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I think a big part of the reason The Phantom Menace was one of my favorite movies when I was a little kid is because, if you take out the subplots and arc plot, at it’s core it tells the story of how a 14 year old girl with the world’s most amazing wardrobe saves her entire planet by being logical and brave and smarter than most adults, but she’s also compassionate and kind and a little scared, and she’s just a kid with the weight of the world on her shoulders, but despite that, Padme Amidala gets shit done. Formative role model, much? I just love her immensely. 

#Star Wars #Padme Amidala #PT love #TPM was SUCH an influence on me #it's what got me into Star Wars

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Darth Maul and the fashion of nemesis - Part I

Annie Liebovitz, Vanity Fair

Far too long ago smarsupial sent me an ask:

Oh please please talk about what Darth Maul wears to Tattooine for that first fight with Qui Gon. I really want to hear someone analyze this seriously.

I didn’t really have any thoughts about this at first beyond ‘duh, he’s the opposite of Obi-Wan,’ but I then thought a bit further and realised there was a bit more to Darth Maul. A single thought became a stream and thoughts and I ran with it. Is this not the way with Maul? (Cue the cacophony of wails at caring about Maul.) Thanks to his on-going, complex evolution from The Phantom Menace, through TCW and landing, currently, in Rebels, what no-doubt started as a direct visual has evolved into an interesting revelation of character.

The dichotomy between light and dark, Sith and Jedi is, of course, at the heart of much of the conflict of Star Wars, and is consciously addressed and challenged in the costumes of the various Dark Side antagonists throughout the saga.

The Sith are the antithesis of the Jedi Knights, the dark side of the Force. There are only ever two them, a Master and an apprentice…. As the Sith began with a renegade Jedi, we adopted the idea of a subtle similarity in their clothing allude to their common past.

     Trisha Biggar, p. 3, Dressing a Galaxy

Today: live action in The Phantom Menace.

Darth Maul was, of course, the active hand of the Sith in The Phantom Menace, and initially was presented as a challenge to the Jedi proper, if not Qui-Gonn Jinn specifically as they had the most encounters throughout the film (a whole two!) However, once we get to the climactic duel it is clear that he is truly Obi-Wan’s opposite - apprentice vs. apprentice, Obi-Wan’s mirror darkly - and this is evident through his entire presentation: costume, (limited) dialogue, dedication to his master and order, and so on. Of course I’ll be looking at this via the medium of costume!

Starting with Tatooine as per smarsupial’s question, Maul is first introduced in the flesh as a knife against the landscape, covered from head to toe in black and completely silent, in direct contrast with the earthy tones of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn (and Anakin, Shmi, and effectively every other being on Tatooine.) In opposition with the landscape itself, with the natural order itself, one could argue (the Jedi would potentially argue.) (This also puts him at odds with the Stormtroopers marching through Mos Eisley in A New Hope in their stark white, an interesting antithesis to that ordered force.) When Obi-Wan is actually seen outside the Naboo ship on Tatooine he wears his cloak, Qui-Gonn his trademarked Jedi Disguise!Poncho. Both of these garments are relatively soft and worn wools, full of natural movement, covering but not necessarily concealing (and when they are mean to conceal, they do so badly - looking at you, Qui-Gonn.) But Maul is stillness, he is like a black vacuum of nothingness. He, utterly concealed with in this veil of darkness, and utterly still until he suddenly isn’t, flying out in a sudden flurry of kineticism and fabric.

The silhouette shift from knife to throwing blade.

This weapon-like appearance was intentional - a weapon sheathed, a weapon unleashed:

The black, layered, kimono-style underrobes of Darth Maul, with varying lengths of split and hanging skirts, allowed for a great deal of movement during his extensive, complex fight sequences. His cloak, inspired by a photograph of a Tibetan lama taken about 1940, was made of hand-dyed, coarsely wove silk-and-linen fabric. Its many shoulder-to-ankle length circular pieces were sunray pleated, creating a narrow silhouette when motionless - but in combat swirling out into a fully circular shape, like a fabric Shuriken (Ninja throwing blade) cutting through the air.

      Trisha Bigger, p. 35, Dressing a Galaxy.

