You know, with all the language throughout Star Wars about “giving in” to the Dark Side, how the Dark Side makes you more powerful, how the Dark Side makes you age strangely and destroys you, it sure doesn’t sound like an “opposite side of the coin” so much as the “deeper end of the pool,” like it’s actually the true form of the force and being a Jedi is about keeping it tamed so it doesn’t eat you the way it actually wants.
the force is entropy
Eldritch Jedi pls
This is one of the reasons i love the second Knights of the Old Republic game, wherein one of the major characters (who defines herself neither as Jedi nor Sith) actually views the Force this way, saying “I hate the Force. I hate that it seems to have a will, that it would control us to achieve some measure of balance, when countless lives are lost.”
It’s also the game that gave us the two most entropic, eldritch characters in the franchise: Darth Nihilus, whose dark-side-borne ability to feed on the Force and consume life itself has twisted him into a half-living “wound in the Force”, more presence than flesh
and Darth Sion, whose entire body is a ruin, his flesh nothing but ragged scar tissue, every bone and muscle broken and torn, kept animated by will alone as he forces himself, second by agonizing second, to exist
I wish there were more horrifying perspectives on the force like that
This is one of the reasons the term “Light Side” never felt right to me, even before it was used in any official media; The Force always struck me more like an ocean than a binary concept: the deeper you go, the darker and more crushing it gets — at a certain point becoming an effectually consistent darkness — and while light filters down and fades for some distance, if there is a truly light “side” it’d be the surface.
Which isn’t to say “the Force is evil unless you flounder about near the top” — just that it’s a natural force, and as such is something you need to respect and be adequately prepared for. (Take electricity, for example: super awesome and pretty dang useful, but OH HOLY SMOKES don’t try and harness it unless you REALLY know what you’re doing!)
In this sense, being tempted by the Dark Side is less a case of “Hey, I wonder what’s on the other side of this coin it looks pretty cool haha oh whoops I’m Space Walter White now,” and more one of “The deeper into this thing you go, the harder you’ll need to fight to resist the ever-increasing pressure, to remain whole, even to just see whatever the heck you’re actually doing.”
(which is why Jedi training is so important: those padawans gotta build themselves a mental Deepsea Challenger!)
THIS META BLESSED ME
Okay but let’s suppose, for a moment, that the Force is actually malevolent.
That would make a lot of sense.
Consider, for a moment, an eldritch parasite. This ancient being feeds off of the life-force of other creatures. Not that unusual, as most living things also consume other living things, to various degrees. But this one is technically somewhat removed from the usual structures of biology. It is a passive and opportunistic predator, for the most part. Whenever a living being that is connected to it – however weakly – dies, it consumes part of its energy, and gets bigger.
As life in the galaxy flourishes, and time passes, this singular entity gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Like a catfish; the only limit to its growth is how much it can consume to fuel it. The larger it gets, the more it is able to sink its invisible claws into other living beings, until eventually there is hardly any life out there which hasn’t been ‘infected’ by it, and slated to become its spiritual dinner as soon as its biological form gives out.
And here we actually come to – of all things – the midichlorians. Which, the Jedi use to measure someone’s sensitivity to the Force, which works because midichlorians are the vehicle for the predatory parasite to infest living beings. The immune systems in some people begin to develop a certain degree of resistance to them, which is why some folks have more, and some have less, and this directly correlates to their Force sensitivity. The more midichlorians you have, the worse your immune system is at fending off the parasite.
The Force counters the risk of being bred out of subsequent generations by developing camouflage, and adapting itself into a more seemingly-symbiotic relationship with its prey.
What the Jedi see as the ‘light side’ of the Force, is a reflective layer that this predator has created via its connection to all living things. This network is the honey trap that encourages the beings still strongly connected to it, to spread that connection, because it affords them advantages while they are still alive. But its elements are comprised mostly of echoes and reflections of their fellow prey organisms. Force Ghosts that resemble the departed. Emotions that are transmitted along this layer and between individuals. Small amounts of power that can be siphoned off to impact the environment, and can also spread the Force to whatever living thing it comes into contact with.
This being is huge now, it needs a lot of juice in order to maintain its existence, let along continue to grow. And like most predators it’s willing to expend a certain amount of energy in order to guarantee a bigger pay-off.
