#guardians of whills

[iracundiias]

CHIRRUT ÎMWE "There is more than one sort of prison, Captain," Chirrut said. "I sense that you carry yours wherever you go." Baze laughed again, but there was no boisterousness this time- just a coarse, hollow sound. Cassian frowned and turned back to the lock and the cavern. It was some minutes later that he realized no one had told Chirrut he was a captain. - STAR WARS: GUARDIANS OF THE WHILLS

[mirrorofliterature]

chirrut isn't sure if he likes the jedi temple.

sure, they are great scholars and warriors, but -

but.

when he refers to baze as his husband, they act oddly. they get even weirder when he references his mother's cooking, or buying a trinket on coruscant to take home to his little sister.

he is a guardian of the whills. he is sworn to serve the force

but that doesn't mean -

serving the force and loving people are not mutually exclusive, and the way some jedi act about attachment is simply concerning. they say they obstain from attachment, but they live and breathe for the republic.

chirrut sighs, walking through one of the endless gardens in this luxurious temple - they have nothing but this opulence - the breeze ruffling his cloak.

the guardians of the whills are part of the very fabric of jedha.

the temple does not feel like it is on coruscant; it is like it is in another realm altogether.

he stops, hearing the feather-light footsteps of another.

chirrut can feel the force, the way it is the life-blood of the universe, weaving between every nook and cranny.

but he cannot manipulate it like the jedi. the guardians of the whills is largely philosophical. the jedi scoop up most force sensitive, anyway, although they leave jedha alone.

'who are you?'

it is a young boy; suspicious, naturally. the force convention has been made up of scholars, not younglings.

and the jedi have so many younglings. too many too young, chirrut sometimes thinks, but it is not his place to disparage another religion's practices.

'a guardian of the whills,' chirrut answers the inquisitive boy, 'from jedha. we follow the force... differently to the jedi, but we are all one in the force.'

the boy comes closer. 'you can do that?'

chirrut nods. 'you can do that.'

the jedi are inescapable.

the guardians of the whills are not.

the wind whistles, again.

chirrut spends the rest of the afternoon talking to the young jedi, a boy named anakin skywalker, who is curious and reticent and -

lonely, chirrut thinks, to be here in the gardens alone, talking to a stranger.

the conference ends. chirrut gives anakin his comm number - the boy wanted to learn more about other force traditions: he is like a sponge, constantly seeking more information.

chirrut wonders if he is wasted on the jedi: there had been little give or take on their part throughout the conference. a boy that asks that many questions could so easily be quashed under their inflexibility, their dogma, their strange, no-attachment compassion

the conference over, they are to return to jedha

but first, he says to baze: 'do you want to go to tatooine?'

baze snorts. 'what's there to do on tatooine?'

chirrut's next words are carefully chosen. 'slavers. it's where a jedi padawan I talked to was from. and the jedi left his mother behind in slavery after freeing him.'

baze sighs. 'that's fucked up. yeah, I'm up for fucking with some slavers. some of our humanitarian missions have been a little too peaceful, recently.'

chirrut smiles, warmth flowing through him.

it has been a while since they took part in directly rooting out evil.

he leaves the jedi temple behind. he learnt barely anything of value, but it gave him his next humanitarian mission:

cleaning up their messes.

honestly, what kind of religious order takes the kid but leaves their family behind in slavery?

chirrut wonders about their definition of compassion. it is hollow, cracking.

the force is clearer once they leave coruscant behind.

what chirrut doesn't know, will never know: his one act of compassion will save both the jedi and guardians of the whills from complete annihilation.

[stairset]

I know certain parts of Star Wars fandom are determined to see literally everything about the Jedi in the most bad faith way possible but one of the most baffling examples to me is when people act like they look down on all other force religions and don't take the time to understand them because they see their own way as superior when there is quite literally nothing to suggest that. Like the only other force users they have any actual beef with on principle are the Sith, which I'd say is justified considering the Sith are a bunch of fascist pricks who constantly try to take over the galaxy. Literally all the others are either allies of the Jedi or the Jedi just leave them alone to do their thing.

