#i think about sith luke often though

[swinging-through-the-stars]

Sith Luke's thoughts are loud and chaotic, even if he holds a cold demeanor. Force users feel like they are stepping into a battlefield when they approach him, and his feelings are difficult to independently distinguish. Pain, hatred, fear -- they radiate off of him like invisible forks of electricity. Non-force users feel a tension around him they can't explain -- and they can see the storm through the portal of his eyes.

[weixuldo]

Allow me// ch 8

Vader x Reader

a/n: so sorry for the wait on this chapter- ive been on vacation this past week oops! But never the less, HERE IT IS!! hehe just a reminder, Vader has become more vulnerable with his emotions in his older age (just as he began to open up to luke in rotj) so if he seems too “kind” or “emotional”, that’s why. I hope that doesn’t ruin him for u :( but trust- he will have some iconic Vader moments later on in the series....

You get a strange visitor looking for some comfort. 

warnings: cursing, anxiety, self hatred/loathing, cannon disabled character, emotional vulnerability

_____________________

Your admission to Lord Vader came as a relief; he held out a small shred of hope that you would accept his offer, but he wasn't too sold on the fact that you would actually agree. So when you did, his heart fluttered.

In the weeks following the encounter, he became much more present in your daily life. 

Before the standard day started you would often wander into his quarters and feel out his location throughout the force (though you knew he was intentionally putting out  a special signal just for you).

After shifts were done you would have debriefing chats with him, which mainly consisted of random conversations and his adorably flustered comments about or to you. 

In your earlier days of working for the sith, you always assumed he was busy every minute of the day; he always seemed in a hurry when he strutted down the cold halls.

But as he dedicated more and more time to you, you found that it wasn’t the case. 

Yes, he did have a great many things to do, but he was quite proficient at his job; after all, he had been doing it for over a decade.

Anyways, who would dare attempt to question him about his whereabouts other than the emperor?

No one. 

He was one of the two most feared men in the galaxy- he would be just fine if someone noticed him spending more time with the mechanic than usual.

In the more recent days he had been inviting you to join him in his meditation chamber for some peaceful time away from curious workers.

You would enter the chamber as if you were going to work on his pod but you would actually just wait until he came in a while later. 

The pod was small and truly only built to accommodate his large frame, so when you were there he would take a seat then call for you to climb onto his lap.

Once you were settled he motioned for the chamber to close so the only thing to focus on were the two of you in the small capsule. 

Once you were in there it seemed much more spacious than the outside portrayed, his seat was soft and so were his thighs (apparently, they were one of the only parts of him that was left human).

You would sit in his lap and rest your head on his chest or straddle his lap to speak with him face to face (or…rather face to helmet).

Though you had basically proclaimed yourself to the Sith and spent a multitude of time with the man, you never were awarded the gift of seeing his uncovered face.

It wasn’t for your lack of trying, but most times he would respectfully decline or attempt to divert your attention. 

__________________

Today Vader had been pretty busy, so after your shift you just went back to your chambers and got ready for bed.

You drifted in and out of sleep for a few hours until you heard a knock at your door.

Who could that be? It was the middle of the night.

The tile was cool beneath your feet as you gathered a blanket around your shoulders and headed for the door. You clicked on a lamp that lit the room with a warm glow. 

You were barely to the door when it swooshed open to reveal a familiar figure; you tilted your head to the side with a confused look. 

“Vader?”

He looked down and asked “may I come in?”.

You nodded, allowing him to enter and closing your door, “Is something wrong?” you asked, thinking something needed fixing.

“No, no. Everything is alright. I just wanted to see you” he admitted, standing awkwardly in the middle of your room. 

Your shoulders relaxed when you realized it wasn’t an emergency and you smiled, “well here I am! it’s nice to see you, i missed you today ”. 

You walked to your bed and patted the space beside you; he sat next to you but continued to look forward. 

“Are you sure everything is alright?”.

He sighed, “It’s my master. He is asking me to have an audience with him tomorrow”.

Your brows furrowed, didn’t they meet often? Why was this perplexing him so much?

“What's so bad about that?” you asked innocently.

“He thinks I have made a mistake. I worked with an enemy- well, not really an enemy, just someone who isn’t on the empire’s side” he explained, resting his head in his hands. 

You rubbed his back and decided it best not to pry, “I’m sorry Vader, Is there anything I can do?”.

He was thankful you didn’t ask details- you comforted him so well.

If he were to explain why teaming up with Sabe was so problematic he would have to explain who Sabe was to Padme and why Padme was important.

The stress of facing his master tomorrow was far too taxing to also reveal his past to you; he couldn’t do that tonight. 

“No, but I appreciate the offer,” he said. 

Silently, you knelt on your bed and wrapped your arms around him, holding him close in your warm embrace. No words were exchanged, yet you could feel his exhausted relief from your touch. 

You opted to rest your head on his shoulder as you rubbed your thumb over his bicep. His heart cried as you held onto him- he hadn’t felt this safe in years; he didn’t want you to let go. He reached for your free hand and held it tight. 

“Thank you, y/n” he said as you sat back and he finally faced you. 

The blanket had fallen from your shoulders and your sage green nightgown was now visible; it wasn’t scandalous or anything crazy, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Your beauty was eminent and demanded his attention. 

“It’s alright, Vader. I just want you to be ok” you spoke.

His heart yearned for you and the love he knew you would give, but how could he have you when being with him would just put you in danger?

“I haven't felt that in so long…” he trailed off.

What hadn’t he felt? You became confused by his words. 

He turned to look into your eyes, “I haven’t felt cared for. Truly cared for”.

His voice wavered and you gave him a sad smile before resting a gentle hand on the side of his helmet. 

“I do care.. So, so much” 

His breathing filled the otherwise silent room as he placed a gloved hand over yours. 

“I know you do”

You looked over at your clock and it was in the early hours of the morning now, you were tired and he probably was too. 

“It’s late. Why don’t you stay for a while? We can lay down.” you offered, reclining on your bed. 

