#finis valorum

[jewishcissiekj]

coming out as a Finis Valorum fan. he sucks at his job but I think that's part of his charm

and with his assistant Sei Taria being Politically astute, yet sometimes devious according to Wookiepedia and slaying all throughout her screen time, they may have not been a very productive or useful Chancellor's office but they were cunty and iconic and I think at the end that's what really matters

[auditect]

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos

A friendship so strong not even the storms of the Clone Wars could extinguish it! But how did these two legendary Jedi meet? Witness their first adventure together in Star Wars: The Stark Hyperspace War: Part 3!

[comicwaren]

From Star Wars: Jango Fett #001, “Trail of Lost Hope, Part 1”

Art by Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard

Written by Ethan Sacks

[archeo-starwars]

Star Wars Fact Files #122, 2004

[crispyjenkins]

All We Have is Hunger (wipwed 1)

the official start to wip wednesdays! i'm constantly writing, but not always posting, and i miss the engagement of storytelling. so!! here's the first attempt. wipwed stuff will be linked from my masterlist, which is my pinned post, where you'll also find links to the main fic i love you all dearly, i hope you're safe and well 🧡🌻🧡

  “We have seen lesser men do far worse for power,” his sister says, “This whole situation put Senator Palpatine in the perfect position to make a bid for your seat.”

  While he had stayed standing until then, Valorum gives in and sinks into the chair that completes the little triangle around Padmé’s throne. “I wonder,” he murmurs, “if he would have succeeded, had Messere Naberrie not been there to raise suspicion.”

  Padmé clenches her jaw, eyes lowered. “He would have. I would have called for a vote of no confidence had Obi-Wan not talked me out of it.”

  What a frankly horrifying thought. There are certainly worse options for chancellor, Obi-Wan supposes, especially considering non-senatorial entities with seats in the Senate would have been included in the pool of candidates. However, after the last few weeks, the thought of Palpatine at the head of the Republic makes him physically ill.

  Valorum hums to himself, leaning his chin into his palm with gaze distant. “He has only a few months left before he has to be re-elected, and the vouch of the current Queen holds significant weight.”

  Obi-Wan blinks. “We can elect someone else.”

  Shooting him an indulgently-amused look, Valorum nods. “Indeed. Perhaps someone we already know is trustworthy with the good of the planet in mind?”

-

[fictiongarden]

Midnight in the Garden - Chapter 25 - FictionGarden - Star Wars - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Sereine stood up then, crossing her arms in front of her. "You might as well make yourself comfortable, Anakin," she said sadly. "I - we - have something to tell you about."

Anakin Skywalker had finally traveled beyond disbelief, beyond hurt, beyond missing the Palpatine he had loved for thirteen years and hoping to get him back. Anakin Skywalker had finally reached anger, and it pulsated throughout the room.

His face went red; his hands clenched into fists. "I'm going to kill him!" he roared. "I'll kill him!"

His tiny wife stood before him; Finis, watching her carefully, saw her sleeve quiver. Anakin jumped to his feet.

"No, you won't, Anakin," Padmé said flatly. "You can't."

"What is this?" The boy's scream hurt Finis's ears from several feet away; Padmé flinched. "When we found out about this you wanted him dead! You all wanted him dead! Now he does this and I can't kill him?"

He advanced on Padmé, towering over her. "Give me my lightsaber, Padmé." Murder sharpened his voice to a steel edge.

Padmé glanced across the balcony, where Dormé was already boarding the speeder. The engine started and she took off. Anakin whipped about at the sound.

"You think that's going to stop me?" he shouted, and Padmé flinched again and backed up a few steps. "I'll have his head for this!"

Finis wet his lips and tried. "You can't do that, Anakin. It's exactly what he wants. You told us yourself. Remember what you said about Depa Billaba?"

"I can defeat Palpatine! I can kill Palpatine! I am more powerful than I've ever been!"

