#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.

[klerothesnowman]

The Sith are Nazis and it's never been subtle

This one ended up being really long. I spliced in some images when I could to break it up easier.

One of the things that causes the most friction in the world is the idea of morality. I know, that's the most water is wet statement ever said but I think people really miss just how much the nuance of morality goes over people's heads. Subjective, objective, relative, from a baseline we understand that there are different types of morality but I don't think people really grasp how much a persons personal morality can be wildly different to any another given person's, especially among people who share spaces like fandoms. Morality is shaped by personal experiences, there are personal experiences that are 99% ubiquitous among humanity like "Pain" that form the basis of everyone's moral compass, then there are the major cultural touchstones that no matter what your morality will be affected by, religion, nation, race, all that what have you. Everyone has an opinion on the Christian Church and that opinion is informed by your morals. People who have been abused by members of a church will have a very different view of the morality of a religion compared to people who have been raised Catholic compared to someone who was raised agnostic compared to someone raised agnostic and is queer compared to someone who has been raised Catholic and is queer compared to someone who has been raised Catholic and is queer and is also rich and so on and so forth you get it.

Morality is not a binary thing, and it's not a nine point grid either D&D, it's more like one of those circle charts that Jojo Stands get ranked on. You know the ones that always seem to show up in anime? I don't know what they're called. Except instead of a circle it's more like a ball, and everyone has this horrible looking 3D balls covered in bumps and spikes and dips and holes.

Why am I opening this ramble with a ramble about morality and religion? Because I'm on tumblr. When I decide I want to ramble about something I read the tags and see what the vibe is, see what people are saying about things. I'm not part of the "Fandom", I don't know the discourses, I see that there's Anti-Jedi and Pro-Jedi and "Stanikins" and all of these different labels and battlelines, and then I read about how people on either side are feeling attacked and harassed by people on other sides. I have no idea how real this is, I have no idea what kind of minefield I'm about to walk into. I'm just rambling about my thoughts and feelings about Star Wars because I like it and I'm a little extra aware that this one is going to ruffle feathers.

Because people are fuckin' worked up about Jedi. There are people who are making it part of their identity that they are anti-Jedi. And it's been happening for years, decades even. Because the experiences and trends of nerd culture has been pushing against systems and religion since I was a baby. Nerds being obnoxious atheists and smugly telling people "God isn't real" was basically the norm when I was a teenager, and before I was born nerds were dealing with being called evil and satanic. Nothing I'm rambling about here is new, in fact using D&D as a touchstone I think the current trend for nerddom's interaction with religion is ambivalence, despite faith and divine power being such an important part of D&D, there's basically zero interaction with divinities in 5e, and when there is it's hostile and has an asterisk against it. I'll do a ramble about this one day too

But the Jedi stuff is interesting to me, because there's a lot of directions people come at for it.

There's people who argue against just Jedi because they're a religion. There's people who argue the Jedi are slavers or kidnap children. People think Jedi are super beings who lord over everyone with their power. People think the Jedi force people to suppress their emotions and personhood. There are people who think Jedi are moral supremacists who silence and kill anyone who thinks about the Force differently from them.

I have some "Pro-Jedi" arguments to make but I'll save them for a different ramble, because this one's supposed to be about another group of people.

The people who think, from their point of view, the Jedi are evil.

The reason I rambled on so much about people being Anti-Jedi is because very often, these people end up being Pro-Sith. It's an obvious leap, if the Jedi are the problem then the people opposed to the Jedi might have the right idea. If your issue with the Jedi is that they disallow "Attachment", then here's the Sith who are all about Attachment. If your issue with the Jedi is that they suppress their emotions then here's the Sith who are always tapping into their emotions. There is an immediate appeal there.

Then there's the Sith Code, let's give it a read.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.

Pretty sweet, Passion is pretty positive, breaking chains and freedom. I can get behind that. The rest of Sith Philosophy is pretty swell too. It's about improvement through conflict. Your struggles make you stronger, makes you better, removes your shackles and lets you be free, but also recognizes that you will have to do whatever it takes to do so. The Jedi seek to wipe out the dark knowledge you attain, so you must sequester yourself and hide when you must hide, and strike when you must strike. It's stance could be summed up as something like... "The sacred mission of a Sith is to preserve the Sith Order's most valuable elements as you raise yourself to a dominant position, and all who do not are chaff."

There are people who are really into this. Like, really, really into this. They talk about how they apply this mentality to their real life. They describe themselves as Sith. There are also people who are only kind of into this, they think about positive Sith characters and make headcanons about the good things Sith do.

I need to stress, for those people, that what I am about to say is not hyperbole. I will provide sources.

