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Sometimes, after a bad mission, the best thing to do is to seek out friends who understand. Written for Fandom Empire Prompt Tables 2024 - Prompt: "Write a ficlet" and @starwarsalltypesoflove week - Prompt: "Pragma"
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It wasn’t a premonition that had Mace getting out the tea kettle, but the Force likely did aid him in the timing, as he was just taking it off the heat as the door to his quarters slid open, and Qui-Gon walked in and sank onto one of the round cushions.
Mace didn’t ask if it had been a rough mission; it was obvious in the tenseness of the Force pulled around Qui-Gon, and in the weariness spilling out. It took a lot to rattle Qui-Gon, but Mace knew that he’d get the full details when he and Obi-Wan gave their mission report.
For now, tea.
He offered a cup to Qui-Gon, who accepted it with wordless gratitude, before sitting down with his own cup. For a few moments they sat in steady silence, Qui-Gon’s tension slowly easing.
“I told the Council that this mission was ill-advised,” he said, eventually.
“You did,” Mace agreed. “But it had to happen, and there is no other pair of Jedi who could have handled it better.”
“You haven’t heard our mission report yet.”
“It won’t change my opinion in that regard.”
Qui-Gon lifted his cup and drank from it, before exhaling softly.
“Obi-Wan handled himself well,” he conceeded. “And we did what we could.”
“That’s all anyone can ask.”
Qui-Gon smiled. “Bold words from you, my friend. How often have I had to remind you of the same? And I’m sure if I asked Yoda, he could name many times more.”
It was true. One’s efforts never felt like enough, sometimes, when missions went south. The trap of self-recrimination was a difficult one to escape – at least on one’s own. That was why these moments shared over tea in the aftermath were so valuable.
“And Obi-Wan?” Mace asked, after a hum of agreement.
“With his own friends,” Qui-Gon said. “They’re what he needs right now.”
Mace understood that as well – after all, he and Qui-Gon had done the same, as padawans. There were times when you confided in your master, and there were times when you confided in your peers.
There was no shortage of people to turn to, in the Temple. Everyone needed support, and everyone offered it. Their shared duty and calling, and both the joy and hardship that came with it, was something they all understood.
And so they took these quiet moments together, to center themselves, and go back out into the world, ready to face its ills again – but never alone.
independent_variables
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano Characters: CT-7567 | Rex, Ahsoka Tano Additional Tags: Rebellion Era (Star Wars), Ahsoka and Rex stick together after O66, otherwise canon compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, the start of the AT-TE house and Rex’s Rebels friendgroup and also the beard, Ahsoka is not a fan of the beard yet but she’ll come around, Platonic Life Partners, at least those are the vibes i think?? Summary:
The ruins of the AT-TE’s various motors lay scattered across the engine room, some parts destroyed but some salvageable, if he had a month or three to sort and clean and repair it all properly. Reassembling the engines would be another lengthy but indeterminate quantity of time.
Well. He had time, now.
***
Rex and Ahsoka start a project as they contemplate their past and their future.
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Another one for @starwarsalltypesoflove week!!! We are halfway through and so far it’s been a blast looking though my work to see what I’ve got to contribute. This is… undefined but potentially soon to be fully embraced queerplantonic something. Pragma, perhaps.
Here's some queerplatonic obikin :D
Summary: Anakin went to some small town, met a wonderful woman and fell in love during the Christmas holidays, so now he's going to move close to his new girlfriend, far from the city he lives in. Which means leaving his best friend behind. Because that's how the movies go, right?
Or, Anakin realises that Obi-Wan is more important than romance.
Today is the day! Welcome, everyone, to Star Wars: All Types of Love week! It's time to start sharing our creations!
To share with us, use the tag SWATOLW and/or @ us, and please tag what type of love your work is celebrating! We'll be adding all shared posts to a queue.
Happy posting! We are excited to celebrate with you.
Sorry if this is a silly question- would sexual love fall into ludus? Romantic & sexual love/attraction are separate, so I wanted to confirm if they are both not allowed for this event or just romantic?
Hi @armoralor! Not a silly question at all. Sexual relationships and sexual attraction are most definitely allowed, as long as those relationships/feelings are not also romantic.
The only requirement is that, to go with the sexual aspect, there must be love! This is the focus of our event. That love could born out of ludus, but it could also be philia, pragma, or in some cases even philautia. Have fun with it!
THE SEVEN TYPES OF LOVE
The human existence is vast and rich. Feelings, in particular, seem endless and varied. How can one define all that encompass what humans mean when they say love?
Philosophers in ancient Greece decided we could not. Which is why they decided to specify the type of love they referred to when they said love by categorizing them into seven major types.
Eros – Passionate, Romantic Love
Philia –Friendly, Affectionate Love
Storge –Familial, Unconditional Love
Agape – Selfless, Universal Love
Ludus – Playful, Flirtatious Love
Pragma – Dutiful, Committed Love
Philautia – Love of Self
1. Eros – Passionate Love
Eros is passionate love, and everything we think of when we think of the Hollywood version of love. To the ancient Greeks, this physical, desirous love could be dangerous. Powerful and possessive, it is easy to lose control of. Relationships built solely on eros tend to be short-lived, as passion is transient by nature.
