythologies.

||PERYTON|| According to the mythology, the Peryton beast is said to have the head, neck, forelegs and antlers of a stag, combined with the plumage, wings and hindquarters of a large bird, although some interpretations portray the Peryton as a deer in all but coloration and bird’s wings. Perytons lived in Atlantis until an earthquake destroyed the civilization and the creatures escaped by flight. A Peryton casts the shadow of a man until it kills one during its lifetime, at which time it starts to cast its own shadow. In the folklore, Perytons also was responsible for the the downfall of Rome. Peryton’s natural predators were the mythical bird Griffons. Like the myth repeating it’s own story, Specter Peryton Kohaku was responsible for the destructions of a faction that lives in Romania’s region.

OTHER HEADCANONS

||ROMANCE|| Kohaku is attracted to both gender. He is bisexual in nature and as long he was given time to grow emotionally and he could see the effort of his partner in building the relationship together with him, he would give all of him back.

||STRENGTH|| Although Kohaku was positioned in lowest rank in the army by having the title "Terrestrial", this does not define his strength in the battlefield. An enemy should not look down upon his rank when it comes to fighting with him.

||MANNERS|| While becoming a Specter, Kohaku still have elegant and noble-like attitude that he have since he was raised along with it.

[the-far-bright-center]

Anakin Skywalker, a tragic hero

a compilation by @the-far-bright-center

Recently, I was asked to write about ‘Anakin as a tragic hero’, and rather than attempting to tackle such a broad topic from scratch, I decided to compile a masterpost of excerpts from (and links to) my previous posts on the subject.  

In my personal view, ‘Star Wars’ (as in, the Skywalker saga) is, at its heart, Anakin’s story, and as such, his tragic fall and ultimate redemption forms one of the main, underlying themes of most of my SW analysis in general. And so, the selections below include everything from in-depth character analysis, to overviews of Anakin’s role in the saga as a whole, to explorations of themes of slavery vs. freedom, death vs. immortality, personal attachments, fear of loss, and perhaps most importantly, unconditional love.

***Please note: the majority of the following excerpts are from posts written in defense of ‘the Skywalker saga’—aka, Lucas’ six films that tell the story of Anakin’s rise, fall, and redemption. And as such, any and all mentions of the so-called ‘sequels’ in the posts linked below are likely to be of a critical nature (since I wholeheartedly reject them as valid continuations of the main saga). Having said my piece on that subject, however, these days I prefer to ignore the existence of those films entirely (so, please do NOT ask me about the sequels or mention them in the notes!) and focus instead on upholding the meaning of the Prequels and Original Trilogy as one complete, mythic story. (Some of these excerpts may also include references to the Lucas-era TCW series, which functions in large part as a meta-commentary on Anakin’s story in the context of the saga as a whole.)

◇ from ‘The Chosen One, the Hero’s Journey, and Breaking the Cycle of Enslavement in Star Wars’:

(or, why the theme of slavery/enslavement in Anakin’s story is so important to our understanding of Anakin’s character and to the overall message of Lucas’ saga):

excerpt 1:

“ There is something incredibly unique about Anakin Skywalker as a character: this fascinating blend of hero, victim, and villain, and how the interplay of fate, destiny, character flaws, divided loyalties, tragic decisions, and the machinations of others leads to such great pain, loss, and evil…for himself, and for an entire galaxy. How he, as Vader, becomes both physically and mentally enslaved, suspended in an almost carbonite-like stasis and cyclical mindset for decades, until his final act of free will, spurred on by his latent, powerful love for his son, sets him—and them all—free. ”

excerpt 2:

“ There is a reason why George Lucas devoted three whole films (AND a good portion of two animated tv series) to the story of Anakin Skywalker. He obviously felt that Anakin’s motivations, his relationships, his strengths and weakness, his successes and failures, his positive traits and negative traits, his childhood, and even his later socio-political milieu and military context—basically everything about him—were important enough for an entire prequel trilogy (and supporting on-screen material) to cover in-depth.

For all the supposed faults of the Prequels, the story presented therein—the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, and, along with him, the apocalyptic destruction of the Republic and the entire Jedi Order—is undeniably well-thought out….and extremely compelling.

And yet, this story is compelling not simply because it is’ tragic’, but because it is tragic in a very specific way.

Here is someone who starts out his life as a slave, a young boy simply wishing to fly away….yearning for the freedom of the stars. A young boy with fear and anger already inside him due to the hardship and injustice of his circumstances (and later, his constant worry for his mother), but still largely innocent.  A young boy supposedly taken away from slavery (and, at the same time, his mother)…only to end up serving a corrupt Republic in an unwinnable war, and a Jedi Order that had by this time become overly dogmatic and blinded to certain dark realities in its midst. A Jedi Order that had lost its way by becoming embroiled in the political happenings of—and subservient to—the military ‘needs’ of the Republic. A Jedi Order that was doomed the moment they allowed themselves to become soldiers instead of protectors. Supporters of perpetual war, instead of keepers of the peace. A Jedi Order that allowed itself to become slaves of the Republic, subject to the Senate’s every agenda and the Chancellor’s every whim, instead of free agents.

Anakin’s tale is so tragic because he believes he is going from (literal) slavery to freedom, to then fighting *for* the (physical and ideological) freedom of others during the Clone Wars…when in reality he is merely exchanging one set of chains for another, until he becomes fully imprisoned once more in the form of Vader.

In the Star Wars universe, it is stated that slavery is a primary tool of the Sith—for controlling one another, and also for the subjugation of the entire galaxy. And thus it stands to reason that if Anakin is truly the Chosen One (and this is confirmed by Lucas’ canon), then he is also the one who is destined to destroy the Sith….and by doing so, it is implied, break this seemingly-perpetual cycle of slavery (and mental/ideological enslavement).

This is why the climactic and emotionally cathartic ending of RotJ must herald an end to this cycle. What does destroying the Sith mean, if not that?

Without this, there is little point to Anakin’s otherwise wholly tragic story.

Without this, I would argue, there is little point to Luke’s story, either.

Because, what has always elevated Luke’s hero’s journey above, well, just another hero’s journey, is that he completes it not by defeating a villain, but by helping bring his father back to the light. By helping set his father free. I’d even go so far as to say that Anakin’s redemption forms the most crucial part *of* Luke’s hero’s journey. It is the ultimate triumph of gentleness, surrender, forgiveness, and compassion over brute strength, domination, anger, and revenge. Feminine virtues, over toxic masculinity. How important that, after so much war and violence, these values are finally embraced by two of the main male characters of the series.

