#togruta religion

[gingermaybel]

I don’t want Star Wars I want ✨intergalactic cultural analysis✨ I wanna see how different planets and species developed their own exclusive cultures and social structures. Like canon Togruta hunting ritual and death education, Mandalorian warrior religion, fanon Tatooine slave culture and clone trooper self identity. I wanna see how Pantorans end up with their warm-coloured fur coats and jingling golden jewelleries, why Wookiee lightsabers are often made of wood, stories behind Kiffar tattoos and Twi’lek ears fangs and claws, opposite gender-binary systems of Cerea and Dathomir.

Why is Star Wars portraying everyone as just differently-shaped humans? I want to see more about the daily lives and cultural nuances of the galactic residents. Isn’t that way more interesting than wars and battles and corrupt politicians and dying space wizards?

[starsandmargsabls]

Welcome to the fandom! How exactly are you planning on writing Togruta culture?

Thank you so much!

So far I've separated everything into into four “books” to make things a little bit easier on myself. The first is called Shilian Religion; it's separated into three sections named: 1. Priestesses, Priests, and Shamans, 2. Mythologies, and 3. Effigies, Alcoves, and Shrines. The second is simply named Togruta; it's split into five sections named: 1. Biology, 2. Language, Numbers, Dialects, 3. Art & Fashion, 4. Customs & Cuisines, and 5. Government. These two are the ones I'm putting the most time into when I can.

You probably noticed all the posts about clothes, scenery, animals, and what not. All that is inspiration for me, both for fics and the creation of the culture. I'll also be reading some books and articles in my spare time as well.

The last two are for my own personal amusement and hopefully your enjoyment as well.

Supreme Huntress: Monarchs of the Shilian Kingdom will be a story inside biographical texts, where readers can pick apart the characters along with their motives, political upheavals, coups, wars, family drama, scandals, etc. “History is written by the victors,” “All's fair in love and war,” kind of tale. There will be a lot of reading in between the lines.

Kirosians: The First Togruta Colonial Project is just me speculating on how life on Kiros may differ from that of Shili. Like they left the warrior/hunter life behind and focused on art. How does that affect their religion? What type of government do they have? Is it still a matriarchal society? They have a male governor, so maybe not? Is it patriarchal? Is there a council like structure? Is it a democracy? Republic? I gotta tease it out, though it is last on my list of fun things I wanna do.

This all this may be subject to change as I really get into things, but I'll let you all know if that happens though.

Thank you for the ask!

[brother-genitivi]

Star Wars Culture Week Day 3 - S.P.I.R @starwarscultureweek

The evil eye is born of jealousy. Consequences of having it cast on you can be minor, like illness, or major, like death. To keep themselves safe from the evil eye, a nazar boncuk was made. It is hung in homes or worn on your person. The Twi’leks created ear cone rings for them to be worn, where the Togruta prefer to hang the nazar on their walls. But the intent is always the same - to be shielded from harm.

"Nazar değmesin." A popular saying that means you hope the evil eye does not touch them. Effectively, good luck to you, touch wood, etc.

(Referenced from my culture - Turkish. Though Turkey isn’t the only culture that has this practice. You��ll often find the nazar in other countries, and the belief of the evil eye spans over thousands of years of history in many religions. All of these are items that I own and wear. I probably have about 15 nazar in total!)

@tatert07s @penandsaber @forbodium

[graylinesspam]

An excerpt from a story I've been writing about Ahsoka exploring togruta lore in order to connect with her heritage. And also acting as a jedi delegate speaking with a lost traditionalist togruta tribe.

when their ships landed at the edge of the village they were met with a line of armed men. Their lekku were all warm shades ranging from a deep magenta to a bright yellow. Their weapons were traditional. The repurposed tools and hunting knives and spear were held in tight but lowered grips. Though they wanted to show strength to the invaders they did not want to show aggression. Not a curled lip or an exposed fang could be found on their faces. 

In the center of the delegation was an elder not as old as the ones she'd befriended from the green lek tribe, but his montrals were tall and his lekku were wide. His skin showed the wear of sun and labor. 

"Will they attack?" Mundi asked after she'd taken the time to assess their welcome party. 

"I don't think so," Ahsoka said. "But why don't you let me go first?"

Mundi nodded to the front of the ship and the gunship doors slid open. Ahsoka stepped off the ship first; her choice to go barefoot had raised several eyebrows but she was glad for the opportunity to ground herself. Her beaded ankle bracelets flashed for a moment as she stepped down into the tougher, reedier grass. 

As she took two tentative steps forward Rex and Echo exit the gunship behind her. Their boots made loud crunching noises as they trampled the grass. Master Mundi and one of the three delegates from Cerea filled out the right side of the ship. 

The men in a line before her studied the group carefully, apprehensive looks were cast to the clone troopers and, with cautious recognition, to the Cereans. But it was the sight of Ahsoka that caught all of their attention. 

She was the shortest among them but she stood in the lead. Every man there shot quick glances at her murmurs growing across the line. 

The Elder had eyes only for her. He separated from the line, his palms open in front of him. He and Ahsoka approach each other drawn across the no man's land like magnets. 

They met in the middle palms laid flat against each other and heads turned until they lay cheek to cheek. "Welcome sister," his voice hummed richly through his chest. There was a warm sort of familial feeling that overtook her in response. 

"I am honored to see you elder," she replied In the people's language. Hoping beyond hope that her pronunciation wasn't mangled.

"You bring many with you today. Those that resemble the troublemakers. And men in much armor. Do you bring conflict to us?" He asked with much patience in both the speed and tone of his words. Speaking slowly the way Ahsoka had to accommodate her.

"No. I have brought peace with me. Those that have trouble with you have called to me to speak. So that there will be no conflict. They come with great respect but also urgency."

The elder holds her hands in a loose grip between them as he pears around Ahsoka's shoulders, suspicion in his eyes. But it isn't Mundi or the Cereans he is looking at. It is Rex and Echo.

