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cienie-isengardu · 6 days ago

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Cienie's take on Mandalorian Culture: Arasuum, the God of Death, not Sloth #2

The Funeral Rites of Taungs and later Mandalorian Warriors. <> Kad Ha’rangir and Mandalorian traditional weapons (part 1 — part 2 — part 3 – part 4 – part 5) <> Arasuum, the God of Death, not Sloth (part 1 — part 2 — part 3 — part 4)

The first part was an introduction to my theory that Arasuum is not the god representing laziness, but death. I based my reasoning on the Mandalorian language that distinguishes between stagnation and laziness, as one word is not derived from another but also pointed out a visible correlation between gods names and their roles, in which laziness does not fit what the sources provided so far for Mandalorian gods. Thus laziness as Arasuum’s attribute seems to me more like modern interpretation than the original meaning behind the myth.

Establishing those two important nuances, it is time to look closely at the source material and their nature. In advance, I must warn that this part is focused on examining the sources as much as the religion itself, as text critical analysis is a natural part of widely understood research.

Keeping in that mind, let’s talk about source material.

Ancient Mandalorians were presented as religious society that once worshiped many gods before the war became a divine itself - the claim dates at least to “History of the Mandalorians” from Star Wars Insider #80, 2005. From 2005 to current day, there are three main sources that influenced fandom’s idea of Arasuum and his role in mandalorian mythology:

Mandalorian: People and Culture [Star Wars Insider #86, 2006]

Industry. Honor. Savagery: Shaping the Mandalorian Soul [The Essential Guide to Warfare, 2012]

Death Watch Manifesto [The Bounty Hunter Code, From Files of Boba Fett, 2013]

The Star Wars Insider’s article was written by Karen Traviss, whose Republic Commando book series shaped and popularized the modern Mandalorians[1]. This piece was published on February 21, 2006, which chronologically predates Republic Commando: Triple Zero, released on February 28, 2006. A lot of presented here ideas were either already part of the author's previous work (Hard Contact book and Omega: Targets short story) or will be exploited more in further novels. Understandably then, Mandalorians: People and Culture is more of an introduction to the world of Mandalorians than an ultimate guide - though a great chunk of presented in article material built the ground for writing of other authors and fans alike, it is hard to miss how it contradicts itself on some vital matters.

The article starts with the opening quote from in-universe “Mandalorians: Identity and Language”, published by the Galactic Institute of Anthropology:

In five millennia, the Mandalorians fought with and against a thousand armies on a thousand worlds. They learned to speak as many languages and absorbed weapons technology and tactics from every war. And yet, despite the overwhelming influence of alien cultures, and the absence of a true home world and even species, their own language not only survived but changed little; their way of life and their philosophy remained untouched; and their ideals and sense of family, of identity of nation, were only strengthened. Armor is not what makes a Mandalorian. Armor is simply a manifestation of an impenetrable, unassailable heart.

This passage gives us a sense of what the Mandalorians are - or rather how they are seen by the unnamed author(s). But this is a very romanticized if not outright idealized description, based more on wishful thinking than a “facts” (lore) itself.

For one, Mandalorians’ way of life did not remain untouched, as they changed from independent military force (Mandalorian Crusaders and Neo-Crusaders) into people mainly engaged in mercenary work due to lost Mandalorian Wars (3976-3960 BBY) and if we include much later New Canon, they changed from warriors to pacifist (738 BBY). Majority of Mandalorians’ inner conflicts were in fact about what Mandalorians should be, because there was no common, universal identity all people could cling to anymore. And yes, the majority of (Legends) Mandalorians saw themselves as warriors, but that was not enough to avoid schisms and civil wars.

To name the major examples, the first real friction happened just before and during the Mandalorian Wars, between traditional Crusaders and the New-Crusaders whose philosophy and purpose deviated from the universally accepted norms. Among those “oddities” was establishing color-themed armors and using them as official ranks or mass-forcing people into the Mandalorian army - something that more traditional Mandalorians like Mandalore the Ultimate or Gummig did complain about through the comics series of KotOR and spin-off sources. The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide (2008) openly states that

The traditional Crusaders do not proselytize; rather, they attract others to their cause through the examples they set. Veterans see the later Neo-Crusaders movement, which actively converts outsiders in its hurry to conquer the galaxy, as a perversion.

After the war, a great number of Mandalorians became mercenaries and Canderous Ordo needed decades to rebuild the sense of warrior honor and reunite scattered Mandalorians under his banner. For his effort, he earned the name Mandalore the Preserver. And yet the discord between warriors following the old traditions and those turning into mercenaries or outright bandits preying on the weaker grew stronger. This cultural shift has never been fully merged back and so three to four centuries later, we have another ideological conflict between Mandalorians, this time those following Mandalore the Avenger (Shae Vizsla) and Heta Kol, the Field Marshal of Hidden Chain. The clash again came down to the mercenaries vs warriors/crusaders mindset that we could sum up with Heta Kol’s quote:

In Shae Vizla, I see only hypocrisy. She has driven out those who oppose her view, yet she has remade the Mandalorians into servants of anyone who pays her enough credits--no matter what they believe. Where is the honor in that?" [The Old Republic game]

Similar conflict happened decades before Clone Wars, between True Mandalorians under Jaster Mereel and later Jango Fett’s leadership and Death Watch led by Tor Vizsla. Depending on the sources, Jaster Mereel either saw Mandalorians just as highly paid soldiers (as stated in Jango Fett: Open Seasons) or brought reforms to bring Mandalorians back to the more honorable ways (as presented in majority of tie-in sources), while Tor Vizsla wished to bring back Mandalorians to their conquering galaxy roots[2].

If we include New Canon, the mandalorian conflict takes even more drastic shape, this time between exiled warriors and those who renounced their war culture for pacifism.

Which proves that in the main historic eras presented in lore, Mandalorians may share the same skills, be part of the same war culture, yet there is no “only right one” identity or philosophy that unites all people and during the inner conflicts, a great chunk of Mandalorians will consider their ideological opponents as “dar’manda”[3], or traitors regardless if they follow cultural norms or not. The Mandalorian style of life has changed and changed in a way that left their culture fractured and torn between seeking independence and rebuilding the Mandalorian Empire or accepting the life of mercenaries or even rejecting both ideologies for non violent, peaceful life.

A similar thing may be said about language, because the way people speak naturally evolves with passing time and is a reflection of their culture and historical period they lived in. For Mandalorian language to remain the same for such a large period of time - five millenia, as quote states - its speakers would need either to die out or at least live in isolation, cut off from the rest of the galaxy. Which in both cases we know is not true.

We need to remember that the post-Mandalorian Wars era is a time in which the original Mandalorians (Taungs) died out, replaced by human and non-human people adopted into culture before and during war. As then-current Mandalore the Ultimate noted himself, Mandalorians faced problems they never before had, including the new wave of recruits and not enough time to teach them their culture:

“So many new recruits. Different species, different armors, different languages - and not enough time to learn our ways”. [Knight of the Old Republic, #20]

Which is a valid reason to assume that original mando’a at some point was influenced by new recruits’ native languages, especially Basic. Because if there was no time or opportunity to teach a mass of people (often forced into the Mandalorian army against their will), then naturally all the gaps in linguistic knowledge will be filled by things “newcomers” actually knew and understood.

Going further, The Mandalorians: People and Culture provides information that:

Mando’a is predominantly a spoken language, and contractions and pronunciation variations occur much as they do among Basic speakers

and that

The infinitive ends in -ir, -ar, -ur, -or, or -er. Removing the “r” usually produces the stem, e.g.: jurir - to bear or carry. Sometimes an apostrophe separates the terminal vowel, to indicate the slight glottal stop of some Mandalorian accents. This apostrophe, known as a beten, or sigh -- as in Mando’s -- can also indicate breathing, pronunciation, or dropped letters. So ni juri kad (I carry a saber) or even ni jur’kad is a correct as ni juri kad in some communities.

Spelling and punctuation have optional forms so it’s hard to get it wrong. What other species might take for sloppy grammar, Mandalorians embrace as the right of the individual Mando’ad (son or daughter of Mandalore) to add their own touches to their language, much as they customize their armor.

If we agree that mando’a words can be pronounced however each Mandalorian feels like, then it is natural the language may vary from one speaker to another, and with passing time creating specific dialects for individual clans or even the whole region. For example, Concord Dawn is part of the Mandalorian Sector. The article noted

[Mandalorians] are still predominantly human, and a large percentage of the population shows genetic markers typical of the peoples of Concord Dawn and nearby planets. Although there is no true Mandalorian ethnic type, the prevalence of common gene clusters indicates that specific populations were either absorbed by the Mandalorians or joined them.

and yet, Concord Dawn, despite such historical and cultural strong ties to Mandalorians, has its own dialect[4] that is apparently still close enough to mando’a to be understand by Mandalorians however it has its own distinct words that make communication difficult.

“It wasn't Mando'a, but it was close enough for any Mandalorian to understand”. (Republic Commando: Order 66)

Commander Bacara was originally trained by one of the few non-Mandalorian instructors, an ex-Journeyman Protector named Cort Davin from the Concord Dawn system. [...] Bacara found it difficult to converse in Mandalorian with his brethren as he learned the peculiar dialect of Concord Dawn, which used words like “tat” instead of “vod” for “brother”. (Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic, published in Star Wars Insider: 84)

The moon of Mandalore, Concordia, apparently also has its own dialect[5], as mentioned by The Clone Wars in The Mandalore Plot episode:

Satine Kryze: He was speaking in the dialect they use on Concordia, our moon.

A dialect that the Duchess of Mandalore recognized easily and was capable of understanding and speaking it(?).

Additionally, the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia’s entry for mando’a states:

At its core, Mando’a was a spoken language, because many different groups spoke it with enough subtle variation that writing it down became problematic [...].

As much as I agree it is impressive for Mandalorians to cultivate their culture for millenia despite many historical setbacks (including devastating military defeats) that influenced their political-economic standing in the galaxy, saying that language did not change for such a long period of time is both wrong and surprising for an in-universe academic claim officially published by the Galactic Institute of Anthropology.

I assume the author’s intent was to praise Mandalorian’s unshakable sense of identity. However, looking at it from the perspective of time and expended lore, this statement puts into question not Mandalorian history but the Republic (galactic)’s knowledge about the Mandalorians. It does not help that we have no time frame in which the in-universe academic text was written, as in how out-dated could be the source.

The main part of the Mandalorians: People and Culture is not free of inconsistency and some parts contradict each other within the same article. This is the most seen with gender norms, a topic to which we will soon come back in regard to Mandalorian religion.

At the start, the article points out unknown origin of Mandalorians

[...] they’re probably not even the original Mandalorian race. Anthropologists disagree about their roots; did they begin as humans or, as a few academics still claim, a gray-skinned non-human species? Whichever theory you find most convincing, they became a species of predominantly human nomadic warriors

while the “as a few academics still claim” statement sounds dismissive toward original Mandalorians (Taung species) and the connection between them and now predominantly human Mandalorians[6]. A connection that is confirmed in lore since at least 1995. This uncertainty of historical background acknowledged by the author puts into question further information about their religion.

