#i didn't go into depth on the anakin thing i could answer that in a diff post because it wasn't really relevant to the clones question :)

[spell-cleaver]

One thing I've always wondered is how Vader didn't sense either Luke (or Leia's for that matter) force presence on the first death star. I guess he was super caught up in with the whole "I sense the old coot who cut off my limbs amd left me to burn" thing, but I like to think obi-wan was masking the pair by just being obnoxiously loud with the force (the force equivalent of him walking into a room with multiple air horns and a boom box blasting away)

Wow, I had THOUGHTS about this one.

Honestly? I'm not a fan of the assumption in a lot of fic and by fans that it's super easy to passively sense someone in the Force. I have used it myself, of course, but I say from experience it restricts writing a lot while... not actually having a ton of backing in the films? (I'm referring to the films here, not to any other media, just because when I want to analyse lore, I only take them as canon; when I'm just looking for cool worldbuilding for a fic, though, anything goes.)

It's not just Leia that Vader doesn't sense on the Death Star. He doesn't sense Luke either, even though Luke is right there screaming when Vader kills Obi-Wan. It's more of an issue with Leia ofc because he literally used the mind probe on her but only finds that "her resistance... is considerable". An easy answer is that I headcanon Leia is a naturally good shielder, which is why she was never found on the Death Star and also why all of the Jedi in ROTS were surprised there were two babies - Leia had been naturally shielding herself, so they just sensed Luke.

But if we go more in-depth into the films' representations of the Force, Vader only senses Luke when he's actively chasing him as a pilot; he comments that "The Force is strong with this one" only when Luke is using the Force to aim and fire his shot. For me, this implies that you can only sense other Force users powerfully or distinctly when they're actively using the Force. I know why fic prefers not to go that way - I for one have used the "Vader senses Luke immediately" plot to get Luke captured many a time - but it's a fun thing to consider. Also, the Force is a soft magic system. It does functionally whatever the story needs it to.* Which is why Vader can sense Luke approaching Endor in ROTJ when Palpatine couldn't, but he had to be told by an officer when Luke's ship was approaching Cloud City in ESB.** There are many examples where a Force user just didn't sense someone else. Luke not sensing Yoda in ESB, Obi-Wan not sensing Dooku's presence on Geonosis, the Jedi non sensing Maul in TPM, the Jedi not sensing Palpatine for the whole prequel trilogy.

You could argue that those examples are of trained Force wielders shielding themselves, but I would argue that Qui-Gon can't sense Anakin in TPM. He doesn't show interest in Anakin until after they've left Watto's shop and Anakin starts talking to him. Anakin is the literal son of the Force and the most powerful Force wielder ever, but Qui-Gon was talking to Watto for a while without batting an eyelash at the small supernova in his shop. He didn't start to suspect until he heard about his racing, his instincts, spoke to him to notice his insights. Then still he spoke to Shmi about him to confirm his suspicions that "he can see things before they happen", watched him while he flew, and took a midichlorian count. I think the Force might well have been nudging Qui-Gon to look at Anakin, to suspect something, but I don't think he sensed Anakin himself as Force sensitive - at least, not immediately. Which is how I think you can explain all the instances of people going "I felt his presence." They were either using the Force, or familiar as Force sensitives to the person sensing them, or the Force wielder in general had an instinct that there was something special about this person, I should pay attention...

This has been a long ramble, but the short answer is: I headcanon Leia as naturally good at shielding. I think it fills multiple Star Wars plot holes.***

But I think it's also worth interrogating the fact that fandom seems to approach and conceptualise of the Force as a hard magic system, with clearly defined rules, rather than the soft magic system it is.**** Anything goes in Star Wars! It can be annoying if the writing doesn't sell it well enough, but I really love that aspect of the worldbuilding. And considering that the Force is a big fat plot device as well as giving people magical instincts for things that are Plot Relevant and things that aren't, I think it's a lot more interesting to consider that the Force isn't a superpower that lets you sense everything. Vader didn't detect Leia simply because he didn't. Sometimes they fail to do that. And it allows you to show growth in character and situation when that fact changes. Vader doesn't sense Luke in ANH until he's Plot Relevant to Vader's personal story. He doesn't sense Luke until he's fighting him in ESB. But in ROTJ, once they're both invested in their relationship and fated to meet, they're drawn together like stars caught in a mutual orbit.