Any other night he would have politely declined, not wanting to get more attached than he already was, but tonight he needed someone. 

Without hesitation he agreed and took his place beside you in your large bed (another perk of being Darth Vader’s personal mechanic, you got an upgraded room).

He grunted as he laid down, his armor poking into his body irritably.

You gently tapped his shoulder and offered him a solution to make him more comfortable, “Why don’t we take some of your armor off? Wearing that can’t be pleasant”.

He agreed and allowed you to help him unlatch his stiff guarding. Once it was all off, he laid on his back and you scooted closer to him and laid your head on his chest above his chest box. 

“Vader- will I ever see your face?” you asked out of the blue after a few minutes of lying with the Sith. 

You felt him shift under you, “Why would you want to see that?” he sounded genuinely confused.

You gazed up at him, “because, I want to appreciate your beauty. ”

“There is nothing beautiful under this mask, I assure you. You are all the beauty we need here” he said, lying his head back down. 

“Plus you already see me.”

You frowned, of course you heard the stories of vader being more machine than man, but you didn’t care. 

“I see your suit- the same suit everyone else sees. I want to see you, I want to see the man who shares these tender moments with me” you cooed , running your hand along his side. 

“I am sure if you see my face, you will no longer wish to… be mine” 

A bittersweet feeling washed over you: it was such a rush to hear him refer to you as “his”, but at the same time it pained you that he was so ashamed of his physical appearance that he would shield himself from everyone…including you. 

“Alright, I won't keep pressuring you… I just want you to know, I would never leave you”.

At that, you could sense the smile that adorned his covered face. 

You and Vader stayed like that for a while, just discussing random things that came to mind until you got on the topic of first impressions. 

“As soon as I saw you I was intrigued. I could assess the physical beauty but once I found you in the hallway after your mother passed, I really saw you as another individual- not just another worker.” (Vader went on to apologize for his close minded opinions of average imperial officers). 

“Huh? When I first started seeing you around, I thought you were going to kill me” you said to him as you ran your hand along his chest. 

“What?” he asked, worriedly.

You sat up and tilted your head. 

“Back when I had that spat with the trooper outside of your meditation chamber all that time ago. You killed them later that night- I heard it.”

“I knew I sensed you,” he said to himself.

“Yea, I couldn’t sleep, then I saw that and headed back to my room. I was sure you were going to kill me because the rumors were associating me with you.”

He tilted his head and his tone became more serious. 

“I killed those troopers because they were harassing you and spreading false information, they did not deserve to be on my ship.”

“You probably could have just had them transferred. What made you angry enough to kill them though?”

“They disrespected me and they disrespected you. I could not have that. They were not even worthy of speaking your name.” he spoke with such a passion… you hadn’t seen him like this before. 

Vader seemed genuinely upset that they had been bothering you for so long. 

“It was alright, nothing I haven’t heard before” you offered

He turned his head towards you with an unreadable look, “as long as you are with me, acts such as those will not go unpunished”. 

He was serious. 

“Vader, it is alright, they’re just scummy people anyway-”

He gently took your hands into his and looked into your eyes, “That is not alright. Allow me to do these things for you. Allow me to protect you”.

Maker, he really did care about you. 

You offered a small smile, “I will allow it, only because it was you that asked”.

He seemed to relax at your blessing. 

“But I want you to know I don’t need protection, I’m a big girl, I can handle myself” you joked which garnered a smile from the man beside you under his helmet.

“Of course, my dear” he confirmed as he gently brushed his thumb over your cheek. 

Never in a million years would Vader have thought that he could be this intimate with someone again; only a few years ago he would have laughed in your face if you told him he would be able to feel this way again. 

His past haunted him in his early years of his time as a Sith, which made him cold and ruthless.

But as the years went by and he grew older he became a little less harsh (though he would never admit it).

Maybe he missed feeling wanted or appreciated or maybe it was because he genuinely wanted you- after all, he couldn’t imagine feeling this way for anyone else he had met as Vader. 

On the other side of things you never imagined that the feared Sith could be so gentle and kind.

He was still an intimidating figure, but you felt so safe with him- so cared for.

His emotions were so strong that you trusted he would do what he said he would. 

You wanted him to know that you were here out of genuine interest, not a scheme to access his power or to use him… you could imagine others in the past had attempted to cultivate meaningless relationships with the agenda of abusing his influence.

“V” you called, shortening his name. 

You turned your head to look his way but found him already gazing at your beautiful face. 

“V?” he asked.

A blush crept up your cheeks and you shyly smiled, “Yea, it's an endearment, is it alright?”.

“It is quite alright” he confirmed, which brought a smile to your face. 

“Alright” you smiled

“I just wanted to let you know…” you trailed off as you traced your fingers down his chest and around his chest box. 

“I am here because I care for you deeply- I have no other motives other than the own interests of my heart.”

You paused for a moment and he sat there bewildered at your bluntly honest statement.

“I want to see you, V” you said softly, looking into his lenses.

“I do not want to burden your beautiful eyes with my hideous face”.

Your heart fell, “You are not hideous, there is no possible way…” you said, hoping to reassure the man. 

“My dear, you have no idea what you would be seeing,” he said sadly. 

“But I do- I would be seeing the face of a man who has shown me nothing but kindness, the man who has looked out for me when no one else would, the man who sees himself in me”.

With a brush of your hand against his chest and your endearing words, something in the Sith caved. How could he keep denying you? 

Eventually you would see him, being his personal mechanic and all, so why not just rip the bandaid off now? 

He sighed and nodded his head, “Alright, but I cannot be without it for long- my lungs aren’t suited for it” he seemed almost embarrassed. 

“I know your meditation chamber is pressurized, would that allow you to keep it off a little longer?” you asked, standing from the bed. 

“Yes? But we cannot go there now, not like this” he motioned to your nightgown and his unarmored body. 

“I wasn't suggesting that'' you laughed as you dug through your tool bag on the floor. 

