#jedi blogging

[redjennies]

on one hand, you could very easily argue all of star wars is an anime, but kotor2 is definitely an anime. like, between Kreia's constant obvious villain monologuing and the weird underlying horniness of the whole game and the wild mood whiplash from cute, silly space adventure to "we are still haunted by our part in the war," literally all of these characters belong in an anime.

[badsithnocookie]

people who get weirdly hung up about the jedi proscription on romance frequently approach it, i think, from the same perspective as they would approach, say, proscription on romance for disabled people on the basis that they are disabled. it's a human rights issue, how dare you forbid people from forming relationships, love is a human right, etc. and it's like

you have. missed the point entirely

infantilisation of disabled people (no matter the disability/condition we are talking about) is bad because it is stripping human beings of agency to live their lives. but the whole thing with becoming a jedi (or a priest, or a nun, or anything of that ilk) is that like. it's a choice.

it is inherently an expression of agency, it's just one that you either don't like or just plain don't understand. it's as much making a commitment to a lifestyle as getting married and having kids. it something being done entirely voluntarily, as an adult. and if you're not down with it? that's fine! you do not have to get married. you do not have to be jedi. you do not have to join the circus. and if you do get married? you can get divorced. the problem isn't ending the commitment, it's pretending to commit while breaking all the rules on the qt.

it's 2024 and i am still exhausted by this stupid ass fandom

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

Friendly reminder that if you're gonna critize the Jedi, they have to be wrong.

"They told Anakin he wasn't fit to be a Jedi" Yeah, was he? He was unhappy the whole time, broke all their rules and eventually slaughtered them.

"They massacred the Sith Order" Yeah. Those "I'm better than everyone and everything and they all should kneel to me or die" people? I see no issue here.

"They fought in the Clone Wars as peacekeepers." Yeah. What was the alternative? Standing by as the clones, civilians and the Republic itself (the best government out those in the galaxy, although admittedly that's rather a low bar) were massacred by the Separatists? Yeah no. And peacekeepers ≠ pacifists.

"They forbid marriage." They are a religious organization, monks. Fobidding its members from marrying is pretty standard in monasteries. They also aren't celibate, friendship isn't discouraged at all and it's all but stated by Obi-Wan in TCW S6 that romantic feelings are perfectly allowed. Several of the Order's members practice their home planets' culture and religion and language (Barriss has a Mirilian Idol in her room, she Luminara Quinlan etc have cultural tattoos, many characters have accents which implies Basic isn't their first language and others don't speak Basic at all,etc). They have no dress code, they are allowed to drink, smoke, etc., even become part of other religions organizations (see Plo Koon)! Marriage being forbidden is nothing, literally meaningless next to the freedom Jedi have.

If you're gonna critize the Jedi, they have to be wrong.

No, they shouldn't change their whole way of life just because you don't like it.

[justmebeingabitch]

One of the things I particularly love about jedi and that gives me hives when people get wrong is their attitude towards attachment (and I mean what THEY mean when they say attachment which I suspect is a faulty ish translation in the "listen it's not perfect but it's the best word there is in your language" sense)

If Anakin loved Padme instead of just being attached he would have 1 dream of her dying and go straight to the healers to ask for a medical examination no matter what he thought the council would do because love is selfless so as long as she was fine what would it matter? But he's attached so she doesn't actually matter just this idea of their relationship so even while thinking he may be causing her death he doesn't open his trap

Yoda fucking asked and Anakin lied to his face! Worse! Jedi are able to tell when someone's lying so Yoda knew he was lying and respected his boundaries!

#YodaShouldHaveWhackedAnakinOnTheHead

Everybody in the goddam franchise acknowledges the Jedi love but some people in the real world have skulls apparently made of bricks

[fellthemarvelous]

Jedi and attachment

The Jedi Order was around 25,000 years old when it fell at the end of the Clone Wars.

