the jedi as a religious order; or, dark george lucas give me the forbidden theological history

given how little canon information there is on the actual religious structure of the jedi, it was honestly easier to make this partially a list of things that the jedi DON’T have, rather than what they DO have. disclaimer, christianity is the religion i have the most experience with, so that’s what i’ll be using. 

what makes a religious order?

typically, a religious order needs to have these four things: 

what does the jedi order not have? 

(and is this because the jedi as a society genuinely don’t have this, or is this just due to a lack of canon information?)

what information do we not have about the jedi?

other things that i can’t think of a unifying title for

conclusions? we don’t know shit, partially just due to the overwhelming lack of textual information (i.e. movie- or show-canon)

I was just discussing how the the same concept can have very different meanings to different people.

For example, in Hawaiian, aloha covers the English words hello, goodbye, love, kindness, compassion, mercy, grace, etc. Because in Hawaiian culture, those words are all tied together. There is no real difference between hello and goodbye, both concepts are rooted in love. Yet English has many words to cover all the concepts Aloha covers, because in English, there is a cultural difference in understanding of these concepts.

And then of course I was thinking about how Jedi and Clones have very similar ideals, but different understandings of their meaning.

Selflessness is a trait both groups share.

The Jedi own nothing by choice, they are taught to be selfless. All that matters to them (in theory) is the Force. That’s the only thing that matters. They are part of a higher purpose, rendering material possessions mostly irrelevant.

But Clones own nothing because they are controlled. They are also selfless and they’re also taught they are parts of a bigger hole. But unlike Jedi, they are never taught self worth. Jedi are taught they are important parts of a whole. Clones are taught they are disposable parts of a whole.

Selflessness for Jedi is living for others. Selflessness for Clones is dying for others.

When Jedi say they are selfless, they mean they dedicate their lives to bettering the galaxy. They spend years mastering diplomacy, they spend years learning skills they can use to help others. They use their gifts to protect others, they use their influence to lift others up. They are ambassadors of neutrality to settle conflicts, they are protectors. The Force has blessed them with power, so they use that power and their lives to actively help others.

When Clones say they are selfless, they mean their life has no value and can be used to buy the lives of others. They are self less. They are a lesser version of self. They are just as smart and skilled as Jedi are, but they aren’t taught self worth, they’re only taught self sacrifice. So to them, selflessness isn’t living for others and helping them build a better tomorrow, but dying for others so a better world can be build on the backs of their corpses.

It’s the same word, but it has a vastly different meaning and that meaning shapes how they perceive themselves and how they perceive others.

I just wish we got a bigger insight to the subtle yet vast differences between Clones and Jedi.

there's no need to do anything more than like and/or reply to this post. you can certainly send an ask if you want, but remember that anon is off!

some examples of the strange or straight up incorrect survey responses I've received that attempt to call me out or otherwise hold me accountable for the things the respondent claims I said/did:

To this day, I have no idea what this person is talking about.

(back during halloween) people called me obsessive and then did this.

people called me immature and then did stuff like this (I've gotten a lot of toilet humor since opening the survey. in the beginning, we got quite a few thirst/pornographic comments, although we didn't think to screenshot them)

People also liked to jump to wild conclusions about my URL. A hub is a center of activity. I post almost exclusively about clones. hence clonehub. Tbh this isn't even the first person to accuse me of being a pornhub-inspired blog despite the near total lack of NSFW on here in general.

I don't know if yall remember when I was asking if nonautistic or trans people could write trans/autistic OCs--it was because of this response. I've used the "Loveable Brute" term in reference to Wrecker because....that's the name of the trope itself--and this person clearly hasn't seen how Rau himself describes Wrecker. I never mentioned Eckstein for the duration of this movement, to my knowledge. I also never body shamed anyone??? And the front page of both carrds is filled with donation links to various Maaori mutual aid/gfm-style donations. Idk what they're talking about with 17 year olds. Idk this one is a mess.

To the first point: By chance, I found the ask they're referring to, where I say I'd heard about complaints about sabine's LA actress. Besides that, I mentioned the issue once, and....it was actually mixed Asian/fully Asian people who were complaining.

The Angelina Jolie comparison? Also not me. The person who said that is Asian.

The essay they're referring to is one I'd posted here a little bit ago. Anon isn't aware that I was relying on Legends, which says the Ming Po are not human--and that I'd made that point as part of a series of species based on irl PoC who are considered non/nearhuman. Ironically, this information was brought to my attention by someone who, themselves, is Asian.

