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tori-tumbls-04 · 9 months

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Alright, by popular demand and after much anticipation, I present to you:

The Jedi Culture and Religion as Presented by Me, Tori

Now why the hell should you read this? I mean like, you don't have to. This is tumblr dot com, not a social sciences class, and I have not assigned this as required reading. However, I took a class on Star Wars, and we essentially discussed the irl religions and moral philosophies that influenced many things in Star Wars. This class really helped me understand the Jedi in a broader sense, so I think that my summation of it will help you too

WARNING: This post contains incredibly broad descriptions of religions that do not always apply to every aspect of said religion (This was a short class and we were mostly comparing religions, so going into a deep analysis on all the traditions would not have been helpful for our purposes. Also, because any religion is hopelessly complex, we learned the mainstream versions of them, so not everything I will say will always completely apply to every person who practices these religions)

If you want to read more, click on the links where I've attached them for references or just ask me! I'd love to gush about the Jedi so give it a go

Table of contents:

Buddhism

Daoism

Christianity

Conclusion

Before we get into this, let me give y'all some context.

Overall, Star Wars was inspired by the book The Hero of a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. In it, Campbell claims that every religion is, by in large, the same, which he argues by distilling down what he says are the main hero stories of every religion into a step-by-step plot line that can supposedly apply to every religion's stories. This is the monomyth, or the original Hero's Journey.

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From a religious studies standpoint, this is WILDLY untrue. Campbell picked and chose his stories elements based on what he believed fit the narrative, and not even all Western hero stories fit this narrative, let alone Eastern stories (for example, Jesus never really has a Road of Trials. He's born, there's a twenty year time skip, and suddenly he's the all-powerful Son of God/God Reincarnate. I think a lot of Christians would say that Jesus is their hero- a perfectly valid and acceptable thing to say, since that is indeed the point of Jesus!- but nevertheless, he doesn't follow the Hero's Journey). Also, you can't claim that every religion is inherently the same, that's ignoring literally everything that makes religion religion, and it makes white idiots from Seattle think they understand everything about Confucianism just because they read that one book. It's also not super well written and the book kinda sucks overall.

However, this was a really popular book and it influenced a lot of minds on storytelling, including George Lucas's. It's mostly regarded with scorn in religious studies spheres today, but a lot of screenwriting classes assign it because the Hero's Journey creates stories that audiences want to hear told. Lucas used it for this reason, but also claimed that the Jedi were every religion in the world distilled into one, taking broad themes and building a culture around it (paraphrased- I can't find the exact quote and I didn't write it down so just like trust me bro). This is Hero with a Thousand Faces, plain and simple. I think we'd be hard-pressed to apply the Jedi religion to every religion, but there are three religions that emerge as the core for the Jedi, plus a few philosophies. These chosen few are Buddhism, Daoism, and Christianity.

Buddhism

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Anyone who's been on the pro-Jedi side of any social media site probably saw this one coming. Jedi are inherently Buddhist in practice and culture, and we see it everywhere. But for the previously uninitiated, here's the rundown.

What is Buddhism?

**Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Buddhism. What I know is what I've learned from this class and from one of my best friends who is Buddhist. If you want to know more, I recommend doing outside research because I'm really only equipped to talk about Buddhism in relation to the Jedi Order**

Buddhism was created in about 5th century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, who was a wealthy prince that grew weary of the material and physical pleasures of this world. He left his titles, wealth, and wife behind and traveled for years to learn meditation techniques and ancient truths about the world. Eventually, he became the Enlightened One, or the Buddha.

Buddha taught with the Four Noble Truths:

Life is characterized by suffering

The cause of suffering is desire and delusion

Suffering has an end

You can alleviate suffering by following the path to Enlightenment (aka nirvana)

Yeahhh Buddha wasn't really Mr. Happy Fun Guy. Essentially, to Buddha, everything is suffering, and I really mean everything. Everything bad is bad, everything good comes to an end and becomes bad, and the more invested you are in earthly affairs, the more you'll suffer because of how they'll work out (eventually bad). The solution? No attachment to earthly affairs. This allows you to stay on the path to Nirvana without making yourself suffer (and here's the kicker) or making the people around you suffer. The goal is for no human to suffer.

Now, Buddha recognizes this is hard. Like, he got it in a few years, but he's also The Best At Everything Ever. Most people take multiple lifetimes to get to the point of nirvana (reincarnation exists in Buddhism), and by multiple, I mean somewhere around 500. So the goal of your life is not to achieve complete non-attachment by the time you die, but to get yourself closer and close to non-attachment and non-suffering with each life. That means continuously and consciously working to do good and reduce suffering everywhere, even if you can't reach nirvana just yet.

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"But Tori!" you may protest, "How in the hell are we supposed to do that??? How do we know what will make people suffer and what won't???"

That, my friends, is why the good Buddha came up with the Eightfold Path to Enlightenment, or what I call the Cosmic Playbook for Doing Good. Here's the Eight Folds:

Right Understanding (accepting Buddhist teachings)

Right Resolve (committing to action)

Right Speech (telling the truth)

Right Action (avoiding wrong behavior)

Right Livelihood (not having an occupation that does harm)

Right Effort (controlling one's mind)

Right Mindfulness (being present in the moment)

Right Meditation (mental calm)

The Eightfold Path is based on three pillars: Wisdom, Morality, and Meditation. Wisdom says you must have understanding and fight delusion; Morality says you must have benevolence and never give into anger; Meditation says you must be non-attached and never give into greed (Is this starting to sound familiar?)

Now here's the key part: Buddhism teaches selflessness and compassion. And like yeah, I mean this in the Western sense of "don't be a dickwad," but there's also a Buddhist-specific reasoning behind this.

Selflessness in the Buddhist sense literally means no self. As in you do not exist, except in a constant state of change. Your self is not permanent, therefore tying things to yourself (attachments) is going against nature and preventing you from reaching nirvana. If we accept that we are fleeting and the things associated with us are as well- money, power, influence, things in general- then we may act selflessly and with compassion to other humans. We are all connected, so acting with compassion to other people will spread compassion further throughout the universe, alleviating suffering further.

Ultimately, this is what Buddha wanted for his followers to act, and this is why Buddhism distinguishes between "good" and "bad" attachments. "Good" or selfless attachments are connections made for the goal of helping others. The focus is not you, and when the time comes, you are content with parting ways. This person is not a part of you, simply a part of this point in your life. This doesn't mean they can't have a lasting impact on you or you can't have emotion towards them, but it does mean recognizing that nothing is permanent and accepting it with peace. "Bad" or selfish attachments are people you latch onto as part of you. Bad attachment is making it about you: you have to have this person or you will die, you have to have their love or support or whatever and you're unwilling to compromise. When they leave, you can't except it because you believe both you, your self, them, and their self are permanent, and it causes you to lash out to protect your self. According to Buddha, this is the cause of all aggression, and that is why selfish attachment is to be avoided as much as possible.

Buddhism and the Jedi

I started with Buddhism because, in my opinion, the Jedi religion has its foundations in Buddhism. If you don't understand Buddhism, you can't understand the Jedi, and I think that's why many people believe that Jedi philosophy doesn't make sense. Cause lowkey, from a Judeo-Christian standpoint, it doesn't. But if we start with Buddhism and work from there, the understanding might come better.

Let's take a look at the pillars of the Eightfold Path again:

Wisdom (Understanding, no delusion)

Right Understanding (accepting Buddhist teachings)

Right Resolve (committing to action)

Morality (Benevolence, no anger)

Right Speech (telling the truth)

Right Action (avoiding wrong behavior)

Right Livelihood (not having an occupation that does harm)

Meditation (Non-attachment, no greed)

Right Effort (controlling one's mind)

Right Mindfulness (being present in the moment)

Right Meditation (mental calm)

Now compare it with this version of the Jedi Mantra:

"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force"

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Some of these are not relevant right now, since they come from Daoism or Christianity (and also, we'll come back to the other version in a minute). But you can already see the parallels between Buddhism and the Jedi, especially in the Meditation pillar. Right Meditation and Right Mindfulness correspond directly to "There is no emotion, there is peace" and "There is no passion, there is serenity." Also, Right Understanding and Right Resolve feel very "There is no ignorance, there is knowledge" to me. This means that "There is no emotion" does not mean there is no emotion ever, it simply means controlling your gut reaction and staying calm. Reacting with gut emotions sometimes means that people around you will suffer, especially when your gut emotions are anger and hurt. Remember, we're not about suffering in this house, so there will be no gut reactions here when we can help it.

Also, the idea of attachments comes straight from Buddhism. In Buddhism, delusion leads to anger and greed, which leads to further suffering, and we delude ourselves by being selfish (remember, in this sense selfish is thinking our self is permanent, not necessarily being a dickwad). Now, I really hope this sounds familiar, because this is "fear leads to anger leads to hate leads to suffering" in practically the same words. Here, delusion of the self and fear of losing it are one in the same, and the Jedi fight this by not being attached to one state of themself, and everything that entails. Ultimately, the Jedi exist to alleviate suffering throughout the galaxy. That is their literal job description and what they sign up for when they become Knights. In Buddhist philosophy, having selfish attachments is directly counter to this idea, as we see in Anakin.

Because this definition comes directly from Buddhism, this does not mean that Jedi cannot make connections. In fact, Buddhism says we are all connected (just like with the Force! Wow it's almost like that was planned), and we should have compassion for everyone. The Jedi also say this, plain and simple, in broad daylight.

(Source: @ gffa, David Thibault on Pinterest)

The best example of a Buddhist Jedi is Yoda, who was based off of literal Buddhist monks and has non-attached compassion down to a science.

So, in summary, we got the Buddhist ideas of attachment, compassion, and selfishness for the Jedi. What about everything else?

Daoism

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Next up is Daoism/Taoism! This one is possibly the least obvious if you don't have familiarity with Eastern religions and philosophies (or maybe it is for everyone else, but I was kind of surprised to see Daoism and how well it applies to SW/the Jedi). Let's get into it

What is Daoism/Taoism?

**Same disclaimer for Daoism that I had for Buddhism! Except I know even less about Daoism than I do about Buddhism. Again, if you have more questions, I recommend doing outside research because I'm about to tell you just about everything I know on Daoism here**

First things first, how do you spell it? Daoism or Taoism?

There's no actual difference between them. The sound at the beginning of the word doesn't really exist in English, but it's somewhere between D and T, and translators often switch between the two. I use D because I just like the way Daoism sounds better than Taoism, but that's literally such a dumb reason. Call it whichever, people will understand you! There's gonna be a lot of those in this, since Chinese to English translation is tricky on the best of days and translating Daoism is... well, we'll get to it

Lau Tzu, from source

Daoism is one of the six great philosophical schools of China. It emerged around 3 century CE when Lao Tzu wrote the Dao De Jing (also known as the Tao Te Ching. To keep my spelling of D/T consistent, I'll be using the Dao De Jing spelling). The story goes that he was a great sage of his time, and he was stopped by Chinese border patrol one day. When the agents recognized who he was, they begged him for advice and pearls of wisdom. So, he gave it to them, and someone (possibly Lao Tzu, possibly one of the agents) wrote it down. This would be awesome and hilarious, because the Dao De Jing is a short book, but it has 80+ poems/maxims/stories in it, which means mans was there for way longer than the border patrol probably wanted him there

It's also possible that Lao Tzu doesn't exist and the Dao De Jing was actually written by multiple people buuuuut the other explanation is more fun so let's go with that

Dao De Jing roughly translates to "The Book of Virtue and Wisdom." In it are a lot of verses that explain the Daoist school of thought. They can be translated in many ways, but the version I read was in poetry. Here are a few excerpts that I think explain the Daoist religion the best:

"The way you can go isn’t the real way. The name you can say isn’t the real name. Heaven and earth begin in the unnamed: name’s the mother of the ten thousand things. So the unwanting soul sees what’s hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden."

Source: "1, Taoing" Tao Te Ching, trans. Ursula K. Le Guin

"Not praising the praiseworthy keeps people uncompetitive. Not prizing rare treasures keeps people from stealing. Not looking at the desirable keeps the mind quiet. So the wise soul governing people would empty their minds, fill their bellies, weaken their wishes, strengthen their bones, keep people unknowing, unwanting, keep the ones who do know from doing anything. When you do not-doing, nothing’s out of order."

Source: "3, Hushing." Tao Te Ching, Ursula K. Le Guin

"Be completely empty. Be perfectly serene. The ten thousand things arise together; in their arising is their return. Now they flower, and flowering sink homeward, returning to the root."

