ossidae-passeridae

[ossidae-passeridae]

100% this! Ben used when Obi-Wan is in hiding, and/or post Order 66, is the one time that I'm completely on board with the use of that name. (There's so many of them -- Kanan, Ezra, Cal...)

In that context, it's not a Westernisation for the sake of it, it's a callback to history, both real and in canon, and a survival strategy.

4. What’s the worst part of fanon? 😈

Question from here

That'd be the implicit racism thanks for asking!

A non snappy response, aka to explain what I mean by that:

A lot of fanon tropes implicitly reinforce a very white, America-centric POV, and in a universe like the GFFA which lies somewhere between heavily Asian-inspired and gloriously multicultural, that really rubs me the wrong way. (To clarify upfront: it is not racist or whatever to enjoy these tropes or to write them, but it worries me when people don't even seem to realise it)

An obvious, innocuous-seeming example is the tendency to use 'Ben' instead of Obi-Wan's actual name in AUs — especially when others' names (Anakin, Mace, Cody, etc) aren't changed as well. The biggest difference between those names and Obi-Wan's is that Obi-Wan's is obviously Asian inspired, and theirs aren't. It's not something I expect most people even think about! But it always leaves a sinking feeling in my chest.

(Obviously if, like in canon, Obi-Wan is using Ben as a pseudonym while in hiding that's a very different kettle of fish.)

A larger example is how incredibly common it is to cast the Jedi as space-Christians — some common examples being focus on tenets (the Jedi Code, which is a meditation mantra, not a rulebook), the pervasive Catholic Guilt which is very explicitly Christian in nature, the emphasis on worship as ritual rather than a state to work towards, the generalised "all organised religion must be Bad" sentiments that feel very specifically ex-Christian in nature.

Thinking about one's own religion and expressing thoughts through fiction/art isn't an issue in and of itself.

The thing is, the Jedi are explicitly based on Asian Buddhists. Not just in set dressing, but from the ground up, from their beliefs and the way they act, to their clothing to the structure of their temple — to strip that away is to remove what makes the Jedi the Jedi. It's to remove the Asian-ness and replace it with something predominantly white. It implies that Asian influence shouldn't or can't exist in the GFFA, or that there's something inferior or wrong about Buddhism that needs to be "fixed".

Again this isn't something where I think that fan authors are sitting there going "muhahaha I'm going to be RACIST today", I know that's not what's happening. But when so much Jedi-centric content being produced minimises the Asian influence and pushes a western one, it starts to say "there's something wrong with this group, we're trying to erase it because there shouldn't be representation at all" — an issue of scale, at its core.

(Then ofc there's all the "the Jedi steal babies" and "the Jedi ban emotions" and "the Jedi need to be destroyed" which, entirely separate from the above, if you replace 'Jedi' with 'Buddhists' I'm kind of starting to wonder why you hate Asian people/Asian religions, you know?)

I won't even get into the fanon surrounding the clones, because that'd require me to talk about KT far more than I'd like to on any day, but especially today 🤣

(All opinions expressed above are solely those of pass e. ridae and do not express the views or opinions of any affiliates or associates, passerine or otherwise)

#star wars #jedi order #buddhism #judaism

[ossidae-passeridae]

I'll refer you to @the-hawks-rye who's got the onscreen examples to match my literary ones:

13 :)

Question from here

13. Were the Jedi right or wrong to ban attachments? What constitutes an attachment?

SO GLAD YOU ASKED

Attachment, as the word is used in Star Wars, is an attempt to translate the Buddhist idea of upadana. I… don't think it's a good one — I would have used rapacity personally — but uh, points for effort I guess. 

More than anything else, it's specifically and explicitly a cause of suffering. 

It's not love, not in any positive connotation of the word. It's coveting. It's greed. It's wanting to possess someone, not caring what their feelings are on the matter. Not letting them go, even if they beg. It's needing the next hit of a drug to function, even if you hate what the drug does to you, hate the person you become under the influence.

GFFA has an excellent post on attachment as we see it in the core lore (movies, TCW, word of god etc) if you want further explanation/examples.

So, back to the original question: are the Jedi right to ban attachments? (An aside: they don't ban it, they're not the church, but we'll ignore that for now.)

The Jedi are magical space wizards, with the power to cause mass destruction. They choose not to, because they've grown up understanding that they must be responsible, and live harmoniously with the world around them. This keeps both them and their society safe(r). 

Do I think people with built-in abilities to raze cities should be controlled by greed and fear? No, actually. I think that's a terrible idea. We had one darksider with Jedi-level powers completely destroy democracy in what was once the Republic after plunging the entire known universe into a years-long war. One. There are 10,000 trained Jedi Knights. 

I don't want to even imagine that universe. 