"You bring peace, but you bring soldiers in much armor with great weapons?"

Ahsoka is somehow blindsided by the accusation. It simply hadn't occurred to her that the sight of blasters or clone armor would seem aggressive to the lost tribe here. 

Ahsoka scrambled for a reason that would make sense to these people without a twenty minute backstory about Mandalorians and the galactic war.

She glanced back at Rex and the excuse came to mind easily. Something that she'd pondered idly in a childish bid to have more connection with her culture in a religion that didn't foster much; and in an environment where she didn't even need a full hand to count the amount of people that looked like her. 

She raised an open palm over her shoulder and quickly flashed a mandalorian hand signal she'd used a hundred times to direct her troops. With practiced efficiency Rex and Echo strode either of her flanks and stood once more at rest. Both visors trained stoically forward.

"Revered elder, this is Rex, my hunting partner. And his brother Echo. It is the way of their people to remain armed but they follow my lead. My orders. They're loyalty brings me great honor."

The elder looked shocked. He inspected Rex closely peering into the black of his visor to try to see into his heart.

"Rex, take off your helmet, lower your head to the elder." It was the first time she'd spoken in basic since exiting the ship but Rex didn't need any context to follow her order.

He removed his helmet and ducked his shoulders so the shorter man could peer into his eyes.

The elder searched him trying to weigh his gaze against the unfamiliar danger of the weapons on his hips. Trying to determine what sort of man she was bonded to.

Ahsoka knew both men were confused by the interaction. The title she'd given Rex, hunting partner, bhat sa'behm, was sacred and it had no equivalent outside of Togruta society.

A hunting partner was a life bonded friend. Usually someone you grew up with, someone you'd learned to read better than anyone else. Someone who could get lost in the grass and shadows of Shili but remain by your side. With no words between you and no wasted breath. Some said hunting with another for a long time bonded your souls in the next life. Ensured you would be reborn in the same body. Two halves made whole.

She supposed her and Rex were close enough to that. Though what they hunted were droids. And she wasn't convinced reincarnation was real. They still had an unmatched read on each other. She'd rather have him at her back than anyone.

Finally satisfied with peering into Rex's soul the elder turned back to her. "He is wise in this life. But his soul is young." he determined. "You are not. An old spirit in a young body." he said with a chuckle. "perfectly suited."

[thehollowprince]

There is no ignorance, There is knowledge

I was on TikTok last night at work and came across a video calling out how many Star Wars "fans" were complaining about the "wokeness" being introduced to the franchise, specifically citing Lizzo's glorified cameo in a single episode. Putting aside that this is a franchise has a wise and powerful character played by a freaking muppet, the TikToker (?) rightfully called out how so many of these fans never seem to actually interact with any Star Wars projects. Their opinions seem to be based entirely on their own perception of clips and images taken from the internet and pop culture.

Hence, the title, because oftentimes, consumption of the source material usually clears up any confusion as to what this franchise has always been about. With Knowledge, we diminish Ignorance

I was reminded of this yet again this morning when I got home and checked my recommendations from Google and was greeted with this monstrosity.

I know I shouldn't get worked up because this is Screenrant, and literally anyone can post anything to it. There doesn't seem to be any vetting process to this website and what it publishes. But I've been seeing more and more Jedi slander over the last few years, and I just can't keep my mouth shut (metaphorically speaking).

So let's just break this piece of garbage down.

Naturally, it's not a complaint against the Jedi unless we call them child abductors, right? Putting aside the fact that I have never seen so many incorrect statements strung together in a row like that (and this is just the first paragraph), it really emphasizes the point I'm trying to make here.

There is no perfect system in any of Star Wars, no matter what faction you're a fan of. The Jedi are no exception to this.

The Order does not kidnap nor indoctrinate children. At least not more than any other religion, political group, revolution, educational system, etc. How the Jedi refill their ranks isn't any different than how the Mandalodians recruit their foundlings or how the Clones were created by the Kaminoans. The Jedi find Force-sensitive children and (with their guardians permission where applicable) and offer them a chance to not only hone abilities that can be dangerous without proper training, but an opportunity to be a part of what is a generally revered organization throughout the galaxy, bringing peace to all those they can.

This has been explained multiple times by multiple people within multiple supplemental entries of Star Wars materiel, but there is a reason that the young are chosen to be trained instead of adults. The entire purpose of the Jedi's order is to teach their students empathy and compassion (despite what this author insinuates, saying the Jedi are "without emotion or passion") so that they don't become tyrants like the Sith or other more militant factions throughout the Galaxy.

In fact, once again in complete contradiction to what this author says, the Jedi once filled their ranks with many adult initiates, but such recruits fell to the Dark Side at a much more commensurate rate. It was because of these constant droves of Dark Jedi that the current practice of only accepting students younger than a certain age or maturity became more pronounced.

But let's move on.

Say it with me now:

"The Jedi never forced any member of its Order to forsake their heritage!"

As a matter of fact, there are multiple examples of Jedi who not only explore their birth heritage but embrace it.

Both Shaak Ti and Ahsoka Tano, as Togruta, incorporate both a Togruta sash and an akul tooth headdress into their Jedi attire

Shaak Ti actually took her padawans to her home planet for their training

Plo Koon was both a member of the Jedi High Council and the Baran Do Sages, a Force-sensitive order on his home planet

Oppo Rancisis was the son of the Blood Monarch of Thisspias and kept in contact with the royal family

A'Sharad Hett wore the traditional coverings of a Tuskan Raider

Both Luninara Unduli and Barriss Offee bore traditional Mirialan tattoos

Tarre Vizsla, the creator of the Darksaber, wore his Mandalodian armor during his time with the Order

Ki-Adi-Mundi was married!

Depa Billaba wore the marks of the Chalactan Adepts

And numerous other examples!

There has never been a tenet of the Jedi that prohibits their members from either learning of their culture (in fact, it's encouraged to do so) or to seek out their family or people. The only thing the Jedi have ever been pretty strict about in this regard is the formation of attachments. Specifically, the unstable emotions that come with such attachments and how those Jedi will do anything to retain them (i.e. Anakin Skywalker.)

