#how to become a galactic emperor

[darth-prequelist]

Palpatine rant

Palpatine isn't talked about enough. This guy single handedly duped the entire Jedi Council, managed to get THE CHOSEN ONE on his side, orchestrated an entire war, became Chancellor of the Republic, almost destroyed the rebels

Also his whole Do you know the tragedy of Darth Plagueis wise was just...amazing. I get shivers whenever I watch that scene during Revenge of the Sith. Within like two minutes that Palpatine speech manages to paint such a ruthless and amazing picture!

He is also, of course, your typical campy villain. And he only successful manipulates Anakin in the prequels compared to Luke in original. It also fascinates me how he and Padme both come from the same planet yet are foils of each other. Both support Anakin, both are politicians, both are Naboo, and both try to pull him in opposite directions. While Palpatine plays a more parental figure and Padme is Anakin's lover, the foil still remains. Eventually Palpatine uses that foil to his advantage and uses Anakin's fear of losing Padme against him. I absolutely adore the writing of the Prequels, the corruption arc is just so cruelly beautiful but that is a rant for another time.

While I do enjoy Palpatine's appearance in the original he is much more fleshed out in the prequels. His role is simply different, in the prequels he is the secret villain and in the originals he's the big bad guy.

I have been endlessly fascinated about how this twisted mind came to be. So I, of course, wrote a fanfic. I did read James Luceno's book about Palpatine but it didn't hit me quite right. It seemed too distant and out of touch with Palpatine's feelings. I want to see him fall and I want to see him turn evil. It just didn't feel like that to me. I still enjoyed but I prefer a different approach.

The old and cunning Chancellor Palpatine gazed into the swirling orbs of the Space Opera. The young and reckless Anakin Skywalker was by his side.

Palpatine spoke with deliberation and purposely did not meet the young Jedi's stare. "Good is a point of view, Anakin... the Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way." Palpatine paused, "Including their quest for greater power."

Anakin pondered for a moment. His gaze shifted to the wise Chancellor. "The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inwards, only about themselves."

Palpatine turned, his eyes wide, and looked upon Anakin. "And the Jedi don't?"

"The Jedi are selfless...they only care about others," Anakin spoke flatly.

Palpatine exhaled inaudibly. He took a long look at Anakin before slowly turning his head back to the Opera which had just received a polite smattering of applause. Less than five heartbeats passed before he lifted his head and began.

"Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?"

Anakin's eyes darted to the side at these words and turned his head to the Chancellor. "No." Anakin replied.

"I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you." A slight bit of mirth crept into the Chancellor's voice. "It's a Sith legend."

He continued, the mirth drained from his voice, "Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create..." Palpatine met Anakin's gaze, "...life."

A ghost of a smile crossed the Chancellor's face then he turned away from the young Jedi. "He had such a knowledge of the Dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from...dying."

Palpatine turned to Anakin who was gazing at the opera. The young Jedi's mind was lightyears away. Anakin came back to his senses.

Anakin's eyes alit with hope as he exchanged a look with the Chancellor. "He could actually...save people from death?"

Palpatine diverted his attention to the swirling orbs and spoke to Anakin in a slow, dramatic manner. "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be...unnatural..."

"Wh—what happened to him?" Anakin stuttered, looking to the Chancellor.

Palpatine went on. "He became so powerful...the only thing he was afraid of was..." Palpatine glanced at Anakin. "...losing his power...which eventually, of course, he did."

Palpatine paused as he turned back to the enchanting oceanic orbs.

"Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep." Palpatine halted dramatically. "It's ironic...he could save others from death..." He held back a vicious smile. "...but not himself."

"Is it possible to learn this power?"

Palpatine's lips curled as Anakin spoke those blessed words. Anakin retained his façade of calm, but Palpatine could sense the conflict, the suffering within him.

He turned slowly to meet his eventual apprentice's desperate gaze. The Sith Lord coolly spoke. "Not from a Jedi."

[dollyonm0lly]

GETA AND CARACALLA IN THE SAME HOLE??? THE GALACTIC SIZE OF YOUR BRAIN!!

Ik they lean into either side of your head to moan into both of your ears until they are all that you can see, feel, taste, hear and smell

something else i had in mind is cockwarming the emperors but to the point that theres ALWAYS one inside you !

when one slips out the other slips right in, sometimes one penetrates the same hole as the other one for a while but either way you‘re always filled

OR fuck i am overflowing with kinky thoughts

they make sure that even when they can‘t fill you with their cocks they want something to be inside you. the thought alone of knowing you are struggling to walk because they have filled you to the brim and plugged you gets them so aroused they pull you off into the nearest corner of the palace to fill you up again

This ask is pure art. <3

To think of becoming their sex doll after all the corruption they imposed on your mind, shaping you, manipulating you, making you forget any trace of a life you could have had before them, before their cocks impaled inside you. They feel sorry for you, really, the way you cry in agony as if you could die when you don't have one of them inside you, how they find you thrown every now and then in each of their rooms, your fingers buried inside yourself begging for them, knowing that your delicate fingers would never be enough for the hunger you feel.

You live filled with their seeds, when you walk around, you try your best to contract yourself so that nothing escapes, sometimes the efforts are in vain, when you can still see drops coming out of you and falling to the ground, which then makes you cry later on at the feet of your emperors, mourning the loss of their sticky cum inside of you. They always silence you, assuring you that they will fill you again, and that this time, they will push everything with their finger until nothing more comes out, making you give a happy little giggle in response. They think it's cute, how you don't exist without them anymore, you don't even wear clothes anymore, you don't need them, you only have one use after all, and they love you deeply for that. Maybe, they also can't live anymore without your hot wet pussy comforting them, maybe you're not the only one desperate for it.

[trojanteapot]

So I had this idea for a Star Wars AU for Infinity Train where Grace and Simon are Inquisitors.

For those who aren't familiar, the Inquisitors were dark-side Force users trained under Darth Vader to become elite assassins to hunt down the rest of the Jedi in hiding. They were mostly made up of former Jedi or Padawans that survived Order 66 but got kidnapped and brainwashed by the Emperor's lackeys to serve him. Not all of them were though.

