#dooku just can't stand anakin

[short-wooloo]

Dooku: sees Anakin

Dooku: "ew no"

[jedi-enthusiast]

Yk one thing I barely see talked abt is the fact that Mace Windu's lineage and thus legacy is one of the longest Order 66 surviving ones in Star Wars WHO STAYED TRUE TO THE JEDI ORDER'S PRINCIPLES.

Like damn, Mace rly managed to establish a liniage of highly competent and compasionate Jedi. The Shatterpoint Lineage either outlasted or survived for nearly as long as the Disaster Liniage who pretty obviously stopped truly representing Jedi with Obi-Wan (only rly returninh to the true jedi way with Luke if ya see him as part of that lineage)

Like- who do we have in the Shatterpoint lineage ?

-Master of the Jedi Order , died trying to save the galaxy from the Sith

-Former council member, died saving her padawan from her brainwashed men

-Rebel Jedi training a student despite everything that went down , died saving his padawan & loved ones from a giant explosion

-THE GUY LITTERALY ABLE TO GET THE CHANCE TO FORCE TIME-TRAVEL WHO SEND HIMSELF INTO EXILE TO PROTECT THOSE HE LOVES & THE GALAXY

And who do we have in the Disaster Lineage :

-Guy with questionable methods who did his best

-OBI-WAN who rly doesn't need any explanation (who's also the last true Jedi with expection of Luke (if you counf him) to come out of this lineage)

-a genocial manbaby with an alergy for any sort of moral code or basic logic

-a pick me shitting on her own adoptive family, who isn't even a Jedi if we are being honest (sry Ahsoka, but your character to assasinated to a point where I just can't anymore)

And honestly ? It says a LOT that Mace Windu's lineage stands as pretty much last bastion of a true Jedi Lineage from the old Order.

Agreed 100%

And ngl I find it so funny that people constantly praise the Shatterpoint lineage- (Depa, Kanan, Ezra) -and then shit on Mace like, my dude, WHO DO YOU THINK TAUGHT DEPA AND PASSED ON THOSE VALUES TO HER AND THEREFORE HIS LINEAGE???

But no, Mace's lineage is by far the best imo---I love Obi-Wan and Luke and Yoda, but they get negative points for having not one but TWO genocidal fascists in the lineage- (Dooku and Anakin) -and then someone who thinks the Jedi brought on their own genocide- (Ahsoka) -and then someone who decided that the fate of the galaxy was less important than her feelings and probably kickstarted another war- (Sabine, apparently, since Felony shoe-horned her into the lineage).

Meanwhile the Shatterpoint lineage has the head of the Order who almost won the Clone Wars and stopped the Empire from being created, who only failed because he was betrayed- (Mace) -then an amazing and empathetic general who was literally so selfless that she sacrificed herself to save her padawan- (Depa) -then someone who fought against the Empire, successfully overcame his own issues to both train a padawan and then forgive those who he thought willingly murdered his family, and then sacrificed himself to save his family and give the Rebellion a leg up on the Empire for the Battle of Lothal- (Kanan) -and finally someone who let go of all his grief, rejected the Dark Side SEVERAL TIMES, and then sentenced himself to a life in exile to protect the galaxy from a genocidal fascist- (Ezra).

Like...there's really no competition here.

In the Imperial Era, Mace was probably sitting back as a Force-ghost, watching the Disaster lineage fuck up the galaxy and then have to fix it all over again, smugly staring down Obi-Wan and Yoda like-

Mace, smugly: Hm, did you know that today Kanan taught Ezra how to connect with animals? I'm so proud of them.

Obi-Wan, watching Anakin commit even more mass murder and Ahsoka blame the Jedi for Anakin's actions: Must be nice.

Yoda, staring down Dooku, who literally tried to take over the whole galaxy with a fascist regime: Yes. Nice, it must be.

[bluerhapsodist]

As an experiment, I decided to come up with a rewrite of the Jedi Code. The change is structural, not thematic, and I hope this version provides others some insight into Jedi philosophy.

The Force speaks, and a Jedi listens. A Jedi seeks peace beyond attachments. A Jedi seeks knowledge beyond ignorance. A Jedi seeks compassion beyond fear. A Jedi seeks harmony beyond chaos. A Jedi seeks hope beyond destruction. The Force is with me, and I am one with the Force.

My line of thought is that, first and foremost, the power of any Jedi is rooted in finding the most clarity between themselves and the Force. By listening to the Force, they can find the peace and knowledge they need in order to act out of compassion, harmony, and hope.

Second, I also was never a huge fan of the line "There is no emotion; there is peace." I understand what it means (not letting emotions rule your decison-making), but I never like how easy it is to misinterpret (i.e., Jedi can't have feelings ever). But when it comes to losing ourselves in our emotions, we're losing ourselves in attachment. Anakin chooses his fear of losing Padme over seeing through Sidious's lies. Dooku chooses his need for power and despair of the Jedi's future over standing up for his brethren or honoring his fallen former Padawan Qui-Gon. Even Luke gives into his anger in his final duel with Vader, overwhelmed by his need to save his friends at all costs and terrified of what might happen to Leia if he fails.

Third, I changed the line about "passion" versus "serenity" to focus more on compassion versus fear. I see it as a key point to follow the need for knowledge over ignorance, as ignorance can fuel fear, whereas the effort to learn more about others (and about oneself) can foster compassion in a Jedi's choices. The original line in the Code always seemed to me to be about developing good judgment in any situation, and so the reminder here is that a Jedi cares for others, even when faced with danger and uncertainty.

Fourth, I changed the original final line of the Code to refer to hope and destruction over "death" and "the Force." The Jedi represent hope to countless beings across the galaxy in almost every age of history (especially in the reign of the Empire). I thought it would work as a reminder to a Jedi who follows the Code that their ultimate goal is about preserving and defending life, not destroying the enemy no matter the cost. Whereas the Sith define victory by who they crush and how evident their power over others is, the Jedi see victory in the lives they save and the peace they bring to those who suffer. The rise of the dark side's power during the Clone Wars prevents the Jedi from fulfilling that latter duty since there's seemingly no end to the suffering and chaos spreading across the galaxy, so all they can do is lead the clone army and try to save as many lives as they can.

Finally, I just really, really like the mantra of the Guardians of the Whills, and it seemed like an attitude that they and the Jedi Knights have in common whether they can use the Force or not.

tl;dr I took a stab at rewriting the Jedi Code for clarity and for my own personal tastes.

[adragonsfriend]

Shooting Anakin like Padmé

So I've mentioned this before, but for most of ROTS, Padmé is shown pretty much only in her own apartment, and she's only allowed to leave to (1) go to see Anakin to tell him about the baby, (2) go to the Senate to deliver an (admittedly devastating) line about Palpatine declaring himself Emperor, and then (3) go to Mustafar to find Anakin. Besides those times, the camera only looks at her when Anakin goes to see her in her apartment, or when Obi-Wan goes to her apartment to see her about Anakin.

This relegation of Padmé to the domestic sphere--even if it's less obvious in that it's not a cooking or cleaning domestic space--is strange for a character who is obviously active and present in the previous movies. Why isn't she in the Senate building before the last scene? Why doesn't she have an office? Paperwork to do at least? Why don't we see her preparing to give birth? Hell why can't she and Anakin just talk somewhere else for once?

The answers to these questions are not ones I'm going to bother with right now. Whilst they are probably complex and interesting on some level, ultimately, they largely start and end with and "the narrative stopped being interested in its main female character other than in how she affects its male lead." Instead, I'd like to demonstrate how stupid it is by imagining ROTS scenes if Anakin was shot the same way Padmé is.

Rescuing the Chancellor

Start by cutting the whole space battle and rescue. We open on Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine returning to the ground and being greeted by the Senators and the press. Padmé pulls Anakin aside as in the movie. Since we didn't get to see Anakin execute Dooku, Anakin summarizes those events to Padmé, during which he tells her that he's not sure he should've killed Dooku and that he's afraid Obi-Wan would be disappointed in him. Padmé avoids confronting/is distracted from this revelation by her own news--she's pregnant. Continue the scene as written, with Anakin dismissing her worries to tell her to be as happy as he is.