And it is made all the more poignant by the fact that Luke is both the physical and symbolic embodiment of Anakin and Padme’s love—and of the Truth that Padme spoke with her very last breath, even after the attempt to silence her—now returned to face down Vader’s darkness and help him finally destroy the Emperor (as he was always meant to). It is Luke himself who inspires Vader to in turn save him….symbolically saving the embodiment of that very love that Anakin had tried so hard and so tragically to save in the first place. ”

excerpt 3:

“ By the end of [Return of the Jedi], it is made crystal clear that redeeming Vader is the *ONLY* thing that would actually work or have a lasting, positive effect. Meeting power with power would not work. Nor fear with fear. Nor anger with anger. Nor hate with more hate. That is what sent Anakin down that spiral to begin with. And when Luke duels Vader the first time, this is what causes him to lose. By the time of RotJ, Luke has come to understand the Truth, and knows what he needs to do very well, hence his actions.

In my opinion (and in my understanding of the original intended message of the story), the *only* way the Emperor could finally be defeated was by an act of sacrifice based on LOVE. Anakin/Vader’s final act is an act of finally embracing his own mortality, acknowledging his True Self, and setting himself free, it is true. But most importantly, it is an act of protection, done out of compassion, which Anakin himself once defined as ��unconditional love, essential to a Jedi’s life”. This is why Anakin in this moment is the embodiment of the ‘Return of the Jedi'—he *protects*. He saves. He defends.  And this is what the true role of the Jedi was always meant to be.

Luke’s decision to turn himself over to the Emperor and appeal to that ‘barest flicker of persistent light’ within his father was necessary—not just from a thematic perspective, but also from a plot and story standpoint as well. Already by the time of The Empire Strikes Back, we were shown that the ‘true’ villain (in the sense of who has the most agency and is pulling all the strings) is the Emperor, and that Vader is, in fact, his servant/slave. (And of course, the Prequels and TCW only hammer home this fact.) The Emperor *had* to be defeated, or else the Empire would never have been stopped. The galaxy (like Vader himself) would never have been freed. For as we know, the Rebel Alliance had already attempted to defeat the Empire by blowing up the first Death Star, but of course the Empire just kept going and ended up building a new one. Blowing up the second Death Star was therefore never going to be enough to win the war against the Empire. (And there was no guarantee that Sidious would not have pulled a General Grievous on us and escaped the second Death Star at the last minute before they managed to blow it up, either.)

So, the Emperor had to be directly destroyed….and I think it’s pretty obvious that, however powerful Luke had become by this point, he was never going to be able to defeat the Emperor on his own. Only Anakin/Vader had the power to stop Palpatine/Sidious. Only Anakin *EVER* had this power. This is one of the reasons why Palpatine targeted and ‘groomed’ Anakin in the first place: he knew that Anakin was foretold to be the one who would ultimately destroy the Sith…..so what better than to bring him to the side of the Sith, instead?

But the beauty of this is that, through Luke’s presence in Vader’s life, and then his intervention in RotJ, Anakin is finally able to fulfill the very destiny that Palpatine had tried so hard to avoid by enslaving him to his will. Anakin *IS* the Chosen One, and no  matter how far he had fallen in the meantime….it is undeniable that, in the end, he fulfills his destiny and destroys the Sith. Both the outer-Sith that is Darth Sidious….and the inner-Sith within himself.

But after everything….after being imprisoned by Sidious for so long, he needs Luke there, as a reminder of his True Self, in order to be able to accomplish this. There is that line in RotJ where he says sadly to Luke, “it is too late for me, son.“ But Luke never gives up on his father, and finally Anakin/Vader sees this….and comes back to the Light via the act of saving Luke himself.

One act of compassion inspires another—and in doing so, achieves more than decades and decades of war and even the most noble of rebellions ever could.

This is extremely redemptive in so many ways—it even wholly vindicates Anakin and Padme’s love. For, without Luke’s actions at the end of RotJ, and Vader’s response to them, we would be left instead with the message that love = death and destruction. Instead, we see that love (even secret, forbidden love) is not entirely destructive, but is also creative, enduring, and can bring about hope and redemption, and, ultimately, freedom—on both a personal level, and to the galaxy as a whole. ”

excerpt 4:

“ …when it comes to the character of Darth Vader, the theme of the cycle of slavery/mental enslavement is imperative to understanding both why and how he has become what he is by the point of the Original Trilogy. Anakin lives much of his childhood as a slave. He is himself ‘freed’, but goes from physical enslavement straight into a scenario in which he must nevertheless still refer to his Jedi superiors as ‘master’. He later loses his beloved mother whom he’d so reluctantly left behind to a violent (imprisoned!) death that he feels he could have prevented if he had only listened to and acted upon his prophetic dreams sooner. He is in love with Padme and wants to be with her—something that is forbidden to him because of the Jedi Code. (Again, in this manner, he feels ‘un-free’.) The Clone Wars begin, and he marries her in secret, and goes off to fight for what he believes is the freedom of countless systems, becoming embroiled in constant warfare—along with increasingly divided loyalties—which takes a heavy toll on him. He wants nothing more than to end the war. To bring ‘peace’ to the galaxy. To be able to come home, and maybe, just maybe, finally make a real life for himself and Padme…and later, their unborn child(ren).  He is pushed further and further to the brink of doing ‘whatever it takes’ to end said war. Until his growing mistrust of the Jedi Council, along with his prophetic dreams of Padme’s impending death—and the subsequent machinations of Palpatine—all push him fully over that precipice.

Until, finally, he becomes the Emperor’s lethal weapon and unquestioning servant of his will.

And then, perhaps most significantly, after he is horrifically maimed in his fight with Obi-Wan on Mustafar, he becomes physically imprisoned within his life-support suit.  This suit, designed by Palpatine, is almost akin to a walking torture chamber, and at first causes Vader almost constant physical pain. Vader is kept ‘alive’ only by the suit and mask combination (or perhaps, rather, in a state of ‘half-life’).  The important thing to remember here is that he did not choose to be put inside this suit, it was done *to* him. And once he is inside, it is like he is frozen into this (seemingly) never-changing mindset and state of perpetual torment. Sealed thus, Vader becomes resigned to his imprisonment, to his anger and hatred-fueled existence…and to being one of the Emperor’s primary tools in bringing this same twisted form of ‘peace’ (aka, subjugation) to the rest of the galaxy. ”

◇ from my responses to comments on my DW account, pt. 1 (on a post about Anakin’s role in the saga):

excerpt 1 (Anakin’s need for a father-figure and a family as one of the reasons he struggled in the Jedi Order):

“…it's pretty clear that what Anakin needed (and wanted) more than anything was a *family*. (A father figure, his mother, Padme, his own family, eventually, etc. I could go on.) And this is the main area where the (old) Jedi Order fell short—for him, especially. We are always meant to see Qui-Gon's death as this fate-changing tragedy (hence the title of the scene, 'Duel of the Fates'), because Qui-Gon is one of—if not the only—Jedi in the Order at the time who could have been the father-figure *and* mentor that Anakin needed. Others had the capacity to be great mentors and teachers, but it is clear that Qui-Gon's level of compassion and his ability to demonstrate it openly were rare qualities amongst the Jedi at that time, indeed. Also, Qui-Gon had a much less rigid interpretation of the Code than others did, and would likely have been able to assist Anakin in his eventual struggles with certain aspects of said Code. (Amongst many other things!)

