#jedimasterjaina

[crossdressingdeath]

Have you read “Yet Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves” by Oscar Wilde? Because I am thinking about Durgetash and rotating this poem in my head… (sorry if this is weird, long time lurker/reblogger, first time asking off anon!)

I'm not one for poetry, honestly. The title's familiar. But it's always fun when you find something with strong blorbo energy.

[swtorpadawan]

Any advice for getting SWTOR OCs to talk to you? I have a few who seem really interesting, put they won’t let me know anything real about themselves…

Oof. You and me both, @jedimasterjaina

Alright - I've got one pitch for you. But its really dry, and it highlights just how much of a dork I am.

Setup a spreadsheet with the names of all your toons. Then use other columns to set up fields for specific biographical information.

Some fields I use include "Homeworld", "OTP", "Parents", "Fear/Phobia", "Mentor", etc. These may not apply to all characters, but its a start.

Now…. what's missing? Let's fill in some blanks! What's the homeworld of [Character X] ?

Oh - you picked Nar Shaddaa? Cool. That's certainly a happening planet. Someone can learn and experience all sorts of distinctive things on a place like that.

What did your character go through on a planet like that? How did they grow up? What took place for them on a world where there seems to be so much suffering and corruption? How did they get out?

How does all that inform on who your character is now, and the choices you make with them in the game story?

Its not much, but its a start?

[your-turn-to-role]

Like, I’m torn, because on one hand Caleb revenge fantasy murdering these guys is super cathartic (for both him and me lol), but on the other hand, Caleb, sweetie, gruesome murder isn’t what we call a “health coping mechanism,” you know?

oh there was nothing healthy about this whatsoever

and honestly i don’t think caleb expected this at all

like in the past he’s always been so patient with fellow scourgers, giving them much more leeway and kindness than he ever would himself

but being back here, especially being down there, like. trauma does that, it’s a literal trigger, 11 years of being helpless and going through who knows what? just seeing that place is gonna kick up the fight/flight/freeze response and he’s done running away (also, none of his kills were with fire, so mechanically he didn’t even risk dissociation, which i thought was, interesting)

liam/caleb kept saying no one there was innocent, half caleb’s brain’s gone out the window and he’s hurt and he’s angry and right now he can’t really spare the energy to care about all these people he’d normally feel so sorry for

i’ll be interested to see how he takes this if they all get out of there fine, but uh, let’s have some more trauma first!

[bravest-notts]

Hi! Random question, I know, but I’ve fallen down the Widojest rabbit hole HARD on Ao3, and I keep seeing the amazing fics from authors on the discord server, and I was wondering if I could get an invite? Is the community still active?

i am technically in the server but haven't opened it in like... a full year and a half ahdkdjdj i could not begin to tell you if its active or what. check the notes of this post in a bit tho, i can guarantee ppl will respond with more info and a link (i can't seem to make one anymore lol)

[mylordshesacactus]

Can you share more about fake avatar guy in your AU if you’re up for it?

This one’s been sitting in my inbox until I got a chance to think about it!

Fake Avatar Guy (TM), the Firelord’s son.

The awful thing is--when you have connections, it’s so easy to fake.

This is before the White Lotus, before there was any formal system in place to identify the Avatar. Oh, the Sages, of course--but as evidenced by ATLA, even Sages can be corrupted. And this was at least a hundred years pre-Kyoshi; systems of communication and formal methods of identifying Avatar candidates, especially if the spirit reincarnates in a distant rural village, aren’t up to the level we see by Aang’s time.

It’s so easy to fake.

Especially because of the simple fact that the Avatar is not traditionally told their identity until they’re sixteen.

So...it takes some doing. I genuinely don’t think the Firelord knows about the deception, because I don’t want to make the Fire Nation the “big bad” again and because I’m so in love with the image of leaving an episode on a cliffhanger of the Firelord standing with all his guards outside Girlfriend’s house...and then they show up safe and sound, because he was never the enemy.

But also, a twelve-year-old raised by that person would not come up with a plan, on his own, to pretend to be the Avatar. 

By the time we hit the series proper, the kid’s deeply invested in the scam because of the influence and false respect it earns him, but it was clearly thought up by some adult ringleader. He was clearly, at first, manipulated.

And it’s....so easy. Get extremely skilled benders from all four nations, benders who can, like Bumi, bend the elements with very small or nontraditional movements. Present them as non-bending specialists. Get your “in” at the palace--some advisor or other, a power-hungry noble, someone close to the prince--to place them as the young prince’s bodyguards. 

