Pro Jedi - Blog Posts

These are the only three flaws I will concede, when it comes to the Jedi during the Prequels.

“They got lax/complacent.”

Yeah*. If you listen to the director’s commentary, George Lucas states the scene in AOTC with Jocasta Nu is there to indicate how unprepared the Jedi were before the Sith’s plan. They thought they were secure and ready but they were not and it turns out humble restaurant owners like Dex know things they don't.

*HOWEVER: Who wouldn’t be complacent, in times of peace?

The Sith were thought to be extinct and Dooku was once a Jedi, a revered one at that. Nobody could have suspected he’d betray the Order that raised him and loved him.

Nobody could've suspected that he'd abuse of their trust and delete a system from the Archives using the credentials of his best friend who he'd had assassinated. That's a verrrry specific scenario, and expecting them to be prepared for that is unreasonable.

"They should've sensed something!" Well, by this point in time, everything surrounding the Jedi was tainted by the Dark Side, which clouded everything. So on the one hand, this situation granted Sidious the gift of foresight and allowed them to always be one step ahead, and on the other, it caused the Jedi to be stuck trekking ahead in a fog, unsure of what the next move would be.

“They were politically-inept.”

Yes**. That’s how the Sith ran circles around the Jedi. They figured “there’s only two of us, if we march into the Temple we’ll get slaughtered, but wait, the Jedi serve the Senate and the Senate is run by politicians… what if we become the politicians? Then we can destroy the Jedi and the principles from the inside!”

**HOWEVER: The Jedi were politically-inept by choice.

After all, their function isn’t setting policy but carrying it out. They’re not politicians, they’re diplomats and as such they're not allowed to get involved in the political process.

But if they were... they still wouldn't. Because power corrupts, and if you let the space monks (who already have magical powers) have political power too, then that will lead to a very dark place.

The Jedi knew that if they tried to play politics, they’ll lose because they have neither the ruthlessness nor the status to do it well, so they make it a point of never going anywhere near it.

Unfortunately, that leaves them open to situations where the Senate or Palpatine corner them into doing something they really don’t wanna do.

It's how they were forced to expel Ahsoka, how they lost the favor of the citizens and it's how Dooku, then the Emperor, framed them as power-hungry sorcerers with his propaganda.

“The war made them hypocrites.”

Sure***. The Jedi were meant to be diplomats, not soldiers. By waging war instead of keeping the peace, they’ve compromised on their values.

***HOWEVER: The Jedi know this and they’re not happy about it at all.

Firstly, because they were forced into this situation by the Senate and Palpatine, who drafted them into service.

Secondly, because they know they’re essentially moving ahead blindly and playing right into the Sith Lord’s hand by fighting this war he orchestrated.

But finally, it’s that they know that not joining would’ve been worse. Sticking by their principles would’ve resulted in the enslavement and genocide of many populations. Sometimes, the spirit of the rules must be prioritized over the letter. Either do nothing and be true to your principles, or go against them but save lives.

It’s a bad choice to make, but not as bad as not making one.

It's a bad choice, but it's motivated by a desire to do some good and it did. They saved countless lives (sometimes at the cost of their own) and inspired countless more to form the Rebellion, later on.

So... three flaws.

But they all come with asterisks. There’s a reasonable (sometimes, even admirable) justification for each of them.

I’m pointing these out because a lot of people seem to conflate “the Jedi were flawed” with “the Jedi were at fault” when talking about their own demise. And the answer to that is:

No.

The Jedi were not at fault. Everybody else was.

The Senate was at fault for growing corrupt and self-serving.

Big Corp for their never ending greed.

The Separatists for being so blind and naive as to think Big Corp would tooootally value their principles and absolutely not commit war crimes every chance they get.

The Sith for being the mass-murdering egotistical assholes who started this whole mess.

And the citizens of the galaxy for not taking up arms in the face of blatant injustice.

Sometimes bad people win.

That doesn't always mean the good guys are at fault. Sometimes, the bad guys are just… better at the game. Mostly because they see it as a game, and the good guys don't.

Luckily, 20 years later, most of the above faults were rectified by the Rebellion, which was led by the best of the Senate, and composed of Separatist remnants and brave citizens of the galaxy.