I think we are meant to see that, if Qui-Gon had lived and been able to teach and mentor Anakin, that perhaps even he and Anakin might have become agents of positive change within the Jedi Order. Together, perhaps some of the rigidity of the Jedi's adherence to certain aspects of the Code might have been able to be reformed. It's of course just speculation on my part, but I think this is hinted at. (Also, Qui-Gon is someone who never would have stood for the Jedi's participation in the Clone Wars. In TPM, he was very firm about his role. Recall what he said to Padme: "I can only protect you, I cannot fight a war for you." This is what the Jedi Order's *true* role is, to be protectors and keepers of the peace, and it is no surprise, therefore, that it is the Order's participation in the Clone Wars that leads directly to its eventual destruction, just as Palpatine/Sidious had always planned.)

While Obi-Wan most definitely stepped up to the plate and then some when it came to teaching Anakin, and while the two them eventually grew close as *brothers*, Obi-Wan was never able to provide Anakin with the father-figure (and father-son dynamic) that he so desperately craved. (And this is where Palpatine so coldly and calculatedly stepped in—Palpatine is characterized much as a child-abuser in this regard, and one that, imo, the Jedi Order failed to protect Anakin from.) Also, there is the fact that, because Anakin was brought into the Order later than others, he did not grow up even with the communal group of younglings of his age group, so even *that* sort of 'adoptive sibling' dynamic was lost to him. Add to that the fact that he was not allowed to visit his mother during the intervening years between TPM and AotC, and we start to see how all of the heart-breaking tragedy surrounding this character begins to unfold.”

excerpt 2 (re: the Jedi Code and the forbidding of romantic/familial attachments):

“…I personally feel that the part of the Code that forbids all romantic attachments (and thereby familial attachments as well) is a later addition and/or interpretation of the Code. Because the Jedi are a religious Order, they obviously need to have a Code of some sort, but as Qui-Gon said, Codes should not existence solely to govern *behaviour*. They should instead merely act as a guide or roadmap to understanding the Force. In other words, what is truly important about any rule is the *spirit* of the law, rather than the 'letter' of the law.

The Jedi believe in non-attachment, or rather, in practicing *detachment* on both a spiritual and material level, but imo, eschewing these types of relationships is not actually necessary to achieve this. These things are not mutually exclusive. In some ways, never allowing the Jedi to experience these sorts of relationships merely attempts to remove any form of 'temptation' towards attachment from their paths. Whereas, it's more difficult, perhaps, to find a level of detachment in one's outlook and actions while one has actual 'attachments' in form of loved ones, but ultimately this would help Jedi achieve a truer and more lasting form of 'non-attachment' (if that makes sense), if they could likewise find balance in all aspects of their own lives. And while there are of course some risks inherent in allowing Jedi to have relationships (and families), imo, there are just as many risks in forbidding this…as we know all-too well.

This is just my interpretation, but I feel sometimes like we are meant to see the 'no romantic relationships' thing as a sort of 'forbidden fruit' scenario with the Jedi, and an element that was not always inherent in their beliefs, and which was perhaps tacked on to the Code later (and this quote from A New Dawn supports this theory) It seems like a fear-based rule, rather than something totally necessary. Sure, there is an element of practicality in preferring that warrior-monks not have their own families to worry about so that they can focus their attentions and loyalties to the Order itself, but again, this does not automatically equate to 'no romantic attachments at all'. But by the time of the Prequels there also seems to be an attitude amongst the Jedi of 'oh no, but what if'—worrying about the consequences, etc., as though it were an inevitable conclusion that *all* romantic attachment leads inherently to disaster…which is itself a 'fear of loss' based way of looking at things.

I also cannot help but think of George Lucas' very first film, THX 1183, about a sci-fi dystopian world controlled by 'robotic police' where love/desire is outlawed. The two main characters come to an awakening and stop taking their medication that suppresses such feelings/desires. While of course this is not exactly the same situation as the Jedi Order on Coruscant, it is interesting that, in the Prequels, Lucas decided to make the romantic attachments something that is so strictly forbidden by the Jedi at this time.

All I'm getting at here, is that I feel that we are indeed meant to see this as a flaw of the Jedi Order, in the sense that perhaps this part of the Code had become overly rigid by this point, and thus the Jedi's inability to see beyond the 'black and white' in this matter is intended to be viewed as a failing on their part.”

excerpt 3 (Anakin’s powerful emotions, the Jedi Order, and his susceptibility to the Dark Side/Palpatine’s machinations):

“...Anakin experiences SUCH powerful emotions, and it is heartbreaking that, from the start, he is made to feel as though these emotions are inherently bad or wrong. His 'fear of loss', especially. This is a normal human emotion, especially for a child who has only just come from a difficult life situation and has left behind the only family member he'd ever had. It's not a trait that in and of itself leads automatically to darkness. It is, as you say, only Anakin's emotional isolation, in the sense of how badly he needs (and lacks) a deeper sort of guidance about his often frighteningly intense prophetic dreams, as well as his equally intense emotions—both the positive and the 'negative' emotions that he experiences on a daily basis, that leads to so much pain later on. (In part because, the judgmental attitude that he was met with from the start seems to have only made him less likely to seek this deeper sort of assistance directly from his fellow Jedi in later times.)

And this brings me to another thing—the way these interpretations of the Code have developed by the time of the Prequels-era seems almost as though the Jedi had become…I don't know…afraid, perhaps, of 'the Dark Side'. I say this because, in my opinion, it is probably an extremely natural thing for every single Jedi (or Jedi-in-training) to have a brush with the Dark Side now and then, even perhaps frequently. But the problem arises when these experiences are treated as something that 'taints' the one who experiences it. As something to be ashamed of, rather than something that is just part of the normal journey of being/becoming a Jedi. (Or even just part and parcel of the life of *any* Force-wielder.) Not only is this an unrealistic expectation of all Force wielders (aka, to never ever give in to darker emotions), but it also leaves them more open to the suggestions of those who *would* use these darker emotions to their own evil purposes (*cough* Palpatine/Sidious *cough*).

