#for killing the emperor and saving his son luke

[bibxrbie]

"Luke Skywalker isn’t like the old Jedi. He saves Vader with his attachments!”

Wrong!

Luke Skywalker, at the end of Return of the Jedi, after his confrontation with the Emperor drags Darth Vader through the destructing Death Star. He’s desperate, knuckles white under the heavy weight of his father’s body, a little boy dragging his dad to safety. He sets Vader down for a moment, to catch his breath or maybe to get a better grip. He goes to grab Vader again, but Vader, uncomfortable and in pain, asks Luke to take off the mask. He wants to see Luke through his eyes instead of the eyes Palpatine built for him. Luke refuses, says that removing the mask is a sure way for Vader to die. Luke doesn’t want Vader dead, he wants Vader alive. Not to hold him accountable for his many evil acts, but for the same reason why Luke Skywalker can’t kill Darth Vader; Vader is his father and Luke loves him.

And yet, after a moment, Luke removes Vader’s mask. He doesn’t want to, he hesitates, but he removes the mask with enough slowness to allow Vader to take it back. In that moment, Luke sets aside his desire for Vader in his life, sets aside his desire to see him live, and sets aside his entire mission, the reason he was even on the Death Star in the place. In his compassion for his father, Luke stays with Vader until he dies. It is this moment where we see him be the best damn Jedi he can be. I’d even argue that this moment is the greatest example of non-attached love we see. Because Luke lets Vader go! He lets his father die, and in some ways, by removing the mask, he too kills Vader, he stays with him until his last moment, gives him the kindness of granting his last wish and finally chooses Vader.

And Luke doesn’t have to do this. If Luke Skywalker’s love for his father was an attachment, he would ignore Vader and continue dragging him to the escape pod, put his desire for a father as his central focus and ignore Vader’s wants and discomfort. Maybe he would even save him. But he doesn’t. Instead, he watches as Vader dies.

He builds a Jedi burial for his father and watches it burn the remnants of Vader and Anakin Skywalker away. He mourns Vader, he mourns what they could’ve had as father and son, considers what ifs and maybe-if-I-did-this. Vader/ Anakin is released from his mortal body, from his ‘crude matter’ and Luke lets him go. He says one final goodbye to Anakin. Then, he joins Leia, Han, Chewie, Lando, and the rest of the Rebels and celebrates their victory. He lives in the present and celebrates what he has instead of what he lost.

Luke Skywalker is THE Jedi. Everything about Luke Skywalker serves as the foundational cornerstone of the Jedi, everything about the Jedi as a culture and philosophy is reflected in his character. Luke’s desire for the New Jedi Order isn’t to throw away the values of the old Order, but to vitalise them, breathe life back into dying lungs, and rebuild a path that people set out on their way to destroy. (Yes, his Order is different from the Old, but that’s because it has to be. He doesn’t have the resources or the safety of the Old Order.) The philosophies of the Jedi are difficult and they aren’t for everyone, and like the perfect Jedi that Luke is, he struggles and stumbles and sometimes he even rejects it. But, no matter how far he falls, it is a way of life he chooses again and again and again. It is a way of life that welcomes him back each time

[stealingpotatoes]

some ppl very kindly loredumped abt the organa-solo kids for me so gonna put that + responses below the cut!! ↓

@erkhyan asked:

Don’t mind me, just dropping some Organa Solo kids lore, hopefully summarized enough. Anakin: both motivated and intimidated by the fact that his name was supposed to redeem that of his grandpa. Had his grandpa’s qualities (excellent pilot, great warrior, very strong in the Force) but none of his negative trait. Traumatized by being unable to save Chewie. Died a hero at age 16 during a successful mission to destroy a Jedi-killing weapon. Jacen: a big, empathetic goof as a teen, but was traumatized by the war that killed Anakin. The war and the trauma of Anakin’s death turned him into an introspective monk who went to learn weird non-Jedi Force powers. Returned, fathered a secret daughter, fell to the Dark Side because the Force told him that every timeline in which he’s not a Sith ends badly for his daughter. Became a Sith Lord by killing mara jade Skywalker. Eventually died when he found himself having to choose between saving his daughter from an Imperial plot, and dodging his sister’s lightsaber. Jaina: best pilot, best lightsaber user, best warrior, earned the nickname of Sword of the Jedi. Unfortunately, people mostly remember the fact that she was stuck in the world’s most annoying love triangle for two decades in-universe. And that time she processed the trauma of Anakin’s death by trying to seduce her Jedi Master. And that time she was in a bug hivemind that tried to solve her love triangle with a sexy threesome. And that time she went to train under Boba Fett so that she could kill Jacen in Luke’s stead. And also because the Jedi Order finally recognizing that she should have been a made a Master years ago, was almost the LAST thing that happened in the Legends continuity. Heavily implied that her husband would have eventually become Emperor (but a good one) if the continuity had been allowed to go on.

CHEWIE DIED??????????? also christ thats a lot to put on poor lil anakin jr-- ALSO AGAIN. POOR LEIA. HASNT SHE BEEN THRU ENOUGH (poor han too but LEIA)

WHY ARE THERE MORE STAR WARSES!!! LEAVE THEM ALONE!! a secret daughter hi i love those but AGAIN. POOR LEIA. A SITH. FR HE KILLED MARA JADE WHAT???????????? oh my god.

i support jaina's turboslaggery she's been thru so much also WHAT potential emperor husband????????? wow ok legends gets wilder n wilder

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@novastargalaxydesigns asked:

I saw your Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin from Legends! And as someone who freaking adores that trio, I'd love to help point out a few things! In Legends of the Force, Jacen starts to affiliate himself with the Dark Side with his cousin, Ben, as his apprentice. Anakin was killed before the book, The Joiner King, and I didn't get the book that he was killed off in, but if I remember correctly, it was told in The Joiner King that he was killed during a mission as a fighter pilot. Jaina, in Legends of the Force I believe if I remember correctly, she gave up being a Jedi to be a pilot. I don't have all of the Legends of the Force books so I may be a bit spiffy on a few things. But we cannot forget Chewbacca's nephew, Lowbacca aka Lowie, and Jacen's childhood and teen hood crush, Tenel Ka whom is a princess and he accidentally cut her hand off with his new lightsaber during the book Young Jedi Knights Lightsabers. And Zekke who went to the dark side in the series Young Jedi Knights (I only got the first 3), but was redeemed. Anyone please correct my nerdiness if I'm wrong. But anygays, you has been educated by a fluffy bean. Had a lovely day!