It represents the love found in sexual intimacy and romance.
2. Philia –Friendly Love
Philia is a friendly love. It is shared goodwill. A friendship that is not only associated with mutual benefit but also with companionship, dependability, and trust.
Real friends seek together to live truer, fuller lives by relating to each other authentically and learning each other’s limitations. They help each other become their best selves.
Essentially, you can think of Philia as the type of love where you simply want the best for another person. The ancient Greeks thought it was even more precious than Eros, the foundation of the best kind of friendship.
3. Storge – Familial Love
Storge is the unconditional love between kin, in particular the love parents have for their children. More broadly, storge is the fondness born out of familiarity or dependency.
It is defined by unconditional acceptance and sacrifice. Compared to eros and philia, it is much less contingent on our personal qualities.
People in the early stages of a romantic relationship often expect unconditional storge, but find only the need and dependency of eros. If they are lucky, given enough time and care, eros can mutate into storge or philia.
4. Agape – Selfless Love
Agape is compassionate love. It is an empathetic, selfless love for others that includes a love for other humans, for nature, or for a higher power.
It doesn’t depend on familiarity. Instead, it is the love for the stranger or the unknowable. Agape has links to altruism, which is understood as an unselfish, genuine concern for the welfare of others. It is a love that expects absolutely nothing in return, and in turn, just makes you feel good.
A lot of people consider agape to be a spiritual love, expressed through meditation, nature, intuition, and spirituality.
5. Ludus – Playful Love
Ludus is playful love. Flirtatious, seductive and non-committal—Ludus is all about having fun. The point of this love is the experience itself rather than the feelings.
Ludus is evident at the beginning of a relationship, when we feel full of play, teasing, and excitement.
Dancing, seducing, will-he-won't-he and all that jazz, it can lead to a one-night stand, a no-strings-attached fling, or a long and casual relationship. As long as there is a sense of play and levity from both parties, it is ludus, an uncomplicated sort of love.
6. Pragma – Dutiful Love
Pragma is a practical love founded on reason, duty and the couple’s long-term interests. Sexual attraction takes a back seat in favor of shared goals, compatibility, and "making it work." The higher common purpose is served, rather than the individual's desires.
In the simplest of terms, it is long-term and works thanks to constant nurturing. It is seen in long-term marriages and friendships. Respect is fundamental, as is serving the purpose of the union. Its qualities are commitment, endurance, companionship, and sharing similar hopes for the future.
This type of love is an accepting love that matures as the couple spends year after year together. It can be associated with storge or philia. A healthy pragma is sincere, patient, mature, and in all honesty, quite rare (and therefore special).
7. Philautia – Self Love
Finally, philautia is self-love. It is based on a sense of self-worth. It can be healthy or unhealthy.
Unhealthy self-love is akin to hubris. In Ancient Greece, people could be accused of hubris if they placed themselves above the gods, or, like certain modern politicians, above the greater good. Philosophers believed that hubris was the enemy and led to destruction.
Healthy self-love, on the other hand, is akin to self-esteem, which is our cognitive and also emotional appraisal of our own worth. More than that, it is the matrix through which we think, feel, act, and reflect on the way we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the world.
In everyday language, "self-esteem" and "self-confidence" tend to be used interchangeably. However, self-esteem and self-confidence do not always go hand in hand. In particular, it is possible to be highly self-confident and yet to have profoundly low self-esteem, as is the case, for example, with many performers and celebrities.
Of all of the different kinds of love, this one is often the most challenging for people. However, it is foundational to the other types of love. Ancient Greeks saw philautia as the necessary love that made it possible to give and receive love from other people. We cannot give what we don’t have. And so, we cannot love others if we don’t love ourselves first.
Philautia, therefore, is something like self-compassion. Much like we show affection and love to other people, it is important to show that affection to ourselves, to be compassionate to one’s self and able to forgive.
Greek philosophers believed that true happiness could only be achieved when one had unconditional love for themselves, which makes it possible to love others truly in turn.
The Seven Loves
In closing, there is, of course, a kind of porosity between the seven types of love, which seep and pass into one another. Some philosophers believed love aimed at beautiful and good things, because the possession of beautiful and good things is happiness, and happiness is good and beautiful in itself.
Of all good and beautiful things, the best, most beautiful, and most dependable is truth or wisdom. It teaches us about ourselves, about others, and about life, which help us make better choices through this greater understanding and therefore live better lives.
We tend to agree.
Love, in all its forms, is one of the most powerful emotions in the world.
Note:
Our sources are below in order of credibility, but this exploration of the different types of love is in our own words and based on both our reading and our own understanding of the concepts.
Early Greek philosophy
Platonic Love
Love like a Greek: the 7 loves according to Ancient Greek philosophy
These Are the 7 Types of Love
7 Types Of Love (from Greek)
What Are the 7 Types of Love?