Star Wars Chat Pack: What does the Force look like to you?

Welcome to day 3 of my NaBloPoMo Challenge, where I pick a random card from the Star Wars Chat Pack.

Today I randomly picked the question, “Close your eyes and think of the Force. What does it look like to you?”

This idea of the Force being visualized in a certain way comes from the High Republic, when Jedi of that era had individual relationships with the Force and saw it in a very personal way. For example, Avar Kriss heard the Force as a song, each individual a note in the symphony of the galaxy. Vernestra Rwoh sees it as a river, or several rivers combining and flowing toward the sea of the galaxy. Burryaga, a Wookiee Jedi, sees the Force as a great tree with endless branches. Elzar Mann sees a great ocean, Stellan Gios the constellations, Bell Zettifar fire and flames. Etc.

Vernestra Rwoh from the book Star Wars: Chronicles of the Jedi by Cole Horton

How would I see the Force? Hmm, I never really thought about it. Before I learned about the High Republic Jedi, the Force was just an energy between people and things, invisible, not visualized in any particular way. I suppose, if I had to make something up, it would be colors, like a particular aura of colors around people and things. Different things and people would have different colors associated with them, and maybe a particular feeling along with it. A stone would be blue and cold; a tree would be green and energized; a loved one would be red and warm. Something like that, lol.

I like the idea of the Jedi of the High Republic visualizing different things when it comes to the Force–it shows how different and flexible they were compared to the prequel-era Jedi, more individualistic. They had a personal relationship to the Force. But for myself, I’m so used to just accepting it as an invisible force, it’s hard for me to associate it with anything in particular. It’s mysterious, a feeling, ineffable, but powerful. I like how Obi-Wan describes it to young Leia in the Obi-Wan Kenobi show when she asks him what the Force feels like.

“Have you ever been afraid of the dark?” he asks her.

“Yes.”

“And how did you feel when you turned on the light?”

“I felt safe.”

“Yes. That’s what it feels like.”

I like that analogy a lot. Maybe I’ve changed my mind; the Force is not color, but light, and all the associations light brings: safety, clarity, illumination, reassurance, goodness. It is the opposite of fear and ignorance. Of course, the Force has a dark side, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. At least, it’s not what I’m talking about, lol. Dark Force users would see and feel something completely different, I’m sure. But that’s another post.

How do you see the Force? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Chat Pack: Who is your favorite Star Wars villain?

Welcome to Day 2 of my NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) challenge, in which I pick a card from the Star Wars Chat Pack.

This time the card I picked asks, “Who is your favorite Star Wars villain?” A pretty basic Star Wars question, but I do have to think about it a bit.

My first thought would be Kylo Ren. He’s a fascinating character to me, and of course, Adam Driver’s performance is flawless. But is he truly a villain? Well, yes, he does do some evil stuff. But throughout the whole sequel trilogy, he seems to be trying so hard to be a villain. He’s not necessarily embracing the darkness as much as fighting the light inside him. So to me, Kylo’s a bit too complex to be an easy answer to this one.

Recently, Royce Hemlock, the super-creepy doctor from The Bad Batch, has fit that bill. Everything from his weird whispery voice, the way he holds his black-gloved hand, and his sheer coldness and calculation, make him a perfect villain. Frankly, he scares me, and I worry about our boys from Clone Force 99 encountering him (and Crosshair, who’s already at Mt. Tantiss and has suffered at his hands). But he’s new to the villain scene, and I don’t know enough about him to say he’s my favorite one.

Palpatine? Seems the obvious answer; he’s the over-arching villain of the entire franchise. He is evil incarnate. There are no redeeming qualities to this being–the glee he experiences in his depraved acts makes that clear (cue evil cackling). But because of this, he’s not boring, exactly, but not particularly interesting.