JACEN CORRUPTS LUKE'S KID??????? HUH?????? CAN THE SKYWALKERS NOT CATCH LIKE. ONE SINGLE BREAK FROM THE DARKSIDE EVER???????? PLEASE

sorry all i can think w the tenel ka thing is:

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@m0th-person asked:

To follow up on the solo kids ask, Jaina had a weird love life. Her love interest that she eventually married was Jagged Fel. He is the son of the former baron of the empire , Sootir Fel, and Syal Antilles-Fel (Wedge Antilles sister) . (a picture I found on Wookieepedia when he was imperial head of state, the white streak in the hair seems to be genetic) Jag grew up in Thrawn’s empire of the hand (and was grown up with the chiss expectations, that’s literally the second quote on his wookieepedia page)

he had 3 out of his 5 other siblings die. He eventually became the imperial head of state (he first lost to his rival political candidate for the role because abeloth messed with it) and flash forward to the legacy comics, his descendants have revamped the imperial remnant into the Fel Empire. It’s mostly believed that his descendants are also Jaina’s because both Roan fel and his daughter empress Marasiah Fel are both force sensitive. And Jacen Solo’s descendant , Ania Solo, says she’s a distant cousin of Marasiah. (Roan)

(Marasiah and her love interest) ( the imperial knights were grey Jedi that served the Fel empire) — and in legends Han actually had a family tree (ancestors, specifically, Jonash e solo (who was Corellian royalty and the admiral-prince during the old republic time period)) , and him and Jagged fel’s father used to rivals in the imperial academy. Darth Vader attended his class graduation and I only find this funny because Han became his son-in-law.

jaina was rlly living that booktok enemies to lovers life back in the 90s huh. go girl i love her and support her weird love life decisions so much

omg go han having fancy royalty ties <3 see hanleia IS politically advantageous

[marvelstars]

You know I understand the take but I can´t help but see all those headcanons and memes of Anakin blaming Obi-Wan or the Jedi Order for his fall extremely OOC for his character. Vader believes the Jedi and the Republic fell because they abandoned their principles, not because of whatever relationship they had with him.

Vader dueled Obi-Wan on the Death Star(ANH) but he wasn´t even mad at his old master, he actually told him "You should not have come back" and "Your powers are weak old man" and "I was the learner now I am the master" that is it, that´s all Vader has to tell his master(the man he used to see as a father) after being left behind burning alive.

When Luke confronts Vader on Cloud city he tells Luke not to let himself be destroyed like Obi-Wan did, he is aware Obi-Wan used him to die and it doesn´t bother him because he is like ok, he wanted to go but please Luke dont do the same.

This man literal reaction at learning his child had been trained to kill him and his master was to offer him to rule the galaxy together as father and Son because of course he is a monster but he can offer his boy the galaxy and make up for it right?

This is Anakin, he justified his slave owner for owning him and his mom, he justified the Jedi despite separating and leaving his mother behind as a slave and cutting all contact from her, in fact he blamed himself for not going to her before she was kidnapped and murdered and he keep justifying the Emperor until he no longer was able to when he wanted to kill his Son in front of him.

Vader´s problem is the fact he keeps wanting to justify the systems he belongs to even if he finds them unfair but believes if he keeps trying to fix them all those sacrifices he made will be worth something in the end but he is totally unable to recognize to himself the way how living under those systems have shaped or hurt him and while he does see the damage those systems do for others, he believes he can stop that at some point(put order in the galaxy, put Padme in charge, defeat the emperor)

This is why an usual dialogue between Vader and anybody else who opposes him in canon is bassically, yes, I know I am a monster, I understand where are you coming from but it´s my duty to destroy you. Because eventually at some point he wants it be worth something, just like it was worth it to leave behind his mother as a slave, killing for the republic, killing for the Jedi and killing for the Empire, it has to be worth it.

Luke, by refusing to fight him, trusting him and loving him was the only way he could begin to free himself from the darkside, because he found someone who saw him worth living and being loved not for what he could do for them but because he was a person, his name was Anakin and he was worth being saved and he didn´t need to do anything else for Luke besides loving him back and protect him like a father does for his child.

That´s what snapped Vader out of his apathy, which is the actual opposite of the love Anakin used to have for the people in the galaxy, for the Jedi and for his family, that´s the Jedi that came back.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Shadowhunters

Enthrallment by smilebackwards

It does look a little bad, Parmela thinks, looking at it from outside. As more specialists had been called in for consultation, they’d decamped to one of the larger conference rooms—eschewing attendance at A, B, AB, & O: The Impact of Blood Type on Non Subject Specific Blood Magic, because this was vastly more interesting and potentially important—and there are a round dozen high-level warlocks clustered around Alec, poking at him with magic.

Or: Alec attends the Magical Inventions and Advances convention in hopes of recruiting warlocks for another Downworld Cabinet. The warlocks, however, are more interested—and concerned—by the blue magical aura following Alec around.

DC

temporal fraternity by envysparkler

Damian clears his throat. “I require your assistance.”

The words come out easier with the benefit of practice and the knowledge that no one will remember them tomorrow. Today. Tomorrow-today.

The Umbrella Academy

cut me open and i still bleed red by aletterinthenameofsanity

Part 1 of the odds were never in our favor

Ben knows his fellow mentors pretty well, for how long he's spent here, behind the screens of the Games, watching as his tributes die.

Allison, from District One, has a way with the sponsors. Just a word placed here or there, stealthily dropped into conversation, and she can get her tributes the shit they need.

In his time as a Mentor, Klaus has developed a habit of drinking to get through the Games, and through the rest of his life, really- anything to avoid the truth of what's happening, the ghosts of the children he and Ben have sent to their deaths.