"Anakin, please, you aren't able to kill him," said Padmé, her hands out in front of her as if in prayer, folded around his lightsaber. "You haven't even come close!"

"I haven't tried," Anakin snarled. "But I should have! Give me my lightsaber. Give it to me!"

He reached out one hand and tried to Force-pull it from her. But she had slipped the ring around her finger, and he yanked it so hard it caught. Padmé squealed in pain and, bending, cradled her left hand.

"Are you all right?" said Sereine, and rushed forward to examine her hand. From the back hallway a baby began to cry.

Anakin stalked the women. "Now give it here," he grated. Fully expecting to be knocked to the floor, Finis came forward, ready to take a blow for Padme if necessary.

Sereine looked up. "I can't let you have it, Anakin."

Tears of pain glistened in Padmé's eyes. "Anakin, don't you see?" she pleaded. "He is making you angry, he is making you use the dark side!"

A wild hate burned in Anakin's eyes. "And it will give me the power to kill him!" he rumbled. "Now give me my lightsaber!"

Padmé had not slipped the ring off of her finger. Now she closed her fist around it. "Break my hand, then, Anakin!" she challenged.

The next instant Anakin was on her, shoving Sereine almost to the floor, jerking Padmé roughly by the arm and trying to open her fist. Padmé cried out.

Recalling his policeman days, Finis dove between them and hauled at Anakin's arm. "You will not put your hands on her, Anakin! Not in front of me!" He used his best Senate Rotunda shout; probably the neighbors on the next level heard him. Anakin let go of Padmé and wheeled on him, drawing his arm back for a punch.

Finis stepped back, his own arms up. It had been a long time and the enraged dragonmount would probably kill him, but if he had to fight him, he would.

"Jedi Skywalker!" shouted Sereine. Anakin glanced at her. "Do you realize that you are about to hit the former Supreme Chancellor of this Republic in the face?"

Anakin's blue eyes lit with an evil cunning. He turned on Padmé and directed a laser gaze at her fist. "Drop it, Padmé!" he ordered. "Drop it!"

She stubbornly balled her hand and stared him down. "You're going to have to break my hand, Anakin," she repeated.

"No, I won't." With a metallic ping, the metal ring snapped and the lightsaber fell to the floor. Padmé dove for it, but it flew through the air and into Anakin's hand. He hooked it to his belt and strode for the door.

"No!" they all yelled. "Anakin, no!" shouted Finis and Sereine.

Padmé palmed her blaster again, dropped to one knee, and aimed very carefully at her husband.

"Padmé, what are you doing?" Sereine gasped. But before the words were even out of her mouth, a perfectly aimed blaster bolt zinged right past Anakin and burned a hole in the wall, singeing his pants -

- and cutting his lightsaber neatly in two.

Anakin jumped in surprise, saw the end of his ruined lightsaber bounce to the floor, and started back towards them again.

Finis thought fast. "What are you going to do, Anakin?" he challenged. "You can't build another lightsaber tonight. I don't think the Jedi will lend you one. You think Palpatine has a spare, perhaps?"

Anakin paused, then swung around again. "I'll go to the Jedi Temple," he said. "I and the entire Council will kill him - together!"

"You can't do that!" Sereine called out. "If you do that, Palpatine gets what he wants! What happens when he discredits the entire Jedi Order? Think about that, Anakin!" She chased him to the door. "Palpatine tries to kill your wife, and you reward him by letting him kill all the Jedi? Do you want to do that?"

They disappeared into Padmé's foyer, and Finis bolted for the door, Padmé close at his heels.

They found Anakin leaning with both palms on the wall, his head down, Sereine by his side. She reached out as if she wanted to touch him, but didn't dare to.

As Padmé and Finis approached, he raised his head and looked over at them. His eyes narrowed with a feral gleam; his voice thickened in a gutteral growl. He looked like a trapped animal. "You think this will stop me?" he rumbled. "You can't stop me. Tomorrow I'll have another weapon and I will kill him!"