The Inquisitors also were kind of culty and power hungry, obsessed with rank, very competitive, and backstabby. They were kind of like Team Rocket with laser swords. And they also called themselves titles like "Seventh Sister" or "Fifth Brother", which I feel like fits well with our two Apex leaders.

Grace's Star Wars backstory is that she was the daughter of a Senator in the Galactic Senate in the Republic Era, and she was Force sensitive but never properly trained.

Simon's Star Wars backstory is that he was a Padawan whose Jedi Master was the Star Wars version of The Cat. She was assigned bodyguard duty for Grace's parents on a diplomatic mission or whatever, and that's how he met Grace.

I have a whole bunch of comic ideas that I sketched out or outlined so stay tuned for more in the future (if you want).

[nescio7]

Way too many people are comfortable playing ball for Palpatine/the Galactic empire. Like, everything the galactic empire did well the Republic did better, most of the Republic’s problems were actively exacerbated by Palpatine, and those problems got worse during the Imperial era.

Palpatine’s first act as emperor (which actually predated him officially becoming the emperor, but at that point he’s it in all but name) is to kill an entire group of people who viewed their loyalty to the Republic as one of their most important values. How is that anything other than a disgusting power play?

[fanfic-obsessed]

Well Technically...

It is not often that I get an idea that includes Vader (with the genocide and horror that is implied) that makes me giggle.  This however made me giggle. 

So Vader returns to the light right before he dies and comes back as Anakin the Force ghost.  Now despite what it appears this is not a kindness.  Anakin spends decades following his kids and the galaxy at large watching how little his existence mattered (galactically Anakin Skywalker was barely more than a recognizable name, and even that was diminishing as the people who knew of the ‘hero without fear’ died off; Vader would be forgotten even more quickly because no one wanted to remember him) even as he saw the long term consequences of his life (Luke’s struggle with his own identity-both as a man and a Jedi-, Leia’s struggle with her ancestry-finding out that your blood father killed all your other available parents was not a good feeling, Reva healing from the trauma he directly caused, all the ways that Ahsoka had to reshape her own soul to patch the holes Anakin put there, the echoes of the clones that died at his hand and command and the horror of the ones that survived). He has to watch his grandson not only make his mistakes but somehow make them worse, which was something that he did not know was possible. We get all the way through the the sequels, with a heavy emphasis on Anakin watching how the consequences of his actions (particularly the slaughter of the Jedi but many of the the things he did both during the empire and during the war) while acknowledging that he is not even remembered enough to be cursed, how the galaxy has spun on, not just without him but in spite of him and he is not even a footnote. 

After Palpatine’s final, for now, death, Anakin is approached (for lack of a better term) by something shaped like Obi Wan Kenobi, circa the beginning of the clone wars. When this being speaks, it speaks with two voices at once, the Daughter and the Son. It asks if he could go back to before his Fall and change things, would he.

Anakin is sure he would, there are so many things he would do differently. 

The being says that it can send him back to just before his tipping point, where his Fall and all the evil he did became inevitable, but cannot send him back further than that.  Anakin agrees. Just before he sent back the being tells him that should his Fall become inevitable again, they would shred his mind and soul and it would be more excruciating than any pain he had ever experienced. 

Anakin, who had spent 20 years in agony, now had one(1) fear. 

Anakin “closed” his eyes in the Force, wondering when he would be sent back to (Killing Padme, Marching on the Temple, Believing Palpatine over Fives) only to open his eyes as his mother took her last breath. He was back on Tatooine, in the Tusken camp. 

Anakin was confused, this was the point of no return? He had not even thought about the Tusken camp in decades, had not truly considered them at all since Padme absolved him of their slaughter.

But this was also an Anakin that had spent decades in pain, and then decades observing. He was much more patient, by necessity if  not choice, less likely to act on violent impulse then the last time. Also the majority of his rage died in a cloud of lightning with the Emperor.  Instead of killing the Tuskens in a rage, he wept over his mother’s body in the grief he denied himself the first time. The reaction surprises the Tuskens so much (due both to the nature of Tatooine and the animosity between them and the moisture farmers they had not seen human tears of grief before) that they let Anakin take the body and leave. 

They still bury Shmi and go to rescue Obi Wan (though it does not end in a marriage this time). The War still starts but Anakin is also running around trying to fix things, including himself (and actually doing all the actual emotional work on figuring out and fixing his own issues), meditating (Frankly Obi Wan is starting to be concerned that anakin is possessed), trying to not kill anyone (because he really isn't sure what the tipping point about the Tuskens was and does not want to risk it), get the chips discovered in such a way that they do not tip off the Sith (He brings a few clones, including Fives to the temple to Spar and 'accidentally' hits Fives hard enough to knock him out and pracitcally forces Master Che do a deep enough scan), make a list of the people he killed to try and do something nice for them. At some point he decides his ‘penance’ for his life as Vader was that he would somehow bring all the currently known Sith back to the Light (including Palpatine).

In the Force, the Daughter is watching all this, her head in her hand repeating over and over ‘The point of no return was murdering children, you moron. All you have to do is not murder children’. And everything he is doing works towards that goal, but she doesn’t expect him to fix the universe (in my head it is a bit akin to asking someone to tell you an equation that use 2 and equals 4, expecting 2+2 or 2*2 but instead them confidently saying((2xSqRt(100))-40+36)/4)

The Son is watching this all with Force popcorn, this is the most entertaining thing to happen in ages. 

It is important to note that the Dark in this does not mean Evil. It means selfish, which is not the same thing.  You can be a selfish dick and still not be evil.  Mostly in this case it means that for those that inhabit the dark their priority is 1)Their own wants and needs; 2)The needs of the people they like, as long as it doesn’t inconvenience them; 3) The wants or needs of others if it benefits them in some way.  The Son was bored by what the Empire did to the Force, and he found having the Light there (and everything Anakin was doing) entertaining. 

I just keep picturing the Daughter, in the Force, exasperated with Anakin because, yes everything he is doing is good for him and the galaxy but his ONLY job is ‘don’t murder children’ and it never even occurs to Anakin that that was the only act he needed to avoid. 

