veryrockyraccoon - Tumblr blog

[veryrockyraccoon]

Reblog if you think a woman can be complete without children

Y’ALL HAVE TIME TO REBLOG THIS. IT TAKES LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS.

[veryrockyraccoon]

You can tell by the way some people criticize the Jedi as military leaders that they do not understand how war and the military works

“The Jedi invaded Umbara for wanting to leave!”

Umbara didn’t just “want to leave”, they were a republic world that switched sides mid-war, when an ally switches sides, you declare war on them, at a minimum this is to say “you can’t just do this and expect no consequences”, but its also simple strategy, you attack your former ally so that you can prevent whatever assets they have from being used by the enemy, but also so you can hopefully regain said assets (umbara has unique and advanced technology)

have people not played Risk?

“The Jedi invaded Geonosis again!”

the separatists retook Geonosis and reactivated/built factories there to produce war material (battle droids specifically), as long as these factories were active the war would be more difficult, the Republic invaded to shut down these factories down, its just good strategy

Related, “the Jedi attacked planets during the war”

Yeah, it’s war, that’s how it works, you can’t fight a war exclusively on the defensive (especially not when the enemy has a manpower/production advantage), you have to go on the offensive so the enemy can’t build up their strength to attack (and that doesn’t even get into the humanitarian reasons to go on the offensive, the separatists are enslaving and murdering whole populations-WWII parallels anyone?-you can’t help them if you only fight defensively

“The Jedi used the Clones as meat shields/cannon fodder!”

cannon fodder has a real definition, usually being poorly trained, poorly equipped soldiers sent out for no other purpose other than to soften up the enemy for the main assault

this is not at all how the Jedi treat/command the Clones

first the Clones are highly trained (10 years of it) and well equipped-probably the best out of any SW military

second, the Jedi fight on the front lines with the Clones, that is not something you do with cannon fodder

third, nothing the Jedi ask of the Clones is really that much more than what would be asked of a soldier in a real world military

I’m sure there are other examples but these are the biggies, please suggest more if you can think of any

[veryrockyraccoon]

anti-jedi side of fandom loooove to be aphobic like they just spout off bullshit at the drop of a hat with zero awareness or critical thought

saw a post describing jedi survivor’s story and like a quarter of it was devoted to how Cal rebels against the ‘failures’ of the Order and stops ‘repressing what makes him human’ since that’s what the Order taught him to do, of course! 🙄

which first of all

IF YOU DESCRIBE ROMANTIC INTEREST AS WHAT MAKES A PERSON HUMAN YOU ARE BEING APHOBIC. fullstop. forgoing romance or sex, whether because of orientation or a matter of choice, is not inherently repressive or inhuman.

and i’m certain that’s what they were referring to, because Cal’s relationship with Merrin is the only thing that could be construed as going against the ways of the Jedi Order.

…other than his blatant quest for vengeance and near-Fall after the deaths on Jedha.

but somehow, i don’t think that’s what they meant by Cal rejecting the Order’s dogma! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

so here’s a good time for the reminder that jedi do not teach ‘repression.’ They are allowed sex and encouraged to love others, even their enemies. They don’t get married and they don’t have kids because they don’t do attachments, and they don’t make commitment that they couldn’t realistically keep while serving the Republic and the Force above all else.

SECONDLY

that’s not what the story is about. not even a subplot. Cal has a single line about the jedi ‘not being right about everything’ and yeah it’s in regards to his potential relationship with Merrin. But is breaking from the traditions of the Order a theme/subplot?

no! wanna know how i know?

literally hours after he says this he’s betrayed by Bode, his brother in arms and (until then unknown) fellow jedi, and what was Bode’s justification again? oh that’s right, he doesn’t want vulnerable refugees and rebels on Tanalorr because he won’t accept even the smallest risk towards his daughter. IN OTHER WORDS HIS ATTACHMENT. Bode was attached to his wife and daughter and was willing to give up everyone on the Secret Path and murder Cordova*** in cold blood because his wife got murdered by the empire and he was so afraid of the same happening to Kata that he was willing to sacrifice everyone else. No thought for their loved ones. their spouses and siblings and children. Nope. just Kata. That’s not even getting into the work he did and people he got killed for the ISB before also betraying them!

like Bode is The warning against attachment. willing to trap Kata in isolation against her own wishes. saying screw the rest of the galaxy. unable to notice when his own actions nearly get his beloved daughter killed. He’s so aware of his choices too, unlike Anakin who was unhinged by the end.

god i love Bode. a more grounded and…relatable(?) realistic(?) look at what attachments can lead a person to do. as opposed to choking to death the person you just created an empire to save anakin lmao

***and speaking of Cordova and Cere. Their whole storyline is about rebuilding an archive of the order’s knowledge and culture. and the tragedy is *The Empire’s* violent repression of their way of life and the destruction of that accumulated knowledge.

the Order didn’t repress their members ffs

[veryrockyraccoon]

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

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

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

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

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

The Jedi all seem perfectly happy as they are.