Wait. Wait for at least six months. So that when the kid makes a movement and an element suddenly bends that isn’t fire, the change won’t be directly tied to these new guards.

And well, no need to find some SAGES to confirm his identity, not anymore. It’s pretty obvious. Look! The kid’s waterbending!

There will be sages who know the truth, of course. Who can tell that the Avatar spirit is absent here...but there are these extremely dangerous specialist guards, and these are only the handful directly assigned to the false Avatar. And it’s immediately obvious that there’s a deadly powerful spirit magician on hand, as well.

oh, you could decry the false Avatar. You could search for and seek to protect the real one.

And you would lead this extremely dangerous, well-organized small band of benders directly to the real one. Untrained, and undefended.

They choose not to. They pray, fervently, that the true Avatar knows to hide.

I think....that the final confrontation is not a boss fight. Not even full Last Agni Kai style where it’s just sad. I think that ultimately a major theme here is going to be not like, a Big Bad represented by one nation, but...the final confrontation, the final battle so to speak, the finale--it’s going to be about unity. About the community protecting itself and one another against forces trying to divide it.

 I think the true Avatar is capable of understanding that the false one, while responsible for his actions...was also manipulated. And has been led to believe that he has no other value.

I don’t know whether she has to kill him. It’s possible he’s not even a bender at all and never was, and when his “guards” are taken out he can be apprehended by the airbenders without causing further harm. It’s possible she talks him down. I’ll admit, I don’t know the “plot” of this story past about mid-”season two”.

It’s possible, if so, that he’s the one who gets casually taken out during that attack on the Air Temple, a blow from his own side to silence him. It’s possible he is the one our hero is healing when she finally unlocks the Avatar State.

I’m not sure. I think his intentions have been malicious, I think he’s been an active collaborator. But in order for the deception to work, he HAS to have been indoctrinated into this from a young age. Our hero is, maybe, nineteen when the story opens. He’s by definition her age. And he has to have been firmly established as the Avatar by age sixteen in order to pull off the deception, and the fact is that a fourteen-year-old boy uncoached could not pull this off. He’s responsible for his own actions, but he--like Azula, frankly--is also a victim.

I don’t want to portray him as evil. I want to portray him as a kid who was an entitled bully, and is mad that his power has been taken away, and for most of this has absolutely been out for revenge because he just lost everything. But I want to tell a story about how there is no such thing as having gone so far in that you can’t stop and choose to do better from now on. And...frankly? I think there’s a difference between being an entitled bully, and being willing to set children on fire.

I think there’s a lot of space between being a good person and being irredeemable. And that there’s a lot of space between being irredeemable, and being forgiven.

Listen...he’ll never be Firelord after this. I think it’s very possible that, when the dust clears, especially if the true Avatar saved his life, he’s only too willing to let his younger sibling take his place and quietly disappear. Become a person.

He’s had enough of chasing a destiny. It brought no one anything but pain.

His family doesn’t...wash their hands of him. But he did some shit, y’all. At the very least, they’re gonna need some time before they welcome him back. He doesn’t like, become an Atoner. Zuko this dude is not. But there’s a place for him in the world as a human being.

You become the person you choose to be, and that person is shaped by the community you choose to be a part of.

It’s also possible that she offers him this choice, and he rejects it. That--honestly, more than anything that would put her in the mindset of “I can’t do it, I’m not a real Avatar”. That she saves the Air Temple but doesn’t feel like it was a victory, and then is narratively given a chance to realize that the Avatar is more than a weapon, that her power can be used in a way that brings her and others peace.

You become the person you choose to be. She’s going to try to talk him down. And he’s going to make a choice.

[semper-draca]

Hi I just wanted to let you know that I read your entire SW fic on AO3 for the first time, and I love it so much! I haven’t slept in two days cause I couldn’t put it down (metaphorically speaking)!

ajghadfgkjljkafdg omg I’m so thrilled to hear that you liked it so much! yeah haha it is.... not short. takes a while to read XD

(also go get some sleep lol) 

[gildedmouths]

Can I get a biblomance verse?

acts 23:9 9 Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

[pbscore]

5

5 and 3 seem to be the most common choices for me!! 😊🌿🌤🐛

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Can I request “Everyone is a leetle bit gay” pls?

leetle bit

Askbox is currently closed as I work my way through these older asks

[fire-siblings-week]

How about rituals, theatre, and stealth?

Yessss I like these. Thank you!! 

-mod celia

[earlybirds-atla-au]

Probably not relevant to the first book, but are we going to see Piandao in this AU? He seems like he’s in the right age group...