“What are you up to?” he inquired as you tinkered away at a switch near the door. Soon there was a noise that sounded like a vacuum seal.

A smile dawned your face as you looked up towards the vents and stood; you checked the screen near your bed and pointed towards it, “I was working on that”.

Vader looked at the stat’s screen and saw the air pressure level had increased.

“You did that just now?” he asked, amazed. 

“Yes” you smiled, taking your spot back on the bed with him. 

“I would go to extreme lengths to be able to bask in your presence” you said as dramatically as you could; a stupid grin plastered on your face as you awaited his response.

His head tilted to the side as he moved his hand to the side of your face, “I do not deserve your kindness, y/n.” he said sadly. 

Cool air brushed against your cheek as he began to remove his hand, but before he left entirely, you placed your own hand over his and returned him to your cheek.

“You deserve every ounce,” you responded.

He exhaled and drew your hand to his chest. 

“I will ask one final time, do you truly want to see me?” his voice wavered.

“Yes, I do”

“I understand if you wont want to hold this position anymore after this- But I just don’t want you to be afraid of me” he rambled. 

“V, I never want to leave your side, you won’t scare me…I promise” 

He relaxed at your words and nodded.

“Alright”.

***

a/n: lots of exposition… but he’s abt to take a huge step 😭 he’s whipped frrrr- also the bit abt sabe is a nod to what’s coming up soon (the thing about including the vader and palpating comic- cause the whole reason vader was punished was cause he helped Sabe) I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

taglist: @vadersassistant @sxoulohvn @khaleesihavilliard @kashasenpai @darling-murdock @beautifulbearpolice @salvatoresister1 @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @blueninjablade3 @jujuba096 @missmannequin @jellydodger @mirastark @wyvernthekriger @duckyhowls @monada43 @lauriidoesstuff @vienettacream @ray-rook @itswhatever06 @ilovenielperry

[chena-h]

As someone who remembers the flak the Star Wars prequels got and, in particular, the complaints from certain fans about how those movies ruined Darth Vader retroactively

I find the fandom's initial reaction to Dark!D@any (aka D@ny for folks who aren't swimming in that river called The Nile) to be kind of amusing. In part because I think Lucas wanted to do something similar with Anakin in the prequels - basically, examine how power can sometimes corrupt a young, vulnerable person, putting them on a path of self destruction, especially when that person has been brought up to believe they're destined for something greater.

I wonder, sometimes, if Lucas had decided to tell the story of Anakin instead of Luke and Leia first, would the fans have reacted the same way they did to the prequels. Or, would there be a large contingent of Star Wars fans who defend or sometimes outright deny Anakin's villainous choices, like all the way up to the moment he literally chooses to serve the Sith instead of the Jedi (and in some cases after)? Would people still argue that Vader's legacy as an iconic villain was hampered by the prequels if we'd gotten to know his full story first?

I think I have to remember that there's a difference between how Vader/Anakin's story is told vs how readers see D@ny's story in ASOIAF. for the most part, D@enerys is the POV from which her story is most often told. We're in her head for a lot of it, and if we're not, then we're in the pov of someone like Barristan, who's little more than a sycophant. And I think what I'm getting at is that there's an interest in presenting D@enerys' actions as justified, maybe even noble or heroic. For D@enerys, it's self-interest, of course. People, in general, want to believe they're often acting in the right, so they'll look for ways to rationalize things to make themselves look better, even if the facts say otherwise. For Barry, well, he's an old knight who remains heavily invested in the customs and beliefs that lie at the core of Westerosi society. To admit that he has and continues to serve a dynasty that was responsible for years of violent conquest (among other things) is probably too much cognitive dissonance than the old man can take, or so I would suspect.

With Anakin, though, his story is told from a third person omniscient perspective. So, not only do we know more about the world of Star Wars than Anakin might be privy to, we also know (thanks to the non chronological storytelling) how these events are going to play out, and more importantly, how he will be perceived by the narrative (if that makes sense). We know where he's going to wind up is what im saying. We're getting his story, but not solely from his perspective. Thus, we're less tempted to fall into the trap of taking everything at face value and thinking that his reading of events is 100% accurate.

So, now I'm wondering - if seeing Anakin when he was more vulnerable after knowing him as a villain was received poorly, how will it look if and when D@ny's questionable decisions all come to a head and she goes full tyrant, as in she does terrible things while dropping all pretense of believing or caring whether her actions are seen as morally just? How will her descent be received when her actions aren't being filtered exclusively through the perspectives of her and her staunchest supporters? I'd argue that she's pretty close if not already at that point in her story, but it's a matter of seeing how she moves now that she's gone full tilt.

I know Show!D@ny got a lot of negative criticism, but I think grrm could still make her fall just as interesting (and especially tragic) should twow and ados get published. (Also, I attribute the flaws w that arc more to D&D and their rapidly waning interest in the show.)

[lajulie24]

1, 17, 30 for the fic asks!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

This is a tough question, because I really do try to kind of mix things up in my fics these days, so there are a few examples that might work well as a starting point. But I think Cover Me is a good example of the early-relationship Han and Leia I try to write — a good team, friends before they become lovers, struggling a little with whether getting together is a good idea or not, but ultimately fitting together really well. And bonus Springsteen references, since, as we know, he is a popular Corellian singer and Han is a fan.

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even thought you might be the only person to appreciate it?

As far as an AU that basically takes Han and Leia and puts them into roles from another property, I’ve long wanted a Dirty Dancing AU. Maybe not the whole movie, maybe just the part where they finally admit their feelings for each other and then have a dance scene that turns into a love scene. Or maybe just Leia telling Han, “I’m doing all this to save your ass and what I’d really like to do is drop you on it!” Similarly I think a The Cutting Edge AU could be fun solely for Han and Leia being in “the ultimate love/skate relationship”. Also as I was thinking of this question I decided it would be really fun to put Han and Leia in an X-Files AU where they are two detectives in the GFFA solving X-Files mysteries (some of which are probably the work of a Sith Lord or random Force nonsense — I think Han might end up having to be the Scully sometimes in this scenario).