Very few people remember what Five’s name was before the Games. Caesar Flickerman and the Gamemakers nicknamed him that when he took out the entire Career Pack on his second day in the Arena.

Vanya’s the newest Mentor, the victor of the Seventy-Third Hunger Games.

Diego’s one of Ben’s oldest not-quite friends. A Victor from District Ten, he’d gone into the Games knowing how to kill an animal.

All the other Mentors Ben knows try never to get attached. Luther, on the other hand, doesn't forget a single name.

(A story of seven victors of the Hunger Games and the lives they live as Mentors.)

Danny Phantom

The Promised Land by redrobin1989

Danny Fenton has been running for years, from his abusive parents, from Vlad's experiments, from his freakish powers. He expected to be running his whole life until he found his way to a small town that felt like the home he'd never had.

M!ik

Study Dates Are Not Real Dates by StormySteady

A very important exam is coming up, and Asmodeus is trying his hardest to get Iruma and Clara to study for it. But his soulmates have other ideas.

Star Wars

Starlight, In All Its Forms by Soap_And_Lye

When Luke was eight, he was taken from his home on Tatooine and delivered into the hands of the emperor and his right hand.

When Luke was sixteen, he overheard the emperor's plans to steal a tiny Force sensitive child and saves him first, before being caught and dragged back to his masters' keeping.

When Luke was eighteen, he finds that same child on Gideon's cruiser, and spares both him and his family, including a silver clad Mandalorian.

And when Luke was twenty-four, he is captured by the Rebellion (captured or did he just let it happen? Really up for debate) and secretly sent as a prisoner to Mandalore, where Mand'alor Din Djarin rebuilds his planet and raises his son.

And the rest was history. Or the beginning.

Clone Wars

will you be an anarchist with me? by a_alene

Once the Kenobi floodgates are opened, they cannot be closed. Cody has apparently been keeping an itemized list of disagreements, and he is determined to tell Rex each and every one of them.

Kenobi refuses to listen to Cody’s input. Kenobi throws himself into battle with no regard for previously established battle plans. Kenobi uses the Force so recklessly and obviously that every undercover assignment is blown within the first few minutes. Kenobi is a hypocrite who berates Cody for sidestepping protocol, but flouts it himself at every opportunity.

CT-7567: bet you wish you had skywalker now

CC-2224: I wish for nothing but the cold embrace of space

Right. And he says Kenobi’s dramatic.

(Marshal Commander Cody and High General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the 212th cannot stand each other. Rex doesn't know why this is his problem.)

poetry is what you find (in the dirt in the corner) by fivecenturiesverse

(In which Cody becomes an anonymous poet after the war and his brothers find out.)

Rex launches forwards immediately and so does Bly, because he can admit to himself that he likes gifts. He likes gifts a whole lot more than Cody and Wolffe, anyway, who both act like martyrs who don’t need any material love. “Poetry, vod?” Bly asks, incredulous. “Cody’s right, you are going soft.”

“It’s by a clone,” Fox says, defensively, “it’s quite good, actually. For poetry. It made Sergeant Hound cry at the service.

[maidenvault]

RotJ makes a point of letting us know that Leia is Luke's sister, they've known this on some level for a long time, and he probably cares more about her than anyone in the world because this gives so much more weight to his conflict at the end of the movie, and I think this is a huge thing people overlook when they argue that him redeeming his father represents a rejection of the old Jedi ways of non-attachment. Because in the moment he has to let go of Leia and his friends to be able to actually save Anakin.

When Obi-Wan tries to convince Luke that he has to kill Vader and there's no other way, he doesn’t really discuss it as an issue of Luke having an attachment to him. I think he knows this isn't really the Jedi way but just like in the previous war, they don't seem to be faced with any good choices. Obi-Wan believes what Luke wants is truly impossible and, having failed to stop Vader when he could have before, of course he's trying to stop Luke from making the same mistake.

But it's significant that in the same conversation, Obi-Wan does warn him that his love for his sister could be made a liability if he's not careful. When Luke learns he has a twin and reveals how strong a connection he feels with Leia because he doesn't even have to be told who it is, Obi-Wan's response sets up how this will play into the climax of the film:

"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."

Then when Luke is brought to Sidious, he reveals to Luke that the Rebellion is walking right into a trap as a way to torment and provoke him. Luke gets angrier and angrier while helplessly watching the fleet get ambushed and finally does just what Sidious wants and tries to attack him. But it's Vader specifically threatening Leia that makes Luke totally lose control of his feelings and fight him in a rage.

Luke is basically facing the same kind of test he failed so badly in ESB by running off to help his friends. When Yoda is trying to make him see he's not ready to face Vader and keep him from going to Bespin, he says something that I think is such an underrated quote in its importance to Luke's whole journey:

"Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

Luke is really lucky he doesn't get killed in Cloud City (or captured, which I think at this point could have resulted in him being turned). Yoda knows Luke is the one person with a chance of defeating the Emperor and Luke just about throws that away.

But at the end of RotJ when Luke cuts off Vader's hand, he surely is reminded of his failure at Bespin and sees the path he's starting down by succumbing to his fears like that again. He stops because he sees he's betraying his loved ones and everything he is. He can only throw away his weapon and confidently tell the Emperor to eat shit then because he's no longer afraid of dying or of those he loves dying. He's done what his father couldn't do and kept his soul intact, which is what Leia would want. Because real love isn't selfishly trying to save someone by betraying what they believe in like Anakin did with Padme. And it obviously has to be an incredibly powerful thing for Vader to see his own son able to do this, even comparing himself to the man he once was ("I am a Jedi, like my father before me").

We remember everything working out okay so it's easy sometimes to forget that Luke gives this triumphant speech when the rebel fleet is getting pulverized outside and things overall still look pretty hopeless. He probably expects he could die at this point. But like Obi-Wan in his own death scene, he knows nothing can destroy him now. And it's the love he feels for his family that gives him the strength to let go.

