#combination of what I like to call the qui gon effect (he’s the only person not struggling to carry off their lines)

[willowcrowned]

started watching santa clarita diet and I finally get the timothy olyphant thing

[gffa]

I recently got into the star wars fandom. Where does this idea of Obi-Wan being an emotionless robot who has never broken a rule in his life come from?I mean it's so prevalent in fandom and I just don't get it.

Take this with the grain of salt that, if you ask a dozen different people this question, you’re probably going to get a dozen different answers, as well as that I can only speak to my own experiences and I’m not in anyone’s head who sees Obi-Wan differently than I do!  And that every person you ask is going to have a different level of validity for their answer, including myself.The idea of Obi-Wan being an emotionless robot often seems to stem from a contrast against Anakin, who is pouring out his feelings everywhere, combined with a thing I’ve seen in many fandoms now–if a character is emotionally balanced and in control of themselves, they get labelled as emotionally suppressing themselves, that’s not something that just SW fandom does.We in fandom and in audiences in general love our Big Dramatic Scenes, we love characters that are screaming their feelings out when something important happens, so when a character is like, “Okay, I have to get my shit together and actually keep it together.” we’re kind of primed to think the only way that’s possible is through emotional suppression.But Star Wars is different from a lot of other big media stuff in that George Lucas really believed in the things that Jedi teach, he believes in emotional discipline being the absolute key to contentment, that’s literally how he describes the Force as working, that the only way to not fall to darkness is through discipline.So when we get a character like Obi-Wan–or any of the Jedi we see in the movies, really–we’re getting characters who aren’t striving for suppression of themselves, but to control of themselves, and that’s actually a really good thing in the narrative.  Nobody has to live by the Jedi ways, neither SW or George Lucas are saying that, only that this is what works for the Jedi, especially when the Force works through emotions.Further, just look at these moments:

You don’t even need context, in every single one of them, even if we didn’t know what was going on, you can look at Obi-Wan’s face and read exactly what he’s feeling.If you can read what a character is going through without even knowing the scene, just by looking at their face, then you absolutely can see their emotions that they are clearly having.He’s just not out of control about it.Here, have some more!

Emotion!  All over the place!  Easily readable!A character doesn’t have to be screaming their feelings to a) have them and b) convey them very clearly and for us to pick up on them.Even further, when Obi-Wan has a controlled reaction, how many of us knew exactly what hew as feeling when Bo-Katan threw Satine’s name in his face?

It wasn’t hard to read how difficult those moments were for him, we know he loved her, you can hear it in his voice, we can see it in the way his gaze roves around before becoming resolute again, we can see it in his body language.Maybe it’s not as much fun as a character like Anakin, who loses his shit, whether to watch or to play, but Obi-Wan’s emotions are absolutely there and we know exactly what they are.You can’t tell me he was bland or dully serene in these moments either:

Admittedly, as someone who flails around a lot, who capslocks to convey screaming feelings, who describes my fannish endeavors as “yelling and crying about Star Wars”, that can kind of further push forth the idea that, unless I’m absolutely screaming about something, it doesn’t really evoke any feelings in me.And, hey, if someone else wants to interpret Obi-Wan as suppressing his emotions, I’m not going to stop them, that’s valid for them!  I’ve certainly seen it in plenty of other fandoms, especially in ones that have a character like Anakin (looking at you, Loki fandom) who frequently has so many feelings that they’re almost literally bursting out of them.  It works for a lot of people!But I see him as expressing his feelings plenty and, frankly, as the person who survived the genocide of his people, the kind of isolation that would kill even more than that, the kind where he couldn’t even talk about that loss, he had to face it on his own and make peace with it on his own, that Obi-Wan could not just survive, but could remain kind, says a lot about him.Obi-Wan faces the kind of emotional trauma that would destroy so many people, yet he still is warm and kind to Luke, he still pats Artoo warmly on the head on the Millennium Falcon, he still gently holds Maul while he dies and closes his eyes, he pats Chopper warmly on the head when he and Ezra visit, he’s kind to Ezra as well, all because Obi-Wan had the emotional strength to face his shit remain true to his path, all while expressing.As for Obi-Wan being rule-abiding, that, too, I think comes from a contrast to Anakin (as well as Qui-Gon), who wants to throw everything out the window, so Obi-Wan looks like a stick in the mud in comparison.But Obi-Wan isn’t a stickler for the rules, instead he believes in the spirit of them and working within them to effect lasting change from within, which is what the Jedi teach.  That’s beautifully illustrated in the Obi-Wan & Anakin comic:

Obi-Wan totally lies about Tibanna gas being in the system, who knows if it’s true, maybe it is, the important thing is that help came because a Jedi called and, as a Jedi, he can do more to help the people here, than he could going off on his own.That’s the spirit of believing in the use of the system to help others more effectively and working to improve it, that Obi-Wan can’t get shit for being “half-truths and hyperbole” and being a robot who follows all the rules.  He does tell half-truths a lot, because the letter of the law and the spirit of the law are two different things, even as they’re sometimes easy to confuse.

[artsy0wl]

Maul: A Broken Evil Retrospective

On a Star Wars Amino I’m in, I had made an introspective on why I feel that Maul, while he is a villain is not whole heartedly evil, but broken.  I took from said Amino post, with a few needed edit tweaks.

Chaotic Evil

Of course given the fact he was a Sith and some of the decisions he’s made, I don’t completely want to negate that in this discussion. If we were to use the alignment chart (lawful good, true neutral, chaotic evil, etc), he would probably fit best in Neutral Evil. From my understanding, Maul would fit Neutral Evil as a lot if what he does has to do with benefiting himself. Even if that means using allies (i.e. Ezra initially) and potentially betraying them (i.e. blinding Kanan once the Inquisitors were dealt with). He’ll follow things as he needs and can be calculating when he needs (like his take over of Mandalore). He’s not spontaneous enough or lacks enough restraint to be Chaotic Evil (like the Joker for instance), nor is he as calculating and “lawful” to be Lawful Evil (like say Thrawn and/or Palpatine). With that said, I’d agree that Maul has a darkness/evil in him considering all of the things he’s done. Obviously, he’s not winning any hero points by killing people like Qui Gon and Satine or blinding and attempting to kill Kanan. 

Onto why I feel he’s broken.

Palpatine: Taken From a Young Age and Molded into what Sidious Wanted

Whether it be Talzin offering Maul as a child in Canon or his mother giving Palpatine Maul as a baby in Legends (Darth Plagueis), Maul was caught in a situation that he really didn’t have much control over. Granted, his life may not have been much better on Dathomir, given how the Nightsisters used their male counterparts, but there’s no telling what kind of life he could have had, had he not been handed over to Palpatine. Maul was molded into a weapon as Darth Sidious’ apprentice. And Maul spent most of his younger years being molded into what Sidious wants. Only to be “cast aside” when he is presumed dead. With Sidious being his only form of human contact/interaction, it’s fair to say that Maul feels a level of rejection/abandonment by the only person he had a bond with.

