#sw thoughts

[gothic-mando]

I’m big on the whole “verd ori’shya beskar’gam” thing. Star Wars is a fictional universe, sure, but Mandalorians have always really resonated with me. I’m a lifelong martial artist & combat athlete, and I understand the idea people like Miyamoto Musashi or even Bruce Lee spoke about where they would talk about the martial arts not only as a physical means for defense or combat, but as a mindset and a lifestyle, tenets, ideals and virtues you carry with you into every aspect of your life.

“Verd ori’shya beskar’gam” translates to “a warrior is more than their armor.” Armor is an integral aspect of being Mandalorian, but it isn’t the only thing, certainly not the end all be all, and I think that… people… have lost sight of that. Being Mandalorian is about more than just wearing armor. You don’t stop being a Mandalorian once you take the armor off. Mandalorians throughout Star Wars history emphasized a level of hyper-competence both in and out of armor, on and off the battlefield. But even then, I don’t think this is solely about war or combat.

I don’t know that all Mandalorians are soldiers, mercenaries, or hunters. I can’t imagine all Mandalorians take up a trade in combat, although the ability to if the need arises has to be there, regardless of their profession. We know some Mandalorians are farmers, artisans, mechanics, engineers, business owners, cooks, metalsmiths, armorsmiths, I’m sure there are even Mandalorian artists and whatnot. But that doesn’t mean that martial capabilities are gone from their life. It’s an important part of being a Mandalorian, if not for active combat, then at least for preparedness, protection, and defense. They are a warrior culture, after all. Not to mention they have traditional rights of passage involving martial prowess. It’s not something that can be discarded from their lifestyle and culture, and still consider themselves Mandalorian.

It isn’t even just about that, though. Again, you don’t stop being a Mandalorian once you take the armor off. You need to hold close to heart the philosophies, ideals, morals and values, the cultural ethos of the Mandalorians. It’s a mindset and a way of life. It doesn’t start and end with a set of armor. That idea is something that has been heavily overlooked by both Lucasfilm/Disney (esp a certain someone) and fans alike, I think.

I think this is a really important thing to bring up, because the laws and ideas surrounding culture and identity is what separates Mandalorians from the rest of the galaxy, it’s what distinguishes a *Mandalorian* from someone who simply wears armor. This is one of the main reasons why I’m so adamantly against the Children of the Watch, or really any of Filoni’s/Favreau’s version of “Mandalorians.” Because it so blatantly either contradicts or discards major aspects of Mando lore that have been built up and established for decades. The tendency to “black and white, no nuance” and “basic, surface level” everything in Star Wars has got to stop. Filoni’s MO fr. Disney, too, yea. Disnify. Disney-ify. I don’t know.

Anyways, yea, I think a fair few of y’all can absolutely be Mandokarla despite Star Wars being fiction. K’oyacyi!

[chewvbacca]

the idea that the jedi order "should have walked away from the republic because of its corruption" is very reflective of the weird all or nothing style of political thinking that's so trendy on the internet and we could argue all day about at what point is it a good idea to leave a corrupt political system but it's also pretty divorced from the plots of the films and the themes of the saga and the worldbuilding around the jedi because like

the corruption of the republic increases rapidly in the 10 years between tpm and aotc, and during the clone wars, encouraged by palpatine. the increasing corruption due to palpatine is literally a plot point and part of the big villain's plans, not a base setting of the republic. there was certainly corruption and inaction before but it was often challenged successfully - even in tpm, though palaptine engineers the vote of no confidence in valorum, it is passed by the senate majority who clearly find valorum's response to the trade federation's invasion of naboo to not be strong enough. in aotc, even after 10 years of palpatine as chancellor, it is still challenged and seems to have a good chance of being beaten - palpatine feels threatened enough by padmé's anti-military position that he tries to have her assassinated, nearly blowing his whole secret army plot, so it seems like he thought she and the other senators who were against a standing army had a pretty good chance of winning the vote.

the jedi also regularly challenge corruption where they find it - tcw is full of examples of this and that's when the jedi are distracted by a whole galatic war. one of my favourites is mace windu telling a senator he and their whole planet can shove it in defense of the last living zillo beast. but it is also an important plot point in rots that the jedi are investigating palpatine. despite palpatine's best efforts, they were able to find the source of many things getting worse, and they go to arrest him, to cut off the head of the snake. would that have solved all the corruption and issues in the republic? no, but it was a good start and probably would have led to them investigating his connections.

and to those "it doesn't matter that some people were trying, the republic was Too Corrupt and had fallen from grace before the movies even started and there's no hope of it becoming a force for good" arguments, you're missing one of the most vital messages of the whole star wars saga - you can always choose good and you CAN be better than you were. the point isn't trying to cleanse the sins of the past, it's making a better future. but a real chance for better existing is essential, especially in the prequels, where anakin has the potential to turn everything around and do the right thing, but chooses not to (until episode 6). if there was never any hope all along, you've taken the biggest message and the tragedy of anakin completely out of the story. you've nothing left but fun special effects and action pieces without all that.