The Sith Code and Philosophy is Nazi Propaganda. It is literally lifted from Mein Kampf. That quote I used to sum it up is a paraphrased quote from Britannica.com. That's Hitler.

The Sith Code was invented to be in opposition to the Jedi Code, its purpose is to twist a preexisting code to make you think the alternative isn't so bad and it uses codephrases to do so.

Passion, Strength, Victory, Chains, being Free, these are words that we have presubscribed meanings for, but what do they mean in the Sith Code? What IS Passion? What IS Strength? What IS Victory?

Most people I interact with see Passion as Love, passionate, exciting love, the exact thing the Jedi reject. But that can't be it, where's Palpatine's love? Where's Maul's? Where's Vader's?

Passion is obsession. The kind of obsession that will lead you to burning everything down if you don't get what you want. It's not letting anything stand between you and your goal, even if that thing is your goal itself.

Let's break the code down here.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. We start with the obvious twist on the Jedi code, an immediate refutation of the Jedi's first line. It stands in opposition.

Through passion, I gain strength. We've already done Passion, it's a nice little dressing up of "Being a raging psycho"

Through strength, I gain power. Strength is often intermingled with power, but it's often spoken of interchangably with being able to set aside morals. The Sith isn't an amoral monster who just killed a bunch of kids, he's just STRONG enough to do what needed to be done

Through power, I gain victory. Power isn't a code word. Power is Power, Power is what it's all about and there's no hiding it. In the Sith way the only thing that matters is that you are powerful enough to kill your rivals and stand on top.

Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. I think the notions of breaking chains and being Free is the cleverest part of the Sith Code's propaganda kit. It's still seeing use in The Acolyte and it's still convincing people that the Sith are right, even when the guy who's calling for freedom mercs a child then and there.

The Sith are not misunderstood heroes. They're Nazis. They're facist might makes right would be autocrats trying to convince you they're right so you'll validate them and prove them right.

Sith Philosophy is self defeating. Following the Sith Code means you need to define yourself on your conflict, meaning your conflict can never end. For all its claims of being free and breaking chains you can never be free of what drives you or you will lose the strength it gives you. To break your chains you need to hold onto them tight, and you can never let them go.

[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.

[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…

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[lavender-jedi]

Ok I love joking about thrawn being forced to put up with ezra and being deeply annoyed by the bad guys in ahsoka trying to pull him back into the conflict but in all seriousness I REALLY hope this series doesn't go in one of two ways-

Bad option 1- Thrawn's been holding Ezra hostage the whole time and is super psyched to get back to the Empire (bc he canonically does not give a fuck about the Imps past their ability to help protect the Ascendancy from the Vong)

Bad option 2- Thrawn's actually besties with Ezra and is down to help the New Republic (same reason as above, the New Republic is way too new and splintered to help the Ascendancy; also Ezra would never let a relationship with Thrawn get past "extremely reluctant ally out of necessity" at BEST)

In my not so humble opinion, the answer to what Thrawn's been up to that actually fits with his canon character/motivation should hit most of the following points

Immediately into his exile he knows that even if he gets back to the Empire and NOT get immediately killed for his failure, Project Stardust is still going to fuck them over because it's a fucking stupid idea, so the Empire is a lost cause for his purposes

Thrawn's resourcefulness will have him then take whatever of his fleet plus the Jedi he now has in tow and hike back to the Ascendancy to make do with that

He should also have to work VERY hard to convince Ezra that he can hate Thrawn all he wants but the Vong are SO much fucking worse and that the Ascendancy needs his help (knowing Ezra, the "people need your help" card should do the trick in getting him to play ball)

I think the above reason plus physically not being able to find a way back is sufficient enough reason for why Ezra stayed in Deep Space

I'm honestly not sure how Thrawn will react to the Imperials rolling up to wherever he his, but I will be massively disappointed if he was in fact "calling" them for any reason other than "I have this imperial shaped hole in my current play against the Vong that I'm going to fill with these shmucks", and even then the writing will have to do a LOT to convince me how that makes sense

Honestly what would make the most sense to me is if he knows that luring Dark Jedi to his location will also lure Ahsoka to follow them bc the New Republic might not be very useful but his old allies's incredibly powerful apprentice sure would be

Bonus points for him reuniting with Eli and shacking up with him, and having Ezra as a very grumpy reluctant neighbor (who refuses to let on that he actually kind of likes Eli because it's literally impossible to not love that sweet bean)

[graylinesspam]

My favorite thing about my white middle aged dad being a star wars fan is that he sees me as an authority on most star wars stuff. He was a fan when he was a kid then fell out of interest immidietly after the prequal hype wore off.

