#alderaan culture

[archeo-starwars]

source: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Tantive IV from Star Wars Insider #90

[kylosbreedingkink]

Let's make the name Kylo an Alderaan name, maybe some knight in their myths who does heroic deeds.

Exactly the type of thing a kid would name themselves after when they hear the bedtime stories.

It's cute, it's cool, and it gives us some fun cultural stuff to work with.

And it fits with the fact that his ship was named Grimtaash after an Alderaanian mythological figure.

[starstwinkleplanetsshine]

No Time for Sorrows

Every time I watch A New Hope I'm struck by Leia's resilience and strength. She loses everything in the blink of an eye, and watches it happen, and yet goes on to be the ultimate badass. I always wondered what was going on within her, how she pushed her pain aside to get the job done. So I decided to write the events of Star Wars: A New Hope from her perspective with the context of her overwhelming pain and loss.

Summary:  During the darkest moment of her life, Leia Organa had to push forward and bury her pain deep inside her. There was work to be done, a star destroyer to escape from, Death Star plans to deliver, and a battle station to destroy. She had always been taught to put her duty above her feelings, what needed to be done above her emotions. And now, as her whole life shattered around her, she relied on that training. Suddenly alone in the galaxy, she somehow found the hope and strength to continue on and make her parents proud.

Read on AO3 here :) 

Leia Organa sat in her too-cold prisoner cell aboard the star destroyer that she had been dragged onto not more than two hours before. The cold steel around her was rivaled by the frozen blood in her veins and she couldn’t even feel how hard the bench was that she was now curled up on. She couldn’t feel her heart beating, and she wondered if it had stopped. She couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in her own ears. She couldn’t see anything but the too-bright white of the wall directly in front of her, the shadows beginning to become distorted from staring at one spot for so long. Too long. 

The tears wouldn’t come. They couldn’t. If she let herself cry, that meant she let herself acknowledge the horror that had just happened. If she let herself cry, that meant it was real. 

And it couldn’t be real. 

Even though she saw it with her own eyes. 

She felt nothing but numbness. The fear that coursed through her as she pleaded for Governor Tarkin to spare her planet had long faded, the terror of Darth Vader’s vice grip on her arm as he held her in place was a distant memory. Yet no matter how hard she tried, it played over and over in her mind. 

The vastness of space. The beauty of a thousand stars. Her planet, Alderaan, a beacon of hope and freedom and goodness in an increasingly dark galaxy, shining blue and green in the distance. A green beam of light. And then, suddenly, nothing but shattered rock. 

A thousand images flashed through her mind in that one second. The palace she grew up in. Appenza Peak capped with snow. The forest around her home. Her favorite ocean. Her nurses and handmaids. Her childhood. Kier Domadi. Her parents. 

Her parents. 

They were all gone now, scattered into space. 

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to think of something else, anything else, but that was impossible. What else was there to think about? Her entire life had blown up in front of her eyes, and in less than an hour she was going to be gone too. Her execution didn’t even scare her anymore, the thought of dying no longer made her want to run away as far as she could. She was no longer plotting her escape, thinking of some way to talk herself out of the situation. Clearly, the time for that was over. Clearly her time, like Alderaan's, had come. 

And strangely enough, that thought brought the smallest bit of comfort. At least she was going to see her parents again soon. 

She had just closed her eyes when someone burst into the room. 

It was a stormtrooper, but he didn’t say anything. He just stood there. Something deep within her told her that something was off, and through her shock and confusion words she didn’t remember thinking poured out of her mouth, 

“Aren’t you a little short to be a stormtrooper?” 

“Huh? Oh the uniform.” The intruder took off his helmet in a flash to reveal a young man, Leia guessed around her age, with kind eyes and blonde hair. “I’m Luke Skywalker, I’m here to rescue you.” 

Something about this boy, something about the name he just uttered, stirred something deep within her, something she had never felt before. Or, maybe she had felt it, but so long ago it was like a memory from a dream. Whatever this force was pulled her off of her side and she sat on the hard bench. For the briefest moment, her pain eased. 

“I’m here to rescue you, I’ve got your R2 unit. I’m here with Ben Kenobi.” 

That name pulled her onto her feet in an instant. Ben Kenobi who rescued her and returned her to her parents when she was only ten years old. Ben Kenobi who fought the scariest things she had ever seen, who protected her when she was her most vulnerable. Ben Kenobi who cared for her more than a stranger should. Ben Kenobi who knew her birth parents and told her about them. Ben Kenobi who she hadn’t seen in nine years. Ben Kenobi who was a Jedi. 

“BEN KENOBI?! Where is he?” 

“Come on, I’ll show you.” 

She followed Luke out of her cell and into the hallway of the cell bay where she ran into another man and a Wookiee. It was clear right away that the three were hopelessly without a plan, and so she did what she had always done, what she was raised to do–take the lead and do what needed to be done. And as she was running from stormtroopers and telling her rescuers how to survive, she almost forgot about the searing pain coursing through her that had consumed her soul a few minutes before. She pushed it aside, into a small box in a dark corner of her mind, because what else could she do? Now that she had a chance, she needed to escape. Now that Ben Kenobi was here, she had hope again. Somehow, he heard her message and was here to save the day, to make everything right, just like he had done all those years ago. And a small part of her found comfort in the fact that he knew her parents, too. The thought of talking to someone who knew Bail and Breha, who could remember them with her, compelled her to move forward. 

This drive took her into a garbage chute, out of it, running down hallways from stormtroopers, firing her blaster wildly behind her, flying across a chasm clinging onto the boy who broke her out of her cell, and finally into the flight bay where she saw the oldest and most run down ship she had seen in her life, but at least it meant escape. It meant one member of the last Alderaanian royal family was going to survive, it meant she could tell her planet’s story. 

And as she ran into the room she saw him, her hero, Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

Fighting Darth Vader. 

Blocked by stormtroopers, separated by a chasm, she watched as Obi-Wan, her Ben, looked over to them as they ran into the room. She watched as Luke walked towards the chasm, peering at the action curiously. And Leia couldn’t be sure, but she could swear she saw the smallest smile appear on Ben Kenobi’s face. She was just forming a plan on how to get him out of there, she had seen him fight more enemies at once and she knew he had faced Darth Vader before, so she was sure he would do it again. Maybe they could get the falcon over there, or they could take out the stormtroopers and Ben could jump over the chasm leaving Vader behind, or…

In an instant, Vader’s blade cut through the space where Obi-Wan had just been standing and he was gone. 

“NO!” Luke’s voice echoed across the large room and caused all the stormtroopers to turn and fire. She shot back at them, with her and Han yelling at Luke to run to them, to leave so that they could escape. 

“Luke! It’s too late!” She screamed above the blaster fire and wished with everything in her that he would run to them. Too late. Too late for Ben Kenobi. Too late for her parents. Too late for Alderaan. She barely heard Han tell Luke to blast the door, and he must have because it began to shut and the last thing Leia saw was the hulking figure of Darth Vader striding towards them as the door closed on him. Luke ran to the Falcon and Han and Chewbacca rushed to power up the ship as quickly as they could. Leia felt the ship take off and exhaled for the first time in a while. She didn’t even realize she had been holding her breath. 

She watched as Luke slowly, purposelessly, limped to the bench and dejarik table where he sat down with a thud and laid his head on the table. A thick silence and palpable sadness filled the air, and so Leia did what she was taught to do in times of crisis: she turned her attention to others. She did her best to find any solution she could. She did her best to help those around her. 

She found a worn, sand colored poncho on the ground and brought it over to Luke, gently laying it over his shoulders and sitting down next to him while placing a hand on his back. They sat in silence for a while, Luke doing nothing but shaking his head and tracing lazy circles on the table. Leia recognized his shock. 

“I just can’t believe he’s gone.” The pain in his voice was real, she knew it all too well. The words could have been coming out of her own mouth, and for a brief moment a flash of anger rose within her. She just lost her entire planet, her home, everything and everyone she had ever known and loved. Everyplace she walked as a child, every tree she climbed when life got too harsh. All gone. He still had a home he could run back to, a people and a place he was familiar with, a people and a place he could call his own. Didn’t he know she had lost so much more? Didn’t he know she could never go home again? Didn’t he know how much pain she was in? 

‘No’ She told herself. ‘How could he know?’

So she banished those thoughts of anger and comparison, it wasn’t fair to anyone. It wouldn’t help, it would only make her bitter. But most of all, it wouldn’t be what her parents would want of her. 

“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done.” She didn’t know if she was talking to Luke or herself. She hoped he couldn’t hear how the words were sticking in her throat, how the pain of another loss was weighing on her like the mountains of her home she would no longer see. He didn’t know, he couldn’t know, but losing Ben Kenobi stung her every bit as much as it did him. In an odd way, knowing he was alive, knowing he was near, was like a tether to her parents. She knew that he was one of the only beings she knew who could share at least a small part of her grief, who could remember her parents with her. And now even that was gone. 