I’m not sure if I would categorize this as fully an AU so much as me just rejecting the post-ROTJ canon, but I have sort of daydreamed a post-ROTJ story where Leia decides fairly early on that being a politician and diplomat is great, but that she’s actually going to be more help to the ideals she and the Rebellion fought for if she takes a very different role. So she and Han (and maybe Luke, too, and Chewie when he’s not hanging out with his family) bum around the galaxy on the Falcon and she works on things like helping slavery liberation movements and supporting refugees and advocating alongside worlds who were especially devastated by the Empire to help them have a voice in the new government and get what they need. It kind of ends up being a Jedi thing except if the Jedi weren’t so chained to the Republic and had more leeway to help folks around the galaxy. They make use of Han’s contacts and skills and Leia studies to be a Jedi and every so often she hangs out with the Alderaanians to help them out too (although the Alderaanians also sort of make this their collective mission, too, once they are able to get a more stable foothold in the galaxy).

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

Several times! Even though I have written quite a bit of smut by now, it took me a long time before I tried it, and it’s always a little out of my comfort zone. As you know, I recently wrote smut that included some acts that…I hadn’t written about before and that made me go “OMG holy shit I cannot believe I actually wrote that” — in something in the way you move (makes me feel like I can’t live without you).

How did it affect my approach to writing thereafter? Well, I think each time I’ve tried something new, particularly in my out-of-my-comfort-zone smut writing, I’ve realized that the only way to do it is to just take yourself through it, step by step. I can’t think of it as “okay now I’m going to write Leia fucking Han” as a whole giant scene because that just makes me come to a complete stop. Depending on whose POV I’m writing, I’ve learned that the smut works better if I focus on what the POV character is noticing, what they’re feeling both physically and emotionally, and imagine each step they take in the scene (and skip over / gloss over steps that aren’t particularly relevant). Then it’s more real than movie-screen sex but not quite so real that we need to know every single detail like you would if you were doing this to someone in real life. And also, I found that when I wrote smut more often, I actually got better at it and liked writing it more.

Thank you kindly for the ask!

Fanfiction writer asks!

[multicolour-ink]

I- don't know why a Star Wars AU never occurred to me as a massive fan! I come to your inbox as a Resident SW Nerd™ to absolutely info dump about George's six films. For your AU, how it'd play out would really depend on what part of the timeline you're going for. If it's during the Original Trilogy (Episodes 4-6), the Jedi are all dead and gone save for Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, and Leia was sent to the Organas. Both were meant to stay hidden from their father, Anakin, who became Darth Vader. They were deemed the last hopes for the galaxy to be re-balanced and so had to grow up in hiding. Heck, Obi-Wan and Yoda both had to keep exceedingly low profile to avoid the Empire catching on. I'd argue Obi-Wan never would've taught Luke anything had he not gotten Leia's message from R2-D2, begging him for help. That message set fate into motion. I'm sure mentally, Obi-Wan was going 'Heavens, not again.' Poor guy couldn't escape Skywalker Antics til the day he died. Literally.

Now, if you set this idea in the Prequel Trilogy era (Episodes 1-3) or before it, then the gates are kinda wide open in terms of what you can do??? During the prequels, the biggest thing going on in the galaxy is the Clone War. It's a massive-scale thing, encompassing pretty much all of known space, and it was all put into motion by Darth Sidious/Chancellor Palpatine. He did it to create the Galactic Empire, to be Emperor and hold all the power for himself. By this point, the Jedi have been sucked into fighting in the Clone War when they're meant only to be peacekeepers. They lose their way. They become hypocritical and jaded as a whole. And from the moment Qui-Gon Jinn brings Anakin to them, they act like total jerks. He's too old to be trained, they say. He's too attached to his mother, they say. And then when he's the most powerful Jedi they have, they're threatened by him. And yet they don't allow him to form attachments and love in healthy ways, they don't counsel him when he needs it most in ways that could've helped him. They only tell him what he shouldn't and can't do, or how it's wrong to think/do X, Y, Z. They're harsh and inflexible. Had Qui-Gon lived, he probably would've turned out alright. But he didn't, and it fell to Obi-Wan to train him. Obi-Wan was a pretty by-the-books sort of fellow, and so didn't really know how to guide Anakin in ways he needed. If we roll back further still, the Jedi often tried to do something about people they felt were threats to themselves within their own organization. In Knights of the Old Republic, for example, you play as a character you come to learn was power nerfed AND memory-wiped because you were once a Jedi and became a Sith. It's been ages, so I forget if there's dialogue options to react positively and negatively to that fact. I think there was though. For sure you can choose to stay with the light or go right back to being evil. Anyways, I can't say it's out of the realm of possibility that the Jedi would cast infants into exile or otherwise try to stifle their power if they had an alarming potential of being threats in the future. The foremost way Jedi would determine such a thing in the first place would be if one of their own was especially good at precognition. Almost like a fortune-teller, or clairvoyant of sorts? Basically whoever can see into the future and be pretty much always on the money. Of course- the future is ever-shifting, hard to really see with certainty. Often, if and when the Jedi try to stop something from happening by any means necessary, it happens. The Order did everything to try and make sure Anakin didn't become Sith, but he did. Anakin tried way too hard to keep Padmé alive, she died because of him. Stuff like that.

ANYWAYS THAT'S SOME SEMI LIGHT READING AND KNOWLEDGE ON STAR WARS I'M GLAD I GOT TO SHARE ALL OF THAT WITH YOU.

Star Wars AU

Thank you for that info dump, @timid-plumber . It's always nice to have one with actual knowledge on Star Wars contribute to the AU, considering I only know the barebones of it 🤭

Note: TW for death during childbirth

For the AU, Pio and Mia's story takes place in the time set in the prequel trilogy, while the events with the bros happen during the original trilogy. Sure there are some roles that are different from the source material, but I argue that does make the AU its own thing somewhat.