That's the explanation I prefer. Because although it's less consistent, it's not unbelievable. It leaves uncertainty, mysticism, the chance for exploration in the galaxy. And most importantly, it tells a damn good story. Which, while this may not be true of people who love collecting lore and figuring the galaxy out, is ultimately what I'm here for.

*This is why so many random new powers can get added and explored in later movies and such, and also why I don't really get het up about it when they do add them. It just depends how you incorporate that new power. Usually, if a villain suddenly has a new power no one knew about (like Palpatine's lightning in ROTJ) it just ups the stakes, while if a hero suddenly has a new power it can feel like it cheapens their victory, like they haven't earned it; a deus ex machina. So messing about with Force powers is fine, it just depends how you incorporate them in the story.

**Admittedly this can be explained by the bond being formed when Luke learned the truth, but you know what I mean.

***I was only talking about the movies here, but there's also that moment in the Kenobi series where she's captured by Inquisitors and still no one notices she's Force sensitive??? There's just a lot of moments like this littered all over Star Wars, so this headcanon covers a lot of them.

****I kept using the terms hard/soft magic system without really explaining it here, but here's some good videos to dig into it: Soft Magic Systems | Hard Magic Systems

[tennessoui]

Thank you for your answer about your Frankenstein story. ❤️

I saw your reblog which reminded you on the cheating AU.

Could I have maybe a snippet based on this? Idk maybe a scene in which Padme realized that Obi-Wan took her role as a parent pre-revival? Or post-revival they talk and he says something about it? Or she says talks with the twins and realizes that she doesn't know what they talk about because they did this with Obi-Wan? Simply something that shows the real betrayal in the AU. One of her best friends didn't even steal her husband, no he stole her complete family. Sry I want heartbreak. 🙈

you're in luck! i've already written something quite similar to this ask for this christmas oneshot for the cheating au in last year's christmas collection

this is pre-reveal of the affair, but padmé is definitely aware that something is up with how obi-wan treats her children---she confronts anakin about it when they're getting ready for bed at the end of the fic because obi-wan has been too kind and caring towards luke and leia. notably, he buys them ballet classes and then (accurately) explains why he bought them for luke but enrolled leia in no more than three because he knows that she will want to have the same thing as her brother but will grow tired of it quickly. all of this conversation is also while her children are sacked out and asleep on obi-wan like he's a very comfortable pillow

i really liked writing this christmas fic for this au because obi-wan's intentions to slowly and carefully worm his way into the twins' hearts as a parental figure (and not just an uncle or a good friend of their parents) is both insidious and blatant depending on whose perspective you're looking at it from. anakin and satine know exactly what's going on and all the complicated parts---the affair, the depth of it, the focused intent of obi-wan to love these kids as his own---but padmé doesn't yet understand the crucial bit about the affair

so when she confronts anakin about obi-wan's behavior, she knows obi-wan is treating the children with an air of familiarity reserved for parents alone, but without letting herself see the connection between anakin and obi-wan, she settles on the much darker accusation that obi-wan is grooming her kids

even she knows, when pressed about it by anakin (who decides he will come completely clean on the whole affair if padmé really truly believed obi-wan could do something so vile), that obi-wan wouldn't and couldn't....so she has a mini breakdown instead because she can't help comparing herself to obi-wan.....in the role of a mother figure

“I’m not a bad mother,” she whispers again. “But Obi-Wan and I have the same career, sit on the same committees. And yet he finds the time to make you dinner! He can pick up the children! He knows what they’re interested in, what to get them for Life Day! I am not —“ her manicured hand slaps down onto the table with a bang— “a bad mother!” Anakin blinks at the back of her head. Padmé is not one to get worked up in such a way. “How?” Her voice breaks on the syllable, and Anakin‘a heart breaks as well.  The answer to her question is, of course, that Obi-Wan has been trying since he learned of her pregnancy to insert himself in the children's’ lives as Anakin’s partner, his co-parent. His claim is nonexistent, and so he has committed himself to reinforcing their love for him, his own usefulness.  And Padmé, as their mother, is complacent. She doesn’t realize there is a war going on, one that she may just be losing. 

the very real betrayal of this au for sure but oh so juicy lol

[sunshinechildskywalker]

20 questions for fic writers

Hi, friends! I was tagged by the forever-incredible @ladyvader23- thanks for the tag, my friend!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

I have 12 works and counting!