[mariacallous]

Star Wars fans have lived with Mon Mothma for a long time without ever really knowing her. The ethereal Rebel leader has been a regal but enigmatic figure for four decades, but all of that is about to change with episode four of Andor, the Disney+ series about Diego Luna’s devoted spy that also chronicles the strengthening of resistance in the galaxy far, far away.

Genevieve O’Reilly portrays Mon Mothma on the show, which will finally delve into the intense personal story behind this politician from the planet Chandrila. “In her public role, there is a requirement to be calm, there is a requirement to project serenity because the cost is so high, the danger is so extreme,” O’Reilly tells Vanity Fair. “Mon Mothma can't step into the drama that is often surrounding her. But I think what Andor allows is to see the private alongside the public. You can reveal so much when you take that public mask off.”

Even casual fans of the franchise will remember Mon Mothma’s striking first appearance in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, with actress Caroline Blakiston playing the caftan-clad, priestess-like figure who advises Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Lando Calrissian about the Empire’s construction of a new Death Star. “Many Bothans died to bring us this information,” she intones gravely.

Star Wars faithful still don’t know what a Bothan is, even after all this time, but they’ve caught glimpses of Mothma here and there. O’Reilly first played her as a younger woman in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, which revealed that Mothma was a novice galactic senator back when Darth Vader was forged and Emperor Palpatine took over the galaxy. Her speaking lines exist only in a deleted scene, but her appearance as a silent background figure in the finished film was unmistakable.

Fans were left to connect the dots between how an upstart politician became the leader of a guerrilla space resistance until 2016. That’s when O’Reilly reprised Mothma for a more substantial role in the stand-alone prequel Rogue One, serving as a kind of M to Diego Luna’s galactic version of 007, Cassian Andor. The new series is set five years before that, when the two were still unknown to each other, living distant parallel lives—the powerless refugee, and the frustrated powerbroker, both trapped in a corrosive system they hope to change.

The patience of Star Wars fans is about to pay off. The so-called Mother of the Rebellion is now coming into sharper focus.

“This woman has been a part of this universe for so long—and with great respect to George Lucas who created her as a female leader of the Rebel Alliance back in the early ‘80s. That was, I'm sure, as ambitious then as it sounds now,” O’Reilly says. “ I have always really loved the opportunity to step into this woman's shoes. There is something in Caroline's original portrayal of her. I always go back and watch that scene just to remind me how they originated it. I think there is a pain at the center of that.”

For her, it all comes back to the Bothans, those unknown spies who gave their lives for the information she relays. It’s information that she knows will necessitate a battle that will certainly cost even more lives.

“She has that very famous line that people will say to me: ‘Many Bothans died…’,” O’Reilly says. “I always wondered what that was. I always wondered what she was carrying, what her own personal sacrifice was, what the cost to this woman was—and continues to be.”

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy (The Bourne movies, Michael Clayton) predicted in May that Mon Mothma will become a trending topic when episode four airs. That day is now upon us.

“She's this figurehead of liberal democracy that will fail, and ultimately, she'll go to the Rebel Alliance. We stick to the timeline and the major events. But as you can see, we're saying, ‘You don't really know what's going on with her,’” Gilroy says. “Nobody has really known what's going on with her. She's had a much harder time than we knew.”

The revelations about Mothma are more intimate than Star Wars storytelling usually gets. Andor shows her not only struggling to hold together the nascent rebellion, but it also bears witness to her tumultuous and combative marriage to a husband named Perrin (Alastair Mackenzie). Fans have seen Han and Leia trade barbs, but they’ve never seen anything like these two.

“Just wait, just wait,” Gilroy says. “Their marriage is as complex as any marriage I've ever written in any show I've ever done, or any movie I've ever written. Their relationship, how they negotiate it, where it ends up, the shifting power dynamics of it… It's as complicated as anything I've ever worked on.”

Part of the problem is that Mothma's husband Perrin is all too comfortable living in the luxury of the Empire. “She's the boss. She’s the senator. And he's an epicurean,” Gilroy says. “He just wants to live life, man. ‘Why can't we have fun? Why does everything have to be boring? Why we have to do all this political shit? Who cares about this revolution? The revolution's a pain in the ass, man. Let's have fun!’”

It would be a spoiler to reveal how that relationship plays out, but Gilroy and O’Reilly are willing to describe the origin of this mismatched couple in advance. “They were married at 16. That is a very big thing in Chandrila,” Gilroy says. “She has a daughter. It was somewhat of an arranged marriage.”

If that seems shocking, it’s worth noting that 16 was also the age when Mothma became a senator. That sort of thing happens in the Star Wars universe; Padme Amidala, Natalie Portman’s character in the prequels, was also “elected” queen of the planet Naboo when she was a child.

O’Reilly says Andor confronts what it’s like to live with so much responsibility for so long. In some ways, she says she and her character have grown up together. 

“I have played her since I was very young and Mon Mothma was one of my first roles,” she says. “What is it to live within that orthodoxy? And what is it within that familial culture where the woman has the more powerful public role? What does that do to the balance of power within a home? How difficult or easy is that to navigate? And what if your husband has lent into the very voices that you are trying to oppose?”

For O'Reilly, it’s not just a story of good vs. evil. It’s about the many sides of a conflict that can exist sometimes within a single person. 

“There is a public space and then there is a private space. And with Mon Mothma, we are definitely walking that tightrope in Andor,” O”Reilly says. “What can I reveal in a private space? What is the cost to her? How dangerous is it? How dangerous is it to have a voice—or to risk having a voice—in this very volatile political climate? How costly is it to speak up against autocracy? How is it to navigate not only a public space but also your private home when your voice is very different, when you are a woman speaking in a very male-dominated, arguably aggressive world?”

O’Reilly’s hope is that Star Wars fans will realize that Mon Mothma is not such a mystery after all. There are versions of her all around us.