[tatooineknights]

quick luke question: which one of luke's flaws is your favorite? which one bothers you the most?

I think Luke's willingness to take the weight of the universe on his shoulders alone is a very sad but heroic trait of his. The responsibility of being the last Jedi (or so he thinks) and the only tangible connection he has to the father he never had makes him take on a lot more than he probably should by himself. It is a common flaw shown throughout each of the movies, though maybe more of a quality than a flaw in the first. In Empire, it is also mixed with a bit of cockiness and assurance (I think he equally wanted to take Vader on as much as he wanted to help his friends; there is selflessness there but also pride). In Return of the Jedi, knowing he is Vader's son, he takes on the entire responsibility of distracting the Emperor and hoping to save his father's soul, knowing it could just have easily killed him. In The Force Awakens and Last Jedi, it is out of a misguided hope that things will turn out right if he removes himself from the picture.

But that kinda goes into my favorite of his flaws, which may be Anakin's biggest but not quite so much with Luke: pride. I appreciate that he knows he's hot shit even if it later makes an embarrassment out of himself (you know Vader is internally proud and cracking up).

Look at him talking himself up just a few minutes after joining around a bunch of experienced pilots like he's part of the club.

Look at him just baiting this master Sith Lord that successfully destroyed an entire order and orchestrated his own Empire.

We won't even go into his dumbass nonsensical plan to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt that he goes through like it's some masterpiece.

With flaws like these, how can you hate him?

[padawanlost]

Do you think Anikans love for Padme died eventually?

No, never. His love for her and their family saved him even nothing else could.

“Now, young Skywalker …” the Emperor snarled, “you will die.” Luke had not imagined pain beyond what he had already suffered, but then he was hit by a wave of power that was even more staggering. His harsh screams echoed across the throne room. Beside the Emperor, Darth Vader continued to stand and watch. He looked to the Emperor again, then back to Luke. And then, in a moment, something changed. Perhaps he remembered something heard in his youth a long time ago: an ancient prophecy of the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. Perhaps the vague outlines of someone named Shmi and a Jedi named Qui-Gon struggled to the surface of his consciousness. The most powerful, the most repressed thought of all could have emerged from the darkness: Padmé … and her undying love for someone he once knew well. And despite all the terrible, unspeakable things he’d done in his life, he suddenly realized he could not stand by and allow the Emperor to kill their son. And in that moment, he was no longer Darth Vader. He was Anakin Skywalker.

[Ryder Windham's Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]

[eglerieth]

All these posts going around saying that by Din’s logic, the Darksaber belongs to Sidious, here’s my take

the Mandalorians are all gathered together in some cave somewhere. Someone realizes that ownership of the Darksaber was decided on the second Death Star. Din summons Luke because someone mentioned that he was the last person to see Sheev alive.

Luke: yes?

Din: Emperor Palpatine was the last person to own an heirloom that makes a person the leader of my people.

Luke: Um… I don’t know much about your people, but… given that you live in this galaxy, I’m assuming the Empire hurt you in some major way. I’m guessing you are averse to his possessing this heirloom.

Mandalorians: *nodding

Luke: also, he was a Sith Lord, so, again, not an ideal king

those scattered Mandalorians that actually know what a dar’jettii is: 😳🤯😳🤯- no wait that makes sense

some random Mandalorian: also, he’s dead, right?

Luke: yup, definitely dead. I watched him get thrown a reactor shaft myself.

Armorer: by whom? The darksaber is won in combat, so whoever killed him gets it

Luke: Darth Vader

Mandalorians: yeah, that’s not much better. And he’s ALSO dead, right? Who killed HIM?

Luke: …The Emperor

Mandalorians:

Din: if the Emperor killed him, how did he manage to kill the Emperor?

Luke: the Emperor electrocuted him, and then he threw the Emperor down the reactor shaft, and meanwhile the electricity from a few seconds ago was shorting out his life support suit, and then he died in my arms. It was actually very emotional.

Everyone, who thought Luke had managed to walk out of the throne room because he somehow killed the two most powerful people in the galaxy:

Luke: yeah, no, I basically just stood there and got provoked and then electrocuted. I’d be dead if Vader hadn’t died to save me.

Paz: why would he do that?

Luke: because he’s my father.

Mandalorians: 😲

Luke: I don’t let on about it because people might have some things to say about the hero of the Rebellion being the son of the Empire’s worst enforcer.

Armorer: It does not matter who your father is, only what kind of father you will be. This is the Way.

Mandalorians: This is the Way.

Luke: Thanks. I like that.

Paz, who is a Viszla, the House that held the Darksaber for centuries: The Darksaber can also be inherited. Wait- does this make you Mand’alor?!

Luke, with even more horror than Din had in that position: no no no no no. I’m not even Mandalorian, and even if I was, I have enough to do with rebuilding the Jedi order, which isn’t going so great, thanks for asking. The last thing I want is to get involved in any kind of political stuff. That’s my sister’s job.

Mandalorians: you have a sister?

Luke: yeah, Leia Organa

Mandalorians: the Hutt Slayer?!

Luke: I- yeah, the Hutt slayer. Not how she’s usually introduced…

Mandalorians: *agreeing that the renowned Hutt Slayer would be a much better Mand’alor than this jetii twink*

Bo-Katan, who actually knows something about the New Republic: But isn’t Senator Organa a leading member of the New Republic? We don’t want Mandalore to be part of the New Republic.

Luke: Leia is one hundred percent Alderaanian. Her allegiance may be to the New Republic, but her culture and beliefs are her own.

some random Mando: if you’re her brother, are you from Alderaan too?

Luke: no, doofus. I’m from Tatooine.

Din, trying to improve his small talk: I have a friend on Tatooine. Boba Fett? He’s the leader now.

Luke, choking: BOBA FETT’S ALIVE?!

Din: you know him?

Luke: he captured my brother-in-law, froze him in carbonite, and sold him to Jabba. We had to spend a year away from the war effort to rescue him!

Din: *awkward*

Armorer, trying to steer the focus back to the Darksaber: Are you the firstborn, or your sister? The Darksaber passes to the oldest child.