2. What's your total A03 word count?

67,866 words (woah! More than I realized!)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I write primarily for Star Wars, but also write for Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and believe it or not, the Simpsons! Sideshow Bob sparked something in my bestie and I that kicked off a year of non-stop Google Doc sharing and squee comments on each other's works XD

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Grounded (578)

L & V One Shots & Ficlets (554)

Convalescence (278)

Tortured Soul (191)

Come With Me (159)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I sure do! I always try to respond with a least a "omg thank you!!!" or something of the like to show my appreciation. I wish I could go more in-depth for them all, and I do for the really long ones, but I end up not always having the time or energy to pay each comment the response it deserves. As always, thank you to everyone who has commented on my stuff!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It's actually one I haven't posted yet (nor finished, and that's one I def want to be done before I post it). To give you context without too many spoilers, basically it's an alternate ending to ROTJ in which Vader doesn't die...but Luke does. I've been writing it on and off since my freshman year of high school and am excited about it, but damn, it's so hard to write because it makes me so sad!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Grounded! That was the first one I ever posted (during my first week of senior year of high school!) I feel like that one wrapped up nicely.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Once in a great while. Most of the hate comments I receive are digs on my characterization of Vader. One time I got a negative comment on a oneshot that I specified was part of a larger story I would recommend reading beforehand, and the commenter didn't understand why Vader was written the way he was, when in actuality, it had a lot to do with his development in the larger story. That one was a detailed hate comment and was hard to shake, but I'm learning how to let them roll off my back.

On a side note, this is partly why I don't ask for constructive criticism; I have OCD and fixate on even little comments people make that could possibly be construed as negative, real life included. I'm working on how to let them go and look at the facts before I run off with some wild tale about how someone hates me for sure. I'm growing and learning how to manage, but like I said in my AO3 A/Ns, OCD is a bitch ;)

9. Do you write smut?

Sure do XD It's pretty much all Skysolo (which you will see in an upcoming Skysolo story I'm almost done with *wink wink* ;))

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't before, but I'm entertaining the idea of some kind of Star Wars/Harry Potter type thing. To be completely honest, it's inspired by the Sims I made in Sims 4 lol XD. I had my HP Sims meet my Star Wars Sims and it was so funny to see how they all interacted. Luna immediately grabbed a book off of Leia's bookshelf, Anakin began cooking dinner, and Harry and Luke were talking privately in a separate room from the group- I like to imagine they were talking about how hard it is to be "the hero" and have the world literally depending on you. If I do end up writing this, I'll be sure to post XD *cue Spongebob's "when worlds collide" lol*

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, so hopefully that answer is no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but would be open to working with someone to translate!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! Nothing I've posted, but I co-write Simpsons stuff with my real life bestie. Sideshow Bob has us in a chokehold XD

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I love Skysolo and always will, but I think Finnick and Annie from Hunger Games takes the cake for me. I could go on, but the way they've both been through similar trauma and care for one another gets me big time. And Finnick is one of my all-time favorite characters, so I'm a little bias XD

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Tbh, both of my Whumptobers lol. I bit off more than I could chew both years between that and school, work, life. Hopefully I'll plan a little better this year and will be able to finish!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I write hurt/comfort well, and it sounds weird, but I write crying pretty well too lol. I think I'm getting better at imagery and sentence structure too.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with writing action, and I tend to write run-on sentences. I'm hoping to work on this for future fics!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I haven't done this personally, but I have a lot of respect for others who do. I think it's wild people can speak a whole other language period, but using that language in all its differences stylistically to tell a story? Absolutley amazing.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Hunger Games! I wrote Finnick becoming like a big brother for Prim after the war (flash back to me furiously typing out hurt/comfort scenes on my ipod notes in middle school LOL XD)

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I have a special place in my heart for Convalescence; I live for that kind of hurt/comfort and angst, and I'm excited to finish it.

Thanks for reading if you did! I'll tag @spell-cleaver and @starr234, but don't feel obligated if this doesn't interest you!

May the Force be with you, friends!!!

[ragnarlothcat]

👐, 💋, 💫 , 🍭, 🎈

Thank you for so many!!! 💙💙💙 (for this ask game)

🤲 what do YOU get out of writing?

I mentioned the personal and creative fulfillment in the previous ask but the other thing is the community and immediate gratification of fic writing. I do write original fiction too and I miss the feedback I get when I post a new chapter in a fic. It's hard finishing something up without getting to hear people's favourite silly little joke, you know? I'm weak!!!