And I've seen people say "the Jedi don't teach emotional regulation" I guess because there are some Jedi who fell, but like, the number of Jedi who didn't fall far outweighs the number of Jedi who did fall.

And that's not to say that Jedi never made mistakes, but none of them gave into their anger and fear and hatred. Mistakes are normal, even for Jedi. Failure is the greatest teacher. They were apparently able to regulate their emotions well enough to actually learn from their mistakes and grow.

I'm not sure which part of "the life of a Jedi is not easy" isn't exactly translating well for some people.

What do people think Qui-Gon meant when he told Anakin being a Jedi would be challenging?

As Yoda said, it is a lifelong struggle not to allow fear to bend into anger. Fear leads to anger leads to hate leads to suffering. The Jedi never stop learning.

The reason they avoid attachments is because attachments distract them from the bigger picture, from their purpose. They are protectors and defenders of life, and they cannot be picky about who they choose to help, regardless of personal feelings.

As Obi-Wan has said, Jedi do not hold grudges. They cannot. They can be upset, yes, but they are given the tools to handle their emotions and often utilize them.

Anakin damned an entire galaxy when he fell to the dark side. The Jedi are not to blame for Anakin's fall. Anakin made his choice, and while he spent thirteen years being groomed by Palpatine, he made the choice to follow Darth Sidious.

ANAKIN FELL BECAUSE OF THE CHOICES HE MADE.

He is the one who slaughtered Jedi younglings. He's the one who slaughtered the Separatist leaders, and even though they were the enemy, they were defenseless and trapped in a room with the most powerful being in the galaxy after being sent there by Sidious and Grievous.

The reason the Jedi were so hesitant to accept him into the Jedi Order was because of his age. He was attached to his mother and his anger over her death is what caused him to slaughter an entire colony of Tusken Raiders. He didn't do it out of love. He did it out of hatred, and revenge is not the Jedi way.

It is not the fault of the Jedi that Anakin could not properly regulate his own emotions. He lied to the Jedi for three years. He hid his relationship with Padme, so how was Yoda supposed to know how to help him properly when he didn't have the full context? Of course his advice seemed bad because Anakin was not being forthcoming about the nature of his relationship with Padme. Yoda did not have a complete picture of Anakin's anxieties at the time, and while you can teach someone how to do something, you cannot control how they put the teachings into practice. You can only hope and trust that they are doing the right thing.

And the thing is, the Jedi would have helped Anakin and Padme. Yoda and Obi-Wan loved Anakin. We saw several instances of just how much Yoda cared about Anakin, especially so at the end of season six of the Clone Wars.

Anakin betrayed the entire Jedi Order because he allowed his fears to consume him. He participated in the genocide of the order he had been part of for thirteen years just to save the life of ONE PERSON who ended up dying anyway BECAUSE of him.

No one has ever said the Jedi Order is perfect because there is no such thing as perfect, but they were not ever the villains. They were never the bad guys. They were pulled into a war orchestrated by Darth Sidious who weaponized the compassion of the Jedi as a way to destroy the order.

When you look at the handful of Jedi who fell and claim that the Jedi "don't teach emotional regulation" you're just erasing all personal accountability from the fallen Jedi WHO MADE THEIR CHOICES.

There is only ONE Jedi (that I am aware of) who fell to the dark side involuntarily, and that was Ahsoka Tano. She was corrupted against her will and then killed. Anakin was able to resurrect her, and while he did a good thing, it only made his fear of losing her again even worse.

Maul murdered Satine and forced Obi-Wan to watch, but Obi-Wan managed to control his emotions and not go on a killing spree. He actually held a dying Maul in his arms. Ahsoka was failed by the Jedi Order, but she didn't fall to the dark side. Yoda lived for 900 years and never once fell to the dark side.