Now she truly was alone. 

-----

“Come on buddy, we’re not out of this yet.” Han came sliding into the room and broke into their grief. In moments, they were up and running to their places, ready to take on whatever the Empire was about to throw at them. 

Neither of the boys could have the faintest idea of how much Leia Organa was breaking apart inside. Neither of them could know how every step took every bit of strength she had in her, how every word was the hardest thing she had ever had to say, how every breath was like fire in her lungs, burning her whole body. 

But there was work to be done, so she kept her mask on. 

She was a politician, after all. And a Princess. She was used to her feelings and personal life taking a back seat. 

Leia found herself in the cockpit with Han Solo after they had escaped the TIE fighters that had chased them. 

“Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh?” The smugness in his voice got on Leia’s nerves instantly. “You know, sometimes I even amaze myself.” Leia tried to treat everyone with kindness, except arrogant men who talked down to her. 

“That doesn’t sound too hard.” She didn’t try to mask her disdain. She sighed, reminding herself to act like a Princess. “They let us go, it's the only explanation for the ease of our escape.” 

“Easy? You call that easy?” Even Han’s voice made Leia want to punch him in the face. She thought about the countless chases she had been in since working with the rebellion, and the pilots that got her out of the many scrapes she found herself in. She thought about a friend of hers, a certain green Twi’lek rebel captain, who would certainly fly circles around Han, and not just because she had a better ship. 

“They’re tracking us.” 

“Not this ship, sister.” She decided to ignore his arrogance and disrespect. 

“At least the information in R2 is still intact.” If anything happened to that droid, or that information, everything would be lost. Everything she sacrificed would have been for nothing. 

“What’s so important? What’s he carrying?” 

“The technical readout for that battle station.” Her words were biting, not trying to mask her annoyance. “I only hope that when the data’s analyzed a weakness can be found.” She felt her tone shift, her voice drop. She thought about what would happen if they couldn’t find a weakness, what if they couldn’t stop that weapon, what if–No. There had to be something. “It’s not over yet.” In the back of her mind, she knew it never would be. 

“It is for me, sister. Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, Princess.” Hearing that title nearly knocked the wind out of her. How can you be a princess of a place that no longer exists? “I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money.” What a luxury it must be to pick and choose what you care about, she thought. How lucky he must be to not need to stop this evil. How jealous she was that this fight wasn’t real for him, wasn’t intensely personal. She wondered what that felt like. 

“You needn’t worry about your reward.” Her words were cold as Hoth, her pain turning into icy fury and shooting daggers directly into him. “If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive.” She shot out of her chair, her anger propelling her as she used all her willpower to stop hot tears from bursting out of her eyes. She still hadn’t let herself cry and she was not about to break down in front of this arrogant asshole. She was moving so blindly she ran right into Luke. “Your friend is quite a mercenary.” Her disgust was dripping with every word. “I wonder if he really cares about anything. Or anybody.” Before her anger could explode out of her, she stormed down the hallway in search of a private room. 

-----

Before long, the Falcon was circling around Yavin IV and Leia could breathe a sigh of relief. This was the closest thing she had to a home now, and she knew there were people down there who shared her pain and grief. Fellow Alderaanians who were off planet because of the rebellion, or fellow senators and rebel leaders who worked closely with her father. With every step, she reminded herself there was still work to be done. 

Soon, the three of them were in the base and shuttled to a flight bay. And there, like an oasis in the desert, stood her old family friend Vanden Willard. Commander Willard had been in Leia’s life since she was a child, he was an old friend of her fathers and was always present at any birthday or celebration. He was always kind, and he always made Leia feel safe. But most importantly, he was Alderaanian. He knew exactly what she was going through, almost exactly what her pain was. Seeing him made her pain ease even the tiniest bit, because she knew she wasn’t alone. She knew there were others like her out there going through the same shock, grief, anger, sadness, and confusion. She was on her feet in an instant, walking over to him and putting her arms around him in a gentle hug. She was surprised when she felt a smile form on her face, but she knew it was either feel the joy of an Alderaanian standing in front of her or cry at the horror of what happened just hours ago. She chose to smile. 

“You’re safe. When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst.” ‘No please, she thought. Please don’t talk about our home. Not here, not now.’

“We have no time for sorrows, Commander.” What she meant was that she couldn’t let herself stop moving long enough to truly acknowledge what happened. She couldn’t think about it for more than a few seconds for fear of breaking down completely. She couldn’t allow herself to feel the weight of the crushing loss because she didn’t know if she could ever recover from it. If she let herself crumple now, she was afraid she would never be able to stand tall again. 

So she pushed forward, like she had always done. Like her parents taught her. 

“You must use the information in this R2 unit to help plan the attack.” She continued, walking swiftly ahead. She had a job to do, a role to play. She always did. “It’s our only hope.” 

Time seemed to stop moving entirely and also move too fast. Leia lost track of it ever since the rivers on Alderaan stopped flowing, like her tether to reality was lost with her home. She found herself in the briefing room surrounded by a hundred pilots as she listened to General Dodonna explain what they had learned from the plans that were hidden in R2. She was only half listening until she heard her name,

“An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia” Didn't they all know that wasn’t her name anymore? “has demonstrated a weakness in the battle station.” Leia let out a shaky breath and thanked the force. At least for now, her sacrifices meant something. The general continued explaining how a small, one-man fighter could approach the battle station and exploit its weakness, and Leia found herself looking to the blonde haired boy who had helped her escape. She didn’t understand why, but she felt pulled to him, like there was a golden string binding the two of them, drawing them together. 

“The target area is only two meters wide.” General Dodonna’s voice broke through her reverie and caused the whole room to stir. Leia had only flown a handful of ships in her life, but she knew that was a near impossible task. She saw Han roll his eyes in the back of the room and share a look with Chewbacca, and then she noticed Luke. He wasn’t complaining or grumbling to the boys around him like the others, he was quiet. He looked at Leia for a moment while the general continued to explain that a precise hit to the shaft that leads to the reactor system would start a chain reaction that would bring the whole station down. 

“That’s impossible, even for a computer.” A whiny voice came from the crowd. Somehow Leia knew Luke was about to speak before he opened his mouth. 

“But it's not impossible. I used to bullseye womp-rats in my T16 back home. They’re not much bigger than two meters.” His voice was quiet, gentle, and not loud enough to get everyone’s attention as General Dodonna continued speaking, but Leia heard it and it brought a small smile to her face. She was warmed by his natural optimism. 

“Then man your ships. And may the force be with you.” The general ended his briefing and all the pilots got up and began to head to their ships, many of them grumbling about the impossible odds of what they were about to attempt. 

Leia made a point to find Commander Willard to tell him the details of what happened to their home. As much as it pained her to talk about it, he deserved to know the truth. He needed to know it. There was so much rumor and speculation in the air and in the whole galaxy about the destruction, Leia needed him to know what really happened. But even as she was reporting it, it was like she was recounting something from a dream, something that didn’t really happen to her. She still hadn’t let herself accept the finality of it. She still hadn’t let a single tear fall, although her eyes did well up as she hugged the Alderaanian commander again. Their shared grief snuck into her soul and threatened to cause her to collapse, so she decided to find Luke Skywalker before he took off. As she approached him, she could see and feel that something was off. 

“What's wrong?” They didn’t have long, the horrible battle station was orbiting the planet above them and they were running out of time. 

“Oh, it's Han. I don't know, I really thought he’d change his mind.” Leia was once again struck by the hopefulness the boy carried within him, he saw goodness within everyone, no matter how deep it was buried. She wished she had his altruism, but years of politics and helping her mother rule their planet sucked that out of her. 

“He’s got to follow his own path. No one can choose it for him.” 

“I only wish…Ben were here.” That made Leia balk. Again she felt that flash of anger, that bolt of disbelief. ‘And I only wish my planet hadn't been destroyed.’ she wanted to shoot back at him. ‘I only wish my father were here, he would know what to do. I only wish I could sit in front of my mother as she undid these heavy buns on the sides of my head and sang ancient songs to me.’ she wanted to scream into the sky. ‘I knew Ben too, I miss him too.’ She wanted to spat in his face. She knew the boy in front of her didn’t mean to hurt her, she knew he probably hadn’t had to deal with this much pain before. She knew that comparing their grief wasn’t fair, but didn't he know? Didn’t he know she had lost so much more? Her anger and pain and sadness was building inside her and she feared it would come pouring out if she opened her mouth, so she leaned forward and gave Luke a gentle kiss on the cheek. She remembered what her mother always taught her: that when she wanted to scream, she should respond with kindness. And so that’s what she did before walking away and finding comfort in her fellow forgotten Alderaanian. 

She walked as quickly as she could into the strategy room and took a sharp breath when she didn’t see her father standing there. She had rarely been here without him, as one of the leaders of the rebellion and a brilliant tactician, he was almost always standing around the table with her, giving her the courage and strength to speak her mind and make her voice heard. No matter whatever odds they were facing, Leia always believed they would succeed if her father was there. She believed in him like a little child, and a part of her still imagined he would walk through the door and tell them all to trust in the force. But he wasn’t going to, he was never going to utter those words to her again. Being in this room without him was like losing him all over again, and once more she pushed the tears away, pushed the pain down. There was work to do. 