This next one is a real doozy.

I have never read such garbage in my life. That's like saying, "How dare you not teach these children to be racist to their classmates because that's their family's culture!"

Once again, I understand that I shouldn't get upset because this is Screenrant, and they will post whatever click bate bullshit will get you onto their site. Rage-farming is the word, and I'm sorry to admit that I fell for it. It just infuriates me that so many people, or at least the most vocal ones, are so adamant about tarnishing the Jedi. All while usually loving characters like Vadar or Maul or any of the Mandalodians, who canonically do much worse than the Jedi ever did.

Are the Jedi perfect? No. But throughout STAR WARS, they've done the best they can within the confines of a horrific situation that they were forced into. They don't deserve this prolonged smear campaign because they don't meet the ever changing and often unrealistic standards that some people want.

Note: Sorry for the small text, but I wanted people to be able to differentiate between my words and the article.

[certified-anakinfucker]

ah, a pinned post

hi im cheeri! | african american | in my 20s (18+) | it/its

whats up yall. back at it again. it seems i changed my major so i may as well finally make a pinned post about it!

im a former clone wars major (minoring in a whole lot of cultural lore and worldbuilding) - ive since moved to the old republic, but my minors are pretty much the same, just new subjects and focuses. minors include togruta biology and cultural lore, twi'lek cultural lore, and mandalorian cultural lore! ive added minors on the sith purebloods on top of both the sith religion and imperial culture. sometimes i poke the chiss with a stick. more often than not im poking the jedi with many sticks.

dni: master/padawan shippers, cl*necest / twincest or incest otherwise, rexs*ka / mauls*ka, anything that’d get you put on a federal list irl || if you openly send / encourage death threats or otherwise make excuses for those that do .. scram. this is not a safe space for you :3

sideblog directory under the cut!

⊹ @cinematic-cheeriverse || for my main au-posting, world/lorebuilding, all that fun stuff

⊹ @milf-anakinfucker || writing blog… one can dream

⊹ @certified-hunterfucker || SWTOR blog. lmao. i should actually use it

⊹ @forceblessed || was a silly blog specifically for my main au anakin + his shenanigans. might use it for that exact purpose

⊹ @cheeri-wine || nsft [does my funny dance]

⊹ @ncis-hyperspace || an au blog that's sorta perpetually under wip

⊹ @historicallyblackmando || i need to get back on my mando'a :]

[authortobenamedlater]

It was a poorly-formed idea I had for a Jedi offshoot that used the Force as a tool of Eternal Father (my name for God in the GFFA, shamelessly ripped from one of my favorite hymns). Their base planet was Katharos, which is the Greek word from which we get “cathedral” and means pure or set apart.

I haven’t imagined much plot for them, but their head honcho was a Togruta male named Kai Bushido who everyone called “Bushy.” Bushido-kai means “the way of the warrior” in Japanese. Maybe this experiment was just an excuse to play with words.

Like my Spartan Gets Religion plot bunny, this might be fun if I wanted to basically write original fiction set in one of my fandoms. I always seem to come back to Star Wars so maybe one day I’ll do something here.

Me daydreaming about a completely non-Christian fictional universe: and God was there also. also God was secretly there. the Christian God was there, actually.

[dragonheart-swtor]

Togruta Gods: Gandave (“Youth”)

Overview: One of Shili's moons, god of beauty and youth. Called the Lilac Beauty.

Depicted as a young Togruta woman with pale purple skin and violet montrals, often painted in a gradient of purples, instead of the solid blocks of color common to traditional Togruta religious art. Gandave is usually shown in fairly simple dress, even in more intricate styles, and is often depicted alongside Valxi, the god of love when not with the other moon gods.

Alternate depictions of Gandave vary little, but the color of her montrals in particular can range from blue to pink, though rarely outside the range of what might loosely be considered “purple.” She is also sometimes depicted as a young girl instead of an adult, in her aspect as the god of youth.

Gandave is one of the six moon gods of the Togruta, and is a god of the beauty and vibrancy of youth. She is beloved by mortals and fellow gods alike, invoked by young Togruta hoping to catch someone's eye or by parents hoping their child will grow into a beautiful young adult, but the wise know her realm is transitory, and all people will pass into and out of it in time. Consequentially, in mythos, she is kind and lively, but also easily distracted and fickle. Gaining her favor is easy enough, but so is losing it as she moves on to her next new interest. She also serves as one of Valxi's handmaidens, alongside other gods of love and sexuality, and as such is often a background feature to stories that feature Valxi.

The real moon Gandave is unique in that it has rings when viewed with even a weak telescope, and has a beautiful lilac color that gave rise to her title and appearance. These rings are believed to be slowly dissipating over time, pulled apart by the gravitational forces of Shili and its other moons – a fitting end to the moon representing such a transitory god.

[phoenixyfriend]

👀 PLease tell us your thoughts about the Jedi babies re-growing up among different cultural contexts.

Oh fuck okay

Context: original post, chrono The specific post this ask is referencing: here

Summary of the AU: Disaster lineage got tossed back in time. Anakin stayed 21-ish, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka got deaged, took new names for time-travel reasons (Ylliben and Sokanth, or Ben and Soka), are now staying with the True Mandalorians under Jaster Mereel because the Force said to, go back to the Temple after about a decade. They grabbed Shmi about three months after arriving.

So as far as the cultural background goes, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had similar upbringings. She spent a few years on Shili first, but both spent the majority of their childhoods up to age 13/14 being raised in the creche. So that's the basis that they would default to, in a vacuum.

Nobody is raised in a vacuum.

Along with the Jedi cultural background, they're being raised by Tatooine natives in a Mandalorian environment.