There are a variety of factors that went into Anakin's fall, but he is the one who made the choice to do the monstrous things he did. He was not being mind controlled. He had Jedi training, but he threw all of that away for one person. He gambled the fate of the galaxy on the belief that Palpatine would help him save Padme from dying, knowing that Palpatine was a Sith Lord and knowing that he was the one who was actually responsible for the war. He made a selfish choice at the expense of everyone else in the galaxy and the only person who won in the end was Darth Sidious. It was the biggest lesson that Anakin ever learned.

This is not a failure of "teaching emotional regulation". This is the failure of someone who allowed his personal feelings to overshadow his Jedi training, and he is responsible for the consequences of his own actions.

End note: This is not an Anakin Skywalker bashing post. I love Anakin Skywalker, but he absolutely is to blame for his fall to the dark side. He's a fascinating character. I could write a whole ass separate post on why I love him so much. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is an icon.

[tarisilmarwen]

Frankly all Acolyte did was confirm my long-standing suspicion that a lot of anti-Jedi people are projecting their issues with God/religion onto the Jedi and reacting to that rather than responding to anything the Jedi actually do in-narrative.

[adragonsfriend]

Use this one trick to instantly fix all childhood trauma (Jedi Masters don’t want you to know this)!!!!!

That is what every “if Obi-Wan had just— *adds one extra scene to canon* —then Anakin would’ve had perfect mental health and never listened to Palpatine at all,” sounds like to me. Look I am not an expert on any kind of psychology at all let alone early childhood development but,

It is possible to do your very best to help or raise someone and still have bad or imperfect outcomes, especially when you have someone actively, secretly working against you (cough cough Sith Lord of the month cough), (for many reasons, but in this case particularly), because unravelling the mindset built in early childhood is hard, actually.

Coming at this from the “raised in a safe and loving environment” side of things, it took me years to figure out and internalize that my friends whose parents weren’t as great as mine were functioning in an entirely different landscape when it came to their interactions with adults.

Many years ago when I was in middle school a friend (acquaintance? idk I think most people thought I was annoying) told me that her ankle kept giving out and causing her pain. I asked if she'd told her parents so she could rest or go to the doctor. She told me she had, but her mother either hadn't listened or refused to help. My (approximate) responses?

"So it's not actually that bad then?"

"You should tell her again."

"Are you sure you explained it right?"

The only explanation I could comprehend at the time was that there must have been some unclear communication about the situation or its severity--if her mother had understood she was in pain, she couldn't possibly have just not done anything about it? Adults are responsible, caring, etcetera! They wouldn't do that?!

With more experience, I've come to understand better, and learned to respond in kinder, more helpful ways, but the shift in mindset was not and is not intuitive.

And I had the luxury of figuring all that out whilst being safe myself. Coming from the other direction, being in danger and trying to figure out why other people act like the world is safe? I can't say for sure, but I imagine it’s a lot more complicated.

Point with regard to Star Wars being, it really is harder for Anakin, coming in later, to acclimate to the Jedi ways and thought processes than it is for his peers who grew up in the safe environment of the Temple. And whatever arguments people want to have about how much psychology and therapy exist in the Star Wars universe, or how much “Jedi just do cognitive behavioral therapy” (not totally inaccurate, but reductive on several levels), no matter what the answers to those questions, it will still be harder for Anakin.

There is a reason the council changes its mind on training him only after he is suddenly famous and the Sith are proven to be back. When Anakin was not in significant danger of being snatched up by someone else, it was genuinely probably the easier and safer option—for him and everyone else—for him to live a different life.

The Jedi are not necessarily fully prepared for a child with Anakin's history, and, there is nothing bad about living an ordinary life. Anakin would not have been somehow unforgivably robbed by living life as a mechanic or an engineer or something, rather than being a Jedi.

Anakin is a victim of many things in his life—Sidious, Watto, Gardulla, Tatooine’s everything, his own conscious choices—but he is not a victim of malice, incompetence, or idiocy by the Jedi just because they couldn't—in only a decade or so—help him fully and perfectly unravel the mindset he developed in his early childhood. If there was any lack of qualification on their part, it was one they were aware of—but which was outweighed by the danger of little Anakin getting kidnapped out of normal-kid elementary school.