The deeper you go into the Force, the more the Force starts exerting its own will through you. And the less you see of the reflected camouflage of it, and the more apparent it becomes that the Force wants large swaths of death to feed it. Which is why Dark Siders often become so preoccupied with things like Death Stars.
But it’s a balancing act. A large population of relatively peaceful Force sensitives, like the Jedi, cost more than they’re worth, because beyond a point they take too much energy from the Force and don’t kill enough people to pay for it. A single individual abusing their powers for self-gain and murdering left and right, though, accomplishes the goal of feeding it. The Force obviously doesn’t want its food supply to die out completely, but this explains the persistent cycles of the Star Wars universe – as a soon as a group of peaceful Force users becomes prominent, they get wiped out by a few Dark Siders who have tread too deeply past the reflective surface of the Force, and become actual vessels for its will.
And then when the Dark Siders have finished killing a whole bunch of people, it’s time for them to go, too, so that they don’t wipe out the entire populace and kill off the Force’s food supply beyond its ability to reasonably recover. The peaceful types then see an upswing, as they are more adept at spreading the Force. So the cycle goes – Jedi spread the Force, Sith kill the Jedi and feed the Force, Jedi kill the Sith and resume spreading the Force. It’s a planting and harvest cycle, and the galaxy is populated with the Force’s living spirit crops. Anakin Skywalker, who was arguably one of the beings most closely connected to the Force, and had an extremely high midichlorian count, basically lived this cycle in its entirety as an individual – he spread the Force as a Jedi, he killed people as a Sith, and then he ended it all in order to preserve his progeny for the next round.
tl;dr – the Force wants to eat your soul. The reason the ‘light side’ types always get so up in their own asses is because what they perceive as the Force is basically their own reflections dangling in front of them like an angler fish’s lure. The reason the ‘dark side’ types get so messed up is because they’re basically the equivalent of those grasshoppers who get infected with a parasite that makes them drown themselves.
This point of view would actually explain both No-Attachment rule and the Order’s cradle-robbing – some more self-aware Jedi saw the Force for what it is and pushed for a rule that potentially would cut births of Force-sensitive kids to a bare minimum. And those who were born Force-sensitive thanks to a quirk of the Force are to be taken from the society in the quickest way possible before they mess up, given tools to keep it at bay, and indoctrinated to never want to dabble in the deeper ends of their ability. It would also explain the whole debacle of Unifying vs Living Force and why Jedi seem to prefer the former – all of the description of the Living Force I came across present it as more ever changing, nearly organic entity and Jedi that use is as more responsive to its nudges, so potentially more inclined to being “corrupted” by it.
i can’t wait for the day i get to marry the girl of my dreams and we’re both wearing beautiful dresses and i cry as she walks down the aisle and i make her cry during our vows and the officiator makes a joke about pronouncing us bride and bride and i sweep her into a kiss and later at the reception both of our families and friends are congratulating us and all the little kids in the family are running around playing and i whisper to my new wife that i can’t wait to have some kids of our own and then everyone’s on the dance floor and we’re dancing together as if it’s only the two of us and i twirl her around and we start laughing and i tell her how in love with her i am and i kiss her again and then during the toasts my bridesmaid jokes about how gay and in love we are and i make a toast about how my life will never be the same in the best way possible and i can’t wait to experience all the early mornings and late nights with the love of my life by my side everyday causing everyone to get teary eyed and once the wedding’s over and me and my wife are both back at the hotel room i tell her all about the home we’re going to create in our own little world and we fall asleep together with smiles on our faces and love in our hearts
I was thinking a lot about this moment. Somehow it feels like the agni kai was a watershed moment not only for Zuko, but also for Iroh.
I think this is something that Iroh is intensely ashamed about – and it is the source of all the patience he has with Zuko and his determination to make things right for him.
Because Zuko’s scar is not just a testament of Ozai’s cruelty as a father, but is a scar on the soul of the entire Fire Nation.
Their supreme ruler publicly mutilates his own son, a 13-year old child, who merely spoke the truth about a nation that in a quest for power has lost perspective on the worth of human life – and everyone cheers.
The scarring and humiliation of the young prince (who should be really the symbol of the future to his people) is a grotesque public spectacle.
And Iroh, who was once next in line to leading these people, former great war hero, one of the most powerful benders, and still one of the nation’s leaders – all he can do is to look away.