However, rather than having a level of depression because of it, he’s angry about it. For him that seems to be a common response, along with hatred and arrogance (the latter of which was used to explain how he survived the Phantom Menace). Sidious created a weapon out of Maul. And with that, a character with no real coping mechanism or knowing how to let things go.

A lot of, if not all of, Maul’s issues can be linked back to Sidious in some way. Sidious isn’t exactly Mentor of the Year material. Especially with Maul.  Though that could be chopped up to him being a Sith and very manipulative.  He wasn’t the kindest person to the Zabrak pre or post Phantom Menace (both in canon and Legends). Either way, a lot of Maul’s issues are a direct result of Palpatine’s involvement in his life.

If it weren’t for Sidious, Maul would have a normal life (or whatever that would equate to on Dathomir). He would have had his family, would have been more level headed and maybe less cocky, and he wouldn’t have enraged abandonment issues. The amount of grief, trauma, and hatred would be vastly different

Family: He Lost a Brother and a Mother

Let’s be real, thanks to Sidious, Maul’s lost a brother and a mother (two brothers when you count Feral, though he never got to meet him). By the time Savage came around in Clone Wars, we got to see Maul sort of build his character more than say the Phantom Menace (the novels did too, but I can’t say that everyone’s read them). We also get to see Maul exhibit more emotion where, again, the movie lacks as well as the introduction of his family, Mother Talzin, Feral, and Savage. And while Maul may not have been what you’d call an “affectionate” brother, he does care for Savage to the best of his ability.

Their deaths still haunted him years after the events of the Prequel Trilogy and Clone Wars. These deaths stuck with him psychologically to the point that he is still effected by it in Rebels. Which in turn, may have contributed some to him wanting Ezra as an apprentice (among other factors).

Torture After Loss

In Son of Dathomir after Maul tries to get back at Sidious, he is captured after his last battle with Sidious in Clone Wars (season 5). It starts off with Maul being interrogated and tortured by Sidious. He makes it through without faltering and escapes with the help of the Shadow Collective. That being said, we never really get to see where his mindset is. During Son of Dathomir, he gets a lot done, capturing Dooku and Grievous (taunting Sidious and working with Dooku to fight Obi Wan and a few other Jedi before escaping). However, we don’t get to see the mental toll Savage’s death here. Though with everything going on, I guess there wasn’t time.

Now the reason I bring this up, is because part of me felt like I should and the timing. Prior to Son of Dathomir, Maul had recently lost Savage. At the end, he loses his mother. The torture and the scheming in between shows how he didn’t catch a break. And while he was able to stay strong when he had to, they never really explored how the torture effected him, which one would think he would have been.

Obsession, Insanity, Arrogance: Maul’s Faults

I do feel like I address this point. I’ve already kind of touched on his anger and arrogance (synonymously with cockiness). While training Maul, Sidious didn’t consider how arrogant he had let the Zabrak become (according to Darth Plagueis, the novel). This has Maul’s Achilles Heel since the Phantom Menace. While having a healthy dose of pride never hurt anyone, a healthy dose, Maul dose not possess.

His obsession with getting Obi Wan and Sidious is another issue. This really only pops up after his apparent death in Phantom Menace. Because after that point, Maul finds out that he was replaced by Sidious (with Dooku) and that he was bested by a mere Padawan (Obi Wan). I feel like this obsessive tendency is a combination of his feelings of abandonment and having his ego damaged.

And of course, I feel like Maul’s roughly decade long battle with insanity really didn’t help his psyche. While his sanity was restored thanks to Mother Talzin and Savage, I do feel like that’s caused more harm than good. Something like that had to feel draining after getting his sanity restored. He was sitting on a trash planet and on his own. Along with not having anything from the waist down and forced to manage with what he had. Hatred may have helped keep him alive, but his psyche during those ten years didn’t.

He has a lot of internal conflict in an emotional and mental sense. Unfortunately, these negative emotions, obsession and pride especially, cause him more harm than good.

The Ezra Bond: Feeling a Need to Replicate a Connection, Even if He Approaches it Incorrectly

By the time Rebels rolls around, Maul is older and calmer (though still proud). Obviously, he still wants to get back at the Empire for what they (more specifically Sidious) did to him. And at first, Ezra seemed like someone that he could use. This is an element that is prevalent, however, not the only aspect of their relationship.

According to Sam Witwer, Maul’s VA, Maul did have a (platonic) fondness for Ezra. And on top of wanting to make Ezra his apprentice, Maul wanted to emulate a sense of brotherhood between him and Ezra. For example, his phrase in Visions and Voices when Maul says “...We can walk that path together. As friends. As brothers.” How he said it shows how he does miss Savage and wants that family back.

That being said, how he approached this connection could be seen as manipulative and more than likely one sided.  Sure, over the course of Twilight of the Apprentice, Ezra grows on Maul, to the point where Maul wants to make him his apprentice and has an appreciation for Ezra. However, his pride and lack of planning cause a rift between them and there was a lot of mistrust on Ezra’s part, not that one could blame him.

Subsequent episodes show that Maul is hellbent on making Ezra his apprentice through any means possible. 

Maul lost Savage and Talzin, and Ezra was one of the first few people to trust him in years.  I think it’s safe to say that, in Maul’s mind, Ezra gave him a sense of belonging or connection.

Maul’s need for a connection could be interpreted as him trying to find something good in life. However, manipulative tendencies and how he was brought up, hinder him doing that in a healthy and positive way. With Savage, he didn’t need to do anything as they both had a similar plan when they met (Savage being indoctrinated into the ways of the Sith). But subsequent relationships (i.e. Ezra), Maul is at a bit of a disadvantage emotionally and morally. 

Sure, he could relate to Ezra since they both lost people they care for because of the Empire (and by extent Sidious), but manipulation and harming Ezra’s allies hinder a smoother connection. Even if a force bond was eventually made. Ezra, arguably, could have been what he needed for what he wanted and a possible change/redemption/blank slate only for things not to entirely go as plan.

Could Maul Have Something Along the Lines of PTSD?

Now, I could do a mini theory about this as I’ve speculated that with another character before. It’d be an interesting way to look at Maul’s psychology. It’s one last little avenue I thought I’d address before closing this post out. Of course, it’s worth noting that I am not a Psychology major (as interesting as psychology is). I have, however, done some research.

I do believe that Maul, to some degree, may have PTSD. But instead of exhibiting panic/anxiety, depression or easily startled, Maul has more aggressive tendencies and is easy to anger. He still lives with the trauma of the death of his brother (and mother) and flashbacks of that and other events in his life, I’m sure he’d be effected by.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while I certainly think that Maul is no hero, his life experiences certainly effected what kind of person he became. Being raised as a weapon, abandoned, and tortured would bring any normal person way down. And because that was all Maul knew, I don’t think that entirely means he’s evil. Rather, he’s a character who’s been used and abused to the point that he’s mentally and psychologically broken. Unfortunately, that effects his life in ways that make him arrogant, hateful and obsessive. And when he tries to build bonds later in life, he doesn’t know how to in a way that, while laced in trauma, has manipulative and one sided undertones.