Shmi and Anakin are both former slaves who have desert survival baked into their bones. The longer Anakin spends around her, the more his accent slips, the more he talks about old folktales, the more he uses idioms that don't exist on a cityplanet like Coruscant. All the things that he tamped down to be a Jedi come floating back to the surface, and Shmi's never known anything else. Anakin's knowledge of slave customs make her feel more comfortable, which in turn makes him feel better, and so on.

Mandalore is just... the culture they're living in. You don't grow up in a new culture with a new language without picking up on it personally. (Source: I moved to the US when I was a little under two years old.)

I think the thing I'm going to focus on as an example is the way each of these cultures approaches family, and then maybe how they approach the keeping of peace/what peace means.

Jedi: Where you come from means little, only the legacy you leave behind in your students. Mandalore: You protect your clan and your children; adoption is a major cultural value, if not actually practiced consistently. Tatooine: You can lose your family at any time, so you value what you have in all its forms. You don’t forget where and who you came from, to family of blood and family of choice alike. You cling to your memories and what little you still have of them, to what your master cannot take away.

These are all valid ways to approach family, and each of these approaches can have significant meaning to different people. But they do all, to a certain degree, conflict with one another, despite all three being fairly communal cultures.

The Jedi have a culture, one that’s built on a shared ability and religion over thousands of years. It’s not just an organization, but a continuous community with legends and traditions and art and records. But it’s one that is built on new blood coming in from the outside, volunteers who join because the religion speaks to them (near literally, given the nature of Force Sensitivity), given up by families who couldn’t or wouldn’t teach them in a way that let their talents flourish instead of pushing it all down.

For the Jedi, a culture built on people coming together due to something they have in common intrinsically that their families of blood do not, it makes sense to put emphasis on letting go of that past when they can, and to place importance on teaching lineages. It’s not just the official master-padawan pairs, either, but that’s the most obvious and easily paralleled element. Moreover, a lot of the Jedi culture is about gaining knowledge, so obviously spreading it is good, and also on supporting the galaxy to make it a better place; to view the Jedi order as a heavily communal culture would make sense, since their values are all about selfless betterment of the universe, which on a larger scale is about the galactic conflicts, but on a smaller scale is about supporting their own community, the children and the ill and elderly.

So that is the specific culture that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka grew up in, one that holds blood family as relevant but not particularly crucial to one’s identity, but is structured so people leave behind legacies through education in a manner that often becomes adoptive family (depending on your definition, I guess). Jedi are encouraged to connect to their home cultures, if not their families, with practices like the coming of age hunt for Togruta leading to the young Jedi taking a trip out to Shili to engage in that cultural milestone. This can also be viewed as a way for the Jedi to maintain personal connections to the wider universe, a (not entirely successful, but certainly attempted) way of keeping them from becoming too isolated and insular from the universe at large, and losing touch from what the galaxy actually needs of them.

They’re now growing up with two cultures that do place emphasis on blood and found family.

Mandalore, as presented in The Mandalorian, has their traditional values set as being heavily associated with their armor, battle skills, and childcare. While that’s clearly a set of values that aren’t actually followed by everyone with full sincerity, we can assume that these stated cultural values do have at least some impact on the way the society is structured, since we do see more traditional characters (Jaster, Din) adopt orphaned children and then have the Mandalorian elements of their immediate circles support that claim.

(We’ll ignore Jango and the whole clone army thing because the amount of Sith influence is up for debate and also holy trauma, Batman.)

However, we also see that a lot of Mandalorian culture is built on their family histories. On the New Mandalorian side, we see emphasis placed on the fact that Satine is House Kryze and that she’s a duchess. Her bloodline is relevant, though not the most important thing about her. On the Death Watch side, we have Pre and Tor placing emphasis on the fact that they’re Clan Vizsla, descended from Tarre, that this is important to why they deserve what the darksaber represents, this is part of why they not only deserve to lead, but should for the good of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan’s armor is a family heirloom. Boba’s armor was Jango’s, but before being Jango’s, it was Jaster’s. Armor is important enough to pass to family, but the family can be adopted. This all tracks.

The resol’nare specifies loyalty and care for the clan/tribe among the six tenets.

These two elements seem relatively well-balanced: the importance of adoption and the importance of family as a larger unit on the level of a house or clan.

And then you have Tatooine, which also balances blood and adoption, but for entirely different reasons, that being this: it can always be taken from you.

For all that a Mandalorian could historically expect their family to die in battle, and a Jedi could expect to lose their master the same way if things went poorly, those were usually choices. A Mandalorian was raised to walk into battle, and then they could make that choice to do so. It wasn’t often much of a choice, but they could feasibly turn their back and choose to be a farmer or a doctor or something, and support the people who went out to do battle instead of being the one on the field themselves. A Jedi could choose to be a healer or an archivist or join one of the Corps.

A slave does not get that choice. A slave can be killed or sold on a whim from their master. It’s not a one-time trauma, but an ever-present fear. Your parent, your child, your sibling, your spouse, all of them can be separated from you at any time. You can always lose them, and you have no choice but to grin and bear it, or try to run and die before you reach freedom.

In a context like that, I imagine Tatooine places a very heavy emphasis on family, both of blood and of choice, and on treasuring what you have while you have it. A person is always aware that they can lose whoever they have in their life, and so they make the most of their times together, have clear and consistent ways of expressing that love (I imagine primarily direct verbal confirmations and physical contact, practical gifts like water and fruit). Childcare is important, elders are venerated. Those who survived that far have valuable wisdom, and the children are to be given what happiness they can have before reality wipes that ability from them.

The family ‘networks’ among Tatooine slaves are smaller and tighter knit. There’s less trust for outsiders, but once you’re in, you’re in until you are taken away. Still, families are torn apart regularly, and often can’t contact each other after being separated if they’re sold far enough away, so families stay small because they’re always being broken up. Unlike Mandalore’s tribe/clan system, or the Jedi’s wide, loosely-structured community, Tatooine’s slaves form smaller groups that cling for as long as they can, and try to support each other. (There are selfish ones, of course, especially the newbies, but... well. Most try.)