Instead of trying to make themselves into 'robots' who never experience and/or exhibit any sort of strong 'personal' emotions, the Jedi should be trying to figure out how to balance and channel the emotions they do experience, and to be understanding and compassionate of the fact that some will fall into darkness at times, but that this doesn't mean they are totally lost or 'damaged goods', but simply that they have experienced something that will, hopefully, only make them stronger and more able to handle such intense emotions or emotionally difficult situations (such as personal loss, etc) in the long run.”

excerpt 4 (the downfall of the Republic and the Jedi Order as orchestrated by Palpatine, regardless of Anakin’s precise role):

“Regarding your point about something devastating happening to the Jedi Order regardless of whether or not Anakin had turned, oh my gosh, YES. I totally agree. This is strongly, strongly hinted at all throughout (both the Prequels and TCW). I get very frustrated when people view Anakin as somehow solely responsible for what happens. I don't deny his role in all of it, of course, but it must not be forgotten that it is Palpatine/Sidious' machinations that a) cause the Clone Wars, and b) lead the entire Republic and the Jedi Order along with it to the point that they are perfectly primed and ready to fall as of the end of Revenge of the Sith. Order 66 is something that Sidious had planned for long, long time, and something he was merely waiting around and biding his time before carrying out. He had actually tried first to start a galactic war over a decade earlier, as of The Phantom Menace, and if he had succeeded, this would have sped up his intended process. (Ironically, it is Anakin and Padme who prevent him from succeeding in that instance, but I digress…) Which brings me to another point—Sidious already had an apprentice all the way back then, and was always *going* to have an apprentice to carry out his will, no matter what. He just couldn't believe his luck when the Chosen One himself basically fell into his lap and he seized his opportunity to prey upon Anakin's fears, etc.”

excerpt 5 (The Jedi Order’s approach to ‘the Dark Side’ and to dealing with darker emotions, as related to the importance of familial bonds):

“I think you're right as well in saying that the Order wasn't necessary fearful *of* the Dark Side itself. I mean, most of the Jedi are not cowering in fear of the Sith and are courageous in standing against darksiders in general, etc. Rather, their reticence seems to be more in regard to freely *exploring* the Dark Side, in the sense of using it/tapping into it. Which is understandable, given that that Jedi Order is dedicated to the Light. But at the same time, this reticence or even fear of allowing this type of exploration seems to have lead the Jedi to the point of not even knowing much about or truly understanding the Sith and/or Dark Side. And if one doesn't even know or fully understand one's 'enemy', then the enemy will always have the advantage. Which is precisely what happens.

You are also spot-on about how there are many ways of achieving inner-peace and calm, and many ways of 'holding back the darkness'. And the fact is that, for some Jedi, this might take the shape of being allowed to have an outlet for their stronger emotions, or to even be allowed to have the emotional support of family members/loved ones. For, as you say, some people just *need* something (or someone) to fight for, alongside their more general role as 'protectors of the galaxy'. The greater good can be adequate motivation for some, but maybe not the 'be all and end all' for everyone. After all, *family* is the building block of any civilization, however advanced, and if those who are supposed to be the protectors of civilization have forgotten the importance of this essential element, it is no surprise that the whole thing can so easily come tumbling down.”

◇ from my response to a comment on my DW account, pt. 2 (re: the PT in relation to the OT, and the purpose of the concept of Force Ghosts):

excerpt 1 (how I came to appreciate Anakin and the Prequels):

“…I grew up on the Original Trilogy, and Luke was always my fave …my childhood ‘hero of all heroes’, and much of my admiration for him stemmed from the way in which he manages to save his father, instead of destroying him, as everyone had encouraged him to do. Back then, I already really loved the father-son dynamic in RotJ, and was always deeply moved by Vader’s redemption at the end of that film, but I never really thought too much about Anakin’s overall storyline. And even after the Prequels were released, I, like so many others, dismissed them on a surface level for a long time, and didn’t really take the time to understand what they were trying to convey. So, believe me, yes, I am well aware of their various supposed ‘flaws’ and whatnot, but over the years (and with the assistance of additional supplementary material like The Clone Wars animated series) I have been able to gain a deeper appreciation of the *story* that is being told in those films, and of the overall purpose of Anakin’s arc.

Many dismiss Anakin as a character simply because of his evil deeds during and after his downfall, without understanding that the Skywalker saga...is intended to be viewed, overall, as a myth. Infused as it is with elements of heroic epics and greek drama, it is a distinctively older type of tale, played out on a galactic level. There is, therefore, something beautifully Romantic about this story that many miss, especially in the current climate of tumblr-fandom that is so myopically focused on concepts of ‘social justice.’ The more I thought about it, the more I came to love this extremely misunderstood character—this deeply loving, tragically flawed, all-too human god trapped inside a machine.”

excerpt 2 (the importance of Coruscant as a location, symbolically and in relation to Anakin’s fall):

“So yes, the…Prequel story is meant to show that the Jedi Order was not entirely ‘blameless’, and was, by its blind participation in a Sith-run war (amongst many other things), at least partially responsible for its own destruction and downfall. The location of Coruscant itself is meant to symbolize the deep levels of corruption already extant in the Republic as a whole, and to show that the Republic’s veneer of ‘civilization’ in fact is built upon a decaying foundation, one that is, by this point, being steadily and secretly ‘devoured’ by the Sith from within.”

excerpt 3 (Death vs. Immortality as a thematic link between Anakin’s fall and redemption):

“…when it came to the Prequels, there had to be a way of explaining [the concept of Force ghosts], because it was kind of a complex issue. There had to be a reason why Anakin/Vader was not previously aware of the possibility of this happening (his confusion in ANH at Obi-Wan’s disappearance makes it clear that he had never really encountered anything like it before), and so it was something that could not have been widely known or understood as of the Prequels-era. This is where Qui-Gon Jinn’s character comes into it (‘Jinn’ meaning ‘spirit’). This part is a little bit… confusing, admittedly, as there wasn’t really enough time to cover it in the scope of the Prequel films, but there *are* some further little hints scattered throughout the TCW series regarding this (such as Qui-Gon appearing briefly in ghost/spirit/vision form to a surprised Obi-Wan and Yoda, at certain key points).