Impact

Because it would probably reveal too much plot-wise for Anakin to tell Padmé that Palpatine directly ordered him to execute Dooku, this would deeply minimize how much Palpatine has over Anakin's decision making, as well as obscure how Dooku being executed even happened when Obi-Wan should've been right there to stop him (audience has no idea he was knocked out). Also, the audience would not see Anakin disagree with Palpatine to save Obi-Wan, and would therefore be deprived of the understanding that Obi-Wan is important to Anakin.

Even if all of this information was included in Anakin's summary of events, it would replace all of the showing done in the rescue scenes with telling, thereby destroying all of the emotional weight the audience experiences actually witnessing the events.

Appointment to the Council & The Opera

Instead of seeing Anakin talk to Palpatine and Obi-Wan, and throwing his fit to the Council, we instead get Anakin sitting in his quarters in the temple after the council meeting. He gets angry, standing up and pacing the room, talking to either himself or R2-D2 about how annoyed he is about not being made a master and that Obi-Wan would ask him to spy on Palpatine.

Instead of Anakin sitting with Palpatine in the Opera, we are treated to another scene of him in his quarters, this time we see him in his quarters, reading some texts, maybe muttering about trying to find the story Palpatine told him about.

Impact

Instead of seeing Anakin being manipulated, being inept at politics, his inability to manage his emotions in front of the Council, the tension of his argument with Obi-Wan about spying, and the way he's immediately drawn in by Palpatine's story about darth Plageuis, we just get him pitching a fit in private. Pitching a fit in private is a pretty reasonable thing to do--most people do it at some point--and so on top of doing nothing to show any of his interpersonal relationships with Obi-Wan, the Council, or Palpatine, it also shows very little of the complete breakdown he's headed toward.

Order 66

Instead of seeing Anakin go into the Temple, leading the clones, we are instead shown him getting dressed in his new sith cloak, which matches Palpatine's.

Impact

The audience gets none of the horror of seeing Anakin about to kill people. They only gain the information that he killed the Jedi children when Obi-Wan tells Padmé--there is none of the symbolism of him being shown to kill that one kid who looks just like his younger self. It reduces a horrific act and character decision to less than a news headline, and--especially with Padmé's later denial about it--makes it sound like more of a rumor than anything.

Mustafar

After Anakin puts on his new sith cloak, we cut to him on a ship to Mustafar. Only it's not his fighter, it's a ship large enough to have sleeping quarters, or maybe a kitchen. We see Anakin in one of those two spaces, again pacing, but this time he has set his lightsaber on a table, and keeps glancing at it agitatedly. On arrival, he picks it up and leaves the ship. Cut to him announcing over comm to Palpatine that the Separatist leaders are dead, without showing any of the killing involved. Then he sees Padmé landing and goes to greet her.

Then, keep the strangling Padmé and dueling Obi-Wan the same as the movie.

Impact

Now imagine seeing that final duel after an entire movie in which we have hardly seen Anakin and Obi-Wan interact, never seen them fight together, and only witnessed Anakin draw his saber once, to cut off Mace's hand in one wild swipe. It wouldn't mean nearly as much. We wouldn't know where Anakin suddenly got all these crazy lightsaber skills from--it would be crazy that he can go toe to toe with Obi-Wan who we just saw fight Grevious. We wouldn't know that Obi-wan's death was something Anakin would've died to prevent only days earlier.

Overall Impact

While some of these altered scenes do have potential to communicate some important things about Anakin (staring at lightsaber = guilt, picking it back up = choosing violence), on their own, they fail to tell his story well, and give little depth to his character.

He doesn't really talk to anyone on screen -> seems like a total loner who doesn't talk to anyone but Padmé. What do you mean Obi-Wan is supposed to be his best friend-brother-dad-teacher? (Why does Obi-Wan say he loved Anakin at the end or bother to personally look over Luke?)

Anakin doesn't really do anything for anyone but himself -> what do you mean he's supposed to have been a caring person who was corrupted?

Anakin is called a General and a war hero, but we never see him lead troops or even fight -> was he just given the title to make him seem more important?

Anakin and Palpatine only interact for like two seconds -> why does Anakin believe him about the Sith story or follow his orders to commit atrocities?

Anakin doesn't have any strong feelings about the Jedi, positive or negative (let alone both simultaneously) -> why do we care that he betrayed and killed them? why didn't Palpatine just let the clones do it?

Basically, it makes him seem stupid and inactive, and completely fails to show the audience his ongoing struggle with violence and torn loyalties, unless of course the audience is willing to go to lengths to imagine the depth he might've had if the narrative had prioritized him a little more.

There's lots of fic and meta that does that for Padmé, but the movie itself does not force the average view to see her as anything but Anakin's girlfriend who loves him more than anything, for some reason (he's pretty?) and is a Senator for some reason (she talks about politics for a minute?).

Like, I'm being a bit reductive, but all the scenes I cut of Anakin doing violence? Those are the equivalent of Padmé doing politics. All the interactions with Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and the Council? Those are Padme talking to other senators, her handmaidens, maybe even her parents. Anakin's mounting stress? That's a bit about Padmé seeing a doctor, worrying about her own health.

Padme isn't the main character, but she's not a side character either. The screen time she got could've been better used, even simply by letting her look busy when Anakin talks at her. ROTS makes her seem silly and inactive, and fails to show the audience the full depth of the ongoing conflict between her duty as a political power and her relationship with Anakin.

[jurijurijurious]

I just had a sudden memory of writing a draft of a Revenge of the Sith AU where Anakin gives mercy to Dooku and doesn't kill him (pissing off Palpatine), but poor Dook is still left with no hands, and he is saved by Grievous and they escape and... I have no idea how I wrangled the rest. I was just so pissed they took the whole of Attack of the Clones to build up to then introduce Count Dooku to go and kill him 5 minutes into RotS. Lame.

(I also had an Attack of the Clones rewrite drafted which I still kinda want to do but I'm so done with Star Wars and I can't remember the fine details of my plan any more. I literally can't stand Attack of the Clones apart from Christopher Lee and the seismic charges... It wouldn't take much to improve it.)

[fandom-shitposter]

Why do we have to slog through 50 layers of heavily applied references in every current Star Wars show?

Because it's a smokescreen trying to make us dismiss the ones which point out the actual underlying story. Which is the exact same story we already know only from a slightly different angle and using clones and technology instead of Jedi since, you know, that's not really an option anymore

The story of a child living on a backwater planet who lives solely with their mother, a child who has an amazing talent for machinery and builds their own droid(s), who gets to run off with a bunch of men (their new 'family') for a far more exciting life which ultimately leads to devastation after they made some really bad life choices because they don't want to accept death as a factor of life

And yeah, I do realise how basically stripped down that description is

First we meet the small child, then we meet them again when they're older and getting all trained up (even if it is done as more of a Dooku/Ventress thing second time around)

And then they hit their final stage where they never ever take their helmet off until the very end of things, and neither of them are using their own speaking voice

Cue the supposed 'shock' ending and a bunch of Disney execs patting themselves on the back for no one seeing it coming

-

Each OG role has been divided up between 2-3 current characters so Omega can help Mommy out by building a cyborg to mimic Anakin building C3PO but she hasn't had the opportunity or ability to do the equivalent of killing the Jedi in the temple, that part was farmed out to someone else regardless of whether they stated it on that specific show yet. It already happened and we saw it previously

Tech can stand in for Obi-Wan disliking her flying style, teaching her the skills she'll need to survive and dealing with her on an emotional level (with the assistance of the rest of the 'family' like the Jedi would have supported Anakin), but the big Anakin vs Obi-Wan fight at the end of season 1 was acted out by Hunter and Crosshair instead and since Echo already lost the appropriate number of limbs which that fight claimed before becoming a cyborg there was no need to repeat it

-

Unfortunately they've spent so much time on cramming in the surface level references into all of these shows, bending existing characters into shapes that don't fit them (*cough* Ahsoka show *cough*), obscuring the details and dropping any inconvenient parts of former canon they don't like that it's all become a little bit overblown and boring.