Tatooine is also much more likely to assign a familial role (e.g. referring to an elder as ‘grandmother’). It’s not uncommon in the others (multiple Jedi refer to their masters as a parent or sibling, like Anakin’s “you’re like a father to me” line), but it’s not as baked-in that such a role should be given.

So on a structural level, we have two people from a community culture with little emphasis on blood family or formal familial roles are now being raised in a community that has them asking “what can you do for the people around you first, and then the wider world?” by people who tell them “your family, blood and found, is the most important thing you have; never let anyone take more from you than they possibly can.”

And that shit has an effect.

For all that Sokanth and Ylliben were once raised with a knowledge that their duty, their goal, was to better the galaxy as a whole, they are now being told that the community that raises them asks their loyalty back, because societies are built on support networks, and if you support the tribe, it will support you. There are parallels to that kind of thinking among Jedi, because it is basic social theory, but it’s not presented as the same kind of cultural value. It’s not given as something to strive for, just a basic fact.

This, for instance, means that once they’re back at the Temple, they have a tendency towards suggesting study groups and other ways of supporting people in their immediate circle, often structured in very unfamiliar ways. Again, this isn’t uncommon among Jedi, but it’s not done in the same way, or with the same emphasis. The Jedi also often approach problem-solving in a different order, so the step of “meditate on it and you may find your solution” often comes before “gather information from people who know more about it than you do,” while Ben and Soka have by this point learned to do it the other way around, because that’s what the Mandalorian system taught them: rely on your family first.

Meanwhile, the Tatooine element of their upbringing has them being much more willing to just... casually refer to ‘my dad’ and ‘my sister’ and so on. They use those words. It’s not just “my master is like a father to me,” but “this is my father.” They don’t hesitate to talk about the family they had and still have in Mandalorian space. None of the Jedi begrudge them it, really, but it’s always a shock to hear for the first time, and between the Tatooine refusal to pretend the connection is gone and the Mandalorian tendency to err on the side of roughhousing as affection, they’re just... odd. It’s not like none of the other Jedi know family outside the Order--some of the old books had Obi-Wan visiting his brother on Stewjon once in a while--or like none of the active Jedi are loud or boisterous, but the specific manner in which Soka and Ben interact with the Order, especially when their dad is around, is very weird.

More Soka than Ben, really, but that’s mostly just because Ben’s a very quiet person until he gets a little older, so it’s harder to notice on him.

Point is, while they still hold to their duty to the wider galaxy and will continue to keep that duty above almost anything else in their lives, the way they talk and act about the subject of family, especially in private, is heavily influenced by their new cultures.

This is already very long but I promised I’d talk about peace so let’s go:

The Jedi seek peace as an absence of war and conflict in the portion of the galaxy under their purview, in hopes that they will prevent as much suffering and death as they can.

The Mandalorians are varied, but Jaster Mereel’s group (which is the community the Skywalkers are with) is likely to view peace as unrealistic to achieve in the long term. They do not seek war, but they know the world they live in, and are prepared to protect against violence as their first resort. They always expect an attack, even if they don’t seek it.

The Slaves of Tatooine view peace as the calm in a storm. It is the status quo. Nobody has escaped tonight, for the guards aren’t searching, but neither is anyone dead. The Master you have is in a good enough mood to not sell you, to not kill you, to not beat you. Peace as an absence of suffering is impossible, so you seek for your master to be peaceful, that is to say: not raging at you.

The scope of each of these narrows significantly. From the known galaxy, to the wars that meet Mandalorian space, to the household one serves.

A community like the Jedi can choose to address peace as something to be sought on a large scale as an absence of war. They primarily function within the borders of the Republic, which has its problems but is largely structured to prevent such things from occurring until the Sith interfere. The Jedi have a structure that allows them to address peace as an ideal to be sought, at least within the borders of the territory they serve.

Mandalore, meanwhile, has been at war on and off for... ever. When they are not at war with themselves, they’re at war with someone else. ‘Peace’ is just the time between wars, and they know that if they do not attack first, they will be forced to defend. Jaster Mereel was known as the Reformer, and part of that was that instituting a code of honor, one that was intended to prevent Mandalorian warriors from acting as raiders and brigands, but rather acting as honorable hired soldiers, or taking roles such as the Journeyman Protectors. Given that, I imagine that he views war as something inevitable, but also something that can be mitigated.

War doesn’t touch Tatooine.

Oh, it might raise taxes and import rates. It might prevent visitors who come for the races. It can do a lot of things.

But to a slave, these are nothing. The only thing war does is affect the master, the person who chooses when their slaves get water, when they get beaten, when they are no longer useful enough to keep around or keep alive.

The peace of a slave’s live is dictated by how much abuse they are subjected to by the person who owns them.

What this means for Soka and Ben is... well, they are viewed as war-hungry by the people who don’t know them very well. They have armor. They focus on fighting, both with and without their sabers. They know tactics better than most masters. They claim that war is coming, and don’t seem too sad about it.

(It is a fact to them. War will come. All they can do is meet it. They’ve already done their mourning once.)

They also... well, Shmi tells them things in hidden corners. How to duck their head to hide the hate or fear in their eyes. How to watch for the anger in the tendons of a hand. The laugh of someone who enjoys the pain they’ve caused, not just the adrenaline of a fight. She is free, and so are they, but she has not forgotten how to hide in the shadows until the master’s ire has turned elsewhere. How to be small and quiet and unseen until the danger passes.

A Jedi’s first resort is words. Their second is their saber. But the Jeedai hold their heads high, and the Mandalorians do the same.

“You rely on the Force, and you have your pride,” she tells them, her hands on their own. “But there will come a time when you will not be able to remind people that you are free. You will not be able to say that you are a person, that you deserve the respect of a living sentient. Perhaps it will be a politician who treats everyone like that. Perhaps you will be captured by an enemy. Perhaps you will be undercover. You will not be able to fight, with words or with weapons, and you will have to know how to survive.”