I do want to get him in on this mess, but I’m not sure how yet. Especially since idk what his timeline is - has he already told Azulon to fuck off and retired to his mansion in the countryside, or is he still out there loyally slicing people up?

…Now I’m picturing Azulon knocking on Piandao’s front gate with a gift basket, begging him to come back to work and help with this Avatar debacle, so it might just have to be the former.

(your username is amazing, btw. I miss me some Solo kids.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Can you give those Queer Canadian Anglicans some words of support? The church lost the vote for same sex marriage....

Absolutely. My heart aches for queer / LGBTQA+ Anglicans in Canada after hearing the news that the Anglican Church of Canada’s proposed vote to approve same-sex marriage failed. It hurts so much to be a part of a tradition that doesn’t recognize your full dignity in the eyes of God -- i’m so sorry this happened. 

i pray that the Holy Spirit will enfold those who are hurting in comfort in love. i pray that those who voted down this amendment will have their hearts softened and changed over time. i pray that allies will be moved to fight harder and support the LGBTQA+ members in their midst more vocally and actively than ever before.

if you are hurting after this announcement, remember:

According to the article i linked above, lay voters and members of the clergy were more than two-thirds in favor of the motion. While it’s hard to know that many people don’t affirm you, it is a beautiful thing that there are so many people in your church who are on your side. 

Some of those people have been performing marriages for LGBTQ couples for years and plan on continuing to do so “whether the church specifically prohibits it or not.” God bless their defiance of unjust doctrine!  

Along with many people on your side, rest in the knowledge that God is on your side. God has a special care for those who are oppressed and shoved to the margins, and moves always to bring about justice. 

You are Good and beautifully loved by the One who made you, just as you are. Your love is good and holy, your way of living and being in the world is good and holy. No human being or institution can strip that Truth away from you.

If you need time to grieve, please take it. If you can, reach out to the God who loves you for comfort. If there are people you can reach out to, ask for their support too. You don’t have to go through this pain alone.

[swtorpadawan]

If you want, tell us about the original Havoc Squad members (the ones who defected)?

Ask Me About SWTOR NPCs Thanks for the ask @jedimasterjaina !

Oh - I've got some stuff here, post KOTET.

For the record, Illaynah Antilles is my trooper in the Halcyon Legacy, so much of these head-canons involve her choices.

Harron Tavus status in the Republic is… complicated. He cooperated after his surrender, but its not like anyone will trust him. Saresh certainly didn't feel like bringing him back into the fold, especially not after Garza retired. He likes quietly on Coruscant in an apartment, closely monitored by the SIS.

Ryler Dorant - aka Needles - was killed by Illaynah and Jorgan on Taris. Eckard Lokin later retrieved most of his rakghoul research, which doesn't make anyone nervous.

Vanto Bazren - aka Fuse - helped Illaynah on Tatooine, saving lives. After his surrender, he became a trainer and analyst on demolitions, though his security clearance and field certification aren't restored. He doesn't regret returning to the Republic, but his life was rather boring. Years later, the Alliance - at Illaynah's request - would negotiate for him to be allowed to transfer to the Alliance. Fuse ultimately joins the new Havoc Squad, effectively taking Tanno Vik's place. The latest iteration of the Squad usually only takes special missions.

Bex Kolos - aka Gearbox - was killed on Alderaan. The Empire (and the Republic) would both eventually conclude that his Plan B walker was impractical for mass production.

Zora - aka Wraith - … actually survived the confrontation with Illaynah on the Justice. (This is canon-divergent.) What Garza did to her afterwards… well. That may be a story for another day.

Thanks again for the asks!

[unseendeity]

Hi, I was wondering if I could request a sigil? I’m doing a lot of traveling, and seem to get a lot of creepy crawlys in my bed, so something to repel them maybe?

Oof sure thing! :)

[bedlamsbard]

Yo, do you have any good journals to recommend to find acedemic articles about Delphi? Sincerely, a rushe PoliSci major wondering why she keeps taking classic courses

oh man, ancient Greece is not my thing.  There’s the Journal of Hellenic Studies, and I think if you go on your university’s library website and search the journals section for “classical studies” that will turn up a few.  @nitensalis, can you be more help here, maybe?  I know Roman journals but not Greek ones.

[gildedmouths]

Hi! I usually say structured prayers (Angelus, Divine Office), with no physical movements like folding my hands or anything, just while I’m lying on my bed. If I’m out and about and say a brief prayer (either mentally or quietly) usually of thanks/admiration, I try to touch my crusafix necklace as a focus on the Sacred!

How does one get started praying the divine office?thank you for your answer!