The makers of Star Wars just can't get past the Anakin Skywalker story no matter how big the SWU is or how many far more interesting tales there are to tell in it. How many promising looking shows have been cancelled or lost to development hell to focus on this instead?

Just last year Dave Filoni claimed that Anakin was the best Jedi ever (or something like that) and we all laughed at him for it. So why did he claim it in the first place? Who was he trying to convince? Are we just supposed to watch these shows and decide that Disney are doing it better than Lucas ever could? Just what is the point here?

Apart from money, obviously

[rochenn]

#16 for the choose violence ask game :3c (anyone else miss when everyone and their mother actively participated in these? no? just me?)

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Ask culture is declining but hey, we're preserving it right now! :D Anyway:

the dudebro side of the fandom saying that they liked the clones better before the chip reveal. Like HUH??

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden (look how they massacred my girl...)

"Qui-Gon would've been a better teacher for Anakin" would he though? Really? Cause I kinda don't think so

"Mace is an asshole" HE WAS DOING HIS JOB

"Dooku was right" HE WASN'T DOING HIS JOB

treating the RotS novelization by Matthew Stover as gospel. Yes yes the writing is very pretty. Some passages are funny. Now get it out of my face pls 🙏 thanks

Anakin as a stand-alone character. I have difficulty caring abt Anakin-centric works or Anidala tbh? I find it very difficult to read anything from his POV when other characters aren't also very directly and prominently involved

"And you, Master. What does your heart tell you you're meant for?" "Infinite sadness" SIGHH

[tennessoui]

"Sidious is trying to turn him completely into an uncaring death machine but his padawan is also insinuating that he’s going to cut his hair and go for a romantic walk in the gardens of coruscant with Quinlan fucking Vos. Total evilness has got to wait." LOL. I like how Obi-Wan's simultaneously torturing 3 Sith: Anakin, Sidious, and Dooku (who I am assuming has to hear about it from Sidious during what is supposed to be *Dooku's* annual evil performance review).

[in reference to this post about obi-wan and anakin in "hold my heart more gently than you do my throat"]

it's what throat fic obi-wan deserves <3 most hated jedi in all the galaxy by all the sith (except for one, who is just off his rocker about him. debatably worse)

in the original throat fic, i really wanted to have the main "present" storyline be about how obi-wan was kidnapped by darth maul or something because maul is fascinated by the amount darth vader clearly cares about this kid. and then anakin like. cuts him into little pieces in front of obi-wan who, obviously, has never seen so much blood lmao

but the prompt did call for anakin being captured and obi-wan rescuing him and i'd already gotten attached to talking about melida/daan framed as obi-wan is in trouble/away and anakin goes to him to bring him back so i liked the idea of obi-wan rescuing him for the "present" part of the fic.

but man imagine if darth maul had captured obi-wan. obi-wan suddenly is torturing 4 sith just because maul can't stand him and his smart mouth and also how slippery he is. and then master skywalker kills him. brutally. and, par for the course, bloodily

[pyrrhicraven]

The fic ships are walked in on while they’re kissing - who walked in and how do they react?

Anakin flipped out, how dare Count Dooku touch Obi-Wan! He threw himself into the room and darted straight for them, both pushing away from one another as Anakin moved to activate his lightsaber to slash at Dooku.

"Anakin no!" Obi-Wan shouted, reminding him of the terrible day that Dooku cut his arm off. That panicked voice the terror on Obi-Wan's face.

"How kriffing dare you!" Anakin roared but then suddenly he was being pushed away from them, his back colliding painfully with the ground.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted harshly, standing in front of Dooku who was saying something in a hissing tone, probably trying to turn Obi-Wan against him like he was always trying!

"Why are you protecting him! He's just trying to turn you!" Obi-Wan looked hesitant at that comment, his eyes straying away from Anakin. Dooku placed a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, whispering still in his ear. Anakin vibrated ready to attack but far too aware that Obi-Wan was in the way…

"He's not what you think he is Anakin please, trust me if you can't trust him." Trust-he would never in a million years trust Dooku!

💚👻💚👻💚 Vlad/Danny💚👻💚👻💚

Danny's heart lept into his throat as the door was slammed open while he was mid kiss with Vlad who jumped away from him they both turned and found his father Jack staring at them a little confused but then just continued to rant about whatever he was on now, Slinging an arm around Vlad’s shoulders and dragging him out the door to Vlad's protests.

Danny followed, hoping that somehow his father hadn't actually caught them before they were ready to tell his folks… Jack set Vlad on some science thing and strolled up to him with a smile, leading him from the room and into the office his mother had insisted on. Waiting for Danny to settle into the single chair in the room before scaring the daylights out of him with a simple question, his father’s voice was lower than normal, but he didn't sound mad just… Curious? "How long have you and Vlad been seeing each other?" how did he answer that? Because they didn't agree on that themselves.

"I'd say about a month, Vlad says otherwise." Jack sighed and sat on the corner of the desk, eyes roaming over Danny.

"It's completely consensual?" Danny flushed because yeah, Vlad hadn't forced him or anything.

"Yeah? I think so?" They still hadn't told his folks that Vlad was halfa either…They had accepted him as phantom but honestly, he hadn't hurt them or embarrassed them in that form. Vlad was nervous about telling them either thing not that he blamed him, Danny was just as nervous and worried still that this could just be Vlad's obsession still somehow even though it had seemed to change when his did.

"Well good, I would hate to have to bury my old friend." Danny snorted because Vlad would say Jack kind of did already.

💚❤️💚❤️💚 Bowser froze as he noticed something not good, Luigi still oblivious to the fact that his brother and princess Peach had caught them kissing.

"Well now I know how that would work." Peach said dryly and Luigi sprang away from him, face cherry red. He turned and let out a squeak at the sight of his brother and the princess.

"I didn't want to see that. Yuck." Mario said with a nervous laugh, Bowser frowned because that wasn't…Luigi would be devastated by that comment, that Mario wouldn't want them to see each other even though they truly cared for each other. Or was it just the kissing part? Could Mario be okay with a former enemy who had just signed a peace treaty dating his brother? Could Luigi be alright with his brother’s disapproval?

"Mario." Luigi sounded terrified and how could he blame Luigi? This wasn't how either of them had wanted these two to find out.

"Bro what are you doing? I know he's not an enemy anymore but seriously you could do so much better." Bowser snorted at the same time as Peach did, well. That was interesting in his opinion, maybe she'd be better about it or just holding in what she really wanted to say till she could yell at either of them in private.

"I never judged you on any of the people you dated even when I didn't like them." Luigi said in a soft voice, hands clutching the front of his overalls, eyes downcast and Mario frowned at the comment.

"You aren't dating though." They were. They had been for a week, just biding their time when they both weren't busy so they could tell these two. That was out the window now, and honestly, he wasn't sure what was about to happen but given the scent of ozone in the air…Luigi was upset, his lightening reacting to his emotions.

The half glance in his direction gave Bowser a shiver through his shell because that was a determined look on his boyfriend’s face, he gave a small nod. Knowing exactly what Luigi was asking permission for. “We are dating Mario; we have been for a while now-that was the reason I asked you and Peach to come here-I just didn’t expect you to get here so fast.” They had thought they had at least ten more minutes for them to show up-that was their first mistake. The second was that they thought they could get away with a last second kiss. “What did you do to my brother?” Mario said with a glare and Bowser snorted because what did he do?

“I treated him with respect and apologized to him for all the stuff I did to him personally.” Unlike those bastard toads who scoffed and insulted him with every chance they got, basically any time Luigi was without Mario. Didn’t the so-called hero even notice how sad his brother could be some days? How alone Luigi had been surrounded by toads that hated him? The only breath of fresh air for Luigi had been toadette, and they rarely got to see each other.