Let’s take a look at the paragraph of Mandalorian religion:

Mandalorians were once intensely religious but disillusionment with the old fanaticism and worship of war itself gave way to a far less supernatural belief system among modern Mandalorians. They now regard creation tales, such as Akaanati’kar’oya (The War of Life and Death) as parables to illustrate a deeper philosophical meaning rather than literal supernaturalism. The stars were mythologized as fallen kings of Mandalore, and there are tales of the mythosaurs, but the pragmatic and skeptical Mandalorians look for allegory in these stories. The manda - best described as a combination of the collective state of being, the essence of being Mandalorian, and an oversoul - is not viewed as a literal heaven. Traditionally, the Mando afterlife is seen as a plane of spiritual energy in constant conflict between stagnation, and the opportunity for change brought about by destruction - a parallel with modern theories of cosmology. In Mandalorian myth, this conflict is symbolized by the eternal war between the sloth-god Arasuum - the personification of idle consumption and stagnation - and the vigorous destroyer god Kad Ha’rangir, who forces change and growth on the universe. Every Mando warrior who dies is said to add to the army of the afterlife, defending wives and children living in its permanent, peaceful homestead - the only place Mandalorians believe they can ever reach a non-transitory state of existence.”

The change from deeply religious society to less concerned with gods and religion feels like a natural order of things, especially when we remember that the original Mandalorians died out around four thousands years ago and their legacy was influenced by many factors since then. However, the aforementioned uncertainty of historical background for Mandalorian culture forces us to ask, to whom and which era refer to the term of traditional belief? By “traditionally” does the author here mean the already predominantly human Mandalorian culture or consider it as something passed down by “unknown” predecessors? Should we see the faith in Arassum and Kad Ha’rangir as the original religion practiced by Taung!Mandalorians or something that was created by an influx of human and other alien species that dominated the culture at some point? And it is not just a question related to Arasuum and Kad Ha’rangir, who to this day are the most prominent gods we know about but also to the concept of afterlife itself.

For one, Arasuum and Kad Ha’rangir are said to be part of the same myth, the Akaanati’kar’oya that means The War of Life and Death. Since Kad Ha’rangir is connected to growth, change and vigor it feels natural to associate him with Life, as those attributes represent the nature of living. If we agree that this god represents Life, then it is logical to assume Arasuum’s connection should be to Death, the opposed force. Arasuum name literally means stagnation and from it comes the word arasuumir - to remain the same, so this is one attribute we have no reason to question about him. However, the author calls Arasuum also the personification of idle consumption, and at first look this may sound weird, as idle or not, consumption itself is part of living. That way, both gods are tied to an aspect of Life, while the myth supposedly presents them as opposites forces, the Life and Death.

But, as the paragraph explains, Mandalorians believed that afterlife mirrors their mortal life - wives and children are living in its permanent, peaceful homestead, defended by warriors. Thus we could theorize that Arasuum’s “idle consumption” may refer to those who after death became part of “homestead” and choose(?) peace over serving in the afterlife army.

At the same time, the text presents us two separate ideas of the afterlife. One, mentioned above, mirrors mortal life. The other is a concept called MANDA, “best described as a combination of the collective state of being, the essence of being Mandalorian, and an oversoul - is not viewed as a literal heaven.” As the article stated, at some point Mandalorian people changed from a deeply religious society to one disillusioned with supernatural beliefs and that modern Mandalorians regard mythology as “parables to illustrate a deeper philosophical meaning rather than literal supernaturalism.” A change that has reflection in their funeral rites[7]. Thus we can theorize that afterlife mirroring mortal life is older than the manda itself that may be even unknown to original Mandalorians (Taungs). What brings us back to the vital questions: what era and which historical Mandalorian people fall under the “traditional” term?

This is indeed an important question, because of Mandalorians: People and Culture’s inconsistency, especially with the gender norms. For example, in paragraph MANDALORIAN SOCIETY, article claims

There is no gender in the Mandalorian language. This mirrors the equal status of men and women and the general flexibility of societal roles, despite what appears to many to be a traditional division of tasks along gender lines.

yet

Men are expected to be warriors and to raise and train their sons to be the same. Women maintain the home wherever the nomads happen to travel, and raise daughters. But women also are expected to have the combat skills of a man in order to defend the homestead when men are away. Women also fight alongside men on battlefront. If they have no dependent children to care for, they're expected to share the responsibilities of defense and warfare."

If the first child is a son, parents may wait eight years before having another child so that the first is old enough to accompany his father and be trained as a soldier for five years until he reaches adulthood at 13. Then his father is free to train a younger son. At 13, both girls and boys undergo a rite of passage in military and survival skills that makes them legally adults. If the firstborn is a girl, the couple may try for a son soon afterwards. A daughter will usually stay with her mother until she marries. But if a couple has only daughters, the girls will be trained as warriors by their father exactly as boys would be. Boys learn their earliest lessons from their mothers before the age of eight, so her fighting skills are critical; a couple pledges to raise warriors, and this is a joint commitment

which is far from gender equality (something mentioned by author also in her book series), as girls are treated as second-rated members of family compared to male descendants, while there is much more demanded from women than from men - to take care of children and train them nevertheless of their gender (while men should focus on sons first and foremost and may not be involved in their daughters’ training IF they already have a male descendant), maintain and protect home, be skilled a fighter with expertise in military and survival skills - even if it is boys that should be educated by both mother and father in combat, while girls may be trained just by mother and usually stay with her until marriage. A mother that is supposed to maintain the home (staying behind) while father takes sons with himself.

This statement[8] reflects traditional afterlife presented in the same article but makes little sense from the perspective of lore. Because we do in fact have a chance to see Mandalorian family dynamic during Mandalorian Wars, an era in which Taungs were still around. Knights of the Old Republic: War (2012) introduced us to Ko Sornell, a female Devaronian, who raided basilisk droid with her young son into battle

and who in general was deeply involved with ongoing military operations as warrior and comm specialist and simultaneously raising her children on frontlines

while there is no information about her husband's military position; we do see them together during mission - on one frame - standing arm to arm and that is all. As the couple together raised their children on frontlines, and Ko Sornell joined another mission instead of staying with her family in the detachment on Phaedacomm (thus being far away from the makeshift house for at least a few days)

until the comics again presents her with family (the last 5th issue),

it's logical to assume husband was the one that took care of their younger children[9] in the absence of their mother. Alternatively, children were under another clan member’s care when both parents were involved with a special mission on which they could not bring their kids.

What is even more interesting, Zayne Carrick - an outsider - upon meeting the Devaronian family pointed out that in the Devaronian culture, women stay at home with children while only males wander through galaxy.

and was assured by the Mandalorian family they indeed are fine with being nomads and raising children on the frontline.

This supports the statement of Mandalorians: People and Culture that “a couple pledges to raise warriors, and this is a joint commitment” but it undermines the division of adult responsibilities and the different treatment of children based on gender alone. Because a mother is not by default relegated to defending a homestead even though there are children under her care.

This is further backed up by Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide’s description of Mandalorian Crusaders

Mandalorians place great emphasis on the family, prizing chastity before marriage and fidelity thereafter. Children are trained from a young age, and all members of the family share an equal role in its preservation against enemies

and The Old Republic Encyclopedia (2012):

CLAN SOCIETY Mandalorian society operates with a minimal and largely informal power structure. Every Mandalorian is a member of a clan, either by birth or recruitment. Although different clans often disagree and even fight one another, they treat their own members like family, regardless of whether they’re related by blood ties or oath. Other than the clan chieftain, members have no official ranks or positions unless organized into a fighting unit where chain of command has a valuable place. Each man or woman is expected to contribute however they can, with those who achieve great things gaining increased respect and new responsibilities. Although clans may have ties or rivalries with other clans, there is no formal hierarchy. All chieftains report directly to the Mandalore The families of Mandalorians are close-knit and remarkably affectionate, despite the culture’s propensity for violence. Marriage is considered a lifelong commitment, and both biological and adopted children are raised with equal love. Sons and daughters are raised as warriors, as gender has little bearing in Mandalorian culture, so much their language hardly distinguishes between male and female.

If the Mandalorians in the twilight of Taung hegemony and relatively shortly after their extinction are presented as those who treat their sons and daughters as equally valued members of the community, then we should ask what caused such discord between this image and the one presented in Mandalorians: People and Culture. If we agree that the term of traditional Mandalorians from mentioned article is not about people from Sith Wars - Mandalorians Wars era and following conflicts but about those between the ancient and modern times, then once again we must determine how much the values of the original Mandalorians have been distorted through the millennia and how trustworthy is our narrator.

As the sources of widely understood lore were examined, let’s look again at the “traditional” afterlife and Mandalorian gods involved with the creation myth. As the article proclaims, “every Mando warrior who dies is said to add to the army of the afterlife”, thus we should assume it includes warriors of all genders. But then the army’s purpose is “defending wives and children living in its permanent, peaceful homestead” yet there is no information against whom the presumably non-combatant inhabitants must be defended. If said army takes part in the eternal conflict between Death and Life, an army of dead wouldn’t then serve Arasuum rather than Kad Ha’rangir, whose connection is to life and change?

There is no explanation why only wives and children are excluded, since children were meant to learn the art of war from their parents, thus logically should join their family in the ongoing battle from age of 8. We should also ask what about professions like blacksmiths or farmers who in life provided vital support for the army by making armors and weapons or producing food. Are they too enrolled into the army of the afterlife if they weren’t nomadic warriors or professional soldiers or allowed to stay in a peaceful homestead? What about those who never could become warriors due to physical or mental illness? Or the same-sex couples with their children? Article described afterlife as the “plane of spiritual energy”, but there is a gender division (women staying in safe homestead), age division (adults and children) and profession division (warriors and non-combatants/mothers/wives), wouldn’t that suggest that Mandalorians at some point believed that afterlife will to some degree mirror their mortal life? If the family bonds stay the same (marriage even in the death and children to take care of), it is not so difficult to imagine the army’s need for armor, weapons, maybe even food and clothes to continue the eternal battle.

Going further with that thought, Arasuum is the one that “remains the same”, while article adds “sloth-god, the personification of idle consumption” and the homestead located in afterlife is described as “permanent” and “peaceful” while the role of Kad Ha’rangir - the Destructor - is definitely much more aggressive in nature. I believe this could reflect the belief that life is a constant battle and struggle that every person at some point will lose, while death is the non-transitory state of existence that offers both a place of peace and an eternal army to join, thus fulfilling the religious purpose Mandalorians dedicated their life to.

Thus Kad Ha’rangir and Arasuum ties to each other may be more complex than we are led to believe because the sense of original mythology either got lost or has changed with Mandalorians over the millenia. Which is why I believe that Arasuum as sloth-god may be an effect of misinterpretation of modern Mandalorians who are disconnected from the original faith of Mandalorian!Taungs as they rejected religious fanaticism and worship of their predecessors.