[r1-jw-lover]

Guys I finally got to read the Guardians of the Whills novel and OH MY GOD I absolutely love the depiction of Chirrut and Baze's respective grief and anger manifesting in different yet similar ways throughout the book.

How Baze's anger started and grew from the injustices caused by the Empire and fueled his desire to fight back but also hid a deep, strong grief for what's left of his home to the point that he lost his faith in the Force entirely. Meanwhile, Chirrut's sorrow for Jedha's suffering made him even more determined to ease that suffering and keep holding onto his faith in the Force, but he was also angry at himself for being powerless and unable to stop the escalation of violence and war on his homeworld.

There is a whole paragraph from Chirrut's pov describing how the word "no" embodied Baze's cynicism nowadays and how pained he felt about Baze's lack of faith, but there's also Baze noticing the pain behind Chirrut's smile and mentioning that he couldn't remember the last time Chirrut being happy.

Both Chirrut and Baze had their differences and were stubborn in their own ways and they argued and fought, but that only makes their whole relationship and the complete understanding and sheer trust between each other all the more beautiful. They both had a shared conviction towards their cause of protecting the people of Jedha and Chirrut found Baze's presence reassuring and Baze only laughed at Chirrut's jokes. There are even more details I've didn't cover but the devotion and commitment is just undeniable between the two.

[tlmtwelve]

June 15, 2024: Chirrut Îmwe

[jewishcissiekj]

dgnvfgdnsdfdgb I love Chirrut and Baze

[star-wars-forever]

Chirrut Imwe

by Dave Dorman

[dramyhsturgis]

I’m delighted to share that I’ll be giving a paper at the upcoming Realizing Resistance Episode III: The Expanding Universe conference on Star Wars.

My talk will be “‘They Walked without Speaking’: GUARDIANS OF THE WHILLS, ANDOR, and Local Resistance."

More on the conference is here: dcsco-op.org/rriii/

[bereft-of-frogs]

every time anyone in the Star Wars fandom says ‘well [X villain] makes a good point…’ I’m now going to think of Keth saying that to Silandra about the Mother while she tries not to pass out from the Leveller after their meeting…

*also, this is nothing against Keth! I love Keth and he’s actually really sweet helping her, but I do find it interesting how much of phase 2 and particularly the Path of the Open Hand relations end up feeling like they’re in conversation with fandom #discourse lol

[humbug220]

[roguerebels]

The High Republic: Battle For the Force Favorite Comic Arc Moments!

Cavan Scott wraps up Phase II with our Jedi friends making their final stand for light, life, and Jedha! Check out Sal's favorite moments! #StarWarsComics #TheHighRepublic

The Battle of Jedha rages on and Jedha is changed forever. The Path of the Open Hand makes its move and unleashes its weapon against the Jedi and all who would abuse the Force! The Twinkle Sisters! The Bogan collection! Guardians of the Whills!! Last stand in a bar! The Final Protector Statue! And more Nameless terrors! Cavan Scott wraps up Phase II with our Jedi friends making their final…

[mirrorofliterature]

'jedi bashing is chinese propaganda'

I'm sorry what now -

also, I'm australian :)

and I don't even bash the jedi. I critique them. for their flaws. lovingly. because I yearn for their reform like luke did in the eu, not complete annihilation.

there's a guardians of the whills fanfic set in jedha and their training system in it is just. chef's kiss I think chirrut and baze could have saved the jedi order singlehandedly

[mostly-space-scrap]

Guardians of the Whills

Recently, I've had this mini obsession with the Guardians of the Whills since I've seen Rouge One. Honestly, I think that I agree with their view of the force the most.

The main belief that using the force in any matter is wrong is something I'm not entirely against. Both light and dark side users tend to use it for their own advantages, usually harming or imposing their will on others. This makes anyone with the force and immediate danger to anyone who can't use it.

On a different note, I absolutely love their handcrafted lightbows and outfits that they wear. Also, one of my favorite characters of all time, Chirrut Imwe, is a Guardian as well. That may contribute to my bias a bit.

*side note: 'Guardians of the Whills Suite' from the Rogue One soundtrack is amazing. Thank you Michael Giacchino!!!