Mario scoffed at his words, but Bowser was speaking the truth no matter how blind Mario wanted to be about his brother’s life. Peach stepped forward, she looked tranquil, but he knew better. Bowser was more than aware how harsh she could be some days. She moved to Luigi taking his hands in hers, from his angle he couldn’t see much more than her taking his hands from his clothes and holding them, their words too quiet even for his hearing.

[high-fantasy-sw]

Heroforge: Jedi (Part One)

I'm back- with JEDI! Well, actually, only about half of them. I still need to make a few (like Kit Fisto, Quinlan, Barris, Jocasta Nu, etc; they're going to be in another post). But I think you'll enjoy who I have so far!

Also. I forgot to do honorifics for the Clones, because this is a fantasy world, and everyone has honorifics. Mea culpa, I'll edit that post as soon as I'm done with this one, so you can go check that out if you want.

Tagging: @whyoneartheven @anime-obsessed @majorproblems77

Sir Anakin Skywalker, the Valiant. His lightsaber is a dark-blue greatsword, with the Kyber Crystal embedded in the pommel. I chose it to represent the facts that his attacks are very aggressive but leave room for little defense- as it's a two-handed weapon, he has to defend by using offensive measures. (Also, it's a double-edged blade. *coughs in foreshadowing*.) In addition- his prosthetic arm is an enchanted golden gauntlet, to reference Clone Wars (2003), because I am a sucker for Clone Wars (2003) as much as I am a sucker for The Clone Wars (2008).

Sir Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Noble (alternatively: the Silver-Tongued). Okay, shut up for a second and let me nerd about his lightsaber. You may notice that he fights with a sword-and-shield combo. This is to reference his mastery of Soresu, a defense-heavy form of lightsaber combat. His crossguard- in which is embedded his light-blue kyber crystal- and his shield shape also reference the Jedi Crest. (And his hair is dark red because I said so, that's why.)

Squire Ahsoka Tano (later to be granted the honorary title of Lady Ahsoka the Perseverant). SHE'S FINALLY DONE! As you can see, she's differed slightly from her original concept (which I will link here)- her headscarf is now blue, and she has a different skirt (which I realize you can't see in the original picture, but I assure you, it was different), which I changed to match the simpler tastes of the Jedi (sidenote: as you will see, Jedi do have a loose habit, or the uniform dress of a monastic order, but padawans are allowed to be a bit more liberal with their clothing because they are not fully professed members of the order yet). For lightsabers, she wields two Togrutan daggers with the kyber crystals embedded in the pommels, just like Anakin :) Since she dual-wields, I thought it would be more practical for them to be shortblades, so she doesn't accidentally slice herself; her fighting style is still highly acrobatic, just like in canon. ALSO! Her facial markings! I mentioned in the original sneak peek that I'd be writing lore on the different races, because most of them are just different human cultures in this AU, so I'll expand on those now! Togruta have a rich tradition of facial painting (and later tattooing, when a child comes of age) and each Togruta wears a unique pattern that blends elements of the markings of their family. Since Ahsoka is a Temple Youngling and thus doesn't remember her family's markings, she made her own based on the family she found in the Jedi Order. Her markings on Heroforge don't exactly match up to her canon markings but this explanation would work in either universe: her cheek markings represent Plo Koon and resemble the horns on his helmet; her forehead markings resemble Anakin's lightsaber, because he taught her to stand up and fight for herself and others; and her eyeliner markings represent Obi-Wan and how he taught her to be observant to the Force and to always look with empathy towards others.

Archprior Yoda, the Wise. Sci-Fi creatures are actually quite easy to adapt into fantasy creatures- I just gave him hooves, horns, and a tail. The most intersting thing I want to point out is that he wields a fencing rapier as his lightsaber (you can't see it in these pictures, but his kyber crystal is in the pommel)- and, as you'll see when I post his pictures, so does his apprentice Dooku. Yoda's habit also has some additional accents, to denote his status as Archprior.

Sir Mace Windu, the Eternally Stressed Just. Mace might just be my favorite redesign, because LOOK AT HIS ARMOR! It's all tinged purple, and his pauldrons and gauntlets are lionesque, referencing his creation and mastery of Vaapad. Additionally, and I know you can't really see it from these angles but trust me on this one, he wields an executioner's sword. These have a blunted end as they were not supposed to be used in combat, and Mace wields one to represent his statues as an arbiter of justice >:) This means he has to be extremely skilled with it to make it work effectively. His kyber crystal seems to be embedded in the pommel, but in actuality it runs all the way up the blade. This was for no particular reason, I just thought it looked cool.

Sir Plo Koon, the Compassionate. His helmet is meant to reference his canon counterpart's head silhouette, and these helmets are a mark of pride for the Kel Dor- they're passed down through the paternal line and can be thousands of generations old. So, not exactly like Children of the Watch Mandos- they're not forbidden to remove their helmets, but they rarely do, to show pride in their lineage. Also, Plo wears a Wolfpack pauldron and a wolf fur cape, because he is a proud father :) His lightsaber has its kyber crystals embedded in its hand-guard and the base of the blade.

Sir Ki-Adi-Mundi, the Insightful. Much like the Kel Dor, the Cereans have familial helmets, but they aren't necessarily heirlooms, and they're matrilineal- each Cerean will make his or her own unique helmet against the pattern of his or her mother. (Kel Dor, Cereans, and Togruta are all fiercely tribal- it's speculated they share a common ancestor culture.) He wields a dark blue cutlass, that burns light blue, with its kyber crystal in the pommel.

Lady Shaak Ti, the Merciful. Like all fully-fledged adult Togruta, her facial markings are tattooed, and she wears a horned headdress over her headscarf. In addition, she wears a cape (to mimic her much longer, adult lekku). Her skirt features the same braided detailing as the braid on her headscarf, and she wields an aquamarine-colored scimitar, with the kyber crystal in the crossguard.

Lady Aayla Secura, the Forthright. She wields a violet-blue shortsword, with the kyber crystal making up the pommel. She also wears the traditional Twi'lek kerchief. (I'm sorry there's not much to say about her, I haven't deeply explored the Twi'lek culture in this AU yet. I'll have more probably when I do my Rebels set.)

Lady Luminara Unduli, the Honorable. She wields a seafoam-green blade with the kyber crystal in the crossguard. Unlike Togruta markings, Mirialan markings are completely personal and need not bear any resemblance to one's family's markings. They are, however, still tattooed. The front panel of her skirt also boasts a traditional Mirialan pattern, in the same metallic colors as the metal of her Mirialan gauntlets. (I think now is a good time to mention that, as you may have seen, while there is a habit enforced for the order, individual Jedi are allowed- and in fact, encouraged- to also import features of their traditional dress into the habit. So while they all wear similar clothes, the colors, skirts, shoes, and armor/jewelry/facial markings are unique from Jedi to Jedi.)

Bonus: The Disaster Duos (I would have made a singular one with all three of them, but Heroforge is stupid and won't let me do that >:( )

I hope you enjoyed! Questions and comments are always welcome, and I'd love to hear them! They really help with characterization and worldbuilding, but more importantly, it makes me so happy to know you enjoyed! Next week, I'll probably have the Villains to post. I'm looking forward to it!

[disastertriowriting]

Disaster Lineage Appreciation Gift Exchange

Fanfics:

A shower a day keeps the self-loathing spirit away by egeria - Obi-Wan gets hurt on a mission and Anakin can't mentally handle it. Snuggles ensue.

A Talk Under the Veil of the Night by StarxRox - Fives was executed in front of his eyes. Anakin can't forget what happened. He has nightmares. He hopes that they are just nightmares. But they aren't. Also Obi-Wan is the inconspicuous casual disaster child everybody believes is perfect.

Acch-To Soul, Korriban Body by Sinvulkt (Wakare) - The hound - for it had no name but hound, beast, mutant - collapsed in the dark alley, its small paws folding underneath it. Its chest felt heavy, and its breath came ragged, pained. Blood sang loudly to its ears, as did the loud men that were after it. Its muzzle was still wet from the time they tried to drown it.