And finally, I'd answered an ask from someone who showed me whitewashed art by a member of the tbb creative team. my only response was "oh my god" or something similar. that's not an attack. I never targeted that creative team member, and I never passed commentary implying anything more than the art was terribly whitewashed. And since then, I never mentioned him again.

Whenever I talk about people crediting me with things I didn't say, or people putting words in my mouth, misrepresenting what I say/do, etc, this is what I'm talking about. All of this.

This isn't even all of the rude, misleading, or otherwise negative comments I received on the survey that were directed at me. This doesn't include the asks I've received or what people have said to/about me on twitter. The day I turned off anon was the day I received a rather hateful (and misleading) survey response, and it was also when I received a 5-page essay in my inbox calling me a bully, among other things. I didn't bother screenshotting it.

Anyways, these and finals is why I've been so slow recently! I want to say thanks to all the folks who've stuck by me, and the people who sent me supportive asks (I haven't answered them because I liked to save positive asks when I can).

People have been accusing me of bullying from the start. My memory is trash, but I remember the majority of the interactions I've had with people--and especially recently, I...haven't been talking much to folks about uwwtbb, or even about uwwtbb in general. These people never bring up examples. They never try to send links. And if they're concerned with what I'm doing, they never address it with me privately first--I say this because others (both mutuals and followers) can and have. Multiple times. And the issue is always cleared. It's clear that many of them misread and misinterpret what I write. It's also clear that people confuse me for mutuals (?? lol) and also straight up lie about what I'm saying or doing (hence why I got an anon asking if I was deleting a few days ago).

This is what I've been dealing with recently! Since it's only been getting worse, the survey is closed and anon is off. But again--thanks to everyone who's supported me and this movement thus far.

Honestly, even if they were to send links, and they did have references to whatever misgivings you supposedly did -- this is not the way to go about it.

Sending you anon messages and submitting through a one sided survey?

That’s cowardly.

I’ve seen mutuals of mine who started in this space where they primarily discussed subjects like racism in Star Wars, only for them to constantly be engaged in one sided “discussions” in bad faith. They aren’t actively here anymore, they’ve had to move other to places, and I don’t blame them. In a lot of ways, I’ve receded from this space too.

I don’t know if I can say anything that would be a good comfort against all of this, because it would be insincere for me to say “it’ll get better”, when I think we both know that very well could not be true.

So, I’ll just say this. All the work you’ve done with this campaign and the work you’re currently doing now is worthwhile because you made it into something and it has gotten people who do want to learn, to learn.

People can nitpick how you could have done this or that better but in the end, they didn’t do it. You and the others who helped you put everything together did. That’s not something to be understated, every person’s time is valuable and you all spent it doing something you really cared about which is all we can really hope for.

You’ve never stated you knew everything, you’ve constantly been very transparent about how you are open to new opinions and suggestions.

You’re not responsible for the expectations of strangers who are dealing with their personal insecurities and want to project all of that onto you because you’re an easy target.

Take breaks. Pull back from the online space, when you can. The only attention you owe is to the people you know, who genuinely care about you and will actually have real discussions with you. People you can disagree with that will actually hear your perspective and be open minded.

You all have already done a lot. Maybe, even enough.

Email Draft to Disney

(We are encouraging communication about this draft. Make suggestions and comments as you see fit!)

To Bob Iger, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Jennifer Corbett, and the creative team of Star Wars: The Bad Batch:

We hope this email finds you all well. We are fans of color, disabled fans, neurodivergent fans, and Jewish fans writing out of concern for the portrayal of our communities in the series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. For several months now, we have been campaigning on social media to spread awareness about these concerns through #UnwhitewashTBB, a movement we began to raise awareness about the ways in which the series has poorly represented several minoritized groups of people.

All of the creators of #UnwhitewashTBB grew up with Star Wars as the backbones of their childhoods, and for many of us, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was crucial to our development as lifelong Star Wars fans. We are all firm believers in the phrase “Star Wars is for everyone”, and we would like to see Disney support that message by hearing our plea.

As fans of color, as disabled fans, as neurodivergent fans, and as Jewish fans, we’ve seen ourselves on screen in both good and bad ways, but recently it has been more than latter than the former. One such reason is Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a show whose premise piqued many fans’ interest, but whose main cast has left an increasingly sour taste in the mouths of those who watched.