Sereine burst out with a forced exhalation of air, threw up her hands, and clattered away from them down the hall. While Padmé inched closer to her husband, Finis stepped closer to his wife, who turned and pounded the wall in frustration.

She leaned her forehead against the wall for a moment. Finis was on the point of asking her if she was all right, when she roused herself and came back to them.

"You sound so angry, Anakin," she said.

Anakin turned on her as if he would eat her alive. "You're kriffing right I'm angry!" he roared. "He said he'd never forbid me Padmé! He said I could have her! He said that Sith never deny themselves - that I could have anything I want! And now he's trying to kill her! He lied! He lied!"

He swung away from the door and charged back through the living room like a crazy person. They followed, Padmé pulling at their sleeves.

"The veranda," she murmured. "Don't let him get out on the veranda."

"Surely he wouldn't jump!" Finis murmured back.

"Oh, yes, he will," said Padmé. "I saw Obi-Wan do it once. If a speeder passes too closely, it's all over!"

Anakin stalked toward the balcony.

"You're angry at Palpatine because he lied to you!" Sereine challenged. "What else?"

Anakin turned. "What, are you stupid? He knows how much Padmé means to me! He knows I can't live without her! He's trying to hurt me! He's trying to rip our family apart!"

Sereine folded her hands, furrowed her brow, and made a soft, understanding murmur.

Anakin paced back into the room. "I loved him! I loved Palpatine for thirteen years! I loved him like a father, or a grandfather! I loved him more than Obi-Wan! And in return he - " He ran his fingers through his hair once, heaving. The veins stood out on his neck.

"I hate him!" he screamed. He turned and gripped a lamp and hurled it to the floor with a crash. "I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!"

Several more lamps shattered. Overhead, the Force cracked several light fixtures in a shower of sparks. Padmé jumped and opened her mouth; Sereine put out her arms and pressed her back. "He'll stop," she whispered. "Eventually he'll stop."

She turned back to Anakin and stepped carefully closer. "What else?" she said. "What else?"

"I feel so used!" Anakin shouted. At last his voice began to quiet somewhat. "All that time - all that flattery from 'the great man.' He was just using me! He never cared about me at all!"

At last Anakin dropped onto a couch. "He never cared about anything at all! I feel like such a fool! Such an idiot!"

Sereine stepped closer. "That has to hurt," she said quietly.

Anakin's eyes roved desperately around the room. Finis, stepping closer, thought he saw a hint of tears.

"And to kill Padmé!" he said hoarsely. "My sweet, beautiful Padmé, who never hurt anyone, to leave two beautiful babies motherless - !" His jaw knotted and his fists clenched again. "He's a monster!" he growled, but there were tears in the growl. "A monster! I hate him!"

By now both babies were crying. Padmé took a step toward the back hallway. "I'll be right back," she whispered, and sprinted.

Sereine apparently felt safe enough now to close the rest of the distance beween herself and Anakin. She crunched carefully over the broken glass and stood in front of him, her arms crossed, and he looked up at her and snarled, "He'll never be human! He's hopeless! We have to kill him, or he'll destroy everything!" Trembling, he got up again and began to pace.

Sereine maneuvered herself between him and the veranda. "What do you want to do?" she asked quietly.

"I have to face him," he said. Emotion heated his face; his eyes glistened.

"Anakin," Finis tried again, "you're powerful, but you're insufficiently trained. If you do this, he'll leave your babies without a father. Just like he almost left my sons without one last year."

"This isn't the same thing!" the boy argued. "I can go to the Jedi - I can go to Obi-Wan! I don't have to tell the Council! If I can kill Dooku alone, Obi-Wan and I can kill Palpatine! I'll explain to him! He'll help me! He won't tell!" He looked at Sereine. "I have to do what I should have done the night we met!"