What I find interesting here, is how this entire concept ended up being integrated into Anakin’s storyline. Because one of the biggest overriding themes of his story is this concept of mortality, or rather, his struggle to *accept* mortality—from which stems his extreme Fear of Loss, and eventual downfall, after which point he, ironically, becomes the embodiment *of* Death to the entire galaxy. In the RotS novelization, there is this evocative and incredible powerful recurring imagery of ‘the dragon of that dead star’—an ancient voice inside his head that whispers, “all things die, Anakin Skywalker, even stars burn out.” Anakin is himself compared to a dying star throughout the course of RotS, and then later, in the OT period, as Vader, it is almost like he has *become* ‘the dragon of that dead star’ (ie, of the ‘Death Star’). In other words, he feared Death…and so Death he became.

This is a huge part of Anakin’s arc, and is one of the main components of the Jedi Code that Anakin struggled with for almost his entire life. This concept of ‘Death…yet the Force.’ Anakin’s struggle with the concept of mortality is therefore a struggle with his own faith. During the Prequel-era, he is never able to fully *believe* in or accept this reality. And this aspect of his struggle makes a lot more sense if his story is taking place in a context where actual visible ‘proof’ of life and/or existence after death via the Force is not currently known (or has perhaps been long-forgotten). So, for this reason alone, it make sense that Obi-Wan would learn how to ‘become’ a Force ghost (or whatever) during the period between RotS and ANH, and would do so via the assistance of his own ‘dead’ master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

The technicalities of how all of this is supposed to occur don’t really concern me, as I am more interested in the symbolism of it all. And what is so beautiful about it is that Anakin’s return to his True Self occurs, at least in part, because he finally accepts his own mortality, and gives up his own life to save his son. Before removing his father’s mask, Luke says to him, ‘but you’ll die’. Anakin’s reply, ‘nothing can stop that now’ becomes even more poignant when we consider that he had struggled to accept this fact his entire life (first with his mother, and then with Padme). It’s beautiful and symbolic and oh-so fitting to me that, in finally *accepting* his mortality and sacrificing himself to save his loved one, he is redeemed, and is also granted this sort of ‘immortality’ in the Force.

To me, *THAT* is what the final scene in Return of the Jedi is meant to signify—anything else is just a technicality, and one that I prefer not to concern myself with too much. My view of the PT and the OT is as forming together a ‘magnum opus’—aka, the ‘great work’ as defined in alchemy. And one of the intended results of the magnum opus is to discover and/or bring forth the ‘elixir’ or ‘philosopher’s stone’ that leads to eternal life, via a ‘Union of Opposites’. In the context of the Skywalker saga, this Union of Opposites is none other than Anakin and Padme’s forbidden love, the result of which is Luke (and Leia).

And so, what matters here is that Anakin Skywalker has finally, finally regained his faith and thus become a ‘True Jedi’ (as opposed to what the Jedi Order had defined ‘being a Jedi’ as during the Prequels-era). Because, in being saved by his son’s love, and by saving and demonstrating his love for his son above all, he has proven, once and for all, the Truth that he had long denied (because it had been so long denied *to* him)—aka, that ‘love (and thus personal attachments!) CAN save you’. And what is more, he has accepted that final aspect of his faith that had likewise eluded him for so long… Death…yet the Force.”

◇ from ‘Not just nostalgia’ (my response to this tumblr post):

(or, why a positive view of the Original Trio is of utmost importance to the message of Anakin’s story and the saga as a whole)

“ The tragedy of the Prequels seems to have perhaps lead some people to conclude, erroneously, that ALL of Star Wars (aka the Skywalker saga) is meant to be viewed in a similarly tragic light. This could not be farther from the truth—the Prequels, as the first half of the magnum opus, were given the structure of a greek tragedy in order to complement and enhance the emotional catharsis of the pre-existing Original Trilogy (the second half the Opus). The darkness of the beginning of the tale is not meant to overshadow the redemption at the end of it, but rather make it shine all the brighter. Lucas intended *his* Star Wars to be, not a tragedy, but one of the ‘divine comedies of redemption’. (If you don’t believe me, just read anything ever written by Joseph Campbell, one of Lucas’ most formative mythic influences.)

And so, the tragedy from which the second half of the story is born, is NOT, I repeat, NOT meant to insinuate that the Skywalker family is ‘doomed’ or ‘fated’ or ‘cursed’ to suffer constant, repeated ‘family tragedies’ no matter what. And it is certainly not meant to suggest that they (Luke, Leia, Han) will inevitably make the same old mistakes or meet the same fates as those who came before….. As I’ve mentioned before, Anakin’s tragedy is inextricably linked to his particular milieu and to his cosmic role and status as the Chosen One—it cannot be easily replicated, let alone repeated ad nauseum. Luke and Leia are likewise ‘of’ their own era, and are freed from the myriad restrictions and machinations that so ensnared their parents. When it comes to their role in this particular myth, they are thus meant to rise above the tragedy that came before, rather than repeat it.

And they do. In his climactic confrontation with his father and the Emperor in RotJ, Luke breaks the cycle. He throws away his lightsaber, and refuses to succumb. Unlike his father, Luke Skywalker is NOT a tragic figure, nor was he EVER intended to be. (Luke = Light. That’s what is name means, and that is what he is meant to represent, through and though. Luke is the Galahad to Anakin’s Lancelot.) And neither is Leia, for that matter. Yes, the Skywalker twins both suffer great loss, face great darkness, and have their own inner and outer struggles through the course of the OT, but overall their stories are intended to have an entirely positive (and restorative) outcome.

It is important to point out that, because Luke and Leia are the result of Anakin and Padme’s forbidden love (aka, the Union of Opposites of the magnum opus, which is meant to bring forth none other than the elixir of life itself), the hopeful, positive, and successful nature of their respective stories is absolutely crucial to the validation of it. After all, Luke and Leia’s very existence is the biggest ‘f*ck you’ ever to the Old Jedi Order. Love and family were something that was forbidden to the Jedi of old, and yet this is what brings hope and restores peace to the galaxy. This is the entire point of the story.

When viewed in the context of the PT and OT together, the Trio’s role is clear: by fully and openly embracing the LOVE and support of their family and friends, Luke and Leia are able rise above the tragedy of their parents. Their combined heroism, fueled as it is *by* their (positive) personal attachments, breaks the cycle and brings about Anakin’s redemption….restoring freedom to the galaxy, and vindicating Anakin and Padme’s love. An unequivocally positive view of the Original Trio’s relationship is therefore an essential and intrinsic element of the redemptive message of Lucas’ saga. To negate that, and to turn the Trio into tragic figures themselves, is to negate the entire purpose of the story—not just of the Original Trilogy, but of the saga as a whole. ”

And finally, one of my favourite excerpts…..