“Standby alert. Death star approaching.” A voice over the speaker came blaring into the room, shaking Leia out of her thoughts. “Estimated time to firing range: fifteen minutes.” She felt a chill go down her spine, the thought of seeing that battle station scared her more than anything else. She wanted to destroy that thing more than she had ever wanted anything, and not just to get justice for Alderaan. She knew that destroying the Death Star was the only hope for the rebellion, there was no way they could survive with this weapon in the Empire's hands. If they didn’t succeed, this planet would soon be gone too. And then which would be next? She had to stop them, she had to make sure no other planet, no other people, would suffer like Alderaan had. 

She used her pain as fuel to push her forward and continue her fight against the darkness. 

She stood and listened as the X-wings approached the Death Star and made their attack. Run after run ended without success and they were losing men faster than she would have liked. But still, she held onto hope. She had to, there was no other option. She gave orders and suggested tactics and buried herself in the task at hand to keep her mind off the grim chance that they might not make it out of this one. 

They were running out of time, and everyone knew it. 

General Dodonna spoke to the red team and gave them orders for their next attack run. Leia knew that was the squad Luke was assigned to, and she desperately wanted to tell him to be safe, to trust himself and his skills. She didn’t know why, but she had this deep belief in him. She didn’t know why, but she felt like he was the key to all of this. But like her other feelings, she pushed those down. The first group started their run and before long Red Leader’s voice came over the speaker, 

“I'm in range, target coming up.” Everyone leaned forward, praying to everything and anything they believed in. This might be their last chance. “Almost there…” An explosion, crashing. Another X-wing down. “Almost there…” Leia wanted to scream at him to go faster. 

“I can’t hold them.” Another crash. Red Leader was the only one left in the trench. 

“It’s away!” The whole room leaned in more. He shot it, but now they waited to see if he hit it. ‘He had to,’ Leia thought. This had to work. 

“Negative.” Red Leader’s dejected voice came through. “It didn’t go in. It just impacted on the surface.” Leia’s heart sank even lower and she felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She couldn’t accept that everything her parents had worked so hard to build for so long could come crashing down. And she couldn’t do anything to stop it, just like she couldn’t do anything to save Alderaan. She shared a desperate look with the General. 

She heard another crash and looked at the screen. There was only one minute until the Death Star would be in firing range, and then it would all be over. She wondered if it would be quick, or if they would have time to see everything crumbling around them. She inched her way over to General Dodonna, the look of fear and resignation clear on her face. There was no need for a mask anymore. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and was grateful for the comfort. At least she would see her father soon. 

Then a familiar voice came through the pilots’ channel. 

“We’re going in full throttle.” Luke’s gentle voice floated through the air holding a desperation and confidence she had never heard from him. Something about it made her heart flash with hope, if only for a moment. Maybe all wasn’t lost, not yet. 

He started his run with Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles, two accomplished pilots Leia knew from their years of service. Leia knew that Wedge had been with the rebellion since the earliest days of the civil war and she trusted his skills. Leia held her breath. 

She listened as Luke gave orders to the other two men with assurance and authority, and she was impressed by his ability to take the lead. It was a side of him she hadn’t seen, and in a strange way, she was proud of him. The tiny flame of hope in her chest burned a little brighter. 

And then he turned his computer off. 

“Luke, you switched off your targeting computer. What’s wrong?” Leia’s heart began to beat faster and she didn’t remember the last time she took a breath. 

“Nothing. I’m alright.” She didn’t know why, but for some reason, she still trusted him. An explosion. A droid scream. “I’ve lost R2!” Her father’s droid, the loyal, feisty astromech who had been in their service for a few years now. Leia felt C3PO turn to look at her, but it was all she could do to keep her focus forward, staring, unmoving. She couldn’t handle many more losses. 

“The Death Star has cleared the planet. The Death Star has cleared the planet.” The alarm and voice came blaring over speakers in the rebel base. Her hope extinguished and she let out the exhausted breath she was holding. This was it. She failed. Everything her father built, everything he was, about to be destroyed. She finally looked to C3PO and shared a terrified glance. 

An explosion. Leia’s shattered heart cracked even more, thinking Luke was gone. She looked at the screen on the table, and was confused when she saw his signal was still strong. And then she heard a sound she thought she would never hear again. 

A whooping, a cry of triumph. She had only met Han Solo today, but she knew it was him. 

The flame in her heart reignited. 

“You’re all clear, kid! Now let’s blow this thing and go home.” Han’s excited voice came ringing through the channel. She took a shaky breath as she prayed once again. Accepting her death was easy, having hope that they might survive was a lot scarier. If she had hope, that meant she had more to lose. But she held onto it anyway. 

Luke made it to his target, fired at it, and then flew out of the trench. Everyone held their breath. 

There was a loud bang and the ground they were standing on shook slightly. Leia wondered if they had failed, if the Death Star really had fired at them, when she heard Han’s voice. 

“Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!” 

Leia almost couldn't believe it. Relief flooded through her and for the first time since she lost everything she took a full breath. She felt a flicker of joy reenter her heart, and she welcomed it like an old friend. The pain was still there, she knew it always would be, but she knew her parents would want her to accept the joy when it came. After all, she did this for them. 

As soon as they got word of Luke’s X-Wing touching down she sprinted through the halls and into the hangar, not caring what she looked like. She could hear cheers and clapping all around her, and the air was filled with infectious exuberance and relief. They did it, they survived. And, at least for today, they won. 

“Luke!” 

“Leia!” She threw her arms around the blonde boy, letting him spin her around. She laughed freely, laughter that she thought would never again come from her mouth. For the first time all day, she didn’t feel guilty. She didn’t feel a dark shadow hanging over her. The Death Star was destroyed, they were still here. The Rebellion lived to see another day, and now it had the hope of continuing on. She could never get Alderaan back, but she could fight with everything in her to protect and keep what she still had. 

And she had the strangest feeling that the boy who was spinning her around was now one of those things. 

“Hey!” Han Solo's voice came ringing across the space as he rushed over to them. Luke launched himself into his arms and all three of them were smiling widely. 

“I just knew you’d come back! I just knew it!” 

“Well I wasn’t gonna let you get all the credit and take all the reward.” Han’s voice didn’t match his words, though, and Leia knew he came back for much more than that. She didn’t think before launching herself straight into Han’s arms. 

“Han, I knew there was more to you than money!” she felt his arms around her and for just a moment, everything felt okay. Luke joined in their hug and for the smallest second, Leia forgot about her pain. The three of them held each other before a mechanic arm lowered the damaged R2-D2 down from Luke’s X-wing. It snapped them all back to reality, but the mechanics assured them all that they would fix him and he would be good as new. Luke reassured C3PO that he would be alright before putting his arm back around Leia. 

The three of them, Leia sandwiched in the middle, walked with their arms around each other into the base, their smiles wide and their hearts light. Her pain hadn’t left her, she knew it never fully would, but she had the most peculiar feeling that she would be okay. She looked at the two men around her and the Wookiee following behind, and knew she wasn't alone. She knew she would never be able to have her mother and father back, but she also believed, more than most, that family was more than just blood. And so with her head held high and her smile wide, she let herself celebrate their success with everyone. And as she walked into the celebration, she swore she could hear her mother and father’s voice like a distant echo whisper softly to her, 

“We’re so proud of you. We love you.” 

“I Know” She whispered back. 

Epilogue: 

The party went late into the night and she didn’t return to her room until the morning hours. When she did she was tired but full of light. It wasn’t until she was alone in her dark room that the pain of the earlier events came to her again, and she found herself staring numbly into her mirror. The room around her was small for a princess, but very large compared to the other rooms on the base. She had decorated it as best as she could to match the Alderaanian style, but now everything about it mocked her. She looked around the room slowly, and every inch of it reminded her of what she lost. With a scream that she didn’t recognize as her own, she tore down the paintings of Alderaanian forests she had once loved, pulled down every tapestry and fabric, smashed every piece of art she had taken from her childhood room. She couldn't stand the reminders of what she had lost, and her fury and pain propelled the destruction. 

She didn’t stop until she looked down to her bleeding hands to see a beautiful holopicture encased in glass, moments away from being smashed. Her breath caught as she saw the smiling faces of her mom and dad staring back at her, the gleaming crown on her mothers head wrapped in the traditional braids of royalty, reminding her of what she would never become. Leia saw herself sandwiched between them, her dress perfectly white and the buns on the sides of her head perfectly placed. She was wearing exactly what she was wearing now, the traditional appearance of an Alderaanian princess. She didn’t know how long she stared at the picture, but eventually she was numbly putting it on her bed, keeping it away from the destruction around her. She slowly walked back over to her mirror, walking over broken glass and crushed pottery. She didn’t recognize who she saw. 