Source: "10, Returning to the Root." Tao Te Ching, Ursula K. Le Guin

Now if you think that these are confusing and difficult to parse, you'd be correct. It's not just cause they're written as poems and not just cause they're translations between two difficult languages to translate; the Dao De Jing is intentionally written to be difficult to understand. You have to work to understand the Dao (the Way), and that's how Lao Tzu intended it. But part of the work in understanding the Dao is part of the experience of the religion. In other words, putting the work to try and understand the Dao is already halfway there!

Because I'm nice and because I want some baseline understandings for this discussion, I'll go ahead and give you broadly accepted interpretations of and concepts from the Dao De Jing.

The goal is to be unified with everything around you. All things cycle into each other and influence each other, and the goal of the Way is to be one with the natural flow of the universe

There is a common delusion that things are separate from each other. In Daoism, this is false. Nothing is truly separated- all things flow into each other and become each other in time (This is where yin and yang come from)

Adding off of that last point, identifying things too much will result in privileging one over the other. In Daoism, humans operate too much in absolute terms- what is good, what is bad, why each is each, and how to keep the good without having the bad. But all things must cycle into each other (dirt to flowers to dirt, sun to moon to sun, winter to summer to winter, etc), otherwise there is no balance, and no Way to follow

To follow the Way, you have to practice wu wei, or non-doing. In its absolute simplest terms, non-doing is going with the flow, but in a very specific way. Non-doing requires acting organically and adapting as specific opportunities arise. Having an end goal is contrary to the Way. Instead, the philosophy of wu wei says that what you need/want will come to you naturally if you follow the flow of nature

Expect things in unexpected places (but not... like... expecting? Cause you gotta Go With The Flow y'know? Anyways)

Pacifism to the Max

You must follow the Way completely and fully. Half-assing the Dao will result in being generally unhappy since you're not actively pursuing your goals either outside the Way or inside the Way. So it's just like lose-lose no matter what

There's like... more. But that's enough to delve into the Jedi methinks so let's do it.

Daoism and the Jedi (and Star Wars overall)

Jedi are notorious for defying expectations. A crotchety old frog is the most powerful Jedi in the Order. The most devout Jedi Padawan ends up being the person who tried to blow up their Temple. The person who will become The Villain of All Time is regarded as being well on his way to being one of the Best Jedi in the Order, if not already there. The list goes on. The same crotchety old frog says everything as cryptically as possible to force his students to do the work to understand what he's saying (a mannerism that many Jedi copy, if they're not as cryptic as Yoda). The Jedi are not pacifists, per se, but they go out of their way to be non-violent as often as possible (this overlaps with the Buddhist idea of attachments and their relation to violence). The Jedi also try to treat within their Order the same, and hierarchy is pretty loose.* Also, the Force is the Way. It literally flows through everything, it doesn't get more obvious than that. Also, "do or do not, there is no try," anyone?

*This point is contentious, I know, but looking canon it's true. The Jedi do not privilege one Jedi over another- councilor members seem to be treated roughly the same inside the Order as every other Knight or Master. The difference between Knight and Master is nebulous at best and the only difference between the two seems to be raising a Padawan. But at what point beyond that does a Knight become a Master? Why are Knights also called Masters and vice versa? Padawans and younglings are a different story, but certainly within ranks there is little differentiation.

But more than that, the world that the Jedi operate in is very Daoist. The Light and Dark side of the Force come from yin and yang (though, due to Buddhist and Christian influences, yin isn't quite the Dark side and yang isn't quite the Light, but the idea definitely came from Daoism). Light and dark people have bits of both in them, as Clone Wars goes out of its way to demonstrate over and over again. In The Last Jedi, Luke outright states that the Force is what ties together the Light and the Dark, and that they cycle into each other. This is reinforced over and over again. In Mortis,

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On Ahch-To,

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And just about every time anyone says where there is great light there is also great darkness, plus a lot in Legends content because Legends writers apparently love playing with this.

Also, time in Daoism (and generally in Eastern religions/philosophies) is cyclical. In the West, we view time as cyclical- one thing happened back then and it won't ever happen the same way again. But in Daoism, the same events happen over and over again in a continual cycle, just as they do in nature. Star Wars operates in the exact same way. The Republic rises, then the Empire, then the Republic, then the First Order, and on and on. Characters rise and fall with their times, and at times, it seems like the same story is doomed to play out over and over again. Where exists bright light, also exists deep night; every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Alright, back to the Jedi Mantra. Now that we're in Daoism, let's look at the weird one:

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force."

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Many interpretations of this mantra have focused on the idea that both exist, and I personally agree with that interpretation, especially in the context of Daoism. The key with Daoism is that Daoists aren't trying to change the world, like Christians or Buddhists. They're simply trying to be one with the universe, as is the natural state of things. They do not deny the chaos, but harmonize with it instead. They do not deny death, they simply follow the Way/Dao/Force to death when it's time. The key to Daoism is holding contradictions together and finding the way between them like water in a stream, instead of choosing one side over another. Also, tell me this doesn't read like the Dao De Jing? You can't because it does.

(Side note: the holding contradictions together thing is also the explanation behind Obi-Wan's iconic line "Only the Sith deal in absolutes." Sith cannot acknowledge shades of gray or sides that are not their own: for the Sith, there is only their side and everyone else's side, and their side is always right. Jedi are trained to see the white dot in the black swirl and the black dot in the white swirl. Sith can only see the black or the white, nothing in-between. This is also known as obsessive and/or antagonistic thinking.)

The best example of a Daoist Jedi is Qui-Gon Jinn, aka Mr. "Let's-Bet-On-Some-Kid-Who's-Never-Won-A-Podrace-In-His-Life" whose middle name is Maverick. Need I say more?

So, in summary, we got the "weird" and confusing parts of the Jedi religion from Daoism (though I hope I cleared some of them up! But they are meant to be confusing lmao)

Christianity

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"But Tori," you protest, "If the Jedi are supposed to be following the Way and the Way goes between what's good and bad, why are Jedi constantly the Good Guys who do Good Things instead of being neutral monks on their mountain?"

Well my friend, let me introduce you to a little thing called Christianity.

Now, in my opinion, the Jedi are possibly least inspired by Christianity. By in large, most of their themes and Main Religious Points can be found in either Buddhism or Daoism. But so far, all we have for motivation of why the Jedi do good things is compassion and to alleviate suffering. How do they know how to do that? The Jedi say they do it by following the Force, but how do they do it by following the Daoist Force, which says they have to be neutral as possible and one with nature?

Let's pivot to Christianity (with no disclaimer for this one because I was raised Baptist and Catholic (long story) and I actually know quite a bit about Christianity).

What is Christianity?

Christianity grew from followers of Judaism right around 0 CE. Though the Torah (the primary Jewish religious text) is official canon in Christianity, Christians follow God and Humanity's savior, the Son of God, Jesus. When Jesus was alive, He preached gospel to His followers over the course of a few years. Though there are many things that make up Christian theology, Jesus's teachings are often first, foremost, and the foundation of that theology. These were written down in the Bible in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, and further expanded into the New Testament of the Bible (the primary Christian religious text).

Jesus was real simple. He preached that there is a Good and a Bad, and both of those things are determined by the creator of the universe, God. A true Christian will do Good things, like feed the poor and respect your fellow man. If you do Bad things, that's okay! You just have to confess and repent, and you will be forgiven by God. Other Christians also must forgive you, because that is one of the Good things that All Christians Must Do. If you refuse to repent, you go to Hell when you die. If you believe in and worship God, follow all the rules, and do all the Good things, God will reward you in the afterlife by sending you to the Kingdom of Heaven, where there is No Bad Ever.

Tl;dr: don't be a dickwad and say thanks to God every once and a while and you're good homie.

Therefore, Christianity is based around three pillars: Faith, Love, and Hope. Have faith in your God to know what to love and what to do, and hope for a better tomorrow and afterlife.

Everything else is kind of extra and we don't really need it here (including the Ten Commandments, since the Jedi don't really follow them), so like... don't get mad at me for summing up Christianity like this please haha

Christianity and the Jedi

I've already alluded to this, but Jedi get their moral compass from belief and faith in the Force to essentially tell them what to do. This is fresh outta Christianity ladies, gents, and enbies; though themes overlap a bit in Daoism, Christianity takes pains to make it clear that its moral compass come from God and Jesus. If you want to read more about this, CS Lewis articulates the argument really well in Mere Christianity.

Now, this bit can be a little tricky to see clearly with the Jedi, since the Force doesn't act like the Christian God. The Christian God is generally fairly active in a Christian's life, especially in the Bible. God will straight up send heavenly messengers or like communicate with people himself in the Bible to tell them what to do, but the Force is more subtle than that. Obviously the Jedi can feel the Force, but they rarely- if ever- know what the Force is trying to tell them. So instead, Jedi seem to use more of a river current approach: where the Force flows is obviously Good, so they try to feel the Force tugging them in that direction and go there. But you can swim against the flow of a river, and sometimes it's super easy to do in still spots. That's okay! As long as you repent and turn around, it's all good.

The practice is obviously Daoist, but the Force as the Ultimate Moral Good is a Christian concept. This is why Jedi are the good guys and why following the Force generally leads to the most narratively rewarding and best outcomes- if they were purely Daoist, they'd spend their days doing things like eating wood and carving cart wheels perfectly right (Daoist stories can get more exciting, but generally Daoist hero stories revolve around mundane things like this to emphasize that the way to live is to be perfectly in tune with the world around you). Instead, Jedi often present themselves as Christian heroes. You know, the ones who follow God and defend their city from evil forces, magically know which food is poisoned, carrying people across a near-impossible to cross river, levitating and making things fly across rooms, and more. Any of this sound familiar?

The Jedi morals themselves are influenced from many places, as we've already seen. But the Dark side vs. the Light side are Western/Christian; it's very reminiscent of heaven vs. hell and the motifs in both mirror that. The Dark side is cold, aggressive, and "bad," and the Light is warm, kind, and "good" (in Daoism, these concepts are flipped). The visuals draw from Western visuals of both.

Also, Jedi are supposed to look like a cross between samurai and Christian monks, and many of the other aesthetic choices for Jedi come from one of those two influences.

Source (1, 2, 3+4)

The Vatican compared with the Jedi Temple in AotC and RotS

Jedi are also literally called Knights. How much more obvious can it get.

Christian Jedi are a little harder to nail down, but if it came down to it, I'd probably place my bets on Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan has doing Light Side things down pat, as well as forgiveness and repent. Plus, tell me he didn't sound a bit like God when he was talking to Luke in ANH.

Conclusion

So, if I had to sum up the Jedi, I'd say it like this (Bold is from Buddhism, italics is from Daoism, and bold+italics are from Christianity):

"The Jedi Order is a Force-sensitive religious group dedicated to the alleviation of suffering throughout the galaxy. Though they are mainly trained as peacekeepers, all Jedi are proficient with a lightsaber, and the Order encourages this practice as long as they use their skills to defend.

Due to their Force-sensitivity, Jedi can connect to the living things around them and sense emotions, thoughts, and sometimes memories as though they were their own. Without proper emotional regulation, Jedi can become overwhelmed and pass out or obtain other psychic damage. For this reason, the Jedi practice mindfulness and non-attachment through meditation. From a young age, Jedi are trained to regulate emotional instincts and react mindfully to their surroundings to not overwhelm themselves or others.

The Jedi follow the Will of the Force. Though this can be difficult to interpret, Jedi train their entire lives to recognize the signals of the Force as they are presented to them. The Jedi follow the "Light Side"* of the Force, which puts them in direct opposition to the Sith, who follow the Dark Side. The two have been mortal enemies since time immortal, and will continue to be so as the cycle of light and dark continues to chase itself.

*it's worth noting here that at no point in time is the Force that the Jedi follow referred to as the "light side," it's simply the Force. This implies that the Jedi truly are just following The Way, and the Sith have completely convoluted The Way.

There are two versions of the Jedi Mantra, which outline their philosophies well:

"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force"

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force."

The Jedi believe that fear leads to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to suffering. Therefore, Jedi try to conquer fear and selfishness as much as possible, which is how the Jedi principle of non-attachment came about. Though Jedi believe in compassion and love, their duties and Force-sensitivity require them to forgo attachments, or unhealthy and obsessive relationships with others. This is a struggle that many Jedi work through their entire lives. Jedi also believe in non-material possession and contentment in the natural world. Since the natural world and the Force are intertwined with each other, this allows Jedi to listen to the Force better."