“You don't have to look too far, no matter which profession you work in, to see women who are trying to effect change from within,” she says. “I looked to different female leaders around the world and sadly we don't really have enough of them still. Often they are lonely voices, or voices that others are trying to silence. I see a correlation with those voices and with Mon's voice. For me, I didn't have to look too far to see the women that I believe can be reflected in Mon's fight. I recognized her. I recognized her fights. I want to stand up for her as a character because I think we can all recognize her.”

[carnal-lnstinct]

Are you still doing requests for your Halloween event? If so, could I request either (nsfw)Perfect Cell as a vicious and obsessive yandere hunting down a female/nonbinary reader because he’s decided he wants to keep them for himself or (sfw)Frieza bringing/dragging along a reader for trick or treating with his son Kuriza and to explain this weird Earth holiday to him (can be done with or w/o reader having a kid of their own)

Hopefully these requests are within the rules and they’re something you’re interested in writing. Thank you!

FRIEZA X READER

✦✦Content: au. trick-or-treating, master and servant dynamic but only Frieza and Kuriza knows it ✦✦Warning: frieza, that's the warning. ✦✦A/N: I know very little about Kuriza so I hope this is still enjoyable!

“You’re blending in nicely.”

 You commented with a little chuckle. In an instance of mellow and fun exchanges, the formalities were lost and the difference in power seemed so trivial. Yet, the intense red stare alone quickly corrected you, reminding you who you were speaking to. You straightened up, “–Er, M-My Lord. By that I mean, you seem to be enjoying yourself more than Kuriza.”

Frieza answered with a chuckle of his own, black lips spreading into a soft, indulgent grin. “Oh yes, I suppose. These festivities aren’t entirely as demeaning as I presumed. Naturally, I would be lavished and provided tribute for my presence, even if it is something as unelegant as your earthling confectionery. Tribute is tribute…” He quickly enunciated as he ran his fingers through the pile of candy filling the small pail you were ordered to carry. As underwhelmed as he tried to seem, there was a sense of joy at the way he admired the many colorfully wrapped rewards for him simply existing in the presence of those truly beneath him. 

“I should suffer nothing less than what is rightfully owed to me from this...” He pauses for a moment, turning his head to you. “What is it you call this festival again?”

“Halloween.” You nodded, pursing your lips for a moment as you mulled over your thoughts and continued to speak. “Your tribute, though… is because…well, actually, it doesn’t matter.” You dismissed the thought with a sheepish shrug and brief laugh. “Nothing important, Lord Frieza.” You certainly wouldn’t be the one to ruin a perfectly nice outing by telling him he got so much candy because of his height and fancy “costume”. No need to get the Earth destroyed. “But can I ask why you’re so interested in an Earth holiday?”

It was then a smaller being hijacked your shoulders in a surprise attack, almost knocking you off balance and into the Galactic Emperor, stopped by his tail angled out as a painful “safety net” in your sternum. “Hiyah, mule! To the next set of village homes!” Kuriza excitedly commanded with a hand on your head and his smaller tail beating at the back of your shoulder. Candy fell out of his trick-or-treat bucket at the slightest movement from being filled to capacity. And still, more was desired. Perhaps more than a neighborhood’s worth.

“Yes, let us move on. I’d very much like to hasten this time among the earthlings towards its end before they become too friendly..” Frieza slowly began to walk forward, poised with his hands behind his back, leaving you to nurse the ache in your chest and try to keep up at Kuriza’s demanding tug of your hair. “We shall grace the earthlings for their Halloween offerings a tad longer and then be on our way, Kuriza.” Lest the infestation of saiyans catch wind and seek to become an obstacle to their treat gathering.

“Exactly…how much longer?” You muttered through your teeth, fighting to keep composure and patience.

“Until Uncle Cooler arrives!” The excited little one proclaimed.

“What?!” Both you and Frieza react in shock, Frieza whipping around to face the two of you with wide eyes. 

“You told my brother to come here?!” He quickly spat out, a bitter tremble shaking in the wave of his tail. “For what purpose?”

“So he can Trick-or-Treat with us, Papa! I sent him our coordinates before we landed.” Kuriza smiled. He leaps from your shoulder landing in front of his father. “Shouldn’t the Earth honor our entire family with their offerings of treats? We can always turn the whole planet to ashes if they disrespect us again. We could do it together!”

“As enjoyable as it would be to see this planet turned to dust in the void of space, even I know it wouldn’t be a simple task with the saiyans and their spawns here. There’s also the fact Lord Beerus frequents this particular planet. If it suddenly disappeared and he discovered it was because of us, his wrath would know no bounds! Is that what you want?” The scolding in Frieza’s tone cleared the smile away from Kuriza who started to shrink away from him, backing up into your leg. You didn’t react right away, you yourself froze at being caught in the path of his raised tone.

Frieza’s eyes glanced between the two of you and your frightful stares. He recomposed himself, an audible huff before he cleared his throat and turned his back to you both.

“Shall we proceed?” He calmly brushed off the tension and started walking again. You hear a small sound leave Kuriza as a soft visible tremble in his shoulders sends you into action without thought. You lift him under his arms and hold him on your hip, the small bead of tears in his eyes quickly wiped away by his hands as he fixed his face into a fussy pout, but it only made you smile at him reassuringly.

“At least Frieza and Cooler will play nice as long as Beerus is around, right? More candy for you!” You pointed out to him, lightly nudging his cheek with your fist and giving him a knowing wink. Kuriza gives your words thought and his smile returns, giving you a nod.

Is not the darkness sweet ?

[incorrectpizza]

Something fascinating that I haven't seen many people talking about is the reveal that The Night of a Thousand Tears was after the Galactic Civil War.

It's just a little detail but it's one that puzzled and intrigued me at first. I'd always assumed that it had happened during the war. After all, wouldn't the Mandalorians be a major threat to the Empire?

I wonder, though, if the Mandalorians were just quiet enough, if they avoided open conflict with the Empire, that the Emperor weighed the risks and decided that it wasn't worth kicking the hornet's nest that was an ancient civilization of warriors.

But then he dies, and Operation Cinder takes place.

If you're not familiar with Operation Cinder, it's the Emperor's posthumous order to bomb Imperial loyalists to "punish" them for his death. Thus, most worlds targeted were staunch Imperial loyalists. Palpatine's own homeworld of Naboo was targeted.