It’s one of the ways that people could recognize a Jedi at one point in time. If a Torguta came to a planet that noticeably lacks them and speaks in multiple of their languages, it’s more than likely a Jedi. If a Jedi steps on world people know not to shit-talk because they can probably understand and plenty of people have learned what saying things about a Padawan in front of their master results in.

So you guys know how the Jedi Order is filled with people from pretty much every world and species? Think about all the unique cultural things the Jedi would practice simply because the Order is basically a giant melting pot.

A Kalikori made out of Akul teeth, passed down through a lineage and carved in multiple different styles to represent the cultures of each of the lineage members.

Different Jedi taking inspiration for their cultural face tattoos from their Togruta master's lekku or their friends' facial tattoos or the designs on a Council member's cultural headdress.

Recipes that are fusion foods made of like five different cultural dishes because a group of friends all got drunk together, got the munchies, and fucked around in the kitchen until something tasted good.

Like, just everyone sharing their cultures with each other and then people adapting their cultures based on their lineages and the shared culture in the Order, shared culture being a form of expressing love and adopting someone into the Order/a lineage.

Obviously there would be things that are off limits and permission would have to be given and the Jedi would probably emphasize learning the culture before ever adapting it, but I just think that after thousands of years their would be a lot of shared culture among the Jedi.

Oh, and languages! With how many languages are probably spoken in the Order, I wouldn't be surprised if the Jedi basically spoke bastardized versions of every language mashed together---it'd probably be an always moving/changing/evolving thing that no one but the Jedi can understand because the Jedi use the Force to bridge any gaps there might be in someone's understanding.

A lot of words and phrases would be taken from Dai Bendu, just because it's my personal headcanon that the Jedi still speak it, but then it would branch out from there into Twi'leki and Togruti and Durese and everything else all mixed together.

I just...I love the idea of the Jedi having a mixed culture that reflects the diversity of the Order.

"The Jedi gatekept the Force"

Oh, are you from the Path of the Open Hand? You know, the evil anti-Jedi cult?? Cuz that's what u sound like

"The Jedi gatekept the Force!"

Ah yes. That's why they coexisted very peaceably with the Baran Do sages, the Bardottan Dagoyan Masters, the Guardians of the Whills, the Church of the Force, the Lasat, the Mirialens, and hell even the Nightsisters.

......I'm not actually sure you know what gatekeeping means.

Especially frustrating when they only talk about Anakin! Like, here's ONE guy with serious childhood trauma who felt restricted and repressed by the Jedi. Clearly the Jedi caused him to do crimes and were also bad for the entire galaxy

wake up babes they're calling the jedi a cult again

The Jedi are part of Star Wars because it's a big universe with many cultures, traditions, philosophies, peoples and so of course they will be different, but I agree with you that trying to rewrite the basics of how the Force works or the rules of this universe results in Star Wars being less Star Wars.

Generally, their methods and philosophy and lessons are part of their culture, because any way you look at it, the Jedi order is a religious order and the Jedi can be compared to monks.

I think it's more likely that people are rewriting the workings of the Force or the rules of the universe because they're not familiar with the information they're working with.

Star Wars won't stop being Star Wars just because one in a hundred decides to rewrite the rules for his work. That will only tell you that he has no mastery of the information and no desire to understand the topic he has chosen to write about.

It just doesn't feel like Star Wars if it's mindlessly Jedi-critical or anti-Jedi, and not because the Jedi are perfect, but because they're the core of what makes Star Wars what it is. You may not agree with their philosophy and their modus operandi, but you can't deny that their lessons aren't just a particular way of thinking but the fundation of how the Star Wars universe works by. It's interesting to explore other characters and groups and their way of thinking the universe but trying to rewrite the base of how the Force works or the rules of that universe just to contradict the Jedi only serves to make Star Wars feel that tad less Star Wars.

Biology Notes

A minute by minute summary of my thoughts during bio class.

Countdown begin.

This ain’t gonna be fun.

Only two min in.

She’s late.

How am I already bored?

That guy’s late.

Cal/Boba handcuffed together, working as allies?

Melidaan joins Mandalorian Empire?