Being brought up in and around slavery absolutely made him more vulnerable to Sidous and became the basis of their dynamic as master and apprentice. Acting like the trauma that affects his mindset and actions for his entire life can be obliterated just by making minimal changes to the plot is wild to me.

And don’t get me wrong, fics and headcanons can do whatever they want, not everyone wants or is trying to write a deep psychological character study (also fanfic and even fiction in general cannot and should not be held to any standard of realism if it's not serving the story and the author)—simple fix-it’s (my love) are fun and an excellent short-cut to other things like happiness and fluff (my other loves)—but don’t act serious about the idea that adding one conversation about his feelings or one extra explanation about Jedi philosophy would automatically lead to Anakin having perfect mental health outcomes and always making good decisions.

Disclaimer (if the ones throughout weren't enough) : please go forth and do whatever you want. the moral of this post is actually just that (1) you won’t convince me, (2) I wanted to talk about this, (3) the clickbait title was too funny not to post, (4) i literally can't open my mouth without phrasing things like i'm in the middle of a heated debate, and (5) i continue to not be an expert in early childhood development—my evidence is very literally anecdotal

[starbeltconstellation]

Helloooo, to all SW fans! 👋

Sooo, I have decided to make this like a… monthly? 🤔🤔 Reblog, to search for other like minded pro Jedi individuals like myself in the SW fandom, so I can find more of my little fandom corner.

So! 😁 I humbly ask those that are Pro Jedi, and do NOT blame them for their own genocide (🤦‍♀️🤢🥶) to reblog or like this post, so I can follow more SW fandom blogs.

I also would follow fans who are Anakin critical/anti Anakin. Although I’m more of a pro Jedi fan who still has sympathy and SO much love for Anakin’s character (🥲💔❤️), while still realizing the fault lies with himself, I also enjoy reading a lot of critical analysis on his character too.

But any Anakin fans who love him to death like me and aren’t afraid to hear criticism are welcome to like this post too! ❤️

The same goes with pro Jedi/pro clone blogs. The Jedi are my ultimate favorite blorbos, but the clones are also so very dear to me, and I love to read headcanons about them. 💕

Hopefully this isn’t a weird post. Lol. 😅🫣😂 I just thought this was a good way to expand outward into more fandom territory.

Thanks! 😜💕❤️✨

[sierrabravoecho]

Hypocrisy is alive and well in the Harrenhal baths

[redjennies]

Kreia's warning about not trusting Visas Marr would be a lot more meaningful if it wasn't possible to max out her influence and light side points in literally your first two conversations with her entirely on accident. like you don't even have to leave the ship, and Visas is already like: "Friendship Ended with The Sith. The Exile is My Best Friend Now."

[ghouljams]

I do wonder who the rest of the 141 and kortac would be, but I do have some ideas:

Price: Athena (I at first thought Zues, but he'd never cheat on his wife. I just can't see it) Goddess of wisdom and war strategies cause it makes sense. If not Athena, then I could see him as Demeter cause I have Goose brain rot, and who says Ghost only gets with Prices daughter in one universe. Like Demeter Price and Persephone Goose with Hades Ghost just makes my brain purr. There's also just the thought of Price on his little farm harvesting and growing plants after the horrors of the Titan War. He grows sad and cold when his daughter leaves but understands she just wants to be with the one she loves. Maybe he, too, could find a lover to warm his home.

Ghost: Hades cause of the above post, though whether or not he kidnaps her or she just walks down there grabs him by his neck and marries him is up in the air. If not Hades, then probably Hestia just cause the image of this 6-foot heavily scared man being the god of the hearth, home, virginity, and guardian of the flame of olympus makes me cackle. Plus, I saw a head cannon where Hestia gave up her seat to Dionysus so she wouldn't have to be olympus's therapist anymore, and yeah, Ghost would do that. And yes, he abstains from sex cause he's traumatized, but that doesn't mean he can't have a companion. Or this one's on the nose, but Thanatos, plus him getting trapped in a box and having to be rescued, makes me cackle too.