But there were a few exceptions; the planet Abednedo was occupied because it was sympathetic to the Rebellion.

Mandalore was "glassed." Was it a part of Operation: Cinder? Was it orbital bombardment? Did the order come directly from the Emperor, out of the grave? Or was it someone else's?

And most of all why? Was it out of fear that Mandalore would become too powerful for the crumbling Empire to defeat? Was the planet deemed too dangerous to exist? Or was it just petty cruelty, like the other worlds? Was there any resistance? Were there any Imperial defectors who left because of the horror they saw there? How many Mandalorians survived, fled? Where was Bo-Katan? And why the kriff were the Wrens on Mandalore itself? Or was Krownest also destroyed?

[marvelstars]

Vader really wanted both death stars gone

I was remembering all those scenes from the original trilogy and Rogue One in which Vader makes quite clear his distate for the Death star and I have come to the conclusion that while he definitely wasn´t a double agent, as much as I love fics like those, he definitely wanted those two technological terrors gone and I am a little surprised Palpatine trusted him with both projects as much as he did.

Lest star with Rogue One, Vader´s scenes are short but they tell a lot about his general mindset about the death star.

In Rogue One Vader´s makes a point of calling to his castle Director Krennic, who is been in charge for years of the death star, Vader´s is quite aware of Krennic´s competitiviness with Tarkin as well as his thrist for greater power which didn´t concern him too much and didn´t seem to care to intervene between the two of them, that´s until Jedha´s main city was destroyed. For many high ranking imperials Jedha was just a small sacrifice neccesary to probe the death star capabilities, for Vader jedha was a civilian city, uninvolved with the galactic civil war and also an old holdout of force knowledge neutral to both the Jedi and the Sith a rare thing indeed, that was destroyed without much thought about it. Vader is pissed off and until Krennic admitted it wasn´t his call but Tarkin, the current favorite of the Emperor, Vader changes the subject and tells Krennic to clean his mess with Erso, protect the plans and also a version of the events on Jedha that hide the Death Star existence from the Senate. It´s very interesting for me to see that of all imperials involved, Vader seems to be the last one who cares about the Senate oppinion on anything, the same happens at the beggining of ANH.

Next time we see Vader, Rogue One has managed to send the signal of the plans for the death star to Leia´s starship and Vader gets to the place of the battle just in time to see Tarkin, again, sacrificing an imperial world and military base for the small chance of stopping the rebels from getting the plans, which is already too late, Tarkin doesn´t acomplish anything besides destroying an imperial intelligence center, soldiers and all.

Tarkin has officially become tigger happy with the death star, has killed Director Krennic, his main competition and now holds sole authority over the death star, with the exception of the Emperor himself, who is on Coruscant and as far as Vader knows, wasn´t consulted on those decisions and neither was him , Tarkin feels confident enough in his position to do bassically, whatever he believes is neccesary to do with this new found power.

Vader technically, isn´t Tarkin´s underling but he isn´t in charge of the death star either, the DS is the Emperor´s baby project but Vader is getting more and more furious over what Tarkin and the other high ranking Grand Moffs are doing with it.

It´s an interesting situation because Vader can´t accuse Tarkin of being unfaithful to the Emperor but he seriously has stopped asking for orders either and he is going tigger happy on the galaxy with the new death star.

Then we have the famous Hallway scene in which Vader does his best to get back those plans, only there´s something curious happening here, Vader is certainly taking matters into his own hands but for someone who has the force, he took a bit more time than neccesary in getting the data disk with those plans. It´s almost as if he expected the rebels to get them.

Then in A new Hope, he doesn´t get the data disk either, thanks to Leia´s quick thinking but when she proves to be resistant to his interrogation, he tries to convince Tarkin not to execute Leia, he tells his soldiers to use non-lethal force on all people from Leia´s Ship in case they know something, Obi-Wan could feel on hyperspace Alderaan´s destruction, can you imagine how Vader and Leia felt in close range as two strong force sensitives?

Later Vader convinces Tarkin to let Leia escape with the plans and in this way, get access to the location of the rebel base, which he does but admits it´s a big risk, Leia was aware of this, she knew they allowed her, Han,Luke and Chewie to escape and knew their only hope was to destroy the Death Star before they destroyed the rebel base.

Then Vader does something very interesting, he decides to attack the rebels on his own, with only two imperial soldiers flanking him a mission that´s frankly below his rank but makes sense for his personality, this takes him out of the death star,maybe because he was already aware of the flaw on the Death Star? after all he is a great engineer even if weapon building isn´t his especiality, why allow the rebels to get so close to the trenches of the death star? plausible deniability? or was he aware of the danger and did meant to try to stop the rebels before they destroyed the death star? In fact moments before the Death Star destruction, Tarkin receives the report that there´s danger in the attack the rebels made agaisnt the death star and some soldiers and high ranking officers are evacuating while Tarkin decides to stay because he feels they are close to victory.

This ends with the death star destroyed, the rebels celebrating, Tarkin dead and Vader alive if chastited and degraded by the Emperor for losing the death star even if he keep his place as leader of the imperial military forces, so Vader could see this as an aceptable sacrifice.

Mind you, this doesn´t mean I am impliying Vader was coming back to the light side of the force at this point but even as Vader, part of his self given mission after losing bassically everything that mattered to him was "Order in the Galaxy" and as a force sensitive, something like the death star probably was seen by him as a cancer that needed to be taken out to preserve Order.

Just some food for thought.

[tranakin-skywalker]

Fuck it, fic rec list time!

I'm bored and can't sleep so here's a non-exhaustive list of some of my favorite Star Wars fics. I'm leaving the really well known ones off, wanna share some of the more obscure gems.

Not Placid Stars But Singularities by iceplanet

He stands before Sidious, head bowed, helmet pinching at the back of his neck where he hasn’t yet gotten the med droid to file down the sharp edges. Sharpness is another fact of life, now: the feel of metal digging into flesh defines his every motion. Given the time and the opportunity, he himself could probably have built prosthetics better than the ones he currently wears. “Your task, Lord Vader,” Sidious is saying, “is to transform this heap of antiquated softness into a palace worthy of our new Empire.” In the weeks after Mustafar, Vader must come to terms with his new body and the remnants of his past. In the process, he has a few conversations that he does not expect.