Luke: I don’t actually know. We’re twins, and have no idea who was at our birth who can tell us. Maybe my father would know? I’ll ask him now.

Mandalorians: isn’t he dead?

Luke: yeah, but I can talk to his ghost.

Mandalorians:

Luke summons Anakin. Grogu whimpers and hides behind Din. To everyone else, Luke is talking to thin air.

Luke: hello father, do you know if me or Leia is older?

Anakin: of course not, idiot. I didn’t even know either of you existed until a few years ago!

Luke: oh, right.

Anakin: Obi-Wan would know. He was the one who stole you from me.

Luke: really, father, we’ve gotta work on your tact.

Anakin: why? Obi-Wan was the kriffing Negotiator, not me.

Luke: he was called the Negotiator?

Bo-Katan, wincing at a million memories and knowing exactly who they’re talking about despite only hearing one side of the conversation: I could never get my sister to shut up about Kenobi. Insufferable jetii, always hanging off her arm.

Luke: Ben was a Mandalorian’s escort?!

Armorer: Ben is a Mandalorian name. Was he Mandalorian?

Luke: 😲

Luke: I don’t think so…?

Bo-Katan, reminiscing: I’m pretty sure my sister gave him that name.

Luke: My nephew was named after him. I can’t believe my nephew has a Mandalorian name.

Mandalorians: nephew?

Luke: yeah, he’s adorable. Here, I have pictures. *starts showing pictures of baby Ben Solo*

The Mandalorians, being Mandalorians, are utterly won over by the smallest Skywalker. The idea of Leia is a leader is growing more popular. Luke summons Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan: hello there, Luke. What the hell are you doing in a cave with a gajillion Mandalorians?

Luke: Hi, Ben, we just wanted to know, was I or Leia born first?

Obi-Wan: You. I’ll never forget it. You were both such beautiful babies.

Luke: …right…

Paz, staring at the wall where he thinks Obi-Wan is but is actually Anakin’s elbow: What did he say?

Luke: I’m older -

Luke: Oh.

Luke: Kriff

Din: Dank Farrik

Everyone else: *thinking the same thing but to polite to say it*

Bo-Katan: although…it could still be won in combat.

Luke, ringing up Leia on his comm: Good evening, dear sister. Would you mind flying out to the location on my transponder and kicking my ^*s?

Leia, all blue and wavy on the comm: I never mind kicking your %#s, Luke, but why?

Luke: if you do that, you can be king of Mandalore!

Luke: 😀

Leia:

Leia: Are you kriffing kidding me?! Do you know how hard it is to keep the New Republic from collapsing? And raise a force sensitive baby with shady idols? And save my husband’s skin from every criminal he runs afoul of every other day? I most certainly will not become the monarch of some random nation I’ve never been apart of!

Mandalorians: 🙁

Han, over Leia’s shoulder: so we’re not fighting the kid? I was looking forward to that!

Chewbacca, towering over Leia’s head: *wookie noises of agreement *

Armorer: Actually only the challenger would be fight- *comm cuts out*

*a few minutes later

The Falcon is heard overhead. Han, on comms: We came anyway, kid. I was bored today.

Chewie leaps out and tackles Luke with a bear hug, almost breaking his ribs.

Luke: can’t- breathe- chewie-

Chewie releasing him and patting him on the head: *hello in wookie noises*

Mandalorians:

Chewie, in Shriwook: *what?*

Mandalorians:

Din silently unclips the Darksaber from his belt and hands it to Chewie.

And that’s the story of how Chewbacca became Mand’alor.

[anghraine]

I was just making tea and suddenly thought about how Anakin, a former slave, essentially has to address his teacher and (according to him) father-figure as "master," and continues to do so even after he's a Jedi knight and no longer Obi-Wan's pupil. When he falls, he addresses Palpatine as "master."

And when he meets Obi-Wan in ANH, his exact wording is "When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."

It's worth noting that Palpatine never appears in ANH, and Vader never addresses anyone that way. Tarkin can get him to do things sometimes, but it seems mostly because he sees Tarkin's point or just doesn't care enough to fight about it, and he's not shy about voicing disagreement when he considers it worth the trouble. So he does exercise quite a bit of agency.

But things are a bit different by ESB. He seems to have a more powerful role in the Imperial hierarchy, yet at the same time, he has to kneel to Palpatine and call him "my master." However, this turns out to be something of a ploy; he's actually plotting against the Emperor. There's still some sense of agency there.

It's been largely crushed by ROTJ, though he manages to assert himself in small ways (mainly by determinedly referring to Luke as "my son" where Palpatine talks as if Vader and Anakin were separate people). Palpatine calls Anakin "my friend," but Anakin clearly understands this isn't true.

And after Anakin tried to get Luke to join him against the Emperor in ESB, by ROTJ, he's saying to him, "I must obey my master." His subjection now even extends to Luke in his view: "He is your master now."

This is ... horrifying, actually. And there's a certain logic to his final choice in this sense. I think it's pretty clear that Palpatine was orchestrating his death and replacement. The question was not if he would die, but when. And it seems like part of him is still very much in "I must obey my master" mode as he watches Palpatine (slowly and painfully) kill his son. But a larger part of him realizes that he is free to act.

Yes, that action will kill him. And no, he's not actively trying to die in order to escape consequences or whatever the hell that reading is. The narrative is structured in such a way that rebelling against Palpatine and acting freely will mean his death. Still, he can do it. He can, at least, choose how he dies, and save his son (the son he earlier consigned to Palpatine's mastery!). He can do something that he's rarely been able to: what he wants.

What he wants is to save Luke and see him with his own eyes. And that's exactly what he gets.

I've talked before about how the time crunch that the OT ran into affected Anakin's arc—his redemption was earlier envisioned as more extended and it's not clear that he would have immediately died. But the canon version does achieve something important, I think, in making the set piece ultimately pivot on Anakin's ability to choose.

[mamashenanigans]

Everyone is going to hate me, but—

I think Horikoshi made the right choice killing Tomura.