Slowly, deliberately, Leia unpinned her hair. She uncurled the buns, layer by layer, until her hair hung in two braids hanging down onto her chest. She looked at the black stains on her white dress, stains from grease and whatever was in that trash compactor. She saw the tears in her dress towards the bottom, rips she got running for her life. The dress that once symbolized her royalty now stood tattered and stained, and, oddly, it made her smile. That's how she felt. 

She once again stared at her hair. While just a hairstyle to an outsider, an Alderaanian knew the power those buns held. Only a princess was allowed to wear her hair like that, and only from the Day of Demand until the day of her coronation. It was the ultimate symbol of her position, power, and status. Braids held high significance in Alderaanian culture, often showing one's position or occupation. People wore different braids for different occasions, and every one of them had a meaning. 

The one’s Leia had been wearing told the whole world she was a Princess of Alderaan. 

Without even telling her fingers what to do, Leia undid the braids that held her title and let her hair fall loosely around her shoulders. Staring at herself in the mirror, looking at her insignificant hair and desecrated dress, she was finally devoid of symbolic meaning. She was barely recognizable as herself anymore. Finally, she looked on the outside the way she had felt on the inside all day. 

She vowed to herself that she would never wear those buns again, and in doing so, renounced her title as a princess. She watched in the mirror as a single tear fell down her cheek. It was the first tear she had cried all day. And as the rest of the rebels continued to celebrate outside, she let her world fall apart around her. 

Finally, she let herself go. Finally, she crumpled to the floor amidst the destruction she had caused and wept until her tears ran out and her voice was hoarse. 

And there she stayed until the morning sun rose, as it always does. 

As it always will.

[thelesbianthespianposts]

Luke skywalker would not perform Nabooian rituals

Leia Organa would not perform Nabooian rituals

neither of them were born on naboo. Neither of them were raised with Nabooian culture. Why is it so hard to see people representing their upbringing as it was.

Show Luke making a recipe he learned from Beru, or Leia knowing a lot about alderaanian history. Something like that

[princesssarcastia]

got a flash of a crossover fic idea that's absolutely going to stick with me:

leia organa and aos!spock, in a room, having a conversation about being one of the last of an almost-destroyed people. about what it means to survive a genocide

[translothcat]

[Text: What's Horizon Day? // The Crossing of the Horizon, or Ascendance day, celebrates a young person turning 20 and, in turn, reaching adulthood. // Ah I see. Is the crowning part of it? // It's a tradition the Royal Houses tend to include. It holds more significance for the crown line, but it's still symbolic for us other members too.]

The Crossing of the Horizon / Day of Ascendance is a tradition I've come up with for Alderaan!! It's not super exciting or unique it's just a coming of age celebration. The Royal Houses (I class the alderaanian houses as royalty- especially in this earlier time period) place more significance on it than regular citizens would. Regular citizens treat it more like an 18th or 21st. By this time, it's not actually a legal age for anything (that's just 18) but it's still treated as a significant threshold into adulthood, mostly just a cultural thing.

Cedar (the one asking the questions) is around the same age as Amira, so the Mizumi House realise that he has to have his Horizon Day too, and plan one for him :] which is huge for him, considering he really loves the idea of getting in touch with his Alderaanian heritage and culture.

Still going to think on fleshing out the traditions for it. I'm thinking it's just a party for most people. Royalty have the crowning from a parent. This stings Amira obv bc dead parents :(. It'll probably be her Aunt doing it unless I can think of someone else who would. hmm there should be more interesting things going on I need to think on this yes

oh also on her necklace that's a kyber crystal with her name engraved in aurabesh

[sexcrimesagainstancestorsofearth]

GIEDI RENAMED GAMMU WHEN THE RAWLINGS WERE IN CONTROL OF IT AND RENAMED GALLIFREY WHEN CRIMINALS FROM GIEDI WERE CONTROLLING RAWLINGS AS A PUPPET GOVERNMENT ON IT. BASICALLY THE SAME SORT OF THING IN MANY COMBINATIONS AMONG MANY OTHER CRIMINALS AND PLANETS.

[stealingpotatoes]

ok 1. sorry for decapitating your ask like this, i DID read the whole thing dw and 2. I imagine in the Republic, Jedi had a pretty well-rounded schooling, like most of it DEFINITELY focused on force and jedi stuff but come on you've gotta know maths and physics for all that wild force shit and do literature and history to understand ppl n cultures.

the new jedi order is at a disadvantage bc it's made up of 3 ppl who dropped out of school ages 17 (whose education got shitted by war), 12-13, and 7 respectively and only one guy who actually finished school -- and he went to school on Tatooine of all places. I imagine a visiting Leia, who had the best tutors/went to the fanciest schools on Alderaan, is probably the one to be like hey this is a school you guys-- are you guys teaching them like, stuff that isn't weird force techniques and immediate survival skills?? please say they know maths and literature outside of jedi texts?? which probably devolves into "Cal Ahsoka and Ezra have to sit there while Leia tries to teach them basic high school classes"

[2stepadmiral]

Maybe sort of a hot take? Satine Kryze was a terrible leader and kind of a petty tyrant. Like, look at what she actually did and how she did it and what the consequences were:

She committed effective cultural genocide against her own people by eviscerating a millennia-old culture/creed/tradition/religion, removing the at least 80% of it that she didn’t like and demanded that everyone else adapt it

Those who refused to relinquish their ancestral ways were exiled from their homeworld and even robbed of their cultural identity when she claimed that anyone who still practiced the warrior ways were not true Mandalorians

By enforcing this ‘my way or the highway’ policy, she created the environment where Pre Vizsla could form Death Watch and recruit all the followers he had out of the disillusioned she had branded as outcasts

By enforcing her strict pacifism, she disarmed her people and even her security forces, leaving the planet defenseless against both Death Watch and the Shadow Collective (imagine if the Yuuzhan Vong had invaded during this period)

Publicly belittled and insulted a high profile General in the Grand Army of the Republic/ Master and Council member of the Jedi Order in front of a number of Senators and her courtiers because he dared to point out that the Separatists might not let her remain neutral

Publicly stated that she didn’t want Jedi security present when traveling with a retinue of Republic Senators in the midst of a terrorism crisis that she was the main target of, in front of a number of people who would have been put at risk had she gotten her way

When Obi Wan pointed out that the Senators and likely her courtiers had requested Jedi security due to concerns for their own safety that she had disregarded, rather than acknowledging her thoughtlessness, she again insulted Obi-Wan and provoked an argument that she aggravated into a bickering session while Obi Wan tried and gradually failed at keeping civil

She seceded her world from the Republic rather than allow the slightest impression that she endorsed the Clone War (never mind that Alderaan and Naboo were prominent members of the Senate that opposed war and actively worked to end it peacefully and quickly without seceding), which forfeited the government aid Mandalore needed to survive in its damaged state and led directly to Prime Minister Almec having to use the black market just to keep the people fed

And in the end, all she accomplished was a maybe fifteen-twenty year period of relative peace before civil war broke out again, Maul took charge, the Empire forced fifteen years of relative obedience, and ultimately the planet was bombed and the Mandalorian people were decimated. The role of a good ruler or leader is to do what is best for your people, even if it’s contrary to your own preferences or interests, and Satine consistently made her own beliefs the order of the day, enforced from the top down. Had she moderated her approach, maybe tried to redirect the warrior tendencies into galactic peacekeeping, or advocated for a warrior second, hardworking builder/farmer/pilot/tradesmen helping to rebuild Mandalore first (sort of what Boba Fett did as Mand’a’lor in the EU), despite her personal disdain for violence and warfare, she could have been one of the greatest Mandalorian leaders who affected real change. Instead, she allowed her personal priorities to be the priorities of her regime and the guiding principle of her tyranny.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Watch and Learn, City Boy, Part 2: Autumn

A/N: This is a follow-up to Part 1, which I wrote last year. The muse struck on the autumnal equinox, and who am I to reject her overture? Yes, I switched tenses, and no, I’m not sorry. Enjoy! 

Pairing: Hound x Reader (Fem)

Rating: M (mature content intended for readers 18+; minors DNI) 

Wordcount: 2.8K

Warnings and tags: fluff; domesticity; language; little bit of SMUT; one (1) slap on the ass; tickling; pinning; allusions to bondage; Reader is a bit of a brat; Hound is a playful switch (I don’t make the rules); this isn't as kinky as it sounds; I made up pretty much everything about Alderaanian culture, holiday observances, and spirituality for this fic, so don’t take anything here as having a basis in canon.

Summary: Autumn has come to Alderaan, and you’re stuck on kriffin’ Coruscant. But Hound won’t let that stop you from celebrating.

Suggested Listening: 

This fic smells like: Hempz Apple Cinnamon Shortbread body lotion (autumn leaves; warm spices)

Part 1 | Masterlist | Sign up for my tag list

Grizzer launched herself off of your mattress with a ferocious snarl before you even heard the door chime. Hound startled awake with a muffled grunt, and you sat up, rubbing your eyes groggily and fumbling for your datapad to check the security holo.