Finally, the way the Jedi follow the Force is not the only or "correct" way of following the Force. Just irl as there are no correct cultures or religions, just the ones that align with you, personally, the best, there is no correct way of practicing the Force (though the Sith are generally set up as bad guys in Star Wars, the Dark Side of the Force is corruptive by nature, and Sith are almost always rampaging killing machines, so I think we can make an exception for them). The Force seems to manifest in many different ways, so therefore the religions can too.

I hoped this helped you guys answer any questions you may have about the Jedi! This got so long so if you read to the bottom you're a real trooper. If you still have questions, feel free to rb or shoot me an ask!

#star wars #jedi #jedi order #pro-jedi #meta #star wars meta #sw discussion

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rarepears · 2 years

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I love your AUs you make. Some of the best day dream material there is. I am to lazy to write stories but it’s great to day dream about them.

I have seen your post with fic recs.Do you have any other fic recs of fic you just think are amazing?

Thank you so much! I still need to write up a bunch of my other ideas into a coherent string of words, but there's more new AUs to come! Some a little more ludicrous than others, if that's even possible.

Back to #rarepears recs which is apparently going to be a Thing. Since you didn't specify any particular fandom and the fact that you can stalk my bookmarks to see what I've been reading lately if you only wanted one particularly fandom... I'm giving you a little bit of everything:

Anything by esama. She is the GODDEST of fanfiction and nothing you say can convince me otherwise. Don't know what to start with first? Since it's most likely that you found me through my SVSSS ideas, Metagaming by esama is a great starting point in her treasure trove of works.

Likewise, anything by llamallamaduck. There's so many rarepairs and crack crossovers like damn did you just let me into a buffet for free? Plus the update speed is insane.

nirejseki's MDZS fics are a thing of glory and I have no doubt that my characterization of Lan Qiren and Wen Ruohan are influenced by their works and it shows. (Moreover, I would have never seen Wen Ruohan as a shippable character otherwise.)

Still can't get over the image of Sukuna dressed up in pink ruffled J-pop girl stage outfit, complete with the makeup, nails, and All The Things in In another galaxy (we belong to you and me) by slex (slexenskee)

We all know that astolat is amazing, but The Price of Bread and Salt and Royal Flush (both Game of Thrones works) are insane because I never expected those twists and turns.

I'm still (patiently) waiting for updates to love is a call to arms by blackkat. I really do love political discussions and grey mortality, what can I say?

And as a result, you won't be too surprised to know how much I adore Cleaning Crew; Teaching Kids to Value their Safety, for Fun and Profit by Reavv. A BNHA fic that gives a little more explorations about the downsides to hero schools, hero life under the glitz and glamour of the pro-hero industry, all from an outsider civilian POV.Meanwhile you can totally count on a Kakashi-who-reincarnates-as-Hawks Naruto X BNHA crossover to totally disillusion hopeful naive hero interns like nobody's business: Learning to Fly by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815). Or have a Kakashi-with-his-shinobi-mindset getting dumbed into BNHA and having to figure out what the fuck is going on in this new world and adapting to all this cultural shock: One Sandwich Short of a Picnic by Sagartolen.

Have some more awesome outsider POV, but this time it's set in Naruto: Doing the Work by MarbleGlove

How about a sort of outsider POV except it's freaking Dabi who doesn't remember his past (yay amnesia) so he's trying to research what could be his possible backstory... area cryptid upset no one bothered to inform him of his tragic backstory by crimsonseekers

Outsider POV is all fun and giggles, but have you ever considered Academic Outer POVs?? Especially about the Jedi Order?? center stage by deniigiq

I do very much enjoy reading Hawks-centric stories, so enjoy this one in particular as Hawks as to juggle teaching at UA on top of all the other things that he does: Hawks-Sensei by GC4life

A World of Water and Crystal by The Feels Whale (miscellea) where it's technically Shen Yuan (who is Not Shen Qingqiu in this fic just to be clear!!) X Luo Bingge, except Shen Yuan's love makes Luo Bingge revert into Luo Bingmei mode. It's great.

Who doesn't like a good old time travel fix it, crack taken seriously fic? So have this amazing yuri on ice fic eternity will be born from hope by theseviolentdelights99. Lots of social media content too which is a huge plus!

The Less Than Immaculate Conception by The_Carnivorous_Muffin, Vinelle somehow makes the pairing (Yes, Twilight Volturi Marcus X Bella the human) seem like the most rational and sane thing out of everything that happens in this fic. (Just a note that you need to read Painting Red Madonnas first since The Less Than Immaculate Conception is an AU of Painting Red Madonnas. But trust me, that's also tasty, if only just a little less insane. BUT YOU WILL TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHY when Bella's baby's name is revealed.)

How to even describe this masterpiece? Probably THE best worldbuilding I've ever found on AO3 period. Like it's Star Wars which is full of planets but this author is building out new conlangs and new cultures (plus all the OCs involved in describing the rich culture of the planets!!). So give it a go and then find yourself a week in being desperate enough for more than you join their discord server to read sneak peak snippets of future chapters: Civil Wars, Whistleblower Tactics, Schematic Drafting, And The Finer Points Of Sith Adoption: The Essential How-To Guide For The Engineering Jedi by Jackdaw_Kraai

So I tried to limit myself to 15 slots, but how can I not mention @marbelcrossovers? Go check out Marbel's beautiful BNHA crossovers; her GOJO X ENDEAVOR fic is what led me to write my first fanfiction Ichimaru Gin X Endeavor (and then start this tumblr blog) after all. And then I might have (evilly) thrown around the idea of Bakugou X Xanxus at her which turned into a 156k words and counting fic called Ready For The Mayhem. 😂👌 Good work Marbel! Cheering you on for more!

Anyways, happy reading!

#rarepears recs #ask #recs #fic recs #svsss #scumbag self saving system #scum villain #ao3 #bnha #naruto #star wars #boku no academia #game of thrones #mdzs #mao dao zu shi #jjk #twilight

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destinykarmasans · 1 year

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I was quietly reading wonderful stories by Miles Quaritch on AO3.

To then be interrupted by an acquaintance, who in ignorance of him, dragged me into the Star Wars fandum despite my complete happiness at being in the Avatar fandum.

Despite the dizziness of the trip, I managed to orient myself to put on my pro Obi-Wan Kenobi flag, Pro Jedi Order, Pro Jedi Council, Pro Light Side of the Force, Pro palpatine deserves to die, Pro Anakin and his noises in his head can go to shit etc...

As long as I wear my flag. I notice the other person start the usual chatter about Anakin Skywalker and how the damn universe, the force and whatever divine being failed him.

I'm like "Hey dude, that again?"

As I listen to a sudden wandering thought I come to mind. Did the Jedi order fail him?

I mean seriously, I got kicked out of the blue arms of Miles Quaritch for this.

Then comes the typical it's not Anakin's fault but his upbringing. Yeah buddy, nine years living on tatooine invalidates the eleven years you spent in the Jedi temple, a temple came from amalgamations of cultures from across the galaxy.

No. Anakin never left tatooine in his mind.

After how Obi-Wan failed him. WOW? Are you talking seriously? Of all the jedi out there, so many master almost desperate to give life advice. And Anakin preferred to listen to the strange old man who is not a Jedi but apparently knows more than the Jedi masters.

I mean, when it comes to doing things like a Jedi, Tatooine's education shows up, but when you need Tatooine's distrust, you turn into a naive Padawan when you're in front of this creepy old man.

In the end. Why are they trying to get me out of the arms of Miles quaritch to talk about Anakin?

I try to finish to return to my blue paradise. They take out the last argument.

Anakin is the most human character. Dude no, shut up. What kind of human beings do you know for you to say that?

Does genocide make you human? Does chronic lying make you human? Does killing innocent children to save your pregnant wife make you human?

Friend, the human being has not fallen that much, and if he does, they are not humans, they are monsters.

Ok, let me continue to worship Miles Quaritch's fabricated body!

Thanks to Anglotron for your wonderful Miles Quaritch stories. Give me a thousand years of life~

I know Miles isn't a saint either, but at least he doesn't make himself holier than you.

#avatar #anakin skywalker #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Miles Quaritch #pro jedi #Pro Jedi Order #pro Miles Quaritch #recom avatar

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absolxguardian · 1 year

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After I made a post asking for fic recs that aren't setting aus, and generally being frustrated going into ao3 fandom tags and seeing so many setting aus, I thought about why I don't like them. The answer isn't relevant, but I did realize one setting AU for Ted Lasso I'd read the fuck out: Star Wars (probably because it's my main special interest).

Except I'm not interested in a fic where the cast are Jedi or something. Instead, I'm thinking about one where Ted is a coach for Outer Rim grav-ball (space American football)- perhaps for the Academy of Applied Sciences on Lothal (I'm just saying that because the children's chapter book that is half a high school sports book is set there. I know this would made Ted more comparable to a high school football coach, but ages for secondary and tertiary education in the galaxy is weird) who gets hired to coach a professional Core grav-ball team (space European football).

And this fic would really work by exploring the changes caused by the different societal norms between the gffa and our world. Homophobia? Nonexistent. Sexism? Also gone, which would change Rebecca and Rubert's dynamic. And sports aren't gender segregated. Mental health stigma? Honestly probably worse than current times given its unclear how prevalent therapists are in the galaxy.

But the big change would be that Ted goes from being an American expat to someone moving within the same nation that has a massive urban/rural divide as well as provincialism. His accent would be something people would discriminate against him for.

It would make things pretty dark, tbh, I think setting it during the Empire would be the best. Ted goes to work in the Core not just because he needs time away from Michelle, but because something doesn't feel right with AppSci becoming an Imperial feeder school and the new Athletics director is a racist ass.

The story would become about what you're supposed to do when you're just trying to be a semi-regular person within growing fascism. I think Ted would eventually snap and join the Rebellion (probably with a good portion of the main characters). There's the blockade and presumable communications blackout of Lothal, new policies banning aliens from professional sports, and probably one of his star players gets kidnapped by the Empire because they're force sensitive (there would be a higher than average occurrence of force sensitive people in professional athletics).

Some other new elements would be Nate (who is an alien) trying to be one of the "good ones" with Rupert, who is a die-hard imperial loyalist. He starts coaching for the Hammers at the same time aliens are banned from playing and only keeps his job because of Rupert's protection. Trent has the additional motivation to quit journalism that he doesn't want to have to deal with Imperial censors day in and day out, even though with sports there isn't much censor. Heck, Trent has always struck me as too somber and cynical to be a sports reporter, and maybe the reason he does sports reporting is because its the most honest specialty left.

The final new element I've thought of is that when I was running through my head for what planet the Greyhounds would be in, I landed on Chandrila. Which means that Rebecca and Rubert would be Chandrilan upper-crust- so instead of what we have in canon, Rebecca and Rubert are similar ages and were arranged to be married eachother when they were young (adults in their society, teens in our world). Instead of Rubert hurting Rebecca, they were both hurt by their society- which turned Rubert cruel. All the arranged marriages also means that divorce is more stigmatized and cheating more tolerated. This would also make Ted's in to the Rebellion through Rebecca and then Mon Mothma. Rebecca originally becomes a bit of a rebel sympathizer because Rubert is just so pro-empire.

#ted lasso #ted lasso au #star wars #i don't know if anyone else is interested by this idea #it makes the show much darker #if you can't tell i'm not much of a comedy person

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batrachised · 1 year

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What are your favorite non-LM Montgomery stories/fandoms (if you feel like sharing)?

This question sent me wandering down a memory lane! It's actually rare for me to participate in fandoms online, although I'll gobble up funny tumblr posts and fics if a particular story latches onto my brain--star wars is really the only other one I'm active, even if that is primarily just writing fic. I think the only other fandoms I've ever gotten really into are Star Wars and Merlin. Between those two, Merlin definitely is the favorite although Star Wars is probably my favorite story. Sorry to the Star Wars fandom, but there's this weird sense of entitlement I've observed (that's present in any fandom to a degree tbf) about how everyone should interpret the characters op's way or they're basic, and that x opinion is not only bad, it's also immoral. Given how big the fandom is and how there usually isn't one dominant opinion but rather factions, the resulting (and usually hypocritical) squabbling disinterests me. I don't want to feel like I have to have a 'star wars political party' to engage with other blogs haha ("oh i'm dni about this ship but pro jedi" etc etc), especially as I'm the sort of person who will explore different interpretations for fun. That's partly why I have loved my LMM peeps so much, because even where there's disagreement, it's usually civil and more importantly, fun :D

anyhow, now that I've gone completely off track haha and told you about my NONfavorite fandoms, I'll sheepishly actually answer your question. I really loved Merlin when I watched it, because I love me some non-gritty fantasy with a sense of humor and a "chosen one" storyline. I have spent many a glorious hour reading fic where Merlin reveals his magic (ah! the catharsis!) and will probably spend many more. In a similar ilk, I've always had a soft spot for Spider-Man in my heart, specifically the older and crankier teacher Peter Parker version from the comics because he's the Ideal. Both of these are further back on the memory lane (more of high school batrachised than Charlotte lucas period of my life batrachised), but they are still near and dear in my heart.