The #UnwhitewashTBB movement comes with two carrds explaining the grievances of the fans, one long and one short:

We respectfully ask that you read one or both of these carrds and give a public statement in response to these criticisms.

Our movement has only gained traction since its inception on March 30th, 2021. A few months later, we wrote and released an Open Letter to be signed by supporters of #UnwhitewashTBB, and every day it gains new signatures and draws nearer to the next milestone. A survey we released over a month ago has received over 1,100 responses and also continues to climb. The latter displays a range of opinions regarding The Bad Batch, but one sentiment stands out: Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, Omega, and Echo are written in stereotypical and actively harmful ways. Respondents were shocked at outdated portrayals of Autism, sickened by antisemitic stereotypes, and confused at how, in this current social and political climate, a family-friendly corporation like Disney could greenlight a series that sends a message that is the complete opposite of “Star Wars is for Everyone”.

Fans of color, neurodivergent fans, disabled fans, and Jewish fans have been waiting for the day where “Star Wars is for everyone” actually applies to us. If Disney’s message is truly family-friendly, if Star Wars is for everyone, then Disney needs to support these views with not just words, but with actions. Resolve the racism in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, take out the antisemitism, and treat your nonwhite, disabled, and neurodivergent characters--and fans--with the respect and dignity they deserve.

It is our hope that you will take our concerns as well as the concerns of others into account, and address the issues that we have outlined in order to better reflect the Walt Disney Company’s commitment to inclusive, diverse entertainment for audiences of all ages. Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Respectfully,

Fans of The Bad Batch

Looks good so far, the tone is professional and polite, but firm and you’re all stating your reason for writing and reinforcing that it is about making Star Wars accessible to all their fans. I think when pointing out the criticisms, it’s important to watch the tone and language that veers very close to accusatory -- when you’re trying to level with people and have them understand your perspective, it’s good to keep things neutral and state things clinically.

I think it would be beneficial to also steer the conversation in why they would find this beneficial, near the end. Not to presume that they are soulless corporate droids (I mean...sort of) but...they are also not necessarily moved by moral obligation and it would be good to reinforce how making the changes you’re asking would be “profitable” for them in the long run. (I say this with gritted teeth.)

“Profitable” in that, when you’re appealing to the majority, more people are more likely to be fans and want the show to succeed at a larger scale. And to buy merchandise and support it -- I think it’s also good to state the good things you still like about the show, and that it’s worth the time and money for them to put into making the revisions because despite the criticisms, we all like the potential of what it can be. Which means we do not want the show to fail or be cancelled -- it has potential and thus, the potential to provide more revenue in the long run.

Make things easily digestible but also lay things out clearly for them to read it all in one go. I would avoid including external links altogether. Summarize things as best as you can even if the letter starts being very long -- better to be thorough than worry about length. You’re only going to get one shot at this, make it count. Include numbers and data like the percentages of what you collected from the responses and also the amount of signatures accumulated at the time that you send the letter.

Lastly, I know this is just the email draft, but I hope you can also convert this to send as a letter (you can just make a version of this without links and print it out) and send it in addition to your emails.

Send separate copies to each of the people you intend on addressing. And I would also suggest emailing them separately too. When you’re sending them, address to the sender personally and point out specific achievements you admire and appreciate so it feels more personable and brings them into actually reading the letter further.

Let me know if you have questions or if there is anything else I can elaborate on, I think this is a good starting point, we’ll just need to be as thorough as possible.

It's funny how racists just copy the language of people of color whenever we're talking about the things that apply to us. They're so quick to call things performative activism whenever their usual arguments don't work against us--but they call everything they dont agree with performative activism. We complain about white people speaking over PoC and they start searching for PoC that agree with their racist opinions--and then accuse us of speaking over PoC (btw people of the same marginalized IDs cannot speak over each other. You look dumb as hell saying a Black person is speaking over another Black person on race issues that apply to both of them). We complain about white people dominating spaces for and some supposedly anti racist spaces being entirely white liberals and then y'all call literally. Any. Anti racist stance just white people making noise about a nonissue. You're transparent as fuck.

like racists can argue around anything and copy basic arguments structures to defend themselves as seen below. but they'll always be soulless copies that fundamentally miss the core of the issue.

coz white supremacy works for them and they will not admit that to themselves.

anyway [redacted] if a friend of yours shows u this, i hope Jesus skips out on you during Rapture!!✌😙

uwtbb is a relatively small scoped advocacy and ur showing ur hand like this. ew.

This is the art and media version of "racism is a two-way street" (against white people).

