Jedi Finishing School...

[neotoma]

Yesterday, I met up with ellen_fremedom and sanj at the Takoma Park Folk Festival, which is always a delight. I stumbled through a round of contradancing, and harried Ellen and Sanj into the klezmer dancing exhibition.

While we were watching that, I had the thought -- Jedi must get taught all sorts of ettiquette and social skills for their roles as diplomats. In many cultures, being able to dance is a skill all adults have -- dancing is a fundmental life skill, as it's the way one meets marriageable people of the opposite sex and makes informal connections that grease the wheels of politics.

And we know that dance is an art form still respected on Coruscant, as Anakin meets Palpatine at a Mon Calamari opera/ballet performance.

So the padawans have some interesting classes when they're teenagers.

Dancing, in various styles and formalities. Alien cuisine (AKA how to eat live frogs and LIKE it). Formal forms of address for planetary nobility. How to wear a poncho without looking like a complete dork (uhm, most of the characters failed that one, I think.) Music appreciation -- or toleration, at least.

Somehow I've never seen this in fic: Obi-Wan and Anakin are always taking classes on Astronavigation and Advanced Physics. Which really doesn't make much sense -- they're trained negotiators and duelists, not freighter pilots. They need politics and social sciences much more than they need to be able to fly a ship.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Qui-Gon would be teaching some of those classes -- he's weird and enthusiastic, and it would make Obi-Wan turn *purple* to have to take Basic Contradancing from his master, who is scary in how much energy he is putting into teaching kids in the slowest athletic event of their entire lives...

Basically, I see it as an opportunity to mess with the heads of baby Jedi.

Oh, and I had another realization. Qui-Gon? Basically a terrier. A large one, like an Aierdale.

Terriers have three wakeful states:

• I must protect you, for I am your dog


• Rats! Kill the rats!


• Ooooo, vaudeville! Watch me! Watch me! I can tapdance!

and they are stubborn about all three. It's sort of a no-brainer, I think.

Comments

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

Have I told you lately that I love you?

Also, YES, Qui-Gon is a terrier.

AND STOP MAKING ME WANT TO WRITE PADAWAN-FIC!!!

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

No no. You come over this weekend and we will write Padawanfic *together*. It will be fun, and insane. And I can make Japanese pork cutlets or something.

And Qui-Gon is SO a terrier, scruffy coat, dead game attitiude, and all.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

You are nuts. *grins*

Our icons match!!

He really, really is. What's Obi-Wan?

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Obi-Wan is a German Shepherd, I think. Conscietious, very good at his job, but a bit high-strung and workaholic.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Sounds about right. And Anakin?

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Spaniel.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

*SNERK*

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

Oh! Mediaeval Baebes just came on my launchcast -- a song I recognized from when you introduced them to me! Whee!

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

The Baebes rule. 13th century incomprehensible English singing is the bomb.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

It so is.

[modillian.livejournal.com]

And lo, this is how one knows that one is a fan: one can go to almost any event or daily activity and relate it to the fandom. Sweeeet.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

*ded* I think I must add professions of love. :D This is cute, and you have a good point about different sorts of classes. I actually thought they might take Xenosociology and whatnot. They also seem to be big on Philosophy there.

And dancing! Ooo, I already had a plotbunny involving a dancing ball on Coruscant, and now you're making me want to ditch my responsibilities and write it. XD

I want a terrier now, and I'll name it Qui-Gon. All your fault.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Philosophy is part of being a Jedi, yes, but Xenosociology is part of being a diplomat. Since field Jedi tend to be negotiatiors as well as warriors, I'd think they'd get training in how not to make faux pas by snubbing the planetary governor at a ball and the like.

Ditch your responsibilities and write! I'll beta!

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

I agree, you make a really good point on that. I'm glad I was never too far off the beaten track on it. XD

Ditch your responsibilities and write! I'll beta!

Careful, I might take you up on that. ;)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Along with the "eat live frogs and LIKE it" classes, they also have the ones on which native foodstuffs are TOXIC to non-natives and how to politely decline.

The kitchen staff on the three-gravity planet was supposed to be tailoring the diplomats' food for offworlder biology, but they forgot and used a native garnish that made everyone sick. Oops. Very nearly a HUGE diplomatic incident!

But they still learn to fly ships.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think the foodstuff classes are much earlier -- for one thing, tricksterquinn and I figured out a whole lot about Jedi eating habits, including the fact that they customarily feed the spiciest food they can to the munchkins to innoculate them against touchy stomaches.

The Xeno-cuisine class (AKA 'Eat Gross Foods and Enjoy It') is taught to the kids between 10 and 12, when they would actually enjoy egging each other on to eat disgusting alien foods.

And yeah, they'd have to learn how to identify food that is not compatible with their own personal physiology.

They can learn to fly ships, but that's not where the main thrust of their education should go, I think.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

stella_belli pointed out that Anakin is kind of pit bullesque -- very sweet if trained right, terrifying if not. And yes, yes, yes, Qui-Gon is an Airedale. Such an Airedale (http://www.nebraska-airedales.com/pics/mealtime.jpg).

Jedi Padawan finishing school. An intense, twenty day long courses featuring five three-hour sessions, the first hour of which is devoted to slides and academic discussion, and the last two hours of which feature Qui-Gon telling Padawans that they should allow the Force to guide their steps in the Alderaan gavotte.

[rabidfangurl.livejournal.com]

::cannot stop laughing as brain has just said Qui-Gon = Aziraphale and well...::

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Qui-Gon = Aziraphale?

:brain breaks:

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

last two hours of which feature Qui-Gon telling Padawans that they should allow the Force to guide their steps in the Alderaan gavotte.

And Obi-Wan hiding his head in his hands and pretending someone, ANYONE, else is his master.

[rabidfangurl.livejournal.com]

If we're doing SW characters as dogs, might I submit that Vader is a a black lab? ::eyes own dog, who is currently doing her best heavy breathing thing::

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Nope. Vader is still a spaniel. A much abused one.