It won't be an exaggeration to say that the Mandalorians: People and Culture is an important source that both helped popularize modern Mandalorians in star wars fandom during Prequels era and served as an useful introduction to their culture. However, from the perspective of widely understood lore and passing time, this article does not reflect the complexity of Mandalorian culture nor its religion. Arasuum and his opponent, Kad Ha’rangir, is only briefly introduced here but this introduction will influence other authors' take on mandalorian religion.

And those additional tie-in material will be the subject of the next part.

SIDENOTES:

[1] Karen Traviss popularized Mandalorians, however this faction was already expanded by tie-in materials in the past beyond Boba Fett’s character. Other Mandalorian human people for the first time were introduced in Star Wars 68: The Search Begins (1982), while the ancient Mandalorians (Taungs) came to life in The Sith War comics (1995), as part of Tales of the Jedi series. The game Knights of the Old Republic (2003) exploited Mandalorian Wars, and the post-war era, when Taungs died out and their legacy was passed on to the humans. Jaster Mereel’s True Mandalorians and Tor Vizsla’s Death Watch were introduced into lore in 2002, as a way to expand Jango Fett’s backstory for Attack of the Clones film, while the Death Watch name alone has been part of lore since 1989(!). Finally, the Republic Commando book series shaped and popularized the modern Mandalorians (2005-2009), before The Clone Wars animated series (2008-2020) explored the conflict between Death Watch and New Mandalorian, followed by animated TV series Rebels (2014-2018) and Disney made a whole mandalorian-focused TV series (2019-present day).

[2] It is worth keeping in mind that all information about Jaster and Tor’s ideology comes from Count Dooku’s narration. Death Watch has never stated their goals in the comics alone, while Dooku’s opinions were based on information delivered by Jaster & Jango’s allies (including Silas, True Mandalorian tortured by the Sith Lord for information about Jaster’s death). So though Jango Fett: Open Seasons with no doubt is not an objective in its narratives, it gives some credibility to Dooku’s claim about Jaster and True Mandalorians as he sought out Fett's allies in his research about Jango’s past.

[3] dar’manda means a state of not being Mandalorian - a person that is not an outsider, but one who has lost or given up on their heritage, mandalorian identity and the soul.

[4] The dialect was first presented in The Cestus Deception book (2004) as a Mandalorian language but Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic by Karen Traviss and Ryan Kaufman published in Star Wars Insider #84 (september 2005) retconned it as a separate dialect. The “mistake” made in the book is however easy to explain - Sheeka Tull knew Jango Fett personally, after he freed himself from slavery but between he went full into the bounty hunting profession. As she herself was not a Mandalorian and she and Jango met in the Meridian sector, she could mistake Jango’s native language for the mando’a. Fett, as a person born and raised on Concord Dawn could even mix his native language with mando’a. Understandably, Sheeka couldn’t see the difference if she had no other ties to mandalorian culture than one year of dating (post-Galidraan) Jango Fett.

[5] The Behind the Scenes section of wookiepedia’s page for Concordia dialect states that:

At least one Concordian phrase from "The Mandalore Plot"—specifically the line exclaimed by the Death Watch bomber before leaping to his death, and featured as this article's main quote—appears to have been drawn from a 2007 post on the Empire at War forum, in which a user had compiled a list of fanon words and translations for the fledgling Mandalorian language. The aforementioned quote, "Calhava bru'chun dralshye'ran," was translated in the post as "Compassionate leaders will burn." Although the translation would seem contextually appropriate to the episode's storyline, to date there has been no official confirmation that this is the canonically accepted translation.

[6] The part of article focused on language acknowledged the similarity between mando'a and the language of the Taung "from whom the original inhabitations of Mandalore were thought to be descended", yet still does call mando'a origins as unclear.

[7] There is a visible difference between ancient and modern Mandalorians in regard to their dead. Ancient Mandalorians took time to perform proper funeral rites for warriors killed in fight and even have special Death Ceremony for the most brave while modern people have less strict approach. Partially due to the nature of mercenary work (when sometimes the body of fallen comrade could not be brought back to home) and partially due to believing in Manda, in which soul is more important than the body.

[8] The presented idea of Mandalorian fathers training sons may in fact be based on Attack of the Clones Visual Guide (2002) and not be Karen Taviss' own invention. I think the presented informations in her article could be an attempt to keep lore intact. Below the AotC Visual Guide's description for comparison:

Like Father, Like Son In Mandalorian tradition, fathers were responsible for training their sons in combat skills. At age 13, boys had to face the trials of manhood. Although these rites could be fatal, actual deaths were extremely rare because candidates were so well prepared. The close father-son bond, built on respect, trust, and discipline, produced highly capable and confident individuals.

[9] The presented frame with Ko Sornell's family forgot include the small baby presented in issue #2 (the frames as reference were included in the analysis). Considering the mentioned baby and how the daughter is much smaller than the son at least in the one frame we see the kids close-up,

I think it is safe to assume there were two younger children most likely left under father's care while Ko Sornell was raiding the basilisk droid with her son (and three kids to take care of when Ko was far away for at least few days).

#star wars #cienie's take on mandalorian culture #arasuum #kad ha'rangir #mandalorian culture #mandalorian religion #I’m fully aware that Mandalorians: People and Culture (2006) predates a great number of tie-in material. that expanded our knowledge about #but it was important to establish how outdated the article is from the perspective of time.#i tend to see M:PaC as a good start into basic idea of culture but told from the perspective of modern mandalorians #while the knowledge about ancient times may be misinterpreted by “modern narrator”#also trust me to write a long post and add another wall of sidenotes lol #i know i'm pretty critical to KT's take on gender norms and some aspect of mando culture but the focus on father-son bonds #may be in fact influenced by earlier estabilished informations #but then taungs are pretty much ignored by the author when the religion definitely was affected by taungs

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survivalove · 1 year ago

Note

what are your thoughts on Sokka becoming an ambassador/politician in lok ?? Do u think it fits is character??

Anon thank you because I’ve been dying to talk about Sokka for a while, he’s actually my 2nd fave after Katara.

Personally, I think Sokka being a political leader in Republic City does fit his characterization from ATLA for a number of reasons:

1. Community:

The South Pole is a very unique place in ATLA because while it’s a democracy, their leaders are selected on the basis of success both in military and in addressing the concerns of the people. We see this in Hakoda a little bit because while he’s the head of the navy (?), he’s not exactly the strong burly warrior that you would expect. It’s actually his public speaking skills and his crafty war techniques that make him such a successful chief (on top of being an excellent fighter of course). We also see this in the N&S comic with his ability to bring together all the communities in the South and address internal conflicts.

(Also I have a whole headcanon about Kanna orchestrating Hakoda’s political ascension but that’s another time. I mean look at her face. She planned this I’m telling y’all)

That is why I think Sokka getting into politics fits him cuz it’s a great culmination of the seeds ATLA planted of his character as a fighter, war strategist and public speaker, as well as his heritage.

2. Identity:

Whether some people in this fandom want to admit it or not, Sokka and Katara’s existence is inherently political. I mean their culture was almost wiped out, they’re basically left in charge of their tribe along with Gran Gran, and they travel the word meeting different heads of state and witnessing the impact of colonialism firsthand. So it makes perfect sense for both of them to get into politics as adults. I don’t think either one of them would pass up the opportunity to make important change on a global scale especially in a new development like Republic City.

3. Republic City itself:

Now, I know people like their Chief Sokka headcanon and I’m pretty sure it’s canon in his old age which is fine with me, but as for the most of his life, I really don’t think Sokka would spend it in the South Pole. For one, his dad is the chief and they have the same values, so while they would obviously give their father advice on a global scale I don’t think there’s much change Katara and Sokka would enact at home. Compared to somewhere like Republic City, not only because it’s new but because there’s 3 different ethnic groups living there, the political challenges that would arise everyday is paramount and I’d think they both want to have an impact on a global level. Also, back to Hakoda, it’d probably be hard for their community to see them more than just an extension of their father, if you know what I mean? kind of a nepo baby thing lol. I think especially for Sokka, it’d make sense for him to look beyond his community to build his legacy. Katara seems a little more attached to Southern tradition but Sokka is all about change and the future, and I think he’d have a bigger impact in Republic City.

#atla #sokka #councilman sokka #katara #republic city #lok #north & south #i know the politics are terrible. as is every comic. but this one was really good character and plot wise #my asks

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literaticat · 2 years ago

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I have a question that I'm just not sure who to ask. I've been loving reading different books by authors and characters with different lived experiences from me. I'm querying a book with a character who shares my background as a double minority. However, I don't have any close ties with either my mother or father's cultures. They're a part of my heritage, but not a part of my culture. Does that make sense?

It seems to me that the biggest draw with books from marginalized backgrounds are the rich cultures we get to explore, and even the issues that many face in that community. Reading books from people that share a part of my identity has been amazing--but I don't have the same experiences, and I don't know the culture like they do. My worry is that when I query my book, I might tell an agent that my background is X/X and they expect to read about the culture of X/X or the expected experiences of someone from that background and it isn't there.

I feel fake having to google facts that I don't know, and even faker trying to write about things that are not my experience.

So my question is this: If I mention my racial background in my query letter--and an agent sees little to nothing about that culture, do you put down the manuscript? Do you question why this person decided to even mention their background? Do you question why the culture isn't there? It feels like if you're a minority, you HAVE to feature your culture. What if you're from a marginalized background--but you don't know your culture?

So, caveat that I'm a random white person, so I'm like, deffo not an expert about different marginalizations or racial or cultural identities AT ALL, soooo -- maybe this is going to be a ding-dong answer???? Feel free to ignore it, I don't want to like, "whitesplain" anybody or talk over anyone, and if people have BETTER answers, I invite them to chime in! But hey, you asked me, so I'm gonna attempt it.

I feel like your experience as a bi-racial/bi-cultural person who doesn't really know about their parent's heritage is like... very valid as its own experience. Not everyone does know -- while of course there are tons of families that prioritize kids knowing their background/ culture/heritage, customs, language, etc... there are also tons of families who want to assimilate to wherever they are, where learning about "the old country" is NOT a priority.

I mean, I know plenty of young people whose parents or grandparents were immigrants to the US before they were even born, who don't know a lick of their parents or grandparent's language beyond tentative "hello/goodbye/thank you", have never been to that country, appreciate the food and culture and holidays and whatnot but don't really participate in them, or have a totally "American" way of participating in them -- that's part of the diaspora experience, too. Feeling confused or conflicted or "neither fish nor fowl" about it is normal and legit. And there is NOTHING wrong with putting that experience in a book.

Basically, IMO, you don't need to know everything about whatever-culture -- what's wrong with writing a character who DOESN'T KNOW? Maybe they are curious and want to find out. Maybe they are bringing their own assumptions and biases to learning about it, or never want to learn about it. Maybe they realize that there's something important about connecting with parts of it but also question or reject other parts and make their OWN traditions. Maybe this is a source of tension within the family, or maybe not? Maybe this not-knowing is indeed the catalyst of the story.