I’m bored.

Clones’ first time hearing music

Clones eating real food for the first time?

Clones tour temple? (Where they hear music/eat real food for first time?)

I was right. This isn’t fun.

Soulmate AU for Charles/Erik?

Erik’s POV for first meeting?

Immediate aftermath of said first meeting?

Erik and Raven visit after Cuba?

They meet babies Kurt, Warren, Jean, maybe Scott.

They miss the sign, don’t realize it’s a school? 

‘Did Charles have kids?’ moment, especially after realizing Jean’s a telepath?

Jean recognizes them from memories? All recognize them from photos and/or stories?

All the guilt when Erik sees Charles.

Cells. The powerhouse of, mitochondria is.

Phospholipid. Now there’s a word to make people flip a Scrabble board with.

Nigh impossible, you’d need lipid down first, then add phospho-, but a girl can dream.

Kurt and Warren would be adorable as childhood friends

That guy’s playing Wordle.

That guy is really, really, really bad at Wordle.

People realizing how insanely dangerous Charles is?

Erik realizing how lucky humanity is for Charles’ morality? and being very attracted to that?

Quiz on Friday, 45-50 questions, 50 points. Study slides.

Erik getting attacked by another telepath, Charles going territorial, has other telepath screaming/crying on floor, living worst nightmares, clutching head and begging for it to end, while Charles is gently comforting/fussing over Erik?

That girl is texting.

Is that guy watching Gravity Falls? Great taste.

Aw, why’d you turn the screen that way? Now I can’t see it.

Quinlan switching out Fox’s caf with decaf, letting him fall asleep, tucking him into bed?

While Fox’s asleep, using Shadow Training (TM) to do paper work? (Forgery/Ability to have multiple styli (plural of stylus) filling out multiple data pads simultaneously? (Force use?)

Quinlan leaving five min before Fox wakes up. Fox finding his paper pretty much done, crying because he’s still out of it and doesn’t want to wake up?

Quinlan making this a habit when he’s on Coruscant? Stone finding out, not telling? Fox scared if he talks about it, it’ll go away? Unable to believe it’s real?

That girl’s doing a crossword. Badly.

The answer is Lobelia. “She stole Bilbo’s spoons” is Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. 

Where in Middle-Earth did she get Tauriel from? Even if she hadn’t been added solely for the purpose of paying less in royalties to Tolkien’s family, even if she had existed in the book, when in the name of all that is precious and beautiful, would she have stolen Bilbo’s spoons?

I might kill myself. This is why I shouldn’t have sat in the back row.

Only 6 min left. Heh. +60, Execute Order. I know I’m not funny.

So close, yet so far. So unbearably bored.

Is this what stream-of-consciousness notebooks look like?

I have a very odd stream of consciousness.

We get to leave early? Hallelujah!!

Goodbye!

Chapter Four Now Up!

CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi

Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker

CC-1010 | Fox/Quinlan Vos

CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura

CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker

Obi-Wan Kenobi

CC-2224 | Cody

Anakin Skywalker

CT-7567 | Rex

Padmé Amidala

CC-1010 | Fox

Quinlan Vos

CC-5052 | Bly

Aayla Secura

Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious

Tags May Change

Post-Umbara Arc (Star Wars)

Pro Jedi

Jedi as Found Family (Star Wars)

Clone Troopers and Jedi as Found Family (Star Wars)

Anti Senate

Canon has been thrown down a reactor shaft and blown up in the cold vacuum of space

and I ain’t a sequels girl

I have never read the books

or comics

My knowledge is from ao3

no beta we die like my sleep schedule

Summary

After a very close shave on Umbara, the clones are granted access to the Jedi files. All of them. Edit: Chapter Four Now Up!

Damn. The way it is described... Damn.

Osha joining the Dark Side was a triumphant moment.

The writer of the Acylote said that is how we're supposed to feel:

"You want to feel Osha’s triumph. You want to feel her joining forces with The Stranger...Even though they are standing there, looking out at the sunset, ready to conquer the world, the tragedy is we know they don’t."

Note: the tragedy is NOT that a lot of people died, but that the two can't be together (because of Plagueis). (interview here)

Now, if that doesnt absolve villains of their bullshit, I dont know what does.