[veryrockyraccoon]

Debunking more myths in the GFFA: the Jedi and the clones.

I wrote a post debunking the various myths about how “the Jedi condone slavery”, a while ago. Something I had omitted (because it’s such a big topic) was the following two statements that concern the clone troopers’ relations with the Jedi:

“The clones were genetically bred to have accelerated growth, so they’re technically child soldiers.”

“The clones were slaves of the Jedi.”

Both the above statements are inaccurate, let’s explore why. 

“The clones were child soldiers”

Let’s get the easy one out of the way first, because it’s a logic that cuts both ways. If age is our only determination of the maturity of a Star Wars character, then Grogu is not a baby. He is aged 50, and is thus a middle-aged man.

Who cruelly eats the babies of a woman…

… and knowingly tortures animals for his own sadistic pleasure.

Of course, I’m kidding. Grogu’s none of the above things.

The narrative frames him as a cute baby who does innocent baby stuff. Him eating the eggs is played off as comedic, as is him lifting with the frog. To this day, some fans still call him “Baby Yoda”.

Conversely, despite the clones being 10/14-years-old, their actions, behaviors, way of thinking, sense of humor, morals etc, are all those of an adult.

Like, Ahsoka is technically older than Rex in this scene.

The scene doesn’t portray them as peers, though. This isn’t written as “a teen and a tween talking”. No, Rex looks, acts and behaves like a grown-up and is thus framed as such by the narrative.

You can make the argument “they’re child soldiers”, but (unless you’re doing so in bad faith) you’d also have to argue that “Grogu’s an adult”.

“The clones were the Jedi’s slaves”

Nope. For all intents and purposes, they’re in the same boat as the Jedi, who George Lucas stated multiple times had been drafted to fight in the war.

Again: both the Jedi (monk/diplomats untrained for fighting on a battlefield) and clones (literally bred en masse only to fight) are being forced to fight by Palpatine and the Senate.

Though, on paper, the clones were commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, it was actually done by the Sith (who either manipulated or assassinated Sifo-Dyas then stole his identity, depending on the continuity you choose to adhere to). The rest of the Jedi had no idea these clones were being created.

So while the clones are slaves… they’re not owned by the Jedi.

They’re the army of the Republic, they belong to the Senate. This isn’t exactly a scoop, they refer to the clones as something to purchase…

… and manufacture.

As far as the Senate’s concerned, clones are property, like droids. 

Like there’s a whole subplot in The Bad Batch about this very point: after the war, the clones are decommissioned and left out to dry because they literally have no rights, they served their purpose.

The only trooper to ever canonically blame the Jedi for the clones’ enslavement is Slick, who the narrative frames as having been bribed and manipulated by Asajj Ventress into betraying his comrades.

Also, the only canonical Jedi shown to ever be mean, dismissive or mistreating the clones in any way, is Pong Krell.

And it’s eventually revealed he’s in fact a full-on traitor, hence why the story frames him as an antagonistic dick from the moment he’s introduced. He doesn’t represent the Jedi in any way.

We know this because the other Jedi we’ve been shown are always prioritizing their clones’ lives over theirs, if given the chance.

Finally, if we wanna get even more specific… as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the clones belong to Palpatine. 

Palpatine who is a Sith Lord. 

Palpatine who arranged for the creation of the clones and had them all injected with a chip that would activate upon hearing a code-word…

… and forced them to murder their Jedi without hesitation or remorse.

When you bear all that  ⬆️  in mind and when you read this quote by George Lucas…

“The Jedi won’t lead droids. Their whole basis is connecting with the life force. They’d just say, ‘That’s not the way we operate. We don’t function with non-life-forms.” So if there is to be a Republic army, it would have to be an army of humans.”    - The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020  

… narratively-speaking, everything falls into place.

Sidious knows that:

If he orchestrates a war designed to thin the Jedi’s numbers, corrupt their values and plunge the galaxy into chaos…

If he wants to draft the Jedi - peace-keeping diplomats who’d never willingly join the fray - to fight in his war…

… then the only way they won’t resist the draft and abstain from fighting is if they think joining the conflict will save lives.

So he creates a set of cruel, sadistic villains for them to face, opponents who will target innocent civilians at every turn…

… and instead of lifeless droids, he prepares for the Jedi an army of men… living, mortal people who, despite being well-trained, will be completely out of their league when facing the likes of Dooku…

… Ventress…

… Grievous…

… Savage Opress…

… or the defoliator, a tank that annihilates organic matter.

Thus, in order to save as many clone and civilian lives, the Jedi join the fray despite knowing that doing so will corrupt their values. 