“‘S goin’ on?” he mumbled.

“Groceries,” you rasped as you crawled out of bed and slipped into a robe. “I’ll take care of it. Go back to sleep.”

Grizzer was prancing triumphantly at the front door, and she greeted you with a loud, delighted snort to let you know that she had successfully repelled the invading force and secured the perimeter.

“Good girl,” you yawned. “So brave. Gonna tell Fox to give you a medal and a promotion.”

She plopped down resolutely in front of the door and refused to budge until you had administered what she deemed to be an appropriate number of scritches between the spines on her back. At length, she shuffled out of the way so you could open the door and dart out into the hallway just long enough to retrieve your grocery delivery, silently beseeching the Force not to let your well-meaning but nosy neighbors catch you in your bathrobe. Gods knew you and Hound already gave them plenty of fodder for gossip.

Once the groceries were safely inside, Grizzer had to complete an exhaustive sniff-spection of every single bag before she would allow you to put the food away, and then she gave you a meaningful look and lumbered over to the back door. You tapped the panel and shivered at the blast of cold air that rushed in as the door hissed open. 

Grizzer sauntered out to do her business on the comically tiny patch of fake grass you’d installed on your balcony once you realized she and Hound would be staying over as many nights as they could possibly sneak away from the barracks. By the time you’d finished stashing the perishables in the conservator, she was back inside and waiting for her breakfast.

You activated the cleaning droid to deal with her mess, dumped a scoop of massiff chow in her bowl, and finally returned to the bedroom. Hound’s eyes remained stubbornly closed, but he wordlessly pulled the blankets back as you climbed into bed and snuggled your ass into the nook of his body, extending his other arm for you to use as a pillow.

Stars, he’s so warm. This is the best part of my day.

You barely had time to settle in before Grizzer hopped up onto the bed, circled a few times, then flopped against you hard enough to knock the wind out of you.

“Ugh, careful with the spikes, Grizz. Don’t you have breakfast to eat?” you muttered.

Despite your grumbles, you couldn’t resist the pleading look she shot you, and you reached down to pat her lazily as she settled her chin onto your leg with a happy sigh. Kriffin’ massiff always wants to be the littlest spoon.  

You shifted, looking for a comfortable position while being smooshed between your two favorite beings, then tucked your feet closer to Hound, trying to get warm. He flinched as he felt your icy feet against his shins, but instead of pulling away, he rested his hand on your hip and drew you more firmly against his body, then slid up your torso to cup your breast. He nuzzled his face into your shoulder and pressed a kiss to your skin.

“Mornin’,” he rumbled. ”Happy equinox. I assume you've planned somethin’ festive for today?”

“Mm-hmm,” you mumbled, privately reflecting that he was using far too many words for this early on a Benduday morning. “‘S why I ordered groceries.”

He hummed his approval and began to kiss a path down your spine. “Does it involve tying me to a kitchen chair and licking a jar of honey off my skin?”

You laughed quietly and kissed the scar on his forearm that rested beneath your head. “Is that a specific fantasy you have, or are you just looking for an excuse to get me to tie you up and have my wicked way with you?”

“Two things can be true, angel.” He squeezed your breast gently, then trailed his fingertips down the centerline of your body, unerringly finding his way between your thighs. “Your feet are like kriffin’ icicles. You go on an expedition to Ilum for those groceries or somethin’?”

“Grizz was extra needy this morning,” you explained. “Mm, that feels nice. Don’t stop.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured. His fingers slipped over your clit and into your pussy, and he shifted slightly to grind his cock against your ass. “Feel how hard you made me? Prancin’ around in that little thing you call a bathrobe. Probably gave the neighbors a coronary.”

“Nobody saw me,” you laughed, then gasped as he slid deeper. “At least I—fuck—I didn’t see anyone.”

“Grizz, off,” he ordered, to the massiff’s vocal disgust. Nevertheless, she complied, jumping off the bed with a huff of protest and wandering out of the bedroom in search of the breakfast she’d previously snubbed. “Guess we’ll find out if anyone saw you when they send a thank-you holocard. Damn, little one, you’re kriffin’ soaked. What were you dreamin’ about, dirty girl?”

It wasn’t a dream, it’s just you, you thought, but rather than inflate his already impressive ego, you wiggled your butt against his hips and replied in your most provocative tone. 

“Thorn.”

He laughed, then withdrew from between your thighs and gave you a firm little slap on the ass. You let out a shrill squeak and squirmed out of his arms just far enough to launch yourself off the mattress and tackle him, pinning him briefly and digging your fingers into his ribs to tickle him ruthlessly. 

Alas, your vengeance was short lived. After the briefest moment of being incapacitated by laughter, he managed to roll over on top of you, capturing your wrists and holding them against the pillow on either side of your head.

“Oh, you asked for it, darlin’,” he said with a wicked grin. 

The morning light caught in his eyes and illuminated them to honey gold. They danced with mischief, and you felt an odd flutter in your chest that you didn’t have enough time to examine before he pounced, and the only thing on your mind was holding on while your ARF trooper took you for the ride of your life.

When the pair of you finally stumbled out of bed, you mentally scratched off a few of the activities you’d planned, since you were running two hours behind schedule—a sacrifice you were more than willing to make, all things considered. There was still plenty of time to visit the Alderaanian shrine of the ancestors in the Federal District and make it home in time to cook dinner—a meal that you’d been planning with meticulous care for weeks, going to great lengths to source Alderaanian ingredients that were often difficult to find in the Core Worlds.

“You sure they’ll let me in?” Hound asked as he surveyed the entrance to the temple with obvious doubt in his eyes.

“They will,” you replied firmly. “They don’t turn anyone away. If you ever find yourself in trouble and need a place to lie low, they’ll give you sanctuary.”

“Even though I did absolutely depraved things to you an hour ago?” he murmured in your ear, sending tingles of awareness down your neck.

“... Maybe don’t mention that part.”

“You know, this whole sanctuary thing sounds a little illegal,” he joked.

“Who are you, the police?”

He snorted, then allowed you to lead him inside. The temple was crowded, and not a single person recognized Hound as a clone trooper, or if they did, nobody mentioned it. Hound was fascinated by the vibrant—not to say chaotic—energy inside. 

“The only temple I’ve ever been inside is the Jedi temple,” he said. “This one is really different.”

“I imagine so,” you laughed. “I’ve never been inside the Jedi Temple, but I’ve heard it’s really tranquil. This is… not that.”

He grinned in acknowledgment. “Do you come here every equinox?”

You shook your head. “I’m not really that observant most of the time. When I’m at home, we just have a family celebration. But here on Coruscant, it’s kind of nice to come to a place where I can meet other Alderaanians. For me, it’s really more about staying in touch with my culture, but a lot of people are very devout.”

When the pair of you finally made your way through the temple and to the shrine, he followed you inside and observed respectfully but with keen interest as you lit a stick of incense and left a small offering for the shrine guardian spirit. You were in and out in under a minute, and as the pair of you rejoined the thronging crowd headed toward the exit, Hound leaned in to whisper in your ear.

“That was quick.”

“No point in monopolizing it,” you replied under your breath. “Bad form when the temple is this busy.”

The temple wasn’t the only thing that was busy. Traffic was fully gridlocked, and the trip home took ages. By the time you arrived, you were both ravenous, which was deeply unfortunate, given that you’d planned a fairly elaborate dinner. Still, you were determined to make it work and salvage what was left of the equinox. 

Grizzer was beside herself when you walked through the door. She barreled into Hound with a delighted squeal, and he knelt down for their ritual greeting. She sat patiently until he was within reach and then, with a gentleness that was wholly improbable for a creature of her size, she touched her snout against his nose.

“I’m here, too, Grizz,” you teased, and if a massiff were capable of rolling its eyes, she would have. Nevertheless, she eagerly snuggled up to you, demanding her tribute of affection.

“Do I have time to take her for a quick  run before dinner?” Hound asked.

“I think so. It’ll be a refreshing change to cook without my reptile sous chef.”

“Don’t listen to her, Grizz,” Hound said, covering the massiff’s ear holes. “She’d be lost in the kitchen without you.”

“Oh, definitely,” you agreed solemnly. “What ever shall I do without constant supervision and the in-house quality assurance expert?”

Hound gave you a quick kiss and headed out, and you set to work, swallowing down a faint feeling of disappointment that so many of your plans had fallen through. Dinner would make up for it, though. Dinner would be perfect.. Within minutes, the entire flat began to fill with delicious smells. Everything was proceeding swimmingly. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

“Gods damn it!”

Your frustrated curse was the first thing Hound heard when he opened the door. Grizzer charged inside and skidded to a halt, prancing around the kitchen.

“Not now, sweetie,” you said, your tone softening a bit as you saw the massiff.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Hound asked.