We know what whitewashing is. It's making a person of color appear whiter through various channels. What the FUCK is racewashing? What do these people determine is "too dark"? What race is doing the washing here? What race is being touted as the superior one through this supposed misrepresentation of Maaori appearances?

[Transcript for screenshots/

First screenshot// I understand whitewashing is an issue for some, but please don’t racewash our boys! Please - Hunter Anon Second screenshot// the racewashing and the fact that there are people who actually advocate for it is a pretty big issue - i think because it gets applauded? i just got a couple anons telling me that deliberately drawing the clones darker or with different features than tem has is just fine, actually, and saying it’s bad is racist, and also racewashing doesn’t even exist and i’m over here like >.> do you have eyes, anons? brain cells? don’t really understand that line of logic but okayyyyyy

anyhoo, yes!! don’t racewash our boys!!!

/End transcript]

==

White washing bears the weight of actual societal bias though. Not to mention the historical baggage that ties into the stigma that comes with dark skin / non-white features being demonized.

The term “racewashing” doesn’t even work as an official term because they are just borrowing what exists and trying to flip it to create an opposing side without understanding why “white washing” is called the way it is.

It’s because historically, a lot of our “ethnic” features have been seen as dirty. Something to be “cleaned up” to be more palatable to society. And how they would often take a lot of those features and compare us to animals, degrade us and dehumanize us.

If I were being generous (and I’m trying to be), it sounds like what they say is “racewashing” is more of a critique on inaccurately portraying poc with the features of other poc, but even if that were the case, it’s not even on the same level of seriousness as white washing.

White washing is a form of insidious erasure and what they call “racewashing” sounds to be more of an technical inaccuracy when painting. At best.

[tumblr user: ilikemymendarkandfictional

I see posts like this and I get a little exhausted because the downside to being in such a large and old fandom is these discussions keep on having to be talked about again and again.

POC do have light colored eyes in real life, yes. However, as I keep having to restate, you need to consider the creators and their intent on having preferential design choices and how they pick certain features over others.

I think we would be giving these creators too much credit to say that when they design them in this way that they have these POC with light features in mind to represent.

They aren’t doing it for the representation.

These (white) creators are doing it for a specific exotic or otherworldly aesthetic.

Steela Gerrera. Saw Gerrera. Kanan Jarrus.

They are all fictional characters of color designed by white people in which they specifically gave them light colored eyes which -- and we need to admit this despite people wanting to play devil’s advocate -- are predominantly eurocentric features. And a lot of “light” features have often been lauded as “desirable” beauty features historically, and also currently with society.

And we haven’t even touched on how a lot of those characters are white washed not just in their skin but within their facial features, hair, etc.

Comparatively, I think about how a white man, Arthur Golden, chose to write a book about a geisha with blue eyes and spear headed the intrigue and interest into that world with personal creative flourishes that were later scorned by the geisha he interviewed for research.

The blue grey eyes of Sayuri had been a completely fictional addition and not based on anyone in particular, and within the book it is used to as a form of attraction and intrigue for Sayuri’s life. It makes her special even if she is scorned by her own parents for it to the point where she is essentially sold. Still, it is those features that also bring her to great heights within her life and career because they are seen as an unusual exotic feature to her, and somehow makes her all the more desirable.

Blue grey eyes that are usually normally seen within a white populace. Features that were written into the story by a white man on an asian character, based on no one in particular. In a way, it feels like a reflection on how he wrote his story despite having someone in real life to reference from. He chose to diverge from paths and create something fantastical that wasn’t even there for his own creative liberties.

Regardless of whatever I can surmise of his intentions, it makes me always have to question white creators and their fascination with giving characters of color features such as light colored eyes because it usually never really seems to come from a place of wanting to make good representation.

We’re just paper dolls to mix and match features for an aesthetic.

Anyone know how to convince a friend to watch the clone wars and bad batch? She loves Star Wars and her only reason not wanting to watch it is because it’s animated.

I’ve told her it has so,w of the best content the franchise has to offer and she just ignores me and her only response is “it’s animated”

Help me Star Wars Tumblr, you’re my only hope.

I'm assuming they are in the group of people who make judgements that animation = just for kids?

I would argue there are plenty of animated shows (not just within Star Wars) that are enjoyed by all ages because the focus is on the animation and the stories. And these are shows that aren't just geared towards adults. So, it's a matter of questioning why they have that preconceived notion in the first place and what exactly are they trying to infer?