Acolyte by Courtesy Trefflin - The mission to Ringo Vinda spirals downward when Tup tries to kill Luminara and Ahsoka confronts, and is injured by, Dooku's unknown assassin, called the Acolyte. There is a conspiracy involving the clones, and Anakin will do anything to uncover it when it means protecting the only people he has had left since Obi-Wan's death many months ago. (Winter Soldier AU)

Crisis of Faith by Courtesy Trefflin (Tirana Sorki) - Qui-Gon's loss isn't the only thing Obi-Wan struggles with after the battle of Naboo. The entire Order worships him as the Sith killer now, but it means having standards he doesn't know he can reach. He can't forget his master. He used the Dark Side. And he has the Chosen One to train, a padawan who is nothing like what Jedi ought to be.

Do Not Stand at My Grave by ReadingBlueWolf - After saving Naboo, Obi-Wan, and Anakin are kidnapped in broad daylight by Dooku. Frustrated by the Council's lack of response (and the old coot insisting on being called "buir"), Obi-Wan pens a few letters to Qui-Gon about the situation.

Flight Path by Courtesy Trefflin (Amina Gila) - Sidious never let him fly, preferring to keep him chained, and even though Anakin was trapped as a dragon for decades, losing his humanity and memories for a time, he has not lost his love for flying. It’s taken months for him to recover, and now that he and his family are taking a trip to Alderaan, he has the perfect opportunity to test his wings again.

Freefall by InsertSthMeaningful - Rey’s Jedi training on Ahch-To entails many things, like swimming, running, lightsaber duelling – and scaling high cliffs. One day, however she falls, and Master Luke doesn’t catch her. Instead, the Force does.

I dream of water by IceyGemini - For a long time, Luke's dreams nightmares were about heat and fire. This one was different...

Mashaw Bros, Sunset Circus by DragonflyonBreak - Come to the circus and witness what you've never seen before.

Multiples - Leia in ANH by Courtesy Trefflin - On the bridge of the Death Star, moments before Alderaan's destruction, Darth Vader is caught off-guard when a shift in the Force causes four more versions of Leia Organa to appear. Leia, who is... his daughter, apparently, the daughter he never knew he had. And Vader will do anything for his family.

Multiples - Luke in TESB by Courtesy Trefflin (Tirana Sorki) - For months now, Vader has waited for the day when he can tell Luke that he's his father. If Luke will join him, they can make the galaxy a better place. That day has finally arrived, except moments before Vader can reveal the truth, the Force suddenly, and unexpectedly, drops four other versions of Luke in front of him as well.

Multiples - Obi-Wan in ROTS by Courtesy Trefflin - Anakin and Obi-Wan have just landed aboard the Invisible Hand to rescue Chancellor Palpatine when suddenly, four other versions of Obi-Wan appear with them. One Obi-Wan is hard enough sometimes, but five? That is a whole other story. It doesn't help that they're not terribly fond of each other... or that the eldest are hiding things about the future.

Of Lineages and Hope by MiaSirtnev - Obi-Wan Kenobi never had a daughter but did have a very special Grandpadawan in Ahsoka Tano. And in matters large and small, they will always be there for each other. Always.

Ready to Respond (Do Not React) by Kefalion - After the events on Cloud City, Luke has been working on his ability to meditate. In a dream, he reaches the right frame of mind and he speaks with Yoda who shares some wisdom.

Relief by hayam - In retrospect, Dooku probably should have gone to the healers the first time he felt that sore tickle in his throat. Or that slight bit of nausea. It would have saved a lot of trouble..

Skywalker Snared by Writer_Patriot - Verifying Dooku's live capture didn't go as planned. Anakin blames himself.

Successor by Courtesy Trefflin (Tirana Sorki) - Traveling into Wild Space in search of ancient Jedi Temples and holocrons to learn from, in the hopes of rebuilding the Jedi Order, Rey stumbles onto something else entirely: the ancient world of Mortis, except... it's now inhabited by Force ghosts?

Swimming Lessons by Kittona writes (kittona) - Ahsoka plots to get her master to take a vacation; they're going to go to the beach. Sun, sand, relaxation, and most importantly, swimming. There's only one problem, Anakin didn't tell her he never learned to swim

The Time Where Anakin Became Yoda's New Padawan by StarxRox - Basically just another time travel story.

With Me As I Go by Courtesy Trefflin - When Qui-Gon died, becoming one with the Force, he could only watch. Watch as everyone in the lineage mourned him, and as the galaxy fell. But he is not about to let his master die. Or, the five times Qui-Gon tried and failed to help his family, and the one time he succeeded.

Fanart:

Just a Little Family Nap by lulek(szalik)

[kissingarthurclaus]

3rd AU! Also could I "steal" (with credit) this idea from you, I also have several AUs I would like to talk about 👀 - clownie

@circusgoth-dotcom yes ABSOLUTELY you can take it! And I invite anyone else who wants to do it to feel free :3

send me a number between 1-7 and I'll tell you about a self ship AU!

Number 3 is...ROYALTY/BODYGUARD AU! 👑

UGH this is one of my favorites that I really wanna do more art for sometime soon! Essentially in this AU, Brea is not a Jedi but instead the force-sensitive queen of a planet that I've decided to call Helios (subtle, I know). They're a neutral system, but due to being rich in valuable resources, probably some sort of hydrogen-like element that can be refined and used for weapons or money, Count Dooku and his army invade and intend to bully them into submission.

Enter Anakin and the 501st!

After arriving, however. they find that Dooku's forces were a little more well-equipped than they were prepared for 😅 the boys in blue are overwhelmed and the planet is taken, but they manage to rescue the queen! She obviously doesn't want to leave her citizens behind, but they insist that she accompany them to Coruscant so that she can plead her case to the Senate for more assistance in liberating her planet. In the meantime, Dooku could potentially still be after her or even send his minions out to make an attempt on her life...so she'll need to be guarded, right?

Palpatine probably personally asks Anakin to spare one or two of his own men to guard her, his BEST if he can part with them...and Anakin would never refuse Palpatine directly > _ > not sure what Palpie's endgame is, maybe to weaken the 501st a little bit to give the separatists an edge, maybe just for a laugh and to see what happens! Who knows, but Anakin asks Rex to be the one to look after her who, albeit reluctantly, agrees.

You can imagine he's none too pleased about it either 😅😅 he's extremely formal and professional at first, only speaking when necessary and following close behind her but not TOO close. It's not that he isn't honored and stuff but he feels that his place should be on the battlefield! He can't help but think about his men out there without him, putting their lives on the line. And after spending quite a bit more time together (basically 24/7 being that he stands outside her door while she sleeps) he realizes that she feels the SAME way about her people, who she'd do anything for. That's when the feelings start to develop :3c

I think it starts one night while she's having dinner, she's invited him to join her at the table before but he usually insists he's fine standing and having rations instead. This time she kinda ORDERS him to sit, and for the first time like...ever he takes off his helmet and she sees his face for the first time. I don't think she's seen a clone's face before, so she probably mentions that he's very handsome and he probably shoots back like "what, did you think I looked like a Hutt under there?" Which shows he has a funny side, and they finally start to connect on a deeper level. From there you know how slippery a slope it is to romantic feelings and longing gazes and probably even stolen kisses!! I haven't thought too much about all that yet but I want to, and I've rambled on long enough > u <

[jedi-enthusiast]

Note: If I were to start writing more than one fic, then I would need to stretch the updates for The Great War to once a month instead of once every two weeks, although I would keep updating it.

If it matters at all, Arcane Paths is the fic I could probably finish the fastest out of these 5 and either When Stars Collide or A Lesson in Murder Mystery would take the longest.

A Lesson in Murder Mystery

Cody is the new Engineering professor at the University of Coruscant and Obi-Wan is the long-standing English professor. When Obi-Wan is attacked one night, they both get pulled into a conspiracy surrounding the death of the late Dean and the deaths of several others connected to the University. The two have to work together to solve the mystery before whoever's after Obi-Wan finally succeeds in their mission.