Soap: Apollo god of the sun and creativity because he's good with his hands, and I always saw soap as a guy with a sister who loves his mom. Plus, the angst of Apollo soap never getting requited love is ooph. He's just very passionate and often times that leads to his lovers getting turned into plants. If not him, then Hermes or Dionysus could work, too. I could see him being Dionysus and giving people who piss him off madness. And just throwing great parties, if he does take Hestias seat and becomes olympus's new therapist, he'd definitely open a bar and make fancy drinks while listening to people's troubles.

Gaz: Nike just cause if Price becomes Athena, then Nike is Athenas companion, and Gaz is Prices companion. If not Nike, then maybe hear me out, but Ares (who canonically has a pretty boy face under his fearsome mask) cause, let's be honest, Gaz would steal your girl with a smile. I could also see Ares Gaz as the protector of women and very respectful of them. He still will use his good looks to get them in his bed, and because of that, he has so many daughters. He becomes thee girldad by accident. And if not either of them, Hermes cause trickster god of messages who is best friends with Apollo soap makes sense for him too.

Laswell: Either Hestia or Hera and if she is Hera she's definitely plotting to murder her husband and marry her wife.

Nikto: Hephaestus

Konig: ngl I struggled with this one, but hear me out, Dionysus konig. Dionysus is interesting cause he's the god of wine, parties, madness, and rebirth. And while you could say konig couldn't be Dionysus cause he has anxiety, I would argue he still could be, but more so as someone who watches over and plans parties. He just brings the wine to get the debauchery started. Voyeur könig anyone? Also, a lot of Dionysus's riuals and sacrifices are very bloody and involve dismemberment. Dionysus can be a very scary god when he wants to be, and I like that about him. Plus, just imagine him and Ariadne with the "you dont like the murder" sound. As for anyone else, he could be idk, maybe Artemis loner, goddess of the moon, and the hunt. Could definitely see könig Artemis snipe perverts and protect virgins.

Kruger: Eris goddess of chaos cause why not. If not Eris, then hear me out he's one of Aphrodites kids (not Eros, cause I like to think Eros is Hephaestus Nikto and Aphrodites love child). But he could def be mania and is constantly giving Nikto problems because everyone goes to him cause they know Aphrodite reader won't punish him properly. She's a gentle parent, though that does mean her kids aren't disciplined correctly, but thankfully, only Kruger gets in trouble. (I also thought of this cause of that one fanart where Nikto leaves Kruger with the 141, and they call Nikto to come pick him up)

Horangi: I also struggled with him, too, cause I'll be honest. I don't know much about him besides him being a konigs friend. But when I think of him, I could see him being either Artemis, Thanatos, Ananke, greek goddess of inevitability, or if you're feeling adventurous, Posiden. He could also be one of Aphrodites kids but one of her more chill kids.

So for the most part I want to keep Nikto in his own au mostly so I can use/abuse the other gods without worrying about my own headcanons for them.

that said :eyes: at Goose as Persephone... I was going to disagree with you on Ghost being Hades but you have persuaded me with just that concept alone.

Here's the problem is I think I could make a solid argument for Ghost to take the place of multiple gods because his character can be interpreted so many different ways. I am so desperately begging people to pitch me Ghost doing things other than mask/skull/violence when it comes to aus.

Anyway I'm just going to be talking about gods under the cut, rambling if you will

Price as Demeter I sort of fuck with severely, not as a god of plenty but as a god of famine and loss. Willing to take away family and fruit in equal measure if that's what it takes to do his job. There's something very "every greek god is a god of war if you piss them off enough" about Demeter that speaks to a slow death, a rapid but lengthy decline. The crops wither and the livestock dies. Your children insist on joining the war, you receive only their letters until the letters stop coming, you know that you've displeased the gods but you cannot say how or why.