◇ from @muldertorture’s excellent post, ‘STAR WARS: The Creation of a Modern Myth: Cultural Influence, Fan Response, and the impact of Literary Archetypes on Saga Perception’:

(***please note, I DID NOT WRITE THIS ONE, I’m just including it here because I wholeheartedly agree with it)

“ Anakin…exists relative to the state of the galaxy. He is not Luke, he is not the youth of western literature on a journey; that is Luke’s role. Anakin’s role is that of the demi-god of Greek and Roman origin. When Anakin rises, the galaxy rises with him, when Anakin is in turmoil, the galaxy is in turmoil, when Anakin falls, so falls the galaxy. Anakin is intrinsic to the galaxy because Anakin, like so many other mythological demi-gods, is an avatar for the gods or, in the case of Star Wars, the Force. Regardless of any one person’s views on the Force (which are extremely disparate and widely varied, so we won’t broach that subject here), this fact is indisputable. Anakin, as the Chosen One who will “bring balance to the Force”, is its avatar. When Anakin is claimed by the Dark, the Jedi Order’s zenith is reached, the Balance is tipped, and the Order descends into darkness with Anakin, just as his return also signals theirs.

The title ‘Return of the Jedi’ doesn’t just reference Luke becoming a Jedi, but Anakin’s return to the Light, and with it, the ability for the Jedi Order to once more flourish. In this he is much like Beowulf, when the Geatish hero sacrifices himself to defeat the dragon at the end of the epic poem. Failure would spell ultimate destruction for Beowulf’s people and country, just as, had Anakin failed to destroy the Emperor, the Jedi and the galaxy would truly have been wiped out. Anakin himself has to die, however, because he is what tips the scales. Once he dies and becomes one with the Force, only then is balance restored.”

my commentary:

This right here is absolutely fundamental to understanding the entire purpose of the Skywalker saga, as Lucas so painstakingly told it. The destruction of the old Jedi Order that had ‘lost its way’ and forgotten its true role in the galaxy, and the founding of the New, heralded by Anakin’s return to the Light, and Luke’s essential role in reminding him—and us all—of what it means to be a True Jedi.

In closing, I’ll leave you with a selection of a few of my favourite fan vids that beautifully illustrate Anakin’s role as a tragic hero:

Krwling by YlvaJo

The Hand of Sorrow by Damsel In Damnation

Hurt by Matt Kowynia

Simple Math by SmokeyFizz

Eventually, I would love to write more meta-analysis on this subject (as it is near and dear to my heart), but in the meantime, I hope that this compilation will be of some use. :)  

[kaibab-the-grumpy-dragon]

Kat Murata’s about page

//This is set for mobile user to see it, but if you can like this post after reading it would be great! 

General

Full name: Kathleen Murata

Nicknames: Kat, Katy, KitKat, Kiiro no ryū (Yellow Dragon), Boss, Sunflower(only Jou)

Age: 24 by default. Depending on the verse but 3 years older than Jounouchi

Birthday: 30 May ( Gemini )

Birthplace: Domino City

Current residence: Domino City

Nationality: Japanese

Ethnicity: Japanese/Russian/Swedish

Gender: female

Sexuality: Heterosexual. Sort of Demi-romantic

Marital status: Single

Religion: Atheist

Occupation: Student - 3nd years of Business economic / Leader of the gang, Kiiro no Ryū (The Yellow Dragons)

Appearance

Face: a mix between Asian and Swedish feature. Round, full lips, button nose with a scar on the edge. Freckles when she tans.

Preferred Hand: Right

Hair: Wavy bob haircut, golden blonde

Eyes: Blue

Body type: Muscular, shaped by dance, workouts, and yoga.

Skin Tone:  medium skin tones with neutral olive undertones

Cup size: A-B cup

Height: 1m83 (6′0”)

Weight: 72 kg (158lb)

Health: rarely get sick, mostly little colds. She seems to generally heal a little faster than others.

Energy: Because of her being possessed by a monster, her body needs and uses a lot of energy. To preserve her muscular mass, she needs to eat a lot of calories. Even more when Xeras takes control and uses his powers.

Scars: An inverted V one on the nose, razor ones on her left wrist, circular ones on her upper back (from the summoning circle), a line on her abs, several smaller scars on the arms, body and legs, and cigarette burns on the right arms.

Clothing style: flashy clothes, mostly crop top, hoodies, shorts, street-wear.

Makeup style: No makeup

Posture: Depends on her mood. Most of the time confident, imitating men behavior when with her gang, more feline and gracious when she flirts.

Tattoos: 3 dragon tattoos: one around her left wrist, one big on her upper back with his tail that ends under her left breast, and one small on her right inner thigh.

Scent: her cheap shampoo that smell candy for the hair, lemon for the body.

Personality

Mental/Emotional disorder(s):  Borderline personality disorder(false diagnostic: symptoms mostly due to Xeras’ possession), PTSD

Phobias: Musophobia(rodents), Nyctophobia (darkness), loss of limbs or paralysis.

Addictions: Risky gambles (involving her own security), coca cola, coffee, jelly coffee, sex.

Likes:

- Dance (hip hop, New Age ) She’s good at it.

- Drawing.

- 80’s songs and punk rock. But only people close to her know it.  

- Giving food related nicknames

- Roller skating

- Omelet

- Pizza

- Banana-chocolate ice-cream

- Mostly all food

- Coffee

- Dragons

- Playing Duel Monsters

- Even more Dragons

- Being the Yellow Dragons’ boss

- Bowling

- Tease People

- Flirting with people

- Space

- Horror / Monster/Kaiju Movies

- Star Wars

- Sitting on anything

- Dominant men in the bedroom

Doesn’t like:

- Bullies

- Doctors

- University

- Authority in general

- Serial killer movies

- Rodents

- Being in the Dark

- Be told that she’s crazy  

Hobbies:

- Roller skating

- Dancing

- Dueling

- Drawing

- Video games

- Combat sports

- Yoga

- Vogue fem

Fears: Rodents, abandonment, darkness

Habits: Turn things into competitions, stealing your food, entering where she shouldn’t.

Negative traits: Don’t know when to back down sometimes, can be pushy and loud, heavy eater, hot-tempered, don’t know how to lie for trivial things.

Positive traits: Seems to always smile, try until she succeeds, loyal, curious.

Abilities: combat and dancing skills. The monster inside her gives her some slight regeneration. Could learn to use shadows magics.

Equipment: A knife in her boots or under her clothes, another one in her backpack that she always has. Her deck and her duel disk, battle city version.

Trinkets: Her old phone. She always has in her backpack, a USB key that was from her dad.