For example: my idea of the AU was that (during Pio and Mia's story) the Koopas are ever more on the rise with the help of their powerful King, Bowser's father. During these early days, King Koopa Sr is training his very young son how to rule when he takes over, which of course means the Jedi want to stop them as soon as possible before this happens.

Long story short, it all fails. I don't have the necessary details figured out, but I imagine that at some point, Pio and King Koopa Sr battle it out, and Koopa Sr and Pio are killed in the struggle. Leaving Bowser an orphan and taken away by Kamek and the Toadies for his safety. Meanwhile, a heavily pregnant Mia hears of her husband's death, and attempts to flee the base they are on, before it's attacked by the koopa army. During the escape, Mia is gravely injured, then goes into labour not long after. She safely delivers two healthy baby boys, but succumbs to her injuries and dies, leaving her children orphans as well.

The Jedi at this point know that the koopas will be looking for these two, plus one of the Jedi wizards, Merlon (who let's just say is the Yoda and/or Obi Wan in this AU) can sense that there is great force power with these twins. Knowing the koopas don't know there's twins, the decision is made to split them up, in order to lower the chances of the koopas finding them.

[phoenixkaptain]

Okay no but you don’t understand, Luke and Lando have such a strangely affectionate relationship??? Luke trusts this man with his life, the same man who set a trap specifically for Luke so that Darth Vader could catch him.

Luke doesn’t even care though?? He’s like, “Lando hasn’t pointed a gun at my face yet, so I supposed we’re buddies :) “

But! You hardly ever see them on screen together! Despite the fact that they are apparently good friends?? They trust each other so much??? They have the most strangely adorable relationship, I don’t know how to put it into words.

Look, I just feel like Lando has spent the entirety of the five years before Heir to the Empire trying to win Luke over. Lando teaches him how to make hot chocolate. Lando invites him over to his mining operation on a “superhot” planet. Lando know that Han is there, then he sees an X-wing and is immediately like “Luke? Luke, is that you? The X-wing is Luke?” Like, why wouldn’t he assume that Luke is on the ship with Han?

I just think Lando has been suffering for five years because this novel really implies that they talk often. Often enough that when Luke finds a weird object in the evil sith cave and Artoo says he saw Lando with it, Luke is immediately like “Lando has been inviting me to visit his mining operation for a while…”

Anyway, here’s me scraping the crumbs of this ship off of the floor, begging for more because can you imAGINE???

Lando almost definitely makes fun of Han for marrying a princess, but then Lando falls for a farmboy turned pilot turned Jedi. One who sees an obvious trap and goes “ ¯\ _(ツ)_/¯ Guess I’ll spring it.” And Lando caught Luke under Bespin, and I will be forever bitter that we didn’t get to see Lando catch Luke under Bespin because I honestly can’t picture the scene looking any way but gay and I wish we had it-

Lando is a canonically a criminal turned relatively okay dude. He is conniving and he is backstabbing and he has contingencies for his contingencies, and the image of him falling for Luke “What’s a Plan?” Skywalker is so funny to me. Luke’s plan on Tatooine was basically vague guidelines and winging it. Luke comes up with the dumbest plans and they somehow work, everytime??? (He got that from Anakin-)

And Luke is still such a strangely naive character? Because there’s a lot people don’t think to explain to you when you’re fighting in a war for sixish years. Luke is definitely the type of person to be like “Lando, do you remember when you said I could ask you anything?” And Lando is internally like “finally, Luke has noticed my flirting” and externally like, “Of course, do you have a question?” Only for Luke to ask something like: “Do you know what a duck is?”

Lando has definitely invited Luke places and winked at him and been as flirtatious as possible only for Luke to be like “You don’t have to treat me so politely, Lando. We’re friends. I want you to feel comfortable around me.”

Lando, internally: “I would be more comfortable if we were naked.”

Lando, externally: “Don’t worry about me, Luke, just been thinking about something.”

Luke: “If you need to talk, you can talk to me, Lando. I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

Lando, internally crying: “yeah luke okay-“

Lando has gone beyond wanting to get into Luke’s pants, he now wants to take Luke on sappy, cliche dates and do sappy, cliche couple things and he would even consider wearing white for the wedding and Luke is over there in the corner, being like: “Lando’s a nice guy :) “ while Han is like: “He sold me to Boba Fett!!!”

Luke: “The past is in the past, Han.”

I just want some skyrissian okay is that too much to ask for I just want Lando being ubearably fond of this dumbass who randomly decides to ghost everyone he knows for weeks or months at a time, only to come back and act like nothing happened. I want Lando to be smitten and I would like Luke to be equally smitten and just have no clue that he is. I want one of the smartest characters to fall for a Skywalker, it’s what they both deserve-

[antianakin]

I'm having feelings thinking about Obi-Wan post-ROTS in an Ahsoka goes Dark during the Wrong Jedi arc AU.

Because as difficult as it obviously is for Obi-Wan to move past his one and only apprentice going Dark, becoming a Sith, and turning on the Jedi the way he does, it's still just... the one apprentice. Ahsoka, for all that her relationship with the Jedi became strained and is more than likely dead by now, was still a good compassionate person by the end as far as he's aware. But if Ahsoka had gone dark FIRST, if BOTH of his apprentices turned on the Jedi, I feel like it would make his willingness to look after and ultimately train Luke a LOT harder for Obi-Wan.

It might even be difficult enough that he just straight-up refuses to do it, insists that Yoda take it on because he CAN'T, if they don't want Luke to go Dark himself, to become the third in an unfortunate pattern for Obi-Wan, then Obi-Wan shouldn't be the sole teacher he has any access to.

Which is how Yoda gets dropped off as a package deal with Luke at the Lars homestead while Obi-Wan runs off and spends his time bouncing back and forth between helping out some of Bail's rebel efforts, and checking in on both Leia and Luke when he has the time (and perhaps giving Leia a little bit of training this time, even if it's something as simple as meditation).