This one has everything I love: ghosts, mutilation, Vader being the saddest wettest murder meow meow, Sith Lord batshittery. What fun.

Skin Graft by HENST33TH

“ I hurt you.” killed her, Vader's stomach roiled. Bile clawed at his throat as he looked at her. He wasn't making any sense. Her face softened some. “ Dreams…?” she said. Padme thought she understood. It was sick, it was corrosive. He was unfaithful. For twenty years he was unfaithful. He hurt her children. He needed to spit it out. Explain. She deserves it. She needs to know. Vader needed to crack himself open. Padme needed to tear him apart. For her safety. He got out of bed. Twitching with the need. Shaking with the pressure inside of him. Taught like a noose. He stood before her. She placed her hands on his arms. “Then what, Anakin.” Anakin, Anakin, Anakin. Vader sank to his knees. Resting his head against her middle, he breathed. The shame clung to him and coated his throat till he was choking on it. “It’s so much worse than that.” all at once the future loomed over him. Daunting, a beast of its own. How can he explain it? *** Or, Anakin Skywalker gets thrown back in time. He has to learn: 1 how to have a body again 2. To curb his Raging insecure attachment style. 3. That his wife should be the one making the important galactic decisions.

A newer fic that I am quickly becoming obsessed with. The way it's written is perfect. The characterization is perfect. Everything about it is perfect imo. And the ending of this latest chapter. Masterpiece. I want 10 more.

Nameless, On the Edge of Nowhere by Taxonamie

Following the presumed death of the evil Emperor and his hulking henchman Darth Vader, the fledging Alliance stands on the verge of victory! But as they press their advantage against a destabilized Empire and manifest from the seeds of Rebel resistance, can this new government survive their own instability? Among the scattered Imperial forces of the second Death Star, Darth Vader's disapparence is not so final as they would hope. Worse yet, the Rebel Hero Luke Skywalker has gone missing! Alone and disadvantaged, what will Anakin Skywalker do to find his son? Will he walk the razor's edge of tentative alliance with the Rebel Forces, or succumb to the draw of Imperial power? Free from all Masters, can Anakin Skywalker learn who he wants to be, at last? Princess Leia Organa must navigate this minefield of clashing obligations and dripping grudges, all the while attempting to understand a heritage she hates, a brother she loves, and a mysterious mother she cannot understand.

I think this fic is the most successful at bridging the gap between Prequel Anakin and OT Vader that I have ever read. They genuinely feel like a continuation of the same character here rather than a disjointed Before and After.

trust displays by AshToSilver

Rex meets Luke and Leia for the very first time the night they are born.

I love how sweet but also horrifically fucked up this one is. Cannot express how much this fic has influences the way I write the clones.

in morsum ardeo by astarsdarkheart

A fallen Jedi and Lord of the Sith burns in a pyre on the banks of a river of fire. Something else rises from the ashes.

This series rewired my brain. Like, holy shit. Holy shit. I don't think I could ever actually choose a top favorite fic of all time, but honestly? This one makes a strong case for itself. It has haunted me every day since I first read it over a year ago.

Forever War by yujacheong

Vader has trouble distinguishing between the past and the present. Fortunately, it rarely matters in the context of the Empire's forever war.

Love me a good Vader character study.

this place loves what it eats by roadtripexpert

What could be called but isn’t death, or Leia Organa doesn't kill the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker

I know I've already recommended this one but it is just. So fucking good. The note from my bookmark: Father-daughter roadtrip results in about as much murder and bitching as you would expect.

relieved to live in the wreckage by niniblack

When Obi-wan doesn’t follow Padmé to Mustafar, she’s able to convince Anakin to run away from everything with her. But this doesn't prevent his nightmares from coming true, and he's left alone in a hostile galaxy with the infants she begged him to protect. “Master Anakin,” Threepio says, still hovering in the doorway. “Might I suggest bouncing the children?” Anakin stops pacing around with the twins, head swiveling to look at Threepio. He doesn’t have to ask what the fuck Threepio is talking about; Artoo does it for him. Threepio seems to draw himself up as straight as he can. “I have conducted extensive research on the subject of human childrearing in anticipation of Mistress Padmé giving birth. Holding an infant and gently bouncing them in the parent’s arms is thought to be an excellent calming method.” “Oh,” Anakin says. “I thought you meant… bouncing them on the floor or something.”

The note from my bookmark: Single dad Anakin. Congratulations buddy, no one's ever done it worse.

Send the Whole Damned Thing Down the Drain by handstitchedanarchist

“Are you a conscripted soldier or a battle slave?” General Skywalker asks him one day. Rex thinks about it. And then thinks about it a little longer. And then he has to admit, “I’m not sure what the difference is.” The general looks distant and… sad? “Yeah, me neither,” he says.

This is another one that has greatly influenced the way I write the clones.

Gonna end the list here cuz my meds are starting to kick in and I feel like I'm going to fall over

[sleepyfan-blog]

tell me about warhammer. i see you post about it and i have no idea where to start but i’m intrigued. guide me, oh wise one.

Hello friend! I am relatively new to the Warhammer Fandom myself. It's the Fandom that invented the Grimdark Fandom. The talking is "in the far future, there is only war"

There is a vast ocean of lore, as for where to start, it depends on what parts of Warhammer you wanna learn about?