On the other hand, Price is an exceptional tactician and would kill as Athena. He's a warrior but he's a smart one, doesn't tend to rush into things, instead he holds his soldiers back and tries to play things by the book, until he can't any longer and must take action into his own hands. Athena is a great fit for him and a role that would be easy to slot him into.

Gaz I also love as Athena though ugh. I could also slot him into Apollo or Helios just for the irony of a man who's fallen from a helicopter twice being forced to cart the sun across the sky. Lots of jokes to be made there. I will say that when I was first thinking about the hephastus!Nikto au I slotted Gaz into Ares' space, but I don't like the idea of Gaz spreading rumors that he's sleeping with poor aphrodite, because it feels mmmmmoderately out of character for him. I think he's more in line with manipulating you into his arms rather than straight up lying about sleeping with you. This man doesn't have to lie about having you in his bed, he'll talk you into it.

Lemme hit you with this one: Gaz as Artemis. The sniper skills would transfer beautifully to a hunter god, and I like the idea that he's so busy with his work he's just never had a need to find a lover thus earning him the title of "virgin god"

Alternatively: Hypnos. I like a man that visits me in my dreams, and I could probably write a whole book about Gaz playing both savior and boogey-man to a poor sleepy thing that just wants one night not being visited by haunting visions.

Soap as Apollo, yeah... yeah accurate. I can't really place him well anywhere else. I think there's already something exceptionally golden about him that translates well to Apollo, and you're right about him having terrible luck in love. An Apollo/Daphne retelling would be right up his alley.

I think my other pick for him might be Ganymede. Not a god per-se but in this au we'd count the cup bearer as a god. Just the idea that he's so pretty the king of the gods swooped down and snatched him up just to make him his personal boy-toy? Soap would be so down. He'd be salivating for the chance.

Ghost as Hades but not because of the skull imagery. He's a lonely god, relegated to the underworld because he doesn't like the big and flashy, and only showing up to events when he has to because he doesn't like the crowds. He prefers being alone after being crammed in his father's stomach with the rest of his siblings, has gone through hell worse than any of the new gods can imagine, growing up within the bitter sting of acid and the childish pleas to just let him die before he grew up and realized no one was coming to save him, and the best he could do was find a way to live with the pain. The burns still cover him, seared into his skin so that he never forgets the agony of digestion. His aversion to eating is less noticeable when he's around the dead, when the most he can stomach are fruits and bread, the other gods feast on fat and meat. And well, he just can't do it, not when he's smelled his own flesh burning.

(and of course he's shocked to find precious Persephone insisting that they marry when he's sure that he'll repulse her once she finds out what he is beneath the mask and heavy robes. More so when she breaks into his house and tells him she's staying.)

Hestia though??? Oh baby you're cooking with gas. He wants nothing more than to stay out of the politics of god-hood. And you're right I love making Ghost anxious about sex because of his own assaults.

However Laswell as Hestia??? The ceaseless watcher, privy to conversations mortal and divine because there's a hearth in every home, in every bedroom on olympus. She knows all things and keeps the information close until she can use it. Not the virgin god that mortals think she is just because she's never laid with a man, after all her wife keeps her more than satisfied...

Nikolai as Poseidon perhaps. Another old god, but this one eager to explore the world, eager to lap his waves against virgin shores, if you know what I mean. He's not looking to rule the gods, but that doesn't mean he isn't a force to be reckoned with. He'll take whatever offerings he's given, meat, wine, women, men? Just leave them on his shores and he'll find his way to them eventually. There may be a string of broken hearts in his wake, but who would dare try to hold onto the ocean?