Obi-Wan would have met up with Barriss and Luminara through Bail, and he's reunited with Rex as well, but he tends to run missions on his own mostly rather than with a crew, so he doesn't see them all that often and doesn't keep in any kind of regular contact. They sometimes go years without seeing him again.

Barriss and Luminara do let Bail know about Darksider Ahsoka seemingly coming out of whatever hiding she might have been in before and her apparent tendency to bump into rebel agents and work with them or ask them for help recently, and they all agree that whoever Obi-Wan comes into contact with next should probably let him know about it just in case he happens to bump into her himself.

So when Obi-Wan finally makes contact with them again, it's not until after Ahsoka's arrival on Echo Base post Malachor (something he'd only heard about after the fact) and he's aware that Ahsoka's been around more often and recently become a probationary permanent member of the Rebellion. But nobody told Ahsoka about Obi-Wan, whether he survived or not or what he's been doing, and Ahsoka hasn't had the heart to ask.

Obi-Wan's had a lot of time to think over what happened with Anakin and Ahsoka, he may have even had a run-in with Anakin where he was able to come to terms with Anakin's choices and his gulit over them which would've probably helped him come to terms with Ahsoka's choices and his guilt over that, too. He's forgiven her a long time ago and isn't all that shocked that she's joined the Rebellion.

Ahsoka doesn't know any of that, though, and isn't entirely certain how Obi-Wan will react to her presence until he's standing right in front of her, embracing her tightly, and saying that he's so proud of her and that her being here is a blessing from the Force itself.

[themelodicenigma]

I think we've talked about this before but you know how lots of fans are frustrated with the way Kingdom Hearts portrays light vs dark? The complaint's usually something along the lines of, light & dark should both be portrayed as neutral and there should be a perfect balance between them, but KH portrays light as generally good and darkness as generally bad with some exceptions. I'm generally fine with that? I understand the frustrations with the inconsistencies and mixed messages, though.

I think KH works best when it talks about light shining brightest in the darkness, 'cause that's something that can work whether you're talking about light and dark in the most literal, neutral sense, or whether you're talking about light as a metaphor for good shining brightest and being most appreciated in the midst of bad things. Know what I'm saying?

Absolutely, and I agree for the most part, but I can see what they're saying too. Mostly in the sense that, we could use a bit more of the side of showing how the nature of light and how people utilize it can also come across as corrupted. But, not too much.

Some people just got to remember what path KH chooses for Light and Darkness. It's kind of traditional.

Traditional, I would say, is split into where Light = good and Darkness = bad is either absolute, OR, is a more "mostly, but not always", scenario. I think media does a fair share of that in this day and age to say it's both pretty common.

I think being fine with the imbalanced concept of Light and Darkness—this being the idea of Light naturally leaning towards good, while Darkness leans towards bad, but neither are absolute incapable of either good/bad in a black and white way (pun intended)—is okay, and it does make sense if you want to get into a conversation about the nature of these two things for certain media. But, as long as the "Light is mostly positively but can be corrupted, while Darkness is mostly corrupted, but can be used positively" is consistent in emphasizing this to be the case, then it's fine.

I'm definitely not saying it has to be limited to this, as I also think it's fine to portray Light and Darkness as complete neutral forces/elements that don't have any "morality properties" on the nature of living beings (e.g. just like other elements like Ice, Fire, Wind, Earth, etc)—but you could still argue that even in these cases, Light and Darkness still do have elemental properties that can be perceived as good or bad—for example, Light Magic is often used for healing, while Dark Magic is often depicted as destructive. It standing as "good or bad" is indirect, but still kind of there, especially if you throw in how characters are represented in using Light or Dark Magic.

With that being said, KH has it's world, and it's way of how elements, forces, and themes are handled. There IS Light and Dark abilities that seem like they could be neutral (Fire vs Dark Fire), but in KH, it does go beyond that as a concept. The way KH handles this is fine for the most part, mostly because at the end of the day, we have Riku and BBS. lol

We get the symbolic nature of Darkness as an element and force that can be used for good through basically any game featuring Riku, but I think where Nomura introduces the "Light can be corrupted" is in BBS, where it "coincidentally" is reminiscent of Star Wars—story and character parallels, heck even because Eraqus and Xehanort as characters are like the Jedi and Sith. Eraqus was Mark Hamill [Luke Skywalker] for crying out loud XD. And while Xehanort turned out to be more complex, he was straight up acting like Palpatine in BBS.

In Star Wars, it's a very common fan understanding of how it's written where the Jedi's way of thinking is, well, not that great in how it doesn't account for complexities of situations or human nature. Even if it is the light side, the doctrines of the Jedi often come across as "blind" to other important things in life, for sacrifices of what they think is needed to preserve the good.

Eraqus was a lot like the Jedi-counsel (again, I think Nomura did this on purpose, maybe there's even an interview about it), to the point to where he even tries to kill Ven, for the "light" and the "good". And we even have Aqua having some doubts about Eraqus' teaching on her journey, though there could've been more of that too.

I think people just wanted more of what BBS introduced, for that look at the people using Light as a corrupted thing. I mean, Xehanort talks about the "false light" to MoM, I believe too. But at the end of the day, if it's not really a rule in the KH world that Light and Darkness have no inherent properties of how it affects people, it's impact on the world, and are just completely neutral, then of course we won't get Light being "bad" as much as Darkness. KH sets different ideals for it's world in how Light and Dark inherently work.

Nothing wrong with that.

[kaleidoscope1967eyes]

I posted 1,813 times in 2022

138 posts created (8%)

1,675 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

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@stonegoldsxcrxt

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I tagged 802 of my posts in 2022

#good art! - 142 posts

#luke skywalker x reader - 41 posts

#other people's fic - 27 posts

#my husband. my beloved. the love of my life. - 14 posts

#my inbox is open - 10 posts

#kyoot! - 8 posts

#luke skywalker headcanon - 8 posts

#grün grün grün - 7 posts

#king mark!!!! - 6 posts

#evil boyfriend - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#i refuse to download tiktok because i am appalled by the amount of neurotypical people pretending to be neurodivergent for attention

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I just saw a video of Mark Hamill speaking a little bit of Japanese and I feel so proud

24 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

#4

Lucy's Masterlist!!!