Let me try inserting some other fictional baddies.

"You want to feel Walter White's triumph. You want to feel him joining forces with the Nazis......Even though they are standing there, looking out at the desert, ready to conquer the world, the tragedy is we know they don’t."

"You want to feel the Frey's triumph. You want to feel them joining forces with the Boltons. ...Even though they are standing there, looking out over the Red Wedding, ready to conquer the world, the tragedy is we know they don’t."

"You want to feel Anakin's triumph. You want to feel him joining forces with Palpatine. ...Even though they are standing there, looking out at the burning Jedi temple, ready to conquer the world, the tragedy is we know they don’t."

(banging on table) PLO'S BROS PLO'S BROS PLO'S BROS

insomnia's a bitch bc i finished this at like 11 pm and it is now (about) 7 am and im vibrating as im typing this out. anyways last capcut edit (hopefully!!) and last edit before mini hiatus (less fun)

sidebar; huge fkn shoutout to whoever made this playlist. its now canon that this is what plo would have the wolfpack play over their comms on missions

(x) click me!! choose me!!

The three firebrands (and guests)- Incorrect Quotes Part 3

(Sidenote: I will reduce the numbers of quotes in one post a bit so I can post one every day without running out of them)

Elzar, holding a pot of coffee and a cereal box: What if instead of milk, I put coffee in my cereal

Stellan, walking past him and taking away his coffee: What if you don’t

Avar: Shut up!

Elzar: I weren’t even saying anything

Avar: You were thinking, that’s annoying

Stellan: You shouldn’t be using a straw

Elzar: I know it’s bad for the environment or something

Stellan: It is also a weird way to eat spaghetti

Avar & Elzar to Vernestra: our biggest talent is being stress

Vernestra: don't you mean stressed?

Avar & Elzar: no

Stellan: no.

Stellan: [nudging Avar & Elzar] why are you two always falling asleep on me? Am I that boring?

Avar: [half asleep] you make us feel safe

Stellan: [tearing up] oh

The three firebrands (and guests)- Incorrect Quotes Part 2

Elzar: What happens if I press gas and brake at the same time

Avar: The car takes a screenshot

Stellan: For the Last Time, please get out

Avar: How Long are we gonna stand here and let him do that?

Stellan: Just give him a minute

Elzar: [Pushing a door that clearly says pull]

Elzar: What are you doing?

Avar: Helping Stellan find his box of cornflakes that I ate an hour ago

Avar & Elzar: [do something stupid]

Stellan: absolute fucking idiots

Stellan: I can’t believe I would die for them

Stellan: Did you guys bought the eggs I asked for, I want to make Vernestra a birthday cake

Elzar: Even better!

Stellan: …what did you do

Avar, holding a chick: Here :)

Elzar: We named her Kyle!

Stellan: There is only one thing worse than losing

Stellan: [rips of paper to make it say losing Avar & Elzar] BOOM!

Avar, with tears in her eyes: us?

Stellan: nO-

Elzar: [telling Stellan Avar is dead over a comlink]

Avar: Is he crying? Is he crying?

Elzar: Uhm, a Little bit

Avar, grabbing the comlink from Elzar: You should be WAILING you stone cold bitch

Avar: [slams the comlink]

Avar: Now call Kantam

The threefirebrands (and guests) - Incorrect Quotes, Part 1

Stellan: I have an amazing memory! Name one time I forgot something.

Avar: You left me and Elzar in the parking lot of a supermarket like, three weeks ago

Stellan: I did that on purpose, try again

Elzar: Do you think I could fit 15 Marshmallows in my mouth

Stellan: You're a hazard to society

Avar: And a coward. Do 20.

Cop: You’re receiving a ticket for being two people on a speeder made for one

Stellan: shit

Avar: wait, two

Cop: yes?

Avar: OH MY GOD STELLAN ELZAR FELL OFF

Vernestra: What do you think will Avar and Elzar do for the distraction

Stellan: Idk, they’ll probably do something small, like throw a rock. That’s what I would do.