That being said, I feel like I should round out this introspective with a little positive. While he’s definitely been through a lot, Maul is pretty resilient all things considered. He’s cheated death and managed to live through a lot of abuse. The fact that he could keep bouncing back shows just hoe resilient and determined the character is.

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 15

Prompt: “Run. Don’t look back.” 

This is part 3/3 of the Hell on Hoth plot line, connecting to days 13 and 14. Part 1 | Part 2

Read on AO3

Coming Down From it All 

It takes three months to find Zan Arbor. And even so, they aren't even sure if they found her or someone who is using her old theories. As good of news as it was to finally have tracked her down, Anakin's stomach dropped when he heard the location.

"Hoth?" he looks up at Obi-Wan with utter devastation. "Seriously? Why would she go back?"

They left sensors in the lab they found within the ice tunnel, and yesterday those sensors were tripped. Their surveillance indicates there's activity still going on, which brings them to the ship descending upon a place that is quickly moving into the position of Anakin's least favorite planet.

"They have no way of knowing we were there. Zan Arbor probably thinks the location is safe."

Anakin crosses his arms. "You don't think she had surveillance on the place too?"

The Jedi Master sighs. Anakin eyes the dark bags that seem to stretch all the way to the line of his beard, and the hollowness of his tired gaze. It's been a rough three months. Obi-Wan took two weeks to recover enough to go back into the field, and even then he was barred from the front line for another month. If being sidelined wasn't enough, they've had to dig deep into Zan Arbor's history and well... Anakin thinks he understands why in his injured stupor he called out for Qui-Gon.

He'd heard the basics of the story when Zan Arbor kidnapped him, but never the details. (As talented a storyteller as Obi-Wan is, he doesn't like to draw from his padawan experiences-- something that always annoyed Anakin, but then again, every time he actually does get to hear a story it always seems to be tragic. Once he started training Ahsoka, he started to understand a little bit why Obi-Wan wasn't keen on sharing such details with him as a kid. But now that he's a knight, he wishes his master would tell him more about him and Qui-Gon's adventures.)

"I don't doubt she had surveillance," Obi-Wan says. "She is cunning and paranoid-- an annoyingly effective combination."

"So we're walking into a trap?"

"Possibly."

"Why don't you sound worried about that?" Anakin says, a tinge of outrage coming through his tone. He knows first hand the evil this woman can do. The memory of his poisoning by her hand is a haze at best, but somehow the lost time was far more worrisome than whatever happened when he was under the influence.

"The capture of Zan Arbor is the safety of the galaxy," Obi-Wan says, giving him a faraway look. "We're going to Hoth."

They land on the icy wasteland and head back through the destroyed Separatist ship, which thankfully hasn't moved in the last few months, only gained a thick layer of snow and ice. The cold is somehow even more unbearable this time around. His parka seems to do nothing to keep the cold out. Despite two layers of gloves his fingers still feel numb and tingly. Tatooine was bad, but at least it wasn't cold.

It feels wrong to be back in the tunnel, which is already lit up when they arrive. Like they're being welcomed. Anakin is constantly reminded of the last time they were here. Falling through the ship. The panic of watching Obi-Wan bleeding out on the ground. He shutters.

Obi-Wan's commlink lights up. A holographic Cody appears.

"Sir the lifeform scans are back."

"Very good, what's the reading?"

"Two lifeforms, sir. Minimal movement so far from both."

Obi-Wan strokes his beard the way he always does when he's thinking. "Hopefully the scientist is in, then."

"Do you think she wouldn't be?" Anakin asks.

"Zan Arbor likes having two subjects at a time when dealing with Force-sensitives. Allows for... manipulation of our values." Anakin suddenly recalls that Qui-Gon was being held with another Force-sensitive. Zan Arbor rigged a sensor that would release poison into the other if Master Jinn tried to leave. It would be against the code to allow harm to an innocent that could be prevented by inaction. "We will check it out, though."

Cody disappears. They have one more corner to turn. The 501st should be in position on the other entrances of the lab. Before taking the last turn, the Jedi stop, pulling out their lightsabers.

"Be mindful of your emotions, Anakin." his former master says carefully. Though he wants to argue that he isn't a kid anymore, he can also feel his nerves swelling in the pit of his stomach like they often did when he was a padawan. Zan Arbor captured and poisoned him. Captured and nearly killed Master Jinn. He has many feelings about what he'd like to do with this monster.

So maybe he does need to be a little more mindful. But she's not getting the nice-guy treatment from him.

"Yes, Master," he says in earnest, taking a deep breath and letting his frustration go into the Force.

Lightsabers ignite, and they run into the icy unknown.

It's larger than he remembers. Anakin was so focused on Obi-Wan, he didn't get a good view of the cavern the first time, but now he is honed into the focus of the Force, and can feel the tendrils of death and despair sullying the rather beautiful room. The lab is active, his eyes immediately drawn to the person strapped to a tilt table, head sagged into their chest and skin a concerning gray tinge. He reaches through the Force to find a presence, a sign of life. He doesn't find one.

As for the other lifeform they scanned, a blonde female comes jumping out from behind the bacta tank, her gray eyes glaring at the Jedi with manic intensity. Anakin's breath catches. Jenna Zan Arbor hasn't changed a bit since she captured him years ago. She holds something up in the air-- a device with a large button on it. It's enough for them to come to a skidding stop, Obi-Wan a few meters ahead of him.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," her lips curl into a smile. "and is that little Anakin all grown up? What a pleasure!"

"So it is you behind this," Obi-Wan says, motioning to the lab. "I thought you put this project behind you a long time ago."

She chuckles. Through their bond, Obi-Wan suggests to him to look for places she could have hidden explosive devices or ray shield fields... whatever the device must be connected to. Anakin is already on it, scanning every surface he can see.

"Oh Kenobi, the pursuit of knowledge stops for nothing."

"Not even imprisonment, I see."

"It's simple supply and demand," she steps out entirely from behind the bacta tank, the device still displayed in plain view. "and to understand the power of the Force is in high demand during such a war."

"And it was in demand when you took Qui-Gon?"

Anakin can't find anything that would indicate an explosive or ray shield generator. Is she bluffing? he projects through their bond.

Oh, would you like to find out?

Zan Arbor cocks her head to the side, looking at Obi-Wan as though he is an innocent child. "Qui-Gon Jinn, my dear Kenobi, was just to satisfy my curiosity."

Ever the sadist. Anakin takes a step forward. "Listen, lady, I don't know what leverage you think you have. Your prisoner is already dead, and we have you surrounded."

Her intense gaze flickers to him. It's a look he hasn't forgotten. "You think I wasn't expecting you?"

He glances over at the lab table. A mixture boils on the burner, the glassware now scorched along the bottom as it overheats. He looks at the body of the prisoner, not a Jedi he knows, but probably a Force-sensitive that was never brought to the Temple. The cuts are new, still oozing blood that also stains Zan Arbor's apron and hands. Anakin smirks and raises his lightsaber.