“That karking shopper droid brought me decorative mini pumpkins instead of edible ones,” you groaned. “And to make matters worse, the pumpkin stems mutilated my Force-damned tomato.”

“Damn, looks like it got squashed,” he murmured.

“That is a terrible pun, and this is no laughing matter!”

“You’re right,” he said apologetically. “It’s an obvious case of assault with a deadly veggie.”

“Still not funny. Look at this carnage!”

You held up the mangled tomato, and he inspected it closely before gravely replying. “That’s a pretty gore-dy victim. Better shield Grizzer’s innocent eyes before she’s permanently scarred.”

You snorted, obstinately refusing to laugh. “I knew I should have just gone to the market myself.”

“Why don’t we go now?” he asked, giving up on his quest to distract you with the worst puns in the Core Worlds. “We can pick up some pumpkins that are actually edible, maybe have a little tour of the market district, get some fresh air?”

You glanced at the clock and sighed. “If we do that, we’ll be eating at midnight. I’ll figure something out.”

Grizzer whined at the sharpness in your tone, then curled up in the corner of your living room so she could keep an eye on you, sensing your frustration. You glared at the offending gourds for a moment, and would have bet every last credit of his nonexistent salary that you were contemplating hurling them into the abyss of the Coruscant underworld. Seeing how much the kriff-up had upset you, Hound ventured into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around your waist from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“What’s really bothering you, love?” he asked. “You’re always good at coming up with contingency plans. Is this really such a big problem that it’ll ruin your equinox?”

You sighed and leaned back against him, closing your eyes. “No. Not really. It’s just… My mom always makes this for the autumn equinox. I really wanted it to be perfect, you know?”

“You miss her.”

You nodded. “I do. I miss home, too. It’s weird to celebrate an Alderaanian equinox holiday on a planet that doesn’t even have seasons. And I really wanted this to be perfect so you could have the experience even though you weren’t able to get leave to travel back home with me, and we had to cancel almost all of our plans, and now dinner is ruined, too, and I’m just so fucking tired and hungry.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He kissed the side of your head, then turned you around slowly so he could look into your eyes. His chest squeezed when he saw the beginnings of tears in your eyes, and he brushed his thumb across your cheek to wipe them away. “It is perfect, because I’m spendin’ it with you. No place I’d rather be in the galaxy.”

“Not even a musty old tent surrounded by wolf-cats?” you muttered rebelliously.

“As tempting as that sounds—and if I recall correctly, you were extremely tempting—no. But I’d eat rations and sleep in a musty old tent every night for the rest of my life if it meant I got to wake up next to you.” He didn’t say the words he desperately wanted to. It was too soon, and he didn’t want to scare you off. Instead, he pressed his lips to your forehead and wrapped his arms around your shoulders, holding you close. “Kriff the pumpkins. We’ll get takeout and go for a speeder bike ride in the entertainment district.”

You gasped. “Blasphemy! How dare you insinuate that I can’t salvage this disaster? Stand aside and watch the master at work.”

“That’s my girl,” he grinned. 

“Hmph,” you replied haughtily, unable to quite repress the smile at the corner of your lips.

You started toward the stove, but as you took your first step, Hound caught you by your apron ties and tugged you back into his arms for a devastating kiss. He was extremely thorough, and by the time he released you, you were dizzy and breathless, and he made damn sure you couldn’t remember that mini pumpkins even existed.

“That. Was. Incredible,” Hound said as he cleaned the last few morsels from his plate. 

“Not quite as aesthetically pleasing as Mom’s,” you hedged. 

“It was rustic,” he insisted. “Homestyle. Deconstructed.”

“You really need to stop watching cooking shows on the holonet.”

“How else will I learn all the terms to describe your food to make my brothers insane with jealousy? You think clone troopers have a reason to say ‘craveable’ on a daily basis?”

“Oh, yeah? You tell Thorn all about me?” you teased.

“Easy now, darlin’,” he replied with a lazy grin. “You’re gonna give me a complex.”

“Don’t worry, I could never leave Grizzer.”

He laughed. “Lucky thing for me.”

He leaned back in his chair and stretched, then stood up and began to clear away the dishes. You groped his ass shamelessly from your seat, then wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face against his abdomen.

“Thanks for celebrating with me,” you murmured, your voice muffled by his shirt. “I know I kind of lost the plot there.”

He set down the plates and wrapped his arms around you. “Not the first time I’ve seen you hangry; won’t be the last.”

You laughed into his belly, then tugged his shirt up so you could kiss his warm, smooth skin. “You know, there’s one equinox tradition that we haven’t observed yet.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“It involves a kitchen chair, a pair of your binders, and a jar of honey.”

“Dank farrik, I’m in love with you.” The words slipped out, and by the time Hound realized what he’d said, it was too late to call them back.

You drew back and stared up at him with an expression of shock. “What?”

“Uh…”

Kriff.

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[armitagehuxsleepschedule]

there is something that is so interesting to me about like...the nationhood of the first order.

like the empire wasn't really a country. it was "all the different planets, cultures, peoples under the jurisdiction of emperor palpatine." nobody would say they came from the galactic empire. they were from naboo, lothal, alderaan, whatever planet, and they worked for the empire. people who were really super-duper loyal to the empire were, if anything, expressing the opposite of patriotism; being loyal to the vague concept that ruled their home planet as opposed to being loyal to their home planet.

but the first order isn't really like that. like there are planets under first order occupation, and there are planets aligned with the first order politically, but a lot—possibly most—people in the first order under a certain age could honestly say the ship they live on is the only home they've ever known. they don't just work there, they live there for their whole lives from toddlerhood or even infancy. the first order has its own distinct culture. a large first order ship is essentially a city. how many people who were raised in the first order even know what planet they were born on, let alone culturally identify with it?

the first order is essentially a country with mandatory military service over a certain age, but instead of serving for a set amount of years you serve for the rest of your life, and with mandatory public education under a certain age, but that education is basic military training.

[archeo-starwars]

source: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Tantive IV from Star Wars Insider #90

[kylosbreedingkink]

Leia feeling Ben is growing distant, so she gifts him the Organa ceremonial necklace.

He stays just as distant, but routinely, even years later, he gets it out to hold. Imagining what could have been, and wondering where it all went wrong.

[varpusvaras]

I've had a headcanon for a while that Breha and Fox are really into the romance genre - like, in a way that if the book/show/movie is good, they enjoy it as a good piece of media, and otherwise, they read or watch things together and have fun with it. Bail is...not so much into this, as much as he can also enjoy a good piece of media, but the second part of the experience is kind of lost to him.

He will listen to Breha and Fox talk about them and tries to guess what is going on in any given book/show based only on what they tell him.

(If he is actually a bit invested. Shh. No he isn't. No, he's not watching this- alright, fine, you menaces)

So, there's this relatively new show. It started a bit before the war, and gained a lot of popularity then, and when the show was put on hiatus because of the war, the fans were impatiently awaiting for more. The show is about mostly fictional planets and their high-society, royals and nobility.

Breha and Fox watch the part of the show that came out before the war, and make Bail watch with them as well (Bail watches, because they are asking and he wants to spend time with them, and, hey. He likes looking at them when they are happy and joking around). Then, some time after, the show announces that it will be coming back with new episodes!

The episodes start releasing. Breha and Fox watch them, and make Bail watch them as well (no, he isn't invested at all-). One week, there's a new character introduced. A Princess, who is going to become a Queen soon. She is from a very old and rich planet, that does arts and peace and nature. Breha says that it reminds her of Alderaan a bit, perhaps they have taken some inspiration.

One episode, the Princess meets a nobleman, who is very politically idealistic and believes in equity, and is striving for making the galaxy a more peaceful and unified place. The actor is very tall.

Fox jokes that they kinda remind him of Breha and Bail. Breha laughs. Bail squints his eyes at the screen.

The Princess becomes a Queen, while becoming increasingly close with the nobleman. Then, one week, they introduce another new character. A former soldier, who has now returned from the war, and the Queen and the nobleman meet him when they are in an event, discussing how to make more peaceful solutions.

Bail frowns at the screen. The actor is not a clone, but looks very much like one, with his tanned skin and dark, curly hair.

Fox looks at the character as well.

"Oh", he says.

"Oh", Breha says as well. "I do think...that they have taken inspiration from close by."

You don't say, Bail thinks.

He's not super stoked about this development, but at least the two other actors do not resemble him and Breha too much. He can...sort of understand the choice of casting someone who looks kind of like the clones into the role of the soldier. It's commentary. Easy to understand. It's....fine. They are just drawing inspiration from their overall dynamic, nothing more. There's nothing else that seems too recent.

Then Bail goes for work to Coruscant, and gives statements regarding his views on the clone rights, the war, and his relationship with the clones and how, even though he cannot claim himself to be a part of their culture, he and Breha and Alderaan as a whole have tied themselves into it and consider it to be a part of their culture as well.

