#btw i LOVE anidala related asks

[eliza-makepeace]

I think a lot of people would laugh if I said Padmé was attracted to Anakin's maturity, but when he's not showing off or being selfish, he can be very mature indeed. In fact it's these moments of maturity that lead his teachers to wrongly assume he's responsible enough to pursue a relationship with Padmé without letting it interfere with his Jedi commitments

I'm certain Padmé was attracted to Anakin for his maturity. She saw him as the "boy she knew on Tatooine" and the only way to have that idea broken is by showing him as a grown-up, as someone who is intelligent and has mature thoughts about things. And I think there's a scene in aotc where she does.

It's the scene where she and Anakin are travelling to Naboo as refugees, and she asks him about what it's like to be a Jedi and whether or not he can love people, since she believes it to be forbidden.

Anakin's response is incredibly deep, and thought out, and mature: "Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi's life. So you might say that... We are encouraged to love."

He proves then and there that he knows the rules, and that he has his own reasoning for them, his own "philosophical" understanding of them. Personally I really love the "which I would define as" part, because it shows he's been thinking about it long and hard (perhaps as a means for self-justification because he doesn't fit the actual dogma).

Her reply is looking at him with the most loving eyes, the first way she looks at him like that, and saying "You've changed so much". This is the first time she sees him as someone grown, as someone she has to learn to know because she actually doesn't know him anymore, she knew the kid he used to be, not the grown guy he is now.

It's a shame the scenes where they visit Padmé's family were deleted because I feel they show a more relaxed, young adult Padmé who has parents and an older sister that treat her like the daughter and younger sister Padmé is, and Anakin acting as a grown person who offers a bit of reassurance and comfort to Padmé's concerned relatives, and wants to make a good impression. It makes their dynamic, them rediscovering each other (Anakin seeing Padmé not as a queen or as a woman who has an ambitious political career, but a girl with parents and a sister; and Padmé seeing Anakin the way her parents and sister do: a young man who clearly has passionate feelings for her) much more organic and natural.

However I don't really agree with the idea that his teachers "allow" (or, rather, look away from) his relationship with Padmé because of his maturity. I don't think they really consider their relationship at all. Obi-Wan does, but he turns a blind eye because he loves Anakin and knows Padmé makes him happy. Not because he thinks Anakin is mature. As for the rest, e.g. Windu or Yoda, I don't think they know Anakin and Padmé are together, and if they do I don't think they care. Anakin is their biggest asset during the war, he's the poster boy, a beloved general, the hero with no fear. Forcing him to leave the Order in the midst of a conflict is counterproductive, and it would bring a lot of bad press for the Jedi. As long as he complies with the Serious Stuff the council asks him to do, as long as his presence helps the morale of the troops and the republic in general.... They've got bigger things to worry about than Anakin occasionally slipping into Senator Amidala's bed.

Still, I truthfully don't think that's the case. Regardless, I 100% agree: Padmé is really attracted to Anakin's maturity, and in fact it's what makes him appealing to her from the beginning. That and his amazing cheekbones.

[fionajames]

Hii Fio! This is not a prompt ask, but star wars related nonetheless. I just wanted to ask you what your thoughts are on anidala. Ive seen so much controversary surrounding them lately i was curious what you think of them (also idk if these kinds of asks are okay ?? Lmk lol)

Hi Kebiin! Ofc these asks are okay, in fact, I love them!

My thoughts on Anidala? I love it, I really do. A lot of people seem to think that its toxic and it kinda is but then, like, look deeper. It was really stupid of them to get married so quick but hey, if they both agreed then who are we to judge?

Their ship may seem toxic but think about how Anakin literally turned to the dark side to save Padme. Sure, he then killed her and that makes it toxic, but that violence stemmed from Palpatine.

When he attacks Clovis in TCW (I dont remember much about this btw cause I skipped bits of it, too cringey) hes genuinely protecting his not-so-secret wife from harassment. At times he was just overly jealous, but thats a trait some people have and will have to work through.

There are also so many times during TCW in which Padme is in severe danger (although Anakin is constantly, thats not what im here to talk about). Every time, Anakin tries his best to free her, but sometimes can get aggressive and abrasive to others in the process, like in the Blue Shadow Virus arc.

Every time I rlly think of Anidala being pure, remember the field scene; the childish time in which they bonded. There is nothing toxic about that scene, and its a lot of the grounds of the relationship; they make each other happy.

Thanks for the ask! Hope that makes sense....?

[padawanlost]

So I have something of a hot take: Anakin's relationship with Padme was healthier and less "toxic" than his relationship with Obi-Wan. For one thing, Anidala is built off of a brief but wholesome friendship between two kids, whereas Brobikin starts out with a distant, emotionally detached Obi-Wan and a frightened child Anakin. There also seems to be more trust (of the personal kind) between Anakin and Padme than between Anakin and Obi-Wan. I'm not bashing Obi-Wan btw, just sharing my thoughts.

I think how these relationships ended is a reflection of how they came to be. Both Padmé and Obi-wan loved Anakin as much as Anakin loved them, no one is arguing that, however, these relationship evolved in completely different ways. 