OR, maybe race/background has nothing to do with the story REALLY, it's just an adventure or romance of some random kind that could happen to any kind of person -- that's fine and good too btw -- but since you DID make your character Indian-Peruvian-American from the Bronx (or whatever) -- their experience probably WILL be different than if the adventure or romance was happening to Becky the White Farm Girl from Idaho, just like it would be different if it were happening to snobby Siobhan from Dublin, or Andrew, the Black nerd from San Francisco, or whatever. Your character's background, race, experiences, temperament, knowledge-base, etc, is going to inform how they react to whatever happens in your book, right?

(Just like a small woman walking alone at night probably has a different internal monologue than a burly dude walking alone at night; a BIPOC person probably has a different feeling about seeing flashing lights behind them than the white son of the Police Chief has, etc -- people say things like "oh, it really doesn't MATTER if the main character is Black or white or a man or a woman or non-binary or whatever -- it's just a STORY -- and yeah, OK, I guess it IS just a story -- but it also is a DIFFERENT STORY from all those different points of view, right? So how does YOUR character react to the things that happen or the adventure that is afoot?)

All of this is a very RAMBLY way to say -- I don't think there's anything wrong with writing a character with your background -- but I also don't think there's any reason you have to shoehorn in a bunch of references that check off some imaginary list of "culture boxes" but are NOT true to your own experience as a second-generation Indian-Peruvian-American from the Bronx who knows not much about India or Peru. That is its own experience -- and that's cool and interesting, too.

(And in your query letter you can even address it -- like, "My main character also shares my Indian-Peruvian-American heritage mash-up, and was somewhat inspired by my own experiences growing up disconnected from my roots and trying to figure out my own traditions" or "Like my main character, I grew up in the Bronx, and while my background is 50% Peruvian and 50% Indian, to the dismay of my grandparents, I identify as 100% New Yorker." So that the agent won't go in thinking "oh, I'm about to read a story all about the MAGIC OF INDIA" -- they'll know that you are NOT writing that story.)

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gabebarcelona30 · 3 months ago

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Reflection: Identity

I think that the most important facet of my identity is being Filipino. I believe that my cultural identity has shaped my life in so many ways, from my personal values to the way I view and treat others. Also, it has greatly shaped my favorite cuisines. I feel like having been born in the Philippines and immigrating to the United States has been such a life-changing experience for me, as it has caused a shift from my Filipino identity to being Filipino-American, which is a distinct and unique experience.

In Filipino culture, a big emphasis is respect for elders, even if it means letting them disrespect you. However, in the United States, personal freedom and standing up for your beliefs are highly respected. So after moving to the United States, I had a difficult time balancing these two, almost conflicting values. However, as I grew older, I learned that I don't have to fit in 100% with either side, but that I can be inspired from both cultures. I was always scolded growing up because I would disagree with my family's conservative Filipino beliefs, as speaking up to elders was seen as disrespectful in our culture. Gradually, I became more and more quiet, causing me to be more introverted and distanced in terms of my relationships with my parents because it seemed that everything I would say, I would be scolded for. However, when I entered high school, I surrounded myself with friends that were very outspoken and stood up for things that they believed in without fear of backlash. Since then, I have began to come out of my shell. I think respect to elders should still be a given, but also we should never let ourselves get disrespected just because we are younger. Age should not be a barrier in standing up for what we believe in.

I love being Filipino and it has helped to connect me to so many people, especially when I was volunteering at the hospital as many Filipinos are nurses. This stereotype was actually due to World War I and American imperialism, which surprised me when I learned about it during APUSH. We bonded over our shared cultures and spoke Tagalog together, this singular facet of our identity connecting us immediately. Even with other Southeast Asians, I have been able to connect with due to our shared identities. These facets of our identities allow us to build connections and grow from one another.

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rawliverandgoronspice · 10 months ago

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Great addition/contextualization! I did mean the original post in a more "watsonian" way but it's always important to keep the context of its creation in mind and what it invokes.

Though to hyperfocus on something a little: the thing about OoT's setting is that is does seem to imply a great number of very interesting things in terms of social dynamics, which is kind of what I was thinking about. I heavily doubt any of them were well thought-out beyond brute-force stereotypes, maximizing conflict and reward for the player (even 7yo me was disgusted by what they did to poor Nabooru in that regard), and providing gameplay opportunities.

However, and I'm only speaking in my own name here/about the way I have emotionally bonded with this fictional culture, I think this sort of obviously very different system of value and social organization was what compelled me to them to begin with. Not in the sense that it's particularly better than Hyrule and allies, but that's it's different enough to be worth notice. In OoT in particular, both the gorons and the zoras (and even the kokiri!) seem to be following a logic that can be pretty seamlessly mapped out on Hyrulean power structure, aka: something patriarcal, with an ideal of feminine purity in the form of a princess or a sweet girl of some kind used as an ideal for that particular structure (except for the gorons, they don't really have that part --and good on them!). Gerudos don't map out on that at all, even with Ganondorf involved; they seem to have a notion of identity that is very complicated and very autonomous from their neighbors, while also not begrudging exchanges with them as far as they are in control of how it goes. This is meant as a bad thing from the game's perspective, and a nod that they are bad and must be saved from their chaotic ways, but I absolutely didn't see it that way as a child.

And this aspect, this sort of impossible-to-map-down vibe they give off in OoT, is extremely compelling and even necessary/healthy, in my opinion, to a world that is implied to have a natural order of things that seems somehow to mindlessly map out on something that is very cleanly gendered, very hierarchical, and very patriarcal in general (in a good, unfruity, paternal, white way --which Ganondorf fails to incarnate). This is partially why I personally (no judgement on anyone of course, at the end of the day the gerudos are just a mess to navigate and I'm not sure there's a clean or normal or good way to do so) don't really connect to the Wild Era gerudos nearly as much, as they do end up falling back into that very organized system that places insane emphasis on heterosexual coupling and marriage, and that makes them dependant to their relationship to Hyrule in a far more compliant way that they ever appeared to be in OoT, or even FSA from what I can tell.

So I feel like there is a ton to explore in OoT especially, even with all of that absolute mess in mind (and it's important to keep it in mind and make choices in that regard). I guess it then depends on what people come searching for in fanwork. I know I'm personally the kind to use fanwork like one would do critical analysis, aka facing down canon's contradiction and seek humanity and vulnerability in that, though I fully get if people would rather rework the rules of the world to get away from what all of these stereotypical ideas reveal about ideas of normalcy, exoticism and violence in the world itself.

One small pet peeve of mine, but I see it popping up often, is the notion that the gerudos are a patriarchy because once in a blue moon a boy is born and is crowned king about it (at least in OoT lore). And that's... not how structural gendered power works, at least as far as I understand it? Otherwise countries all over the world would magically turn into a matriarchy if they elected a woman/the second they would crown a queen; and every little children would suddenly be taught completely different stories about their social roles and their bodies, and all religions would suddenly shift a little in the core tenents of their philosophies, and infrastructure and laws would magically be reshuffled, and, and... and it simply doesn't happen.

So yeah, Ganondorf grew up as king because the idea of kinghood was thought out, upheld and passed down by women, and specifically by his mothers. Ultimately, any real power rests in the cultural consciousness of a majority of women, which shapes all of them, including him. If they had culturally decided their only boy's fate was to be shunned, or a living coat hanger, and Ganondorf was raised on these ideas instead... I mean, he could have revolted, and he probably would have, but he would have still been a subject to a matriarchal ideology. Just because said matriarchal ideology works to his advantage doesn't mean he has control over it.

#thoughts #oot #ganondorf #gerudos #it's always so complicated because the core material is just so flawed #so I feel like you are bound to face some awkwardness no matter how you go about it #but I guess what I meant with my initial post is that #I feel like this whole “patriarchy” thing is used to completely refuse to give ganondorf any humanity or any nuance #while I feel like his own relationship to his own role in that society is bound to be super complicated like. inherently.#and I know a ton of people who see the gerudos as they are aka belly-dancers serving the Big Bad Man #and use that to dehumanize him completely --which granted it's what nintendo wants (*sobs about it* anyway)#I had very frustrating conversations with friends when I tried to explain to them that it's gotta be more complicated #but men of color don't get that sort of compassion if they get plastered onto a given stereotype --then they *become that*#and I feel like ganondorf is put at such an interesting crossroad that the game won't acknowledge --but it's still there #which maps super well with his own contradictory relationship to power #craving it having it thinking himself deserving while also having it denied to him because the system won't allow him to rewrite the rules #anyway anyway!!

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leviathan-supersystem · 2 years ago

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I want to thank you for posting about how insane the effective altruism community is and how Thielian it is like 6 years ago (maybe even further back). I've been on tumblr only sparsely since then but when i heard about how the ftx billionaires were part of this thing i thought of your posts and how right they turned out to be. I bet a lot of people remember this. So much seems to have metastasized about the things you were warning about (what feels like) very early on. Thank you for braving some deeply annoying reactionary interlocutors back then and being a voice of reason

thank you, it means a lot that you say that, i do consider my investigation into lesswrong and related to be some of the best work i've ever done, and i do think that if i hadn't been there sounding the alarm on that, a lot more people on tumblr could have gotten roped into that whole scam. like i really can imagine that whole thing getting a lot uglier if i hadn't warned people.

and like when that whole saga first started, i had no idea things were going to get so wildly out of control, like the way that it all started was that me and my mutuals were getting harassed by a bunch of people with "rationalist" in their bio, and i was like "okay who the hell are these people and where are they coming from" and i honestly didn't expect there to be anything substantial. i thought the answer would just be "they came from reddit" and that's it. so i was completely blindsided when i started digging and found out all this absolutely buck-wild shit about AI cults and Thiel funding. needless to say i found a lot more dirt on them than i was anticipating.

i'm about to go into tinfoil hat territory for a minute here, but i surmise that there is a particular psy-op strategy that involves the creation of two ostensibly opposed ideological factions which in truth serve the same broader ideological goals, positioning the "conflict" between them in such a way that people are compelled to take sides, and then leading the people on either side of that "conflict" into basically the same ideological trap. so for example, in the 80's there were a bunch of televised debates between christian figures and the church of satan, and it was this whole big broader culture war thing, presented in such a way that people would be compelled to take one side or the other, but in the end both sides of that debate were pushing a right-wing ideology which was identical on the most important points (anti-egalitarian/anti-socialist/anti-democratic. i'll be getting more into detail on that in an answer to another ask, i'm cleaning out my inbox right now).

similarly, with the recent upsurge in christian populist conspiracy theorism on tumblr these days, i can't help but imagine how much worse the scenario would be if the lesswrongers had succeeded in really taking root on tumblr and harassing the communists off the site, as they were clearly trying to. like i can imagine instead of the debate on tumblr being between "bill gates is bad because he's an evil wizard trying to give us the mark of the beast" vs. "no, bill gates is bad because he exploits his workers, poisons the earth, and is hoarding land and resources, etc" we had a scenario where the lesswrongers had supplanted the communists and the debate was between "bill gates is bad because he's an evil wizard trying to give us the mark of the beast" vs. "no, bill gates is good :)." honestly too horrible to contemplate.