Now in terms of my favorite stories, for THIS question I had to pull out that bad boy, the bulleted list!! (😱) I generally prefer children's fiction to YA nowadays because I like stories that have something to say, and while there are certainly YA books that fill that gap (I'm about to list several! and btw i'd definitely include THG in that), the expectations for children's novels are such that there is usually a "moral," while a good chunk of YA seems to be more "hot people kissing" and a lot of adult fiction is just dreary to me. I don't really participate in the fandoms for any of these below because first of all, they don't exist lmao, but also I didn't feel the need to change or add anything to the story.

Ella Enchanted. I love Gail Carson Levine's fairytales, and Ella is a refreshing and unique idea. When I say I love fantasy stories, what I really mean is that I love Ella Enchanted. I love how Char and her are friends first, and the scene at the end where she [censored for spoilers] and so gets her happily ever after still influences my writing today.

A Monster Calls. Weeping, on the floor, every time I read it it destroys me. I love its gentleness towards grief, and I love its brutal honesty. I also love its recognition of the power of a story. Sometimes I see (and say myself!) "It's just a story," but stories are powerful and should be treated as such. They aren't worth more than people, but they can teach you much people are worth.

Strange the Dreamer. This novel was gorgeously well-written, and its main character is an absent minded librarian who goes on an adventure--how could anyone resist! I remember recommending it to someone and they stayed up very late to finish it haha, they couldn't put it down. It's too wonderful.

Frog and Toad. Yes, they're picture books, And what about it !!? These picture books are cozy and well-written and have more to say than many a long novel I've read. Plus my blog name and brand require inclusion of a toad related bullet.

The Power and the Glory: I just wrote a post about this one, but anything by Graham Greene always makes me stare at the wall afterwards questioning my life. Funnily enough, this is dreary like the other adult fiction I dismissed, but although it's a hopeless situation with hopeless characters, Graham Greene's writing is strong enough this to have become one of my favorite books. Normally after I read fiction like that, I just feel depressed. This book, while dreary, was thought provoking.

A Canticle for Leibowitz. A post apocalyptic novel...that's not about fighting zombies or a book version of an action movie, but about monks. I know that's a complete reduction of the plot, but the idea of a post-nuclear world from the perspective of monks was such a unique idea, it grabbed my brain and didn't let go.

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. I love all of Ursula Vernon's work for her sense of humor. They're always very well written and I nod along to myself at different points thinking "correct," as the narrator discusses how true love is spending time debating your favorite type of cheese, or how baking so wonderful because you put in all that effort and have chocolate chip cookies at the end to show for it.

Holes. This book not only ties every plot thread together satisfactorily, it does it with a bow, it's that well done. This was my favorite book as a child and has stood the test of time because it's still one of my favorite books as an adult.

Up a Road Slowly. Of all the books on this list, this is the most LMM similar. It definitely is sexist, I'll warn, but the characterization can be incredible. The uncle stays with me as a remarkably complex but well written character.

Heart's Blood. The best Beauty and the Beast version, full stop, thank u very much !! In general Juliet Marillier is one of my favorite fantasy authors.

Calvin and Hobbes. there's really nothing to say here other than it's perfect haha.

A Deadly Education. A take on the magical school--that's dark and intriguing. What if Hogwarts was trying to kill you? i never got into harry potter myself because I read the books when I was slightly too old for them, so this was one of the first "magical school" books I read that captivated my imagination.

James Herriot. I love the old tv show (haven't seen the new one), but i love the books more. Siegfried and Tristan are hilarious, and James Herriot is similar to LMM in that he takes a simple and ordinary setting and bestows it with magic through his writing.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith novelization. "Puh-lease," you might be thinking, a movie novelization? Listen to me. Listen. I went through a period in my life where I'd casually read movie novelizations for the fun extra scraps of details. Normally, I'd idly flip my way through and be like eh that was okay, it's a novelization so whatever. I picked this up, and was left being like like what the actual fuck did I just read. This novel is incredible. It's so good that it changed my tepid feelings on the movie and prequels to "ROTS is now one of my favorite stories." I finished that book thinking "where was this movie??" I don't know what Matthew Stover was on when he wrote this, but it singlehandedly redeemed the prequels for me.

Other non book ones: i love the LOTR movies (and books but I don't reread them often), the narnia movies, Stand by Me, the secret life of walter mitty, the prince of egypt, greta gerwig's little women (sobbing. on the floor.). and v for vendetta. I also love New Girl because Nick Miller. In general, same with books, my favorite movies tend to demonstrate a distinct moral imagination and grit rather than just focusing on the journey of a character's emotional health. (ergo, I find prince of egypt much more interesting than turning red, although turning red was a good movie!)

There's also Dear Enemy from Jean Webster (aka the author of daddy long legs) bc her work is also similar to LMM, buuuut it literally and explicitly supports eugenics (a character will occasionally and casually say "we need to let those irish die for the good of society") sooo if you choose to read, know that that's in there depending on your comfort level with gross historical period conventions. (the goodreads reviews are kind of funny because people are like well I liked the story but, um,)

thank you for this ask and your patience with my meandering response!! it was a lot of fun to think of "hmm, what have I stayed up to 3AM reading fanfic for in the past," and you're tempting me to revisit some of these stories :D

#on the note of the sw fandom #i remember once I explored a different interpretation than my typical one in one of my sw fics #and I got this long upset comment with the gist of “I thought I KNEW you” lmao #it wasn't even a hate comment- this person was genuinely upset #and I wanted to pat them gently on the head and say “it's not that deep my friend"#fandom is a hobby and not a religion

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desiredprince · 9 months

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@fairyt0ld from here

𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐄 their actions on gut reaction, but some parents have better instincts than others. Children should never be hit -- as he would NEVER dream of hitting Viktor or any other's. He had already tried to raise Claudia & he now knows what NOT to do while upbringing a young one. He knew that, perhaps If your young child is headed into danger, it was best to hold them, but a parent should under no circumstances hit. Verbally screaming things was a personal matter he had to deal with. As the temper of his father has never gone away, no matter how hard one tried to HOLD it in. No book or article could help him with that, help him on determining what was RIGHT & wrong on his personality. Aspects in which he had to work on directly & not just ignore.

My how he wished his own mother had help in that aspect. A mother in which had no way of knowing how to treat her own children. Perhaps it was the times that made her TREAT her own so unkindly. So much so that most of them didn't last through the rough winters. Most mothers WORRY at one time or another about whether they are doing enough to ensure their children are happy, healthy, & well-adjusted. The truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to parenting & each family is unique ( There's definitely was, from the very beginning it seemed that the woman thought of herself as superior to that of her own family. ) However, it was as if she was NEVER concerned that she may be a bad mother. If only he learned how to write & read like all the other children, his own opinion would be different.

The small corner's of the blankets were being tucked into the ends of the bed while he knelt down beside it. Softly he hushed the younger boy, fluffing the pillow under Viktor's blond growing locks. Pushing the strands from his round face & tilting his head head to the side as he did so. —- ❝ Hush now, No more talking about walking skies, you must sleep. ❞ With that, he grabbed the near by novel, closing said cover carefully & placed it beside them on the small round table. Upon it with other novelty trinkets that Viktor had accustomed over time. Many in which were small rocks & miniature hand made pieces. The night lamp was toned down into a solid yellow light that guided the bad spirits away from the other's bed. Stars on the ceiling, plastic as they were they lit up a dull neon colored. Imitating the stars above in the night sky if there was no roof above them. Enough for a child to believe that he was, in fact, looking up at the stars.

Unlike Gabrielle, he did NOT laugh when the child spoke of being a jedi, instead he just admired the dream. —- ❝ I may be REAL, mon fils, but that does not make me a super hero. . . . . . . but I promise to be something better. ❞

What was better than a super hero? He wasn't entirely sure HIMSELF. A warrior ? A knight in shining armor ? An angel ? Anything that a hero couldn't do he will sure do. Someone in which had no achille’s heel, kryptonite, no superhero is infallible or there is simply no story line. ( His own lacked in the aspect of being a GOOD story & that was something his descendant needn't to know. ) It got him thinking if Viktor knew the truth, what would he think of him? How poorly would his thoughts change of his own father? A good super hero, that he thought Lestat of being —- had SAVED the world one way or another & that was just not what happened, in any narrative. The man sighed, pressing his cold cheek against the boy's forehead. The faintest apology, so soft that it came out mute though his lips opened to speak. It was then the silence of the night hugged them both. It was best to let the boy sleep, the vampire knew that, but he feared that the darkness would HUG him too tightly & drain the flush from his cheeks & by morning the young one would be nothing but dust. A father's love KNOWS no limits, as he selflessly dedicates his life to ensuring his success —- & that meant protecting him from the darkness no matter how friendly it may seem.

#fairyt0ld #' u'

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antianakin · 1 year

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Antianakin's Anti-Anakin/Pro-Jedi Fic Rec List

The theme for this rec list is fics that either center on Anakin getting some consequences for his actions or are just generally more critical towards Anakin as a character. Please note that this means these fics will also be critical towards most Anakin ships, most notably Anidala and Obikin.

This list is dedicated to all of the people who have been sending me messages asking for fic recs over the last several months, there's clearly a market for fics that aren't kind towards Anakin.

A lot of these fics take things like the Tusken massacre, Order 66, and Anakin's treatment of Padme, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Rex very seriously. Please take that as a warning if any of those things might be triggering, and keep an eye on the tags for all of the fics included here just in case.

Here are the categories!

Anakin/Consequences: Anakin experiences consequences for his actions in some way shape or form, but doesn't die.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It: Anakin experiences the specific consequence of dying by the end of the story, usually at the hands of someone he's hurt.

The Jedi Deserve Better: There's a bigger focus on the Jedi recovering, Jedi culture, or the Jedi being philosophically right than there is on anything specifically "anti Anakin" as such, but the story is still critical of Anakin's beliefs and/or behavior.

Helpful terms:

Unfinished: Any fic that is marked as incomplete, or a series where the fic(s) in it are still incomplete and cannot stand alone

Ongoing: Any series marked as incomplete, but the fics in it are marked as complete or can stand alone as they are

There is no specific order to this. I tried to group fics from one specific author together, but other than that, I didn't place anything in any specific position for a reason.

This is not an exhaustive list of good anti-Anakin fics that exist, obviously. If your fic or your favorite fic isn't on this list, please feel free to rec it yourself in the notes, leave a reply or reblog with a link. I'm happy to read more anti-Anakin fic, especially if it's very Pro-Jedi!

One final reminder: NOTHING IN THIS LIST IS ANAKIN FRIENDLY! If that's going to bother you to read, please just skip this entire list, it's not for you.

