#who was the most powerful Jedi in your opinion

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

I feel a disturbance in the Force…

[fhrlclln]

underneath | qimir

SUMMARY -> ever since you found him and he trained you, he had always concealed his identity to you for his unknown reasons. you were always curious what he looks like underneath the cortosis helm he wears. though, this time the curiosity in you would be sated at last when a particular sparring session turns into an unexpected lesson in trust.

qimir x acolyte!fem! reader

masterlist

GENRE -> mild nsfw/smut

WARNINGS -> unprotected p in v, sexual tension, mild violence, master/pupil dynamic & smut is at the end : P

WC -> 2.82k

a/n: surprise! another qimir fic cuz i can’t get him out of my head.

likes, comments and reposts are greatly appreciated !! <3

enjoy !!

"have you ever wondered what he looks like underneath that mask?"

you asked your fellow pupil, mae, one day out of the blue. the particular reason for asking that question had always been because of your undying curiosity for the years you started to train under him.

your masked master.

"i don't." mae would answer, saying that she doesn't care what he would look like underneath the mask. saying that as long as he trains her, his identity doesn't matter to her. you understood her with that, she was his acolyte first and it probably dawned upon you that the years of concealing his identity to her she had thrown away the curiosity of what their master looked like.

but on the other hand, you, you somehow couldn't stop wondering.

you had found him or- he had found you when you were escaping your slave captors after your own sister had betrayed you in selling you to them. you were angry, in rage and unaware of the dormant power that had awoken in you with that rage you had felt. and in your fit of rage, you had managed to slaughter two of the captors chasing you, leaving you feeling guilty for your horrendous actions. you decided to escape and flee the planet. that is until by some chance, you had come across the masked stranger in the middle of the night who had told you about the gift you possessed, telling that you shouldn't be ashamed you used it in your self-defense.

and that's when he had took you under his wing, training you as his pupil.

he had taught you what your gift was, what your power is. he trained you, taught you and for the most part, despite him putting this distance between you and mae, he had helped you. and maybe that’s why you’re so curious to know who he is really, you wanted to see the master who had graciously accepted you despite you knowing your connection with the force was not as strong as mae’s.

he was… well, you could not really put a strong opinion on what kind of a man your master was. for the most part, he was always away and in training sessions, he was closed-off and distant. but when he spars with you and mae, that’s when a hint of his personality is peeking through.

rough, aggressive, strict. the way he spared with you had left you with tired sore knees and bruised arms when defending. on the offensive attacks you made he was quick to dodge and maneuver himself with your predictable attacks. he was ruthless in his combat but there was still that fluidity in it. but you knew he still held back with you despite the aggressiveness. you wished he had put more effort in your sparring sessions just like mae’s but you knew he was focusing more on her since she was at the brink of completing her lessons.

“safe travels, mae.” you wish her luck as she nods at you. the master had given her final lesson- to kill a jedi without a weapon. you were proud of your fellow acolyte but it did upset you how much you were falling behind. the waves splash in the background as you watch her walk to her ship. you wave her off as you saw it fly out the cloudy atmosphere then jumped into hyperspace, on the course to euda.

the sea breeze helps you gather your thoughts, and you wonder if the master would train you further today. seeing that mae had to learn this lesson by herself. sensing him, you feel the pull of the force as you turn around to see your master standing a few feet away from you.

the scene makes you remember that night when you found him. for a moment it did frighten you to see him loom over you when you fell to your knees from running. you were injured then and you had momentarily thought he was one of the slave traders that was trying to capture you. it took you a while to get used to him being like this when he appears out of the blue. well, for a random person, it would seem frightening to see a masked stranger dressed in black robes suddenly appear in mid-air. plus the saber tucked in his belt.

“master.” you greet him, anticipation lingering inside you.

“we shall continue your training today, my acolyte.” his modulated voice says. you feel your chest swell with excitement as you nodded. “be prepared.”

“of course, master.” you bowed slightly as he walks off to where the sparring lessons usually are. you smiled to yourself, maybe this time he’d finally put more effort in your training as you walk with a slight spring in your steps.

・゜゜・．

“focus.”

he says as your feet scraped against the rocks at his force push. you huff, your chest heaving, your leather tunic is starting to stick on your glistening sweaty skin, making you feel uncomfortable. you sigh, frustrated how you were not landing a single blow on him. your mind was elsewhere, seeming that you are still focused on wondering what he looks like underneath that mask.

“use that frustration. focus on your emotions.” he commands and you composed yourself, swatting the questions of his unknown face in your head. you ready yourself in a fighting stance, body facing to the side while you wave your arm in front of you. you clenched your fist for a moment as you heed into his words and attack. you use the force to heighten your leap towards him as you land a blow but he dodges again. an uppercut, he doges, a kick you do he dodges again. you feel yourself get even more irritated but in ease that he was finally not holding back when he blocks one of your blows with his arm.

but still, you were still not fighting the way he has to expect you to fight.

“you are too trustful in me, acolyte.” he scolds you, the modulated tone ringing. he backs away from you as you stopped, confused. yes, you indeed trust him, why was it a bad thing?

“i beg your pardon, master?” your breaths are labored and somehow from the close distance, you could hear him sigh underneath the mask.

“you are too trustful.” he says again. “do not trust me that i will not kill you even if i am training you. trust in yourself. we cannot continue this lesson if you do not learn to do that.” a chill runs through your spine at his words. there’s a slight pang of hurt in those words of his that were true. yes, he could kill you. why wouldn’t he if you failed him? you seem to stiffen at his words as he reminds you again, this time he will take the offensive attack.

“trust is a fragile thing. you cannot trust anyone but yourself, my acolyte. even if the person has sworn to trust you, they would eventually betray you. but yourself? you cannot betray yourself.” he explains as you nodded at his words. “when since you had put your whole trust in someone and they betrayed you in the end?”

you look at him, rage starting to boil in you when you remembered your own sister’s betrayal. your chest tightens and your mind is enraged with it. the pain she had put you in, the survival you had to do, the running you had to tire and the people you had to kill just to be free-

“there it is.” he says, proud. feeling your ever glowing rage.

“now, focus.” he suddenly attacks you as you dodged swiftly. both of you move in a tandem, as if it were a dance. the painful realization that even your master, the one who saved you and took you in, would eventually might betray you as well. the rage in you is at its boiling point as you let out a guttural scream when he almost aims for your neck. you push him back with your force then surging to him with heat in your steps as you attacked. he blocks your powerful blow with two of his arms forming an x. you kick him immediately on the stomach and he lurches, caught off guard.

you were too in to your emotions as you attacked and attacked. he tries to doge and block your every hit but he eventually succumbs to your rage when you finally kicked him to the ground. before he could stand, you immediately come on top of him, preventing that. you fist the collar of his robe, clenched hand in the air ready to land a final punch-

“excellent, my acolyte.” he cuts you off as you suddenly blink back into your rational self. you let go of his collar and you let yourself relax but ultimately surprised how close you are to him. you’re on top of him, your legs caging his waist and he seems not to dismiss you to get off. you can see clearly his helmet now, it was full of marks of previous battles. you take your time to admire him beneath you, how his adam’s apple bob and the sheen of sweat covering his bare muscular arms that were bulging with veins.

you blush, realizing you were staring at your master with ill thoughts.

but… the curiosity of what he looks like underneath it makes you wonder. your hand slowly comes up to his helmet and you feel him watch you with every move you make. he observes silently and you hovered your hand above his masked face. but you snap out of it again, realizing you could have offended him. and he could kill you for this. you know he takes great lengths to conceal his identity.

“a-apologies, master, i-“ before you could retract your hand and get off him. his hand suddenly grips your wrist. your eyes widened as he sits up and you adjust, hovering above his lap. he tilts his head to the side inquisitively, as if he was amused to see your curiosity be revealed. you stay quiet, staring at his masked face, waiting for his words. your cheeks are hot and you feel the anticipation grow in you. he places your hand on the side of his mask, the way he brushes your fingers softly makes you feel wobbly now.

“go on.” he merely says. you stutter, not knowing what to say. did he just agreed for you to remove his mask? your thoughts are jumbled but you succumb to your curiosity. you put both of your hands to both sides of his masked face. you slowly remove it inch by inch whilst you stared at the peaking facial features you have longed imagined what he looked like. you remove the helm completely and your heart skips a beat.

your eyes meet with a strangely beautiful dark ones.

his black hair is disheveled, his skin is smooth and his jawline is handsomely well chiseled. your eyes roam his face and it settles to his pink lips. you feel a hum of arousal between your legs when you look into his eyes again. his face is so close to yours that you can feel his hot breath tingle your lips. you put his helmet down to your side as the other brushes the black locks of his concealing his face. his pupils grow dark, your lips are inches to his and you somehow feel in-trance to lock it with yours.

this, this is the face of your master.

he’s beautiful. you think as you let out a noise when his other hand brush against your thigh. the other gently grips your hand that brushed his hair. you wondered why he had hidden his beautiful face from you and mae.

“master…” you plead as he smirks and it makes you blush.

“you did good today.” his low voice with a rasp of approval instead of the modulated one made your stomach churn and your thighs clench. the way his lips are still hovering above yours makes your head dizzy with the anticipation of what he’s doing. his top lip brushes against yours and he leans forward but before you could feel his soft lips lock with yours, you pull back. this is wrong.