Transportation: a pair of boots that can turn into rollers, with an electric motor, produced by KaibaCorp (offered by the close members of her gang)

Collections: Several ones. Knives, guns, duel monster cards.

History:

- Sharing the same passion for robotics, Kat’s parents met at an IEEE International Conference on R&A (Robotics and Automation) in Atlanta. Her dad, Hideyoshi, a young AI genius with a fragile health that had left him lame, was from an old Japanese family with some Russian ancestry, the Murata’s, who were not really into honest business. But his talent and original organic approach to programming led him to another path: Founding his own robotics company.

Her mother, Erika, a strong Swedish woman, that gave Kat almost all of her genetics, left her country and family to study and work in America. She had always loved to tinker but the creation of prosthetics and robots fascinated her.

Their meeting was a surprise, but they quickly became attached to one another and when he asked her to follow him to Japan, at Domino city, to accomplish his project, she accepted. With each of their specialties, they created Murata Robotics with the help of an American friend, Stuart Evans. After some time they had two children, Kathleen and Hiro.  

- Kat was a cheerful little girl, with curly blonde hair, always smiling and curious, even if she was a little too much naive. At 8 she was already interested in her dad’s work. He dedicated his secret project to her: creating a fully functional animal AI, based on what a dragon could be.

- Their lives turned upside down the day where Kat met a strange man in a convenience store. He talked with the 8-years-old girl a few minutes but disappeared before Erika had seen him. The night after, Kat woke up, upon hearing the sounds of a struggle. Before she could react the same man entered her room and captured her. She doesn’t remember everything from this night but some details are still clear today. Her family sitting in front of her. Her father telling her to look into his eyes as her mother’s blood spilled on the floor. Her brother’s cries. Their slit throats.

After that everything went quickly. He took her with him, locked her up in a cave, left her screaming in the dark, with only rats for company. When she finally fell silent and he was sure that she was broken and weak, he brought her into a room decorated with dozens of candles. It didn’t take her long to lose consciousness when he started engraving the summoning circles on her back with a ritual knife.

What was supposed to be a sacrificial ritual to bring a monster into this world, Xeras, the dragons slaver, trapped him in the body of this little girl. And it was furious. Using Kat’s physical and emotional pain, it merged their soul, releasing their wrath on the man who did all that. When the police arrived, they found her unconscious with the dead body of her kidnapper. They decided to close the case.

- After a stay in the hospital to take care of her wounds, which left her with scars, they took her to an orphanage, waiting for the family of her dad to come to get her. But under the influence of the monster inside her, she quickly became violent, hurting herself and the other kids. Her family, that only wanted the control of Murata robotics, put her in the Institute, a psychiatric hospital for children, for ‘her own good’. She was soon diagnosticated as having a borderline personality disorder and PTSD and was placed in isolation, under medication. The monster finally calmed down, too weak to take control anymore.

- Two years later a psychiatrist finally decided to give more effort toward her recovery. After some work, he declared her well enough to go, but not without supervision. Her family was powerful and didn’t want her to take back her inheritance one day. They made efforts to bribe for a ruling of ineptitude, claiming she was not able to care for herself, even into adulthood.

Of course, they never took custody of her, and she was placed in an orphanage, and then in a foster family until her 18th birthday.

- Being mostly free to go outside, she quickly mixed with the wrong crowd. Understanding that she was on her own and nobody would help her, she came closer to the only kind of people that would accept her, other outcasts, delinquents, gangs.

At 17, she fell for a 24 years old gang leader, Esteban. She tried to join his group, but he laughed at her. Why would he take her? She knew how to fight in the schoolyard but she was weak. He threatened her to take her as a prostitute, but he finally let her go. He liked her gaze.  

- Strangely, dance had been her salvation. She met a dance teacher that taught her to have control of her body and to be confident. She began to workout as well, she built up a fair amount of muscles for a girl of her age. When she went back to Esteban, he finally accepted. He saw potential in her but he also wanted her. Even if she was still young, she was crazy about him. Her relationship with him defined all the ones she had after. If anybody tried to say that she was only a prostitute, they would feel her wrath.

But she didn’t totally agree with how Esteban was leading his gang. And by that time, her ambition was more important than the feelings she had.

- At 20, she began to search for supporters within the gang and when she had enough support on her side, she led an attack on Esteban and the rest of the gang. After a knife fight that she won with difficulties (winning a scar on her abdomen), she had to choose what she would do with Esteban. He was already condemned. She could let him live with the shame that he lost his power against a woman, or she could kill him. But she knew him. He was psycho, a killer. But strangely enough, he loved her. In his own way. So she offered him to be her second in command. He accepted. After all, it was his only way to stay with her and keep some power.

- She changed the name of the gang, calling them Kiiro no Ryū, the yellow dragons but also changed their activities. Her goal was now to protect the people of the districts they controlled. Their main incomes were the attacks of other gangs, everything linked to the underground Duel Monster traffic (rare cards, illegal tournaments,…), but also drugs traffic and prostitution. Most of the gang’s members are loyal and receive a share of the profits. Kat mostly refuses to use that money, even if it could have given her a good life.

- During this time, Kat continued her scholar life without interest, being at Rintama High School and had to repeat a year. But she saw something that motivated her. She remembered that kid she saw on TV when she was at the Institut, that was adopted by the richest man in Domino. And now she was seeing him on TV again, CEO of his company. It impressed her. It made her realize that she could do it too. That even with a bad start she doesn’t have to stay in the underground. And maybe take back her parent’s company. After that, she began to studies seriously to graduate from high school with a scholarship for the American University of Domino City. She chose to study Business Economics, making Kaiba Corp her main subject.

- Being good at dueling she decided too to start a more official career, as the Dragon Warrior. So far she managed to win her duel disk, and participate in some tournaments, with some good results.

- But when everybody seemed to go better, the worst happened. Strong of years of wait, Xeras took advantage of a moment of weakness to take full control of Kat’s body. She only managed to be back in control thank to her friend Isabel, after a long and harsh combat. The discovery of her possession was a shock, it meant that all those bad things that happened to her, the Institute, all the violent events that she couldn’t remember, all this was because of him. It took her time to accept that, but after all, he was stuck in her body and they can’t do anything about it.

This part is valid for the default verse with @upbeatsunshine. If your muse is Jou, Kat doesn’t know him. If you still want to use this headcanons, send me  an IM/ask :) :

- She met him when she was 13 and him 10, and he became her first and best friend. They tried to learn together how to survive in their neighborhood.

- Once Jou was 18 he went to live in the same apartment than her, using one of the bedrooms.