Sereine drew close and caught his hands in hers, drawing him to a halt. "But the night we met," she said gently, "you had made a different decision."

Anakin threw his arms out in frustration and screamed in her face. "It was the wrong one! How stupid do you have to be?"

Padmé walked back into the living room with one baby in a sling around her neck and the other cradled in one arm. At Anakin's shout, the baby in her arms began to cry again. She stopped and shushed it gently, her wide eyes tracking her husband over the child's head.

"Anakin," she pleaded, "look at us! Look at Luke and Leia and me. We're all here. We're safe. We're safe, Anakin! Palpatine can't get me any more. I had the evidence and I just blasted it right out there on the porch! You saw me!" she said desperately. "This isn't about protecting anyone - all you want is revenge!"

Anakin wheeled about, hands clenched into fists. "This is about protecting you! Protecting everyone! From him!"

He turned to Finis. "You! You've been pressing for this all along! Was it revenge when you told us to do it?"

Finis swallowed. Even he had to admit it. "No," he said, "but it is now. Anakin, we saw it in time. We stopped him. Padmé and the babies are all right. Palpatine is no better off now than he was yesterday."

"But he tried to kill my wife!" Anakin's voice rang with pain. "He tried to kill my wife!" *** The 2005 classic from the TFN juried archive. On the night of General Grievous' defeat, Anakin Skywalker goes to Padme with his gruesome discovery, instead of to Mace Windu. By chance, he meets former chancellor Valorum and his wife. Together the foursome figure out how to redeem Palpatine and save the galaxy ... without firing a shot.

[stagbeetleboy]

Chancellor Finis Valorum /petrolisthes violaceus

Not only did I choose this crustacean for its striking coloration, which resembles Valorum’s robe, but bc petrolisthes is a genus of porcelain crabs. Which (like the name suggests) are very delicate.

"If I may say so, Your Majesty, the Chancellor has little real power..” -Senator Palpatine

Porcelain crabs easily break apart, dropping their limbs to distract predators.

“He is mired by baseless accusations of corruption. The bureaucrats are in charge now.” - Sanator Palpatine continued

Because they inhabit tide pools and stony crevasses they can be easily stepped on/trampled.

[sw5w]

I Will Be Chancellor

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:32:10

[valorums]

@shadowedlights       sent         …        "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to my family's for Thanksgiving dinner."

╰► SOURCE: Unprompted Asks / ALWAYS ACCEPTING

The RISING OPERA STAR blinked, taken aback by this most unexpected question. After the assassination of her father a few months prior, Shi’al originally intended to spend this holiday alone for the sake of grieving, but it seems that the hand of Fate had other plans.

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀“ You … ” Shi’al momentarily trailed off, her brain SHORT CIRCUITING in the wake of this development. “ Are you … You’d really want me there? ”

[david-talks-sw]

When did the Jedi lose their way?

A notion put forward by Tales of the Jedi and The Acolyte is the idea that the Jedi were losing their way, as an Order, by letting themselves become more institutionalized and mired in bureaucracy.

Is that the intended narrative? Nope!

Because here's the thing, Lucas acknowledges the fact that the Jedi start to be corrupted, at some point. But if you ask him, that happens as a consequences of being used as generals during the Clone Wars.

(note the keywords "used" and "forced"... aka they didn't willingly join the war, they were drafted by the Senate to fight in it, see here for more research & quotes)

But during The Phantom Menace? The Jedi are in their heyday.

"You see the heyday of the Jedi, when they are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, sort of like the old marshals out West. And there's thousands of them." - Vanity Fair, 1999

Their only fault is that:

the Senate is their boss and the Senate is corrupted af which limits their mandate greatly (so not really the Jedi's fault, but it does make their hands tied)

they're oblivious to the Sith's scheme.

This notion that "they were so institutionalized/detached from the regular Joes of the galaxy that they became dispassionate and lost their way, forgot about the little guy" is absolute headcanon from fans and current authors. Lucas never brings it up once.