Where Anakin grew more secretive around Obi-wan, he opened up around Padmé.

Obi-Wan had tried to talk to him about it, but the boy would just shut down. His eyes would turn opaque and the corners of his mouth would straighten into a thin line. He would seem very far away. Obi-Wan did not know how to reach him at such times, but they were infrequent and passed as quickly as a rain shower. [ Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: Deceptions by Jude Watson.]

“[Anakin]’d made it sound more as if he had some wild, dark past, and nothing was better guaranteed to keep Ahsoka asking questions than that. If he explained he’d been a Hutt’s slave, she’d dig away at it until all the bad stuff came out. It was hard enough telling Padmé, and she was his wife.” - Star Wars: The Clone Wars by Karen Traviss

This pattern of depending more on Padmé (and Palpatine) and distancing himself from Obi-wan is noticeable throughout Anakin’s life, especially after AOTC. And as we all know, that’s where all the problems truly started.

“It has nothing to do with believing,” [Anakin] murmured, softly bitter. “It’s the truth.” “There must be some reason, then. Anakin, [Obi-wan]’s your best friend. He loves you.” “Maybe he does. But I don’t think he trusts me.” His eyes went as bleak as the empty night. “And I’m not sure we can trust him.”[Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

The culmination of this is seen in ROTS where Anakin becomes progressively more attached of Padmé and distrusting of Obi-wan. Such behavior wasn’t born overnight.

As we all know, both relationships ended violently but I’d argue Padmé and Anakin’s bond remained where Obi-wan and Anakin’s was severed because she had a much easier time understanding Anakin’s behavior than Obi-wan.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a simple matter of padmé being ‘ride or die’ or anything like that. Obi-wan was also loyal to Anakin but, unlike Padmé, he didn’t have all the facts. Unfortunately, the communication gap between Anakin and Obi-wan that made Anakin unwilling to open his heart to him also prevented Obi-wan of understanding Anakin’s motivations. And in failing to understand Anakin, he was able to behave as he did in Mustafar.

Had Obi-Wan’s spirit not witnessed Vader’s action, he never would have believed it. Vader, the same monster that Obi-Wan had left to die on Mustafar, had sacrificed himself to save his son. And suddenly Obi-Wan realized where he had failed. For unlike Luke, Obi-Wan had not only believed that Anakin was completely consumed by the dark side, but had actually refused to believe that any goodness could have remained within Vader. And by refusing to allow that possibility, Obi-Wan had condemned not only his former friend but his own capacity for hope. Fortunately, Luke’s unwavering faith in his father’s innate goodness had proved to be a stronger force than the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan recalled what Qui-Gon Jinn’s spirit had told him so long ago, when he said that Obi-Wan was not ready, and that he failed to understand. For so many years, Obi-Wan had thought Qui-Gon meant that he wasn’t ready to comprehend details about Anakin’s conversion to the dark side. But now, he finally understood his Master’s words.I wasn’t ready to forgive Anakin. And he won’t be entirely free unless I do. [Ryder Windham. The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I think part of the fandom has a very romanticized version of Anakin & Obi-wan’s relationship in their head. I’ve seen descriptions that make them sound like best buddies in a G-rated buddy cop movie and, sadly, that’s not what we have in the movies (and the EU). I mean, people with healthy, happy relationships don’t try to dismember and set each other on fire. And I’m not saying Anakin & Padmé had a perfect relationship, either. I’m just saying out of the two, Anakin & Padmé were better at communicating and that influenced the relationship dynamics.

Sometimes [Obi-wan] talked to [Anakin] in his head. Arguments more furious than the ones they'd had. Talks in which he explained, Master to Padawan, why he'd done what he'd done. Simple words that managed to say everything he'd meant to say, only more clearly than he'd ever been able to say it. In these talks, Anakin listened and understood. [jude watson - the last one standing]

Every day and every night he violated every principle the Jedi had taught him about staying in the present moment, about acceptance. Going over every argument, every talk, to find the key that he should have turned in order to unlock the secrets of Anakin's heart. Why had he turned to the dark side? When did it happen? The Anakin he knew and loved couldn't have done it. Something had twisted in him, and Palpatine had exploited it somehow. Obi-Wan knew it wouldn't change anything to know, but he couldn't help going over the same events, again and again. The chances he'd missed, the things he'd seen, the things he hadn't. […]Anakin had always hated sand. It was one of the many things about his Padawan that Obi-Wan understood better now that Anakin was dead. That was the horror of losing someone: Understanding came too late. [jude watson - the last one standing]

It’s not about hating Obi-wan (or Padmé) it’s simply a matter of understanding that every relationship is unique, for better or worse. And in this particular case, Obi-wan and Anakin had more complicated relationship than people want to admit. Again, complicated doesn’t mean abusive or hateful, it just means it wasn’t all sunshine and flowers even if they did love each other very much. It’s one of those cases where complicated is good because complicated means complex and complex means human. The fact they didn’t have a perfect relationship proves that these character were properly developed, that they are relatable and engaging even when they are at their worst. And that, imo, is *always* a good thing.