And I suppose Konig as Dionysus maybe? I think the madness he inspires is a good fit, but I don't see him as particularly social so partying is fairly off the table. Also I don't think the rest of the gods would like him enough to give up a seat for him lol. The voyeur aspect is incredibly tempting I will give you that. I could make it work, but only because he's such a blank slate.

The rest I don't write for and don't know well enough to comment on, sorry!

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

Many people have taken one look at this and inmediately leaped to the conclusion that Jedi forbid emotions. Which is, huh… interesting.

What people don't realize is that the Jedi Order are a religious organization, and as such they have their own sacred texts, such as this meditation mantra (because yeah, that's the only time it's ever mentioned, during meditation).

And the trick about this kind of texts is that they're not meant to be taken literally. You're not supposed to take it at face value, you're supposed to think about it, reflect about it, and then interpretate it. I'm sure the average "fan" hasn't actually thought about it beyond "code bad Jedi evil", nevermind that it's not actually the Jedi Code mentioned in the films.

Since it's a meditation mantra, one used to focus to make connecting with the Force easier, it makes perfect sense that this is how you should feel when using the Force.

You shouldn't be overwhelmed with emotions or passions, you shouldn't act if you don't have knowledge. This is obvious: if you can command the essence of life, then maybe you should actually be in the state of mind to do it.

However, the other lines of "no chaos but harmony" and "no death but the Force" don't fit into this. So, what do they mean?

Here is the other version of the Code. It was seen for the first time in the Kanan comics, and is arguably more canon than the previous one.

(People have called it the Gray Jedi Code, which is hilarious in and on itself and another point in favor of the argument that the so called Gray Jedi are just canon Jedi.)

I'm sure everyone can agree that this one is good.

Feel, but find peace in your emotions. Know nothing, but figure it out. Suffer, but look past it to find serenity. Just like there is chaos, there is harmony. And just like there is death, there is the Force.

But what if I told you that both Codes are saying the same thing?

I know, I know. You probably think I'm crazy, but… what if they're saying the same things, in different ways?

To expand on the interpretation that the first one is how you should be when using the Force (and I admit with my whole chest that this is my interpretation), we can say that the Force isn't naturally things like emotion and chaos. They are only what we bring with us.

That doesn't make them any less real. They are, and they are important, but they are subjective experiences. Everyone will have different emotions, different passions, different things they are ignorant of. Even death, even as it will come for everyone, is something private and personal. I don't know what X person felt or thought when they died.

However, things like peace, harmony and the Force are universal.

Chaos (noun): "complete disorder and confusion." "the property of a complex system whose behaviour is so unpredictable as to appear random"

Dictionary definition, bear with me. "Whose behavior is so unpredictable as to appear random". It isn't random, it has patterns and reasons to happen just like everything else. We simply don't know those patterns. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Just because we don't know something doesn't mean we can't learn it. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. Therefore there is no such thing as chaos, not really, just a pattern, an order, a harmony, we don't know yet. First definition is about human reaction, not anything about the object itself. There is no chaos, there is harmony.

Emotion, ignorance, passion, chaos, even death. They are all feelings, subjective experiences, things that, ultimately, can change as you find new understanding (well, death only happens once and is permanent but you get the point). But inner peace, knowledge (about situations, about people's reactions), serenity and harmony are all universal. They exist, and will exist long after we die, we just have to find them.

And, long as we remember people, as we understand that all lives have left a mark, big or small, we will keep those who have passed alive within our hearts.

Death, yet the Force. There is no death, there is the Force. Or, perhaps…

"(The Force)'s an energy field created by all living things" Obi-Wan Kenobi, ANH

"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter" Yoda, ESB

"No one's ever really gone" Luke Skywalker, TLJ

Death, yet the essence of living beings. There is no death, there is life.

[gentlemanmotorslifestyle]

[bookatans]

After reading Dooku: Jedi Lost it's so hard not to get stuck on how his closest mentors happened to be on the opposite side of a very complex spectrum and how that has just as much to do with the way Dooku's opinions of both the Jedi and the Republic were formed as much as his years of messaging Jenza.