And not to say that it proves its true value, but The Clone Wars series had been nominated and won multiple awards. They had also been nominated for 3 Emmys. And each episode had cost around 1 million to produce -- meaning they were more than willing to drop around 22 million per season, give or take, because everyone working on the series were genuinely invested and passionate in what they were making.

David Filoni, director of the series, had also been mentored directly by George Lucas. And George Lucas himself had also been there to make conversation and offer insight during the production of the series.

Does your friend at least like The Mandalorian?

Because Dave had a big hand in that series as well -- invited into directing episodes by Jon Favreau (probably most known for his role as Happy within the Marvel universe). After George Lucas, Filoni is looked on as the one to ask for reference in all things Star Wars within that industry.

Though even if all of these things were not a part of it, animation is a medium just like any other and has its own value within movies and shows. The Star Wars universe is so large too -- like, you can get more stories from comics, novels, video games, etc.

Is there disdain and less repute for those mediums are well? Are they less valid?

A medium doesn't guarantee the actual quality of the content you are going to consume. You can only judge from experiencing its execution.

So, on that basis, at least, they should be open to watch at least a couple episodes. Or an arc.

Otherwise, they're cutting themselves off from the potential of other things on a biased judgement. And if they are okay with that, that's their hill to die on.

The shows will still exist even if they don't want to acknowledge it.

As much as people are disliking this clone being “white-washed” i gotta say that i don’t think this was done as a way to say “White is better” bc come on guys, this is Dave Filoni we’re talking about. Also, Star Wars is very diverse already and why on earth would they make every character white? It just doesn’t make sense. If anything it would be racist to have the movies/shows only involve humans and not aliens if you wanna get into racism within Star Wars.

But anyways, i don’t have a problem with this clone being “white”. And tbh they’re not even pale, they’re just really light-tanned like me. They’re still in the brown spectrum but just on the super light side and that’s okay. And another thing is that this clone - if they are even a clone - is quite possibly from one of the last batches of clones created.

And if you think about it, the clones in the last batch are the last bc at this point, Jango’s DNA has been overused and stretched out so much to create more clones that it’s quite possible that more and more defects occurred. This could also be a reason as to why the Empire got rid of the clones altogether. They just weren’t effective anymore and aged too quickly.

Also, this show is about defected clones already, so perhaps this is just what a young, defected clone looks like and we just don’t know yet. Have some faith you guys. Dave Filoni has never let us down and he knows these characters better than anyone else. <3

** ALSO if you wanna get technical, Kamino is a super white lighted place and everything is bright so the frames that we saw of Omega could simply make them look lighter in skin tone bc of the lighting. They’re not white. They’re a light/fair skinned tan. They also have brown eyes still which is related to people with warm/yellow skin tones.

Idk i just don’t see Omega as being white. Satine Kryze is very white in complexion but Omega isn’t. Maybe they’re lighter in tanned complexion, but they’re definitely not in the spectrum of whiteness as Satine Kryze.

The context you need to understand is that the clones have always been whitewashed. It’s not just the tone of skin (though that is a very obvious visual indicator), it’s also the facial features they have given them -- their eye color, their hair color and texture, their nose, the shape of their face.

It’s been mentioned before that it feels strange that characters like Obi Wan and Anakin bear a lot of facial similarities to their actor counterparts but for the clones to bear very little resemblance to Temuera Morrison.

In addition, it’s an egregious misunderstanding to assume that white washing is the product of someone “thinking white skin is better than dark skin”. The act itself is racist but it doesn’t always mean that it comes with malicious intent and it’s not always an aggressive statement to say that those with darker skin tones are lesser.

When people are pointing out the white washing, it’s not to say that “hey Filoni is racist!”, it’s to say “I’m so tired of this happening again! I just want them to learn better and stop doing this!” Because this keeps happening. Not just on the show.

Of course we know Filoni is filled with good intentions. I can say quite sincerely that he is one of the few active creators in the community who has touched on Star Wars mainstream content is a meaningful way.

But it’s disingenuous to say that “Star Wars is diverse” when a lot of fans are so insular and a lot of the creators who are making content now are still white. Surrounded by many other white creators.

Who’s going to tell them that white washing is a problem? How are they going to know about it if everyone around them doesn’t have the background or the experience to see it? Who is going to tell them that it goes beyond the color of the skin, the lighting or to treat Jango’s DNA as though it is something that can be diluted like paint and water?