[Building explodes and several alarms go off]

Stellan: Or they could do that, I should have known better

Avar: If I run and jump at Stellan, he will most certainly catch me

Avar, Running towards Stellan: INCOMING

Stellan: NO I‘M HOLDING TEA-

Stellan: *drops tea to catch Avar* why

So I saw a post about younglings and padawans pranking each other (and sometimes the masters) and sewing cat ears on their cloaks and

I did sketch Elzar, Avar and Stellan because I love those three (also, they lived way before Order 66 so I can spare myself from the trauma of knowing that they were cute Younglings that later got slaughtered)

It’s cute okay?

This. I do not actively seek a romantic relationship right now and I don’t know if I would or would not like to have any in the future. But I suppose that if joining the Jedi Order was an available option for me and not something:

a) fictional,

b) only available to individuals with certain abilities,

c) only to be joined at a very young age,

then giving up romance would seem a small price for everything that the Jedi Order has to offer and that was listed in the previous posts:

friendly community

lifelong financial stability

loving and supportive environment

self-fulfilment through helping make the world a better place

encouragement to learn, explore, discover and teach

learning to manage my emotions in a healthy way

also, all sorts of wild adventures

getting cool Force powers and learning how to master them

last but not least, wielding a lightsaber

If there was a real-world community that provided all these things and didn’t require worshipping any deity, and if I knew for sure that they were legit, did actual good things, taught actual cool skills and didn’t scam, trick or manipulate anyone, then I would’ve seriously considered joining them instead of having to drag myself through all these job-career-success things and all the marriage-family-reproduction pressure and other stuff. (don’t worry, I’m not actually considering joining a real-life cult. I’m aware that in reality there’s no way of knowing if any organisation is what it claims to be, and I know that even without Force powers such community sounds too good to be true. I’m just dreaming here, ok?)

Call me crazy, but I know for a fact that I would not want a romantic relationship if I was a Jedi.

If I lived somewhere where I was a part of a community of people that I considered my mentors, my friends, my family; if I lived somewhere where I was encouraged to learn, to travel, to help people, to enjoy life as it is, and better myself; if I lived somewhere where I was supported and loved and cared for by the community, and I did the supporting, the loving, the caring for other people in the community as well; if I lived somewhere where it wasn't constantly implied, or sometimes outright stated, that my worth was tied to me marrying a man, popping out children, and making money...

...if I was a Jedi, I can honestly say that the thought of pursuing a romantic relationship probably wouldn't cross my mind at all---not unless I met someone specific whom I felt that sort of connection with, but even then, I probably wouldn't give up being a Jedi to be with them because I'd feel more fulfilled as a Jedi than I would in a romantic relationship.

I honestly don't understand the assumption that the Jedi are miserable because they can't get married, I really don't.

If you feel like you wouldn't be able to be fulfilled without a romantic partner, then that's fine! Everyone's different! We all have different wants and needs! But just accept that you wouldn't be fulfilled without a romantic relationship and stop acting like it's impossible for anyone else to feel differently.

The Jedi all seem perfectly happy as they are.

I’m going to do my best to frame this as respectful because I do want to understand your Anakin-positive side, but this is also a topic that I get emotional about for many reasons.

Often, the anti-Anakin viewpoint is more based on his active choices, but I’ll touch on that later.

You mention that the Jedi should have freed Shmi. They are not gods — they cannot free every slave, so what makes her more ‘worthy’ of being saved than any other? I am not trying to be heartless, but it’s important to remember when we talk about this.

At the risk of sounding antagonistic, I’d also ask you for a source on both the “expected him to be a perfect Jedi”, and “refusing to acknowledge his traumatic past” points.

I would disagree heavily with the idea that anakin is anywhere near compassionate — and now we’re getting into the ‘active choices’ I mentioned earlier. He murdered children and committed genocide. Intentionally. On two separate occasions. This automatically means that he is not a good person — and yes, I would apply this logic to any other character in any other fandom.

There was, functionally, nothing keeping anakin with the Jedi. Even Count Dooku was friendly with the High Council after leaving them, all the way until he started a galactic war. The Jedi are forgiving, and they would have supported his choice to leave them if he could not handle their life.