Facts:

- She has great difficulties making friends, she’s very awkward socially speaking. She still doesn’t know how she made ones.

- She tends to be impulsive and vulgar. But in the presence of people she likes, she’s very energetic and radiant, always ready to laugh.

- She sings very badly and she is unable to play well to a game other than Duel Monster (include video games. Except from Otomes games. She good at it.).

Home: A converted brick building in the old industrial district. The first floor is big garages and her apartment is the half of the second floor. A big living room/kitchen, a bathroom and three rooms.

Family: Hideyoshi Murata (father/deceased), Erika Magnusson (mother/deceased), Hiro Murata (brother/deceased), Adam Sjögren (cousin), her father’s mother and brother (CEO of Murata Robotics)

Friends: Jounouchi Katsuya (@upbeatsunshine), Isabel Corazón, Imnah Hiwatari

Followers: Esteban, her gang members, her dancers.

Pets/Familiars: Doggo, a male golden retriever with a scar on his side and limping a little

[elizabethrobertajones]

I'm sorry for saying this but.. Jack feels so fake to me! And now that I know he doesn't feel anything for most of the times, that feeling is even stronger. I know I know, actions are what matters and all. But, not really?

Ooh no I actually found that the most exciting and important line about him!

We don’t actually have that much exploration of what Jack IS in the sense of lore or him describing his experiences, so to get a sense of him is really important to look at everything he does and feels. 

At the moment his powers are entirely activated by his emotions, and some of them have been in defence of himself in an instinct against danger, which you’d assume any sentient creature would have. And some have been to get things he wants like the candy,  but again I think the “rat pushing the food button” explanation makes a lot of sense. There’s more candy in the machine, he wants it, he finds his powers will get more (we don’t know how he discovered he could get it out, he was already confident about the trick when he showed us). But now he has managed to prove he didn’t just vanish Asmodeus that one time because it was instinctive anything, but the “stop hurting my friends!” thing is probably a true motivation, because he reacted to save Sam as well.

So if we take his powers as a baseline explanation of his emotions then he IS having strong emotions, but perhaps not really on a level he can connect with. He says his powers are him but not him - they’re separate and they are running off of his emotions. Someone made the comparison to Lily Sunder the other day - she was CONSCIOUSLY using enochian magic and powering it from her soul. I wonder if the twin engines of the grace and soul in Jack are working together to create his powers.

I think the fact he has angel grace has been massively overlooked by us to this point because of course he’s got some superficial Cas traits, but those are as much from their mirrored positions of being strange and unfamiliar to earth and not quite fitting in even when they do seem to get the hang of things. Cas was always too special for the Gas n Sip, for example. I think though that deep down they’re also similar because they’re both extremely emotive, perhaps despite/in exception to what they are. Cas is described as having “too much heart” and whether the show ever mentions it again or not, Cas HAD a soul for at least 9 episodes, and whether he has it or not (and I’d say he does have it) it seriously affected how he feels. But he is still very much Cas in many situations. I remember after 9x23 there was a lot of discussion about how they didn’t show Cas crying, even when he was told Dean was dead. His eyes kind of glistened with tears a bit but they never fell… Jack’s also had wet eyes a LOT in the last few episodes.

I don’t think Jack has a great sense of what his feelings are or how to compare them, and he’s been stuck in the Bunker with the massively over-emotional Dean and Sam. But he’s expressed likes and dislikes, curiosity, and whether he’s not sure he’s grieving right or feeling everything or not, he wanted his mom, he clung onto her and cried/nearly cried some more when he was hugging her, and there was a deep emotional need he has for her. 

It doesn’t matter if he feels things differently or it’s filtered in some way, he IS feeling things and his emotions are the source of his power. He’s seeking Dean’s approval, felt betrayed when he found out Sam wanted to use him too… He had FEAR that he was evil, and the sense he didn’t WANT to be evil. It’s the Harry Potter conundrum. There’s a bit of Voldemort in him and even in book 1 he feels this sort of intense revulsion to the idea of being put in the “evil house” so he begs to be in Gryffindor, which he thinks is the goodest house where he can be good. But in the very nature of ASKING not to be put in the evil house, he’s actually making the most revealing decision of his entire character. That he WANTS to be good and brave and heroic. And despite 7 books struggle with the sense of internal evil that grows clearer as time passes, his actions are still good and heroic and it’s not just that he’s doing it because he wants to prove he’s good. It’s always his instinctive reaction, and his genuine unthinking kindness to others.

Jack’s powers are reacting to something deep down in Jack, and he saved Sam, and the fact that it was targeted to protect him are revealing in one way. Jack fearing he’s evil and complaining that he can’t do the thing that Sam thinks will prove he’s good means when Sam finds him hiding in the shadows, Jack thinks he just failed the test to be put in Gryffindor and now he HAS to go be put in Slytherin.

(never mind there are other houses and there’s shades of grey out there and like Mia shows you can be a monster but still be good. And even if he doesn’t like Anakin - probably because of that same fear of being evil - at the end of Star Wars, Darth Vader redeemed himself and struck down the Emperor, who had manipulated him into being evil. You could probably put Asmodeus getting into Jack’s head into that category and though OBVIOUSLY there’s a season of plot to come, in a way 13x02 did offer a mini example of that, complete with bottomless drop beside them, which, unfortunately, Jack didn’t chuck him into :P) 

So, idk, I find it interesting because I’m not sure we can trust how much he says about his feelings in the sense that in OTHER ways his character is deeply emotionally driven and he DOES have emotional attachments and stuff. Honestly, I kind of wondered if he has been depressed as well as just being different in his own interesting way. It can’t be a good mix, anyway. 

I think he has been struggling in some situations and that’s obvious, but it’s not a defining trait - it’s more like a deep worry he has, probably because of not understanding his nature. 

I really hope Cas gets some more time to talk to him about who and what he is and that they can relate to each other, because I’d be fascinated to see them compare their experiences… I think the lack of a reaction or confusion from Jack IS because he has a sort of alien nature, some of it is inherent in not being human, some of it is being newborn, and some of it is trauma… Like, no wonder he has no idea what he’s feeling. 

(Sorry if this seems ranty at you, I’ve mostly been wanting an excuse to talk about this since like 5am today :P) 

[mysticaltora8276]

Louder. Also no attachments means don’t allow earthly thoughts and things distract or interfere with your enlightenment. Mean yes Anakin was royally messing up.

"no attachments" in SW literally just means "don't be selfish and possessive". that's it. that's all there is. doesn't mean jedi can't have friends and loved ones. they can. just. don't be possessive and selfish about it. don't murder thousands of people in an effort to save one.