"No, you weren't expecting us," he says confidently. She was in the middle of her work when they arrived. Why would she begin experiments if she was lying in wait for them to find her? "And now we're going to take you in, Zan Arbor."

She looks stunned for a moment, but then it fades into a sinister grin. Wordlessly she holds up the button and presses it.

As it turns out, Anakin was wrong about it being a bluff.

He takes a step back, and then another, expecting a fiery explosion, but instead, the burners on the semicircle of lab tables turn on at once, and within seconds a blue cloud of gas starts to erupt. Anakin's eyes widen, his mind flashing back to the Zone of Self-Containment drug and then completely going blank with surprise. He looks from the menacing cloud to Obi-Wan, and his blood runs cold. As Obi-Wan was ahead of him, he now stands in the midst of the blue blur, his face buried in his elbow as he sways a little. His master's eyes meet his, and he drops his elbow.

"Run, Anakin. Don't look back," he yells, his voice choking.

"Obi-Wan, no--" but he isn't given a choice. A wave of the Force hits him like a wall and he is being pushed back, boots slipping with ease across the snow-covered ground. Another wave sends him flying now, and he slams into the ground, sliding back-first into the wall of ice. The blue cloud has taken over much of the room now, and as he searches the hazy room, he sees no sign of his former master.

"Rex," Anakin says into his commlink, bringing himself to his feet. "Come in, Rex!"

"General, do we engage?"

"Rex, listen to me, Zan Arbor is probably escaping. Stay on the exits. But I need you to blow a hole in the ceiling of this thing."

"Sir?"

"Possible poison gas has been released, I need a hole to air it out, now!"

"Right on it," He hears orders being barked. "Is the area clear?"

"It will be. Just do it," he says, putting his commlink away. Anakin draws in as deep a breath as he can, and plunges into the cloud of gas.

__________

A few things go through Obi-Wan's head as he is encompassed with a mysterious gas.

1. Of course she wasn't bluffing, Anakin, you cocky womprat.

2. What could she release that wouldn't affect her as well?

and

3. Perhaps she is bluffing.

The principles of biological warfare rely on mass panic--  a giant blue cloud of unknown contents certainly invokes a good amount of hysteria. While it certainly obstructs his view and has a horrible smell and taste to it, Obi-Wan realizes he isn't experiencing the symptoms of poisoning.

He smiles.

The faint outline of Zan Arbor making a break for it is just visible enough for him to run after her. He rams into a table or two, but soon enough the cloud begins to clear and he finds himself in another tunnel, the scientist close ahead of him.

"So it was a bluff," he says as he swings his lightsaber across her path, stopping her short. She pushes the strands of her blonde hair out of her face, panting hard.

"You just love ruining my work, don't you?"

"You experiment on unwilling participants!"

"It's the pursuit of knowledge and--"

"I truly don't want to hear your threadbare defense." He interrupts. "In the name of the Galactic Republic, you are under arrest for unsanctioned experimentation and violations of the sentient rights act."

To his surprise, she smiles. "You should ask yourself first, Kenobi. Was I bluffing?"

The ground and walls shake as an explosion resonates from the lab. Obi-Wan looks behind him for a moment, as the icicles atop the ceiling rattle menacingly and then calm, and then back to his captive. Except Zan Arbor is gone. The tunnel is empty, and not even a tunnel but the wall of a dead end.

Or the floor? He opens his eyes-- when were they closed?-- and he's lying on his stomach on the ground, his cheek numb from laying against the snow.

"What in blazes--" he mutters, pushing himself up.

"Is this five now?" Anakin's voice rings out with a smug tone.

"Five what?" he says, rolling onto his side and then sitting up. They're seated along the wall of the tunnel they came in from.

"The fifth time I've saved your skin."

He rolls his eyes. "What happened, Anakin."

"I saved your--"

"I'll be the judge of that. Details."

Anakin's smile fades. "You ever so sacrificially pushed me out of the gas. Not your best plan, because you collapsed pretty much instantly and I had to come save you."

"I'd say it was a good plan, otherwise who would have been conscious to come to get me?"

He considers this a moment and then shrugs. "Okay fine, fair enough. You didn't have to be so dramatic about it, though. Rex blew a hole in the lab to dissipate the gas, and it pretty much collapsed the entire structure."

"And Zan Arbor?"

"The boys caught her in one of the escape tunnels."

He blinks. "Jenna Zan Arbor has been captured?"

Anakin smiles smugly. "All while you took a lovely nap, yes, Master."

At that moment, Rex and a few other clones come around the corner.

"You need med?" he asks.

"Yes."

"No," Anakin and Obi-Wan say in unison before glaring at one another. "I'm quite fine now," Obi-Wan reassures him, using the wall to help him get to his feet.

"Actually fine, or hiding a broken rib and collapsed lung fine?"

Obi-Wan turns to give him another disapproving glare, but the world starts to sway a little. Anakin is at his side in an instant, looping Obi-Wan's arm over his shoulders.

"Right. Okay, Master let's go pay your favorite person a visit."

"I am quite sure I am Kix's least favorite person," he grumbles, earning a chuckle from Rex that only confirms his suspicions. Anakin just shakes his head, leading him back up the tunnel.

"Can we agree to never return to Hoth?" he asks as they near having to brave the outside elements once again.

"But what if there's a battle here?" Obi-Wan muses.

"We don't have to win them all."

The Jedi Master laughs. "Wait until the holonet finds out the Hero-With-No-Fear is afraid of the cold."

"I'm not afraid of the cold!"

"Then you will be the Hero-With-One-Fear."

They're in the evac ship, and Anakin deposits him in a chair.

"You're hilarious," he says facetiously. "I'm going to see what's taking Rex."

"Oh don't pout, Anakin, only one fear is still quite impressive," he calls after him, smiling widely. He hears him talking outside the ship, his words carried away by the howling wind. Obi-Wan looks out onto the landscape of swirling snow and mountains of ice. It is quite beautiful, but deceivingly deadly. He too would enjoy never having to return to Hoth if he can help it.

But to capture Jenna Zan Arbor once and for all? That comfort is worth all the numb limbs and broken ribs Hoth can offer.