On the contrary, during development, he and concept artists took measures to make them look less institutionalized and heartless.

The Jedi temple isn't meant to signify an ivory tower, it represents a place of warmth/worship that contrasts with the coldness dispassion of the Senate building.

The Jedi used to wear uniforms, it was softened to a humble tunic.

Because the intended narrative is that the Republic (including the Jedi) and Anakin's downfall are paralleled with Palpatine's rise to power. There is a direct correlation, both in-universe and thematically.

As Palpatine becomes Emperor, the Republic dies under thunderous applause while the Jedi get slaughtered, and Anakin becomes Darth Vader.

As Palpatine gets emergency powers, the Republic weakens because of the war, the Jedi's values are foregone and Anakin is put in situations where he fails to uphold the Jedi teachings, over and over.

And it all starts when Palpatine becomes Chancellor after pushing out Finis Valorum, marking the end of an age of value.

(Get it? Finis Valorum? "Finis", latin for "end", "Valorem", latin for "value" puns are fun!)

[sithsjedi]

The 𝚅𝙾𝙸𝙲𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙴𝙾𝙿𝙻𝙴 tilted her head whilst listening to her companion speak, brows furrowing as she processed his words. Nevertheless, the implication that she possessed POWER at her fingertips has an instantaneous effect upon her visage; it made her eyes gleam with pride, her back straighten, and her lips twitch upward into a smile.

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ “ I’ve never thought of myself as a threat, Master Kenobi — on the contrary, all I’ve ever wanted is to help others, not harm them. ” Shi’al admits, reaching up and re-centering the string of pearls which hang around her neck, then permitting her hand to fall back down to her side. “ Still, though, I think I grasp your point. I want to use my privelege for goodwill, but that upsets the oppressive system that has been in place for centuries. Therefore, I’m a threat. If that’s the reason behind such a label, then I think I’d be alright with it. ”

“ I can’t stand being cooped up here in Coruscant. I want to be out there helping the Republic’s people face-to-face, and doing what a public servant is supposed to do. But Papa and Godpapa — well, that is to say, Chancellor Palpatine — both say it’s too dangerous. ” It was within these rambling words that Shi’al’s youth crept out of hiding from behind her otherwise immaculate mask of maturity; here, the young woman’s musings became petulant grumbles. This was a sore topic. “ I suppose they’re right, since your Jedi Council has agreed to send you here at all, but if I could be out there doing something to help then I would. Alas, I can’t, so I just try to channel that energy into my performances instead. ”

@spokewar

“ music tells stories of love and hate … greed and beauty … life … and death. stories such as this one. ”

— Shi’al Valorum to Obi-Wan Kenobi

──✶prompts from the dark pictures anthology

"I can see why you threaten them so much, young one." The separatists would always fear those who could talk circles around them and their empty vows. Rather than answering questions, they tended to counter with their own in weak attempts to shake the fundamental beliefs of their enemies and those who would dare question them. Obi-Wan was not a man trained for war—quite the opposite—but even he knew their final battle would not be dictated by who pulled the last trigger, but by who had the loudest rally behind them. The war would end in favor of those whose spirits had never broken, whose words could not be silenced. It was why people like Shi'al were so important; she was no senator, jedi, nor battle-hardened general; she was a reflection of the people (something Obi-Wan and his fellow soldiers could ever be). "But please be careful where you speak, you have a good head on you and I hope to still see it at the end of the war."

[jewishcissiekj]

this book being consistent with the comics is everything to me, love it when an expanded universe is consistent across multiple media

[auditect]

Ever wanted to see a Wookiee Jedi in action?

Watch as the mighty Tyvokka leads the charge against the greatet collective of mercenaries, smugglers and pirates ever formed! The Stark Hyperspace War escalates with the thrilling continuation! (And this time it's not an April Fool's joke!)