It's a good statement. Bail is proud of it and the reaction it causes. The way Fox and Breha look at him after is the best reward he could possibly ask for.

Then, a few weeks later, a new episode comes out. The nobleman gives a speech about the war and cultures and how he relates to them. It's very much the statement Bail gave, but just reworded to fit the world of the show.

Oh, Bail thinks. Oh, it is on.

Bail decides to have his own fun. He starts to make very showy gestures to Breha and Fox in public. They know immediately what he is doing, and go along with it.

Some of the things he did end up in the show. Bail can deduce from what those things are when whoever it is who is gathering material is present.

Bail knows the press. He knows how they dress, he knows how they operate. Once he knows where to look, it is very easy to spot them.

It's a rare occasion that both Breha and Fox are accompanying him to Coruscant. Bail is playing it up, until he notices the person who is very much not press but who is very much recording and making notes, when Bail is not even saying anything to any of the people surrounding them.

Bail turns to look straight towards the camera.

He person holding it stiffens, but doesn't turn away instantly. Not so easily intimidated, then. Bail can respect that at least.

Bail continues to stare at the camera, not saying anything. Just staring. Fox and Breha have caught on to what he is doing by then, and they are trying their best not to burst out laughing.

Bail continues to stare at the camera. He has stared down bounty hunters, separatists, assassins, the sith. He can do this all day.

Finally, the camera turns away. Bail smiles, and clims into their speeder with Breha and Fox.

As soon as the doors are closed and the speeder starts moving, Breha and Fox lose it. They cannot stop laughing the whole way, and are barely able to contain it once they arrive to the Senate.

Unsurprisingly, at least for some, the plotline of the three characters in the show starts to steer to entirely new directions in the very next episode.

[queenie-official]

Chapter Three: ‘First Impressions’ Bridgerton au!Anakin

part 1, part 2

a/n: so the outfits that Obi-Wan and Ani are wearing are the ones in the photos ☝️🤭but guys tell me how i had more of chapter four planned out then i did this chapter 🤨 like i fr already had dialogue for chapter four before i even started this one 😀 anyway i hope you guys like this 🥰

Once more you find yourself pacing around in an endless circle. Today was the day you were to meet him. The wedding was already set to happen in a week. however invitations wouldn’t be handed out for another two days, the council told you it would be wise to get to know your future husband a bit first- but honestly how much could you really learn about a person in such a short amount of time. it’s not like you had a week to get to know each other, no you had the day to get to know him before he’d be back off to his own kingdom till the wedding.

“you need to calm down” Padme’s voice pulled you from your thoughts. you look over to where she’s sat on the settee, a concerned look on her face. you’d asked her to come over and help distract you. to her credit she did try at first but she quickly realized nothing she could say or do would occupy your mind from the days events. “i’m calm” you say trying to convince yourself that more then her. “if you can say that while standing still, i’ll believe you” she retorts whilst standing up and walking over to you forcing you to stop pacing as she places her hands on your shoulders.

“you can’t blame me for being nervous, i mean wether this goes well or not this is the man i am to spend the rest of my life with” you vent, feeling your anxiety swirl. you felt like this was an impossible situation, marrying someone you didn’t know. obviously it was a common thing but it didn’t make the reality of it any weirder to you. “what if he doesn’t want to marry me?” it was a stupid question, the better question would be why would he want to marry you. he was being moved away from his home to a foreign place with different traditions and cultures. not to mention an entirely different climate, you’d read up on Tatooine it was a Warm desert kingdom a direct contrast to Alderaan.

“that’s a possibility” Padme answers, not the reassurance you wanted but you didn’t call padme here because she would lie to make you feel better. you called her here because she would give it to you straight but also support you the best way she could. “so then i’ve forced a man into a loveless marriage” you huff, feeling anger course through you as your once again reminded of the councils rash decision that got you into this.

“most people these days end up in loveless marriages y/n. most women at least, we have no say in who we marry it’s all decided by our fathers.” that once again didn’t make you feel any better but it was the hard truth. “this is going to be a long day” you’d slump over if you could but the corset you had on prevented you from most movement that involved bending of any form. “maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised” you could only hope she was right.

“i know it’s silly but growing up i always imagined marrying someone i fell in love with. my mom and dad where in love when they got married, a rare occurrence for monarchs. i always pictured having what they did.” you say sadly, it may not be the end of the world that your marrying a stranger but it was the end of that dream. a cruel awakening to your inner child. “it’s not silly, most little girls wish that” Padme says sympathetically.

“if my dad where still alive he’d have ensured it a reality” you say solemnly, feeling your heart tug at the thought. “Bail was a good man, a good king and a good father” you feel your eyes gloss over at her words, it was times like this you really missed him. your father was everything to you, he was all you had when your mother passed and vice versa. losing him felt like mourning two people at once, learning how to cope without your mother all over again in addition to coping without him.

“i miss him” it came out more as a whisper, you felt that if you spoke any louder the dam would break and tears would spill. Padme was quick to pull you into a tight hug. she was a big help when you lost him, a loyal friend who you knew would always be on your side. “i can’t help but feel i’m failing him” you let out the thought that had been nagging at the back of your mind throughout this whole ordeal. “he was and always will be proud of you” she said firmly, rubbing your back gently.

“would he be proud of me for this though?” you couldn’t help but ask. “circumstances changed y/n, you’ve done what you could. besides it’s not as if this was entirely your decision” she reassured you. you take a deep breath, indulging in the hug you both shared a moment longer before pulling away. “speaking of i really need to do something about the council before another reckless decision is made.”

“the sooner you’re crowned the Queen the better” she says with a laugh trying to lighten the mood, though she was being completely serious. right as you where about to respond your conversation was interrupted by Barclay barging in, an occurrence that was becoming more and more frequent with him.

“your majesty they’re here” he said and you stiffened, the reality of the situation crashing down onto you. you knew this was coming but it hadn’t truly felt real til now.

“oh i’m going to be sick” you mumble just loud enough for padme to hear, she gives you a gentle pat on the back a silent way of saying you’ve got this. as if suddenly reminded of her existence Barclay acknowledges her “Lady Amidala pleasure to see you” it surprisingly sounded genuine, though to be fair he had been sucking up to you the last couple days clearly something clicked in his mind that you where the one who controlled wether he actually had a job or not. that or there was something else motivating him either way his change in attitude didn’t sit right with you, something was off and you could sense it.

“Barclay” was all padme said to greet him not even bothering to turn in his direction to acknowledge him properly. you had to stifle a laugh, god you loved her. she kept her head high and walked right past him, she would be leaving through the gardens so no one knew she was there. the meeting was to be kept secret from everyone aside from the respective royal families.

with a sigh you nodded towards Barclay to signify you where ready. you both walked down the hallways heading to the main foyer, with each step you took you felt as if you where being pulled down. finding it harder and harder to move forward the closer you got. these where your last moments to breath without someone beside you- metaphorically of course, after all as a royal there’s always someone at least five steps from you which was tiring to say the least.

you could swear time was simultaneously moving faster then light and slower then molasses as you watched Barclay nod to the guards to open the doors that stand as the only barrier between you and the one you are to wed. it was hard to breath? but just as quick as the breath got stuck in you it was knocked right out as one of the guards rose there voice impossibly loud to announce your arrival.

“now presenting her Majesty, the Crown Princess Y/n Organa” it honestly made your ears ring but at the very least it served as a nice reminder of where you are and pulled you back down to earth. still it all felt a bit excessive to you considering there was only four people here excluding the guards.

Walking further in so that you and Barclay where now face to face with the two men, you scanned over them quickly. they both where good looking you had to admit, what threw you off though was how drastically different they where dressed from each other. for a moment you almost thought they came from two different places but quickly brushed that off knowing good and well that wasn’t the case.

“hel-“ just as you began to greet the two men you are quickly cut off by a third party you hadn’t even noticed was there. Chancellor Valorum. “greetings you are?” he said and you paused turning to see him standing behind you, how long had he been there? no one else seemed shocked so he must of been there for quite some time you concluded. but why was he there? deciding to act like you had known he was there you turn back to the two men. to your surprise the older looking one of the two directed his attention to you and not Valorum. it brought a small smile to your face, feeling like it was a nice change of pace finally be acknowledged instead of looked over.

“I am Prince Obi-Wan first born son of the Kingdom Tatooine. and this” he gestured to the pretty blonde beside him who could easily tower over you if he was close enough. “is my brother Anakin” he finished and you felt a little giddy, so far so good right? he was tall and handsome you could only hope he was kind and had a personality as good as he looked. though to your dismay the aforementioned man hadn’t even spared you a glance, thinking on it he hadn’t looked at you even when you first entered the room. that fact made your stomach twist.

“neither of your parents are joining us?” the chancellor spoke again before you could get a word in, honestly he was one more sentence away from you clocking him in the face. but you hold your breath and maintain your composure. this time Obi-Wan does acknowledge him but only to answer his question and you were guessing to not seem rude. “unfortunately our mother and father are quite busy but as the future king they deemed it enough for me to go with my brother for this” you felt like a child who could do nothing but watch as the grown ups speak as you look back and forth from the chancellor and him.