“apologies, master.” you place your hands on his chest as you pulled yourself up to your feet. he seems taken aback for a moment with your rejection but composes himself as he eyes you up with a dark glint in his eyes.

“curiosity is normal. don’t be embarrassed.” he chuckles and that rings through your ears. the way he acts now is dissimilar to when he has his mask on and it baffles you how human he now is. you don’t know what to say, fearing that you have failed him in almost every way. you watch him stand up then grabbed his helmet and he looks at you. something in his gaze shines with hunger.

“we’ll continue our lesson another time.” he walks pass you and the brush of his arm against yours makes your heart jump.

“yes, master.” the initial shock of the situation still hasn’t faded when he’s out of your sight. you gulp, sweat dripping down your forehead. was he not upset that you know his face now? would he kill you for it later perhaps? those questions hang in the air. your heart still beats remembering his lips close to yours. you turn back, walking back to the shore, there’s a feeling you can’t seem to place as you let your thoughts linger on your master’s revealed face.

・゜゜・．

you dry your face with a rag then pulled a fresh tunic and bottoms from your pile of fresh clean robes. the dimness of the light inside your room in the cave made it comforting for your wild thoughts. you put on the brown tight bottoms then the grey tunic. but those thoughts soon come alive when you felt a presence near the entrance of your room.

you turn around swiftly, seeing your master standing right by the concave opening of your room. no mask on but just wearing… perfectly normal clothing. he dawned a white tunic and usual black bottoms, his hair is slicked back, damp from his bath you presumed. you stand awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do. you were used to his mysterious persona.

“you did exceptionally well today.” he begins with a praise. “but, i am surprised how focused you are on knowing what i look like.”

“thank you.” you merely say, eyes shying away when he points out your curiosity. “i apologize for that, master.”

“don’t be.” he steps forward and each step he takes has an anticipation behind them. you stay in your place, taking in how comforting he looks. “i’m glad for your curiosity.” he confesses.

“you are?” you are surprised with that.

qimir nods, adoring the way you seemed so surprised. he had his reasons for concealing his identity to you and mae. it was for to create a distance between the master and pupil. he feared attachment might overcome why he took you under his wing. he knows you already saw him as a person who finally cared for you and in truth, he does. you are a gifted woman with the force and over the years despite the distance he placed, you managed to crawl into his cold heart.

“but i fear your curiosity isn’t sated enough.” he points out and the atmosphere in the room changes. you know what he means. when you had almost kissed him but you hesitated, fearing that things might change drastically after that. he was your master after all. he steps closer to you, the distance is just like the one moments ago.

“am i right?” he asks when you stare at his lips. you wondered if mae would be enraged for what you are about to do as your body moved at its own accord.

you surge forward and lock your lips with his.

and that ends up with you sprawled underneath him. your curiosity is sated and he rewards you more with a thrust of his hips with his cock inside you. you clench around him, your hands caressing the width of his broad back. here you are, your naked body pressed against his as you moan in his ear. he groans, suckling the soft flesh of your neck.

“master…” you sigh, legs wrapped around tight on his waist. his hands are holding your thighs in place as he thrusts his cock into your warm heat. he locks eyes with your heavy one and it makes him soar at the feeling of you wrapped around him. he smirks as he kisses you hotly as he grinds his hips down.

your curiosity indeed was successfully sated by him.

[thelibrarian1895]

Mandalorians hate Jedi because...

"the Jedi are child stealers" NO

And again I say NO. I saw someone claim this and it absolutely infuriated me.

First point, THE JEDI ARE NOT CHILD STEALERS. That accusation is sithspit anti jedi propaganda. If a parent or guardian told the Jedi no, they didn't want their kid to be a Jedi, the Jedi respected that. They would, however, remove children from danger. But would you call a social worker who took children from environments where they were being molested, starved, beaten, or worse, a child stealer? No? Then don't call the Jedi child stealers for the same actions.

Second point, the average Mandalorian didn't really know or care too much about Jedi. In all honestly, most Mandalorians, like the rest of the galaxy, had no real idea about the difference between Jedi or other force sects like the nightsisters or general darksiders or even the sith except perhaps the color of their lightsabers. Some Mandalorians, like our beloved Din Djarin, knew nothing at all about Jedi and only cared when in became relevant and then did as much research as possible regarding the Jedi. Others, like Jango Fett, had very personal interactions with Jedi and formed their opinions of the Jedi as a whole based on those interactions with no further reason or desire to look further into the Jedi.

Third point, for Mandalorians who studied history or listened to old stories, they knew why the Mandalorians disliked the Jedi and it was for a very simple reason that they liked to avoid actively admitting. That reason? The Jedi kicked the shebs of the Mandalorian armies.

Twice.

Quite possibly there was another point when the Jedi suppressed the Mandalorian empire but there were two times for certain. Granted, the republic played a large part and the Jedi definitely didn't all interfere in one of those two conflicts, and actually actively avoided one of those two conflicts except in a few cases, and there were definitely some terrible things done, but the fact remains that when the Mandalorian empire attempted to expand and basically take over the galaxy, the Jedi were key to stopping this. And no, the Mandalorian empire was not a good thing. But more importantly, if you thought your ancestors or your cultures' armies were in the right and they were beaten, would you like the descendants of those who beat your side?

Fourth point, would you like the side that beat your side if they refused to give you a proper rematch? The Mandalorians who know anything about Jedi know that Jedi have access to all this power, plus generally have a super cool plasma sword, but the Jedi won't fight or they'll de-escalate or generally indulge in pacifistic behavior and we all know how Mandalorians feel about presumed pacifists, right? A Mandalorian denied a fight is often a frustrated Mandalorian. A Mandalorian who sees someone who has all this strength and power often doesn't understand why that person doesn't use that power, doesn't take revenge or slaughter their enemies or a million other things that they would do with such power. So those that don't understand choose to dislike. Why won't the Jedi fight them?! (please imagine the sentence immediately previous spoken in an extremely whiney tone of voice)

Fifth point, the Mandalorians frequently throughout history worked with the Sith or were on the Sith side of conflicts because of a lack of knowledge about force sects meant the Mandalorians didn't generally realize how absolutely stupid it is to side with the Sith but beyond that the Mandalorians often learned about the Jedi from the Sith. So the Mandalorians got stories from the Sith about the Jedi being weak and cold and blah, blah, blah stupid sith propaganda that I don't want to perpetuate. And those Mandalorians would then think themselves Jedi experts, because hadn't they learned about the Jedi from another Jedi? Granted, a dark Jedi but still a Jedi, right? So they'd tell other Mandalorians the propaganda and so the Mandalorians had that Sith skewed idea of the Jedi perpetuated throughout their history.

So the Mandalorians have their own reasons for not like the Jedi, which have NOTHING to do with child stealing, just as the Jedi have plenty of reasons to want to avoid the Mandalorians. Personally though I'm going to blame a lot of those reasons on both sides on the Sith and be grumpy about the Sith and the effectiveness of their propaganda.

And finally, I'm pretty sure at least a tiny bit of the animosity between Mandalorians and Jedi arose from the Mandalorians being jealous that the Jedi had lightsabers and they didn't. To be fair, I'm a little jealous too. Lightsabers are cool.

[saphronethaleph]

Filing a P-90

“Young man, a few moments of your time?”

CT-0102 looked up, confused.

“...how so?” the trooper asked. “You’re, uh, if you want to talk, you can just talk. If you have orders, go ahead and give them. Ma’am.”

“I’d rather not force you to discuss something,” the elderly woman said, by way of explanation. “I was wondering if you had a perspective on… weapons.”

“Weapons,” 102 repeated. “I guess… I’ve been trained with them? Using weapons is my job, I mean? Does that count as an opinion?”

“It might,” the old woman said. “But I meant more the philosophy of why a weapon exists.”

She shrugged, one hand resting for a moment on a long box by her side. “And, in particular, whether a weapon’s design tells us something about what it’s meant for.”

“This is getting dangerously philosophical, ma’am,” 102 admitted. “It’s above my pay grade.”

“It’s not above mine, I think,” the woman told him. “If you don’t want to talk, say so. I give you that permission, if you need it. But what I mean is that, for example… a lightsaber is a Jedi’s weapon, and that means that it’s a weapon of defence and of decisive attack. A lightsaber in trained hands is able to both protect others and to bring a quick end to any fight, and the respect it earns from those who see it can prevent a fight in the first place… a blaster, meanwhile, well, it depends on the blaster, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose that’s true, ma’am,” 102 admitted, glancing up for a moment as the turbulence around the ship increased – for a moment, at least.

There wasn’t anything he could do about it, so he just shrugged.

“A small pistol is intended to be concealed,” the woman went on. “It’s a weapon of self defence, but it’s also a weapon for committing an unexpected crime. While a larger, more powerful pistol, that’s a weapon of intimidation. It’s bulky enough to be difficult to conceal, and it’s less accurate than a long weapon, so it’s for both scare tactics and bringing a battle to a quick end. So does that mean it’s like a lightsaber?”

102 considered that.

“Our training covered how to handle most weapons, but it didn’t really address the cultural side of things,” he admitted. “We mostly focused on weapons for once a fight is inevitable.”

“Quite,” the woman agreed – 102 hadn’t actually got her name at any point. “The long rifle, which is designed for military efficiency on a battlefield. Harder to conceal in civilian life, almost impossible in fact, but it’s more effective than most weapons on a battlefield… at least, until you start dealing with either larger targets that they simply can’t damage, or more confined spaces where you want a shorter weapon. They share the attribute of being practical.”