When Stars Collide

After many years of war and many more years of tension, the Jedi and Mandalore finally decide to make peace. To guarantee that the still-fresh peace treaty will not be broken, however, each side must offer up one member of their respective groups to be married to each other. Manda'lor Jango Fett offers his heir, Cody Fett. The Council offers Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Some tensions cannot simply be put to rest by treaties, however, and both sides must learn to understand each other--or risk losing to an even greater enemy that threatens both sides.

Welcome to the Temple

Scientist Cody Fett and his brothers move to a small town in the middle of nowhere in order to investigate the weird shit that seems to always be going on there. A town the locals simply refer to as the "Temple." Things get a little more complicated for him when he starts dating the town's odd radio host, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and one of his brothers witnesses something and becomes a target of SithCorp.

A Sith's Sense of Humor

A very pissy and recently deceased Count Dooku decides that things just aren't entertaining enough in his reality, and the Son agrees. So, to stir the pot a little, they decide to send some of the Jedi into another reality to see what happens. There's only one problem... The spell hits all of their commanders instead.

Arcane Paths

A year prior, Magician Obi-Wan Kenobi woke up in a strange room next to a strange man with no memory to speak of. Now, he works side by side with the man--Cody Fett--in their small shop in the city and, although Cody seems to keep many secrets, things are nice...at least until Cody leaves and Obi-Wan is visited by two people. The Duchess Satine Kryze, who asks him to solve a mystery for her, and murderer Anakin Skywalker, who seems to be looking for Cody--or, at least, something Cody has.

During the investigation, however, Cody reappears and it starts to seem like the secrets he's keeping are connected to Obi-Wan's investigation...and the memories that he can't seem to recall.

[enigmatist17]

Catch me thinking about all the clones "waking" up in the past after their final brother (read Rex and Kix) eventually dies....pt 2

Part 1 is here

Kenobi returns to the Jedi Council after a good month, looking haunted as he explains to the Council what he's learned from these mysterious clones

there is a lot of arguing, but it is nigh impossible to lie to Kenobi or any Jedi, and the younger Master finally says he's brought some of the clones with him

Cody, Fox, and Fordo are brought in, hidden under robes as to remain unseen, and after making sure there were no devices hidden in the Council chamber, they stand at attention for questioning

they speak with the voices of soldiers despite wearing the bodies of younglings, and with trust that had only come with time and care, they let the Council see into their minds

It's the first time Fox and Fordo see a Jetti shed tears, Fox in particular leaning against Fordo in weariness as the Council begins to speak in outrage. Cody leans against Fordo's other side, and the Jetti forget they're even there until Obi-Wan gets everyone calmed down

Half of the Council depart for Kamino that night, while the other half fake continuing on as normal, knowing now they had a Sith on the same planet as their Temple

Cody has their transport stop to pick up Obi-Wan's padawan, Anakin having been sent on a small retreat. He's confused as he's hurriedly ushered to come with, but Obi-Wan doesn't seem stressed by the three guys who look alike, so he's not concerned as they shoot off into the Outer Rim

The Council members aren't sure what to feel as they follow Obi-Wan into the main facility, and the same haunted eyes as those of the three who had shown them everything are watching in nervous excitement

Rex was chatting with some of his vod in a training room when an excited Anakin seems to just materialize from nowhere, the Force seemingly pointing out the startled clone who freezes when they lock eyes

Obi-Wan yanks him back before Anakin can step forward, and Rex doesn't shamefully hide behind Wolffe as he can't deal with Anakin yet, raspy breathing and a blade born of the blood of younglings humming behind him

Anakin is confused why the other is distressed at seeing him, and the other Jedi masters who were nearby are drawn to the pain being broadcasted into the Force. Wolffe stiffens when Plo looks into the room, and Ponds calls out to General Buir, please help us calm him, and the master feels his legs moving towards the small group before he realizes it. The Force is telling Plo that these boys are his children, that they have always been, so he listens as he hugs the group of teens as tight as he can manage,

It's a very long night for both clones and Jetti, and it's realized that this time would be different

The captured Kaminoan's are surprised and relieved when they're visited by the Jedi, hoping that they might be freed from their cells. Instead, they're interrogated for what felt like hours, and when they're offered a way to return to their people if they give up all of their work and knowledge of who orchestrated the creation of the clones, they agree. They'd been paid, and whatever happened now was of no concern to them, so after everything from creation to knowledge of how to disable/stop the chips from being made, they are escorted off-planet and to their freedom (Huge fan of Kamino not being their home planet but a testing ground as it were for the clones/other experiments)

With knowledge in hand, those who had remained on Coruscant are given the proof of who Palpatine is, and before they can act, the Sith is killed by assassination

Fox smiles when he learns, and knows that his little side trip when they fist went back to Coruscant was a success.

Cad Bane is now stupid rich, and doesn't really care either way.

The Republic, understandably, freaks out

They fail to notice that the Separatists are also freaking out, as Dooku is freaking out/not sure what else to do

The clones don't really care at the moment, focusing on running the facilities and seeing who can get a hug from a Jetti

I just

I need to stop writing 5 different things at once, and then come up with another AU

But

My clones are my children

[adragonsfriend]

On Writing Ekkreth Stories

So you want to write an Ekkreth story, but it's not working. You can't figure out how to start, it doesn't sound right, it just doesn't feel like Fialleril's do.

I am obviously not the expert on this, but I've have seen one or two people comment on Biting His Own Tale that they struggle to write Ekkreth stories and/or think mine are neat, so I thought I'd take a stab at writing a guide/conglomeration of tips I've figured out.

(This is also intended as an exercise for me to articulate why I make the decisions I do as a writer, because I think that's a good thing to do once in a while, so spoilers for my fic, Biting His Own Tale)

Connect to "Real" Events

Reading Double Agent Vader the first time (it was one of the first Star Wars fics I ever read), I was instantly enamored with the Ekkreth stories. I wanted to read them, understand them, write them. Problem being, no matter how long an hard I thought, I couldn't come up with a single idea. It felt like Ekkreth's tricks were all way too clever and neat for me to ever come up with something comparable and the style was so cool and mysterious that I didn't know how to copy it.

Then I committed myself writing Biting His Own Tale. I started writing down notes and then drafting my main story, and the ideas started pouring out. I had two different ideas for Ekkreth stories to go along with Glittering Chains, I had other ideas for other sections as well. Sometimes the ideas for Ekkreth stories influence my main plot--the story of Ekkreth being beaten inspired both This Story Can Kill You and the section I'm currently posting.

I am echoing Fialleril when I say I don't really think it's possible to write these stories without having some "real" fictional events to relate them to. So pick a fic idea you've always wanted to write, and start writing it. Personally, I'm kind of obsessed with time travel fics. You probably don't even have to actually write that fic, just starting to plot it out will give you ground to stand on.

The Moral of the Story

Ekkreth stories have a point. They're not historical tales meant to accurately recount a true event, though they may do that too. They're not novels, meant to entertain, though they may do that too. They're not comedies, meant to make you laugh, though they may do that too. Ekkreth stories have messages for the Amavikkan people who are telling them and listening to them and creating them.

What do Amavikka people in general need to understand to survive?

What do your characters need to understand to survive?

Are your main story characters living up to the lessons and values of Amavikka culture, or are they failing to do so?

What is the point of your main story? Why are you writing it? What do you want your reader to learn from it?

The intersection of these answers is where your story's moral lies. In Glittering Chains:

Amavikka people in general need to remember that no matter if their depur sometimes appears nice for a moment or favors them over other slaves he is always cruel, and he'll never make them free.

Anakin needs to understand that Ventress is keekta-du and therefore a fellow slave. He also needs to be reminded that all Sith apprentices are slaves to their masters in some way or other. This understanding will influence how he interacts with both Ventress and Dooku later on. Slick needs to understand why the way he went about trying to free himself was cruel to his brothers, and that while Ventress could not help him, Anakin can.