Thankfully Obi-Wan was quick to redirect his attention to you. “your highness shall we discuss matters more privately?” why couldn’t conversation with people of power always go this way, taking to you instead of over you. you give him a polite smile before answering. “yes let’s move this elsewhere” you say with a nod. “lead the way.” was all he said in turn.

as you all walk down the halls of the castle you can’t help but notice how quiet prince Anakin was. it worried you, was he always this quiet or was he choosing not to say anything. did he already hate you- to be fair if he did you wouldn’t blame him. if the roles where reversed and your kingdom had been basically black mailed into giving you up as marriage you’d probably hate the person you thought responsable as well. you found yourself actually wishing you two where alone so you could explain yourself and hope he could understand. Then again who’d say he’d believe you, it was worth a try though wasn’t it?

unsurprisingly throughout most of the meeting chancellor Valorum spoke for you any chance he could. and just as in the foyer Obi-Wan directed his answers to you. time dragged as you guys finished up flushing out the details of the agreement more thoroughly. it was all so casual and you couldn’t help but feel sick especially with Anakin sitting right there not saying a word. you couldn’t even get a read on his emotions his face was a blank slate. it made you anxious and you weren’t sure if you wanted to just hurry up and get all of this over already or drag it out longer so you could procrastinate the inevitable.

it was evident just how long the meeting had taken when you were met with the setting sun as you looked out the window. a panic ran through you when you realized you had no time at all to talk Anakin now and the next time you’d see him would be the day of the wedding. you where now truly going into this marriage blind- not that you would of learned much about him today regardless but anything would be better than nothing.

closing up the meeting with a handshake between the chancellor and Obi-Wan, even though he had clearly held his hand out for you- you all stand up and head out of the meeting room.

Anakin had still yet to say a word, Obi-Wan being the one to speak on both there behalf’s when saying goodbye. even as they walked away you watched as he didn’t even speak to his brother, maybe he was mad and his silence was the politest protest he could do. you could only hope your whole marriage wouldn’t be like this, what an awkward life that would be. though maybe you’d get used to it at some point.

all of these thoughts swimming in your head stopped as a pair of blue eyes met yours, it was brief and for a second you thought you’d imagined it. he had look back at you right before the castle doors closed.

that’s all you had to go off of until you would meet again for the wedding day.

part 4

okay guys the next chapter will feature a lot more Anakin and yes the pretty boy will speak 🥰 this took me forever to finish 😀 mainly because i’ve been writing this in between doing work 👩‍🦯👩‍🦯 anyways i hope you all like this chapter i know it was a lot more emotional then the others but reader is going through a lot at once 😭 side note i love reading your reply’s you guys are funny and real asf🤭 that’s all i have to say for now enjoy huns Xx<3

tag list: @luvvfromme @gatekeepingirlboss

[presbierue]

This is a head canon I have held for so long I have to frequently have to remind myself it’s not real but here we go.

I think Armitage Huxes mother was half Alderaanian, half Arkanian.

Hear me out.

So this head canon was born in the year 2016. I had just watched my 3rd Star Wars movie (TFA) and was desperate to know what would happen next. I had watched Phantom Menace and most of the Clone Wars growing up, so I trusted the consistency of lore across tie-in media (I am the only sci fi fan in my family and relied heavily on what was available on television). And very quickly after TFA I read Bloodline by Claudia Grey and it remains one of my fav Star Wars books. I trusted everything in Bloodline would be used to help define the prequels as it was one of the only canonical post-original trilogy media pieces at the time (it was an optimistic time where I thought they 100% knew exactly where they were going with the sequels).

There are a few short sequences in Bloodline that justify this line of thinking, but they all reinforced the idea that Arkanis and Alderaan have been allied for hundreds of years. It’s like a D plot, but Leia Organa was in line to potentially take over as the figurehead monarch of Birren but turned it down and it went to an Arkanian. This was because Birren was settled by both Arkanis and Alderaan, so either planet could put forward a noble when the current monarch died without children and Leia just happened to be the closest living relative (and Alderaan was gone). But that’s kind of weird, right? Like, Canada and Denmark technically share jurisdiction of Hans Island but no one lives there so there isn’t a division of national allegiances. But either way, it implied Alderaan and Arkanis were on good terms; they didn’t war over control of Birren and shared it to the point that which monarchy takes priority is a matter of who married in last (it is somehow not a conflict of interests in terms of an independent world being influenced by other monarchs). Dual citizenship might have been a thing (loyalty to two or more monarchs). Like yeah, Leia not being eligible for her own throne was a thing but it does imply that if the Organas adopted Luke as well and they never fought the Empire, Luke would be king of Birren.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Arkanis. Armitage Hux’s home world.

So these two worlds functionally had split custody of Birren in terms of who could be constitutional monarch. So both Arkanians and Alderaanians would have probably intermarried and shared cultural knowledge with each other on Birren for hundreds of years. They likely still visit their extended relatives on their progenitor worlds and have good tourism opportunities with each other and have exchange programs for children and stay engaged with each other via things similar to the commonwealth games (all the British Colonies meet up every few years and have their own separate Olympics). Like these worlds probably have a high degree of influence on each other and would ally with the other under duress because their citizens needs are kind of interlinked in this relationship. And when Alderaan is destroyed, the largest remaining communities of Alderaanians would be on Birren and potentially Arkanis. The Empire probably intensified their presence on Birren and Arkanis immediately after Alderaan to prevent the Rebellion from getting a foothold there (too many sympathetic relatives), and may have contributed to why it was so late to leave Arkanis afterwards (they had a stockpile of resources to help suppress any public uprisings so they could fight there longer).

Arkanians also look incredibly human (just super pale skin and hair if you squint at Dagan Gera you can’t even really tell he isn’t human and he is in the canon so Arkanians as a species do exist). So it could be hard to distinguish who is descended from who on these worlds after a few generations.

This isn’t really enough to tell me what Armitage Huxs mother looks like, but it does tell me a little about the kind of worlds she might have grown up in and why a very human looking maid was on Arkanis. Because yeah, Armitage Hux is definitely very human looking (Star Wars genetics are unclear and trait expression is really varied in our world but they don’t have the actor in any makeup for the role so I’m leaning on that). But Arkanis has its own species, so why is a human woman on Arkanis as working as a maid (a role in literature that is usually used to indicate a character is low class/impoverished). Either she didn’t have better options (no access to Alderaan or other wealthy human worlds) or took the position in order to spy on imperial inhabitants of the house (likely for the rebellion or Saw Gerrera). Either way, she probably would have looked like she belonged on Arkanis. She fit the environment she was in enough that it didn’t warrant analysis or note. But also she probably didn’t look alien enough to gross out the Imperials living there.

So Hux’s Mum might be an Arkanian who largely appears Alderaanian. Her parents may be a first or second generation Alderaanian and Arkanian or entirely from Birren. It wouldn’t likely be super apparent based on her appearance alone. The Empire probably wouldn’t super care about the differences either after the destruction of Alderaan. She’d be the worst of both worlds: an alien (the Empire doesn’t like them) and a human traitor (any Alderaanian is likely going to be a rebellion sympathizer by the time Armitage is conscious). If this theory is true, she was probably executed as a traitor, regardless of whether she was a spy or not. It would have been easy for Brendol or Maratelle to have her killed at any time and both of them have reasons to hate her (mistress/mother of a child they see as embarrassing).

I just like the angst it add to Armitage Hux’s character. Because a part of why he builds Starkiller becomes an affirmation of his Imperial/First Order identity: that he IS human, he ISN’T Alderaanian or Arkanian, and that he IS as good if not better than the original Imperials. He DESERVES to lead, to hold power. He isn’t a traitor like his mother who he would have been compared against for his entire childhood. Hell, he probably never met an Alderaanian or Arkanian who wasn’t in objectively horrifying conditions and he would probably would be at least a little terrified of ending up like them (my guess is he would have seen them as prisoners of war towards the end of the Empire). So he aligns extra hard with the Empire.

On a deeper, more subconscious level he’d lack the insight to get into, he probably hate Leia Organa for her role in Alderaans destruction. For her being strong enough to stop the Empire but not save her people (his people, to an extent). For her not being able to stop whatever suffering his mother was (or maybe worse, is still being) subjected to. Hux wants Leia and the New Republic to suffer as much as he’s seen others in his boat suffer. Because Leia is a Nobel who escaped the worst of the war but is the visible link between the Death Star and Alderaan. Yet she escaped starvation. Years of abuse. Losing absolutely everyone (the originals do end on a happy note). And it isn’t fair. Any suffering Armitage Hux causes would be justified in his own mind as an equalization of the horrors he and others have been through.

Also, betraying the First Order because you see an opportunity to reconcile your traumas and complex identity, and that others deserve that as well feels a bit more narratively fulfilling than spite.