He still considers himself an expert on all things Yoda/Qui gon since those are his blorbos. But i've been a fan since i was 5. I made him watch the prequals over and over until he "lost them in the move" so he could get a break. I watched clone wars when it came out. I watched the first season of rebels when it came out. I made him watch both..many years later. I made him start reading the books.

I spend all my free time reading and writing about Star Wars. Even when I took four years off for highschool and he was the only one watching rebels. He still defered to me on star wars cannon. He listens to and respects my opinion above all others. He fact checks facebook videos and random red pill posts by asking me about them.

And that means that i get to micro dose him on the way chiller, way cooler veagly progressive version of star wars that i've dug out from among the legends meterials and personal interpritations of canon.

And hes progressed so far as a student that hes starting to independantly have observations that ive seen the fandom have and discussed already. And all i can thing is

"Yes good" * in the palpatine voice*

This man will have in person debates about Star wars with other grown men and be like. "Sorry but i've read and watched more star wars than you've bothered to think about in your lifetime." And "the moral of the clone wars era is obviously about how political conflicts are a smoke an mirrors show performed by the ruling powers to trick the public into sighning away their own right and autonomy in exchange for a safety that doesn't exist. It's about fear tactics and fascism."

Mostly he just likes to talk about his blorbos tho (who doesn't) and come up with batshit theories about where the background characters went after the jedi purge. Hes real into rael aveross rn.

My least favorite thing is that he has a horrible taste in ships and keeps trying to put my lesbian baddies with their respective guy that's just there. Hes a Din Bo shipper which is a sin i cannot forgive.

I did tell him that people harcore shipped Cody and Obi-wan tho to which he replied. "*shrug* ....Cody could do better."

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC questionnaire

Thanks to @drchenquill here, @somethingclevermahogony here and here, @mk-writes-stuff here, @elsie-writes here, and @dyrewrites here!

My last questionnaires:

Robbie, Gwen, Maddie, Noelle, Jedi, and Kelsey here.

Carmen, George, Akash, Sam, Lexi, and Ash here.

Gabriel, Carla, Parker, Rose, Alex, and Ewan here!

Below the cut I'll do: Liam, Hye-Jin, Wendy, Wade, Issa, and CJ!

#1- Liam

Which color do you hate?

“Beige. Oh my God, it's just a boring color. I thought that we were past this. Different shades of beige and brown are being used to be the ~aesthetic~ of so many people on Tiktok. Ma'am, where are you from, Boringsville??? I'm not dissing brown. Brown is a great color. But beige??? Who thought this would look nice on anything, much less everything? Why are all of your walls beige--you look like you live in a sandcastle. Man, I feel bad for Hye-Jin. Her powers appear beige! You poor thing. I have brown. An awesome color, remember. So earthly. Anyway, beige can go die with the sand in the Yukon River Basin for all I care. If I go into your house and see one beige wall, I'm leaving. A rainbow is weeping. You disgraced the rainbow. How dare you.”

If all the sounds in the world would cease to exist, which sound would you miss the most?

“I don't see the point in making me choose a favorite sound. Also, how do you know sound stopped? Ceased to exist? Sound exists as a vibration through matter. Why would that vibration suddenly stop? How do you know we didn't all just go deaf? That's a significantly more logical explanation than sound disappearing. And if you think I don't have an answer and am just avoiding the question, you're very mistaken. I'd miss people's voices. For a variety of reasons. Connection, analyzing tone, nuances of emotion or thought, even my own voice. Sure, I'd be able to learn a gesture-based language--I am not saying voice is the most important thing to hear. But considering I like a good oral debate, I would still miss it, even if it would take me time to adjust to the new mode of speaking. Next!”

What is the first rule you learned as a child?

“You are going to have to rebel and argue your way out of everything. You may or may not be able to tell, but I am a strongly opinionated person. I can make an argument out of everything. Knowing how to back stuff up with logic and facts to get your way. Push and push and push. Know your shit. If you're wondering how this was the first rule I learned, one of my first memories is refusing to eat my carrots because they were bad. I was...three and a half maybe. And I told my mom, 'if I eat these carrots, I will throw up, and then I'd have to eat more food, and you get mad when food is wasted'. I then ate carrots and threw up. Never had to eat them again.”

#2- Hye-Jin

What is one embarassing memory from your childhood that you can't shake?

“Oh, oh no. First day of class, kindergarten. I had to introduce myself in front of the class. I was so excited for my first day of class. I wore this cute little dress, my hair in high pigtails and bows. But when I stood in front of everyone else, I got so sick I threw up. I think I ate something like prune juice in the morning. My dress was ruined. Had to be walked to the nurse to change. Wore that the rest of the day.”