And as the war rages on, a bond of respect is formed between the two groups.

Clearly, the Jedi don’t like the fact that the Republic is using the clones to fight a war, but for that matter, they don’t like being in a war, in fact they advocated against it.

However, it’s happening regardless of their issues with the idea or personal philosophies. Said The Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy:

“I’d rather not get into the Jedi’s philosophical issues about an army of living beings created to fight, but the Jedi are in a tough spot themselves, being peacekeepers turned warriors trying to save the Republic.”

And bear in mind, the Jedi are basically space psychics, the clones are living beings that they can individually feel in the Force… 

… so the Jedi feel every death but need to move on, regardless, only being able to mourn the troopers at the end of every battle.

We see this in the Legends continuity too, by the way.

(that is, when the writers actually try to engage with the narrative)

Also, if you ask the clones, they’re grateful the Jedi have their backs.

When Depa Billaba voices her concerns about how the war is impacting the Jedi’s principles, troopers Grey and Styles are quick to make it clear how grateful they all are for the Jedi’s involvement:

So the clones aren’t the Jedi’s slaves. If anything, they’re both slaves of the Republic (considering how low the Jedi’s status actually is in the hierarchy).

Only I’d argue the clones have it much, much worse. 

The Senate sees the Jedi as “ugh, the holier-than-thou space-monk lapdogs who work for us”… but a Jedi has the option to give up that responsibility. They can leave the Order, no fuss or stigma. 

A clone trooper cannot leave the GAR! If they do, they’re marked for treason and execution. Again, they’re not perceived as “people”.

And it doesn’t help that the Kaminoans, the clones’ very creators, see the troopers as products/units/merchandise. A notion that the Jedi are quick to correct whenever they get the chance.

How The Clone Wars writers describe the clones’ relationship with the Jedi.

Keep reading

[veryrockyraccoon]

Thank you for the tag @sunsetcougar I had fun with this!

I’m afraid I can only think of one person to tag @twigstwigstwigstwigstwigs and of course no pressure at all!!

Here’s a link to the picrew

thank you @backgroundagent3 for tagging me to do this picrew!! 🩷

no pressure tagging: @bouquet-of-wilting-violets @heartandflowerball @inkstainedintrovert @daydreaming-optimist @thstarsofsilver @theskittlemuffin and anyone else who sees this and wants in!!

[veryrockyraccoon]

Luke Skywalker: What was it the Jedi said that got everybody so upset?

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Be kind to each other

Han Solo: Oh yeah that'll do it

[veryrockyraccoon]

Jedi culture is a padawan smacking one of their friends, poking them, playing a prank on them, etc. and then, when they try to retaliate, running away shouting- "REVENGE IS NOT THE JEDI WAY!!!"

[veryrockyraccoon]

*Commander Thorn posts a photo in Commander group chat* Thorn: yeeee party! Cody:… where did you get that lightsaber? Thorn: We found it in Chancellor’s chamber, probably some jedi dropped it. We promise we will give it back tomorrow *several people are typing*

Reference:

Keep reading

[veryrockyraccoon]

I just saw a post saying "None of the Jedi who survived Order 66 are shown apologizing to the Clones for what they did to them :("

... LOL! The Jedi can literally be slaughtered down to the children and yet be blamed and expected to apologize to their killers for it after the fact! Yes it obviously wasn't the clones fault, Palpatine mind controlled them, but as far as most of the Jedi know their long-time allies turned on and participated in a genocidal campaign waged against them. Why would they apologize?

If we're going split hairs I could just as easily point out that the Clones haven't been shown to apologize to the Jedi either. Even after they started breaking programming they don't seem to experience a, "Oh my gosh I slaughtered the Jedi!" moment. One of the few interactions we see of Jedi and Clones post Order 66 was Rex in Rebels who seemed more mildly annoyed by Kanan being nervous and traumatized around him than anything.

Am I saying the Clones necessarily need to apologize as if they're personally guilty? No, if they know about the inhibitor chips they'll know it wasn't their fault. But in that case what sense does it make to demand the Jedi crawl back to the people they think betrayed and murdered them to apologize for something they didn't even have a hand in in the first place?

[veryrockyraccoon]

"no attachments" in SW literally just means "don't be selfish and possessive". that's it. that's all there is. doesn't mean jedi can't have friends and loved ones. they can. just. don't be possessive and selfish about it. don't murder thousands of people in an effort to save one.

[veryrockyraccoon]

in light of Tales of the Empire being released next month, I want to once again bring up the idea of Star Wars: What If.

What if Ahsoka was actually assigned to Obi Wan?

(the obvious) What if Anakin never turned to the Dark Side?

What if Padme had joined Anakin on Mustafar?

What if Qui Gon had survived Naboo?

What if Vader had survived the end of RotJ?

What if Obi Wan actually did leave the order for Satine?