This is precisely why diversity and representation needs to be seen both within our media and in the creative process.

They may be making things you like, but it’s also important to be able to analyze their work critically even if they are filled with the best intentions. These people are not our friends. They are adults who have been hired to do a job -- they are professionals within a highly competitive field.

This isn’t on the same level as an amateur starting out drawing and still trying to unlearn the basics of art that treats white people as the default when they are drawing.

These are people who have had years of experience and have the resources to better themselves and to know better.

I think having these sorts of discussions is important, but I ask that you try and exercise a little thoughtfulness and compassion before dismissing other people’s frustrations as nothing. As if these frustrations come from nothing and as if they just enjoy getting angry for no reason.

Just because you don’t get it, doesn’t mean that it’s not an active problem.

It only means that you don’t have the perspective to see it.

not to sound like a Dumbass but i wonder if there would be a way for us to come together and send a clear message to disney/lucasfilm/whoever is responsible that the whitewashing in TBB is unacceptable and that they should change their models

That’s what I was thinking as well, but as far as I know the only one of us in the fandom who has experience writing to Disney is @celebrate-the-clone-wars. I’d absolutely be willing to join on because this is ridiculous.

We’ve organized written letters to both Disney and Lucasfilm in the past, though I would say having an organized social media front is also important. Before I splintered from the other mods on the other social media sites, we had kept up engagement and interest for the series on a daily schedule.

Even if you do not receive any direct engagement or responses from any representatives of Lucasfilm or Disney, the important thing is mainly getting the idea out there and getting people talking about it.

Be persistent. Keep it relevant, and keep people talking about it.

For those who want to write letters, here are some addresses we were referred to in the past:

Lucasfilm PO Box 29901 San Francisco, CA 94129-0901 USA

The Walt Disney Studios (Company) 500 South Buena Vista St. Burbank, CA 91521 USA

Again, not receiving a response doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t reading what you are writing. If you’re passionate enough to put something to paper and send it, chances are that there is definitely someone who will read it. 

The idea is to make it known and to be seen for it. And having written out examples of a lot of people sharing the same concerns and sentiment is more likely to get things turned around.

In regards to who specifically to contact, I would start with the main executive Producers (if writing letters, refer to the Lucasfilm address):

This isn’t to say that either of them are behind the white washing or the direction of the animation style, but they would be the ones to at least be made aware and know how to point things in the right direction.

When writing, I would say the most important thing is to keep things professional and to not write from a place of frustration.

Even if this is frustrating situation, we cannot know where decisions like this stem from -- but I also understand that Filoni has expressed in the past his frustrations with demands that a lot of fans had in regards to his works (specifically The Clone Wars series and Star Wars Rebels).

If you come in angry, that is going to be their first impression of you. And they have gotten a lot of angry fans come at them before, so keep that in mind.

Be sincere, but keep a cool head. Reiterate your love for the series and how you really want to see the new series succeed beyond expectations. And emphasize the need for change and progress -- a call to action.

After that, the hard part is to keep it going. To keep talking, to wait and to be patient.

Turnover and change isn’t instant and I remember having to wait for months before I got one response from Disney after sending out the letters. Or waiting weeks until one of the mods for our Twitter account had been contacted by a writer from TCW series after their first initial reach out. 

People told us very early on in the past that what we were trying to do was pointless and not going to make a difference when we were pushing for the series to get completed officially. You’re going to get a lot of that too. But despite all the uncertain things right now, I can at least say with certainty that nothing gets done if no one knows about it.

So, make it known.

Whitewashing Clones and Fetts

having now been vaguely involved in star wars fandom for the last few months it has become increasingly obvious that many people don't know how to draw clones (or any Māori characters for that matter) without wildly whitewashing them. I don't want to assume that everyone is aware that a lot of the things they're drawing are racist, many artists just seem to be uneducated and change how they draw the characters when kindly called out on it, so I figure the best way to address the problem is to make a masterpost of things artists should be avoiding, or adding in when making art of these characters (made with loads of help from Lucky @transfetts, who did all of the art for this post!

Should go without saying that this all applies to the Bad Batch, since the show isn't too far away. Just because canon has come up with excuses for whitewashing the characters, that doesn't make it fine for you to whitewash them too. Please actively try to make them look more accurate to how Temuera Morrison looks when you draw them.