Anakin/Consequences:

and the tide rises, the tide falls series by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 119k): When Anakin's actions with the Tuskens on Tatooine become known a few months into the Clone War, Agen Kolar comes in to temporarily take over the 501st while Anakin is sent back to Coruscant to face the Council. I cannot recommend this fic enough. This is the fic that introduced me to Agen Kolar as a real character (as opposed to just one of the random Jedi who immediately die going up against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith) and now he's one of my favorite Jedi of all time. Agen is such a beautiful character and his relationship to his identity as a Jedi gives me just about every feeling I think I've ever felt in my life and the development of his relationships with Rex, Kix, and Ahsoka as the fic continues is such a well-written slow burn. I'd recommend reading more of blackkat's works just in general, too, because they're pretty much all Pro-Jedi and have a delightful tendency to focus on more niche Jedi and clone characters and rarepair ships if you're interested in that.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by @blackkatmagic (27k): Fox is sent back in time, immediately murders Palpatine, and surprisingly nothing but good things follow so he's got plenty of time now to get to the other things on his bucket list, including but not limited to: murdering Count Dooku, murdering Anakin Skywalker, saving Senator Amidala from her atrocious taste in men, and seducing Mace Windu. This fic is BLISTERINGLY funny, Fox's very dry point of view on things and readiness to shoot Anakin at literally any moment literally had me struggling to not laugh out loud at work. This is also an INCREDIBLY pro-Mace Windu fic, with all of the clones, for once, in love with Mace Windu instead of the more popular suspects. It's what he deserves, and Fox agrees.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Time Travelers by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 78k): Fives is stuck in a time loop where he tries to stop Order 66 from happening and his latest plan is to kidnap Mace Windu for his own protection because he's the only person capable of defeating Palpatine. Fives' opinion of Anakin is now INCREDIBLY low, and the constant comparisons to Mace and how much better Mace is, are deeply satisfying. Fives' immense distress and somewhat manic passion don't take away from just HOW competent Fives is, and I really love getting to see a depiction of him that really allows him to fully be both at once and neither one takes away from the other. I love how his relationship to Mace develops from Fives' initial desperation into something so trusting and passionate through difficult circumstances.

in search of a sky for smoke to rise to by @blackkatmagic (7k): Padme has to go on the run after reporting Anakin's massacre of the Tuskens to the Jedi in fear of Anakin's rage. She lands on Sundari to try to hide there and meets with Arla Fett who sparks her interest. Padme gets to be a total BAMF in this which is always fun, and I LOVED Arla in this so so much!

sanguine series by @glimmerglanger (157.5k) (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so the link below is now broken. I am leaving this series in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment): Obi-Wan is a vampire in an AU where vampires exist in the GFFA and this changes some things. The ramifications of what it means to be a vampire in this AU and the biases and prejudices that Obi-Wan has to deal with are so interesting from a worldbuilding standpoint. The way Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan CHANGES because of it is also an interesting thing to see develop in this series.

uncomfortable by @panther-os (1k): When Anakin won't respect Padme's boundaries in the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Padme requests a different bodyguard from the Jedi. Short and sweet and removes the rather unfortunate "yes means no" theme that taints Padme's storyline in Attack of the Clones.

Slices of Happiness series by @feybarn (unfinished, 40k): No Order 66 AU where Obi-Wan takes a short sabbatical after the war to handle his mental health and is joined by some of the clones before he returns to the Temple. It is, as the title of the series says, mostly just little slices of stories as the clones and Jedi heal and reconnect after the war. There's a large emphasis on Obi-Wan healing from Anakin's rejection of the Jedi and having to come to terms with his relationship with Anakin having perhaps been less healthy than he'd realized and learning to enforce healthier boundaries when Anakin gets entitled and selfish.

Wasted Training by @thesecondbatgirl (700): Obi-Wan finds out about Anakin's "training" for Ahsoka from TOTJ. Very short but OH so satisfying to see someone react appropriately to this.

Liberosis by Be_Right_Back (2k): In a No Order 66 AU, Anakin's secret marriage comes to light and the Council asks Anakin to make a choice. This one is a tad softer on the "anti Anakin" aspect of it, but the Jedi are portrayed as entirely within their rights to make Anakin choose which life he wants to live.

Stay by @amukmuk (2k): Commander Thorn has been helping Padme out in a No Order 66 AU as Padme's been dealing with her divorce from Anakin, and Padme finally comes to a decision about her feelings. I am an unrepentant Thornidala shipper, and as many problems as I tend to have with the way Padme's written and the implications about her as a character because of that, I also have a nostalgic attachment to her and wish she could just... have a happier healthier relationship with someone who ACTUALLY loves her and respects her. I would take an entire series of this AU, I'd read a longfic of this AU, but I will also happily accept this short sweet little peek into this AU and let my daydreams do the rest of the work.

The Burden of Secrets by @jedi-order-apologist (9k): In the aftermath of the Deception arc, Ahsoka discovers the truth about the Tusken massacre and confronts Anakin about it. This one is a little lighter on the "anti Anakin" elements, but his choices on Tatooine are very much called out for the horror that they are, as are Padme's for hiding it. The fic also delves a little bit into the Rako Hardeen arc, Obi-Wan's choices in it, and Anakin's reactions to it and how appropriate they are.

Consumed by Greed by virdant (900): Obi-Wan travels back in time to the beginning of Anakin's apprenticeship and tries everything to try to keep Anakin from joining the Sith, and fails until he comes to a crucial understanding about Anakin as a person. The concept of this is absolutely heart-wrenching, thinking about Obi-Wan going back over and over, changing everything about himself and the Jedi in an attempt to save Anakin, only to finally realize that the problem lies in who Anakin is at his heart, and he can't change that. The ending is a gutpunch, but it feels so absolutely true, too.

Justice by virdant (1k): Padme makes a different choice at the end of AOTC and decides to report Anakin's crimes on Tatooine to Obi-Wan instead of marrying Anakin. Obi-Wan confronts Anakin about what he's done in the aftermath and forces him to face the consequences of the choice he made. I really like that the concept here isn't just that Anakin gets kicked out of the Jedi and sort-of set loose upon the galaxy, but that either the Council or Obi-Wan decided Anakin also needed to face reparations ON TATOOINE, from the Tuskens themselves, and that Obi-Wan plans to ensure that it happens. Anakin cannot be a Jedi until he makes as many amends for that as he can, until he recognizes the truth of what he's done and accepts the responsibility for it, and even then there's no guarantee he could be a Jedi afterwards. Either way, the Jedi are not not the only people Anakin has hurt, and not the only people with the right to ask for reparations from Anakin.

The Cost by luvewan (5k): Anakin jumps off the gunship after Padme in Attack of the Clones and deals (badly) with the fatal consequences of that choice when Obi-Wan dies at Dooku's hand before Yoda can show up. So this has been a favorite of mine for just about as long as I can remember, predominantly because of just how tragic it is and the very realistic consequences of the choice Anakin makes here. This fic was written before Revenge of the Sith had come out, so none of the choices Anakin makes in that film are taken into account, but the accuracy with which Anakin absolutely unravels and devolves into darkness because he lets his guilt turn into anger that he turns on other people in the name of justice feels so immensely in character. Seeing it all happen from Padme's point of view as she watches Anakin's descent, knowing she's the reason it happened in the first place, is so devastatingly beautiful.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It:

@glimmerglanger's fics are getting an entire section dedicated to them again. I'd honestly just recommend reading all of glimmerglanger's work, but here's some fics that specifically showcase (deadly) consequences to Anakin below (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so all of the links below are now broken. I am leaving this section in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment):

A Treatise on Breaking and Repairs (60k): Anakin captures Obi-Wan shortly after Revenge of the Sith and it goes very badly for Obi-Wan. This shit's dark, y'all, and things get way worse before they get better, please mind the tags, there's a reason the series is labeled the oof!au. That being said, this fic is sort-of the peak example of what I want out of a really good hurt/comfort story, where both halves of that are equally emphasized.

But What We Make series (ongoing, 125.5k): Cody from post-Return of the Jedi travels back in time to just before Order 66 and this changes some things. My favorite part of this series (so far) is the way Obi-Wan, future-Cody, and present-Cody are all forced to come to terms with their respective traumas and relationships to each other and none of them are handling it perfectly, but none of them are treated as more or less important than the others either.

Convergence Zones (115.5k): A sort-of modern day fantasy Jedi AU where the clones are made of clay and brought to life via magic. It's a little hard to explain in like 20 words or less just read it, it's so great. The collaboration between the clones and Jedi in this is so sweet, and the worldbuilding of the "clones" in this verse is really good.

Haunt Me, Then (31k): Post Order 66, all the surviving clones can see their Jedi as Force ghosts except Cody and the 212th, and when Cody's chip breaks early he helps start a revolution to gain justice for their Jedi. Cody's going through it in this one, too, and things get pretty dark, but this is another really great catharsis fic if you're in the mood for that.

Make Your Bed (Lie in It) (58k): Cody and Obi-Wan share a bunk during the war and this changes some things. I love all the ways in which this AU moves events just SLIGHTLY to the left and then the butterfly effect impact afterwards. The Cody and Obi-Wan relationship development is also just impeccable.

Natural Wonders (56k): Shapeshifter modern AU with nature photographer Cody and park ranger Obi-Wan and a murder mystery they solve together. There's some really cool facts about Yellowstone National Park in this fic as a delightful bonus to the sweet relationshippy stuff and the fun murder mystery storyline.

Greater Than Your Hoarded Gold series by Quietbang (ongoing, 96k): Anakin doesn't burn on Mustafar AU where there is a different kind of rebellion in the galaxy post Order 66. This author focused in on and centered the Jewish elements to the Jedi and brought in more Jewish culture to the Jedi, which is so interesting to read. The shifting perspectives, including totally outside perspectives, on the Jedi and the situation in the galaxy at large, makes for a really cool story with some incredible worldbuilding.

Unmasked by @schizo-fractured (17k): Footage of the Temple during Order 66 is released and this causes a series of changes in the galaxy as they confront what REALLY happened to the Jedi and the person who caused it. This got recommended to me based on a post I made wishing we could've seen Beru and Owen learn the truth about Anakin and what might've changed for them as a result, and while that's not the singular plot of this fic, it is kind-of an example of the underlying theme of the entire thing. It's a nice almost wish-fulfillment style concept where the loss of Anakin Skywalker's good reputation allows the general populace to rise up in defense of those he betrayed in righteous rage. It's time for the galaxy to defend the Jedi for a change.

the time when stars align by @deniigi (7k): Cody accidentally adopts some young stormtroopers post Order 66 and escapes with them to the Rebellion after Vader finds a way to "cure" him of his accelerated aging. Cody goes through so much horror in this fic and is still so SO funny with the way he looks at the world and speaks to his loved ones, allowing this fic to still feel sweet and wholesome despite how awful Cody's life is and has been.

When Night Falls series by Penguin Kiwi (ongoing, 7k): Cin Drallig gets more of a warning in the Force just before Order 66 and is able to put up a defense of the Temple and stop Anakin at the steps. I love these AUs that allow more niche Jedi to shine through, especially when it means they get to defeat Anakin because the Force looked at Anakin's choices and decided to abandon him for a better option. The conversation between Cin and Obi-Wan in the second fic really hits home, too.

The Jedi Deserve Better:

grow bold in a barren and desolate land by @blackkatmagic (5k): Mace survives Order 66 and Anakin's betrayal and stages a rescue for two clones left in prison who he knows never would've had their chips activated: Slick and Dogma. This has literally the barest mention of Anakin, but that mention is that Mace could easily beat Anakin in a fair fight, so I'm including it anyway. This is another one of those AUs I could read an entire longfic or series for and be eternally happy. There's a follow-up to this fic that's more explicitly Mace/Slick which is by no means ever a ship I had ever even considered before, but it works SO WELL here and gives me some interesting feelings. I'm also just always down for Dogma being treated kindly and getting a happier ending than canon chose to give him.

i am creation, both haunted and holy by @blackkatmagic (800): A'Sharad Hett makes a visit to Kamino where he meets Alpha-17 and finds they share an opinion about Anakin Skywalker. I'm so intrigued by A'Sharad Hett as a character and wish there was more content written about and for him. A'Sharad and Alpha-17 bonding over thinking Anakin Skywalker is an entitled selfish jerk is the best possible beginning to a ship, I'll be honest.

that was a spring of storms by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 9k): When Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star, Leia's grief causes herself, Luke, and Bail Organa to travel back in time to 8 months into the Clone Wars, where they are determined to ensure things go a little differently. This fic is only 2 chapters in, so I don't know precisely what kind of consequences Anakin may or may not end up getting, which is why it's in this category, but unsurprisingly neither Bail nor Leia are feeling particularly benevolent towards him and it is so incredibly satisfying. But holy FUCK am I hooked to this entire concept. Bail and Leia's relationship is heart-wrenching as all get out, Bail's protective instincts towards the Jedi absolutely kills me, and I'm so intrigued by these ship tags!

The Crime of Grief Series by @feybarn (ongoing, 34k): Padme goes into labor early while on the way to Mustafar, so neither she nor Obi-Wan ever make it there, and they go on the run with Rex and Ahsoka afterwards instead. Sides are drawn in the aftermath of Anakin's choices that causes friction among them before they can find healing. There's a large emphasis in this series that Anakin's choices are, in fact, HIS CHOICES, and the blame for them cannot be placed on anyone but Anakin, as well as the conundrum of whether it truly matters whether Anakin's got good left in him or not and if it's even worth it to try to save him.

吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? series by virdant (1.5k): A look at Obi-Wan and his experience of Jedi culture through food. Virdant's fics focus in on the Asian influences in the Jedi and builds out their culture from there. Not every fic in this series is explicitly anti-Anakin, but a few of them are more critical of Anakin's view of the Jedi and his unwillingness to understand their culture or point of view.

things the way we want them to be by virdant (600): No Order 66 AU, where a teenaged Leia talks to Obi-Wan about the struggles she's having with Anakin as a father and the future she knows she (and Luke) should've had but weren't allowed. Leia is just absolutely heartbreaking in this, and Obi-Wan's inability to truly help her the way they both want is equally so. It's a devastating look at a possible less happy future even in a happy fix-it AU because leaving the Jedi would never be enough to "fix" Anakin.

Not This Crude Matter series by @talesfromthebitterbeast (53k): The clones have picked up some misconceptions about the Jedi which causes the Jedi to distance themselves from the clones, even after the war ends in a happy fix-it AU. The fics showcase the situation from multiple different perspectives as misunderstandings abound, but is always firmly on the side of the Jedi. I really like the way the Jedi relationships are showcased here, the ways they communicate and lean on each other even in the face of being misunderstood and misrepresented by people they'd hoped would understand them better than anyone else.

Harmonic Oscillation by @jessepinwheel (2k): Originally a short tumblr fic that has since been posted to AO3. Obi-Wan time travels back to the Clone War era and confronts Anakin about what he's done. I always love getting to see Obi-Wan refuse to let Anakin get away with his bullshit and finally see Anakin for the piece of shit that he is.

Released by @jedi-order-apologist (6k): Cody is rescued from the Empire post-Return of the Jedi and has to come to terms with everything he's happened to him now that he's at the end of his life and spent the majority of it brainwashed and enslaved to the Empire. This is a fic I come back to a lot because I really love the way Cody works through what's happened to him and the way he's viewed from an outside perspective via Luke. I also really love how the relationship between Cody and Obi-Wan isn't made explicitly romantic, but is portrayed as immensely important and meaningful to both of them, regardless of how you choose to view it.

Knightrise by @deviantaccumulation (unfinished, 89k): Obi-Wan and Yoda choose not to try to fight Anakin or Sidious and instead retreat to Mandalore to attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as much as they can there under Satine's protection. This is an AU where Maul genuinely dies on Naboo which is a major plus in my book all on its own, quite honestly. There's some interesting political aspects in this for how the Jedi Order attempts to rebuild an actual community within Mandalore, with Mandalore still being a member of the Neutral Systems, and the Empire having risen already and all of the ensuing issues with that.

|keep the wolves away| by littlekaracan (unfinished, 46k): Obi-Wan and Yoda find Reva in the Temple and she accompanies Obi-Wan to Tatooine where they have to survive and recover together while watching over and protecting Luke. This is such a brilliant character study into Reva as a young child survivor of Order 66, being taken care of by someone who loves her but is equally as traumatized by the same event and the way that shapes their relationship and Reva's upbringing. I love her SO SO MUCH and I adore her perspective as she struggles to figure out what it means to be a Jedi in a world where being a Jedi openly means certain death but it's the last connection she has to her home, her family, and her culture.

our caches and constellations by johanneb (98k): "Eleven years ago, the Jedi order got wind of the closing pincers of a Sith trap and scattered to the remote corners of the galaxy. Ten years ago, millions of clone commanders and troopers were introduced as the Republic’s new Army, made for fighting a war alongside people the galaxy seemed to be forgetting ever existed." I couldn't come up with a better way to explain the fic than its own summary, but Cody and the 212th pick up Obi-Wan and Luke on Tatooine, while Senator Organa has to figure out how to get himself, Leia, and Leia's "tutor" to a rebel base without their two new Coruscant Guard escorts figuring out exactly how disloyal to the Republic they actually are. I absolutely SLAMMED through this fic, it's so good. Despite some of its heavier themes, it's honestly very sweet and wholesome with lots of cute Luke and Leia, some incredibly wonderful romances, and really interesting worldbuilding for this just slightly to the left version of the gffa. Anakin never makes an appearance in this, but he does get mentioned a few times for his betrayal and his part in the current state of the galaxy, and I REALLY loved that at no point in this fic was it ever important to either twin who their biological parents were.

ring the bells that can still ring by rain_sleet_snow (22k): Reva's been working with the Rebellion in-between the events of the Kenobi show and A New Hope, but when she hears Obi-Wan has made an appearance recently and goes to try to find him, she discovers Luke and Leia instead, with nobody left to train them but her. This fic was like a warm bread roll or a perfectly brewed cup of tea, it was just absolutely wholesome and exactly everything I could have wanted from this concept. The relationships between Luke, Leia, and Reva are both hilarious and sweet while allowing their respective traumas to still remain relevant to their journey together. Their discussions about Darkness, Reva's past, Obi-Wan, Anakin, the Jedi, and the events of A New Hope are all heart-wrenching and really feel so in-character but also so in line with the tone of the original trilogy. I could sit here and list things I liked about this fic all day, but it'd be faster to just read it yourself.

#fic #fic rec #star wars #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #jedi #pro jedi #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #captain rex #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #anti anakin fic rec series

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david-talks-sw · 2 years

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Firstly, I want to say I think your posts are insightful and enlightening (and save me from headaches too.)

My question for you is this: sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy in this fandom, and wondering if sometimes you do as well? It seems that a majority of Star Wars fans, save for those few of us here on Tumblr, have notions about the Jedi that for one, don't feel right with me, but also that don't seem very accurate to what we're seeing in Lucas' original works.

I know it's a matter of perspective, but it often feels like I'm some strange outlier for how I see Star Wars compared to several others. It sometimes makes me feel like my interpretations are wrong/invalid. Do these thoughts and feelings ever come up for you?

Hi there!

First off thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoy my posts :D !

Regarding whether I get this weird feeling of being an outlier in the Star Wars fandom… yeah, all the time.

Which is why I'm very grateful for this pro-Jedi community on Tumblr. Makes it less lonely, and you get to enjoy more meta, fanfic & art made by people who have a view of Star Wars similar to your own.

The flip side of this...

(minor rant incoming)

... is that it's also so goddamn irritating for me to watch any Star Wars YouTuber videos, for instance. I mean, I already went on my thoughts about 'em here, but it's really triggering to me when these guys who call themselves experts and publicly hold George Lucas as this messianic figure, just casually throw out sentences such as: "the Prequel Jedi, who were corrupt and dogmatic and emotionless and ignored Anakin's cries for help".

Like, it's frustrating because they either:

haven't read a single Lucas quote in their life...

or don’t give a shit about what Lucas said, which is totally cool, but then don’t sit there and say you’re a “Lucas purist”, whatever that means.

I always try to make this clear: if that interpretation makes the Prequels better for you, I am happy for you. I used to see them like that, I get the appeal. Go to town.

But don’t tell your viewers your headcanon = what the artist intended, cuz that’s just spreading misinformation and bastardizing the story.

What really irks me is that I sometimes notice how some SW writers who grew up with "Luke being this chosen one who represents what an ideal Jedi is like" really try to prop him up and preserve what made him special to them... by putting down the PT Jedi and framing them as "dogmatic & dispassionate & wrong".

When - if you're from my generation - chances are, there's really no need to do that, because you'll have grown up with BOTH trilogies. So these narratives are only really done to satisfy people who grew up on the OT.

And, like (on a really childish primal level), this line of thought usually gets me thinking "why do you get to keep your childhood hero unblemished, but I gotta accept that mine are gonna be framed as "corrupt" for as long as the PT is touched upon?"

And I get wanting to "challenge the notion that the Jedi are paragons of virtue", I really do... but we've been challenging it since 2008, now.

How about we start challenging the idea that the "Jedi were evil", now? That they weren't "no better than the Sith"?

How about a scene in the Dark Times where a prisoner berates a jailed Quinlan Vos or Cal Kestis about them being warmongers and Quin/Cal just goes on a Doctor Who-worthy tirade about how "We were framed! We were trying to help! Innocent people were getting enslaved and slaughtered, the walls were closing in and we still did our best and fought for you guys! Cuz what else were we gonna do, let everyone die?"

How about a scene where Trace and Rafa meet Luminara again, and have all this pent-up anger against her, but Lumi sacrifices herself and lets herself be captured by the Grand Inquisitor so they can run?

So... yeah. I do get these feelings.

But hey... as you point out in this ask, there's a strong pro-Jedi community here. And I am very grateful for it.

Just as there's these moments where this franchise which I really love disappoints me, there's moments where it makes me dream, and there's this group of people here who write magnificent meta and thoughtful posts and draw amazing fan-art which makes it all the more enjoyable.

Point is, I try to focus on the positives ^^'

#going through the asks today!#QnA

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halcyon-hyacinth · 3 years

Text

toh fanfics to keep you busy during hiatus, a thread.

A/N: If an author has a (*) by their name, PLEASE check out their other works!!! After combing through the toh archive, I now follow the skilled writers I've found rather than checking ao3 tags. This list could be longer but I really wanted to highlight these writers.

Finding Home Amongst the Infinite by DontDoHeroinKids * Multichapter, ongoing. Adventure/Action, Canon Divergence, Found Family, Friendship.

Mini Summary: Luz is a planes walker, and has spent years stumbling across the multitudes of realities, desperately searching for a way to return to her abandoned home with little success. She winds up in the Isles where she'll find answers and allies to help her on her journey.

One of the best multi chapter fics I've had the pleasure of reading. Luz's dynamic with all the characters is handled extremely well. Unlike other multi chap fics I've read, this is almost entirely done from Luz's POV.

Holding You Back by @FoolsSee *

Canon-Compliant Character Study, completed.

Recommendation in honor of Yesterday's Lie. Pre-season 1 one shot that captures Camila and Luz's relationship really well + strong characterization. Fools has written 27 other toh fics- PLEASE check out the authors other works!!!

Breaking Point by SquirrelWriter *

Canon-Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, completed.

My favorite Luz and Amity oneshot. Not a lot of writers can effectively capture what makes their friendship work and this one knocks it out of the park.

Your Name by SunshineChildx

Multichapter, Slow burn, Friends to lovers, ongoing.

lumity fic based on the move of the same name. Not yet completed, but this is one of the most well written fics I've ever read. The prose and narration are beautiful and I've cried reading it.

Eda Clawthorne's Pro Skater by A_Big_Old_Skeleton

Series, Skateshop AU, Fluff, Angst, Humor, ongoing.

This is the only beta fic I support tbh. The characterization is off the charts and I adore how the author handles everyone's relationships. The comedy and storytelling are superb.

Postcards from a Place Named Threshold by incoherent_icarus_works *

Series, Character Study, ongoing.

A collection of standalone character study oneshots each centered around a different character from The Owl House (atm Luz, Willow, Boscha) . Luz one shot was inspired by @woozywonder art!

Curse Me Goodbye by Lumitations *

Canon Divergence, Comedy, Urban Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Romance. Multichapter, completed.

One of the most fun fics I've ever read. The mystery/intrigue is INCREDIBLE as are the kick-ass action scenes. Lumity centric.

Heir of the Jedi by @whatisurowlpolicy *

Multichapter. Ongoing. Action/Adventure, Star Wars AU, Angst, Fluff, Humor, Enemies to Lovers

I don't know shit about Star Wars and I am begging anyone who is dissuaded by the AU tag to READ THIS FIC! Green is extremely good at handling the ensemble cast of toh along with writing top tier development for every character. It's also lumity centric, and I think y'all will enjoy their take on them.

Our Stories Burn Bright, Hung Like Stars in the Sky by AtticusKaine*

Series, ongoing. Action/Adventure, Romance, Found Family, Humor.

What the hell are you doing with your life if you haven't read this series? Hands down my favorite toh canon divergence, it fleshes out every single character in ways you wouldn't believe.

make my heart your home by @tiredandjaded*

Ongoing series, found family, hurt/comfort.

Takes place in between s1/s2, I take it as canon. The relationships between Luz, Eda and Lilith post YBOS are handled beautifully-- the character dynamics and found family vibes are off the charts.

Hold Me Close by @the-lone-witch-and-secret-room

Oneshot. Completed. Jerbric Hurt/Comfort.

She writes the well-known Locked Out ALONG WITH several god-tier one shots y'all HAVE to read oh my god. This is one of my favorites. The characterization of Jerbo and Edric's relationship is super sweet.

learning how to be (with you by my side) by uniqeusernamegenerator*

Multichapter. Completed. College AU, Romance, Comedy

Atm you can only view it if you have an AO3 account and if you haven't read this masterpiece already YOU MUST! It's easy and free.