The boy who spoke the truth, who stood up for kindness, who tries to do the right thing, who refuses to fight his own father, who begs for forgiveness – he faces completely alone his horrible punishment, and nobody speaks up for him.
And I think this is Iroh’s moment of truth – that disagreeing privately is not enough, he cannot look away anymore. He realizes that healing this boy could be the chance to heal the Fire Nation, that he is maybe destined to be their leader, but not from the throne of the Fire Lord. He has to get Zuko through this trauma and show him kindness, love and acceptance in a way he has never experienced it. He has to teach him that speaking up and saying sorry should not and will not lead to harsh punishment, that kindness is not weakness and cruelty is not strength; that honor is not violence, but doing the right thing.
grievous is dead. dooku is dead. the cold air of utapau rattles through his helmet filters, burning his lungs and throat for the chill of it. around him, there are blaster bolts, cries of pain, the cliffs shaking underneath their boots, caked in red dust.
he has a lightsaber in his hand.
( not for the first time. it almost hit him in the head, dropping from above, this time ‘round, and he eyes the edge contemplatively, considering just tossing it over into the rock pools of water below. watching it fall. )
he looks out over the battlefield.
there are broken bodies, his brothers bright casts of white across the red landscape. kenobi had come charging through some of them earlier, on his dragonmount, and the mount had sent troops flying off the edge as it ran through them.
one of them hadn’t made it. obi-wan didn’t even mention their passing.
cody is a strategist, and sees the bigger picture, sees that they’re pushing the enemy back, another gunship dropping in, the lasers working to take out some of the spider droids they’re dealing with.
something tells him now is the time. he is marshall commander, the highest ranking clone in the gar, and it was agreed that he was the only one who could organize something like this. he gives one look more to the battlefield, and presses a code into his wrist comm.
‘ this is commander cody, ‘ he says, and in every active clone’s helmet, his voice echoes. ‘ it’s time. it’s time. ke narir haar’ke’gyce rol’eta resol. ‘
his comm clicks off, just in time, obi-wan’s dragonmount skittering up to cody, obi-wan looking weary, but forcing a grin, calling down to the commander, and cody pulls off his helmet, approaching him.
‘ commander! send your men to the higher … ‘ it doesn’t matter what he’s saying, and cody revels, almost, in just … not listening. it’s not important that he listens. ‘ cody? are you alright? ‘
he takes another step forwards, obi-wan’s lightsaber concealed in his hand, and presses it, unignited, to the dragonmount’s ribs, under the crook of its shoulder, and activates it. it dies without ceremony, crumpling under kenobi, who looks at cody as if he’s gone mad.
‘ hands in the air, sir, ‘ cody says calmly, and does what he had wanted earlier, and just tosses kenobi’s lightsaber over the edge. ‘ we don’t want to hurt you if we don’t have to. ‘
around them, there’s a cli-click-click-ck, of several guns being cocked, a circle of troopers surrounding obi-wan, who slides off the side of the mount, eyes darting back and forth, like he had added two and two and five had come out. ‘ commander, what is this? ‘
‘ you killed grievous. ‘
‘ yes, ‘ kenobi says, slowly.
‘ the war will be over in – weeks at most. days, at least. tell me, kenobi, ‘ cody says, and lifts his chin, an expression of almost serenity shining through jango fett’s face. ‘ what do you think happens to us, when the war ends? ‘
there were protests, of course. had been, since the beginning of the war. anti-clone protesters, who argued that if the clones and droids were both disposed of, the two sides could come to a peace so much more easily.
‘ i don’t know, commander, ‘ kenobi says. ‘ lower your gun. that’s an order. ‘
cody grins.
‘ we have our own, now. order sixty-six. if the war ends, the senate will do their best to forget us. if we want to be free, this is the only chance we get. we don’t want to kill you, but if we have to? we would. ‘ upon seeing kenobi’s betrayed look, he adds: ‘ how many of us might as well have died at your hands, sir? ‘
‘ very well, commander, ‘ obi-wan says, slowly, eyes not leaving cody’s face. ‘ i surrender. are you going to cuff me? ‘
‘ no, ‘ cody says. he knows kenobi too well. in a cell or tied up, he’ll be out in the blink of an eye, and a wave of blue stun blasts ripples through the circle of troopers, obi-wan’s body crumpling to the ground, unceremoniously. like a clone.
cody looks down at his general.