1. Hair

One of the key issues is the way that people often draw the hair for the clones. remember, they are all Māori! this means their hair is not going to be naturally straight! in some instances, straight hair can be okay but only if there is a specific reason for it, eg. it was straightened artificially for a purpose like a costume or disguise. one of the two worst offenders for the hair being the wrong texture is the classic flat top and when the hair is tied up in a manbun style. the clone wars might have their hair sticking straight up but that doesn't make it okay for you to draw it that way. Temuera Morrison has curly hair, when his hair is short there should be clear lumps showing it is curly. The drawing just below has some examples from Lucky, first of the mistake most people make is having the hair sticking straight up, and a couple of examples of better methods of drawing that style and the tied up style! the key to accuracy is just making the hair lumpy, and ideally adding a few little curls sticking out for longer styles

Long hair should also not be straight, rather it should be relatively curly. Curly does not just mean giving it a few waves! There's a huge difference between making the hair vaguely wavy and making it truly curly

2. General Face Shape

The Clone Wars biggest crime is the way they fucked up the clones face shape. if you look at the gif linked below, you can see just how much they thinned out the clones faces and lengthened their chins. the best advice if you're struggling with the face shape is start off tracing Temuera Morrison! when in doubt, go straight to the source.

3. Lightening

I know everyone has talked about this but it always needs reminding that the clones are not white. stop lightening their skin. again, just copy Temuera Morrison! same goes for the eyes, the clone wars drastically lightened their eyes, the eyes should generally be a much darker brown. There is nothing inherently wrong with giving a clone blue eyes for plot reasons, but it is something that seems to happen far too much. Generally, stop looking for excuses to lighten their eyes. There's already too many clones with light eyes.

4. Nose Shapes

Please look at the examples from Lucky below, Morrison has a much wider nose than the clones do in the animated shows. When drawing them both face on and side on, it needs to be clear that the nose hasn't been thinned and lengthened like in the shows. This goes along with the face shape, Māori features are typically wide rather than long and thin, please stop white washing these features.

5. Moko

It has been super awesome seeing people incorporating the practice of inking the skin into clone and Mandalorian culture in their art! This is something I 100% support, but there a few things that should be noted in doing this. The most important is to never copy someone else's moko directly. moko is a sacred practice of carving our ancestors into our skin, each is individual and should never be directly copied. absolutely take inspiration from other people's moko! but please never come up with it directly. I would urge you to spend some time researching different designs, and spend the time designing something that is individual to the clone or Mando you are drawing. Even better would be to have an explanation of the meanings of the designs you have come up with along with the art! If this sounds too difficult I would recommend sticking with using mando'a for moko instead of traditional designs, although I personally think mando'a is the best thing to incorporate anyway.

The other important thing is not to refer to moko as tattoos, they are very much not the same thing. I would recommend doing a bit of googling to see the methods traditionally used for moko to help understand this.

TLDR: when in doubt, just use Temuera Morrison (or one of the actors of the younger clones) as a reference, rather than the Clone Wars models. just because the animated shows whitewashed the characters, that doesn't make it okay for you to do it.

In an ideal world, if we as fans can reject the whitewashing done by Disney, the people designing the characters would follow suit and start representing Māori more accurately. At the very least, actively portraying clones without whitewashing them will make people of colour feel far more welcome and comfortable interacting with clone artists.

i'm once again emotional obtaining proof for Shaak Ti and Ahsoka trained together to their sepecies's strength…

The life points I just gained reading confirmation that Ahsoka overcompensated out of insecurity

[ID: Screenshot of Ashley Eckstein's instagram post where she posts a picture a printed paper that features Ahsoka's character traits and descriptions that had been enclosed alongside a script of the first episode of The Clone Wars series. Text transcribed as follows:

Ahsoka's Transformation

Through the course of the series, Ahsoka will become a more competent and powerful on her way to becoming a full fledged Jedi. Ahsoka will learn to rely on herself in connection with the force as she becomes a powerful Jedi and strong young woman. Her hero's journey transformation will be evident in stories focusing on her personal growth through the Jedi Hero lessons. Character Traits:

Weakness:

Special Skills:

Speed - Naturally fleet of foot as a Togruta, Ahsoka's agility is magnified by her Jedi training in the Force. Having been taught the Jedi art of evasion by her fellow Togruta and Council Member, Shaak Ti, she's developed into an extremely elusive warrior.]

This moment here is where Luminara Unduli won me over fully. What I loved the most about Luminara in this introductory episode was the ease with which she could communicate, especially towards a student, like Ahsoka. When it is important Luminara can be so very clear in her communication.

