#ancient asks rise from the grave of my inbox

[borninwinter81]

William Blake - an introduction for Good Omens fans

I have sent @neil-gaiman an ask regarding his feelings toward the poet/artist William Blake a couple of times, but no doubt due to the size of the poor man's inbox I haven't received a response. So I did a Google search to see if he's spoken about Blake before, and it did indeed come up with a fair few hits. I think you might enjoy seeing this Twitter post if you haven't already, the painting is from William Blake's illustrations to Paradise Lost.

It's not surprising that an author like Neil Gaiman might have an interest in Blake. A visionary from a young age, his imagination was such that he was surrounded by angels made visible in his mind's eye, and he interpreted these visions through poetry, painting and engraving, and self-printed and published many of his own works. This gave him complete freedom to say exactly what he wanted.

Though he had a passionate faith in God, he also had a deep distrust of the church as an institution, and disliked the use of religion as a means of control. This poem from "Songs of Experience" perhaps summarises his feelings best:

"I went to the Garden of Love,

And saw what I never had seen:

A Chapel was built in the midst,

Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,

And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door;

So I turn'd to the Garden of Love,

That so many sweet flowers bore. 

And I saw it was filled with graves,

And tomb-stones where flowers should be:

And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,

And binding with briars, my joys & desires."

In his poetry there is often an incongruity with the generally accepted religious ideas of what is good and evil, Angel and Demon. In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (there's a title that should make any GO fan sit up and pay attention) he tells us that "in the book of Job, Milton's Messiah is called Satan", signifying that he feels it is Lucifer/the devil who is the true Messiah of Paradise Lost.

He gives us The Voice of the Devil and Proverbs of Hell, and has Angels being transformed into Demons through enlightenment. He tells us that Jesus broke all of the 10 commandments, yet was still virtuous because he acted according to his own morality rather than rules.

The god-figure of his later works, Urizen, generally comes across as malevolent, seeking to bind and control, whilst Los, the Satan/Messiah figure represents freedom, imagination and creativity.

"Restraining desire" and acting contrary to your own nature seem to be the only real evils for Blake.

He expressed his faith through a love of the world and the beauty in it, summed up in this quote:

"When the Sun rises do you not see a round Disk of fire somewhat like a Guinea? O no no I see an innumerable company of the Heavenly host crying Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty".

He saw "God" in everything, in all the wonders we have around us, and considered writers/poets and religious prophets as essentially the same, since they both have a connection to the divine, and express it through stories.

It's quite ironic that probably his most famous poem, Jerusalem (the one that starts "and did those feet in ancient times walk upon England's mountains green"), was made into a very popular church hymn, yet it is supposed to be satirical in nature. The poem recounts the myth that Jesus may have visited England in his boyhood, and Blake is expressing his disbelief at that notion and the unworthiness of England.

Did I have a point to all this? Mostly to show my hand as a massive Blake nerd, but also to hopefully demonstrate that there's a lot of common ground between his ideas and those expressed in a show/book like Good Omens, and hopefully to inspire some of you who may not be familiar with Blake to seek him out. In particular I'd recommend The Marriage of Heaven and Hell to any and all.

EDIT: I should have thought to include this, here's Michael Sheen reading a Blake poem. I have the CD this is from, he reads several by Blake, as well as other poets I love ❤️ 😍

[legobiwan]

All of my faves has been asked already! What about Hondo? I know we both like him.

I feel like I probably answered this, like, a year ago but I’ll have another go just because I love Hondo so much:

Hondo is probably the happiest being in the galaxy, no joke. Even when Grievous trashes his compound on Florrum, he persists and finds time to make jokes and needle Obi-wan even though Maul and Savage are about the wreck shit. He’s like teflon, Hondo is, and if there is one character in the entire GFFA I could never justify crafting some kind of angsty backstory for, it’s Hondo.

His mother must have been a piece of work. But the good kind. 

Hondo’s morality is the quintessential roulette wheel, but as he ages and watches the Empire rise, he starts aligning himself more with a cause greater than profit. Sometimes, at least. 

Hondo is super-disappointed that Kenobi, Ezra, and/or Katooni never joined his ranks. (Although maybe Katooni survived the purges and did, for at least a time - we’ll never really know.)

Hondo plays the fool to great effect. I mean, he does get plastered and dumb on occasion, like in the youngling arc, but by and large, a lot of it is an act in order bring down the defenses of not only his obvious enemies but any of his men who might be traitorous. And then he’ll either cut a tongue out or shiv someone. 

This is the man who managed to capture two powerful Jedi Knights and a Sith lord, I’m just. saying. Hondo is no fool. 

He is also immortal and has the greatest line in the history of TCW.

“Insolence? We are pirates! We don’t even know what that means!”