[grumfield]

it's that time of the year where i get to ask you what were your fave obikin fics of the year? preferably lesser known ones

Finally have time to answer this!! I’m pretty new to Obikin/Star Wars (got into it in June) so I’m not actually sure how popular my favorites are, but I’m happy to share. I also don’t read a lot of fic (I basically read what people send me lol, with the exception of the first two all of these were recs. So this is to say feel free to send me stuff haha). In no particular order:

Come Down from Your Holy Mountain by jotunblood | 100k+ canon divergence post-Mustafar AU where Obi-Wan saves anakin | Putting this one first because it’s what got me into the ship! I’d kind of poked around ao3 a while before finding this one and it scratched the first itch of what I was looking for from the dynamic, especially since I came here from doomed disciple shizunfucking danmei. Love the characterization, great plot, and I enjoyed the way it handled Anakin’s redemption arc and his subsequent relationship with Obi-Wan.

From the Ashes by msestora | 100k+ canon divergence AU where Anakin makes the decision to ignore Obi-Wan and jump after Padmé when she falls in AOTC | waves at author hiiiiiiii. Anyways this one made me freak out. It feels like I could have picked this up off the shelf of Star Wars books in an alternate reality bookstore where obikin was a canon part of the franchise. It’s like the platonic ideal of the kind of fic I look for. Long canon divergence that integrates the books both content wise and stylistically. It’s from like ~2010ish and has some really compelling characterization and an even better plot that reworks a lot of legends book events through an obikin lens, and is also MULTI POV!! Which I am a sucker for. Also opened my eyes to the potential dynamic between Padmé and Finis Valorum, which I love, and Padmé and Anakin’s relationship is really a major highlight. Also has like my favorite ever Mace-Anakin interaction I’ve read in a fic lol. It’s so funny.

Amarilli by Graciously | 14k oneshot | my favorite confession fic ever. it’s so good and, like, exactly how I would see this going down. Lots of Obi-Wan spiraling out of guilt. Definitely a tastemaker for me in a lot of ways.

five times Anakin reached out for Obi-Wan and one time Obi-Wan reached out for him by ineffable_snowman | 6k oneshot | MY ABSOLUTE FAV GEN FIC FOR THEM!! It’s so heartwarming and feels so true to their dynamic. Also Obi-Wan being bad at hugs is so real to me forever and it’s so cute in this fic lol

Between by Throwthemflowers | 4.2k oneshot | ALSO A HUGE TASTEMAKER FOR ME!! And while I’m not sure if this is what the author intended it kind of what solidified my “obianidala only works if it’s a v shape anakin sandwich” agenda. Basically it’s Obi-Wan finding out about Anakin being married, having a crisis, and confessing.

Baby Duck Syndrome | 9k oneshot | my absolute favorite take on fuck or die fic. It’s so much fun and has creative AU Tatooine worldbuilding elements.

Anyways. Thanks for the ask :) make sure to give these authors some love on their fics

[archeo-starwars]

[cheesenames]

Tagged by @no-where-new-hero, thank you!!

Post an excerpt from your WIP but your paragraphs/sentences must start with the letter of the word given. Word: GHOST. WIP: "If this body is not capable of action"

G: "Grievous circumstances, these are. Murdered, the Chancellor has been."

H: "Has he been murdered, then?" I asked. "The circumstances are certainly suspicious, but I've been trying not to jump to any rash conclusions. Has the Force told you something? Are you able to sense the malice with which the gruesome deed was done?"

O: One thing was certain: Finis Valorum was dead.

S: Suffice to say, the process of determining who exactly had the authority, and which flimsiwork had to be filed with whom, likely shortened my life by several years—another triumph of the perfidious plot, I suppose.

T: “Trivial in the ways of the Force, convincing a jury is. Worry too much, you do.”

No-pressure tagging @ozvezdja, @animazi, and @wlwanakin to do this with the word TWINE