💋 when you leave comments on a fic, do you want to hear back from the writer?

Hmm I don't feel especially strongly one way or another 🤔 If I've asked a question then I suppose I like getting an answer. And there have been a couple of times I've left an author multiple comments and not gotten responses and I do slightly worry that it's because they hate me and want me to stop commenting but I recognize that my reaction is ridiculous and entirely in my head. In general I'm fine either way and if an author isn't replying because they're busy and/or overwhelmed I get it and I would never want to add any pressure to them!

💫 what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

It's probably a cop-out but I really do like most of them! Yeah the in-depth comments with theories and notes on characterization and stuff are incredible (and I am hugging everyone who has ever sent one of those) but I do enjoy the simple heart emojis or "kudos!" comments too.

I guess the only things I don't like are impatient demands for an update (believe me, I promise I feel bad enough about my WIPs already) or when people are very critical of a character or call them stupid in a non-affectionate way. Most of the time the vibe is "they're stupid because the pining is so obviously mutual!!!" but in a fun way because we know we're reading an idiots to lovers fic so obviously the pining is mutual but sometimes the tone is off or something and it feels like a criticism of my characterization because Obi-Wan is not that stupid in canon so why am I writing him like that? Idk, even when my characters are doing something dumb I want their actions to seem rational to them and it makes me worry I'm not accomplishing that. I'm probably being too sensitive but those comments do make me overthink (even more than usual).

🍭 why did you start writing?

It's a bit silly in retrospect but I started writing obikin specifically because I'd been reading fics for a couple months (and loving them!) but it seemed to me that a lot of fics were about how handsome and amazing Obi-Wan is and there were fewer talking up Anakin. Which I do get a) because Anakin goes on multiple killing sprees and helps run a fascist dictatorship for 20 years and b) it's harder to write Obi-Wan pining over Anakin because of the power imbalance between them. Even I struggled with it when I wrote my one master/padawan fic and I made it extremely clear that Anakin had been in love with Obi-Wan for ages already.

But the first obikin fic I ever wrote was a 5+1 that could be summarized as "everyone thinks Anakin is extremely charming and pretty" and honestly I've never really strayed from that. I like to think there's more going on but whenever I write from Obi-Wan's POV I tend to go a bit overboard with the immediate attraction. In my defence Anakin is very cute.

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

I'd say: not very poetic, lots of dialogue (I write dialogue first and fill in the gaps afterwards) and heavy on the POV character's internal monologue. I often struggle to describe what characters are doing and then I start making everyone shrug constantly to compensate. If I didn't find first person POV kind of annoying it would probably be a natural fit for my writing. I try to change things up occasionally especially if I'm writing in a different genre than usual but I feel like my style is still pretty consistent. But I could be wrong!

[laheyy]

I’m wondering for your fic “as I breathe so does she,” if you had a backstory to what happened to captain Rex and the other clones? Like if part of mace defeating palps meant order 66 never happened so the chips weren’t an issue? Or if kamino was investigated after the fact and the whole plot was exposed? I love it so far and was curious

Hi! This is really funny that you asked me this because I had been stressing about what to do with the clones for, like, the entire time I’d been planning this story, but I knew I needed to include them (or at least Rex) and I finally figured it out today.

I think one of the reasons I’ve been struggling so hard with it was because I didn’t want them to be only soldiers anymore. I wanted to let them have agency with what they pursued after the war- whether that be staying with the Grand Army of the Republic (which in my mind was considerably downsized after the war ended to redistribute money to struggling systems) or pursuing other employment options. Here is what I decided on as a timeline and explanation for what happened in my universe with how Anakin didn’t turn to the dark side, Order 66 doesn’t happen, and what happens to the Clones:

Beginning in canon ROTS- Anakin tells Mace about Palps, goes to the council room like instructed. The same thing happens where he’s essentially falling apart and breaking down, but instead of coming to the realization that he needs to go save the shitty old man, he decides to call Padmé and tell her what's going on even though he knows he shouldn’t. The shock of Palps’ reveal sends Padmé into early labor and instead of rushing to save the chancellor, Anakin runs to Padmé instead. He realizes that if Padmé is having the baby right now there is nothing Palps can teach him in time to save her life. He reasons that with his mom, it was just a matter of being too late and if he goes to save Palps first, those few precious minutes may be the deciding factor in whether or not she lives. 