Tatooine does not have peace. Tatooine only has survival.

And while Jedi fight for the survival and peace of the universe, they are refined and composed. Mando’ade fight like warriors of old, and Tatooine slaves fight like cornered, rabid anooba.

The galaxy comes first, but when the chips are down and the Sith come out to play, Soka and Ben do not need refinement, because they know how to toss aside their pride and live.

[sandu-zidian]

The Mechanic

So, @thedeaf.artist on instagram made a challenge for Deaf Awareness Month, which basically is creating a deaf/HOH OC! I thought it was a super fun challenge, so I decided to join in!

The Mechanic (nobody knows their name, including me oop), is a mysterious figure in the Outer Rim. As a wandering figure, they set up their mechanic shop from their ship on a rotating basis, spending a couple months on each planet they stop at. Many people find themselves in the Mechanic’s shop, most of whom are Jedi and Sith alike. The Mechanic can fix almost anything, including the sabers the force users that end up in their shop wield. But every once a while, the Mechanic will produce a lightsaber, beautiful and intricate, and bestow it to another. Rare is this event, and they rarely explain themselves. Nobody knows if the Mechanic is a force user or not, or whether they have (or had) any affiliation with either Sith or Jedi, or another force religion. But regardless, other force users find them a surprising ally in the field of mechanical repairs.

The Mechanic is partially deaf on their right side. Born with a birth defect, their right montral and lekku did not grow properly. Their hearing suffered, with the hollow bone that allows Togrutas to hear mostly undeveloped on their right side. They wear a hearing aid that facilitates the unique form of echolocation Togrutas have, passing sound waves through the metal chamber and connected to the bottom portion of the montral and to the temporal lobe where sound waves are processed by the brain. They also wear weights on the bottom of their montral, where the lekku should be, in order to better balance their head and the left side’s weight better. The Togruta rarely talks, many times using Aurbesh Sign Language to communicate, but also can speak and sign a good number of trade languages useful in the area they stay in.

[yourfairygodmotherorsomething]

General Information

Full name: Sonia (deadname Sunny) CT-4808, GAR Logistics Officer, Coruscant. In some stories she gets adopted by Quinlan Vos, so then she is Sonia Vos, but not always.

Battalion: 000, Coruscant Logistics.

Age: early CT, of a similar age to Hardcase. Older than Rex. I gave her the number 4808 (even though it was sooooo tempting to give her the boob number, but she has to be an older CT)

gender: female

Species: Concord Dawn Human Variant (or as they say in Mandospace ‘mando’ad haaranovor’birov (born Mandalorian, hiding many [species]) in that they look human, but tend to have a lot going on in their generic soup. And the clones have that going on even more overtly, because the kaminiise pulled stuff out to give the clones different traits.

Clone Varient: CT Command stream Fett standard: Togruta trial stream; Trans female. (She has teef, tapetum lucidum (and great eyesight in low light which is Handy on Coruscant), and species who can see UV spec can see she has some cool stripes maybe she can see on the UV spec….? not sure yet)

Planet of Origin: Kamino

City of Birth: Tipoca City.

Current place of living: Coruscant

Religion: small gods for small people

Mother tongue: the vod’e have no mother. Republic Basic, Republic Sign, limited Mando’a

Dialect: Didi, and Vodo’a; what would later be labelled as ‘Fordo’s dialect’.

Job title: as of deployment, GAR Logistics Distribution Supervisor. She was recruited to be the Coruscant Guard Commaders’ aide about six months into the war. They really deserve to have one aide each (at least), but they technically shouldn’t have any. Thorn restored her status as a Shock Trooper, then promoted her to Major so they could collaborate on acquisitions for the contraband exploits they were both engaging in. Shortly after this, Fox grounded her for getting face tattoos (and talking two much higher ranking vod’e into doing the same), and she became the the office wrangler. Thankfully she was very good at it.

Relationships: She is often touted as having been the first vod to get their heart broken in the GAR. It was so bad the Alphas blacklisted the guy’s name for all of the vod’e. Later, after a few more misses she meets a Noorian (the same near human species as Master Tahl) hairdresser who works in the undercity, and falls deeply in love. Thankfully this time her affection is reciprocated.

On a more platonic level she is best buds with (Commander) Stone and (CMO) Garrote. She is the baby sister of the three CC Commanders, in a similar way Rex is to Cody. They found her later but she’s that little bit younger than them so they have experiences in common and stuff.

She gets adopted by Quinlan Vos in some universes. Because she deserves it.

Likes: bright colours, fashion, aiwahas, tookas, jizz music. She is obsessed with Tholme’s radio show, and in some universes Quinlan likes to joke she convinced him to adopt her so she can be related to Tholme. She loves playing the space keytar. like Tholme.

She loves nice smelling things and hair care, and learning how to mix up hair products. She likes cute, fun things, and many of her siblings carve hair sticks and hair charms out of old armour so she can put pretty things in her hair.

Dislikes: The Senate. Senators. Cheaters. War. Rapists. Slavers. The Chancellor. The Chancellor. The Chancellor. The Chancellor. The Chancellor. The

Childhood: From a fairly early CT batch, she was headed for Captain, but she was too idiosyncratic. she couldn’t keep herself to standard in behaviour or priorities and so she was moved to Logistics. The thing is though she has a solid head for logistics, to the point where she was acquiring extra items like caf, hoth chocolate and stuff to slip into the supplies. Then Thorn came along after he and Fox were posted to Coruscant, and he had a few more friends in high places to go with her friends in low places and so they were able to add fruit juice to make bootleg tihar out of, and thanks to thorn’s contacts in the Medicorps, a safe, consistent supply of hrt for the sisters who couldn’t wait till the end of the war, even if it was a risk of decommissioning when they were suddenly non-Fett Standard.

Teenage years: She met a musician early early on in the war, when they were still sleeping on their floor and building their barracks. Before The Wall was The Wall and before Fordo’s Rule was in place.