This is one of the best lumity fics of all time. The slice of life feel is otherworldly, as is the author's INCREDIBLE prose. Hits you right in the feels along with their skarscha fic windows up, walls down.

Transcendence by rhysanity

Oneshot. Soulmates AU. Completed.

This is what I like to call a ship conversion fic. If you've never considered skarscha before, read this fic. It will hit you in the feels and have you rereading over and over again for eternity.

Golden written by @whatisurowlpolicy / story by both of us *

Multichapter, ongoing. Golden Guard Amity AU. Action/Adventure, Found Family, Drama, Comedy, Hurt/Comfort

Shamless plug, this is one of my favorite ideas I've ever thought of and I am beyond hyped to be co-creating it with Green. We're doing a role reversal following a lot of the same beats of season 1 but putting our own spin on it. You'll see a lot more of the dynamics we haven't seen a lot in season 2 like Amity and Lilith along with Willow and Gus. Gonna go ahead and @anguigenus because Gus and Amity's relationship is one of the major focuses of the fic.

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gch1995 · 2 years

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Out of curiosity, do you have any good star wars fic recommendations that are pro Anakin? I've been trying to find them. Like I don't hate Obi-wan as a protagonist, but they're so ubiquitous and it gets old. it would be nice to read a fanfic that treats Anakin better.

Oh, yes, there are a number of fanfics out there that treat Anakin/Vader as a really great protagonist. My favorite ones are the time travel fix-it canon divergent AUs and the ones where he see him trying to be a dad to Luke and Leia. People in this fandom know how to make it both heartwarming and terrifying when he’s Vader, and it’s great.

The Truth by MJ Mink - This is probably my favorite canon-divergent AU fic. In this fic, Luke Skywalker is an essentially goodhearted, but rebellious 15 year old boy when meets his father Darth Vader. After losing his Aunt and Uncle Beru, he goes to live with his father. Of course, this fic takes place in the series after Anakin has become Darth Vader in the story, so he’s not always a good dad to Luke. There are some instances where he goes into the abusive parent territory, even if it’s not premeditated. While there’s no excuse for it, he has become so used to just being Palpatine’s deeply and horrifyingly angry, disillusioned, domineering, and merciless attack dog/galactic dictatorial enforcer/murder servant Darth Vader.

Understandably, it’s not just this easy cycle for Anakin to break right away after spending 37-40 years as both the perpetrator and/or victim of systematic abuse of power, crime, manipulation, oppression, and violence to deal with problems and threats under corrupt male toxic authority figures from whom healthy support and safe escape was always highly risky. However, Anakin’s greatest morality pet is his son Luke and family in general. That’s true in this fic too, which is why he gets better at being a good dad to Luke over time the closer they become.

While never putting up with his dad’s shit, Luke also does learn to ultimately forgive and love his father, the more Anakin softens up towards him, and the more he learns about just how tragically fucked up and unfair his dad’s entire life has been.

It’s a really great story with plenty of really great angst, character development, and humor. This Luke isn’t pro Sith because I mean, look at the crimes they commit! However, after hearing his dad’s story, he’s not really pro-Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the old Jedi Order’s way either. He’s neutral, which I really like. Although the Jedi started out as the good guys in the SW universe, it quickly became apparent that most of them only got to hold that title because the Sith were their only competition who were far worse. It always bugged me that we could never get a SW canon story that had more characters pointing out that both sides suck, and deciding not to be either as a result. The closest we got to that in canon was Ahsoka Tano, but the Mouse ruined that too.

Test of Time Book 1: A Father’s Son by AngelDesaray - This is a whole story of Luke Skywalker being thrust back in time by the force, learning about his father, bonding with his father, and changing the entire future by stopping him, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi Council from falling for Palpatine and doing all their other bullshit. It’s followed up by Test of Time Book 2: The Past Meets the Future and Test of Time Book 3: Blood, Sweat, and Tears. The sequels follow the Skywalker family in the alternate future that Luke created after going back in time, particularly Anakin and Luke. The first two fics in this series are complete. The third one still hasn’t been marked as complete yet. There’s also a series of cute, fluffy, and funny one shots that talk about the years in between the alternate timeline with Anakin, Padme, Luke, and Leia as a happy family called Life as a Skywalker. Yeah, Obi-Wan makes appearances as Anakin’s and the Skywalker family’s friend, and, occasionally the twins irritated babysitter, considering the fact that this version seems to have learned from his mistakes with Anakin, but he’s not a main character.

Future Imperfect by TheRealThing - A time travel fic where Anakin is sent 19 to 23 years in to the future to witness the consequences of his and the overall Jedi Order’s actions.

Ambient Dreams by sohna - After his dream of Padme dying in childbirth, Anakin has another dream of what will happen if he pledges himself to Palpatine to try to keep her from dying in childbirth. Obi-Wan and Yoda are there, but Anakin’s the main character, not them.

There are a lot more on ff.net and ao3.org in the Star Wars sections, but these Anakin/Vader fics stick out the most to me.

#sapphire-5505 #star wars asks #star wars fanfiction #anakin skywalker #darth vader #luke sykwalker #leia organa #padme amidala #anidala #MJ mink #sohna #TheRealThing #AngelDesarey #future imperfect #the truth

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camxnoel-updates · 3 years

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Cameron Monaghan brought the character of Ian Gallagher to life on Showtime’s hit series, Shameless. The series aired for a total of 11 seasons after originally premiering in 2011. It ranked as the network’s no. 1 comedy, longest-running series, and had the youngest-skewing audience of any Showtime series. Monaghan also joined two legendary universes with roles in both Gotham and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which I got to ask him about too!

The final season of SHAMELESS finds the Gallagher family and the South Side at a crossroads, with changes caused by the COVID pandemic, gentrification, and aging to reconcile. As Frank confronts his own mortality and family ties in his alcoholic and drug-induced twilight years, Lip struggles with the prospect of becoming the family’s new patriarch. Newlyweds Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher) are figuring out the rules and responsibilities of being in a committed relationship while Deb embraces her individuality and single motherhood. Carl finds an unlikely new career in law enforcement and Kevin and V struggle to decide whether a hard life on the South Side is worth fighting for.

Along with the final season, fans also got a six-episode series that featured new Shameless scenes juxtaposed with a retrospective look at each character’s journey over the prior 10 seasons, titled, Shameless Hall of Shame. The first episode followed Ian and Mickey, showcasing their unique relationship and its evolution from a teen fling into a loving, complicated marriage.

I was able to chat with the actor over zoom and ask him all of my burning questions regarding the series finale, Ian and Mickey’s future, the show’s open ending, the representation his character provided to those watching, what he kept from the set, his future projects, and so much more! Keep reading to find out everything he told me.

So first of all, I want to say a huge congrats to you for wrapping Shameless after 11 seasons and bringing this character to life, who has inspired so many and that so many relate to. I wanted to ask, what has your time on the show meant to you and how would you describe how it helped you grow as an actor?

Cameron Monaghan: I mean, it’s so difficult to distill 11 years into some sort of concise answer, but it’s meant a lot for so many reasons. I think that obviously it’s been important for my career and my life in a sense of how it’s not only given me exposure but also given all of us a platform as performers to be able to tell interesting and challenging stories and to really develop and grow. Obviously, we had a couple of old pros on the show– when I say old pros, I’m not calling them old, just that they’re professionals and they’ve been doing it for a long time, but like William H. Macy, Joan Cusack, and a number of people who had very storied careers. Then we had actors on the show who had never appeared on anything prior and for a lot of us, we were somewhere in the middle, where we’d been working for a number of years, but hadn’t been given the opportunities to really put ourselves out there in such a significant way.

So being able to get an audience over the course of 11 years– and the show grew steadily, it was a marginal success at first, but it wasn’t until like season 4 or 5 that it really started to be seen by people and really connect on a larger platform, and a lot of that had to do with Netflix. When that happens we had such an influx of people kind of saying how they related to it and I think that that’s something that I’ve really taken away– I think we’ve all taken away, to be able to hear a lot of other people’s stories and how they’ve connected these stories in entirely different ways. Everyone has had different favorite characters or storylines and they have brought their own personal experiences to that, but for people to say that they feel seen or heard in some ways by these stories, I think is very special. You know, the character that I was playing was an LGBT love story, as well as a story about mental illness, and coping and struggling with that. I had so many positive responses from people regarding those things, and it was amazing to hear people’s responses. So I think that not only was I able to grow as an actor but being able to hear that response and feedback helps you grow as a human being too. I guess that’s what one of my major takeaways is.

What was that final day of shooting like for you, and how did you feel when you officially wrapped?

It was a bit surreal. I don’t think it really set in at first. It’s always funny when you wrap on a project, I feel like it comes in waves, and with something like a TV show, you start to feel it on the last few episodes of like, “Oh, wow, it’s going to be over.” You start trying to find your little ways of saying goodbye to people and understanding that these conversations are obviously not the last for everyone; we’re still close with each other, but you start to recognize that within the context of the show they’ll be your last so that’s a difficult thing. I’ve never been particularly good at saying goodbye, you know? I feel like in general, I’m kind of a person that just likes to be like, “I’m just going to walk away from it cause I don’t know what else to do really.”

So, we were shooting pretty late at night and we were all there hanging out and cracking jokes, and it was just of like, “Oh, I guess that’s it.” We all kind of looked at each other like, “Well, what do we do now?” A bunch of us stuck around for a few hours afterward, we popped a bottle of champagne, and we sat in each others’ trailers and just kinda hung out until pretty early in the morning, the next day. Then we’ve all kind of just been hanging out and seeing each other since. Everyone’s been really busy, thankfully. So we’ve been traveling and going to different cities for work, but when we’ve been in town we’ve been trying to see each other. I had dinner with Jeremy and Ethan, who played my brothers on the show last week. Noel Fisher, I just saw yesterday. I’m going to see Shanola Hampton in a few days. We’re all still staying in touch with each other is what I’ll say.

Were you personally satisfied with the ending of the show? I think it was very open-ended, which was kind of nice and left a lot open for the future. And was there anything you wanted to see for your character that we weren’t able to?

Endings are difficult in general, but I feel like, especially with a show like Shameless, which is a show about a slice of life and sort of how existence doesn’t really fall into a perfect narrative; it tends to be messy and kind of just continue in spite of itself, and it’s a stream of these little victories and these constant mistakes. So you can’t really cap off a pure ending to a story like that. I think that what John Wells tried to do with writing it is not really conclude the stories. He concludes certain aspects, but the way that he explained it to us is he wanted it to feel like if you were walking through the streets of Chicago, maybe you might bump into these characters. Maybe they’re still out there and maybe they’re still doing things. Some of us had more resolution than others.

I would actually say that the Ian and Mickey storyline was one that did have a fair amount of resolution for the final episode. It was about their anniversary, how they were going to deal with their future, and they’ve kind of figured out some sort of life with each other. There are still large questions, whether or not they’re going to have kids and what the terms of their marriage will entail in the future, but those are questions that are lifelong questions, and ones that I think that we know these characters well enough and we understand their relationships well enough that we can draw our own conclusions for. I think there is something beautiful about the fact that the audience will project what their future for these characters will be.

I think it was a challenging final season because of so many extenuating factors in the world. All shows, businesses, everything was trying frantically to keep up with a changing landscape, and the fact that we were able to make it in spite of all of those things, I think is a victory in itself; one that we are all proud of and happy with. I do think there’s still a future, years out, where we might return to these characters and explore them further. I think that I’m happy putting them to bed for now, I think we all are, but I would like to maybe check in with these characters in 5 or 10 years, and just kind of see where they’re at and what they’re doing.

Kind of like a little Shameless movie, just to play catch up for a little bit.

Yeah, I think that’s something that is kind of more possible now with these streaming networks. They’ve done it with a few series, to sometimes success and sometimes mixed results, but I do think there is a possibility of a reunion season or something like that, depending on where the show fits into the public consciousness in a few years, you know? It’s an open question, but one I’d be excited to see.

How you would describe Ian’s evolution and journey on the show?

I think that Ian has come a long way in terms of confidence and assuredness in himself and his own decisions. I think that’s what a lot of the exploration of the character was, especially in the middle seasons between seasons like 3 to 8 or 9, are this guy who sort of just doesn’t necessarily know what he wants for himself and he’s dealing with a bunch of surprises about himself that he doesn’t necessarily understand, or hasn’t really come to terms with. I think it’s amazing to see Ian in these earlier episodes where he’s kind of getting kicked around by his relationships and by his family. He’s kind of a forgotten kid a little bit. He’s like a middle child, who’s just sort of– people aren’t really looking out for him. His brother does to a certain extent, but also his brother is kind of telling him what he wants for himself and Ian isn’t as active.