On one hand, you have Yoda, who we all know. "Wise and inscrutable," as Sifo-Dyas put it. Yoda is the picture of what a Jedi is supposed to aspire to be. He is the be all, end all of Jedi-hood. Under Yoda's teaching, Dooku was placed in a position where he forced himself to be the best — already an issue he faced before becoming a padawan.

On the other, you have Lene Kostana. From the first time meet her in the audiobook, they tell you that Lene Kostana is someone that the Jedi Council scrutinize and don't take seriously. Her interests in Sith history are seen as irrelevant more than they seem dangerous. Everyone is blind to the idea that the Sith could make a return, while she's preparing herself for a potential – and, to her, ineviteable – ressurection of the Sith.

In a perfect world, these two opposing forces would create a balance where Dooku might be able to learn from two teachers whose ideals might clash, but could ultimately be interwoven to form something coherent.

But this isn't a perfect world. From the very beginning, Dooku already has conflicts of interest, and they only add on over time. He's in contact with Jenza – a sister a Jedi is not supposed to have–, he struggles with an attachment to Sifo-Dyas, he has a tendency to let his emotions get the better of him.

Of course, all padawans have struggles that they have to face, but Dooku's are exacerbated by a couple of facts: Yoda is an absent Master when his responsibilities to the Council override his teaching, and Lene – who Dooku already knows is different, who Dooku originally wanted as his Master! – is the one who continues to mentor him when that happens.

Lene Kostana is not a perfect master. Of course, neither is Yoda, but Lene makes her deviation from the typical Jedi known and doesn't shy away from it. She's unapologetic in her search for Sith history, and while Dooku might find that fascinating, we as the readers can see where the faults lay, where that obsession begins to override everything and begin that rift in Dooku's faith and trust in the Jedi.

They suffer a traumatizing experience that unquestionably affects Dooku and makes Sifo-Dyas' visions worse, and what does Lene do? She asks Dooku to keep this a secret from the Council, because the Council already wants her to stop what she's doing. Then, when Sifo's visions do continue to get worse, she asks Dooku to hide it and places in him the fear that the Jedi will do something terrible to Sifo-Dyas, like institutionalize him. Lene tells him over and over again that the Jedi Council is not perfect either– tells him to be weary of them, that they''re afraid.

In contrast, when a situation comes up where the Council do find out about something else that's against the Code within the Jedi, Yoda tells Dooku that they would've helped had they been trusted and known, but Dooku doesn't believe him. He's even shocked and disillusioned by the Jedi taking legal matters into their own hands.

This isn't to say Lene's influence or Yoda's paragon status shaped Dooku into what he became. Everyone had a hand in that, Dooku himself most of all. Circumstances fell into place to create that path. Ultimately, it was Dooku's own hubris that became his downfall.

But, shit, having those two wildly different people to guide him sure as hell didn't make it any better.

[tarisilmarwen]

"The Jedi gatekept the Force!"

Ah yes. That's why they coexisted very peaceably with the Baran Do sages, the Bardottan Dagoyan Masters, the Guardians of the Whills, the Church of the Force, the Lasat, the Mirialens, and hell even the Nightsisters.

......I'm not actually sure you know what gatekeeping means.

[thehollowprince]

One of the things I don't think enough people appreciate about Mace Windu was that he was essentially the leader of the Jedi Order. There's this weird misconception that Yoda, as Grandmaster, was the one in charge and that Mace was his right-hand-man or second-in-command, when in reality it was the other way around.

The title of Grandmaster was a title given to the oldest and wisest of the Order. Yoda is most definitely wise and powerful, but the title was given to him on account of his age and status within the order, whereas Mace was elected to lead the governing body of the Order as a whole.

To put it in more understanding terms, Yoda was the Head of State whereas Mace was the Head of Government. Yoda was the monarch (or more accurately, the President), and Mace was the Prime Minister.