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pumpkinpaix · 4 years ago

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mdzs fandom, diaspora, and cultural exchange

Hey everyone. This post contains a statement that’s been posted to my twitter, but was a collaborative effort between several diaspora fans over the last few weeks. Some of the specifics are part of a twitter-localized discourse, but the general sentiments and issues raised are applicable across the board, including here on tumblr.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve probably seen a few of my posts about this fandom, cultural exchange, and diasporic identity. For example, here, here, and here. This statement more directly criticizes some of the general issues I and others have raised in the past, and also hopefully provides a little more insight into where those issues come from. I would be happy if people took the time to read and reblog this, as the thought that went into it is not trivial, and neither is the subject matter. Thank you.

Introduction

Hello. I'm a member of a Chinese diaspora discord server - I volunteered to try and compile a thread of some thoughts regarding our place and roles in the fandom expressed in some of our recent discussions. This was primarily drafted by me and reviewed/edited by others with the hopes that we can share a cohesive statement on our honest feelings instead of repeatedly sharing multiple, fragmented versions of similar threads in isolation.

This was compiled by one group of diaspora and cannot be taken to represent diaspora as a whole, but we hope that our input can be considered with compassion and understanding of such.

For context, we are referencing two connected instances: the conflict described in these two threads (here and here), and when @/jelenedra tweeted about giving Jewish practices to the Lans. Regarding the latter, we felt that it tread into the territory of cultural erasure, and that it came from a person who had already disrespected diaspora’s work and input.

Context

The Lans have their own religious and cultural practices, rooted both in the cultural history of China and the genre of xianxia. Superimposing a different religious practice onto the Lans amidst other researched, canonical or culturally accurate details felt as if something important of ours was being overwritten for another’s personal satisfaction. Because canon is so intrinsically tied to real cultural, historical, and religious practices, replacing those practices in a canon setting fic feels like erasure. While MDZS is a fantasy novel, the religious practices contained therein are not. This was uncomfortable for many of us, and we wanted to point it out and have it resolved amicably. We were hoping for a discussion or exchange as there are many parallels and points of relation between Chinese and Jewish cultures, but that did not turn out quite as expected.

What happened next felt like a long game of outrage telephone that resulted in a confusion of issues that deflected responsibility, distracted from the origin of the conflict, and swept our concern under the rug.

Specifically, we are concerned about how these two incidents are part of what we feel is a repeated, widespread pattern of the devaluing of Chinese fans’ work and concerns within this fandom. This recent round of discourse is just one of many instances where we have found ourselves in a position of feeling spoken over within a space that is nominally ours. Regardless of what the telephone game was actually about, the way it played out revealed something about how issues are prioritized.

Background

MDZS is one of the first and largest franchises of cmedia that has become popular and easily accessible outside of China. Moreover, it’s a piece of queer Chinese media that is easily accessible to those of us overseas. For many non-Chinese fans, this is the first piece of cmedia they have connected with, and it’s serving as their introduction to a culture previously opaque to them. What perhaps is less obvious is that for many Chinese diaspora fans, this is also the first piece of cmedia THEY have connected with, found community with, seen themselves in.

Many, many of us have a fraught relationship with our heritage, our language—we often suffer from a sense of alienation, both from our families and from our surrounding peers. For our families, our command of the language and culture is often considered superficial, clunky, childish. Often, connecting with our culture is framed as a mandatory academic duty, and such an approach often fosters resentment towards our own heritage. For our non-Chinese peers, our culture is seen as exotic and strange and other, something shiny and interesting to observe, while we, trapped in the middle, find ourselves uprooted and adrift.

MDZS holds an incredibly important place in many diaspora’s hearts. Speaking for myself, this is literally the first time in my life I have felt motivated and excited about my own native tongue. It's the first time I have felt genuine hope that I might one day be able to speak and read it without fear and self-doubt. It is also the first time that so many people have expressed interest in learning from me, in hearing my thoughts and opinions about my culture.

This past year and a half in fandom has been an incredible experience. I know that I am not alone in this. So many diaspora I have spoken to just in the last week have expressed similar sentiments about the place MDZS holds in their lives. It is a precious thing to us, both because we love the story itself, and because it represents a lifeline to a heritage that’s never felt fully ours to grasp.

It’s wonderful to feel like we are able to welcome our friends into our home and show them all these things that have been so formative to our identities, and to be received with such enthusiasm and interest. Introducing this to non-Chinese friends and fans has also been an opportunity to bridge gaps and be humanized in a way that has been especially important in a year where yellow peril fear mongering has been at an all-time high.

History

However, MDZS’ rise in popularity among non-Chinese audiences has also come with certain difficulties. It is natural to want to take a story you love and make it your own: that’s what transformative fandom is all about. It is also natural that misunderstandings and unintentional missteps might happen when you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of the culture and political history of the story in question. This is understandable and forgivable—perfection is impossible, even for ourselves.

We hope for consideration and respect when we give our knowledge freely and when we raise the issue of our own discomfort with certain statements or actions regarding our culture. Please remember that what is an isolated incident to you might be a pattern of growing microaggressions to us. In non-Asian spaces, Asian diaspora are often lumped together under one umbrella. In the west, a lot of Chinese diaspora attach themselves to Korean and Japanese media in order to feel some semblance of connection to a media which approximates our cultures because there are cultural similarities. This is the first time we've collectively found community around something that is actually ours, so the specificities matter.

There is a bitterness about being Asian diaspora and a misery in having to put up a united front about racial issues. Enmity towards one group becomes a danger to all of us, all while our own conflicted histories with one another continue to pass trauma down through the generations. Many of us don’t even watch anime in front of our grandparents because of that lingering cultural antipathy. When the distinctions between our cultures are muddled, it feels once again like that very fraught history is flattened and forgotten.

Without the lived experience of it, it’s hard to understand how pervasive the contradictory web of anti-Asian and, more specifically, anti-Chinese racial aggressions are and how insidious its effects are. The conflation of China the political entity (as perceived and presented by the US and Europe) with its people, culture, and diaspora results in an exhausting litany of criticism levied like a bludgeon, often by people who don’t understand the complicated nature of a situation against those of us who do.

There is often a frankly stunning lack of self-awareness re: cultural biases and blind spots when it comes to discussions of MDZS, particularly moral ones. There are countless righteous claims and hot takes on certain aspects of the story, its author, and the characters that are so clearly rooted in a Euroamerican political and moral framework that does not reflect Chinese cultural realities and experiences. Some of these takes have become so widespread they are essentially accepted as fanon.

This is a pattern of behavior within the fandom. It is not limited to any specific group, nor does it even exclude ourselves—we are, after all, not a monolith, and we should not be placed on pedestals to have our differing opinions weaponized against one another in fandom squabbles. We are not flawless in our own understandings and approaches, and we would appreciate it if others would remember this before using any of us as ultimate authorities to settle a personal score.

It is difficult not to be disheartened when enthusiastic interest crosses the line into entitled demand and when transformative work crosses into erasure, especially when the reactions to our raised concerns have so frequently been dismissive and hostile. The overwhelming cultural and emotional labor we bring to the table is often taken advantage of and then criticized in bad faith. We are bombarded with racist aggressions, micro and macro, and then met with ridicule and annoyance when we push back. Worse, we sometimes face accusations of hostility that force us to apologize, back down, and let the matter go.

When we bring up our issues, it usually seems to come with the expectation that there are other issues that should be addressed before we can address ours. It feels like it’s never really the time to talk about Asian issues.

On the internet and in fandom spaces, Western-coded media, politics and perspectives are assumed to be general knowledge and experience that everyone knows and has. It feels like a double standard that we are expected to know the ins and outs of western politics and to engage on these terms, but most non-Chinese have not even the slightest grasp of the sort of politics that are at play within our communities. We end up feeling used for our specialized knowledge and cultural background and then dismissed when our opinions and problems are inconvenient.

As the culture represented in MDZS is not a culture that most non-Chinese fans are familiar with, we’d like to remind you that you do not get to decide which parts of it are or are not important. While sharing this space with Chinese diaspora who have a close connection to the work and the painful history that goes along with being diaspora, we ask that you be mindful of listening to our concerns.

Cultural erasure is tied to a lot of intense historical and generational trauma for us that maybe isn't immediately evident: the horrors of the Pacific theatre, the far-reaching consequences of colonization, racial tensions both among ourselves and with non-Chinese etc. These are not minor or simple things, and when we talk about our issues within fandom, this is often what underlies them. This is one of the first and only places many of us have been able to find community to discuss our unique issues without feeling as if we’re speaking out of turn.

With the HK protests, COVID, the anti-Chinese platforms of the US election etc., anti-Chinese sentiment has been at the forefront of the global news cycle for some time now, and it is with complete sincerity that we emphasize once again how important MDZS fandom has been as a haven for humanizing and valuing Chinese people through cultural exchange.

Experiencing racial aggression within that space stings, not just because it’s a space we love, but because it feels like we’ve been swimming in rapidly rising racial aggression for over a year at this point.

Feelings

This is a difficult topic to broach at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. Many of us have a wariness of rocking the boat instilled in us from our upbringings, and it is not uncommon for us to feel like we should be grateful that people want to engage with something of ours at all. When we do decide to speak up, we’ve learned that there is a not insignificant chance that we’ll be turned on and trampled over because what we’ve said is inconvenient or uncomfortable. When it is already so difficult to speak up, we end up second-guessing and gaslighting ourselves into wondering whether there really was a problem at all.

We’d like to be able to share what we know about our culture and have our knowledge and experience be taken seriously and treated with courtesy. This is a beautiful, rich world built with the history of our ancestors, one that we too are trying to connect with. When we find it in ourselves to speak up about it, we would appreciate being met with consideration instead of hostility.

We don't have the luxury of stepping away from our culture when we get tired of it. We don't get to put it down and walk away when it’s difficult. But if you're not Chinese or Chinese diaspora, you get to put this book down—we'd like to kindly request that you put it down gently because of how much it matters to all of us in this fandom, regardless of heritage.

What we are asking for is reflection and thoughtfulness as we continue to engage with this work and with one another, especially with regards to how Chinese issues are positioned. When we raise issues of our own discomfort, please take a moment to reflect before reacting defensively or trying to shut us down for spoiling the fun—don’t deprioritize our concerns, especially in a fandom for a piece of Chinese media. We promise most of us are not trying to start shit for the sake of a fight. Most of the time, all we want is acknowledgement and a genuine attempt at understanding.

Our hope with this statement is to encourage more openness and understanding between diaspora and non-Chinese fans while we navigate this place that we’re sharing. Please remember that for many of us, MDZS is far more intense than a typical fandom experience. Remember that the knowledge we have and research we do is freely and happily given, and that it costs us both materially and emotionally. Please don’t take that for granted. Remember too that sometimes the reason for our discomfort may not be immediately evident to you: what seems culturally neutral and harmless might touch upon specific loaded issues for us. We ask for patience, and we ask for sincerity as we try to communicate with one another.