He still had autonomy when he made the decision to be a mass murderer. No amount of AFO gloating that he designed Tomura’s life takes away from the responsibility still falling on Tomura for what he’s done. Within the world of MHA, someone who is a mass murderer doesn’t just get off scott free. It’s Tartarus or you die in the fight.

It would have been really easy for Horikoshi to pull a deus ex to bring Tomura back: Eri somehow can do it, AFOFA somehow brought his body back, or even some random Quirk we’ve never heard of just showing up at the right moment.

But he didn’t.

He took the hard path, knowing fans would be upset, because he knew it made sense within the world he’s crafted. Izuku says in the newest chapter that Tomura wasn’t going to give up the LOV(this is base translations so I don’t know how it’ll be worded when we get fan then official) and it’s implied that means he wasn’t going to change his ways if he had survived. Instead, his “soul” (Tenko) was saved and set free.

Here’s a good example to make this easier to understand:

Darth Vader still had to die.

At the end, Vader became Anakin again, saving his son and “killing” the Emperor. He turned back towards the right path(the light), but it STILL didn’t absolve him of what he had done. Lucas explained that, regardless of him turning back to the light, he had done terrible things and still needed to die. Murdered millions, probably billions, when working for the Empire. Lucas actually wrote the scene where he goes to kill the younglings specifically because Vader’s backstory is so incredibly sad that he was worried fans would try to excuse the entirety of what he’s done or misunderstand the reason Vader still had to die in the end, even though he IS the main character of Star Wars.

And may I remind you, since I know people are going to be groaning about everything AFO did to “create” Tomura—

Anakin was a fucking SLAVE. A CHILD slave.

His mindset, molded by slavers, stuck with him through his entire life. He was a slave…then a slave to the doctrine of the Jedi…then a slave of Palpatine’s. The only choices he REALLY made for HIMSELF was to marry Padme and save Luke’s life. Palpatine, after meeting him as a child, spent the rest of Anakin’s life prior to the suit molding him into the apprentice he wanted. He purposefully had the iconic suit made to inflict the most pain possible to a man turned into a quadriplegic with 3rd degree burns over every inch of what remains of his body.

And that dude STILL deserved to die for what he had done, Palpatine’s influence or not.

So, yeah, I think this was a bold, but honest move by Horikoshi.

There are still some chapters left before the entire series ends per a comment by Horikoshi, and the last page hinted at stuff having to do with Toga, Spinner, and Dabi. Will he turn around and bring him back anyway? Maybe, but I’d be very disappointed.

Stick to your guns, Horikoshi.

[heartofaskywalkerprincessleia]

Anakin's vision in The Empire Strikes Back

(Contains spoilers for Star Wars Episodes 4-6.) 

I recently rewatched The Empire Strikes Back. It's been a long time since I've seen the film, and I found myself asking two questions that I've never considered before. 

Why doesn't Darth Vader (Anakin) use the Force to stop Luke from falling in Cloud City?

Why is Lando Calrissian (a total stranger to Luke) the one who opens the hatch and catches Luke? 

I came up with a theory to answer both of these questions: because of Anakin's vision. 

We know that both the Jedi and the Sith have visions of the future. The Jedi are connected to the emotions of the people around them. Visions are often caused as a sort of forewarning that someone will be in emotional distress. Luke himself has a vision because his friends are going to be in danger.

What you may not have realized before is the level of the cruelty shown by Anakin in knowing that his son is connected to the force and therefore has these types of visions. Because he wants Luke to come to Cloud City, he purposefully tortures Han Solo to trigger a vision in Luke. The audience may not have noticed that detail, because torturing Han Solo happens after Luke's vision. Anakin knows that Luke will be made to sense his friend's pain before it happens. 

This kind of vision happens to Anakin at the beginning of the film, when Luke nearly dies in the snow on Hoth. The Empire has been searching for the Rebels for some time, yet when Darth Vader sees the image from the Hoth planet, he adamantly states that the Rebels are there. This is only possible because he was able to sense his son in danger before, and, just like Luke is able to see Cloud City, saw the Rebel base before. 

That vision isn't the one I'm referring to. The vision I'm referring to happens when Anakin sets his trap for Luke. What does he see? Because Luke is about to be in pain, Anakin has a vision of Lando Calrissian, in the Millennium Falcon, rescuing his son. 

Anakin knows that his son has to join him, or be killed by the Emperor. Yoda said before that the future was always changing. Anakin's only hope of saving his son was to help his vision to become true. This is why the Millennium Falcon is left relatively unguarded. Think about it. Why is the Millennium Falcon even left alone in Cloud City? When the Rebels have used it to escape Vader multiple times already? I'll get back to that in a moment. 

Vader knows how to manipulate the emotions of others. He begins by trying to get Lando Calrissian's emotions to the edge. Changing the deal multiple times, so that Lando will become angry enough to rebel against him. After freezing Han Solo in Carbonite, he tells Lando that he's taking the princess. Vader can feel his emotions. He knows that's the last straw. 

With everything made as perfect as possible, Anakin begins the fight with Luke. Anakin tries everything he can to knock Luke unconscious without killing him, including throwing multiple metallic things at him using the Force. When that doesn't work, Anakin ends up revealing that he is Luke's father. 

Some people have argued that the reason that Vader doesn't try to prevent Luke from falling is that he's in shock. I think that is partially true. Anakin is in shock that his son would rather die than join him. However, he's also been trying to capture him for all this time. He can feel that Luke hasn't died. Why would he give up so easily? 

Anakin returns to his ship, and leaves Cloud City. Why is he doing this? He turns to his general, and asks if his men deactivated the hyperdrive motivator in the Millennium Falcon.

BECAUSE HE ASKED THEM TO DEACTIVATE IT. 

WHY would Anakin ask for the hyperdrive to be disabled if he didn't KNOW that Lando would betray him, and use the ship to escape? He knows that Luke is aboard the Millennium Falcon, and even tells the general to have the men turn their blasters to stun. He tries to connect with Luke, and tells him that he can't escape his destiny. 

Anakin knew that Lando would save Luke no matter the outcome of the fight. And he set things up so that, no matter what, his vision would come true and Luke would be rescued. 