At a certain point, he starts to really come into his own as an adult and as a human being. I think it’s amazing how we see him as not only a big brother by the end of the series, but also sort of– there’s something a bit paternal about him. He becomes a bit of a father figure, even a little bit in his relationships. I think it’s interesting how Mickey was always sort of the commanding force and deciding factor for so much of the series; when Ian was really struggling with mental illness and down in the dumps, Mickey is the kind of guy who was looking after him, but by the end of the series, Mickey is a bit childlike in certain ways. Ian is kind of protecting him to a certain extent, and even with his older brother, Lip, Ian is sort of looking out for him in a slightly paternal way, which I think is kind of interesting. He really comes a long way in sort of being confident enough in himself to start looking out for other people that I think is a really great quality. It makes him a character who has made a fair amount of mistakes but mistakes that we understand, and I think that ultimately he’s a guy that I understand and really relate to because he does have this quality to him.

So I have to ask you some questions about Ian and Mickey. I personally love them together, they were one of the reasons I started watching the show. In the end, as you said, we kind of get some closure, but also an open ending with them and it’s a happy one; they’re together and celebrating their anniversary. In your head, what do you think that their future holds? Do you think kids are in the picture; do you think they’re going to be parents? Ideally, what is your version of their happy ending, if you could create it?

I think that they both still need to do some work. I would say that they need to do work as a couple in their marriage still of just defining the terms of what is it that they want financially, sexually, intimately, personally, all of these things. It’s a show full of people who aren’t great at communication or dealing with their own feelings– I mean to a certain extent, most human beings aren’t, but these guys, especially, come from a rough background and they have that tendency of just kind of wanting to push that stuff down. Ian has really opened up Mickey and Mickey to a certain extent has really opened up Ian over the course of the series, but I still don’t think they’re fully all the way there. Mickey has a lot of emotional baggage when it comes to parenthood, his father, and dealing with responsibility.

I don’t know if Mickey is fully there. Hopefully, he would be one day in the future. And hopefully, Ian would be patient enough to give him the space to make that decision and to not want to rush into it. I do think that it would be something in their future. Parenthood was a huge motivating factor for Ian earlier in the series, going so far as to steal someone’s baby at some point because he wants to be a father. I would hope that they would be able to provide that for him and for themselves, but there’s no way to know, we have to sort of make that assumption for ourselves, but I think so.

Ian and Mickey have been this fan-favorite couple that means so much to the LGBTQ+ community in terms of representation. What was the moment that you personally started rooting for them?

I think it was pretty early. I was rooting for Ian from the first episode, from the pilot, but the second that Mickey gets introduced to the show, he brought such a fun dynamic with him. Obviously, a massive amount of charisma that was coming from Noel Fisher. The scenes were always fun, exciting, and felt steeped in a lot of dramatic tension. Whether or not they were destined to be together was kind of a question that still was developing. In the first season to the third season, the Mickey character is pretty rough emotionally and physically; he is at points pretty, extremely abusive in a way that is great for a character and for a story, but if I was talking to Ian as a person in real life, I would probably say, “Get the hell away from this guy. He’s awful for you.”

But within the context of the story, we’re able to get the internal life of these characters and we understand them well enough to really want to be rooting for them and see them succeed. It builds into this pretty epic love story of these characters that really do feel kind of intertwined by fate and something greater. It feels like you have these forces pulling for them in a way that you want with every fiber of your being to see it work out for them because you care for them. So obviously, Noel and I had been rooting for these characters the entire time, but it was really fun playing some of the ridiculousness of the situations of the two of them, where they were just very at odds with each other at times. It was a joy bouncing off of each other in both the highs and the lows of the character.

Is there sort of a message that you hope their love story gives to viewers that see themselves in these characters?

Well, I think the aspects of the characters, especially for Mickey, that I’m sure a lot of people relate to, and it is sort of the greatest tragedy of the character, is how he is deeply in the closet and he feels that he can’t embrace his own self and also this beautiful love because of this situation that he’s in; a traumatic home life, specifically an abusive father, and also an environment that doesn’t allow him to be what he wants to be. I guess the message that I do hope that people who are relating to that get is that there are places where you can be accepted and there are better options for you, and sometimes that takes time, but as cliched as it is, it does get better. So hopefully people are able to find these safe environments for themselves to be able to improve the quality of life and to get better situations. I hope that people find hope in the story ultimately.

Another relationship of Ian’s that I have to discuss is his relationship with the whole Gallagher family; that was a focus of the series since day one. What was your favorite part of their dynamic and playing off that?

Obviously, the chaos of the family is always really fun to play. We had these scenes that were kind of an amazing balancing act of like 8 or 9 people in a scene, all messing around with these different storylines that are bouncing off of each other, intertwining, and you have this really biting sharp satirical dialogue that all had a very specific rhythm to it and was a sort of flow that was established early in the show that was kind of kept across the entire series; one that was a genuine joy as a performer to play. But I think that specifically the relationship that I’ve always been a fan of and I love from the start, is probably– it’s definitely one of my favorite relationships on the show– was the relationship between Ian and Lip.

There’s not a lot of depictions of brotherhood and intimacy between men that are deeply sensitive, close, and uncomplicated. Those are definitely scenes that I felt very personally moved by, of two brothers who have just had a world of shit, a lot of complicated and messed up things that have been dropped on their heads that they’ve been dealing with for the entirety of their lives, but they’ve sort of made a pact that they were just gonna be there for each other no matter what. If they weren’t there for each other, who knows if they would have survived. I think that there’s something really amazing about those scenes in that they’re just very open with each other, and that’s something that’s established right from the start and was kind of one of those key relationships for the show that survived until the very last episode and that I’m very proud of, cause I do think that those are some of my personal favorite scenes of the show.

Here’s a fun three-part question: most challenging, fun, and insane storyline for you as an actor?

Most challenging would probably have to be… we reached a point in the series around season 8 and they were trying to contextualize the characters in a modern way, put them into new circumstances, but try to retain what the characters were, but they’ve moved a lot from where they originally were. We were at a point where we were getting so many new writers onto the series, and the show I feel struggled for a second, which happens with any series that’s been on for a while. It felt like there was a point where they didn’t know what they wanted to do with Ian. There were a couple of episodes where I was kind of looking at the story and being like, “What are we doing here? It doesn’t really feel like anything is happening with him and we’re kind of floating across these relationships.” I wasn’t sure what we were trying to say, but that being said, that is kind of true to life, to a certain degree, where we do find ourselves sometimes in these ruts where we don’t know what we’re doing with our relationships, our lives, and ourselves. There is a little bit of a struggle there and that is kind of real to a certain degree, and I do think having those episodes make when they started finding the way with the character and relationships again, kind of more satisfying cause he sort of loses his way and he comes back. So it was kind of a challenge, but I think it all worked out ultimately.

Craziest would have to be… so this is one that no one would even know is like a thing really, no one would even think of it as a thing, but the scene in the pilot episode, Lip and Ian jump out of like a window and they run out of a house to escape an angry parent, right? And they’re kind of running in a rush. So they run out in their socks, down the street, and it’s the middle of January in Chicago and the streets are covered in mud, water, and ice. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever felt in my life that I actually thought my feet were going to like fall off. I thought we were going to have to amputate a toe because of frostbite. We did the scene a bunch of times, and because Jeremy and I were young, we were just sort of trying to be tough, just like, “Yeah, whatever, it’s not a problem. We can do this over and over, not a big deal.” Then I definitely learned a lesson of like, when something is a problem, you have to say, it’s a problem.

Most fun… I don’t know if I can distill it to just one scene. I think the most fun was just getting to interact with all of the wildly different personalities of our show, and just kind of get to sit around and hang out with everyone. There were times that we would just be laughing so hard that one of us would start and we just end up crying, laughing. Usually, it was because of Howey cracking jokes or something like that, but it could be just the dumbest to smallest thing, but it’s the kind of thing when you become so comfortable with people, it just starts to happen. Sometimes it was just the downtime and these little small kind of boring or mundane moments that really ended up being some of my favorite experiences.

Did you take anything from the set at all?

I did. So in the final season, there’s a storyline where Frank steals Nighthawks, the Edward Hopper painting, and that was actually done in cooperation with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Edward Hopper estate. They did these really high-resolution prints of it that were then painted over by hand, and they even took pictures of the back and mimicked the way that the canvas wrapped over, the small writing, and everything. It’s a pretty damn good forgery of Nighthawks. So I stole one of those and that’s hanging up in my living room. I also stole one of the mugs cause in the show we’re always having breakfast and drinking coffee, so there are these rooster mugs and I stole one of those.

Since you’re talking to The Nerds of Color, I have to ask you about Star Wars and Gotham. What stood out to you about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order compared to your other work, and what did it mean to you to join that iconic universe?

I mean, what stood out pretty quickly was that it had a tone all of its own. Star Wars is a very specific tone. It has sort of its own language, pacing, style, and rhythm; there’s something very specific about it, something that I’m a big fan of. I grew up watching the Star Wars movies and that was definitely… you know, anytime that you’re jumping onto something with an active and passionate fanbase it’s going to be slightly intimidating. There’s no way around that. Thankfully, I’ve at this point done enough projects with really passionate fanbases to kind of understand what that entails, which is that there’s going to be a lot of opinions. A lot of people are really excited about things and no matter what, even the smallest things, someone’s going to be very, very angry about it. That comes along with the territory, but that’s kind of fun to a certain degree; it’s fun to hear such minutiae and being examined, and these conversations are ones that are being had on set too.

There’s so much conversation between the Lucasfilm story group, Respawn, and EA, who are the production companies behind the game, and also the cast, directors, and everybody involved are sometimes discussing, “How does a person stand? How does one get onto a speeder bike? What kind of sound does this monster make?” And there’s always a genuine deference and respect to the series. We know how much people care about it. We know because we care about it a lot, and everyone on this project are huge fans of the source material. So that was exciting to be a part of, obviously; I mean, that should go without saying. It’s so freaking cool to be a Jedi and to be the face of this massive franchise, and to be able to not only be a part of a really well-known property and part of this large project but also to be able to tell an interesting and intimate story within it. For as bombastic as all of the action is, and as big as the Star Wars universe is, I feel the story of Cal Kestis and the people that he interacts with is a somewhat smaller one and a more intimate one. It’s ultimately, at least for me, a pretty emotionally resonant one and a story that I actually very much care about and relate to. I think that was probably the most exciting part about it, was being able to within the framework of this big machinery of what Star Wars is, still tell a story that might actually affect people and make them feel things, I think was just really cool.

Could you describe how it felt to take on the role of the Joker?

Exciting, intimidating, an honor, and challenging; it’s a role that I didn’t take lightly. I understood what it was, which is that a lot of the people who were seeing me in the role had never heard of me and didn’t know who I was, and it was a way to prove myself and to show off my take of what I could do with this. It was really cool too with that show that we were getting to do something that had never really been done before with the character, which is to show multiple versions and possibilities of what that character could be, and to kind of tip our hat to some of the famous stories that came before, and then kind of give a unique spin and show off some new things with it as well.

Obviously, that show was heightened to a certain degree and kind of existed in this wacky over-the-top violent, but also slightly cartoony universe that was kind of its own little thing. That was really fun to play around with it and to totally get to do something kind of different with that, something that we hadn’t seen before. But I think it was specifically really intimidating because, at that point of casting when I performed the episode in the first season of that show, no one had played the role since Heath Ledger had posthumously won the Oscar for the role. So the only people who had touched it in live-action had been Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, which are just massive, massive shoes to fill and two people that I deeply admired. Again, it’s just sort of a case of respect and wanting to kind of come in, just do my absolute best with the material, and to try to pay a certain level of honor to the people that came before.

Anything you can tease about what you’re going to do next? Any future projects?

Absolutely. It’s always difficult with this stuff because there’s only so much you can say. I can say that I just shot a film that hasn’t been announced yet, but I was out of town shooting it for a while. It’s the starring role in the film, and that will come out to theaters in the near future. I’m also working on another project over the course of the next year that I will be working on and off for. Again, thanks to the joys of NDAs, I can’t actually say what it is. I have a movie that I will be doing in June and then also I’m starting to move a bit behind the camera as well. So I’m working on producing and starring in a feature in August or September. And I’m writing a couple of projects right now as well. So it’s a loaded year for the next year, but it’s all very exciting that’s happening.

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