This dynamic shift in silhouette is one of the best examples of costume serving both character and performance. The citation of a key influence of his cloak being from a Tibetan monk actually surprises me - my assumption has always been that it Maul’s cloak was derived from a fifteenth century clerical robe. Iain McCaig, who ultimately developed Maul’s concepts and look for TPM, cites a Samurai’s kamishimo as a key influence, the pleated hakama in particular. (This is also a direct reference for Sabe’s battledress.)  This was part of a conscious decision to move away from the original concept of a ‘muscle suit’ like costume towards something that was more sympathetic to movement and fighting, and so pushing Maul towards a closer parallel to the Jedi and Obi-Wan.

Left, Tibetan monks clear the way for their king 1940-1950 [x]; I wonder if a garment like the black one worn to the right was a reference. Right, a Samurai in the traditonal kamishimo of the Edo period, late C19th [x]; note the pleated hakama.

Maul’s cloak is much more structured than the Jedi cloaks, having defined shoulder points, open sleeves, and the beautiful pleating in this back. This allows movement, performance. He has the freedom to whirl and move whilst remaining concealed, and potentially allow an element of distraction and misdirection whilst in combat. As we all know, Jedi are prone to dropping their cloaks at a blaster bolt, their cloaks looser and far less formed. More garments of appearance than performance. 

The fabric itself is a point of opposition between Maul and the two Jedi: their cloaks are made of a vintage wool, Qui-Gon’s poncho no doubt made from a coarser wool or mix, but Maul is wearing a silk-linen mix which in itself is sleeker, crisper, responds differently under different lighting, different conditions, such as the way he seems to suck in the light of Tatooine, but in hologram form he is suddenly textured, reflective. He is what his master needs him to be, a tool to Sidious’ cause. 

This mirroring appeared in both Obi-Wan and Darth Maul’s respective introductions - mysteriously cloaked and intimidating. But in Maul’s (and Sidious’ case) he remained shrouded and shadowed, whereas Obi-Wan and Qui-gonn literally stepped into the light and revealed themselves. The lighting in both of these scenes highlights the difference in fabric choice.

That original ‘muscle suit’ sensibility was carried over, in a way, into Maul’s main robes, whilst still directly mirroring Obi-Wan’s tabbarded robes. The silhouette is effectively Jedi but more; he is swathed in layers and layers, dividing his body into sections, muscles, components. With his collar high and multiple skirts long, he is again a knife when stationary and a flurry of  motion in combat. His entire comportment is of waiting violence. The Jedi robes at this point - consider the changes in Jedi dress during the violence of the Clone Wars, especially Obi-Wan - are not for fighting. They are highly skilled warriors, but ultimately they are peacekeepers. The apprentice Obi-Wan, who is encouraged to be aware, to learn, whose neck is vulnerable and open, his wide sleeves and bare hands against Maul’s shaped sleeves tucked into steady, sturdy gauntlet gloves.

The waiting knife; silhouettes that are the same but different.

Next time I’ll look at Maul through The Clone Wars, Son of Dathomir and Star Wars Rebels, where those layers were stripped away and Maul became an entirely different sort of enemy. But still and always pointed at Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Next Time: Darth Maul and the fashion of Nemesis - Part II 

Last time: Dressing for the skies with Hera Syndulla

#Star Wars #meta #costume meta #I love your costume meta so much #Maul #Maul as a knife is perfect #still and sheathed until he springs to violence #and the performance aspect of his cloak/robes vs Jedi cloaks #(as we all know Jedi are prone to dropping their cloaks = my mind went to the absolute wrong place but I'm okay with that)

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The talk.

#SWR #SWR S3 #fanart #Kanan Jarrus #Ezra Bridger #their faaaaces #yes talk good #(how do I survive this season)

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A little happy thing commissioned by the awesome @xenadd who always commissions the best things :D Drawing this probably increased my life expectancy because lothcats! And Hera! HERA AND LOTHCATS <3

#SWR #lorna art = insta reblog #Hera Syndulla #Loth cats #omg Xena #this may be the happiest thing I've ever seen

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Hera Syndulla Black Series Figure revealed by Hasbro at SDCC ‘16.

#Star Wars Rebels #*screams* #(omg such an awesome figure) #(and such a long time coming) #Hera Syndulla #space badasses

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For my london followers:

My lovely little calico cat Sugi is missing. She’s round about 7 months old and wee, very friendly and inquisitive. Sometime in the night she managed to escape, and as she’s been a house cat since I got her I’m worried that she won’t be able to find her way back to me as it’s all new and unknown.