[81scorp]

Constructive criticism: The Phantom Menace

Star wars. A movie made in 1977 by George Lucas. Through the use of classic archetypes and "The Hero`s Journey" he created a story that was not only popular the day it premiered but has remained so for years. With two sequels and clever merchandising (where the real money from the movie is made) money is one thing he hasn`t had to worry about (at least not much) for years. But wait.When Star wars first came out it said that it was "chapter 4" despite it being the first one in the series! Did we miss something? No. George Lucas just decided not to release them chronologically. The missing chapters would most likely be made when Lucas felt that special effects had improved enough to live up to his vision, since one of the things the first three movies were known for was the visual spectacles.Then came the day, the remaining three movies were getting made. The masses flocked to the cinemas in excitement and... reactions were mixed. Some hated it, some loved it, some, like me, thought: "It was OK I guess..." When George Lucas made the original trilogy he was not as powerful as he is today. Limitations in special effects and budget forced him to be creative and work around those limitations. He relied a bit too much on how cool CGI would make it look and the fact that people would see it because it was frickin` Star wars. Even If you overlook how hyped it was, many have agreed that The Phantom Menace has several noticable flaws. I think several of us have had ideas on how to improve this. So here are some of my thoughts on how it could have been done. SPOILERS there are here Jar Jar Binks I would keep Jar Jar because I don`t think there`s anything wrong with a little comic relief. C3PO and R2D2 filled that function in the original trilogy after all. The diffrence is that they did it well. I would change Jar Jar`s voce from sounding "Roger Rabbity" to John Leguizamo-ish, and he could have an accent, just without the "yoosa" and "meesa" stuff. (Note that I didn`t say John Leguizamo, but someone sounding kinda that way. And I`m not talking about his Sid the Sloth voice) Instead of being clumsy and goofy he would be a competent scout and lookout who`s just not used to fighting. Which means that he can`t be bannished from the gungan city for being too clumsy. Instead Boss Nass would insist on him following the two Jedis out because: "You lead them in here, so you lead them out" and he would chose to continue to follow them because he believes it`s the right thing to do. The comedy that would come from Jar Jar would be fish-out-of-water humor, since he`s an amphibian on a desert planet. To summarise: He would still be kinda funny, but not because he`s a clumsy idiot. Midichlorians Instead of finding out Anakin`s potential by meassuring his "midichlorian level" with science, Qui Gon Jinn could find it out by "sensing the force". He could close his eyes and we could see what he sees: even if everything is black, people, animals and other stuff are still visible as siluettes thanks to the Force flowing around them. But it flows even stronger around Anakin. Qui Gonn asks Obi Wan to sense the Force too and he sees what Qui Gonn saw. They both agree that he has potential and they bring him along. Anakin It`s popular to pick on Jake Lloyd (his performance could have been better) but at least half of the blame can be placed on George Lucas. The character could have been written better. Anakin should have been a kid who tries to do the best of the lot that life has given him but still, deep down, resent that he and his mother are at the lowest step of the ladder and don`t have any actual freedom, and it frustrates him. He should have been played by an actor able to handle that inner struggle. Preferably a slightly older actor. (Not necessarily older or as old as Padme, just a little older than Jake Lloyd was at that time.) The Droid army You know the Droids that went "Roger Roger" and looked like they were half robot, half spaghetti? They could have looked and been more threatening. They could also have been a bit more intelligent. I think there were a couple of robot soldiers in AotC and/or RotS that had a better design. C3PO Sure, it`s fun to see characters that you remember, but beyond that C3PO had no other function (well, maybe a little bit as a comic relief). Personally I`d save his "first" appearence for Attack of the Clones. R2D2 Personally I found it a bit odd that R2D2 got the hero`s treatment after he fixed the ship when they had to escape the planet. Partly because I don`t really see big royalties being that sentimental (Or maybe the correct word is empathic?) with the robotic servants. Also because in A new Hope they were sold as slaves by the jawas and Luke and his folks had no problem with it. (And yes, I know. Some time had passed and on some planets the rights of robots probably hadn`t progressed as far as they had on others but still.) Remember that in A new Hope C3PO said: "nobody worries about upsetting a droid." meaning that most people don`t think about droids feelings, or think that they even have any. How I would do it: After the crew are relieved that they got away and R2D2 returns back into the shuttle Padmè could read his number and say: "`R2...D2.`Is that your name... or... number? I don`t know if this means anything to you but... Thank you for saving us."And R2 could beep in response. Overuse of CGI and green screen Not against CGI but Personally I would have used it a little less than Lucas did. I think it would help the actors if they`d had more physical sets. The stilted dialogue Should have been less stilty. Someone better at writing dialogue should have handled this bit for Lucas. The Droid Army`s defeatSure, it was kinda funny, but was it right to put something that funny in such a climactic scene? Since Anakin (in this hypothetic example at least) is a little bit older than Jake Lloyd was the time, I wouldn`t have anything against if he took that ship that he flew away in and flew it over the droid army and fired on them, giving the gungans a big enough advantage to win the battle. (I think it`s a little impractical for them all to be completely dependent on one single power source and to be defeated that easily.) You may wonder what changes I would have suggested for AotC or RotS. Well, in my opinion the sequels got better, they were more similar to the Star Wars movies that I know and love. I found less things that bothered me and it`s harder for me to pinpoint all the stuff that I would have changed. Not to say that there are none. But since there aren`t as many there`s no point in giving them their own individual lists. So I`ll just add them to this one. Things that both AotC and RotS have in common with PM:Overuse of CGI and green screen and stilted dialogue. And also

Anakin Skywalker Hayden Christensen should have taken acting lesson or have been replaced by another actor. But like I said with Jake Lloyd: half of it is George Lucas`s fault. He should have put more effort into the characters. And Hayden had some good moments in RotS. Attack of the Clones Anakin lamenting after he returns home after burying his mom after killing the Tusken raiders I think his speech should have focused on how he`s used to be able to fix and repair things, but he can`t repair this and it makes him feel powerless. And yes, he did mention it briefly in that scene, I just think it should have been something his monologue could have focused more on.The "I don`t like sand" speechHe could have said something like: that he prefered being on Naboo, because even if Tattoine was his childhood home it still had some bad memories for him. (Being a slave with no rights and stuff like that.) I guess you can file this in the stilted dialogue-category. Revenge of the Sith Padmè`s death

Appearantly she died because she lost the will to live. While it is possible for a person`s emotional/mental state to lenghten or shorten their life it just feels a little melodramatic. (Or maybe forced is the right word? No pun intended if you find that punny.) Couldn`t it have been a combination of her being distressed and Anakin accidentally almost Force-choking her to death? The cheesy love dialogue Remember this? Anakin Skywalker: "You are so... beautiful." Padmé: "It's only because I'm so in love." Anakin Skywalker: "No, it's because I'm so in love with you." Padmé: "So love has blinded you?" Anakin Skywalker: [laughs] "Well, that's not exactly what I meant." Padmé: "But it's probably true." I would have cut this dialogue and just have them have a quiet, romantic scene together that lasted for a few seconds. Show, don`t tell. I guess that falls under the same dialogue-category as Attack of the Clones. There may be more things that could have been changed in the sequels but I only focused on the ones that I could pinpoint and that I could come up with ideas on how to improve. It`s called constructive criticism after all. It`s popular and easy to complain about and hate George Lucas, and while his latest contributions to cinema have been a bit lacking, he has good qualities for a film maker. The man knows how to build worlds, has a good eye for the visual and he`s an entrepreneur, he created his own visual effects company and came up with new effects instead of waitng for someone else to create them. The problem is that he focused too much on these elements and didn`t spend enough time on the others. "A special effect is a tool, a means of telling a story. A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing."George Lucas himself. And that`s it for me. Take care and may the force be with you.