What if Yoda was secretly working with the Sith the whole time?

WHAT IF FIVES HAD SUCCEEDED?

there’s so many possibilities

[veryrockyraccoon]

reblog to give somebody a fucking hug because we are all struggling to get through it. solidarity in this tough ass world.

[veryrockyraccoon]

Not to rant about the Jedi as a family again, but it always makes me so happy to think about the smallest younglings insisting on being picked up and as a result, honored, experienced jedi masters having conversations about Very Important Jedi Matters with toddlers hugging their necks and older younglings being delighted that there are jedi from species big enought to keep picking them up almost until they become padawans, and padawans helping escort younglings to ilum and helping teach initiate classes and the younger padawans gathering around the senior padawans to hear all about the adventures they just had on an off world mission and young jedi knights taking on their first padawans being terrified they'll mess something up because this isn't just a class, this kid is now their responsibility. This is their kid now and being comforted and guided by older knights and masters and old grizzled masters taking on apprentices as young as seven and loving them with their whole hearts and younglings seeing a knight or a master or a senior padawan and just knowing that that's going to be their master and creche masters who wave to their initiates who have become padawans as they walk past in the hallway and asking them to step in and help with a class and archivists who encourage their curiosity and help them navigate the temple archives and all the jedi who don't even recognize that lost-looking kid in the corridor but still stop and ask them if they need help or directions and yeah.

[veryrockyraccoon]

wait no omg a tired jedi sick of trying to explain jedi relationships to people who just don't get it. (So your master is your dad? No your brother? no So you don't love them? of course I love them) and flips the script. Explain what a father is to me. No no give me an exact list of measurable traits of what makes a father. Is it going to be the same list if I ask someone else? It turns into a month long academic debate.

[veryrockyraccoon]

I love the Jedi Temple. It must have been breathtaking, beautiful, jaw-droppingly gorgeous- the Jedi Temple must have been everything. A little taste of paradise, hidden in plain sight, the beauty of a thousand dreams nestled in the hearts of the Jedi. It was a home, a school, a place to be safe, to be whole.

[veryrockyraccoon]

I never, ever say the Jedi were flawed, and here's why.

It's not because I don't think people can BE flawed, or that I don't think GOOD people can be flawed, of course they can. Even people who are genuinely doing good things and making good choices and trying their best to be selfless and kind and compassionate can make mistakes and have a bad day.

But there's really only two reasons I see anybody bring up "the Jedi were flawed."

The first is from Jedi fans who are trying to stave off the Stanakins and the anti Jedi crowd by adding that in as a disclaimer. "OF COURSE the Jedi are flawed, but it doesn't mean they aren't good people!" It's a meaningless statement because the side saying it doesn't even really believe it to be true and the side they're saying it TO thinks the Jedi being flawed means they all deserved to die. This is the kind of statement that leads to people deciding that individual Jedi are okay but their culture needs to be completely reformed in order to allow people like Anakin to just do whatever they want whenever they want and then they can all live.

The second is from people who DON'T really like the Jedi much and will insist that "the Jedi are flawed" is part of the whole point of the narrative of Star Wars, especially the prequels. This is the kind of statement that leads to people like Leslye Headland INSISTING that George Lucas intended for the story of the Jedi to be one of failure and criticism and casting the Jedi as "the evil institution" in her interpretation of Star Wars. This is what leads to stories like the Ahsoka show insisting that the Jedi were elitist bastards whose arrogance led to their own genocide. These people usually try to claim they like the Jedi, but they'll still cast the Jedi as the bad guys in the story instead of, say, Anakin. These are the people who genuinely have no idea what attachment is and don't care to learn. These people believe that, at best, the Jedi THOUGHT they were doing good, but that they had completely lost their way and were truly not that much better than the Sith anymore and their destruction was necessary to create balance in the galaxy.

I have no desire to appease people who don't like my interpretation of Star Wars, and I don't think that "the Jedi were flawed" was ever the point of Lucas's story and I genuinely think it takes a lot AWAY from his story to say that it does. So while I am perfectly happy to admit that people in general, even overall GOOD and kind and selfless people, are always flawed and can make mistakes, I will never, ever say that the Jedi were flawed. The Jedi lost, yes, but not due to their own flaws. They lost because of EVERYONE ELSE'S flaws, so what does it MATTER if the Jedi were flawed or not? If you truly believe the Jedi were good people who did everything right and simply lost due to other people's selfish choices, then what does it add to the story to insist the Jedi were flawed? How does it change anything, for the better or otherwise? The Jedi were right IS the point of the story, so insisting they were flawed actually takes away from that by distracting from how the Jedi were RIGHT, and it's people choosing not to listen to them or trust them or act like them that brings about the downfall of an entire galaxy.

The Jedi weren't flawed. The Jedi were RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING and that is the hill I will die on.