She’s ginger, white and brown, with an Anakin Skywalker-esque marking across her left eye, and a smudge marking on her lower lip like she just stole all of the chocolate.

She has a big shaved patch with a healing scar on her hind frrom her recent spaying, and smaller shaved patches on her foreleg and under her chin.

As she’s a housecat she has no collar, but she is microchipped.

Last seen in the SW16 area of London, any signal boost would be much appreciated. It hasn’t been especially long since she went awol but my mind is throwing endless worst case scenarios at me and she is such an important bright spark in my life. I just want my cat back.

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Kanan #7

#Star Wars #SWR #Kanan: TLP #Depa Billaba

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A Grand Inquisitor sketch thing I finished a while ago that’s been lying in my drafts for a while :D

#Star Wars #SWR #Grand Inquisitor #fanart

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My custom Saberforge lightsaber finally came yesterday! After cutting myself in my excitement opening the package and spending an hour assembling it (hey, the full padawan experience!), I’ve spent my waking hours holding it in my lap and staring at it.

(Also practicing my flourishes. And being amazed at how it takes my Celebration cosplay outfit from “sure, Jedi” to “OH YEAH JEDI.”)

#Star Wars #lightsabers #cosplay #yes it's in my lap at this very moment #no I don't caress it and whisper 'my precious' #not yet #give it time

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Commission of Ahsoka for fitz :)

#Star Wars #TCW #Ahsoka Tano #fanart #I really love this #intense and fluid and beautiful

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“ We’re a crew- a team. In some ways, a family. ”

#SWR #the Ghost crew #our show is so pretty

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Hera Syndulla art by Mike Henderson Happy #syndullaSunday #starwarsrebels

#starwars

#SWR #Hera Syndulla #fanart #love this

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Reblog for those who don’t haunt Tumblr at midnight PST.

Well, I said this would be posted Tuesday-ish. Is late Thursday Tuesday-ish? *squints* Eh, close enough.

Anyway, the first chapter of Tear Down the Stars is up on AO3. Enjoy!

Tear Down the Stars, Chapter One: The Face of the Enemy

Summary: Palpatine’s hand is forced early, and everything changes. (DepaLives!AU)

“They’re running, General. They might not know it yet, but they’re running.”

Depa Billaba brushed her flapping braids out of her face, nodding agreement at her second-in-command, Commander Grey, as he tucked his binoculars away. Out of habit, she scanned the sea of red-on-white armored clones for her padawan’s small mop of dark hair and spotted him deep in conversation with Big-Mouth and Soot, gesturing emphatically with a slice of fruit in his hand.

She smiled and turned her attention back to the enemy, the last of the lumbering Separatist transports disappearing over the hills in advance of their approach. The lights of Tallarusk glittered and although there was a distinct lack of civilian air traffic, the city appeared largely untouched by the Separatist occupation. Hopefully it remained that way; Grievous liked to punctuate tactical retreats with bombardments on the way out, but General Kleeve had taken care to avoid civilian casualties so far.

That Kleeve was willing to concede Tallarusk without a battle meant he was likely planning to consolidate his forces in Plateau City and make a final stand there. It wasn’t precisely a guaranteed victory for the Republic—there were too many unknowns in war—but it was a strong indication that he wasn’t expecting reinforcements.

“Oh, I think Kleeve knows,” she said.

(Read on AO3)

#Star Wars #SWR #my fic #DepaLives!AU #Tear Down the Stars

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Well, I said this would be posted Tuesday-ish. Is late Thursday Tuesday-ish? *squints* Eh, close enough.

Anyway, the first chapter of Tear Down the Stars is up on AO3. Enjoy!

Tear Down the Stars, Chapter One: The Face of the Enemy

Summary: Palpatine's hand is forced early, and everything changes. (DepaLives!AU)

"They’re running, General. They might not know it yet, but they’re running."

Depa Billaba brushed her flapping braids out of her face, nodding agreement at her second-in-command, Commander Grey, as he tucked his binoculars away. Out of habit, she scanned the sea of red-on-white armored clones for her padawan’s small mop of dark hair and spotted him deep in conversation with Big-Mouth and Soot, gesturing emphatically with a slice of fruit in his hand.