i never see people argue that padmé and the other senators should have just thrown their hands up and walked away from the republic like they do for the jedi, which is weird because they're explicitly part of the political decision-making process and the jedi are not, though they can give advice. in fact, one of their main roles in the republic is diplomacy, because it's a given that there will be disagreements, trade disputes, and planets happy to fuck over other planets if it suits them. but diplomacy and the idea that these things can be worked out is a core part of the jedi's role and their beliefs. another central belief is their mission to help people, which is why palatine and dooku encourage the the CIS (that acronym makes me laugh every time) to be so over the top evil, like attacking hospitals and developing weapons that target all organic life, to make it impossible for the jedi to ignore all the suffering and just stay out of the war. so in what world would these same people walk away from the republic because it's been a really rough 13 or so years? especially when they're pursuing an avenue (investigating palaptine) that might turn things around? it doesn't really seem like the jedi have "lost their way" by sticking with the republic, like some claim, given what they're doing is very in line with their beliefs, but rather you want them to be fundamentally different characters with radically different beliefs. which is fine, but it means that all your analysis of the jedi is built on what you wish they were instead of what they actually are.

should the jedi have gotten more involved politically? maybe - there's reasons we could argue yes, in that it might help address the causes of issues in the republic rather than just treating the symptoms, and reasons we could argue no, such as how pursuing power, even with the best of intentions, can be dangerous for both jedi and everyone else, given that the jedi could fall to the dark side and there's very little normal people could do to stop them. but that argument is the opposite of "they should have just walked away, the republic was doomed to fail" and has a lot more nuance than "any interaction with any flawed institutions thereby makes them morally bad too".

if you were in their position, would you genuinely believe that walking away would lead to a better overall outcome? or do you just say they should have walked away to maintain some kind of moral purity at the expense of all the good they did and could do?

[meraki-yao]

Okay something that I see now in Revenge of the Sith that really frustrates me is that when Palpatine revealed his Sith identity to Anakin, Anakin did everything right

He controlled his anger. He recognised that he, as a Jedi knight(not yet Master) and the target of Palpatine's persuasion, should not be the one handling this. Despite the anguish the war brought him, the amount of distance the war put between him and his love, he did not kill Palpatine immediately like he did the Tusken Raiders or even like how he tried with Dooku on Geonosis. He reported to the council. Even when Windu was trying to kill Palpatine, he stated that he should stand trial.

And he was right. This is the way of the Jedi, and frankly, the most careful way. He's not equipped to deal with the situation hierarchy-wise and emotion-wise, so he reported to the masters. If the jedi privately execute Palpatine, that is treason to the Republic, at least from the perspective of the Senate and the people of the Republic. Palpatine probably would have some sort of backup, but if the highest Jedi Masters supervise the process, and the delegation of 2000 (Padme, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma etc), the ones already questioning Palpatine's authority push for an immediate public trial, then this might have been dealt with better. Granted, I am a kid, and I am saying this as someone with a God's perspective of the whole world, but still: Anakin did the right thing.

I hate Palpatine and think he got an easy death (and for the record, I just don't acknowledge the sequel) but it was not within the Jedi's rights to execute him. Especially when Palpatine's crimes concern the whole of the galaxy. He has to answer to everyone.

AND THE WHAT DO THE FUCKING JEDI MASTERS DO???!!!

CHASTISE THE CHOSEN ONE, UNDERESTIMATE THE DARK LORD THAT THEY FAILED TO DETECT FOR YEARS, AND THEN DECLARE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXECUTE HIM

Up till that point, Anakin really did do the right thing. The Jedi failed him for the last time.

And that's just... sad. To know that up till that very point, the tides could still have turned.

[obi-waankenobi]

Multishipping Quiobi and Obikin + polyamory means that Obi-Wan's Force ghost is just getting railed 24/7.

RIP Luke, after your dad dies you are never seeing that old man again, sorry.

[personontheswing]

anyways sometimes sheev palpatine is cool as heck because man did not have anyone to duel against for at least 20 years and somehow he is probably the best duelist of the generation. and like several before.

[looseleafteeaves]

@yellow-faerie my alderaan thoughts boil down to:

1. The language is either booming or lyrical, there is no in between. Its used to communicate across mountains

2. The word Leia is beloved.

3. Bail is alderaani in origin- means the Just One.

4. Breha is a flower- it grows on top of mountains and means to endure.

5. Three pillars- wisdom, courage, and strength. (And an expectation to do good so good may return back to you.

[darthkote]

"Wake up, Wrecker. Clone Force 99 died with Tech... If we all go in we're not all making it out. Omega needs you both. So I'm doing this alone. It's what I deserve."

- Crosshair, s3e15

I've been sitting on this specific quote for days now, mulling it over, reading and rereading it. It stood out to me for various reasons, one being that Crosshair sorta spoke what I had been feeling. The squad has been irreversibly changed after the death of Tech... The permanence of it is heavy, and it is perhaps something Crosshair had wished for many times while with the Empire. Of course, he had never considered he'd rejoin them one day, let alone that Tech (or any of them) would not be there when he did return.

This specific quote, to me, shows a ton of vulnerability. It shows fear and regret. It shows how goddamned dedicated and loving Crosshair is. Of course, it also shows a lack of rationality.. and the desire to pay for self-perceived shortcomings.. he doesn't realize how much anyone else needs and wants him there..

I really love how Hunter (I think) jumps in and tells him that this (sacrificing himself) is clearly not the solution... It ultimately shows that Clone Force 99 (the family) is still intact despite the loss of one of their essential members.

Then there's also that sense of not knowing how valuable he is... He doesn't know how much his brothers need him, let alone his sister, who he is willing to give himself up for.. just lots and lots of feelings about the whole thing 💕

[katiehoughton]

the problem is that i have always been a baby truther and now that it has been canonised for me it is sooo hard to stop myself from putting it in literally every single line of dialogue