Anakin is living up to the role of Ekkreth by recognizing both Ventress and Slick as fellow slaves he can help. Ventress is very explicitly failing by continuing to follow Dooku's orders and refusing to think on Anakin's warning that Dooku has not freed her. Slick was failing by dooming his brothers for his own freedom, but is moving toward Amavikka values by taking Anakin's offer to help free other slaves.

My point with Glittering Chains was to clarify Slick and Ventress' decisions, and to force Anakin into having a more complicated plan than just "kill Sidious and all the Sith," because I think it's important for him and the audience to consider redemption whenever there is the opportunity.

So my Ekkreth story needs to be about Ekkreth guiding someone to realize they are keekta-du and then show that person deciding to do something about their situation once they understand it.

Figuring out the moral of your story early will help you figure out its structure. I knew I wanted my story to talk about being keekta-du, so I came up with a situation where I thought someone might become keekta-du (a sex slave convinced her owner loves her), and from there I came up with the mechanism of Ekkreth's trick (Ay'leli has to be the one to steal the keys because she has access to Depur's quarters), and Ekkreth's method (getting Ay'leli to empathize with her fellow slaves by getting her to care for one child). From there, I thought up some symbolism that fit both the situation and the moral (Ay'leli is going to have to steal some keys, so there needs to be some chains for her to steal the keys to. Also, Ay'leli's chains are prettier than the others, but just as strong).

Doing it this way, you can get the thematic and literal elements of your Ekkreth story and your "real" story to overlap in interesting ways, because the thematic elements are most important, while the literal elements can, ultimately, be whatever you need them to be. For an example of a connection of literal elements from Fialleril, Ekkreth steals pieces of the actual moon while Anakin steals the death star plans, a connection which comes directly from the "That's no moon," line in the Phantom Menace.

Doing it this way, with the moral first, you can get the thematic and literal elements of your Ekkreth story and your "real" story to overlap in interesting ways, and this kind of connection can also help justify why your Amavikka character would be thinking/telling of this particular story in their real situation.

I promise you your thoughts about how the world works, and how people should act, and what we should value are important and valuable and interesting. You can and should write about them if you feel driven to.

Values you're passionate about are far more fertile ground for cool world building and deep metaphors than quirky world building and random metaphors are for good values.

(P.S. This is not to say it can't ever happen the other way around, it absolutely can.)

(P.P.S. It's okay if you pick your moral and then you realize it needs to change after you start writing. This happens to me all the time, that's why it's called a first draft.)

Consider the Medium: Oral Storytelling

This is a lesson straight from the mouth of my epically cool high school humanities teacher when we read the Iliad. Other real examples of the things I'm about to talk about include the Vedas and aboriginal American stories, so they're not unique to European tradition. When a story is being told outloud, the listeners have to be able to keep track of who is who and who is doing what, and they can't go back and read a section again like you can with a written story. Also, in oral traditions, stories are passed down by memory, and repetition makes memorization easier. We are writing our stories down, but both of these circumstances must still affect the way we write them, if we want them to sound like they are from an oral tradition.

Clarify speakers often, and do it before they start speaking/acting rather than after or in the middle of their dialogue to avoid the pronoun game even more than you would in other writing you do.

Refer to characters the same way multiple times. Their titles can be quick ways to give your audience information about them.

Consider how your words sound. Words that sound good and share a rhythm and vibe are easier to remember. There often multiple different epithets for the characters in the myths to help keep the meter of poetic sections.

Read your story out loud! This is how Ekkreth stories were meant to be experienced. Better yet, have someone else read it out loud and listen for places where they stumble. If you're not comfortable reading aloud, or you don't have a private space to do so, you can use text to speech to listen to it.

Prototypes have to be tested by the people who are going to be using them, in the way they are meant to be used if they are to become useful to those people. You can treat your stories the same way.

Real World References & Questioning your Muse

Consider fairy tales, religious stories, poetry, children's books, bedtime stories, etc. What tools to they use?

What parts of them sound the best? (Do they repeat certain phrases? Do they rhyme? Are they written in meter?)

What kind of stories to they tell? (Are they complicated or simple? Are they super realistic, or kind of mystical?)

How do they introduce characters? (What do they include descriptions of? Physical traits? Character traits? Actions they often take? Their role in relation to other characters?)

Does the character's reasoning always follow real world logic? (If they do, how does their world influence the way they act? If not, what rules are they following instead?)

Ask all the questions you can about setting, characters, plot, style, etc. The answers to the above questions with regard to Ekkreth stories are, as I see them,

There is lots of repetition of descriptions and titles. There is repetition in structure where there is repetition in the story (if Ekkerth asks five different animals for advice, they will ask questions phrased in similar ways, and get responses phrased in similar ways). The beginnings and endings of each story have several repeated phrases, lending a sense of familiarity no matter how wacky the middle gets.

The stories are relatively simple. Ekkreth is going along, finds Depur has done something bad, Ekkreth does something to fix the bad thing, the people run away, Ekkreth taunts Depur and then flies away, this story can save your life.

Characters are introduced by their names and titles and something of the way they act. Ekkreth is trickster, sky walker, wandering traveler; no chain can hold them forever. Depur is the master, the slave owner; he is Ekkreth's enemy. Leia is elder sister, mighty one, Ekkreth's daughter; she can endure anything.

The character's reasoning doesn't really follow real world logic. Otherwise, Leia would just step on Depur in every story. Otherwise, Ekkreth's tricks coudn't work every time. Otherwise, there's no way Depur would be that dumb every single time. They are following a set of rules that teach the lessons and values of Amavikka people while acknowledging their limitations. They can't kill their owners, so Leia can't kill Depur. There are always small opportunities to defy Depur, so Ekkreth always has another trick. Every depur is both cruel and prideful in someway, so Depur will always be fooled by flattery.

Looking at real world examples can also be the inspiration for the structure and plot of your story, Ekkreth's tricks (heist movies might be good for this), or characters (there's a Norse myth about Loki catching a fish which inspired the way I wrote Umakkar).

Try mapping out Kadee's favorite story, "Depur's new clothes." See what changes happen when the person trying to sell the Emperor intangible clothes isn't a random tailor trying to make a fool of him, but instead Ekkreth trying to free the people from Depur. How would Cinderella's story change if instead of a girl looking for a night of freedom from her awful family she was Ekkreth disguised to get into Depur's party? Are they there to steal something? To trick Depur into marrying them? To distract him from the people escaping out the back of his palace?

Use references. Study them, copy them, improve them. In exactly the same way a visual artist must observe real humans to learn how to draw humans, you must observe real fairy tales, folk tales, movies, religious stories, poetry, books, children's books, songs, bedtime stories, etc, to learn how to write your own.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition...

Repetition is a tool of meaning in any kind of story. The things a storyteller chooses to mention more than once, the things they return to again and again, build meaning and change it with every echo. I've talked a bit about aesthetic repetition (repeated titles, names, phrases), but not about thematic repetition. Making these match up is one of the greatest tricks you can play as an author.

Knowing the intended moral of your story is going to come in handy here. It is repeated at the end of every Ekkreth story that "this story can save your life," not just because it's a good line, but also because that is what Fialleril considers the essential message for Anakin, every slave on Tatooine, and us, the audience.

In my story Elder Sister, Umakkar asks Leia three times, “Who are you, who would stand in the path of the storm?” not just because she keeps standing there, but because it gives Leia the opportunity to change her answer time. Her changing answer shows her figuring out her own identity through the trial of outlasting the storm, and it also displays what I believe is her most essential trait: the strength to endure.

Stories are something you can add to your main story to repeat the themes in the main plot. As Anakin defies Sidious, Ekkreth defies Depur. As the scanner comes to Tatooine, Ekkreth delivers the wisdom of the animals to the people. As Pooja interprets a secret flower language to save the rebel senators, Queen Polana uses a secret flower language to warn her people.

Like wearing the right color shirt can bring out the color of your eyes, the right Ekkreth story is a chance to echo the point of your main story, drawing it into the light.