All of my fics are written for gender-neutral readers unless specified. I am ALWAYS open for requests of any kind (though I am currently limiting them to mild spiciness*), so feel free to send in any!

Fic Series:

Children of the Dunes - Chapter 1 (Luke Skywalker x Fem!Reader)

Dark Prince Luke Thoughts™:

Introduction

Daily Luke Thoughts™:

Artist!Luke

Knitter!Luke

Horse Girl!Luke

Oneshots

Sketchbook

Headcanons/Asks/Thoughts:

Watching the Twin Sunset

Star Wars/Yellow Submarine Crossover

Bookish!Reader

Gentle Luke

Softie Luke

Luke and Snuggles

Luke's Sweet Tooth

Luke and Model Ships

Luke and Insecurity

Handyman!Luke

Skywalker Night Live 1, Skywalker Night Live 2, Skywalker Night Live 3

Chef!Luke

Musician!Luke 1, Musician!Luke 2, Musician!Luke 3, Musician!Luke 4

Luke and Movies

Boyfriend Luke*

28 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

#3

Dark Prince Luke Thoughts™:

(Image Source)

Tagging: @stonegoldsxcrxt, @myevilmouse, @dexthtoyounglings, @laserbrains, @ancient-stardust, @hansonveggieclub

In my version of the popular AU, Luke is the Crown Prince of the Galactic Empire. The galaxy knows him as the son of Sheev Palpatine and Padmé Amidala (yuck!); this narrative was perpetuated by COMPNOR to garner wider support from those who idolized the late senator. The story goes that Padmé was murdered by the jedi because they were against her secret affair with the chancellor, but Darth Vader was able to save their child at the last minute.

Luke was raised at Varykino by the Naberrie family in accordance with Naboo tradition. They were his only true source of love during his childhood, and they helped him to be in touch with his culture. He grew up under the watchful eyes of his two Noghri bodyguards, Ahkelar and Arakhmil; despite their gruff exteriors, they are very caring. When he isn't on Naboo, he is often at the side of Darth Vader, his mentor and protector. Vader is stern and cold by nature, but he refrains from actually harming Luke. Luke both respects and fears Vader, viewing him as more of a father figure than Palpatine could ever be.

Palpatine's reasoning behind Luke being the Crown Prince is so he can be the poster boy for the Empire, as well as to torture Vader with his presence. Vader's son--the son he thought he lost--is alive, and Palpatine stole him. However, he is secretly training Luke to eventually overthrow the Emperor; as much as Luke hates the man he thinks is his father, he isn't elated about eventually taking his place. Palpatine's ultimate goal is to have Luke 'succeed' him while he would still be pulling the strings behind the scenes, but Vader wants him dead.

Vader was entrusted to train Luke in the ways of dark side, but not in the ways of the Sith so he wouldn't be a threat to Palpatine. This was followed to a certain point; while Vader didn't train Luke in the ways of the Sith, he also didn't exclusively train Luke in the ways of the dark side. Vader doesn't want Luke to be truly evil because he knows it would break Padmé's heart--he did it once, and he never wants to do it again. Ultimately, Luke doesn't see the force as being separated into the dark and the light, he just sees it as the force because that is what he was taught. Luke has multiple lightsabers that he made and collected--yellow, orange, pink, purple--but no red lightsabers, as he uses the dark side but isn't truly a darksider.

30 notes - Posted December 6, 2022

#2

For the Luke Skywalker headcanons--um...he loves to ride speeder bikes like a lunatic...you would hang on behind him for dear life. He loves to cook but he's not very good at it... Except maybe one recipe he totally rocks. And he is open to any and all wacky sexual fantasies so bring 'em on, you'll never know unless you try... 😈

As a teenager back on Tatooine, he used to practice on Uncle Owen's old speeder bike in his spare time, which ultimately gave him a few injuries and Corellian-level maneuverability. Luke can also pull off some insane tricks with those force-heightened reflexes of his. He likes to take you on joyrides across whatever planet you're currently on, which occasionally involves riding off the edge of cliffs. It honestly scares the shit out of you, but you can never get mad at him because he always has total control and nothing bad ever ends up happening (even though it doesn't always feel that way).

Luke is a surprisingly domestic guy and is 10/10 husband material. Having grown up on a farm where every life skill is a requirement for survival, he knows how to cook, clean, sew and knit, repair things, etc. He may not always be the best at everything, but he never complains about doing chores and you can always count on him to get them done. Over the years, he's discovered that having a peaceful settled life is a luxury in this galaxy, so he never takes the home you've built together for granted. When it comes to cooking, he's very enthusiastic about experimenting with new recipes from all over the galaxy. Sometimes he gets a little too enthusiastic and accidentally sets the kitchen on fire. However, he does makes an effort to figure out what your favorite dishes are and get really, really good at making them.

For the last part... we already know he's a very curious and creative person--and he's a total simp--so he's willing to do literally anything to make you happy. I like to think the force would be involved somehow. And maybe his x-wing. Don't ask.

Tagging:

@stonegoldsxcrxtt

@laserbrains

@fandom-gal44

@myevilmouse

@hansonveggieclub

@lex-the-flex

@ancient-stardust

@dailydragon08

49 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

to expand on the artistic tendencies you detailed a while back: something in which Reader discovers Luke's sketchbook tucked in amongst his gear or something and he feels some way about it. ♥️

You and Luke have a lot of trust in your relationship. However, he's still inclined to keep some things to himself, and you respect his privacy.

But you never expected him to be an artist.

For context, you didn't go snooping in his stuff--going through someone's sketchbook without their permission is a serious crime--you found his sketchbook purely by accident. Luke had left the mess hall in a hurry to make it to a rebel briefing, leaving a small, jerba leather-bound book on the bench next to you. Assuming it was some kind of journal where he kept tabs on important information regarding all things jedi, you slipped it in among your gear for safekeeping until his meeting wrapped up.