It’s also important to note that being a Jedi is, essentially, a religion. No one is forced into it — they adopt children **with their parent’s permission** (Qui Gon asks Shmi before he brings up the possibility to anakin), but if those children grow up and choose to leave the Order, there are no negative consequences.

Anakin couldn’t handle being a Jedi, so he should have left. That discipline isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay, but it’s not on the Jedi to change their entire religion for one person.

To the Anti-Anakin/Pro-Jedi Crowd

Pt. 2/3 of It's Okay to Love the Jedi and Anakin at the Same Time

(Pt. 1 –> here, an angry ask about this post –> here, Pt. 3 –> here)

I think you often forget how Anakin basically had to make a life altering choice when he was 9 years old. Anakin was incredibly intelligent and mature for his age, but at the end of the day he could not fully grasp the weight of his choice until he was much older.

I think– because The Phantom Menace is rated PG– it's easy to forget how horrible it is to be a slave on Tatooine. By the time Anakin is 9 years old, he has endured countless beatings at the hands of someone who literally owned him.

This is inherently traumatizing.

Leaving his mother is traumatizing.

Becoming a Jedi while his mother has to remain a slave is traumatizing. And this incredibly compassionate kid has to deal with that somehow.

Anakin was exceptional, and yet the Jedi were only really willing to make one exception for Anakin: allowing him to train as a Jedi even though he wasn't raised at the Temple. EVEN THOUGH THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED HIM TO BECOME A JEDI.

The moment the Jedi Council decided that Anakin should be allowed to train as a Jedi, they should have understood that an exceptional case must come with exceptional measures.

Instead, they expected him to perfectly conform to the Jedi, even when he was not raised as one. They expected him to interpret every lesson and piece of advice the way almost every other Jedi could, seemingly not realizing that-- because of Anakin's childhood-- he was automatically going to see the world a bit differently and interpret things differently. The Jedi pretty much refused to acknowledge his unique (and deeply traumatic past) in the hopes that Anakin would "let it go."

They should have freed his mother. They should have allowed him to see his mother. He was raised by her, it's not like he was going to unlearn attachment– which is partly what they were concerned about, I get it.

However, Anakin was never going to be like every other Jedi. And the Council should have rejoiced in this.

They should have worked harder to understand him, instead of trying to turn him into the perfect Jedi.

Even in the face of all of this, he became one of the greatest Jedi ever known.

Few Jedi were as powerful as Anakin, few Jedi were as wise as Anakin (especially at his age), and few were as truly caring and compassionate.

It’s not just with Even Piell. Every clone is left behind while the Jedi are getting suitable funerals. The bodies of the clones rot in the sand and the only ones who remember them are their brothers. It hurts.

Was the choice to have Evan Piell given an entire funeral while all of the fallen clones just get left behind a really stupid one to make? Yes. Does it come with some unfortunate implications if we take it very literally? Yes. Are you intended to view that writing choice as an actual condemnation of the way the Jedi view and treat the clones?

No.

Because this is a show for KIDS and when it wants you to know who the bad guy is, they aren't fucking subtle about it. Neither Obi-Wan nor Anakin are presented as the bad guys for either leaving the clones behind OR giving Evan Piell a funeral.

This is a show that plays the Imperial March every time Anakin so much as smirks just to really hammer the point home. This is a show that set an entire arc on a planet that appears to be perpetually dark just to really emphasize how evil Pong Krell is and how bad the clones have it in that moment. This is a franchise that has made its color symbolism as obvious as fucking possible so that every time someone shows up in red, you KNOW they're the bad guy, case closed, no more questions.

If they wanted us to condemn the Jedi for giving Evan Piell a funeral, they'd have said so. They'd have had one of the clones, or Ahsoka, or even Anakin, question that choice. This is an arc that has Tarkin in it who isn't hesitating to criticize the Jedi for being too soft to achieve victories, and HE doesn't even say anything to criticize the funeral when it happens.

It's a dumb writing choice that doesn't take into account how it makes the characters look when they stop to mourn a Jedi and never the clones, not an intentional condemnation of the Jedi as a whole. And I say this with confidence because nothing about the funeral is treated like it's a bad thing or something we as the audience should condemn and if we were intended to do so, we'd know it without an ounce of doubt.