So I think my answer has to be Darth Vader. Who else? Here is a man who has fallen from the light and has embraced the darkness, but he takes no real pleasure in that darkness. He is a man in pain who lashes out. His evil is undisputable–from choking the woman he went to the dark side for in the first place, to killing the babies, to murdering pretty much anyone who displeases him, to blindly following the orders of Palpatine–he’s terrifying. But what really punches you in the gut is that he was once a good person. Anakin Skywalker was a hero, an amazing Jedi, a loving husband, a friend and ally to Obi-Wan. He was also impatient, arrogant, and fearful. Terribly flawed. Just like we all are. And so his fall is our fall, and it terrifies us. He’s an extreme example, but he is what we all could be, given the right circumstances. Which makes his eventual redemption that much more satisfying.

And now he pays…and makes others pay, too.

There’s a lot of villains to choose from in Star Wars. From those above, to Thrawn, General Grievous, Darth Maul, Jabba the Hutt, Admiral Tarkin, Snoke and any number of Sith Lords and Imperial baddies, villains abound. Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Chat Pack: What is your favorite Grogu moment?

Today is the first day of my NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) challenge, in which I pick a random card from the Star Wars Chat Pack and answer the question.

I got “What is your favorite Grogu moment?” and oh my word, how am I supposed to choose? The little guy is a scene-stealer. I love literally every single scene he is in, lol. Will I go with cutest, most integral to the plot, most heartfelt, or best character moment?

He’s cute in every single scene, so I can’t pick just one of those. Impossible.

Most integral to the plot? Anytime he uses the Force: healing Greef Karga, holding off the fire of explosions, communing with a Jedi on Tython (which brings Luke along). He comes in handy that way in many instances.

Here’s my pick for most heartfelt:

But if I’m going with a moment that truly defines who Grogu is, then it’s the scene where he breaks up the fight between Paz Viszla and Axe Woves (over some dumb thing) while he’s in the IG droid (Season 3, Episode 7). He keeps repeating “No, no, no, no.” Grogu is a Mandalorian through Din Djarin, but he’s also got a Jedi background, from growing up in the Temple and also with his training with Luke. He knows that if the Mandalorians keep fighting amongst themselves, they’re doomed to fail. Cute and smart, and pretty brave for getting in between two Mandalorians poised for violence. He’s a little hero in that moment.

Again, I could choose just about any scene with him in it for my favorite because, duh, Grogu. But that one shows how far he’s come since Season 1, how he’s grown and accepted the different parts of himself.

What is your favorite Grogu scene?

NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month)

So the other day I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), an online event that takes place every November, wherein writers dedicate the entire month of November to writing 50,000 words of their novel. I’ve taken part in NaNo a few times in years past, and thought it would be a good opportunity to finish a fan-fiction story I’d started some time ago (not the Bad Batch fanfic I just posted to AO3) but haven’t gotten around to finishing yet.

Well, soon after I decided I wasn’t into it and wouldn’t commit myself to that. But I had another thought not long after. When I had my old writing blog, I participated in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), which is a blogging equivalent to NaNo. You can write about anything you want, and it can be any length, but you must post every single day in November. There’s no official website for it anymore, but there’s no reason why you can’t do it anyway.

I just happened to buy the Star Wars Chat Pack (created by Kelly Knox, about $25 on Amazon), which is a bunch of cards in a box that has questions about Star Wars covering Characters, Technology, the Force, and the Galaxy. It’s meant to facilitate fun discussions among Star Wars fans, but you can ponder them alone, as well. I thought I’d do a weekly post answering one of the questions for something different.

Then I had the idea of doing a post every day on a different question for NaBloPoMo, randomly picking a card everyday and no matter what it is (no swapsies), write my thoughts on it. So that’s the new plan for November. If you get sick of seeing my posts in your inbox everyday, please ignore, lol. It’s more for me than anything else, to see if I can commit myself to posting everyday, and also just to see what I think about certain things in Star Wars. If you feel compelled to write your own answers in the comments, please do!

So starting tomorrow you’ll see my illuminating thoughts on fun, interesting questions about Star Wars. Can’t wait to start!