 I laugh Every. Damn. Time.

(character ask meme)

[legobiwan]

How about quinlan vos?

For all of Quinlan’s stoner persona, he takes his duties as a Jedi seriously. He just…doesn’t feel the need to broadcast it the same way the Council would. It’s probably why he’s a great liaison with the Coruscant police. Quinlan is much more real than a lot of the other Jedi, at least to them. 

Like Qui-gon (and Rael), Quinlan isn’t afraid of interpreting certain precepts of the Jedi Code within pretty wide parameters. A living document, he might argue, versus a codified one. 

Quinlan also uses people’s immediate perceptions of him to his own advantage. He is smart and talented in psychometry, which is one hell of a skillset. But his personality also makes it very easy for him to infiltrate a wide variety of social circles, which makes him an incredible spy.

He does like to poke at the people he finds stuffy, however. Especially Obi-wan, because he knows he can.

(character ask meme)

[legobiwan]

Cad Bane

Okay, I would like to clear out some very ancient asks as part of my quarantine digital clean-up effort, so here we go.

The original ask (linked below) was 3-5 ideas/concepts I feel are essential to portraying a (insert) character.

He is essentially amoral. Unlike Palpatine, who is in the game for power and his own twisted, destructive morality, Cad Bane operates in a different universe where credits and reputation are the only true currency.

One of the things I like about Cad Bane is that he doesn’t care if you are a Jedi, a Sith Lord, or some half-times Hutt gangster. A client is a client, no matter how fancy the title, and everyone - everyone - has dirt they’re hiding under the carpet. Whether or not that gets exposed - well, it’s just a matter of price.

One thing Cad Bane is proud and for good reason. He is damn good at what he does and has the skills and proficiency to back it up. To him, it’s not an opinion, it’s just fact.

He does not want to be indebted to anyone. No favors, currency only.

While he’ll form temporary alliances and liaisons, he is essentially a loner and is fine with that. 

(character ask meme)

[legobiwan]

Asajj Ventress, please? In case you're still doing the ask meme, that is.

As a little introduction, I just want to say I have no idea how old Asajj actually is. Because if you do the math according to a fusion of Legends and Canon timelines, she’s possibly as young as Anakin in TCW and that somehow feels wrong. So I saw a single post on the internet that says she was 32 around the time of the Clone Wars and I am going with that because it feels best.

Asajj has basically had her life dictated to her by other people for the longest time. Talzin, then Hal’Sted, then Ky Narec, then Dooku, and then finally she became a bounty hunter and possibly the best version of herself. Meaning, she’s spent a lifetime looking for meaning in other people.

This also means she feels she constantly has to prove herself and you see this especially with Dooku and Mother Talzin - that she can be better than Kenobi (who Dooku covets for reasons totally unconnected with Ventress), that she can defeat Dooku and Savage, that she can do anything - and finally, finally she starts to slowly let go of some of that desire - a little bit when she helps Obi-wan against Savage and Maul, a little more when she helps Ahsoka during the Wrong Jedi arc. 

She’ll never go back to being completely Light Side, but we see how important some kind of connection is for her - with Ky, Dooku, Obi-wan, and eventually Quinlan Vos. She almost craves this kind of legitimacy and will go to pretty far lengths to get it, which leads her down a dark path before she gets everything ripped out from under her. 

But good lord, she will survive. Slave to Jedi apprentice to Sith apprentice to bounty hunter - Ventress is basically a cockroach, and I mean that with all the love I can give (I am the same way). She’s learned to mould herself into what she needs to be to survive and there’s something both sad and admirable about it. 

(character ask meme)

[legobiwan]

Jedi mind trick - you write: 'And why is Obi-wan so damn good at it?' Have you any teories? And do you know any good fanfiction about Jedi mind trick?

Okay, so I will answer your second question first. I don’t know any fanfics offhand that deal with the Jedi mind trick as its main story, although it would be an interesting exploration as a one-shot looking at how various Jedi approach the mind trick considering their inclinations in the Force. (Let’s say, Obi-wan’s empathy, Qui-gon’s relation to the Living Force, Dooku’s ability to read intention, Mace’s relationship to Shatterpoints, Anakin’s sheer strength, etc.) Come to think of it, I could probably do a meta on this. *puts it on the ever-growing list*

But to answer the original question, “Why is Obi-wan so damn good at it [the mind trick]?”

What is a mind trick? According to Wookieepedia, a mind trick is “an ability of the Force that allowed the practitioner to influence the thoughts of the affected, generally to the user’s advantage.”

This sounds a lot like persuasive speech. In fact, the short definition of persuasive speech according to Wikipedia is very similar to a mind trick. “Persuasive speech is used when presenters decide to convince their presentation or ideas to their listeners. Their goal is to convince or persuade people to believe in a certain point of view.”