She looked at his eyes, through the helmet. “Isn’t that interesting?”

“I guess,” 102 said, not really sure how to react. “Why do you say that?”

The woman was silent for several seconds, and as she was CT-0102 heard over the battalion push that they were getting close to their deployment point.

“If you don’t mind, I’d prefer this gunship to take up an overwatch position,” the woman said. “I do apologize, I should have mentioned it sooner.”

She pulled the box over to her, and undid the latches, then paused before opening it.

“What about this description of a weapon?” she asked. “A weapon that is designed for killing?”

102 blinked.

“Aren’t… most weapons designed for killing?” he asked. “That’s why they’re weapons.”

“Not at all,” the woman replied. “As we’ve just discussed. Your rifle is designed for practical battlefield use. Weight, length, shot count, rate of fire, all these considerations went into making it. Many other weapons are shaped by different design constraints entirely – a hold-out pistol, or a large heavy blaster. A lightsaber. I’m talking about a weapon that isn’t designed for a fight at all. That isn’t designed to be seen. That’s meant to be used as sparingly as possible, because you’re only meant to use it in the very direst need.”

She pushed open the box, and revealed a kind of long weapon, perhaps a blaster and perhaps not. It looked archaic, with some of the furniture made of actual wood and the rest out of something 102 couldn’t even identify, and there were odd protuberances and glowing blue segments on it.

“For such a weapon, all other considerations would be secondary to lethality,” the woman said. “If they were involved at all. It’s not intended to be involved in a battle, where you try to defeat the enemy; it’s not intended for a warning shot. The only purpose is to kill, and it is only to be used when there is no better choice.”

She knelt down on the floor of their gunship, and a few seconds later the Commander called out the launch order. Their assault ship was passing over the target zone, and all the gunships deployed.

Below, 102 could see the desert, and the darting red shapes of Aethersprite starfighters giving them cover against Geonosian fighter craft. More gunships were deploying, blasts going left and right, and 102 grabbed onto the handles overhead with a free hand for stability.

The woman didn’t seem to notice.

Instead, she took something from her belt, and slotted it into the weapon. It lit up, and she tapped a few controls before snugging the stock of the weapon into her shoulder.

“It’s a shame, you know,” she said, almost conversationally. “He was a great friend of mine, once. I thought he still was, until recently.”

“Who was?” 102 asked.

“Dooku,” the woman answered, her voice slightly distracted. “Emotion, yet peace… my old friend, I do not do this for revenge, but to prevent a greater wrong.”

The strange weapon spat out a bolt of brilliant sky-blue light, one that was like a solid bar connecting their gunship to the ground, and the woman hesitated for a moment… then let out a sigh.

“May you find the peace in death that so failed you in life,” she said, in tones of quiet prayer.

“Sorry, but – did you just…” 102 asked.

“What the kriff was that?” the gunship pilot asked, over the comm connection.

“Well, you can view it in two ways,” the Jedi Master said, ejecting her lightsaber from the rifle and examining it. “No, three, I think. Firstly, that my lightsaber and I were united in the need for that to be done. Secondly, that Count Dooku was too great a threat to peace in the galaxy to live. And third…”

Jocasta Nu placed the rifle back in its box.

“Nobody messes with the Jedi Archives,” she concluded.

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

Star Wars Masterpost

Pro Jedi/In Defense Of The Jedi

The Jedi didn't free Shmi and why that's not a slight against them

The Jedi aren't stuck in their ways just because they don't allow marriage

The Jedi aren't stuck in their ways just because they don't allow marriage (addendun)

Jedi culture tag (derogatory)

Jedi culture tag (derogatory) (meme)

Villains Praising the Jedi (and fandom not getting it)

Sith (derogatory) VS Jedi (affectionate)

On the Jedi's limited numbers (+ an anti)

"Cal and Kanan fix the mistakes of the Order and stop repressing what makes them human" Shut up

Inconsistency in anti-Jedi arguments

"There's being critical and there is slander"

Fandom experience (derogatory)

Age is not an immediate disqualifier

Friendly reminder about emotional mindfulness

Jedi kidnapping (affectionate) VS Mandalorian foundlings (derogatory)

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

The Jedi's political power: canon vs fanon

Most Jedi don't struggle with attachment

Mace Windu and actively fighting fascism

Jedi Order: broke vs woke

When others are the best versions of themselves

I wouldn't want a romantic relationship if I was a Jedi

Antis stop projecting your religious trauma onto the Jedi, the Sith are right there

No, Luke doesn't save his father with attachment

Fandom experience (derogatory)

The Jedi made the right decision in using the Clone Army

Pro Jedi community rite of passage

Jedi Culture/Jedi Positivity

If the Jedi have no fans I'm dead

Heart of a Jedi

A Jedi's Weapon

Multilingual Jedi Babies

Why the Jedi stopped wearing white headcanon

Non-Master/Padawan Jedi Relationships

Jedi Positivity (community)

Collective Jedi Parenting

Q: Who's the best Jedi? A: Yes

Many Jedi are orphans

My interpretation of the Jedi Code/Meditation Mantra

Mace Windu Best Jedi

Obi-Wan Best Jedi

Gushing about Reva

Gushing about Reva (II)

Reva/Vader parallels

Jedi-antis when jedi-enthusiasm-blog likes the Jedi

"Be with me" AKA cool tribute to the Jedi I found on YouTube of all places

"The importance of Luke Skywalker"

"What Jedi used to be" AKA why we love the Jedi

Tag game

Force-sensitivity and being aroace

Star Wars History ( @saturnidiot thank you so much)

When The Night Is Darker, The Stars Shine Brighter (my AO3 series)

"So be it, Jedi"

Anti Mandalorians/Mandalorians Critical

Why Mandalorian Culture and Mando'a don't make sense

Jedi kidnapping (affectionate) VS Mandalorian foundlings (derogatory)

Mandalorian foundlings (derogatory)

Mandalorian culture and how people fall for fascist rethoric

Fanon dissonance

Slugthrowers don't kill Jedi anymore than blasters (you know why this is here)

Anti Sith

The Sith are not oppressed by the Jedi

Darth Vectivus is a bastard (derogatory) and I love him

Peacekeepers vs nazis in a galaxy far far away…

The Sith don't have balance (joke unfortunately not mine)

Obi-Wan roasting the Sith

Sith are nazis

If I find myself agreeing with Sith philosophy…

"I think the Sith are better than the Jedi" What flavor of stupid are you?

What flavor of stupid are you?, an addendun because somebody doesn't have basic literacy

Anti Anakin/Anakin critical

Anakin is not mentally ill

Others

Star Wars Lines (Pt.1) (Pt.2) (Pt.3) (Pt.4)

Opinion on Ahsoka

The Dark is generous and it is patient

Sabine as the successor to Tarre Vizla

Opinion on Rey

The Force is fine the way it is

Gray morality in the Prequels

[anakinskywalkerisfave]

Hello! I want to ask you something about Star Wars. What's your opinion on "love isn't attachment" interpretation of the Jedi Code that has been going around?

I think it’s a misrepresentation born out of an effort to make the Jedi Order seem perfect, instead of the noble but flawed institution that we see in both Disney canon and the Star Wars EU. It is a blatant disregard of both the general canonical and legends continuity that the Jedi Order did not allow love. Love is a type of attachment, at least in the Jedi's eyes, otherwise they would not be separating young children from their families.

And no, if the chosen one is doing just fine with his latent force powers, I don't think they're recuiting toddlers because they would otherwise "have no control" and be "a danger to others." Take that crap somewhere else, because I'm not buying it.

If they don’t care about loving people (ie your birth family), then why do we never see Jedi (aside from obvious exceptions like Anakin or Ki-Adi-Mundi) mention their family or keep in any form of touch with them? Why would they accept only very young children? Notably children whose memories of their time with their family would largely or wholly be lost due to childhood amnesia*, and therefore would not remember their attachment to their families and the love of their family. Regardless of whatever media tries to retcon the no love thing as love being acceptable and that attachment was a different thing, the most important canon (the movies) does not support this at all.

(*Childhood amnesia refers to the inability of most adults to recall memories from before the age of 3-4 years. It also refers to the fragmentation of memories from early childhood, especially from the ages of 3-6. This is paraphrased from the Wikipedia article on the subject.)

Also, if love (platonic or romantic) actually is allowed, then why would this official movie poster for Attack of the Clones exist? (Someone on youtube literally tried to argue with me that despite it being an official poster, it “didn’t mean anything." 🤨 By that logic, a movie advertised as R-rated can be assumed to be appropriate for children. Jedi apologists are truly dedicated to spiting their English teachers and anyone who tried to teach them about critical thinking or analysis.)

Bonus Round: Star Wars EU Edition

(read the paragraph on the right, starting at "Love is also a strong passion," and I also suggest reading the character's annotations on the side.)

They literally explain love is forbidden. While they say "those who obsess," in practice, it applies to any love, not just obsessive. (Also, it is a parent's job to prioritize the needs of their child. It's not "obsession" to put the child first, that's what you're supposed to do.) They are literally being told that wanting to contact their birth families is a cause of concern and that any attachment will cause you to "lose sight of your path" and are a cause for expulsion from the Order.