Major factions: (note that all of the big factions have smaller sub factions)

The Imperium of Man: humans! There are several sub-factions within this faction. These include (but not limited to): nuns with guns, actual demi gods (but don't call them that), Large Angry Men, smaller men but also angry, tech bros, Not-God, and The Worst Nobles Ever

Necrons: ancient Egyptian flavored terminators. Quite possibly the reason why Chaos Exists as it does in the current setting due to Backstory War Reasons. Took a ten-millenia long power nap and woke up to find too many people on their lawn (the galaxy)

Tyranids: hungry buggos that devour entire planets

Chaos: the gods of the universe and their followers. Main flavors: hungry, angry, horny and plotting

Eldar: Space elves. They come in four main flavors: snooty, snooty in the woods, triple extra evil snooty, and clown. They murder-fucked a major deity into existence and it was Really Bad

T'au: Space goat people. They've just got onto the galactic stage and believe in the Greater Good

Orkz: fungal war-obsessed people. Most of them are not bright but possess a vicious sort of cunning

The C'Tan: different kinds of gods. Soul Devourers. Tricked the necrons into becoming terminators and then got blasted to bits by their shiny metal slaves out of spite

Ancient Ones: magically power psychic frog people. Created the Eldar, Orkz and possibly the necrons. They are dead bc the Necrons killed them bc the necrons pre-terminator form lived short painful lives

Common terminology:

The Warp: Space hell. It doubles as "fast" travel in universe, so yeah. Chaos primarily lives here

Psykers: Space magic users. They are connected to the warp. How they are treated depends on the faction/sub-faction that finds them

Nulls/Pariahs: anti-warp people. May or may not have been born without a soul. Powerful enough Nulls can permanently kill daemons

Astartes: also called Space Marines. Loyal to either the Imperium of Man, or if they are Very Spiky and mutated-looking, Chaos. BIG BOIS.

Primarchs: artificially created demi-gods by the Emperor of Man to help him take over the galaxy. It went great up until Horus was stabbed to death.... then healed at the temple of Evil Healing. It all went down hill from there. Some of them are dead, some are missing, others became daemons

Bolter: the sacred weapon of the office of a space marine. Does not shoot bullets or lazersrs, but actually small bomb-things

Chain-sword: chainsaw+ sword = this thing. Typically used by Space Marines bc Awesome Weapons

YouTube is a great way to get information on the different factions, depending on the content creator

[darth-prequelist]

Palpatine Poll: Character wise (in your opinion)

I know this is too general of a question. What I mean what was his best version. Evilness/ability to manipulate and all. Like he either the most enjoyable/villainous. Let me know your thoughts!

[threebea]

Sheev hits the cloning Sith magic hoping for eternal life in exactly the wrong way and time and now he's a small redheaded child.

1. Everyone thinks the Supreme Chancellor is missing or captured.

2. Everyone assumes he's the bastard child of Obi-Wan Kenobi (as all redheads of a certain age are traditionally assumed).

3. Obi-Wan is once again asking people not to assume he is the sole provider of redheads. (He is ignored).

4. Due to plot reasons naturally Obi-Wan and Anakin have to look after him.

5. Sheev tries to act cute so that he can win over Anakin.

6. Somehow it backfires and Anakin is weirdly threatened by Obi-Wan's (probable) son.

7. Sheev does have a few tantrums and falls into brat mode. Not because he's a Sith in disguise but because he was a rich boy and assumes that's how kids are.

8. He claims to be the Supreme Chancellor several times. Padme thinks it's adorable that he wants to be a little politician.

9. the Jedi figure out he's force sensitive and are wondering if they should take him in if they can't find his guardian. Anakin now views him as a rival and is waiting for Obi-Wan to say he's going to train his son the boy.

10. Obi-Wan is not doing that again, thanks. He just finished the last one. He needs a break.

11. Sheev due to child body can't control the Force as well as he can as an adult (as far as he knows) so trapped playing baby games and getting hugs and also getting rules which did not happen the first time around. Weirdly nice but it isn't going to stop him from being Emperor and murdering these people. He just needs to reverse the spell.

12: as it turns out his spirit accidentally went into one of his prototype clones and they find his dead elderly body. Looks like it's time for elections.

13: Jedi decide no, this time they're not breaking the he's too old rule. They're gonna look after him and when he's old enough they'll send him to one of the corps. It's for the best. Especially since the war is going really well under the new management and they'll probably have a treaty by next life day.

14. Also as it turns out the clone body does not have a high m-count like his former body. He's a little less than average. The Force is whistling innocently in the background.

Of course he's still going to try for galactic domination but oh boy is it not gonna go well.

Not sure if he becomes reformed or what. Either way he's probably gonna be farming for a few years which he will not enjoy. Yes he can still manipulate people, but it's hard to manipulate who he needs without any money or power to offer.

Tries setting off Order 66. Voice isn't the right register and doesn't set it off.

[dalekofchaos]

Context

Context for choice 3.

Here is what I mean about The New Republic and The First Order.

What happens after you win a war? How do you not make the same mistakes or become the thing you fought. What happens in a power vacuum? The New Republic should have been the dominant emerging power, and the Remnant should have been a small, secretive, unknown order, striking strategically from the Unknown Regions where they hid, and causing fear and panic to spread in the NR. After the Galactic Civil War, The New Republic commanders the Imperial Fleet and starts protecting systems who join the NR, all while chasing down and fighting any of the Remnants (Moffs, Warlords, Crime Lords, etc) who have grabbed power in the resulting vacuum. We could have seen an evolution of ships from Old Republic to Empire to NR ones. They could have renamed Star Destroyers into Star Defenders. Hell, they could have had a Republic of independent systems, each with their own sizable military, so that power isn’t centralized.

But no, instead of telling an interesting story, we are force fed the recycled poorly written rehashed Rebels vs Empire and the Rebels are made to be weaker than The First Order. The First Order are a terrorist movement, they should not be reigning after Hosnian Prime’s destruction, ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING STARKILLER BASE!

Choice 4. Here is how I would give Kylo Ren motivation as to why Ben Solo fell and his main motivation as Kylo Ren.

Choice 6. I don't think there was absolutely no need for a Palpatine clone and eventually Palpatine himself(🙄) we all knew what was happening around the time this trilogy was being made. Trump. Base Snoke around the mango Mussolini and his lunatic fringe followers. An Alt-Right cult leader who cultivates the worst people imaginable. All The First Order needed to be was pointing out The New Republic brought the galaxy to an age of scum and villainy. A lawless state that usurped the rightful rulers that brought law and order. Basically "Make the Galaxy great again with Imperial Greatness"

You see, originally Lucas was going to make Palpatine JUST a politician and base him around Richard Nixon.