What would you take with you if you were trapped on a desert island for one week?

“Food, water, and shelter. Sunscreen. I'm not pale, but that doesn't mean I'll be protected from UV rays. I would like a change of clothes just so I feel clean. I wouldn't mind bringing one person along with me, but you said what, so that may not be an option. But I really think I could do it.”

What is your favorite animal?

“I actually really like snakes. They're super cool in terms of design. Love reading about them, and I have a snake themed room!”

#3- Wendy

What is your favourite animal?

“Changes depending on the day. Yesterday it was tigersharks. Today it's a water dragon. Tomorrow it may be a capybara.”

Do you have any obscure skills? What are they?

“I can basket weave. Some people think that's obscure.”

If you could change one thing about the world you live in, what would it be?

“More hours in the day so I can do what I want to do.”

#4- Wade

What is your favorite song?

“Rasputin. How can you not love that song? Mr. Brightside is up there, too.”

Do you like consuming happy, positive media, or sadder, more thought-provoking media?

“I like both. You need a balance in life. But thought-provoking in general. I like thinking about things, analyzing them. Not necessarily sadder stories, but thought-provoking.”

What is your favorite type of weather?

“I like it warm and sunny, but enough cloud coverage. The kind of weather where everything is greener, that makes you say out loud, 'it sure is a beautiful day.'”

#5- Issa

When is the last time you were afraid?

“Last week, I was staying up late working on an essay. I was home alone--something I rarely am with six siblings. It was eerily quiet. I already felt uncomfortable. I was on the phone with Alex, multitasking, so I could have someone to talk to to ease my nerves. She got up to pee, which left me alone in my living room for a few minutes. In that time, I heard a banging on our garage door. It was harsh, constant. I thought someone was trying to break in. Then as quickly as it came, it was gone. Alex got back on the line then. I would've felt much better if whatever that was happened any other time.”

Does the fear haunt you still?

“Not really. It was only a minute, maybe two. Took about an hour talking to Alex. But I stopped working on my essay for the rest of the night. Not that I didn't try, but Alex convinced me to stop when I couldn't concentrate due to my heart pounding.”

What do you do when you're afraid?

“What's with all the fear questions? Well, I usually stand my ground. I yelped a bit when that happened. I was frozen for a bit, but I actually was about to get up to check what the banging was when it stopped.”

#6- CJ

What was your favorite toy as a child?

“I had little mini figurines of a bunch of Puppets* characters. I liked them because most of my playtime consisted of me ordering them based on height. After I lined them up, I would play. I also liked burying a bunch of rubber balls in the yard, leaving them there for, like, a week, then digging them up again. My shovels were definitely a favorite. There was also some cool Alii tech thing that simulated growth of a plant. The entire life cycle, in fact. Man, that was awesome.”

What makes you laugh every time you see it?

“Issa and Alex invite us to their improv shows each Friday. Issa is the best at anything they give her. I could watch her all day. She loves putting inside jokes in her skits for me, and is great at linking back previous gags. And then Alex wins Can You Ask a Question? each time. But it's hilarious how she and Issa interact. One time, Wendy laughed harder than I'd ever seen, and she spit out her drink. Then this one asshole Ellie slipped on it during her turn. So yeah, the improv shows.”

Who is the most annoying person you know?

“Issa is annoyingly optimistic sometimes, but that's why I love her. Parker is also a bit annoying at times, but he's funny as shit, so I don't care. Gabriel is quite annoying. Everyone tells me that we're very similar, but I don't see it. Honestly, yeah, it's Ellie. I didn't want to say she was annoying cause she's mainly rude. She's constantly making fun of me for everything I do. Like she doesn't like how organized and specific I am for some reason. She asked for a pencil once, and I told her no, I have my pencils for a very specific reason, and don't let anyone else use them. I think she's hated me ever since. It's probably not as petty as that, unless it is. I don't know. Thankfully, I don't know her well enough to answer that question.”

*this universe's Muppets

TSP intro

I'll tag @gracehosborn @little-peril-stories @willtheweaver @willowiswriting @rickie-the-storyteller @mysticstarlightduck @badluck990 @unrepentantcheeseaddict @winterandwords @oh-no-another-idea @awritingcaitlin @cwritesfiction + anyone else who would like to play!

EDIT: I DID NOT GIVE YOU QUESTIONS OH MY GODDDDDD I'm so sorry

What's something that was horrible in the moment, but in hindsight is hilarious?

Do you often get lost in thought? Where does your mind go? How do you focus?