Once again, they are not allowed to connect with their birth families. The HoloNet calls it monstrous because it is. Separating a child from their parents is incredibly damaging, especially in early childhood*, (the age of recruitment into the Jedi Order) which is obvious, but this is the same fandom where I see people try (and fail) to justify child soldiers and using a slave army.

Sources about the detrimental effects of separating children from their parents:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/psychological-damage-inflicted-by-parent-child-separation-is-deep-long-lasting/

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2018/06/psychological-impact-early-life-stress-parental-separation

This excert is from a section called "Misperceptions of the Jedi" from The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force.

"This charge springs from the pain of emotional attachment. It's also technically false." If I had my child taken from me and had no way to get them back, I don't give a shit if you have legal authority. You are effectively a kidnapper. The child isn't being removed from their parent's care because of abuse or any other legitimate reason. It's because they want to indoctrinate them and it's far easier when they don't remember anything before being taken to the temple. So they don't have a pesky attachment or concern for their mom left in slavery, for example!

Anyway, Luke's Jedi Order from the EU >>>>>> the old Jedi Order

[darklinaforever]

Well, globally I still really liked the Saurondriel / Haladriel scene.

Even if I don't see where the comparison comes from at the request of Kylo Ren / Ben Solo to Rey in The Last Jedi...

There is not even a real renewal of the demand for season 1 in fact technically speaking in my opinion.

Although I did appreciate that Sauron said he didn't want to harm Galadriel at first. That he would have placed the crown on his head, done everything so that Middle Earth would revere its queen, etc. I also appreciated the moment where he took the form of Halbrand and even that of Galadriel to show her in his twisted way that everything was not a lie and that they are alike. I also enjoyed the tear in his eye when he watches Galadriel reveal herself before demanding Nenya after he actually stabbed her. I'll take every scrap I can get from this doomed ship.

On the other hand, I don't understand those who say that this scene confirms that all of season 1 was just a deception by Sauron towards Galadriel.

I'm sure you're disappointed, because I am disappointed myself. But I don't see at all where their whole scene confirms that Sauron would have fooled Galadriel all season 1.

On the contrary, he literally tells her that she attributes to him a purpose that he did not predict, with the eregion currently, and that everything that made them seem similar was not entirely a lie/a deception, etc.

Here, it's clearly just the frustration of the moment that makes a certain person say anything.

Personally, I'm a little disappointed that Sauron ultimately really hurt Galadriel. Even if my imaginative mind sees this moment as the only equivalent of symbolically phalic penetration that there will ever be between them 🤭. And above all, this blow was not aimed at killing her at all. Because if he had wanted it, she would already be dead. We have seen how easily he can kill someone.

Also, I've seen people theorize that this crown going into Galadriel's flesh could actually strengthen the bond between them later, and why not ! I'm hooked ! This could totally work !

Overall, I'm disappointed that he didn't let her keep Nenya. How logical that would have been to me, as supposed proof to see that he really loves her in this finale. Even though we still see Sauron's feelings for her, it's not to the point of a particular moment that would undeniably prove his feelings to idiots who already don't understand him, and still don't understand him.

I'm disappointed that I was promised a new request scene when technically not, although I enjoyed Sauron's dialogue all the same.

But most of all, I'm disappointed that he let Galadriel fall off that cliff. You're not going to make me believe that with his powers, he couldn't save her ?! Especially since he wanted Nenya, so why not try to get her back with magic ?! Why is he just holding out his hand towards Galadriel with a shocked expression on his face ?! Use your powers damn't !

Although I imagine that as enemies they will often try to kill each other, yes, obviously. I just expected it to be more save for later than now (at least from Sauron watching Galadriel fall), literally their first reunion since the separation.

Does Sauron think Galadriel is dead ? Or that she just escaped from him ? It was (first option or the second) he so angry about this that he killed the orc on the spot ? Or is it because he just didn't get Nenya ? I think a mix of the two personally, Sauron having had a tear in his eye watching Galadriel get up earlier.

In fact, I think I would have been pretty much satisfied with their scene, if I hadn't been sold that we would particularly see that Sauron really loves Galadriel in this finale. That there was a scene similar to Kylo's request to Rey from The Last Jedi, and that Sauron would never stop trying to make Galadriel his queen. Because that's not really what we got.

Because overall I like this scene.

Sauron shows emotion there, the desire not to hurt Galadriel at the start, expresses that everything was not a lie between them, tries in his twisted way to prove that they are similar, that the door to Galadriel's mind is always open to him, says that he would have done anything for her to be queen and revered, has a tear in his eye when he sees her get up after having hurt her, etc.

But overall, this scene between them was half-hearted and could have been written so much better. Wasted potential. Especially after all the crumbs laid out in each episode in anticipation of this meeting, and what was a teaser in an interview for the so-called finale between them.

But I'll take what I get, and in the future won't listen to the cast / creator interviews for this show, just to settle for what the Saurondriel / Haladriel scenes really are.

[lazerswordweilder]

Introducing my Balance Sibling au!

Anakin Skywalker, the poster-boy of the Republic, Jedi Padawan. Was the most confusing person Obi-Wan had ever met. They picked up the boy on Tatooine, and he was the most powerful force sensitive Obi-Wan had ever met, yet at such a young age he already shielded so well.

He was only 14 right now, the war had only been on for just two months, so why did the boy seem like an old, very tired, veteran who’d seen horrors beyond what Obi-Wan had dared to think of? Why didn’t he make an expression when he lost his arm, when he was shot, in his supposedly-first battle, at his first kill?

Like his force signature, Anakin heavily shielded his personality, Obi-Wan kept getting glances of who he suspected was the real boy; a man staring at a Coruscant sunset with a tear trailing down his check, looking at his mother with an expression of pain and grief, when he gave battle tactics and ordered around men like it was a second nature.

He had strange opinions on people, he was so very very careful to be kind and gentle to the younglings, he had a strange circle of friends (that seemed closer to allies) he’d chosen himself, he didn’t care what the council thought, and he never seemed to be able to trust or open up to Obi-Wan, there was clearly a barrier Obi-Wan couldn’t see.

Obi-Wan had also heard what his mother said about him, how the father was the force itself, how he was only half human, half mortal. And how it had showed, especially when he was young on Tatooine.

Obi-Wan knew Anakin had a holocron that he kept a diary in, he’d considered it too invasive to try and open it though (and try seemed the most important word there). But it was his duty to figure out what had happened to Anakin, and how to help him. So as he watched yet another sunset, tracing stars with awe filled eyes, Obi-Wan walked up to him.

“You were very good today. You saved many of the troopers with your knowledge.” I said

“Mhm.” Anakin replied, not turning to face me, I sighed

“We need to talk.” I started, sitting down

“The council asked something?” Anakin asked, something close to dry humor in his voice

“No, I decided this can’t go on any longer.”

“What can’t.” Anakin asked, eyes turning to watch me for the first time, the sunset made them look like they were lit on fire

“Whatever happened- is happening to you. You won’t let anyone in, I’m fairly certain there’s things you’re hiding from even your mother.”

“I think hiding things from parents is normal behaviour Obi-Wan.”

“You know what I mean. I don’t want to push, but I’m going to. I need to know the part of you that you’re hiding, there must be a reason you don’t let anyone in, you never stop shielding. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Anakin said, I would’ve laughed at that, but he said it like it was a well known fact not just what he thought

“Then explain it to me, if I don’t believe you what’s the worst that could happen? That I could do?” I explained

“You could think I was crazy and put me in a psych ward, you could hand me in to the council, you could do something stupid and get everyone killed.” Anakin listed without a pause

“It is truly that shocking?” I teased, Anakin didn’t smile

“You could not believe me, and keep pushing for a truth I’ve already given you.” he added

“Well what could go right if you let me in?” I asked, Anakin tilted his head a little, like he was giving it thought, but he answered quickly enough that I knew he must’ve thought about it at least a little.

“You could save everyone if I couldn’t for whatever reason, you could make it easier for me, I could not be lonely, you could forgive me, we could be a duo.” a silent again hung in the air, I didn’t know why.

“See? Don’t the benefits weigh over the risks? I’m not stupid enough to think that you couldn’t break out of any psych ward we put you in.” I said, it was both a tease and the truth

“It would make everything harder for me if I wasn’t in this position, I’m not sure I could do it while on the run from the Jedi and Senate.” he thought about it for a second again, before his face hardened “I’d have to do it anyways.”

“I promise I won’t put you in a psych ward, Anakin.” A pause, a long pause, I was scared to move, was it possible he’d really tell me after just one conversation? Had it been this easy the whole time?

“Do you believe in time travel Kenobi?”

6 - Masterpost

[raleighrador]

Torturing myself with ways Disney changed Star Wars - Violence and Strength

A follow up to this: https://www.tumblr.com/raleighrador/774124218596147200/torturing-myself-with-ways-disney-changed-star?source=share

Lucas and Disney treat violence and strength fundamentally differently at a narrative level. In short, Lucas' story is that violence and strength will never work to achieve good, there is no such thing as "good" violence, and no amount of might will make right. Disney instead believes who is swinging the sword and why is the difference between good and evil; and that anyone can achieve enough power to save the world.

This change is quite strangely political for a company that lives and breathes the idea that everyone buys movie tickets. It also - in my opinion - fundamentally ruins some of the most interesting characters.

As an example, I think the Kenobi TV show finale in effect totally pollutes Obi-Wan as a character because of this changed treatment of strength and violence.