She smiled and turned her attention back to the enemy, the last of the lumbering Separatist transports disappearing over the hills in advance of their approach. The lights of Tallarusk glittered and although there was a distinct lack of civilian air traffic, the city appeared largely untouched by the Separatist occupation. Hopefully it remained that way; Grievous liked to punctuate tactical retreats with bombardments on the way out, but General Kleeve had taken care to avoid civilian casualties so far.

That Kleeve was willing to concede Tallarusk without a battle meant he was likely planning to consolidate his forces in Plateau City and make a final stand there. It wasn't precisely a guaranteed victory for the Republic—there were too many unknowns in war—but it was a strong indication that he wasn’t expecting reinforcements.

"Oh, I think Kleeve knows," she said.

(Read on AO3)

#Star Wars #SWR #my fic #Tear Down the Stars #DepaLives!AU #naming things is so hard #we engineers like to joke that naming things is the hardest problem in Computer Science #but that shit is cross-discipline #I'm also pretty sure the subset of fandom actually interested in this subject matter / time period will be vanishingly small #but I WANTED DEPA TO LIVE DAMMIT

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Yeah, so, when I complained a few months back about desperately wanting a DepaLives!AU...apparently, I’m writing that. And chapter one will be up Tuesday-ish. Teaser below, because why not.

Depa recognized the voice before the words registered, and by then it was too late. A red-skinned Devaronian rounded the stairs into view, Governor Fisk trotting behind him. Caleb froze beside her for a mere fraction of a second, and that was all it took. General Kleeve’s gaze swiveled to them like a turret, sweeping from Caleb to her, and his visible eye narrowed in recognition.

"General Billaba," he said, and every blaster in a twenty-meter radius rounded on them.

She caught Caleb’s hand before it could go to his lightsaber, holding perfectly still. Her heart pounded in her chest with the knowledge that their options for escape had just narrowed to zero, but she inclined her head at Kleeve, outwardly calm. His eye dropped to the lightsaber at her belt with the wariness of someone who knew he was well within range of a Jedi.

"I’m afraid your intel is out of date, General Kleeve," she said. "I am no longer a general for the Republic."

Kleeve rested a hand on his blaster, not taking his eyes off her. "Are you here as an assassin for the Republic?"

"General, I think we both know there’s little value in assassinating you now."

Kleeve’s mouth twitched in a humorless smile. Though he'd successfully consolidated his forces in Plateau City, the general was clearly under no illusion it was anything but a protracted retreat. "Then why are you here, Billaba?"

There was only one terrible course of action left. Very slowly, Depa unhooked her lightsaber hilt, holding it out in offering. This weapon is your life. She winced. It was a lesson drilled into every Jedi, from the moment they were old enough to hold a lightsaber, and it had been especially true for the past three years.

Kleeve stared at it like she’d offered him a live detonator for several tense seconds before stepping forward and taking it. Caleb cast her an anxious look, then bit his lip and surrendered his.

The lobby was dead silent, a collective hush as Kallerans and droids alike stared, waiting. She wondered how it appeared at a distance—like surrender, perhaps. A disbelieving laugh rose in her throat but Depa swallowed it, feeling light-headed. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "We are here to seek asylum with the Confederacy of Independent Systems."

#SWR #On writing #DepaLives!AU #works in progress #hi yes I'm still alive #posting date subject to how long it takes me to name things which is roughly forever #also more AU than it appears on the surface #(aka other people live who didn't) #(and other people died who didn't) #(maybe) #(it's a mysssstery) #(aka I haven't decided on that point yet) #(no it's not Ahsoka) #(Ahsoka always lives) #also haven't decided if it's one long epic #or a collection of stories in the AU universe #I tend to just wing it okay

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#this is padme in a nutshell#you don't understand#of the pt trio anakin is the only one who really has a concept of his own mortality#like he doesn't have a great concept of it but at least he HAS one#obi-wan...doesn't particularly#or rather he does but he doesn't care because he's already come to terms with his inevitable death#padme lacks this concept entirely#it just straight-up doesn't occur to her#tag commentary#star wars humor#incorrect quotes#things we lost to the fire - @bedlamsbard

#Star Wars #Padme Amidala #perfect tag commentary

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Unseen A pencil and watercolour sketch by Advancedtreelover (Silene)

#SWR #fanart #Hera Syndulla #Kanan Jarrus #my emotions