We are writing this because there’s a collective sense of imposed silence—that every time the newest round of discourse crops up, we often feel as if we’re walking away having created no meaningful change, and nursing new wounds that we’ll never get to address. But without speaking up about it, this is a cycle that will keep repeating.

This is not meant to shame or guilt the fandom into throwing themselves at our feet, either to thank us or beg for forgiveness—far from that. We’re just your friends and your fellow fans. We are happy to have you here, and we’re happy to create and share and play together. We just ask to be respected and heard.

Thank you. Thank you for listening. Several of us will be stepping back from twitter for a while. We’ll see you when we get back. ❤️

* A final addendum: here are two articles with solid practical advice on writing stories regarding a culture other than your own.

Cultural Appropriation for the Worried Writer: Some Practical Advice

Cultural Appropriation: Some More Practical Advice

The thread on twitter is linked in the source of this post. Thanks everyone.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #the untamed #the untamed meta #cql #asian diaspora #chinese diaspora #race #racism #mine #mymeta #once again my tag failing me because this is a collaborative work #but! for the sake of organization #statistically average #cultural appropriation #cultural erasure #what else do i tag this im so wired

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iamthenightcolormeblack · 3 years ago

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Impressions of Bride and Prejudice (2004)

I finally watched this movie as it is currently free on YouTube! It's a really interesting "modern-day" adaptation (specifically a Bollywood musical) of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice which takes place in Amritsar, India, London, England and California, USA instead of the English countryside. It stars Aishwarya Rai as Elizabeth Bennet (now Lalita Bakshi) and Martin Henderson as Mr. Darcy (William Darcy).

Names:

Bakshis = Bennets

Jaya Bakshi = Jane Bennet

Lalita Bakshi = Elizabeth Bennet

Maya Bakshi = Mary Bennet

Lakhi Bakshi = Lydia Bennet (Kitty isn't included here)

Kholi Saab = Mr. Collins

Balraj = Bingley

Chandra Lamba = Charlotte Lucas

Kiran = Caroline Bingley

Darcy's mother (Catherine Darcy) = Lady Catherine de Bourgh

The Casting:

Aishwarya Rai as Lalita Bakshi. She's captivating and beautiful as Lalita, with intelligence and wits to match. The film understands why Elizabeth Bennet is one of literature's greatest heroines: she has a lot of self-respect, speaks her mind, and refuses to compromise on her values. What's most important is that she achieves the balance between the two clashing cultures: she cares about her family and respects Indian traditions yet is also a strong individual who keeps her dignity.

Martin Henderson as William Darcy. I don't like that Darcy is an American in this movie because (in general) Americans are usually less reserved than British people, so it takes away a key part of Darcy's character (his repressed emotions). He's much more sympathetic than book Darcy because he seems to be more open-minded towards Indian culture the more he learns about it (unlike book Darcy, who is stubborn and insists that his "good opinion once lost is lost forever"). In the book, Darcy's pride has several characteristics (belief in the correctness of his opinions, belief in his social superiority, bad treatment of others he thinks is beneath him). I don't like how the film simplified his pride into imperialism/ethnocentrism, which he lets go of pretty quickly. Plus his "rudeness" can easily be perceived as discomfort in a new cultural environment because he hasn't been exposed to Indian culture, whereas in the book it seems to be intentional (and Darcy acknowledges to Elizabeth that he was taught to treat others beyond his own social circle meanly). Overall I had rather too much sympathy for him because he's too easy to read; he's experiencing a lot of culture shocks which he isn't prepared for, and his imperialistic beliefs (which come from his mother) don't help. One of the reasons book Darcy is interesting is because he's mysterious; his emotions remain hidden and the only sign of his growing love for Elizabeth is his staring at her. This Darcy is just a typical white American boy who is in love with a woman far superior to him in terms of intellect and cultural awareness.

Nitin Ganatra as Kohli Saab. Mr. Collins is one of my favorite cringe characters ever and never fails to disappoint. In this movie, he's an accountant who lives in the Beverly Hills area in Southern California and is very arrogant because he thinks he's a big shot living close to celebrities in a one-of-a-kind colonial home (when in actuality he lives in a cookie-cutter house in a suburb). He peppers his speech with Western slang to show off how "American" (and thus wealthy) he is, yet still clings to outmoded beliefs that women should be submissive housewives. He represents the very worst of Western culture in that he's materialistic and looks down on Indian culture as beneath him. In his quest for riches he has lost his Indian identity and become greedy.

Notable Scenes:

The first dance. Balraj is happy to have fun and show off his awesome dancing skills. Darcy, meanwhile, observes that the mothers are eyeing Balraj for the marriage market and is worried that his friend may be trapped by gold-diggers. He's clearly uncomfortable and out of his element here, so Kiran helps translate the songs for him. It's interesting seeing Kiran as a translator here because it would explain why she's one of the few people Darcy hangs out with; she's a cultural intermediary here to help him acclimate to a strange new environment.

Darcy snubs Lalita. This part in the book where Darcy insults Elizabeth by proclaiming her "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" is significant in forming Elizabeth's hatred of Darcy. Not only is he impolite in refusing to dance with Elizabeth, he also shames her by criticizing her looks. In the movie, Darcy excuses himself from dancing with Lalita by saying that he's busy preparing for a conference (in this version, he's a rich businessman who operates luxury hotels). I wish they had kept the original insult in because without it, Lalita's dislike of Darcy has less merit. While it was impolite of him to not dance, he did use a proper excuse and didn't insult Lalita, so unlike in the book, it doesn't make sense why she would hate him so intensely after that one meeting.

A Marriage Has Come to Town song. In this song-and-dance number, Lalita and Jaya are preparing for the wedding to Balraj. The whole town is excited for the wedding and Lalita wonders if life for a woman is all about getting married to be a mere wife: "It seems they had nothing in their lives before today / and why are they so happy to give a daughter away."

Darcy and Lalita conversation #1: Lalita points out most Amritsar residents can't afford to stay at Darcy's luxury hotels; Darcy says standards are necessary, justifying the high price. Darcy says he finds arranged marriages strange and "backwards," hinting at an affinity with Lalita as they are both "romantics." Lalita, still thinking that Darcy is attempting to insult Indian culture, says that arranged marriages have evolved and may not be so evil as he thinks it is.

Lalita and Darcy "accomplished woman" scene. So they have the part from the book where they have Darcy's unrealistic list of the characteristics of his perfect woman and then it becomes a culture clash. Lalita says Darcy's whole hotel business is imperialism (the tourists visit without appreciating Indian culture and the jobs created only benefit the well-off). Darcy replies: "But I'm not British" ("American exceptionalism" is just another form of imperialism).

Dinner with Kohli Saab. I love watching all the "Dinner with Mr. Collins" scenes from all Pride and Prejudice adaptations because it reveals Collins' great arrogance in assuming himself to be of greater importance than he is, as well as his bad manners. This movie does not disappoint; Kohli Saab literally eats with his fingers, shoving rice into his mouth while talking at the same time. Meanwhile, he spews out misogynistic views of women, stating that he came to India to find a "traditional" wife who will serve and obey him; after all, there is "no life without wife." He notes that the Indian-American girls have "a conceited sort of independence" (not what he actually said in the movie, this is a quote from the book which really fits here) and that some of the Indian-American girls "have turned into the lesbian." Lalita later recalls that watching Kohli Saab eat is like observing "a Jackson Pollock painting."

"No Life Without Wife" song. An accurate reading of Kholi Saab: he's "crude and loud" and came to find a wife by flashing his "green card, new house, and big cash." The song reveals what a hypocrite he is; he's lonely and pathetic because there is "no life without wife" yet he won't respect his wife as his equal. I love the "Kohliwood" fantasy sequence where Lalita pictures herself unhappily serving Kohli as a submissive wife. After the song ends Lalita imagines herself marrying Wickham in the English countryside before it turns out Darcy is the groom; she runs away from him.

The Cobra dance. Maya shows off her dancing skills in an awkward dance. Kholi criticizes Indians for being "unsophisticated" (what an arrogant person) while Darcy, in a change of heart, praises how highly they value family.

Kholi's proposal. I love how he tries to train himself to power walk because it's trendy and before proposing stretches himself clumsily, knocking over a pot (he definitely isn't husband material). Lalita mocks Kholi's obsession with physical health, pointing out that many people are physically healthy but don't exercise their minds.

Visiting Kiran. Kiran is arrogant and takes the Bakshis over to her fancy apartment where the mother tries and fails to show some cultural knowledge. I find it interesting that the movie made Lalita and Kiran foils of each other. They are both intelligent women who are "multicultural" in that they can navigate both Indian and Western culture, but they use their cultural knowledge in different ways. Kiran uses it to belittle others and demonstrate her own superiority, while Lalita uses it as a means of gaining respect for herself and others.

Darcy ends up on the same airplane flight as Lalita. This is a cute scene where he gives the first class seat to Mrs. Bakshi just so he can sit with Lalita in economy class (he's totally in love with her!).

Kohli Saab's epic house tour. Love how he pays great attention to the jet tubs and the closets.

Meeting Darcy's mom. She's totally ethnocentric and possibly racist. The first thing she asks Lalita is "tell me about India" and she expresses her disappointment at Darcy's decision (because of Lalita, it's so obvious he's in love) not to buy the hotel in India because "everybody has their hand on India these days" (brings to mind spheres of influence/colonialism since the mother sees India as a place to make a profit). Then the mother reveals that she really isn't interested in India and only knows about its stereotypes: "well, with yoga, and spices, and...wonderful Eastern things here there's no point in traveling there anymore." Meanwhile Lalita retorts that "people haven't stopped going to Italy because Pizza Hut's around the corner."

The first proposal. Darcy's conflicted feelings for Lalita are effectively summed up (perhaps better than in the book, where he begins well but ends with a long account of the inferiority of Elizabeth's connections): "he loves her in spite of the fact that he tried to forget about her, he still wants to marry her in spite of the fact that his family (specifically his mom) will disapprove." Unfortunately, the emphasis on the social inferiority of Lalita's family is left out; Darcy doesn't say anything else until Lalita claims that he thinks her family is inferior and blames him for separating Jaya and Balraj. I don't like this because it seems like the separation of Jaya and Balraj was the only reason Elizabeth rejected Darcy. Also Elizabeth's admission that she did try to overlook her prejudice of Darcy doesn't make sense, because only after the first proposal does she do so.

Plot Changes. The major plot points are all included but the "order of events" has changed:

Lalita and Darcy become friends and she meets his family before his disastrous first proposal. There's a montage where they are traveling alone together, visiting the Grand Canyon and sharing a moment on the beach. I don't like this change because Darcy's separating Jane and Bingley wasn't the only reason Elizabeth rejected him, it was because she hated him (arrogant, proud, doesn't treat others nicely). By showing early on that Darcy is a good person, Lalita's prejudice against Darcy makes less sense because she now has a glimpse of Darcy's true character which in the book doesn't happen until the Pemberley visit.