To recap the finale - and forgive the tedious lengthy description but it is important:

Obi-Wan and Vader duel on some abandoned moon. Vader initially betters Obi-Wan, eventually using the Force to create an earthquake and leaving Obi-Wan buried under rubble. The shots and FX linger on just how damn strong Vader is. Physically his blows bash and throw Obi-Wan around. Obi-Wan throws a rock, Vader catches it and then picks up several much bigger rocks and throws them back. He rips a massive hole in the ground and throws an entire hill onto Obi-Wan.

Vader is strong, very strong. This show in general has several very entertaining sequences where we really get to see how strong and how dangerous Vader is (him pulling down an entire ship at full thrust and dismissively dominating Reva is the other).

Obi-Wan barely survives but then in a series of flashes he sees baby Luke and Leia and, filled with new purpose, blasts all the rubble off of him and re-engages Vader. Suddenly Obi-Wan is stronger, faster, he is the one on the front foot, he is the one dominating Vader. He eventually picks up hundreds of boulders and absolutely pelts them at Vader.

Turns out, Obi-Wan is also strong, very strong. There is even dialogue about how Obi-Wan has rediscovered his full strength.

Vader is beaten, injured, his mask half destroyed, his sabre gone, and Obi-Wan confronts him in triumph (and they have a conversation). Obi-Wan eventually leaves Vader there, once again beaten and broken, as the victor.

I cannot overstate how much I absolutely fucking hate this finale. I thought the show was fine and entertaining. I thought the finale is quite possibly the worst thing Disney has done to Star Wars.

It undermines what I see as one of the absolutely core themes of Star Wars, it also massively alters our interpretation of characters.

The entire point of Anakin and Vader, the premise of his downfall, is that strength is not enough. Winning the fight is not the point. Being the strongest and most dangerous will not save your loved ones. Killing is not the answer.

Vader's failure was never that he wasn't strong enough or good enough at fighting.

The entire point of the OT is that killing - despite what Yoda and Obi-Wan think - is not the answer. The path to victory does not lie in Luke becoming a stronger Jedi and better warrior, it does not lie in killing Vader.

Luke is not special because he is Anakin's son, that he has inherited his fathers strength, and that he alone is mighty enough to slay the beast.

Luke is special because he is Padmé son, that he has inherited his mother's heart, and that he alone is kind enough to love the beast despite all it has done.

The answer is not violence. It is not strength. That path leads only to pain and suffering and failure.

It is only in rejecting that conflict entirely that victory can be achieved.

The Kenobi finale absolutely upends all of that.

It turns out - Vader is not actually some unbeatable monster that Obi-Wan and Yoda needed to hide from for fear of death. Turns out, Obi-Wan can actually solo Vader 1 v 1 (and not just due to special circumstances as implied by ROTS).

Why then did they invest all their hopes in Luke? Why did they allow Vader to walk around for another 15 odd years as they waited for Luke to mature? Why was sending Luke on a suicide mission to kill Vader the only play available to them?

It makes them look like absolute bastards.

Obi-Wan goes from being this shattered broken man who barely survived the trauma of watching his whole world go up in flames, who was forced to mutilate the man he loved most for nothing, who for his own sanity needs to disassociate the man he loved, the monster who lived, and the boy who looks at him with Anakin's eyes and Padmé's smile. He goes from being well intended but deeply, fundamentally, metaphysically wrong to a deeply cynical and self serving bastard.

He goes from a man who tried to save the galaxy but - to his shame and guilt - failed, despite the price he paid; a man so torn by his guilt and his sense of duty that he dedicates his life to the last hope for the Light - to a man who could have saved the galaxy and chose not to. Chose to prioritise his own emotional well being over the safety of the galaxy in general, and the safety of the 2 kids whose faces were the source of his power up.

Turns out - this beautiful moment where he realises he has people he cares for and must continue to fight is actually him remembering that he can make all of this someone else's problem.

Genuinely - he has Vader, Sith Lord, terror of the galaxy, butcher of the Jedi - on his knees in front of him and instead of taking off his head he takes the opportunity to find closure. Turns out Obi-Wan didn't lie about Vader killing Anakin to manipulate Luke and save his own sanity, he is just repeating what he was told. He confesses his own guilt and, as the catholics do, it is in acknowledging the sin that he receives benediction.

What the actual fuck. It is the most bizarrely selfish and self centred way they could have written that scene. They literally have Vader/Anakin EXPLICITLY ABSOLVE OBI-WAN of guilt. This is both massively out of character for Anakin/Vader, but also serves no clear purpose other than post fact justifying and redeeming Obi-Wan for his own benefit (and the fans benefit).

Obi-Wan goes from a tragic failed hero to... I don't even know. A man who decided to retire when he couldn't be bothered to save us, even though he had the power to.

Why didn't he just kick Vader's ass - or at least try - on the Death Star? Because in the pre-Kenobi show world it was because he was never strong enough and he certainly wasn't strong enough after 20 years in the desert, crippled by his own guilt and shattered perceptions of reality. There was no victory in the fight, only in acceptance. But in the post-Kenobi show world? In a week he went from shattered alcoholic to kicking ass. He no longer has been living with crippling guilt for 20 years because 15 years ago he got his closure. Previously his mere memories of Luke and Leia were enough to inspire his super saiyan transformation but now their actual presence and immediate physical danger is not?

I also think it is worth asking "why?" and the answer is Disney has little interest in story telling and huge interest in fan service.

To be clear, fan service is not necessarily bad. It can be fun and additive, but it has to be thoughtful. Disney has shown very limited grasp of that balance and the Kenobi show specifically lost it entirely.

As an example I think Disney actually does Vader well in many ways. Rogue One's hallway scene is a great example of fan service that is in no way detractive. We get to see Vader at his most terrifying and it's a real "fuck yeah!" moment, because it also emphasises the heroism and desperation of the Rebellion. Vader in the Kenobi show is even done well, I think. He comes across as EVIL. His first scene, marching through the silent town, and randomly killing civilians, is great. Vader is bad - really fucking bad - and scary and this scene really shows that. He is every bit the monster the OT spent more time telling us about than showing us.

His fight against Reva is great - it both illustrates the futility of Reva's mission (she was never going to get revenge, she never stood a chance) it also gives Vader a fucking kick ass moment. Rip a space ship out the sky, tear it in half, and then beat the snot out of this other bad ass warrior without even drawing your own weapon.

Hell, even the first half of the finale is good. Vader is fucking rocking it. It is - until 5 minutes later - the most awesome presentation of Force power on screen to date. He is picking up more, bigger rocks and using them with more finesse than we've been shown before. In the visual language of force usage (lift rocks, ships, block blaster etc), it clearly articulate that THIS IS VADER and he is STRONGER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.

The issue, as I see it, is that Disney has embraced the fandom woobification of Obi-Wan. So that is why he needs to get both his emotional benediction and the chance to kick Vader's butt.

This is so deeply frustrating because - as above - it totally undercuts the point. It also was SO CLOSE to not being so problematic.

If the fight had ended with Obi-Wan under the rocks, remembers the kids, and then escapes - it all works. There is no victory for Obi-Wan in a fight with Vader, that is not his destiny. He needs to dedicate himself to the future. We could have had a great call back - have Qui-Gon's voice calling "Run, Obi-Wan, Run!" to mirror Obi-Wan's ghost guiding Luke off the Death Star. It would have been a neat explanation for why Obi-Wan and Yoda are so invested in the twins and set up their conflict with Luke. The lesson they would take from Obi-Wan twice failing to defeat Vader is they need someone more powerful, ie the thing they think in the OT.

I even could have accepted Obi-Wan getting his power up moment - if Vader then video game styles spawned a second health bar. Make Vader kinda like the Hulk - he just gets angrier and stronger. Have the fight spill over into a civilian area and have people start dying as Vader rips apart buildings. Have Kenobi run away because again, he realises there is no victory in fighting, there is only death and destruction. The mere act of fighting is to lose (morally) and because it basically just makes Vader angrier and therefore more powerful and puts others at risk. That both achieves all of the above AND neatly explains Obi-Wan's behaviour on the Death Star - extending the fight would have put Luke and Leia at greater risk.

The issue is that Disney - I believe as an act of fan service rather than for any narrative logic - decided Obi-Wan needed to win.

And in so doing fundamentally altered one of the key themes of the entire setting and changed the characterisation of key characters.

This is very long so I will add more thoughts on how Rey also reflects this vast different approach to strength and violence.

[mariamariquinha]

Personal perspectives on Andor

And why Cassian is one of my favorite characters in life.

My experiences with Star Wars are somewhat mixed. I discovered the films and stories of this universe as an adult, so at the time I already had an opinion about what I liked and didn't like in the films, and I was not unaware of how huge the fanbase was.

I asked my best friend, who is a fan, to tell me what the "right way" to watch the movies would be. I admit that I assumed I was interested when I found out that Pedro was Din Djarin, since I've been a fan of his since that time (before, actually), so my idea was: I want to contextualize all the easter eggs in The Mandalorian.

She gave me the chronological order of the films and, within weeks, I started to experience what everyone was talking about. I went to the classics, episode I, III, III… And then I got to Rogue One.

Rogue One is such a modest but powerful introduction for someone who has never been in touch with Star Wars and knew so little about the story. I remember being shocked when Galen Erso died, because he was Mads Mikkelsen, right? Later, as more people died and I began to understand the essence of that story, I remember finishing the other films thinking about them, about those characters that no one had ever told me about but who did so much for the rebellion.