Review the Source Material

Go back and read Double Agent Vader again, with a critical eye. Pay attention to the way mythology is woven into characters understanding of the world and their emotional journeys. Leia musing on how Ekkreth reminds her of Torhu, one of Alderan's spirits, was a big inspiration for me in writing Rex thinking of Anakin as being like a sea monster. Neither Rex nor Leia is Amavikka or even close to as deeply entrenched in their respective mythologies as Anakin is (his narrative is almost always accompanied by an active story being told whereas they mainly just think about their mythologies), but even they are actively using mythology to interpret their real world.

Also, I meant what I said about listening to Ekkreth stories aloud. There are wonderful podfics of DAV by @darlingsweet that can help you get a feel for how Ekkreth stories are meant to sound.

Finally, Commit to the Bit!

When fics have their own plot and then randomly mention "blah blah blah Ekkreth! blah blah," it actually tends to take me out of the story rather than drawing me deeper in. It's a distraction. It makes me think, wow I should go reread DAV again instead of this.

It's much the same form of imitation that makes a lot of sequels fall flat--where the creators knew they did something good with the original, but failed to appreciate what exactly it was, and so end up including all the surface elements without creating depth (think a lot of Disney's Star Wars content: lots of flashy lightsabers, big space battles, anyone can have the force now, not so much for consistent themes, or the Pirates of the Caribean sequels [or for an even worse example, the Avatar the Last Airbender movie]). It's saying, "Well whenever Fialleril wrote the name Ekkreth it gave me lots of feelings, so I'm going to also write the name Ekkreth in my story. That will cause people to have feelings about my story." I promise you, it won't. Not on its own.

Where Fialleril's writing excels most is in making the mythology matter to the characters. Making it affect the way they think and act. Anakin takes responsibility for his actions and turns his back on Sidious twenty years early, without Luke or anyone else around to guide him towards doing good because of these stories. That is the singular, most basic, and most powerful premise of DAV. It is an argument, not just for the power of Amavikka culture in Anakin's situation, but the power of storytelling and beliefs in general.

Writing full Ekkreth stories is much, much harder than including surface level references. I absolutely do not claim to have mastered any of these tips, my own stories are all works in progress, but effort and connection are the cost of depth, and depth is what creates all those wonderful and terrible feelings you feel when you read the name of Ekkreth.

In Conclusion

These are, so far, my guiding principles when I write Ekkreth stories. I hope they are interesting, and helpful to someone. They are also, I hope, applicable to any story that tries to intertwine myth with reality. Please feel free to add/argue anything I've missed, I'm sure there's lots, especially with the number of people who have taken to interacting with Fialleril's mythology.

(P.S. Obvious disclaimer, but this is the internet: when I say things like "Fialleril does blah blah blah because...," I am guessing. I'm not in their head, I've just read lots of their fics and posts. I'm interpreting the data I have as best I can, and then phrasing my guesses very confidently.)

(P.P.S. Happy Christmas if you celebrate, happy holidays to everyone else. All the holidays I've ever heard of, religious and otherwise, have fascinating stories behind them which you can analyze in depth, if that's anyone else's idea of holiday fun.)

[padmestrilogy]

COUNT DOOKU sits at a large conference table with PADME on the far side. ANAKIN stands behind her with FOUR GEONOSIAN GUARDS standing behind him. JANGO FETT stands behind COUNT DOOKU, and SIX GEONOSIAN GUARDS stand behind him.

PADMÉ: You are holding a Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am formally requesting you release him. Now.

COUNT DOOKU: He has been convicted of espionage Senator, and will be executed. In just a few hours, I believe.

COUNT DOOKU smiles.

PADMÉ: He is an officer of the Republic!

COUNT DOOKU: We don't recognize the Republic here. [beat] But, if Naboo were to join our Alliance…I could reconsider.

PADMÉ: And if I don't join?

COUNT DOOKU: I don't wish for you join against your will Senator, but you are a honest, rational representative of your people, and surely you want what's in their best interest. Aren't they fed up with the corruption, the bureaucrats, the hypocrisy of it all? Aren't you? 

PADMÉ: The ideals are still alive, Count, even if the institution is failing.

COUNT DOOKU: Those ideals you speak of, they are the very same we Separatists fight for!

PADMÉ: If that’s true, you should stay, and help the Chancellor put things right.

COUNT DOOKU: The Chancellor means well, M'Lady, but he is incompetent. He has promised to cut the bureaucracy, but the bureaucrats are stronger than ever, no? The Republic cannot be fixed M'lady. It is time to start over. 

JANGO nods.

PADME's resolve only hardens. 

PADMÉ: I know of your treaties, Count. With the Trade Federation, with the Commerce Guilds and all the others. I know what’s happening here. This is not government being bought out by business, it’s business becoming government. [beat] I will not betray the Republic.

COUNT DOOKU: Then you will betray your Jedi friends? Without your cooperation, they will die.

ANAKIN looks over at PADME. She stares ahead.

PADMÉ: Am I to die too?

COUNT DOOKU: I wouldn't dream of such an offense. But there are individuals who have a...strong interest in your demise, M'Lady. It has nothing to do with politics, I'm afraid. It's purely personal. 

COUNT DOOKU smiles again. He’s enjoying this.

PADME is silent, but resolute.

COUNT DOOKU: I’m sorry, but if you are not going to cooperate, I must turn you over. Both of you.

JANGO FETT: Take them away.

--Deleted scene from Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Edited by me. Original script under the cut.

COUNT DOOKU sits at a large conference table with PADME on the far side. ANAKIN stands behind her with FOUR GEONOSIAN GUARDS standing behind him. JANGO FETT stands behind COUNT DOOKU, and SIX GEONOSIAN GUARDS stand behind him.

PADMÉ: You are holding a Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am formally requesting you turn him over to me, now.

COUNT DOOKU: He has been convicted of espionage, Senator, and will be executed. In just a few hours, I believe.

COUNT DOOKU smiles.

PADMÉ: He is an officer of the Rebublic. You can't do that.

COUNT DOOKU: We don't recognize the Republic here, Senator, but if Naboo were to join our Alliance, I could easily hear your plea for clemency.

PADMÉ: And if I don't join your rebellion, I assume this Jedi with me will also die?

COUNT DOOKU: I don't wish to make you join our cause against your will, Senator, but you are a rational, honest representative of your people, and I assume you want to do what's in their best interest. Aren't they fed up with the corruption, the bureaucrats, the hypocrisy of it all? Aren't you? Be honest, Senator.

PADMÉ: The ideals are still alive, Count, even if the institution is failing.

COUNT DOOKU: You believe in the same ideals we believe in! The same ideals we are striving to make prominent.

PADMÉ: If what you say is true, you should stay in the Republic and help Chancellor Palpatine put things right.

COUNT DOOKU: The Chancellor means well, M'Lady, but he is imcompetent. He has promised to cut the bureaucracy, but the bureaucrats are stronger than ever, no? The Republic cannot be fixed, M'Lady. It is time to start over. The democratic process in the Republic is a sham, no? A shell game played on voters. The time will come when that cult of greed called the Republic will lose even the pretext of democracy and freedom.

PADMÉ: I cannot believe that. I know of your treaties with the Trade Federation, the Commerce Guilds and the others, Count. What is happening here is not government that has been bought out business...It's business becoming goverment! I will not forsake all I have honored and worked for and betray the Republic.

COUNT DOOKU: Then you will betray your Jedi friends? Without your cooperation I can do nothing to stop their execution.

PADMÉ: And what about me? Am I to be executed also?

COUNT DOOKU: I wouldn't think of such an offense. But there are individuals who have a strong interest in your demise, M'Lady. It has nothing to do with politics, I'm afraid. It's purely personal, and they have already paid great sums to have you assassinated. I'm sure they will push hard to have you included in the executions. I'm sorry, but if you are not going to cooperate, I must turn you over to the Geonosians for justice. Without your cooperation, I've done all I can for you.

JANGO FETT: Take them away.