[fireflyfish]

Hi, do you have any advice for this unable-to-make-decisions GoH newbie? I'm level 62 atm and just developed 7-star Luminara, and I can't decide what to invest in. (7-star Mace is almost there as well.) I want an actual squad (right now my A-team is Mace, Luminara, Tarkin, Chewie, Jedi Consular), which one do you recommend?

Hello there and Welcome to the Madness! We are super glad to have you with us on our long trek to Rancor/Tank/General Kenobi Domination! 

First of all, Congratulations on getting 7* Luminara! YAAAAAY! 

She’s fabulous and she stays fabulous for a good long while. She was my first 7* character and I still love her. She’s a character you can level up to a certain point and she stays competitive with everybody else for a good long time. Unlike some characters I am looking at you JK Anakin you pretty, squishy thing you she’s pretty good on her own and mods just make her even better. 

Since your Arena team has three Jedi I’m going to make two Suggestion Lists, one based on what you’ve already got and can easily level up and then another Suggestion List based on what’s going to be easy and successful in the long run. I’m not super skilled and well versed in what’s Meta (i.e. what’s popular and super successful in the arena right now.) because I love my Jedi and Clone Sons too much.

But I will try to keep the Meta Game in mind so that later on you haven’t managed to craft some kind of Lovecraftian Horror Zeta Ewok Scout or whatever. XD 

I’m also tagging my guild officer @silvergryphon, and my GOH sempai @gffa as well as anyone else who wants to join in the fun! @tygermama, @resistancepilots, @generallkenobi, @dendral, @teapirate, @loverofcake And anyone else who wants to help out and has Thoughts! XD

So without further ado… here’s my suggestions!

JEDI

Jedi are fun because they have lightsabers and do fun flippy things and also LIGHTSABERS ARE PLASMA CHAINSAWS! How is that not cool? 

Easy Jedi to Farm

Ahsoka Tano - Hands down Ahsoka is one of the easiest Jedi to farm for. She shows up in the Cantina Store and she has two nodes where she can be found Dark Side 4-C and Light Side 5-D (which has come choice gear on it). Ahsoka can supplement healing for Luminara and she’s also a must have in Fleet Battles. She plays well with others and I’ve often won arena battles where I was down to her and Fives and they made hash of my opponents. Ahsoka is great in mid-game and an excellent addition to your Jedi team. 

Ezra Bridger - After Ahsoka, Luminara and Mace, Ezra is probably the second easiest Jedi to farm for. He’s on a low Cantina Node (2-B) and he pops up in the Fleet Store with an annoying regularity. No, Game! I wanted Chirrut Shards! I don’t want Emo Blueberry Shards! Of the Phoenix Squad characters, he’s the one I kill first when I face a Phoenix team and he’s very useful wherever he goes. His bonus attacks can kill Baze and Fives and that takes some serious doing. He also has a ship (Phantom II) so that’s nice for your Fleet arena. 

Kanan Jarrus - Okay so with Kanan you’re going to have to balance his availability with whoever else you’re going for in the Squad Arena store but he’s another useful Jedi who can taunt, add protection and debuff your characters. He’s not super easy to get but if you’re going to get the Phoenix Squad he’s tied for second place with Hera after Ezra. 

Qui-Gon Jinn - *sighs* Get him. You’ll need him if you want to run a Jedi team. His leadership gives your team speed and he can call assists as well as debuffs. Don’t let my lackluster recommendation of everyone’s Neglectful Hippie Space Dad dissuade you. He’s useful and not hair-pullingly difficult to get.

Difficult to Farm but Worth It

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker - Oh my precious Rage Baby! So beautiful, so angry, so… squishy? If you’re going to have a Jedi team, you need to have Anakin on it. He does serious damage and he can also inflict healing and buff immunity for 2 turns. He plays very well with clones and Ahsoka. When Luminara gets her heal over time ability, that really helps shore Anakin up. He also has an AOE attack which I don’t think any other Jedi has. He’s only on four nodes (Dark Side 5-B, 7-D, Light Side 5-C and Cantina 7-G) so he’s not impossible to get I am looking at you Aayla Secura but he’s not easy either. Probably just the way Padme and Obi-Wan like it. 

Barriss Offee - Eh. Get the murderous wench. She’s the best healer in the game, for a back-stabbing-jedi-turned-terrorist. Like Anakin, she’s not in a store but she’s got four nodes (Dark Side 5-C, 5-E, 8-A and Cantina 6-A). She’s a popular for Zeta when you get to that (and that is still a long ways off for you so don’t worry about it.) 

So… uhmm… TL:DR

Ahsoka

Ezra/Qui-Gon

Whoever you didn’t go for last time in the Ezra/Qui-Gon mashup

Jedi Knight Anakin/Kanan Jarrus

Whoever you didn’t go for last time JK Anakin/Kanan Jarrus

Back-stabbin’ Barriss Offee

Holy Crap I went on forever! But onwards and upwards my dear! Here is part two!

REBELS

Because you will need Rebels to compete in all sorts of special events (Empire Themed events, Emperor Palpatine events, the new Territory battles) you are going to need Rebels. 

The good news is THERE ARE LOTS OF REBELS. SO MANY REBELS. LIKE MORE THAN WE NEED AND I AM AN AVOWED DISLIKER OF THE SITH/EMPIRE/FIRST ORDER CHARACTERS.

Right now your Squad Arena team is tilted in the direction of Jedi which is fine! I have had my butt handed to me by many a Jedi team before. I swear to the Force Yoda if you don’t leave my precious Wedge alone I am going to reach through the screen and strangle you! But a Rebels team is pretty much required to advance in the game and EA has given you a MYRIAD of options to chose from.

Which brings me to… Easy to Farm Rebels

Biggs Darklighter - Popular recently is a combination of Wiggs (Wedge Antilles + Biggs Darklighter) and Chaze (Chirrut Imwe + Baze Malbus). Now here’s a thing, or two, you need to know about these two combos. 

It’s REALLY effective.

It’s kind of a pain in the ass to get. 

The good news for you is that Biggs Darklighter is not only in the Galactic War Store (where if you defeat the table you have a chance to purchase up to 15 of his shards a day!) but he’s also located on Cantina Node 3-G and Dark Side Node 4-A. Biggs also has an X-Wing that taunts (I LOVE YOU, BIGGS) and he has amazing synergy with Wedge Antilles. If you can get an omega mat on his Comrade-in-Arms Super-Mega-Killshot attack, he can perform that every other turn. WHICH IS SO AMAZING. 

SO. 

AMAZING. 

So I highly recommend Biggs. Even if you don’t want to run a Rebels squad right now, he is worth it for his ship and that Comrade-in-Arms ability. 

Stormtrooper Han Solo - ST Han Solo has the advantage of being both a Rebel and a Scoundrel, which are ANNOYINGLY important in this game. It may not seem like it now but trust me, when you start Mod farming, you are going to need those credit heists desperately. Where is my Dave Chapelle Meme with the white powdery lips and “Y’all got any more of ‘dem Credit Heists?” ST Han is in the same boat as Kanan Jarrus as he’s only available in the Squad Arena store so if you have to pick between the two, go for ST Han while you’re going after Jedi elsewhere. 