Over at the Senate, everything happens like normal to an extent, except Kit Fisto isn’t killed by Palps and survives, he testifies to Mace killing the Chancellor with his lightsaber, but in the struggle both Mace and Palps go over the side of the senate building. Both are presumed dead. More on this (Padmé, Anakin, the Jedi...) for another time!

SWITCHING GEARS- this means that Order 66 never gets to happen and at first in the aftermath, nobody knows about it and nothing was done. Everything is kind of in chaos at the Senate with the Chancellor being killed, people and blaming the Jedi for the war going on so long, but Bail Organa and Mon Mothma (Padmé would be there but she just had healthy baby twins) manage to wrangle everything in order enough that to turn the Republic back on the side of the Jedi and convince people that they should be happy the war is over, and that the Jedi did exactly as the promised-they won the war and now the Republic should be working to repair the damage the war caused on the galaxy. They elect Mon Mothma as the next Chancellor of the Republic. 

AS FOR THE CLONES: The Jedi and a few chosen Senators are heading  to task force to investigate Palps and everything and how he managed to hide himself for so long and what his endgame plan was. During this investigation they find Rex’s sealed report about Fives and the inhibitor chips. Mas Amedda (who is in prison) confirms the real reason behind the chips and what they were going to be used for and everyone is rightfully horrified. The chips are removed from all clones. This takes some time and while this process is taking place, all clones return to Kamino, but the Jedi oversee the chip’s removal process because they don’t trust the Kaminoans anymore for obvious reasons. 

Concurrent to this happening, the Senate passes a few legislations that are important to the clones (spearheaded by Padmé even from maternity leave)- 1. All clones are given citizenship in the Republic. What planet may you ask does it say they are from? Coruscant! Kamino leaves the Republic after the investigation in Palps and the inhibitor chips and the clone bases close. 2.They receiving a mega large stipend from the Republic as thank you for their service. This one is really important because we never really talk about how canonically they aren’t paid?? They will also get a pension when they reach a certain age. 

After the chips come out, the clones are armed with their new citizenship and a hefty sum of money a lot of options. They are allowed to go wherever they want! A lot of them stay to help raise the remaining cadets who aren’t adults yet on a campus built on Coruscant for the clones once they leave Kamino; some decide to stay in the Grand Army as retainer soldiers and in the mean time settle down across the galaxy and have families; some work at the Jedi Temple; some accept positions to teach at the Imperial academy; some go to college; They do a myriad of things! They all are allowed to have therapy! 

However, in my mind, the ones who did the most time serving on the front lines find just turning to a civilian life hard and unsatisfying. SO, when the Senate creates their version of a Galactic Red Cross thingy to help the worlds hit hardest by the war, it is the clones who make up the majority of the forces! They go back to places like Ryloth and Onderon and help the citizens rebuild. But, this time when they work for the Republic, it isn’t as a slave army but as a paid citizens with rights and shit. They have benefits and vacation time! There are also some Jedi assigned to this task force (I think was how Ahsoka came back the Order, she worked with Rex on this and then it allowed her time to heal and come back), but they aren’t automatic superiors to the clones, they work alongside them and are equals with them in a way they could never be before.

This is where I think some of our favorite Clones are- Rex, Cody, and most of their respective battalions. They are helping the rebuild the Galaxy they now get to live in as fully recognized citizens. They use the star destroyers and stuff to deliver relief aid. It’s a whole thing

This was a really long winded way to answer your question lol I have so much more in my head but tried to condense it down to something readable. I hope it makes sense lol. If you have questions about anything I haven’t mentioned here please ask, I love talking about the expanded worlds for my stories lol. 

One of the things I didn't mention above was that all the clones also get medals for their service and special traveling privileges and I think the Senate commissions a large memorial to be built on Coruscant as thank you for their service and to honor the fallen. The Jedi and their clone battalions stay in touch (Rex’s official residence is recorded as Padmé and Anakin’s apartment for the longest time because it took him forever to find an apartment he liked after the war. He was a big help with when they awoke screaming at 3 am lol). 

Also, I know there's that funny post that floats around about the clones getting last names and Anakin and Ahsoka fighting over who’s last name Rex gets, but I think the clones would choose a cohesive last name for all the brothers to stay united after they separate! Of course some change it, or discard it when they get married but I think they’d want something that was just for them. Don’t ask me what it is though, I haven’t figured that out lol 

Thanks for asking!! :))))