(All opinions expressed above are solely those of pass e. ridae and do not express the views or opinions of any affiliates or associates, passerine or otherwise)

#star wars #dae's internet grumbling

[ossidae-passeridae]

Might be some selection bias in your recollection of canon? Here's just a few examples off the top of my head of Jedi (members of the council) expressing love, mostly from central [George Lucas approved] canon. All emphasis mine.

Starting with Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover, the official Lucas approved novelization of the movie:

The man he faced was everything Obi-Wan had devoted his life to destroying: Murderer. Traitor. Fallen Jedi. Lord of the Sith. And here, and now, despite it all... Obi-Wan still loved him.

"The Jedi are your family-" "No." Anakin turned on his former Master. "No, the Jedi are your family. The only one you've ever known. But I'm not like you—"

(Interestingly enough, later on in the book Anakin calls the Jedi his family when talking to Palpatine.)

"The greatness in you is a greatness of spirit. Courage and generosity, compassion and commitment. These are your virtues," Obi-Wan said gently. "You have done great things, and I am very proud of you."

Anakin.” Obi-Wan’s voice had gone soft, and his hand was warm on Anakin’s arm. “There is no other Jedi I would rather have at my side right now. No other man.” Anakin turned, and found within Obi-Wan’s eyes a depth of feeling he had only rarely glimpsed in all their years together; and the pure uncomplicated love that rose up within him then felt like a promise from the Force itself. “I… I wouldn’t have it any other way, Master.”

(there are honestly so many examples in the RotS novel, I've just picked a couple.)

***

Then there's Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover, which is all about Mace and his old Padawan Depa:

"She grew to girlhood in the Temple, and to womanhood as my Padawan. The proudest moment of my life was the day I stood and directed the Jedi Council to welcome its newest member."

Then later when fighting her:

These images burned in Mace's brain as he fought for his life against the woman who should have been his daughter.

***

Finally in the list of "ebooks I have on my phone right now" there's Yoda: Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart:

“The Universe is large and cold and very dark: that is the truth. What I love, taken from me will be, late or soon: and no power is there, dark or light that can save me. Murdered Jai Maruk was when the looking after him I had; and Maks Leem; and all the many, many more Jedi I have lost. My family they were,” — Yoda on the Jedi

The Jedi show love and compassion all the time, at every level; from core canon all the way through to fully retconned works. When the "bad", "wrong" examples are the only ones fandom brings up 95% of the time, it's easy to forget the fullness of what canon entails. But it's still there :)

13 :)

Question from here

13. Were the Jedi right or wrong to ban attachments? What constitutes an attachment?

SO GLAD YOU ASKED

Attachment, as the word is used in Star Wars, is an attempt to translate the Buddhist idea of upadana. I… don't think it's a good one — I would have used rapacity personally — but uh, points for effort I guess. 

More than anything else, it's specifically and explicitly a cause of suffering. 

It's not love, not in any positive connotation of the word. It's coveting. It's greed. It's wanting to possess someone, not caring what their feelings are on the matter. Not letting them go, even if they beg. It's needing the next hit of a drug to function, even if you hate what the drug does to you, hate the person you become under the influence.

GFFA has an excellent post on attachment as we see it in the core lore (movies, TCW, word of god etc) if you want further explanation/examples.

So, back to the original question: are the Jedi right to ban attachments? (An aside: they don't ban it, they're not the church, but we'll ignore that for now.)

The Jedi are magical space wizards, with the power to cause mass destruction. They choose not to, because they've grown up understanding that they must be responsible, and live harmoniously with the world around them. This keeps both them and their society safe(r). 

Do I think people with built-in abilities to raze cities should be controlled by greed and fear? No, actually. I think that's a terrible idea. We had one darksider with Jedi-level powers completely destroy democracy in what was once the Republic after plunging the entire known universe into a years-long war. One. There are 10,000 trained Jedi Knights. 

I don't want to even imagine that universe. 

(All opinions expressed above are solely those of pass e. ridae and do not express the views or opinions of any affiliates or associates, passerine or otherwise)

#star wars #jedi order #dae's internet grumbling #sw rots #shatterpoint #dark rendezvous

[ossidae-passeridae]

new ship dynamic: who's bleeding out and who's doing the bloodletting?

#oh look it's all my otps

[ossidae-passeridae]

LAST LINE CHALLENGE

tagged: @ankahikoibaat tagging: @elfiver @canonical-transformation @thegreencarousel, and anyone else interested, you know the drill! rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

I'm giving you two lines for hilarity factor, please forgive me:

"... I cut him in two, if that's what you mean?" "Yeah, that. He's been insufferable ever since."

#star wars #dae writes #this is a large project which has a deadline #send words

[ossidae-passeridae]

It might seem that the writer needs a gift of mimicry, like an impersonator, to achieve this variety of voices. But it isn’t like that. It’s more like what a serious actor does, sinking self in character-self. It’s a willingness to be the characters, letting what they think and say rise from inside them. It’s a willingness to share control with one’s creation.

- Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft: A 21st Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story

#writes

[ossidae-passeridae]

Fanart for The Legend Of Liob written by @killbothtwins

"She had gotten a picture of Cody vaulting over the kriffing rock. The sun was behind him, explosions and blaster bolts dotting the background. His face was set in determination and apparently heroic fire, although Cody thought he really just looked annoyed about the stray lightsaber. 

Paintbrush made it into a poster, styled as a stained glass window, and put it up in the bunk room on the Negotiator. "

I just couldn´t resist drawing the picture that was forming in my minds eye while reading this passage.

This fanfic is a favourite of mine that i suggest you go read if you love yourself a little humor in a very well written galaxy far far away.

#star wars #commander cody

[ossidae-passeridae]

#star wars #obikin

[ossidae-passeridae]

Found on twitter, going to adopt this now

Writer friends, tell me how many WIPs and how many UFOs you have. I have 2 WIPs and [redacted] UFOs (jk it’s around 16 across my three main fandoms)

#dae writes

[ossidae-passeridae]

ive been writing this program to keep track of when you do day to day tasks like doing dishes/laundry. anyways my streak of “bugs in things i write manifesting as infinite loops of unexpectedly poignant user prompts” continues

#daely life

[ossidae-passeridae]

Let's get cozy, friend.

[crow-time.com]

#dae and el #LOOKIT HOW CUTE

[ossidae-passeridae]

He is incapable of being able to control himself in those moments BECAUSE of Palpatine and his manipulations.

You know there's a book about this, it's called See What You Made Me Do and it's about the causes of domestic abuse.

Your logical flaw in the above is assuming that "perpetrator" and "victim" are distinct categories - that a person can only be one or the other. It's not the case. Anakin is both.

His victimhood is tragic, we're meant to feel for him that's why we see his regret and pain, but that doesn't negate what he's done. He is, ultimately, still the person who looked at the children in the creche and how they brightened to see him, and still chose to kill them. He knows it's wrong, that's why he cries, but the result is the same. The children are dead, and he killed them. His family is gone, and he aided in that genocide.

As the kids(TM) say: nice motive, still murder.

*hits hornets' nest*

Anakin Skywalker was not a victim of the Jedi Order, they wound up being his victims on a massively catastrophic scale.

*hits hornets' nest harder*

The Jedi were not the architects or the arbiters of their own "downfall", they were the victims of a decades - centuries, even millenia - plan to put them between a rock and a hard place whereby their actions to try and mitigate damage were painted with a biased brush such that when they were victims of a genocide, the galaxy as almost a whole (and large swathes of the fandom) cheered and/or said they had it coming.

*whacks hornets' nest with all I've got*

The fact that we see Anakin crying when he goes to kill younglings does not change the fact that, you know, he consciously makes the decision to murder younglings!

#star wars #anakin skwalker #he's truly the epitome of “nice motive still murder” when you think about it

[ossidae-passeridae]

sorry I’m interpreting your cool male character as a butch dyke who sucks. she’s better now

#*gesture at Xander Harris*

[ossidae-passeridae]

the rule of fandoms is that if someone has a character in their url or bio they either understand that character well enough to give a 3 hour unscripted lecture on the subject OR they're really obsessed with their version of that character thats an entirely different made up guy. and theres literally never an in between

#fandom life

[ossidae-passeridae]

Peoples' desire to burn the Gävle goat isn't about them hating it. It's a "my son loved your drawing so much that he ate it" sort of a deal.

#worldbuilding

[ossidae-passeridae]

I hope everyone enjoys this little Crow Time update about the commonality of love! Even stars have travel buddies, that's what constellations are for.

If you like my work, do me a favor and donate a little to the PCRF to help children and families in Gaza. It's easy to do, kind to do, and do not feel guilty if you do not have much to give. Everything counts.

#prev tags: #oh my goodness another one 😭 #dae look #my tags: #I AM LOOKING SO HARD

[ossidae-passeridae]

so are abhorsen like honorary paladins in your mind?

More than honorary, after examining the lore a bit more. See, Charter Magic, the power source used by the Abhorsen’s and other generally benevolent magic users in the Old Kingdom, is actually something of a divine creation.

In the beginning there was only Free Magic and spirits that could thrive in it. The problem was that the Magic was chaotic in the extreme, to the point that no other forms of life could exist. Realizing this, 7 of the 9 most powerful free magic spirits decided to change that by making the Charter, a divine document that 5 of the 9 gave their very selves to create, and diminished the other 2 of the 7. This is not only an alternate form of magic, but its existence and it’s purification and harmonization of the chaotic Free Magic allows life to exist.

The Abhorsen, armed with the bells carrying the names of the 7, are agents of the benevolent order the spirits brought, and are often foes of Free Magic users, who are often Necromancers.They have a divine task and are empowered and trained by something literally made from the sacrifice of 7 gods. In the unique and interesting cosmology of the Old Kingdom, they’re as paladin as you can get.

#old kingdom #charter magic #endorsed