ST Han can taunt and his taunt is particularly insidious because every time he takes a hit, his allies gain turn meter. I’ve seen him work well with all sorts of teams and I’ve seen him in the top level squads as well. 

Princess Leia - Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of Alderaan is a beast. On top of her stealth move (which apparently can cleanse some debuffs. *o*) her basic attack “Hair Trigger” allows her fire up to three times in one attack. Remember when I mentioned that Phoenix squad earlier? About the only person I have that is really capable of taking them down to size is Princess Leia. (And Fives, because Fives is indestructible.) She’s also an excellent counter to Grumpy Secessionist Grandpa Count Dooku. She got reworked when they introduced Commander Luke Skywalker so she should be even better now! 

Sadly, Our Lady of Sass and Cinnamon Rolls is only located in the Squad Arena store so you’ll have to juggle her against everybody else. I’ve also heard she’s great against Part 4 of the Tank Raid and works well with a team of Clones to form the fantastic portmanteaux of Princess Zody (Princess Leia + Zeta Cody). 

Last but most definitely not least is the Baron Administrator of Cloud City…

Lando Calrissian - To call Lando easy to farm is kind of misnomer. He only shows up on two Cantina nodes (1-E and 5-F and for me 5-F had a better drop rate than 1-E) but he’s on Cantina nodes and if you chose to use your crystals that way, you can get probably four to five shards a day for him as opposed to the limits placed on Light Side and Dark Side Battles. I have gotten more but that wasn’t until I opened up 5-F. 

Lando is, to put it bluntly, a stone cold mass murderer. Sure he looks all suave and charming and you think, “That man in the open neck blue shirt and that disco-tastic seventies gold lined cape looks charming and harmless! I’ll leave him alone and concentrate my forward power on Darth Vader or Jedi Knight Anakin or something like that. 

And then two, maybe three, Lando turns later you’re dead, your party is dead. Your neighbor is dead. EVERYONE IS DEAD. 

Not only does Lando have great leadership and a pretty good basic attack, his AOE attack will slaughter YOUR WHOLE TEAM. ALL OF THEM. I’ve seen my Lando take out an entire teams protection in one go! POOF! GONE. ALL OF IT. And then? If he scores a critical hit? (which he does with terrifying regularity when he’s on the opposing team) HIS COOL DOWN RESETS AND YOU ARE DOOMED TO BE PERFORATED BY BLASTER FIRE YET AGAIN.

See? Lando Calrissian: Stone Cold Mass Murderer. 

If Lando is paired up with Admiral Ackbar and Ackbar uses his Tactical Genius before Lando, you can perform his ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT OF DOOM TWICE IN A ROW. Lando is the Dread Pirate Roberts of Galaxy of Heroes. 

There will be no survivors.

Not only does Lando work great with your Rebels but like ST Han he’s a Scoundrel too so he’ll play well with a Scoundrel team in Credit and Droid Heists. 

TL;DR 

Biggs Darklighter

Stormtrooper Han Solo

Lando Calrissian 

Princess Leia

And then maybe Admiral Ackbar for cleansing and assisting Lando in his mass slaughter of your opponents.

I hope that was helpful, my dear! I wish you all the best in your galactic conquest! Have a great Wednesday and may the Force and RNGeezus be with you!

[the-son-of-suns-blog]

The Hero’s Journey and Mythological Motifs

When Episode IX is complete, we will be able to apply that circle to the entire story and the characters of Anakin and Padme each. The true meaning of “ring theory,” at least to me, is that each film is really it’s own hero’s journey, which is why to a certain degree they all stand on their own. But when looking at each trilogy, and all the trilogies, there are “circular stories” that apply to all of them as well. If we accept that all those times George Lucas said he relied on Joseph Campbell for a lot of his inspiration behind this story aren’t just George playing a cruel joke, we can safely assume that the people George trusted to hand the company over to at least still continue the story in the spirit of what Star Wars fundamentally is, which is this awesome, modern-day mythic fairytale. So, assuming this, let’s plot the story out on that chart.

1. Threshold 1 is the death of Anakin and the Republic and birth of Vader and the Empire. 2. Threshold 2 is the middle of the saga, which is ESB. Here, Vader realizes his son would rather die than join him, which reverses the story back toward the beginning. 3. Threshold 3 is the death of Vader and rebirth of Anakin as one with the Force. Finally, Anakin can do what he was always meant to do: bring balance. In other words, he became more powerful than we can possibly imagine. That just leaves the fourth and final threshold to be crossed. But it will be crossed by Rey and Kylo. I think by now you can begin to see why, in some form, Rey and Kylo must be Padme and Anakin come back for this whole thing to work. The “grand spectacle” of what these characters were always meant to do hasn’t been accomplished yet, and it needs to be them who do it. If you look in-between thresholds 3 and 4, you’ll see the “resurrection” phase of the story. Birth, death, and rebirth are also some of the most common mythological motifs in human history. The “resurrection” phase of the story occurs when, after most of the myth has been completed, the hero has finally gained wisdom, and through that wisdom, a power unbeknownst to the hero and anyone else in the story up to that point. And the wisdom almost always means things like compassion, learning to let go of fear, learning to love your fellow humans, etc. It is only after the hero learns those things that they are “gifted” that supreme power by the universe, the power to go change the external world for the better. Up to that point, every attempt the hero makes to affect their external surroundings usually makes things worse, because they are not psychologically balanced yet. Anakin was at peace and balanced at the end of ROTJ. And all this theory suggests is that, given what we know about Anakin’s fall in the prequels and his relationship to Padme, the “balancing act” he did involved giving up his power to her and sending them back into the world to fix the mistakes they made in the prequels. All of that foreshadowing about cheating death and saving the ones you love… it came true, just not in the way that the deluded Vader and all the other bad guys think it could have. It came true through the power of love. Anakin’s love of Luke and Padme, Padme’s love of Anakin, Luke’s love of Anakin, etc. All of that combined to give us that ending in Return of the Jedi. When Anakin said, “Love won’t save you Padme, only my new powers can do that,” he was wrong. But he was so close to the truth. Love could, and eventually did save her. And this connects to a number of prominent mythological motifs about how love is the most powerful force in the universe. It’s cheesy, but it’s true. Now, when looking at the saga mythically, as I think we should (it is a myth, after all), we can see some even more obvious clues. The one that comes to mind the most for me is Padme’s death. Externally, it makes no sense. She has two living, breathing children. Why would she lose the will to live and just die? The answer is that it’s another motif. That of a spouse following her lover into the underworld. In this case, Anakin “dying” and entering the Vader suit was his descent into the “underworld,” in which Padme follows via her own death. This touches on a huge theme in mythology that Campbell brings up a lot, the theme of “Love-Death” where two people are so in love that if one dies, so too does the other. In this case, Anakin was dead, Vader was born, so Padme dies. She followed “Anakin,” not Vader. And this highlights the importance of these two lovers being soulmates, each other’s other halves. From a mythical point of view, Anakin, when blinded by his hatred and rage, lived when he should have died. Padme, being completely healthy, died when she should have lived. And all of this makes Anakin’s vision a self-fulfilling prophecy. The answer, to me, is that Anakin unconsciously drew out her life force, being that he was on the dark side and represented selfishness and evil. Padme, representing selflessness, faith, and good, unconsciously surrendered her life force to her other half to follow him into the underworld. And she was always there, calling him back to the light. The comics demonstrate this beautifully. Now, there comes a point in these myths where the hero has a “meeting with the goddess.” And it’s a big point in the story. I propose that this was Anakin reuniting with his soulmate after his death. Padme is the goddess. And as the goddess, represents boundless love for all of the galaxy’s creatures, including the misguided Anakin. What Anakin effectively did was give up his power to Padme since she was always more worthy to wield it, and then they sent themselves back into the world when they were needed to finally solve the “external problems” of the galaxy that started getting worse in the prequels. And the reason Padme has to do this and not just Anakin is, well, because she sort of kickstarted the Empire. In Episode I she does what no balanced person should ever do - make a decision based on fear. She gets Palpatine elected because she’s afraid that the Republic can’t help her people. It’s a totally justifiable fear, but a fear nonetheless. And ultimately, it does nothing to help. Padme, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, and Anakin have to go save the Naboo on their own anyway. Palpatine and the Republic are nowhere to be seen. So the “victory” at the end of The Phantom Menace is only an illusion. The dark side has won because Palpatine got what he wanted at no loss to himself. He manipulated Padme into a trap. Therefore, it is PadRey who will, in Episode IX, be the one to finally bring peace, freedom, and justice to the galaxy, and she’ll do so with Ben at her side. That fourth and final threshold in the diagram is the “freedom to live.” What I think that will mean is that Ben and Rey get a happy ending, which is the happy life that Anakin and Padme could have had had Anakin not fallen to the dark side. And thanks to mythology and resurrection, it’s technically Anakin and Padme still receiving this happy ending after all of these lessons over the course of the saga have been taken to heart. And if this true, Rey becomes more than any of us could have ever dreamed.