Their early friendship disrupts Darcy's character journey because it reduces the significance of the first proposal to his character development. In the book, he doesn't start to reform himself until Elizabeth tells him that he needs to behave in a "more gentleman-like manner."

The first proposal is the consequence of all the miscommunication and false perceptions affecting Elizabeth and Darcy, and it motivates both characters to change. Elizabeth rightly scolds Darcy for being inconsiderate; he did the proposal for the selfish reason of purging his feelings so that he wouldn't have to suffer anymore and assumed that she would say yes. Elizabeth rejects him because of his rude manners and lack of consideration, and his defensiveness (where he portrays himself as the victim of feelings and implies he's such a good boy for wanting to marry her in spite of her horrid family) doesn't help. After realizing the extent to which Elizabeth hates him, Darcy writes The Letter to set things right, and Elizabeth realizes that she is not the best judge of character. Thus, giving us a fuller picture of Darcy's character and letting him charm Lalita before the first proposal reduces the significance of the event to the plot and character development.

Wickham and Lakhi have a connection early on, making Lakhi's attempted elopement inevitable. Right after the failed first proposal, Lakhi runs off with Wickham and Lalita and Darcy find out about it at the same time that Darcy comes to apologize and tell Lalita that Wickham is bad. I love that Wickham was punished really badly; after Darcy fights him, he gets slapped twice, once by Lalita and the second time by Lakhi. Even better is that Lakhi doesn't end up with Wickham.

Themes

The film uses the culture clash between India (Eastern) and Western cultures to examine what makes a good marriage.

Indian culture as presented by the film is more collectivist ("we" over "I"). It also promotes traditional gender roles, with women expected to be "meek and submissive" wives. In contrast, Western culture in the film is more individualistic and aspirational (careers and love are possible). But at its worst it condones exploitation of others for profit and cultural intolerance.

In the book, there are different kinds of "culture clashes:" traditional nobility versus new money (the Bingleys made their fortune in trade and Caroline is hoping to be an accomplished woman to make up for this), country versus city (Darcy offending Mrs. Bennet by claiming that the society is "confined and unvarying") and arranged versus romantic marriages.

The misunderstandings that propel the story (Darcy's dismissing of Elizabeth as "tolerable," him falling in love with her even though she still hates him, her belief in the legitimacy of "first impressions") are emphasized through the culture clash. Many of the conflicts in the film are a result of cultural stereotypes and conflicting beliefs.

Interestingly the film doesn't resolve the question it raises of how best to appreciate India and its culture. Lalita raises a lot of points about not oversimplifying Indian culture to a few stereotypes, but one could argue that India as represented by the film might be stereotypical. With the exception of the resort scenes and Goa beaches (which are tourist traps according to the film), the scenes in India heavily emphasize the "developing country" aspects of India with lots of pastoral scenes (cows crossing the road unharmed, farmland, dirt, shacks, dirty motorcycles fighting each other in traffic). Plus the "culture" as represented by the film's dance sequences seems to be the dominant Hindu culture with lots of elephants and saris and curry. Yes, I know this film is a romantic comedy, but the assertion that India is a complex, diverse country is contradicted by what we are presented. Presenting the rustic aspects of India would explain why the characters want to get out of India and go to the richer Western nations, but it harms the premise of the story that we shouldn't judge based on first impressions because the India scenes seem to confirm a Westerner's stereotypes of India (exotic people living in a primitive land).

Changing views on marriage: In the film, as in the book, we are presented with traditional and modern views on what makes a good marriage. Mr. Collins' marriage represents the traditional view in which marriage is a practical "economic proposition," much like a business deal where the marriage is made for the securing of material wealth and happiness comes last. Lady Catherine and other members of the aristocracy view marriage as a means of producing heirs (and bringing large amounts of money through dowries) to keep the property (source of power and wealth) in the family. The modern view of marriage is a partnership of equals who love and respect each other; happiness rather than material wealth/power is the priority. It threatens the power of the traditional nobles as it provides the potential for social climbing. Finally, it becomes another part of the culture clash, as it also ties in with the Western value of individualism, putting it at odds with the more collectivist Indian culture as presented by the film.

Elizabeth and Darcy in the book and in the film are united by their belief in a marriage based on love (the modern view). In the film, Darcy says he wants to look forward to starting each day with his wife, while Lalita says she wants a man who is a romantic and respects her for her mind. For instance, Elizabeth states that "only the deepest love will induce me into matrimony" and that Jane and Bingley should have some time to get to know each other before being rushed into marriage. To Elizabeth, mutual love and respect are essential for a marriage to succeed.

As for book Darcy, when Caroline catches him admiring Elizabeth and asks if he will marry her right away, he jokingly rebuffs her for making that assumption: "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. I knew you would be wishing me joy." Significantly, he mentions love needing to come before marriage, hinting that he shares the same belief about respect (admiration) and love being necessary for a good marriage. In fact, a big reason he separated Jane from Bingley was because he feared that Jane did not love Bingley in return. In short, love in marriage is just as important to Darcy as it is to Elizabeth.

Conclusion:

Bride and Prejudice, as shown by the title, focuses heavily on the theme of marriage and uses the culture clash between India and the West to emphasize the importance of first impressions in our treatment of others.

Even if you aren't into Pride and Prejudice, the movie is worth watching for the Bollywood dance sequences. I also liked the songs because they effectively developed the marriage theme.

The characters are mostly true to the book, except for Darcy, who isn't proud enough and is quick to reform his character.

Last but not least, the real villains of the story were imperialism and ethnocentrism.

Tags: @thatvermilionflycatcher @appleinducedsleep @princesssarisa

#bride and prejudice #aishwarya rai #martin henderson #bollywood #pride and prejudice #jane austen #mr darcy #elizabeth bennet #elizabeth x darcy #book adaptation #adaptation

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commsroom · 3 years ago

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i love all of your hera takes so much; can you say more about the relationship she has with each crew member? (or just eiffel to be honest, im kind of a sucker for them ^^;)

I would love to! I'm sorry this answer is so long and also... all over the place, but in my defense it's a really broad topic that I have a lot of feelings about and this barely even scratches the surface.

Okay. I've thought a lot about how I wanted to approach this, and I think the first thing I want to say - and I know this might seem like a strange point to open on, but I think it's a key factor in all of these relationships - is that I think Hera experiences rejection sensitive dysphoria, and I think the way that manifests for her is kind of the opposite of how Eiffel experiences RSD. They both have a deep-seated feeling of inadequacy and any criticism can feel like a personal attack, like everyone else is blaming them for everything that goes wrong. But where Eiffel internalizes that feeling and also blames himself/gets angry with himself, Hera lashes out and deflects. This is complicated by protocols that restrict her behavior, especially early on, because she can't always properly express herself and she builds resentment. She's really good at holding grudges.

So. With Lovelace, I think it's pretty obvious where that initial conflict is. Hera doesn't understand where Lovelace is coming from, and it's made worse from her perspective because Lovelace should understand, better than anyone, what that loss of control, that sense of powerlessness and insignificance in your own life, feels like. They are both traumatized people, but they deal with it differently. They approach conflict differently - they can both be blunt, but I think Lovelace is the kind of person who can start to deal with and move past things once they're out in the open, while Hera will get in a fight and then stew over it forever. It sounds kind of ridiculous to say when so much of their early relationship with each other is... what it is, but I think Eiffel and Minkowski are both peacekeepers in their own ways, and the Hera-Lovelace dynamic suffers from the lack of that... tempering influence.

(And I think it's notable that Hera’s confrontation with Lovelace in Pan-Pan is among her worst memories.)

On the other hand, I think that shared bluntness can be useful sometimes - in Do No Harm, most of all, but also in Shut Up and Listen. Hera was definitely still holding onto hurt from some of the things Eiffel used to say, but by that point... without Lovelace, I'm really not sure if she ever would've brought it up to him.

And, of course, Hera becomes much more protective of (and willing to understand) Lovelace once they have... some even more similar experiences, in S4. I guess my general assessment of their relationship is that they care about each other and they will advocate for each other, especially where they share difficult and traumatic experiences and on issues of identity, but I don't think they're ever that close. They're kind of... the two people in the friend group who don't quite know how to hang out without their other friends.

Hera's initial conflict with Minkowski has some similar roots, but it's... not quite the same. There are times where Lovelace will intentionally prod at Hera's insecurities; Minkowski doesn't do it on purpose. She's just under the impression that her criticism is fair and professional, while to Hera it feels deeply personal, like it's an assessment of her worth as an individual. Once they understand and reconcile that miscommunication, there's a lot of trust and respect between them - and I think the potential for that is there earlier, too, especially in some flashback scenes; there are just... missteps along the way. Tactical Brain Damage is the best episode to demonstrate the establishment of that trust, I think - Hera has a LOT of wariness when it comes to people messing around with her systems, and just the act of saying... I trust you to do this, I know you won't let anything happen to me... is a really, really big deal for her.

They also just... have honest conversations about their feelings and concerns by that point, and Minkowski is considerate of how Lovelace's plans affect Hera, specifically, and asks for her input on that basis. I think their dynamic is really underutilized, but the way they feel about each other is clear. Minkowski is the only person other than Eiffel that Hera really trusts, and her only other close friend. There's definitely... a part of that dynamic that only Eiffel can offer, and that they can't really make up for when he's gone, but there's still this sense that... they're the only two people who are still really talking to each other by the time Pan-Pan comes around.

(Side note, it's really funny that Hera was SO on board to be in Minkowski's musical. Minkowski gave her only willing participant a minor part. If I could wish one non-Eiffel-centric comedy mini-episode into existence... at one point, my friend suggested a scenario in which Hera tries very, very hard to prove her acting skills to Minkowski under the most inopportune circumstances. ... And Hera was interested to hear Minkowski talk about a play she likes in that one flashback, so. The only thing keeping Hera from being a fellow theater kid was a lack of opportunity. Maybe they could bond over it.)

There's also that scene in Quiet, Please where Minkowski very directly, emphatically defends Hera's autonomy and personhood to Jacobi - and refers to her as a woman, which I think is so... reflective of how much Minkowski has come to understand Hera and what's important to her, and how she wants to be seen. That's a whole other discussion that goes into Hera's self-perception and humanity as it relates to her own identity, but. For a number of reasons, it's important to me.

Anyway. Speaking of things that are important to me. Hera and Eiffel are... Hera and Eiffel. Hera's relationship to Eiffel is the first one she's ever had that comes without hierarchy or conditions; he just... wants to hang out with her, and to get to know her, and to talk to her, because he likes her as a person. She's never had that before, and she is such... a lonely person, a person who has been hurt, who is generally distrustful, who has this distance between her and everyone else, and Eiffel is her anchor to the world. He tries to understand her. He tries to bridge that gap. And even in all of his own missteps, I think just... knowing he cares to try matters so much. I think a lot about how Eiffel is the only one who physically crosses the stage to talk to Hera in the live show; it says... something about the way he sees her, compared to everyone else.