Who do you worry about the most?

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

[burnwater13]

Cad Bane walking out of the desert into Mos Pelgo on Tatooine. Image from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 6, From the Desert Comes a Stranger. Calendar by DateWorks. Concept Art by Ryan Church.

Why? Why did Cad Bane have to show up again in conversation? Why was he the person from the Daimyo’s past that kept popping up like a sore thumb, or toe, or whatever? Why couldn’t it have been someone else? Someone who liked to cook? Or someone who liked to tell stories? But no. There he was. Metaphorically at least. 

Yes, the Daimyo had been telling Din Djarin a story and he had used his relationship with Cad Bane to illustrate a point that the Mandalorian was supposed to take to heart, or understand, or just nod a long to. But that was not how Din Djarin understood metaphors and now he sending Grogu to fetch the med-droid because he was certain that ice water didn’t run in his veins and he wanted to prove it. 

Grogu was going to refuse but Fennec told him it was easier to just go fetch the droid. Fennec was right. She was always right. Grogu wondered how she’d learned so much about everything, when she was so young? There were Din Djarin and Boba Fett and they barely seemed to know what time of day it was, while Fennec knew had invented the concept of ‘time of day’. 

“Kid, I do know more than those two, but it’s because I spend my time wisely. I study everything and learn as much as I can and live each day as if it’s the last day of my enemies’ lives.”

She grinned at him as they both walked down to the recently renovated droid relaxation lounge. She had created the lounge after he had talked to her about the droids and mechs needing a break from time to time. The Mandalorian and the Daimyo had expected her to laugh at him and say the droids and mechs could rest when they were powered down, but Fennec had surprised them by embracing the concept of giving their bodies and processors a break from busy work. Productivity was up and grumbling about Administrator Shan was way down.

But he was still confused by her comment. 

“Kid, in my line of work it pays to be present. To not be day dreaming or worrying or wasting time wondering who was the best bounty hunter, Jango Fett or Cad Bane. For my credits, it’s your dad. He managed to get you away from a heavily fortified facility and keep you over the last year or so. That’s pretty impressive. Plus, the other two are cold. Very cold. No one pays you when you’re cold like that.”

Fennec had a point. With both Cad Bane and Jango Fett being ‘one with the Force’ as the saying went, it was hard to form an opinion about how good would they each be at bounty hunting given today’s environment. Sure, the Daimyo had ended Bane fairly recently, and according to the Daimyo it had taken a Jedi to end his dad, but neither one of them were really collecting a bounty. Bane was acting like an enforcer for the Pyke Syndicate and as far as Grogu could tell, Jango Fett had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those events really had nothing to do with being a bounty hunter. 

A few minutes later they were with the droids and Grogu explained to the med-droid what his father wanted checked and the droid turned it’s head from side to side and said that Master Djarin would be unsatisfied with the result. As a human he had a normal human body temperature. If he had anything like ice running in his veins he either wouldn’t be human or he wouldn’t be a living human. 

“The kid already knows that. Fett and Mando are arguing about who was the best bounty hunter. Fett picked his dad and Mando picked Bane and now they want to see who’s blood is colder.”

“As far as my data banks go, it is neither of those gentlemen mentioned. Based on the data I have access to from the Bounty Hunters Guild, the most accomplished bounty hunter was a human female named Gettir Dunn. She operated over the course of two hundred years in the Core worlds and then spent another hundred years in Western Reaches. She recovered bounties for over 100,000 individuals during that time frame. The recovered bounty has been calculated as being as much as 100,000,000 credits. It is recorded that when she had accumulated that wealth, she located a planet she liked, bought most of it, and built herself a palace.”

Grogu coo’d in surprise at that information. Who the heck could catch that many people and amass that sort of fortune? It seemed absurd.

“What planet did she retire on?”

Fennec was very interested and seemed to almost lean forward, causing the med-droid to take a step backwards. 

“That data is not available in my data banks. I do not know if it was every recorded there or if it was erased before I came to work for master Jabba.”

“When did she last operate under that name?”

“According to my records the last bounty entry associated with her occurred in 213 BBY. I very much doubt that anyone who operated as a bounty hunter then is still living.”

The droid took another reflexive step back.

“Sure. Of course. Only so many impossible things can be accomplished in the same lifetime. Hey, kid. Let’s go feed the rancor. I’ve got some thinking to do and your dad and the Daimyo can come up with something else to argue about today. There’s no point telling them about the top bounty hunter. They’d never believe it.”

Grogu wasn’t sure that he believed it either, but he agreed with Fennec that it was a better day already when he wasn’t having to listen to anyone talk about Cad Bane.