[madhatjedi-blog]

Self fulfilling prophesy

The cause of this paper is a random thought I had while reading the Expanded Universe Darth Plaguis. While reading this book I started to wonder if the Jedi were wrong about the prophecy. The Prophecy spoke of a chosen one who would destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. This was always interpreted as being a single Jedi. However what if it was the Jedi order as a whole? What if the Siths own nature to covet power and oppress others doing it lead to the wars with the Jedi and the infighting that eventually was their doom. This left the order as a balance on all the misdeeds of the regular citizen that would possibly tip things in a dark fashion. Thus the Sith were functionally destroyed as they were once known but further that the Order itself balanced the Force. However the fear of the dark side and the hunting of anything that hinted at it lead to the Jedi being seen as bullies after a fashion. This created the environment that allowed the new Rule of Two Sith to take root and hide. Slowing and silently poisoning the galaxy as the Jedi continued to busy themselves with trying to control too much. Due to a fear of Dark Side force users and the extremes, the Jedi had to live under it lead to much resentment about children being taken and then Force users being chained to a lifestyle that might not fit their needs. Again breeding resentment and deepening the shadows the Sith could hide in. Worse Anakin was allowed to know that he was thought to be the chosen one and this very likely infused him with the arrogance we see in the movies. Combine this with the Jedis harsh lifestyle and inability to allow people to live as was best for them out of fear of the Dark Side and we have the perfect storm that created Vader. This, in turn, caused the downfall of the Order and the rise of oppression with no light to balance it. Which indeed did require the Sith to be destroyed and the balance to be restored. Had the Jedi just allowed only those who took to their lifestyle to join or allowed for variations on the meaning of the rules and codes that governed them this might not have come to pass. Had the Jedi just worked for peace and not tried to bring all those with power in the Force into an incompatible lifestyle they might not have had the resentment build against them and might not have allowed their vision to be clouded by the fears of the Dark Side. This would mean that the Sith plan would not work. Further, a more understanding order would possibly not have made Anakin feel unable to speak up about his troubles for fear of being kicked out. Thus no Vader and no room for Palpatine to twist Dooku or the public against him. So as we can see a strong belief in something can lead to actions that sow the seeds for it to come true. In real life, we can see this in three areas. The first is how mentality can lead to actions which confirm the mentality in our eyes. This is shown in a figurative bank put forward in the Thomas Theorem. In this concept, people start to worry that a bank that is actually fine is insolvent. This leads to many people rushing to the bank to withdraw more money than they keep on hand. This, in turn, causes a bank run as they cant get all the money at once deepening the panic. The bank run causes insolvency thus fulfilling the original unfounded fears. The second area we see this in is the Pygmalion effect and its counterpart the Golem effect. These effects state that higher expectations (Pygmalion) or lower expectations (Golem) by yourself or others lead to actions and attitudes which will fulfill these expectations. An example is if you expect to do well in a job interview you are likely to go in and be more assertive in chasing what you want leading to a more impressive interview. However, if you are sure you won't get it the lowered energy and body language could put off the interviewer and taint their perception. As we see in both cases the outcome is based on actions which are in turn based on preconceptions of the outcome. Hence confirming what we believe in the first place but not for the reasons we originally thought. The final area we see this in is the Placebo effective. This an effect in the medical community in which a sugar pill or other false medical procedure is given to a person promising a cure. Despite the lack of medical value to the sugar pill or procedure the person starts to improve. This is attributed to the belief in healing and the upbeat attitude it brings boosting the bodies own healing processes allowing it to fight back naturally. So how can we use this? What lesson should we take from this as a whole? Well, I think the answer lies in the quote by Qui-Gon Jinn. “ Always remember your focus determines your reality.” As we can see above this rings true even on a subconscious level. That even our subconscious unwilled focus can push us in ways that we are unaware of. As such it is vital to train or focus on the positive or Light side if you will. That we must not focus on the negative or we can set in motion things that influence not just ourselves but those around us to harm us, themselves, or even third parties. There is even a Tibetan concept called a Tulpa which is a being or object brought into existence by pure willpower or mental focus. Its a thoughtform brought into the living world only by the power of the mind. In a way, we can really create these thoughtforms in our own lives in the form of negative physical impacts from our own focused worries. A good example is hysterical pregnancies or other mentally created medical issues. This concept is more important than ever with the emotional state after this election. People are rioting and attacking others in the street over the election of someone they swear will tear our nation apart. However, if they let their fear cause them to act in this manner their actions will fulfill the very things that they are fearing. It is vital as Jedi that we focus not on our fears but on the hopes for a better tomorrow. If we are determined to bring light into this world we must take the advice of Qui-Gon Jinn and remember “Don't center on your anxieties”. For to do so could cause us to act in ways that bring the very things we fear into reality. Or to cap off with another quote. “ Fear is the path to the Dark Side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to...suffering.”