Luminara starts out this episode overly sure of herself and underestimating Ventress.

After her fight with Ventress, Luminara’s also humble enough to quickly admit her mistake. She has no problem letting that previous arrogance go and change her mind. She could have doubled down here and declared that she was fine on her own, but instead she even takes the initiative to communicate to Ahsoka that she now sees that she was wrong and should have listen to her.

This clarity and willingness to take the first step also shows up in my favourite exchange of this episode, one right at the end, after Luminara thanks Ahsoka for saving her life:

Ahsoka clearly isn’t sure on how to interpret this. It’s sounds vague enough that it could be a reprimand, telling her that she went out of line. So, Luminara immediately makes herself clearer when she sees Ahsoka hesitating.

She makes sure that Ahsoka understands that she been given praise, and she sounds so warm doing it. 

(Let me just, eh, zoom in on this…)

(Perfection)

She’s still clearly warm in tone when they say goodbye, before going back to business. 

I know some people see Luminara as quite cold (and everybody has a right to their own interpretations), but for me, her warmth stands out just because she doesn’t have show it all the time. Luminara is reserved and professional most of the time, but when the moment allows it or calls for it, she can bring forward such a deep warmth. 

Fate of Celestials

Ever since season 3 of Clone Wars I was thinking what was the meaning of the Mortis arch… It is ambiguous and has many possible interpretations. Here are mine (that I am using in my fics too): 1) Anakin Skywalker refused to fulfill his role as a balance keeper. He rejected this role offered by the former holder - The Father, and thus failed to fulfil his destiny.  2) Ahsoka and Anakin both had seeds of the Dark Side within them, while Obi-Wan had not since the Son had no influence on him. Also the Daughter agreed to help Obi-Wan and entrusted him a dagger (a deadly artifact for the Celestial!). 3) My biggest concern though was the Jedi trio last moments on Mortis when Anakin was supposed to kill the Son. Obviously, with the dagger, which the Father had thrown aside after piercing his own heart, for Anakin to pick it up. But what did Skywalker do instead: he pierced the Son (along with the Father) with his lightsaber. As a result the Son did not fade away/unite with the Force like Father did. In the very last screen the body of the Son was still intact! 4) Morai. Where was Morai? How did she get connected to Ahsoka? I like to think that the Daughter had split her essence into two by giving Ahsoka her Force and the convor her wisdom/knowledge. 5) The Daughter did not fade either (like the Father). Was it because she transferred her essence into Ahsoka… so her body remained as a…memorial? 

The Mortis Arc was wild, all of it plays out like a dream. The way that Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi Wan walk and leave that realm without so much as hinting to it ever again afterwards has always been so strange to me.

I wonder if their memories were affected after the encounter, the kind of way you remember an early memory from when you were a child. But only vaguely, in pieces, and you don’t think of it too deeply -- you can only really sort of relive it second hand, if someone were to recount it to you.

Regardless, I always liked the idea of both the Son and the Daughter still living on through different life forms, in different ways, through different beings and people. Their existence is meant to cycle constantly and forever -- neither a curse or blessing, it just is. When they were alive, with corporeal forms, they clashed constantly, but never leaving too far before they came at odds again.

It doesn’t feel like that was ever meant to stop.

Despite the fact that the Dagger of Mortis is supposed to mainly be a form of control over the children, I like to think that the Dagger was also supposed to act as an eternal rest for the immortals. It would be a way for the cycle to finally cease and for them to truly be at rest. There would be consequences to them ending, of course, but I do not know if we will ever know what specifically.

However, without that, they would drift and go out into the universe, searching for other vessels to merge and cling onto. With no specific focus, there can be many.

So yes, the Daughter doesn’t fade because she is continues to exist in others.

I’d like to say it is the same situation for the Son.

And they will continue to find each other and be in conflict constantly again and again.

I haven’t posted any SW worldbuilding in a long time, and I’ve seen similar posts floating around about other alien species a while ago - so I wanted to do something similar & illustrate my own headcanons for Nautolan anatomy! Don’t come yelling at me for anything that you find ~illogical~, I’m not a scientist and this is just for fun lmfao

The last picture is more of an example of the large variety of colors and shapes present in Nautolans - few Nautolans are 100% pure-blood from any specific regions of Glee Anselm, but the more common combinations are coastal and tropical, as the deep sea Nautolans rarely leave their home planet or even their underwater territory.

Enjoy, and please forgive my crappy handwriting :’)