He got her into music which was awesome but he tried to cheat with Thorn when he arrived on Coruscant, and she found out he’s cheated on her before that, which broke her heart.

Adulthood: Quinlan teaches her about hair care and she learns how to mix up his ‘mission poo’, which is a powder form of shampoo that can be used dry for the sonic, or mixed into a wet version to create a lather for a water wash.

The recipe was originally distributed by Bly and the 327th, but when Sonia met Quinlan she asked him about the details, and learned about what he uses when he isn’t on mission in hives of scum and villainy. He also teaches her a lot of braiding techniques and other skills, some history and details of different species’ hair traditions and significance, and introduces her to some of his friends in the industry. After the war, she opens up a market stall, but she mostly sells her stuff to her vod’e.

First time mentioned: Only a Moment to Touch Your Skin (very briefly), First Love more solidly.

What is their role: Litte Sister. Older Sister. Trouble Maker. Caf hookup

Pets: I think she will have a tooka? haven’t made them yet though.

Physical Characteristics: she has corrie red tattoos on her eyes. She has an excellent pair of boobs she grew herself that she’s very proud of. Her hair is long, and is kept bleached and coloured. Generally whatever colour she can get for cheap, and it ends up being like lines of colour as she just touches up the regrowth and leaves the other bit as the previous colour to save on dye

Armour Paint/Characteristics: Corrie Red, the hal'cabur is painted to resemble a bustier, with flame detailing. there is a bright pink heart on her ven'cabuur. On the shebs’cabuur is text that reads ‘rape is a warcrime’. The armour is set up in Besbe their Goran’s secret office, because she got caught before she went to run the Komr’k in it.

She refuses to repaint it and now it doesn’t fit. So it stays there, giving morale for the corries that have to keep their pain Corrie Standard due to Fordo’s Rule. Bes says the brush work is spectacular.

Eye colour: Brown

Hair colour: Multicoloured, as detailed above.

Skin colour: Brown

Vices: She got into death sticks for a while but managed to kick it. She is very partial to Cup’s tihar.

Bad habits: non compliance. deviation from standard.

Good habits: She is a good friend, diligent in practising her instruments, and she doesn’t just get stuff for herself, she wants to share the happiness with as many of her siblings as she can in as many ways as she can. She’s very successful, too. Many spikes in morale throughout the GAR actually have her to thank. She is a major source of serotonin for Fox and the Commanders especially, and Garrote too.

Clothing style: bright colours. She likes wearing strappy tops under her undershell to make her feel more feminine, and once she has boobs they help with support. She has lots of little fun details and accessories that make every outfit an adventure.

Health issues: prone to depression and suicidal tendancies.

Tattoos: corrie red flame tatts on her eyelids. I think she has others, but I don’t think I’ve worked out what yet, something from the invisibke ink by Cosmé at the very least.

If she gets adopted by Quinlan, then she gets qukuuf.

Piercings: nipple rings. She thinks Quinlan’s kyber tits are awesome. She can’t get hold of any kyber (probaby) but she does have some pretty pink stones in them that still look fantastic.

Talents: morale lifting. logistics. finding good caf in amounts that would blow the mind and managing to distribute it. getting ‘hunches’ that certain battalions need certain things and sending them (the hunches are actually that she hacks Fox’s datapadds and snoops on how all of her siblings are doing). The most extreme example is when the Novacorps were having a rodent infestation in their supplies and there were baby tookas eager to hunt included in their next delivery.

The logistics vod’e who delivered that one were incredibly smug but tight lipped.

moodboards:

CHARACTER SHEET

Sonia CT-4808, GAR Logistics Officer, Coruscant.

this absolutely incredible art is by the talented @chiliger for @swartists4palestine.

If you were nervous about buying esims so that people in palestine are able to access communication, they have a link that goes through the process step by step. it’s a cause that is so worth donating if you can afford it!

Image description for images is in the alt text attached to the first image. The second image is a close up of Sonia’s face from the first image.

[ahsokasupremacy]

I wanna go back to shili so baddddd i wanna know what the elderly togruta woman’s relationship to the village is i wanna see inside their cozy warm bar i wanna see other togrutas talk to each other i wanna learn more about their hunting practices and traditions i wanna see their cultural religion i wanna know what ahsokas parents said while they were raising a 3 yr old jedi menace i wanna pet the weird panda dogs again!!!!

[solrika]

Even though it has nothing to do with the boys themselves, I think I’m going to call the Imperial!Zeb and Rebel!Vampire!Kallus “queen in exile AU.” Partly because I already have “reverse au” as a tag, partly because the Lasat queen being under Imperial supervision is a large part of the setting. Inspired in large part by this drawing by @gettiregretti.

And here’s some background on the queen herself:

When the Empire came, the royal family was wary. They invited the Imperial diplomats to their table. In the same breath, they bundled up Miri and sent her to the country.

Within a month, the Queen and her consort were dead, and there was a very sympathetic Imperial officer offering condolences. It had been an anti-royalist terrorist group, he explained. She was now the heir to the planet. As the palace had been damaged in the attack, the Emperor–in all his generosity–was offering the princess a place in the Coruscanti court. Was there anything she wanted to bring with her?

Miri gulped back very real tears, and tucked away her rage. She asked for all the clothing that could be salvaged. For any jewelry that could be found. “I need to make a good impression,” she told the very sympathetic Imperial officer. 

When they left Lasan, it was without her parents’ advisors. A much-diminished Honor Guard. Romance novels, instead of the teaching-tomes of history that were her birthright. 

But Lasan’s rulers had the blessings of the Ashla woven into every garment. And she had her priestesses. 

A week into their stay, some Imperials stopped by to ask about the young princess’ religion. They got two hours of theology lessons–long, wavering theology lessons, as Chava lost her place or forgot the Basic word for “hammer.” The lesser priestesses grimaced apologetically, and served more tea. 