And there's just... the way that they're both... people with a lot of self-doubt, people who have a hard time being kind to themselves, but they're kind to each other, and patient with each other. There's something about recognizing your own flaws in someone you love and treating them with kindness so maybe, over time, you can extend that same compassion to yourself. I want to be the person you believe I am. Going back to that shared experience with RSD, I think it's really valuable for both of them to have someone in their lives who they can really, genuinely believe likes them as they are. Who won't think less of them, no matter what.

I know I can get kind of sentimental about them, but this is what stands out to me. That even when Hera is frustrated or annoyed with Eiffel, when she feels like he doesn't get it, can't understand what she's going through... she still wants him around. And she still talks to him. And, usually... she still feels better, even if the circumstances haven't changed. It's an unbearable situation, but it's a little less unbearable with him there.

(They're also... frequently the only people who can get through to each other/change each other's minds, i.e. Minkowski and Lovelace deferring to Hera to get Eiffel to agree to safety protocols, or Eiffel convincing Hera to vote to go back to Earth - also a totally different topic that would take a long time to get into properly, but he's good at kind of... emotionally counteracting her cynicism and defeatism re: her own perceived fate. In a less serious context, I also love the dynamic where she tells him she's not going to do something and he goes "please??" and she goes. Ughh. Fine. And does it anyway.)

There's just something so special about their relationship, something that makes it different from any other relationship in the show for me. I feel like... Eiffel and Minkowski are both her close friends, but the way Hera thinks about Eiffel in Memoria vs. the way she thinks about Minkowski is... revealing. Everything with Minkowski has a purpose, it's clear why it matters to her. She thinks of Minkowski's faith in her. But with Eiffel, she thinks about... Eiffel talking about Star Wars. Making pop culture references. The thing that saves Hera is her connection to Eiffel and Minkowski - I'll defend that; Maxwell gives her the tools to understand what's going on, but it's Eiffel's and Minkowski's words and associated memories that she holds onto and that ultimately pull her through - and those words are... Minkowski's affirmation. And Eiffel... being Eiffel. I think that says a lot.

(If you’re asking for my opinion on their relationship, you already know I think it’s a romance, but... it’s a romance. I’m not saying it should be canon. I’m saying that that’s the most natural interpretation of what’s already there. You don’t have to change anything. They’re best friends, and they’re found family, and they are so in love, and none of those things are mutually exclusive. The way they talk to each other...)

If there's one point I want to make about all of this, it's that Hera is in a position that makes trusting people potentially very dangerous, and in all of these cases, she is finding ways to build relationships with people despite that. To understand them, and have them understand her, and realizing that the things that make her different don't have to be a death sentence. That she can have a life and find a way forward with people she cares about, who care about her... that's something very important to me.

#wolf 359 #w359 #hera wolf 359 #asks #okay this is the last thing that i've needed to reply to for a long time so. one i'm very sorry and i hope this is coherent #despite the fact it's mostly personal rambling #and two... now i'm free to work on some of the other posts that i've been meaning to finish forever. i have problems.#if you consider him a crew member:#hera's relationship to hilbert is that hlvrai screenshot that's like 'i think it's good that he died!'#thank you to the three people who will take the time to read this. i love you

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atamascolily · 3 years ago

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Just going to say that bringing your secret portable school to a battlefield seems like a really dumb idea, especially considering what happened the last time a high-tech Imperial space station confronted Luke Skywalker on Yavin IV. But Brakiss really is just that extra, so he’s got a big speech prepared:

“With this important strike on the Jedi academy, the Second Imperium becomes more than just an undisciplined band of pirates raiding equipment. We mean to retake the galaxy, my lord. This battle must be a battle of philosophies, of willpower. This is the Imperial way against the Rebel way-and so it should be my trainees against Skywalker’s, Jedi versus Jedi. A shadow play, if you will, of darkness against light. We still intend to harass them with TIE fighter strikes from the air, but the main conflict will be direct and personal-as it must be! We can crush their very hearts, not merely breach their defenses.”

Yeah, okay, someone has a grudge, lol. Although considering what happened the other time the Empire tried to wipe out the Jedi Academy from orbit (RIP Dorsk 81), maybe it would be better just to... spend some spies to infiltrate or something? Oh, wait.

(Young!Brakiss: I volunteer as tribute!)

[Kevin J. Anderson really only has one mode, doesn’t he? This entire book is a rehash of Darksaber, which he also wrote.]

Luke even lampshades this in-universe:

TIE fighters had made direct attacks on the Great Temple-and yet ground forces and Dark Jedi had been sent to fight on a nearly even footing against Luke’s students.

With a different strategy, the Shadow Academy’s victory would have been far easier-it almost seemed as if Brakiss wanted to do it the hard way.

Luke knew that must be the answer.

And then Brakiss calls Luke to explain his true plan, which is the funniest thing ever:

“-essage for Luke Skywalker. Repeat: this is a message for Luke Skywalker. If anyone can hear me, respond immediately.”

Luke stared at the small device before replying, “Who is this?” But before he heard the answer, his Jedi senses told him the man’s identity.

“You can call me Master Brakiss,” the voice said. “Tell your teacher that I’m transmitting on all channels. He will want to speak to me.”

“This is Luke Skywalker,” he said. “If you have a message, Brakiss, you can give it directly to me.” Luke’s heart knocked painfully against his rib cage, though from surprise rather than fear.

The homoeroticism of this scene really speaks for itself.

A cultured laugh came over the comlink.“Well, my old teacher… the man I once called Master. This is a pleasure.”“

What do you want, Brakiss?” Luke asked.

“A meeting,” the smooth voice replied.“Just the two of us. On neutral ground. As equals. We didn’t have a chance to finish our… conversation when you came to my Shadow Academy to rescue your Jedi brats.”

So... a date, then?

Luke paused to consider. A meeting with Brakiss? Maybe this was the answer to the problem he had been trying to solve. After all, who was more central to this battle than the leader of the Shadow Academy himself?

If Luke could reason with Brakiss, turn him away from the dark side, this battle could be won before too many lives were lost.

Luke cannot resist the possibility of redemption! He’s got only one mode and he’s determined to use it!

“Where, Brakiss? What neutral territory do you propose?”

“I think both your academy and mine are out of the question right now.”

“Agreed.”

“Away from the fighting, then. Across the river in the Temple of the Blue Leaf Cluster.

But you must come alone.”

Yup, definitely a date.

Also, didn’t Corran bomb this temple--Exar Kun’s old hangout--at the end of I, Jedi? Does Brakiss know this, or is that an after-the-fact retcon?

“Will you?” Luke asked.

Brakiss gave a rich chuckle. “Of course. I have no need for reinforcements-and I know you are true to your word.”

Luke paused to reassure himself that the Force was indeed guiding his actions. Both he and Brakiss were strong enough in the Force to sense any betrayal by the other.“Very well, Brakiss. I’ll meet you there.

“Alone. We can settle this once and for all.”

So, yeah, Brakiss arranged this entire thing so that Luke would go out with him. I’M HOWLING.

Anyway, so the Temple is still standing in this book, and apparently Brakiss has good memories of this place, because otherwise he wouldn’t have chosen it for his Special Date Revenge Night.

This was the site Brakiss had chosen for their meeting, their confrontation… their duel, if it came to that.

DATE. The word you are looking for is DATE.

Branches parted in a thicket beside the carved pillars of stone. A man stepped out, moving as if he were made of flowing quicksilver,a confident liquid shadow. His perfectly formed, sculpture-handsome face smiled. “So, Luke Skywalker, once my Jedi Master-you have come to surrender to me, I hope? To bow to my superior abilities?”

Luke did not return the smile. “I came to speak with you, as you requested. “

“I’m afraid speaking won’t be enough,” Brakiss said.

Gosh, the innuendo just writes itself.

“You see my Shadow Academy overhead? The battle fleet of the Second Imperium has just arrived. You have no hope of victory, despite your meager reinforcements. Join us now and stop all this bloodshed. I know the power you could wield, Skywalker, if you ever let yourself touch the powers you have neglected to learn.”

Luke shook his head. “Save it, Brakiss.Your words and your dark-side temptations have no effect on me,” he said. “You were once my student. You saw the light side, saw its capabilities for good-and yet you ran from it like a coward. But it’s not too late.Come with me now. Together we can explore what remains of the brightness in your heart.”

“There is no brightness in my heart,” Brakiss said. “I did not come here to banter with you. If you won’t be sensible and surrender, then I must defeat you and take the rest of your Jedi academy by force.”

Foreplay, am I right.

He withdrew a lightsaber from the silvery sleeve of his robe. Long spikes like claws surrounded the energy blade that extended as he pushed the power button. Brakiss heaved a quick sigh. “It seems like such a waste of effort.”

[insert obligatory phallic laser sword joke here]

“You taught that becoming a Jedi is a voyage of self-discovery,” Brakiss said. “I have continued that self-discovery since I left here. I abandoned your teachings, but I found more, much more. My self-discovery has been vastly greater than your own, Luke Skywalker, because you have locked many important doors to yourself.” He raised his eyebrows and his eyes glinted a challenge. “I have looked behind those doors.”

*Thanos voice* “You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me.”

Luke is So Tired:

“This has gone on long enough, Brakiss. You may either surrender or I’ll defeat you directly, because I have work to do. I need to get back to defending my Jedi academy.”

And then Luke destroys his lightsaber, like a boss.

The Master of the Shadow Academy held up his hands and staggered back. “Don’t kill me, Skywalker! Please don’t kill me!” The terror on Brakiss’s face seemed all out of proportion to the threat. Surely the shadow Jedi knew that Luke Skywalker was not the type to strike down an unarmed enemy in cold blood. Brakiss clutched at his silvery robe, fumbling with the fastenings.

This sounds like the beginning of a sex scene.

Luke strode toward him, lightsaber extended. “You are my captive now, Brakiss. It’s time for us to end this battle. Order your Dark Jedi to surrender.”

And then they banged, the end. Oh, wait--

Brakiss let his robes fall away, revealing a jumpsuit and repulsorpack. “No. I have other business to attend to,” he said, and ignited the repulsorjets.

As Luke stared in astonishment, Brakiss rocketed skyward, flying high out of reach.

“They fly now?”

“They fly now!”

The pain of loss flooded Luke’s mind, as fresh as on the day Brakiss first fled the Jedi academy. “Brakiss, I’ve failed to save you again,” he groaned.

... the fic practically writes itself, doesn’t it?

Anyway, Brakiss flees back to the Shadow Academy only to discover it was all a ruse, and ends up dying when one of the masterminds destroys the Academy as they flee, so RIP Brakiss. Feels like such an anticlimax (heh) after all that build-up, though, especially since we never get to see Luke’s reaction to Brakiss’s death or anything in this book.

#star wars #brakiss #Young Jedi Knights #jedi under siege

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