It was the first Star Wars movie that I needed to watch a second time.

It was also the first time I realized that this was the kind of story, science fiction or not, was the kind of thing I wanted to see in Star Wars.

Nothing against lightsabers, prophecies or The Force, but what captivated me was what became palpable, purely human. It was a question that should have hovered in such a robust and rich story: what exists beyond the heroes?

Cassian was a character who evolved exponentially; he went from someone who did what he had to do to survive to someone so committed to the point of making countless personal sacrifices for a greater good that he never had the chance to see come to fruition. He didn't have a father who built the Death Star, nor a Jedi intuition, much less a place in the most fashionable spots on Coruscant, for example. Cassian survived from day one, and his moral caliber was based on taking care of the few who took care of him in return, cheating the system while also using it to do so.

At no point do we hear his name in the stories that followed, no mention of his deeds which, even if 'small', even if preceding the theft of the Death Star project and his sacrifice, were responsible for paving the way for those who would lead the uprising against the Empire. There was no power, no honor, no peace in the destiny he chose to follow: there was a fight he decided to take, and in the painful process, he faced the consequences of it as he slowly lost the people he loved most.

I dare say (with very superficial knowledge) that the victory of the Rebellion over the Empire at the hands of Luke, Leia, Han and company was only possible because people like Cassian (people without name, without pomp and without 'powers') got their hands dirty for a purpose.

Cassian is one of many and perhaps that is what makes him so special.

Diego Luna, it's so good to see your face in this character.

[thedirtiwalkoniswet]

I watched Ahsoka... I have notes.

Disclaimer: If you liked or even loved the show that is amazing. I am not as positive about the show - but you can absolutely state your opinion or tell me I'm wrong.

To start I'd like to note that the show is most definetly not enjoyable for anybody who didn't watch rebels. I honestly really liked rebels.

Let's just dive into the critiscism. For one, every moment lingers a little too long. The pauses between the spoken dialoge are also so jarring. It's like they really wanted to drag everything out as much as possible.

I'm not saying it has to be fast paced neccessarily. Andor also has moments linger on, but the difference is, is that either these moments matter, it's beautiful to look at, or it gives you a moment to breathe after the most intense dialoge you've ever heard, but it's never boring.

With Ahsoka I feel like so many scenes don't matter. They could've put the entire show in half the time and it would have been more enjoyable. It lacks substance.

The writing overall is not good, it pains me to say. The entire "live or die" thing sounded terrible. It is stale, forced and boring. And bad dialoge can't create good performances, so the actors very much appear to be bad at their job. Genevieve O'Reilly is an incredible actress, and yet you can notice the slight difference between her performance in Andor vs in Ahsoka. It is not a bad one, but it is different.

On a positive note: I do think that the casting is actually really good. ESPECIALLY for Sabine & Ezra, I think they really nailed them, from the voice, to the face to the mannerisms. In that department I give them praise.

And I think the make up is also largely fine, I think Ahsoka looks great, Thrawn does too, only Hera I see issue with. Her look was never easy to be translated into live action, but I think it could have been at least a little better, in some scenes it really looks cheaply painted on.

Another thing is that the villains are boring as hell. Thrawn is the main dish, for sure, but I despised Morgan. And that is so rare in Star Wars that a villain is not even a tiny bit interesting. Worst of all, I've seen Tales of the empire and the episode in Mandalorian where she appears, and yet is she still a nothing character that is nothing but annoying.

On the other side, Baylan and Shin weren't annoying, not at all, but I have felt such indifference anytime they came on screen. They look cool, the actors are pretty good, but there is nothing about them. However, I do believe they can be set up to be interesting in the future, I don't think they are wasted yet. It just would have elevated the story if they gave us any backstory about these two. Like, yeah we know Baylan was a Jedi, but how did he survive? When did he find Shin? Why do these two matter at all?

They also missed the mark with Thrawn. He didn't come across as intelligent as he should, he fails over and over, making mistakes he would have never made in the past. We are talking about Thrawn. He is arguably the most intelligent Star Wars character in the canon universe, he outsmarted the Emperor. I really hope they will at the very least take him in the right direction, not as the heir to the empire. His plan was always to help the Chiss get back to their glory and power, that was the only reason he joined the empire in the first place.

So I do think that season 1 can be a good jumping point from which they can make an amazing season 2, but they need to work on these aforementioned flaws.

Because as of now, the show is only good when it references previous projects. I see a lot of people get excited about small details, and that is great. I'm not saying they need to make a show that doesn't cater to fans, no that would be stupid. I must admit I squealed when Ventress was only mentioned. But that doesn't mean I think the show as a whole is good enough to be enjoyable.

I think you should be able to have both. The parallels, the cameos, the references and a good story, good writing, good cinematography. But it's like they knew that they wouldn't have to try. They knew that as long as they distract fans with familiar characters and such it wouldn't matter how lackluster the rest is.

If you have to shove every familiar character into the show, how confident are you in your work? Nobody would care about Ahsoka if it wasn't for those familiar characters. And that is a shame.

[charmwasjess]

💚 and 🧡 for the unpopular opinions, maybe? :D

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

MAYBE?? YES I SAY!! :D :D

You know (lol all too well, my patient, generous friend <3) that Dooku remains my true favorite, but I think the last time we played one of these ask games together, I threw Dooku at you when you were probably expecting a Sifo-Dyas answer, so I’m going for the reverse this time. :3 >:3

I’m lucky enough to be in a beautiful community of people deliberately writing Sifo-Dyas as more than a helpless victim of the narrative here on tumblr. But in the wider fandom, clicking a Sifo-Dyas tag can be a real gamble. He’s an easy character to minimize and project on. We all love our pathetic lil’ meow meows. But I think it’s especially tempting to make a prophetic character be a static victim of fate. This is doubly an issue with Sifo-Dyas, who is one of the best canon examples of a Jedi with a disability that is treated seriously and not fixed by any space magic. People minimize him in a way that is altogether too common. 

And yet, canon Sifo-Dyas is actually incredibly dynamic, one of the few characters actively aware of the plot of the prequels and trying to change it. This isn’t my headcanon retelling of an obscure character for representation; every time Sifo-Dyas shows up in the books, he is depicted grabbing the mic. He is a classic example of a person who, upon finding himself feeling powerless, deliberately tries to wrestle back control. His literal last words are ones of imperative command.

He's described as a powerful Jedi and member of the Council for years. Far from being a guileless victim, he’s the one to both befriend, and later, cut contact with Dooku, and it seems to have been his choice/idea to go back to Dooku that last time. The other Council members think he’s a demanding asshole who does whatever the fuck he wants. Mace Windu thinks his death has destroyed the Council’s entire ability to sense the future - they relied on him that much. 

So yeah, that’s what the fandom gets wrong. Give Sifo-Dyas back his agency. He wasn’t falling out of the sky on the Obi Diah moon, he was trying to ride that ship down. Hell, canonically, he’d done it before. 

🧡: What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

I downright hate the theory that Sidious “let” Mace win so that Anakin would need to save him to prove his loyalty/as a Sith test. 

Not only does that create risk that goes against Sidious’s compulsive obsession with preserving his own life, it breaks the pattern. Anakin’s Sith test is killing an unarmed (lol) defeated Dooku, the same as Dooku’s was killing a defeated Yaddle, the same as Luke’s is supposed to be killing a defeated Vader. Sith don’t prove themselves spiritually by preserving life, they commit to their path by taking it. 

Mace is the head of the Jedi Order, and his form is literally designed to take apart the dark side users. He has a physical advantage on Sidious, a location advantage, he has the numbers on him, and he’s been training for specifically this his whole career as the most elevated Jedi Master in the Order. 

So why should Sidious need to be faking for Mace to win?

[kenobster]

I dislike the headcanon that Anakin struggled to understand the difference between "master" in a slavery context and "master" in a mentorship context.

Even though it's usually held by Anakin stans, this headcanon actually robs Anakin of some of his best, most compelling traits. Anakin (at nine years old) is portrayed as compassionate (eager to help at great risk to himself with no hope of reward), competent (able to make tactical decisions and perform great engineering feats under a wild amount of stress), and wickedly smart (among other things, he regularly supplies ideas on how to work around Watto's bullshit). If you and I are able to comprehend the difference between "master" as denoting a cruel participator in the enslavement of another human being and "master" as denoting a wise mentor who has achieved expertise in both skill and ethical conduct, then Anakin, even as a child, can certainly figure it out. His admiration for the Jedi would inevitably lead him to ask the necessary questions. By virtue of his compassion, he would strive to see things from their POV. And his competence/intelligence would allow him to comprehend their answers. Not to mention, Anakin is an expert on slavery. He has been studying this subject for nine intense years. He knows exactly what slavery looks like. Thus, jumping straight from Watto's ownership and into the Jedi's care, Anakin would recognize in an instant that Jedi mentorship is not slavery. In short, he's smarter than you. (And don't tell me you don't get it. You're reading this post on tumblr(dot)com, so I know damn well you learned the term "sensei." Don't play dumb with me.)