‘ get him in one of the gunships. move the tanks to the higher levels. we’ll finish this fight and then begin the negotiations. ‘
“Sweet dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree?“
Holy shit this fucking super power. The avengers did Quicksilver WRONG.
Holy shit
The brilliant thing about this isn’t just the CGI, it’s the clever little touches of humor– mussing the boy’s hair, saving the goldfish, drinking the soda can, the moonwalk, lining up the dart with the dartboard. I notice new details every time I see this clip. You can watch this scene with zero context and still fully enjoy it. You don’t need to know who he is or who he’s saving or why. There’s a guy who runs real fast and he’s saving people from an explosion, and he’s having a blast with it, and that’s all you need to know. It’s entertaining and fully comprehensible even if you know nothing about the movie. That’s damn good filmmaking.
There’s that, and there’s also the fact that his mind is at least as fast as his body. He knows exactly how much time he has at his current rate of speed to make sure no one gets even a little hurt by the explosion that’s going to hit them with the same force as it normally would no matter how fast he personally is going and how slow other things look by comparison. He’ll take people one at a time if he can, two at a time if he has to, and those he doesn’t have time to get fully out of the building before the explosion hits someone else, he … figures something out (mattress, curtains, pond).
Everyone focuses on the speed of speedsters. No one ever thinks how smart they have to be to actually act at that speed without hurting someone.
I was thinking about this last night, where someone noted that what makes an experienced speedster dangerous isn’t just their speed, but the reaction and processing time required to use that speed effectively. Someone who moves that fast is dangerous, someone who can react instantaneously and is effectively impossible to surprise is terrifying.
Marvel had my mans die by gunshot
Meanwhile the guy saving people from an explosion is having a blast
Hey friends! I’ve gotten a lot of questions about that Maul copic drawing I did (like a LOT of questions) so I’m going to go through the steps of how I do marker art, and hopefully this will hit most of the questions I’ve been getting!
Step 1: Sketch your subject and block out colors! Use as little pencil as possible, because marker will pick it up and make your drawing all smudgy. Maul is easy bc he’s just red and black, so do the lightest version of these colors that you have (so here I picked a light pink and a light grey, because I’m going to be building up colors as we go)
General art tip: start light, it’s easier to go over lighter marks than darker marks
Step 2: Mark out your highlights! Remind yourself where the light is hitting your subject; it’s easy to lose track of lights/shadows if you’re not careful. (Sometimes this step isn’t necessary if you’re going to use the light values from step 1 as your highlights)
General art tip: highlights on black aren’t necessarily grey; often they look better if you use another color (I like blue, personally)
Step 3: Put in your lighter values/colors! For Maul, his reds are lighter than his blacks, so I did those first. Remember that red isn’t just “red”, so where the light is hitting him I made the red more pink or orange
General art tip: Your drawing is allowed to look crazy along the way! Don’t be discouraged if things are looking rough, a lot of art only comes together in the last few steps (so embrace the weird awful journey!)
Step 4: Block out your dark colors/values! Since Maul’s “dark” colors are just black, I used a dark grey, leaving room to darken it up more as I go along. I also re-did the blue highlights, and used a medium-blue to put shadows over the reds
General art tip: It’s safer to not jump straight to black. Build it up as you go to avoid unfixable mistakes. Also– shadows don’t have to be darker versions of the same color. Since my highlights were light blue, I used a darker blue to put in shadows.
Step 5: Black! Since this Maul is a cartoon, I used a black thick-tip pen to put in outlines and make sure all my shadows were dark enough. I also built up more shadows using greys and blues to make sure there was enough contrast
General art tip: I usually don’t recommend outlining drawings, but it felt right in this case so I went for it. It’s a judgement call. Do it if the universe is telling you to.
Step 6: Strong highlights! Go in and capture those shiny bits that you want to make stand out. I used a white acrylic pen for this step.
General art tip: use white highlights sparingly. Most highlights aren’t white, but you can get away with it if you don’t use a lot.
And that’s it, folks!
Hopefully this helped anyone who is struggling with using marker. It can take a while to get used to, since there’s a lot of careful layering that can’t be erased/painted over/deleted.
There are a lot of different ways to approach using marker, and this is by no means the “best” or the “right” way. It’s just some general steps I use that have worked for me. A lot of drawing is trial and error, so figure out what works for you.
Raf's rants 