He didn't know his son would refuse to join him, but he did know that the outcome would be this way. The only thing he didn't factor in was R2-D2 being able to repair the ship. Even with all his preparations, he didn't know the future exactly. 

What do you think of this theory? Do you have your own theory about this? 

[sunflower-chai]

Mannnn do you ever think abt how the most stable thing in Anakin's life was his connection to the Force

well NOW i am. let's summarize shall we?

shmi: anakin leaves her at age 9 and reunites with her at age 19 only for her to die in his arms

qui-gon: frees anakin from slavery, promises to train him as a jedi, gets killed by maul.

padmé: meets anakin in tpm, then they don't see each other for ten years. they fall in love, have a secret wedding, and a war begins. their marriage is one of brief stolen moments between battles and senate meetings. the idea of losing padmé in childbirth is so horrible that anakin falls to the dark side in order to save her, causing her to die of a broken heart.

obi-wan: promises to fulfill his master's dying wish to train the Chosen One. in the end he is forced to confront anakin after his fall, chopping off all his limbs and leaving him to die on a planet of lava.

palpatine: hey how does it make you feel to know that anakin's longest lasting relationship is with the guy who groomed and manipulated him since childhood?? personally i want to set myself on fire.

ahsoka: assigned as anakin's padawan against his will, yet they develop a strong bond. ahsoka is framed for murder and the bombing of the jedi temple. she is expelled from the order, then welcomed back after she clears her name. she instead chooses to leave, having lost faith in the jedi. they're briefly reunited before anakin's rushing off to rescue palpatine and ahsoka goes to liberate mandalore from maul. and then order 66 happens.

luke: vader finds out his son is alive after 22 years, asking him to join the dark side to kill the emperor and rule the galaxy as father and son. luke refuses time and time again, forcing vader's hand to violence. luke eventually becomes overwhelmed with anger, bearing down hard against vader and heavily disabling his life support suit. it is only when the emperor is torturing luke that anakin finally returns to the light, killing the emperor and saving his son. in the process he brings about his own death, but he is finally happy. he is free.

leia: vader has no clue she exists until his duel with luke in rotj. wants to turn her to the dark side in luke's place, but his dying wish is for luke to tell leia that there was still good in him.

and throughout ALL of that, all of those shaky connections, the one constant is the Force (whether that be the light or dark side). it is the one thing that has been present for his entire life. he was conceived by the Force, in death he becomes one with the Force, even manifesting as a Force ghost. there's a metaphor here about Christianity and God's constant presence. and this is why star wars is so special to me <3

[veryace-ficrecs]

Hi! I just finished Civil Wars, Whistleblower Tactics, Schematic Drafting, And The Finer Points Of Sith Adoption: The Essential How-To Guide For The Engineering Jedi by Jackdaw_Kraai and I loved it! Do you know of any more fics where luke works with the empire or Vader but it's not evil!Luke thank you!!!

Of course! The Fic Series for those who haven't read it!

Empire!Luke Skywalker Fic Recs

The Background Noise of Defiance by loosingletters - Rated G

The Galaxy is a big place and you can find all kinds of obscure things on the holonet, including a blond teenager from Tatooine dragging the TIE-Fighter program through the sarlacc pit. Or an Alternative Universe in which the galaxy gets saved because Luke has a youtube channel, everybody is on space twitter and Anakin Skywalker always returns to the light for his family. Rebellions are loud and vibrant and social media is the most powerful weapon right next to a lightsaber.

I didn't mean to insult the Emperor! by someonestolemygender - Not Rated

Ayuk Smythe, for those concerned, did not mean to discover that her Boss's suit is constantly hurting him or the fact that the Emperor intended for it to happen. Luke Skywalker just so happens to be there and is working on board the very same vessel as his father and a girl that he kept seeing in his dream. Firmus Piett would like to go back to sleep before things get worse and Maximilian Veers wonders who the hell did the Army adopt in the aftermath of battle as Luke Lars is a chaos magnet. Darth Vader would really like for his son to be found but doesn't realise his son is in front of him nearly every day since Luke joined and Emperor Palpatine would like to know why the Force feels lighter than normal. When you work aboard the Executor, it is tough, brutal and has a hardworking crew. Throw in a couple murder attempts, numerous fires, twelve cans of febreeze and about an entire departments worth of exhuasted people, well life gets a bit exciting.

every planet, every star, every single grain of sand by loosingletters - Rated T

In which Darth Vader finds 9-year-old Luke on Tatooine, proceeds to have a breakdown, kills Palpatine and makes his preteen son Emperor, as you do. Otherwise known as the Adventures of Teeny Tiny Emperor Luke and his Royal Dad Guard Darth Vader.

Darth Vader Goes to Therapy by LadyVader23 - Rated G

After a mission gone very wrong, Vader is forced into court mandated therapy to calm the concerned citizens of the galaxy. His assigned therapist? The only one who would take him: brand new therapist Luke Lars.

For Want of a Skywalker by acuteneurosis - Rated G

After the miracle of having survived Bespin, Piett does not ask why they are stopping on Tatooine. Or why Lord Vader suddenly has acquired a small child. Or why this child's name is Luke. Or how long they are going to keep him. He probably should have.

The Family Tree by frodogenic - Rated G

In which Luke Skywalker is stranded in a tree waiting for a flash flood to recede. Too bad he's got company… Post-ESB oneshot, can be read as canon-compliant.

[marvelstars]

Sometimes I believe there is a sector in the fandom that truly just don´t get Anakin but also Anakin fans, they don´t think about the fact that there are fans of Anakin who liked him as Darth Vader and is mind blowing to them why we do if it doesn´t have anything to do with the fact Vader is a very cool villain, which he is or because Anakin used to be hot, which he was.

So let me share with you, the first time I saw the old trilogy , I realized some things about Vader:

1.- He was a slave

2.- He is on life support and constant pain, almost dead inside his armor.

3.- Vader is actually serious about wanting to put Order in the galaxy. How he goes about it is what makes him the villain of the story.