Thus, I'm very disappointed that people overwhelmingly write Anakin, as a padawan, having a fraught relationship with Obi-Wan in regards to calling him "master." I see this headcanon manifest a few different ways: (1) the Jedi explain what "master" means, which results in Anakin being upset and choosing not to not call Obi-Wan or anyone "master" (at least for a time); (2) the Jedi (who, in these fics, are implied to be dumb at best or ignorant at worst) do not explain what "master" means, and Anakin silently grows up traumatized by having to call Obi-Wan or anyone "master"; (3) some combination of the former; or (4) the subject is never raised; thus, no contradiction to the former is presented. (Authors of fics that fall into the no. 4 category are obviously not to blame for the former three scenarios; I'm just making an observation that little alternative exists--at least, not to my knowledge... Feel absolutely free to send your recs.)

It's a really strange headcanon to appear so commonly because major canon contradicts it entirely. In the prequel trilogy, Anakin regularly calls Obi-Wan "master" as a term of endearment. Even at his most obnoxious in AotC, Anakin only ever says "master" in a tone better than or equal to neutral (which actually still defaults to respect purely by nature of the word that is being used). In fact, there are plenty of opportunities for Anakin to use the term resentfully (i.e. during the scene "You will pay attention to my lead" -> ">:( Why?"), but he never does. In contrast, he conveys enormous respect for Obi-Wan both to his face ("Then why don't you listen to me?" -> ":( I am trying") and in a private setting ("as wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu"). The best evidence supporting otherwise is how he calls people "mister" in TPM. However, this happens prior to Anakin's indoctrination into Jedi culture, and we don't know why he is doing it. Nothing suggests an aversion to the way the Jedi use the term "master"; it could be something as simple as a custom-made-habit from Tatooine .

Based on these samplings, canon strongly suggests an alternative to the dominant opinion: Anakin experiences absolutely no distress from calling Obi-Wan "master" and he has been doing so of his own volition from a very young age.

I think the reason why the opposite opinion is so popular is because of how much Anakin's past is the catalyst for so many plot elements, including his characterization as Vader. Even as an adult, slavery is a giant source of trauma for him. Freedom and autonomy (or the lack thereof) are two of the central pillars to his character arc (all the way from "I'm a person and my name is Anakin" to "henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Vader" ... and then, back again to "just for once, let me look upon you with my own eyes"). It's clear that words are important to Anakin, and they can be weaponized against him--so it's easy to see how people got here. But I reject the notion that the Jedi (nurturers, peacekeepers, scifi buddhist monks) are doing any form of word-weaponizing, even unintentionally (when their whole thing is about being mindful/empathetic/compassionate, especially about alternate POVs).

I especially reject this notion when an actual emotional abuser is standing right there, next to Anakin, at all points in his Jedi life. Word-weaponizing is sort of what emotional abusers do. And you know who is responsible for blurring the line between "master" in a slave context and "master" in a mentorship context? Palpatine. Palpatine is the true culprit of the mechanism in this popular headcanon. He knows very well that Anakin is coming from a place in which "master" has, for a long time, meant wisdom/endearment/teaching/mentoring. He encourages this assumption and deliberately blinds Anakin to the fact that "master" in a Sith context actually means slavery. Vader becomes Sidious's slave in every aspect of the word. He calls Sidious his master, he bends himself to Sidious's every whim/command, he wears the cage that Sidious constructs for him--and he doesn't even realize it. Because Palpatine has twisted the word "master" into both a term of endearment and a term of superiority. Anakin can no longer tell the difference between learning and serving because Palpatine has made them the same thing. In the end, Anakin does become distressed at the word "master" but only because of Palpatine's abuse.

In short, enough of Anakin being dumb and incompetent and unempathetic as a padawan. Enough of the Jedi Order being either cruel or ignorant when it comes to Anakin's past as a slave. I get the urge, I really, really do (because Anakin's trauma post-slavery is super fucking addictive)... but friends. You're putting this urge into the wrong place. I beseech you--please come join me in this new playground, in this fun paradise!

Let the emotionally abusive Sith Lord emotionally abuse your darling!

Let. Palpatine. Make. Anakin. Suffer. :)

[david-talks-sw]

So, why should I care about Lucas’s narrative? Like seriously why should I care? Not to sound dismissive but a genuine curiosity? Man sold it for one thing and the EU and the fans that made it showed Star Wars was may more then his narrative at some point.

If anything Star Wars moved beyond Lucas’s narrative even before he sold it. Even from a grande perspective his narrative stopped mattering in some sense the minute A New Hope arrived and became a hit.

Oh, you're free not to care about it.

But the fact remains:

When Lucasfilm creatives promote new content, they’ll use George as an authority figure to legitimize what they say.

Big chunks of the fandom do the same by using Lucas’ words to make authority arguments on why they believe the new films and the current direction of the franchise is good or bad.

Seeing as there seems to be a general consensus that Lucas’ word holds some power, I'd rather set the record straight on what he actually stated and intended.

You totally can just say “death of the author, what Lucas intended or what he said outside the movies doesn’t matter, what matters is what’s actually on screen” and I’d have nothing to counter that argument with because this is a subjective stance. We can debate its merits, but that’d result in a much larger discussion about the place of authorial intent in fiction.

But again, you can discard my posts and analyses by simply saying:

“I don’t care what Lucas stated, I’m a free-thinker and I can interpret any movie I watch however I want.” 

At which point, the only answer I can give you is “cool, good for you”. 

You wouldn’t be the only person I’ve met who takes this approach, either. I have friends who are older than me, saw the Original Trilogy films in theaters and felt Lucas’ dropped the ball as early as Episode VI: Return of the Jedi or the Special Editions, let alone the Prequel films. These friends don’t put Lucas on the same pedestal as everyone else seems to do, and flat out tell me:

“David, either the Jedi are the problem or the Prequels are bad, I don’t care what Lucas was going for, the result is crap and the only thing that makes it all have some degree of sense is that interpretation.”

And I mean… what do I say to that? What can you say to that? That’s a personal interpretation of a movie, it’s not an opinion that’s less valid than anyone else’s. 

But when I’m taking this approach, I’m not saying “your read of the movie is inferior to that of George Lucas” (unless you confer some degree of power to his word, as the creator of the franchise).

All I’m saying is “Lucas’ message was X”. 

You can agree with the message, you can disagree with the message, the message may be factually/morally/philosophically right or wrong, that’s all debatable. 

I’m just pointing out that, when you look at all the data and you go by what George Lucas stated, it’s X, not Y, like most of the fandom and even authors of the franchise seems to keep stating.

Finally, on a personal note:

I don't like the fact that every time I see my childhood heroes on screen, nowadays, they're portrayed as protocol-worshipping stoic assholes.

I don't like that 90% of the fandom thinks that's how they're meant to be seen when the data demonstrates it's not.

I don't like that the reason my childhood heroes keep being portrayed in this uncharitable light is because the fans from the generation prior to mine - whom these characters weren't meant for - wanted to ensure that their childhood hero, Luke Skywalker, would be preserved as "the ultimate Jedi" and concluded that the only way to do so would be to reframe the Prequel Jedi as dogmatic and emotionless.

So now the OT fans have Luke, the Sequel fans have Rey, the TCW fans have Ahsoka... all unsullied protagonists.

Whereas pro-Jedi PT fans need to mentally ready themselves for when Lucasfilm decides to release the nth "Windu was more strict than a droid" case.

[zydrateacademy]

Review - Star Wars: The Old Republic

As with any 14 year old game, especially of the MMO genre, one can expect that it’s gone through a few changes. I cannot speak for its current viability, as I’ve heard from some players that they’ve been a bit lax with any major expansion update for some years now, in the same timeframe as the COVID pandemic which may have affected their workflow. So getting into this game really depends on what you want out of a game or MMO.

The usual MMO trappings reveal themselves in short order; between not being able to equip purple “epic” gear, only being able to hold a certain amount of credits, and the fact that your level cap will be 60, locking you out of four or so major content updates. A single month purchase will unlock the rest of it permanently. I was lucky enough to have a friend to sponsor a couple of months in my era of unemployment, but I won’t lie to you: The hard cap and content lockout was annoying, but unfortunately not entirely unheard of for MMO operations.

In my recent ~140 hours I’ve only done the multiplayer Flashpoints (the 4-person dungeons through a group finder queue). I highly recommend turning General chat off in the Fleets. 

I’m here to tell you that as a free player, playing this game like an extended KOTOR-3 is an entirely viable way to go about it.

Everyone has their own opinions and tier list of various class stories. Having done up to Chapter 2 throughout most of them and finished only two or three, it really is a subjective preference. I found the Sith Warrior to be highly engaging, while the Jedi Consular bored me to a point where I’ve lost the thread and I’m not really sure what was going on at all after a certain point. I’m told the Jedi Knight is basically the unofficial KOTOR3 on its own, but the shadow of Revan is around regardless of who you play as. 

Ultimately every origin story has their own power struggles that run mostly concurrently with each other with the occasional and rare overlap, until the various expansions where your singular PC morphs into a singular character with vague mentions of all the origin characters being in the wind, dead or missing. This runs the risk of what the original content excelled at, each origin feels very unique and (most of) their stories are engaging. But in doing so they had more or less written themselves in a corner and their way out of it was making the dialog more generalized, my Sith Warrior main barely makes any mention of being Sith but in the rare moments and most of their jerk dialog just amounts to “I will destroy you” rather than “The Sith will return”, because they had to account for all the other characters at once.

I am currently playing through the “Fallen Empire” arc and while I am highly engaged, I do feel like it takes place in a different universe but in a somewhat good way. The aesthetics of the Eternal Empire feel at odds with the aesthetics of the franchise. I have my Sith Warrior dressed in the usual black and red Darth-y stuff, and I look like a cartoon character as I traverse a corridor with more realistically designed Netflix-show-esque outfits.