“George Lucas has spoken on various occasions of the way that the Nixon administration and the Vietnam war had an important influence on how he shaped the plot of the early films in the saga. The impact that these two events had an American in the 1970s started him thinking about the ways in which democracies can sale and how they deteriorating to dictatorships when corruption goes unchecked. He’s quoted as saying that Nixon - Who he viewed as having subverted the Senate and as acting an increasingly imperialistic way - what is the direct inspiration for Emperor Palpatine the supreme leader of the evil Empire in the first Star Wars trilogy”

So I don't see why they couldn't do something similar with the CLEAR FUCKING EVIL going on in the world at the time this trilogy was being made. No Sith master was needed.

In this scenario, I would call The First Order, The Imperium

Now you might have questions. What about the Stormtroopers and Kylo?

Stormtroopers? Don’t abduct kids, nationalize and recruit them willingly. Abducting children and training them to be Stormtroopers instantly made The First Order out to be cartoonishly evil from the start. So what do you do instead? Use propaganda. Nationalize them. Make them believe The Empire was right and convince them that the life of a Stormtrooper will help bring order in a chaotic galaxy. We’ve seen cults do something similar, Far Right Wing groups do it and we’ve seen Trump radicalize and nationalize white supremacists, so it’s not impossible for The First Order to do the logical thing.

Finn only leaves because he sees they are murdering unarmed civilians and chooses to leave. He is an example that it isn't too late to leave harmful fringe cult movements.

So how would Ben turn in this scenario? He's radicalized by Snoke. Ben starts hearing passionate speeches in the senate and Ben is moved. "I know he opposes my mother, but he's making a lot of sense" "He's right, we need to bring order to the galaxy" and Ben is radicalized by this Imperium movement and what he believes is Snoke's righteous cause. To Snoke, Ben represents everything great about the Empire. Snoke collects Sith Holocrons and uses the holocrons to turn Ben Solo into Kylo Ren.

In this scenario, I wouldn't redeem Ben. He is far too gone. He's committed atrocities in Snoke's name, for The Imperium and to bring order to the galaxy. While Finn represents those who could break away from Right Wing movements and Cults. Kylo Ren is far too gone, he's radicalized to the point where he's a die hard believer like Hux and Phasma and he's willing to fight and die for this indoctrination.

Choice 11. The Episode IX rewrite with Ben living and Reylo ending

Choice 12. The original plan for the Sequel Trilogy was to just get three young directors together to direct the Sequel Trilogy. It was supposed to be JJ, Rian and Colin Trevorrow, but Colin's IX was bad and his Jurassic World trilogy was terrible. So I would make either Matt Reves or Greta Gerwig as the director for Episode IX and ideally they would plan the trilogy out together instead of JJ setting up Mystery Boxes and expecting Rian and others open said mystery boxes and Rian subverting expectations.

[kineticpenguin]

Once dreamed of as a galactic empire built on scientific understanding and secular thought, the millennia following the Emperor’s death instead saw a slow decay into mysticism, madness and theocratic fascism, with entire planets given over to religious worship of the now-God-Emperor’s corpse, and any attempt at scientific advancement punishable by death. At the top of this rotting pile perch the High Lords of Terra, who maintain the Imperial Creed in His name through iron-fisted control and the enthusiastic application of genocide. They select only the most loyal recruits to rise through the ranks of the power structure, resulting in iterative, stagnant dilution and a violent aversion to outside threats — a blind adherence to dogma and a refusal to confront the reality of what they have become condemning them to a grim future indeed.

After nearly 40 years of trying to steer their flagship Warhammer 40,000 battle-barge towards Profitus Maxima, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Games Workshop has fallen into the same downward spiral of ideological rot. Each new edition of the game feels increasingly recursive and more corporate than the one before, with all nuance carefully buffed out in order to deliver the most bombastic, shallow ‘grimdark’ caricatures possible. Challenging ideas and radical thought are strongly discouraged, with dissenters purged from their employment, and corporate gags slapped over the mouths of those who would speak out against oppression and tyranny. Indeed, so thoroughly dead is the idea of Warhammer 40,000 as “satire” that the completely fictional in-universe timeline itself is not safe, with entire books being rewritten and republished in order to ensure a bulletproof internal chronology of a setting which its creator cautioned that we “should not take too seriously”. 

[sigmadaily]

i'm curious, since you take photos of so many sigmas in game! would you say there's a clear #1 favorite skin sigma mains tend to gravitate (rimshot) towards?

my guess for top 3 skins would probably be maestro, emperor, and dr de kuiper! the latter's the most accessible at all times, and in a way it kind of implies a better timeline for him where he's under only his own authority and not a weapon of talon. (also, he has hair). whereas the former two are definitely fan favorites, although time-locked.

are there any others you'd say are in the running? :o

Top skin for Sigma mains currently definitely seems to be the Galactic Emperor - given how accessible the Mythic skins have become [relatively speaking] - so ANY Sigma main who can afford the Battle Pass went straight for Galactic Emperor, of course. Within that skin's customizations, the overwhelming majority favor what I tag as "Dark Emperor" the dark gray with purple highlights, spiked spheres, and hat - the pauldron options seem to have equal favor across the three options! I see the "Blood Emperor" and "Ice Emperor" color schemes with equal frequency - generally rare. "Gilded Emperor" rarer still! Hard to beat the dark classic.

Maestro WOULD be one of the more popular ones - if they ever RE-RELEASED IT [this is a point of bitterness for me I'm afraid - this skin is the only reason I started playing this game since October 2022 and they still haven't released my husband to me] - beautiful suit, amazing musical details, best hair -

Short of that, thirsty Sigma mains gravitate [hehe] towards Dr. de Kuiper and Scuba - precisely for reasons you mention - we just want him to have a lovely, less tragic life!!!! 🥺 Not-thirsty Sigma mains tend towards Talon. ❤️

Big shoutout to Oracle, who I think is underrated. Beekeeper is cute. I wish they released recolors of Carbon Fiber. A purple one please.