4.- He called the Death Star a tecnological abomination, which I believe is the best description I have ever heard about it.

5.- He was the bad guy the heros had to fight.

6.- He is a bad guy who believes the rebellion has a point but that destructive conflict won´t solve anything. He may be speaking from experience.

7.- He´s actually loyal to the Empire, he believes in it as an institution and he is loyal to the Emperor when he isn´t trying to convince him he needs to kill his Son.

8.- He needs help.

9.- Bad guys are not helped, they are killed at the end of the story

10.- Vader is Luke´s father but his teachers are trying to convince him that he isn´t his father and that he needs to kill him.

11.- Luke loves his father but hates Vader, it´s a real problem for him that they are the same person.

12.- Vader loves Luke but is also crazy as hell from the darkside. So even if he wants his Son at his side, he´s not going to be good company for Luke as much as he wants to be.

So as a fan I decided to love him to make up for his rotten role in the story.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Luke going outside his typical hero journey role and decided to save him, because he was his father. Then as his father, Vader decides to save Luke because he is his Son and he loves him and he doesn´t care if he has to die in order to save Luke from his beloved Empire and Master.

Familiar love saved the universe in this franchise and that´s why ROTJ is my favorite Star Wars movie ever, it lives rent free on my mind.

The fact there are fans who believe familiar love in star wars is an attachment or something that leads to the darkside is mind blowing to me.

In this house we respect Star Wars as the story about how the love in the Skywalker family saved the universe.

[zenon-karr]

I have a theory that obvi the mind flayer is big bad imo but 001 obvi sides with that Mike and Will’s relationship when 001/Henry realizes they are in love how it reminds him of him and Patty and it will reach him and he turns on the Mind Flayer for the final battle. I think byler will reach his heart is what I think and how they can adapt this concept from Star Wars where Vader turns on the Emperor to save his son Luke but instead of being love of child it is witnessing something that restores his belief in humanity that challenges his viewpoint in the flashbacks that was the reason he turns and that’s when he sacrifice himself to help them beat the Mind Flayer so that they can have what he and Patty didn’t end up with.

I see it like this like in the last hour it seem like they will lose and Will is gonna be killed. Maybe 001 is torturing Will or something and Mike is begging not to do it because he loves him and to take him instead and Will is begging the same and in the end he can’t do it because their love reminds him of Patty and the reach Henry without even trying to like when El tried to appeal to Henry it didn’t work bc he views humanity negatively which is why he side with the more powerful being/Mind Flayer. I think byler will change his view on humanity which changes the tides and he sacrifices himself to help beat the Mind Flayer (or whatever its final form is)

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: Does Darth Vader Do Teshuvah?

Someone in a nerdy-Jewish Facebook group I’m a part of recently posed the question, does Darth Vader’s repentance in Return of the Jedi redeem him for his sins in the prequel trilogy? We’re currently in the month of Elul, the weeks leading up to the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, so this is a particularly appropriate time to reflect on this question.

In Judaism, redemption is a matter of teshuvah – of returning. If you did something wrong before, the way to be redeemed is to learn that what you did was wrong and then demonstrate that you’ve learned it by returning to the situation and making the right choice this time. As Rambam says in Hilkhot Teshuvah 2:1, “What is complete teshuvah? When a person again confronts a sin they committed, is capable of doing it again, but nonetheless refrains from doing so in order to repent, not simply because they are afraid of the consequences or too weak to carry out the act.”

Darth Vader has, undeniably, sinned. Looking just at Revenge of the Sith, he murders a lot of people, including children, and in doing so contributes to the destruction of the Jedi Order and the rise of the evil Empire. Could he ever be redeemed for this, or for any of the atrocities he committed afterwards, up to and including genocide?

Murder is, to put it lightly, a tricky thing to do teshuvah for. If you kill someone, then they’re dead. You can never go back and decide not to kill that person this time. From this perspective, Vader may never be able to find redemption.

However, this is the Jewish concept of redemption. I have to acknowledge that this isn’t universal. In some religions, redemption comes from confession. In other worldviews, commonly found in movies and books, redemption can come from death.

Star Wars as a franchise subscribes to the “redemption equals death” trope. In this trope, a character who has done evil things in their life realizes the error of their ways and does a big, good deed that results in their death. The narrative makes it clear that this ultimate self-sacrifice is redemptive. Darth Vader’s end is emblematic of this trope, to the point where his picture is currently at the top of the Redemption Equals Death TVTropes page. Near the end of Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader sacrifices himself to save his son, Luke. Vader kills Emperor Palpatine, suffering fatal injuries in the process. We later see that Vader has become one with the Force, a sign that he has been redeemed.

However, as far as Judaism is concerned, you don’t find redemption by dying. Once you’ve died, you can’t go back and try anything again, so a dead person cannot complete teshuvah. Objectively speaking, Darth Vader dies without going back and re-addressing any of his sins. We could interpret this climactic scene as Vader once again facing the choice about whether to let the Emperor destroy the Jedi Order, and choosing differently this time. But that’s a stretch, even for me, and it still doesn’t do anything about all the murder Vader committed.

It would be easy enough for me to leave it at that – that Vader may be redeemed by the rules of this fictional world, but not by Judaism’s requirements for teshuvah.

Except I’m not going to leave it at that, because Rambam acknowledged that there are some situations for which you can’t go back and try again. Returning to Hilchot Teshuvah 2:1, Rambam says, “…but if a person only repented in old age, thus lacking the power to do what they would have done at an earlier point in life, this is not ideal teshuvah but it nonetheless counts and such a person is considered a ba’al teshuvah – a penitent person. Even if a person was a sinner their whole life and then repented on the day of death and died in a state of teshuvah, all sins are forgiven…”

So perhaps there’s another way out for Vader. Perhaps, in his final moments sitting there with Luke on the floor of the Death Star, he became truly penitent. He would never be able to re-address his sins in life, but he was able to make it clear to G-d – uh, to the Force – that he had realized and internalized the error of his ways. By this interpretation, yes, Darth Vader completes teshuvah and is redeemed.