So the only real difference between a mind trick and persuasive speech is that the mind trick is working partially on a non-verbal level, almost like that wild Roddy Piper movie from the 80s, “They Live.” (which I should really rewatch.) 

Why am I going off on this? Because persuasive speech is a type of selling - you are selling an idea, yourself, a point of view - to someone else. But in order to sell someone this pearl of thought, you need to anticipate how they will see your arguments. What does this other person need? What do they want? How can they be convinced, how can you “hook” them in? And this all means you need to be able to jump into the mindset of your mark, of your audience. This is a kind of negotiation, whether directly, as in contract talks, or indirectly, as in an elevator pitch or even a job interview. 

Who is someone known for their negotiation skills, so much so that they have earned a certain moniker, that their capital ship has also earned the same appellation?

This JERK Jedi Master and High Council Member. 

Because he is so good at Negotiating (and he is, let’s be real), it stands to reason this very same form of empathy, of being able to read other people’s intentions, needs, and wants - and anticipate them - would be the reason is also so accomplished at the Jedi Mind Trick, which is just a partially non-verbal form of persuasion. (Except a little more insidious than that, as Roddy Piper would tell you. Which is fascinating because it also means Obi-wan can be a manipulative son of a bitch when he wants to be, and there lies a fine line between the greater good and some actions that could be construed as grey, at best.)

But let’s take a case study, going back to the Clone Wars animated movie. 

According to my 1.3 second Google search, empathy in negotiation involves the following:

Obi-wan “surrenders” to the enemy forces, allowing himself to be - well, not taken prisoner, but at least be put in a rather vulnerable position. He then invites the opposing commander to sit at an improvised table, feigning a coughing fit so he can request tea. 

He reads the situation and the General’s emotions perfectly, anticipating the General is tired, not really *in* the fight, and more than willing to accept Obi-wan’s easy surrender as the needed win it appears to be on the surface.

Obi-wan tells the General again and again, in different ways, that he is surrendering, that it’s over for Obi-wan. It’s very convincing, to a certain degree, although this General calls him the “infamous” General Kenobi, which - really, my friend, you should have seen this coming. 

“Order your troops to stand down.” Obi-wan never does, instead sidestepping the request to invite the General down to negotiate in a civilized manner. I find this interaction to be vague and unconvincing, Kenobi!

Finally, deflect, flatter, and guess. It’s not hard to imagine a General of the CIS - a much-maligned one it seems, would fall prey to a bit of well-placed flattery. We already know Obi-wan can turn on the charm when he feels like it and that he is a master of deflection. Calling the General a “legend of the Inner Core,” even if it a complete falsehood (or what Obi-wan might refer to as the truth, from a certain point of view, as in the General’s own) is a well-placed educated guess in order to diffuse and delay the situation until reinforcements arrive.

Obi-wan does all of this without a Mind Trick. Now, remember the fact that he is an accomplished Force user with a high level of empathy and it’s no wonder he is the most-referenced character in the Wookieepedia Mind Trick page (canon), only followed by Luke Skywalker. (And what was the first true Jedi power Luke witnessed from old Ben Kenobi? Krayt dragons aside? The mind trick with the Stormtroopers.)

So tl;dr, Obi-wan is great at the mind trick because he is empathetic, which we have evidence of in his negotiation skills. (Now, if he was so empathetic, why didn’t he pick up on Anakin’s turn? Personally, I think he did, but he was deep in denial and we all know Obi-wan had a blind spot as large as a Dantooine moon when it came to Anakin. It’s one thing to be empathetic. It’s another thing to acknowledge that information and accept it.)

[legobiwan]

Let's say Tahl lives in the Legends verse. What kind of bond would she and Anakin have?

Okay, so it’s been more than a hot minute since I’ve read the Jedi Apprentice books, but I think Anakin and Tahl’s relationship might be contingent on whether or not Qui-gon lived through Naboo.

If Qui-gon still bit it at the hands of Maul…hmm, that’s an interesting question. Because I can see her stepping in to try and help Obi-wan through the training process, through the grieving process, as she would have been the next-closest person to Qui-gon and maybe - just maybe - that would have taken a scintilla of the burden off Obi-wan. And given that Tahl is whip-smart but also very different, I think Anakin would be drawn to her, would have a million questions about her blindness and her relationship with the Force and together, she and Obi-wan might have dulled each other’s edges when it came to their feelings regarding Qui-gon.

Now, if Qui-gon had lived - well, it would all depend on what kind of relationship he and Tahl would have had and if they would and would have been able to stay in the Order. If, for some reason, they were super-chill about it, maybe that could have been a good example for Anakin with his Padmé obsession. If not and Qui-gon and Tahl left the Order - well, I doubt too much would have changed.