Gameplay? It’s an MMO. Third person, WASD movement, action bars. Unfortunately the game doesn’t have an Addon/Mod system but it has an ingame interface editor which is fairly easy to use and you can scale the UI to your preferences. 

Frankly I got a lot of WoW flashbacks as I played it after eight or so years away. The Operative/Assassin/Shadow classes effectively operate like a rogue, with stealth and single-target stun abilities. In that way it can feel a bit dated, but makes up for it with the story flow and doesn’t bog you down too heavily with a hundred skills and spells.

At a certain point the whole game feels like a Mass Effect game with a Star Wars skin painted over it, because once you’re in your 60’s you have most of your class’s kit and once you figure out a skill priority and order your action bars around it’s unlikely you’ll need to rearrange it much after that, and then it just feels like a Mass Effect ability bar. So it’s just a matter of running around the story, but there’s a scaling issue where you’re constantly over-leveled for the area so to make sure you’re not one-tapping bosses, you’ll be scaled down to the content for the entire duration of the game, until whatever the endgame loop zone at 80 is. This is unlike a Bioware game where, even if you play on a set difficulty, their games become progressively easier as you upgrade. Sadly here in SWTOR, my Darth is struggling against basic droids. Where it originally excelled at the power fantasy of a lightsaber wielding Jedi, over time you just become some random with a sword.

The game isn’t difficult, just time consuming. But the experience is very much comparable to a distant KOTOR sequel and if that’s the vibe you’re going for, there’s a lot of bang for little buck here. The initial game is free and you can get a couple of hundred hours on it easily. Even when I was stuck at a lower level cap it still took me 40-60 hours getting through one story, but I was doing a little bit of side-faff like Flashpoints and Roleplay. So maybe every class story could potentially be accurately summed up as 20-40 hours of gameplay… and there’s eight origins to play through, each with eight subclasses to experience. There’s a lot of game here, and it’s hard to argue with free.

[adragonsfriend]

"The Jedi are slaves to their doctrine..."

...yeah. Just like how boarding school is the same thing as prison.

**Also with a side of reasoning about why Jedi and Amavikka culture are different.

I haven't seen this opinion expressed in its full form too often, but I see it semi-regularly in diluted forms, and I honestly think it's dangerous as hell. It makes an equivalence between adhering to some admittedly high rules and expectations and literal actual slavery, where one person owns other people and spends their lives and labor without regard for their personhood.

I went to a boarding school for secondry school, and there was a little joke that went something along the lines of, "They give us a bed to sleep in, three meals a day, and you have to be back in your dorm at a specific time... sounds really similar to prison to me." And just between students, it was funny, it's still worth a chuckle occasionally.

Make that same joke to someone whose been to prison or worked in a prison, and they'll probably look at you like you're an idiot, and maybe if you're lucky they'll even tell you all the reasons you're dead wrong.

Comparing a Jedi's duties to slavery follows the same logic as the joke. It takes the superficial elements of two things, and says 'see? these things are the same, therefore everything else must be as well.'

Boarding School & Prison:

Both provide beds, meals, and restricts where you can be at certain times.

Jedi duty & Slavery:

Both involve rules you don't get to decide yourself, are sometimes dangerous, don't allow owning property.

I could write a longer sentence that could hypothetically describe either duty or slavery, but I think this gets the point across well enough:

Superficial similarities do not make two things the the same, and pretending they do is, I think, tied to the deeper issue of making judgements about the expectations and rules of cultures outside our own without first examining their causes and effects. With that idea in mind, let's go through a couple of Jedi rules and expectations and look at some reasons why they have developed the way they did, why they're very reasonable for the Jedi, and a little about what we can take from them. Then, because I think a comparison is helpful here, let's do the same for Amavikka culture.

Jedi Cultural Rules/Expectations

The Jedi are a culture of Force sensitives, people with the power to help or to harm literally in their blood. What rules and expectations does this give rise to?

No romance-- Love and lust are powerful forces. Not necessarily always good or always bad, but definitely powerful. There's a reason people have been writing stories about lovers who screw up their own and others lives over getting to be together since the dawn of time. There's a reason lovers have been screwing up their own and others lives over getting to be together since the dawn of time. There's a reason queer people being punished for be open about who they love is damaging. There's a reason banning interracial marriages is pretty damn evil (i mean that one's more complicated then just love being powerful but i digress). But all this said, when the expectation is followed out of genuine devotion to a way of life, it's very possible to live a fulfilling life without a romantic partner; there are lots of monastic communities where people willingly choose not to marry or do romance because they are entirely committed to other pursuits. Love and lust are powerful things, and Jedi hold a lot of power. They cannot afford to be driven screw over themselves or others, because they really could hurt a lot of people, so they refrain from engaging with romantic pursuits at all.

Don't get attached to material things-- Jedi live communally without a sense of ownership over most things, aside from their lightsabers. They don't need that kind protective instinct because they work together to provide for each others needs. Jedi do collect personal items and have hobbies that require physical things, but they wouldn't be devastated if they lost those things, they would move on rather than go to lengths to reclaim them.

Practice controlling yourself-- You have an ability other people don't have, and it gives you the power to kill/otherwise take advantage of lots of people. Not doing that is important is incredibly important, so you need to practice knowing and controlling yourself so that if you end up in the situation where you want to hurt someone, you can stop.

You carry a weapon, think before you draw it, think harder before you kill with it-- Jedi go out in the world and seek to do good, sometimes that means willingly encountering violence, and sometimes encountering violence means fighting, so Jedi carry weapons. But the weapons they use are not casually mastered ones, like a blaster; the lightsaber is a precise and deadly weapon--you can do a lot of damage being just knowing how to fire a gun, but a sword is a different story. The lightsaber forms require constant practice and consideration as to when they should be used, and so it's natural that Jedi have a lot of philosophy and work that is tied to not just how but when they use their weapons. Interestingly, we often see lightsabers drawn, they are being used as a tool, to cut through doors or light up an area, not just as weapons.

You can leave-- If there's something else you are more committed to--you fell in love with someone, you want a traditional family, there's some other philosophical/cultural/religious path you consider more important than or not compatible with Jedi way, you think you could do more good elsewhere, etc--you're allowed to leave. You won't be a Jedi anymore, but you should absolutely come back and visit the Temple sometimes.

There are plenty of useful lessons to be learned from Jedi culture, because there are power imbalances all over the place in our lives whether they come from privilege, wealth, physicality, or emotional leverage over our loved ones, which we must navigate without being cruel when we are more powerful than others. We don't all live like Jedi though, because we don't all carry weapons, and most of us don't have the means/potential to become mass murderers if we lose control of ourselves for awhile, and most of us aren't trained to be diplomats going on missions with possibly immense consequences for millions of people.

Amavikka Rules/Expectations

Amavikka culture developed directly in response to slavery. What strategies and expectations does that give rise to?

Secret marriages-- Love is powerful and meaningful because no matter what happens Depur cannot take it from you, it lasts beyond just sharing space with the same person, and even beyond death.

Japur snippets-- Small, apparently inconsequential items are more easily held on to, and even if they are lost, they can be recreated and have the same meaning, because what your family means to you is more important than any physical representation. Still, physical reminders of that love are very helpful in dark times.

Absolutely nothing is owed to Depur-- The people in power have never done anything for you, and if they ever appeared to, it was done in the spirit of keeping you imprisoned.

False flattery to lie to Depur-- Works really well to trick a vain, powerful person who has power over you because it can get you what you need while avoiding negative reactions from them (not a super healthy thing to do outside of dangerous, power imbalanced relationships).

You'll always be one of the Mother's children-- No matter how far you go, even if you are sold on, even if you mess up massively or become chain blind, even if you leave Tatooine, you're still one of the Mother's children. Cruel situations provide lots of opportunities for pain to twist its victims into being cruel themselves, but someone can always tell you a story, and if you listen, you can always come back to that family.

There are plenty of useful lessons to be learned from Amavikka culture, because there are power imbalances all over the place in our lives, be they parent-child relationships, employer-employee, wealthy-poor, customer-retail worker, or the very real forms of slavery exist today, that we must navigate without without getting hurt when we are less powerful than others. We don't all live like Amavikka people though, because the power imbalances in many of our lives are not nearly as absolute or without recourse as people who are explicitly property as sanctioned by the government.

Sith Rules/Expectations

Just for kicks, let's look (very briefly) at the Sith as well. Sith recruits tend, with the major exception of Palpatine, to be people who have witnessed or been the victim to a lot of pain. The exception, Palaptine, was someone who enjoyed inflicting pain on others even before he became involved with the Sith. What expectations does recruiting vulnerable people with really intense, untempered relationships to pain create?

If you are weak, hurt people to get them to stop hurting you-- In fact, feel as much pain as possible yourself, so that you don't forget why it's important that you continue hurting other people.

If you are powerful, hurt whoever you want-- In fact, just hurt people, all the time. They would do they same as you if they weren't such pitiful weaklings.

The are plenty of useful lessons to be learned from the Sith about what not to do, because there are power imbalances all over the place in our lives, and whether we are powerful or weak in those relationships, carelessly inflicting pain on ourselves or others typically just adds to the pain in the world.

Conclusion

this has been my TED talk. it's excessively long. it took an excessively long time to write. go away and be nice to people or something, idk.