Then they set up for a ceremony, which was described as “looking at the world.” The priestesses explained that they had no interest in manipulating ripples. Their concerns were the deep currents of the universe. Ultimately, even a rainstorm upon the ocean would have very little effect on what was underneath. They relied on the old trees and the even older land to intercede on their short-lived behalf. It all sounded very mystical, and the throwing of rocks and sticks and bones among incense and chanting was backwards to Imperial eyes. 

Miri maintained with wide-eyed earnestness that they were communing with the Ashla. The Imperials sent to inspect the priestesses traded laughing looks, and played along. Yes, of course, the old woman squinting at a mushroom was listening to the universe. When they returned to their superiors, they reported that the princess’ spiritual retinue, while silly, was no threat. 

For her presentation to the Court, Miri wore real furs, and an akul-tooth brooch some long-ago Togruta admirer had gifted her great-great-great grandmother. 

“Appropriately barbaric,” Zeb had muttered, when he saw her outfit. “Are you sure you’re not laying it on too thick?”

Miri smiled with all her teeth, and added a jangly bracelet. 

Within months, she had a reputation–sweet, a bit silly, always ready to discuss the latest clothing put out by local designers. While she came from a backwards, backwater planet, and was nonhuman besides, she put effort into learning the court’s ways. Not suitable for matchmaking, of course, especially with her tendency to mix her own barbaric fashions with the latest outfits. But the dear girl was always a safe addition to a party. And she was always so happy to be invited. 

Once, Miri was asked why her growing retinue was all non-human. After all, it was incredibly unfashionable. 

“You’re all so pink,” she’d explained, scrunching her nose in good-natured disgust. “I wanted more color!” 

The answer was easily accepted.

Miri liked it that way.

[a-dragons-journal]

2, 6, and 10 - huntermoonshine

2. Do you study other’s or do other’s study you?

Oh, others study me, for sure.

6.   Do you do anything with kills besides just eating them? collecting bones, a graveyard for remnants, burying it for storage, studying or soul absorption?

I don't... think so? I wouldn't find it strange for a member of my species to keep bones and display them, but I don't think I did.

10. How does your kintype view death?

An old friend, a part of life, something held in my own mouth and something that will one day turn and take my throat instead. Something to be wary of, but far from evil - necessary for my own survival as a carnivore, both a giver and taker of life. I based my headcanons on the Togruta religion's take on death on my own feelings about it as a predator.

[rulimaquina]

The Sith, the dark side culture that the Jedi directly oppose and contrast, the Sith Empire and the Galactic Empire are directly based on Nazi Germany.

They actually have a "Hitler's youth", the imperial academies that children from age 12 up are forced to assist to and will be imprisoned or executed for leaving. Meanwhile anyone can leave the Jedi and not be persecuted.

The Jedi are a very diverse group. There's the Jedi as we see them on coruscant, the gray paladins, the Jedi shadows. And even within these branches of the Jedi each of them have their own culture, religions and traditions that are respected and encouraged. Like mirialans with their tattoos and use of headscarves, Togrutas with their coming of age hunt, Kiffar with their tattoos, Zabraks with their markings, etc.

But go ahead and name dark side cultures that the Jedi "committed genocide" against. HERE you've got some they DIDN'T commit genocide against

1. The Sith killed each other to enforce the rule of two.

2. The Sunguard was killed by the Sith.

3. The Nightsisters were killed by the Sith.

4. The other witch clans of Dathomir were oppressed by the Nightsisters.

5. The Knights Of Ren were killed by Ben Solo AFTER he abandoned the Jedi and became part of the dark side, something he did because Luke, leader of the Jedi, told him he shouldn't.

6. The Sith Purebloods nearly wiped themselves out with their civil wars for power.

7. The Aniseya Coven died from the backlash of forcing themselves into the mind of Kelnacca, a member of an actually long oppressed indigenous species who got dehumanized by everyone BUT the Jedi.

And HERE are some cultures that the Sith and Dark Side Users oppressed or committed genocide against:

1. THE JEDI (by the galactic empire ruled by a sith)

2. The Wookiees (by the galactic empire ruled by a sith)

3. The Twi'Leks (by the separatists led by a sith and then by the galactic empire ruled by a sith)

4. The Mandalorians (first by the sith empire, then by Maul, then again by the galactic empire ruled by a sith)

5. The Nightsisters (by the separatists led by a sith)

6. The Nightbrothers (by the nightsisters).

7. The clone troopers (by the galactic empire ruled by a sith)

8. All cultures of Alderaan (by the galactic empire ruled by a sith)

9. The entirety of the Korriban system (by the sith purebloods)

10. The Sunguard (by Palpatine).

11. All cultures of Hosnian Prime (by the first order led by a sith)

12. All cultures of Hosnian (by the first order led by a sith)

13. All cultures of Raysho (by the first order led by a sith)

14. All cultures of Cardota (by the first order led by a sith)

15. All cultures of Courtsilius (by the first order led by a sith)

HERE are some cultures that THE JEDI AND THE REBELLION saved from being destroyed by Palpatine's Operation Cinder.

1. All cultures of Vardos.

2. All cultures of Nacronis.

3. All cultures of Mandalore.

4. All cultures of Naboo.

5. All cultures of Abednedo.

6. All cultures of Candovant.

7. All cultures of Mon Cala.

8. All cultures of Commenor.

9. All cultures of Burnin Konn.

10. All cultures of Dybbron III.

11. All cultures of Kortatka.

12. All cultures of Fedovoi End.

13. All cultures of Endor.

order 66 was NOT a genocide. you can only genocide people & cultures, you can’t genocide a systemically deified super-religion that wants everyone in existence to either agree with them & exist their way or burn in hell for eternity. any decent ppl who went down with the purge forfeit their lives down the drain along with their family, home & very sense of self. they. had. it. fucking. coming.

from an indigenous person, fuck y’all for even comparing order 66 to genocide & talking all over survivors of real genocides to save face for your evangelical faith & the people you think are good guys. you are not about to disrespect the continent-sized OCEANS of blood that make up our ancestors & loved ones who were lost to real genocide. fuck off.