The sea of orange flightsuit-clad pilots signaled to you the meeting ended, so you rushed into the crowd to find Luke. It didn't take you long to spot the golden blonde hair of your lover as he made his way toward you.

"I'm glad I caught you, Y/N!" Luke cheered, drawing you in for one of his signature bear hugs.

"I'm glad, too! I have something for you." You reached into your jacket and a look of relief crossed his face as you pulled out the little book. The leather binding the book was worn and slightly faded and some of the pages had prominent wrinkles, but you could tell he treated it with great care.

"My sketchbook! I can't believe I left that behind, thank you for finding it!"

"Sketchbook?"

"Aunt Beru got it for me after Uncle Owen scolded me for doodling on the dining room table. It's one of the few things I've kept from Tatooine since I left." He laughed softly, looking at the sketchbook with fondness that made your heart ache.

"I didn't realize you were an artist... I don't mean that as an insult! I just didn't look inside."

"Would you like to?" You nodded, and he flipped open the sketchbook.

Your jaw dropped--he was incredible! Even at a young age, he demonstrated great talent by capturing the minute details of his T-16 starfighter. Portraits of who you assumed to be his family and friends from Tatooine filled the early pages of the sketchbook, as well as rough sketches of the planet's barren landscape. The further you got in the sketchbook, the more drawings you saw of familiar faces like Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids. It was fascinating watching his art style morph over time as his skills increased, but what remained constant throughout was the love he poured into everything. Soon enough, you reached a part of the book where your likeness adorned almost all the pages. Phrases like "my love" and "the light of my galaxy" accompanied the sketches of your face.

You looked towards Luke, who scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Luke... this is amazing! You're really talented!"

"You really think so?"

Right as you were about to reply, you were cut off by Wedge Antilles informing Luke that Rogue Squadron was about to take off.

"I guess it's time for me to go, Y/N," he said, placing the sketchbook back into your hands. "Can you hold on to this for me?"

You nodded and kissed him one last time before he made his way toward his x-wing. Even after watching him fly away to fight in some valiant battle in the far reaches of space, you still couldn't fathom what you did to deserve Luke Skywalker trusting you with such an intimate piece of him. You held the sketchbook to your chest and smiled, knowing that you were connected to him even if you were galaxies apart.

Tagging:

@stonegoldsxcrxt

@laserbrains

@fandom-gal44

@hansonveggieclub

@myevilmouse

58 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[fanniepentarra]

Hi Fannie!! I was wondering, what do you think of master Luke? Is he a good teacher?

Oh goodness, I have just answered a question about Master Luke, so I hope this isn’t too redundant! I shall try to speak on some other aspects of Luke’s character that I haven’t previously mentioned…

Yes, I do think Luke is a very good teacher. :) He is patient and kind and really puts you at ease. One aspect of his teaching style that I truly admire is the way he is open about his own flaws. Yes, he, too, is flawed, being mortal!

I think it was difficult for him, sometimes, looking after twelve Force-sensitive children at once, as we were his first generation of students and he was the only teacher, then. Despite being incredibly patient, there were times when he did lose his patience with us—though I am honestly surprised it didn’t happen more often, especially when I recall certain particularly challenging classmates of mine.

Master Luke would always apologize to us whenever he felt he had done something wrong. At home, I was often forced to give apologies, but no one ever apologized to me—especially not anyone who was older, or held any sort of authority over me. I am so thankful for Luke’s example of humility, and how it has taught me to be humble as well. Admitting one’s mistakes need not threaten one’s pride.

Actually—allow me to rethink that.

…Yes, now that I think about it, admitting one’s mistakes really should threaten one’s pride, as pride is the worship of one’s self above all else. What it ought not to do is threaten one’s perception of innate self-worth, as we are all irreversibly valuable, no matter how many mistakes any of us may make. Yes—that is what I mean to say!

But I think the greatest example of all that Luke has been for me, is in his relationship with his father. Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker, was the Jedi Knight who fell to the dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Darth Sidious—or Emperor Palpatine, as he was more widely known—wished for Luke to succumb to the darkness as well, and to strike down his father in revenge.

Yet Luke chose to see the good in his father, despite there being no proof of it to see. Luke nearly sacrificed his own life, refusing to take that of his father’s. And in Anakin Skywalker’s final moments, he returned to the light, saved his son, and defeated the Emperor…

…I do not know if my own father will ever have such a miraculous repentance. It seems impossible. My father is so evil—perhaps not in a way that impacts the galaxy at large, but evil nonetheless. But, then again…who would have ever believed that Darth Vader would turn…?

Even if my father remains in his wicked ways until his final breath…I must choose to love him. That does not mean I support his actions. That does not mean I turn a blind eye. My duty is also to goodness, and to the light, and I do not spare him my opinion whenever I believe he is doing something wrong. I do not show him affection, but I do show him respect. He does not deserve it—no, he does not deserve it in the least—but he is a sentient being, like me, and the Force flows through him too, as it does through all living things.

[thistechnologicalterror]

For the roleplayer, what got you into Star Wars?

[ The Author: Me? ]

[ Uhh, hmm ]

[ I don't know what exactly got me into it, probably KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic) or Dark Forces: Jedi Knights. See, thing is, when I get into something I generally need something or someone or some concept to attach too--and it was one of the franchises, for the longest time, where I simply didn't. ]

[ I liked watching it tho, on occasion, but actually it used to annoy the hell outta me. Cos like i said, I had nothing that attached me to it, nothing that got me invested beyond the surface ( Well fuck I'm more like Anakin than I thought-- shit XD ) ]

[ So how bout I go into a long spiel, and vomit a word wall? I don't talk often without playing Vader, so might as well have at least a small break. ]

[ So let's get personal, hm? ]

[ Whenever I think of Star Wars merits, I think of the song "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal. It probably has something to do with Tim Burton's Batman being around before the Prequels, and the line "you became the light on the darkside of me" ]

[ And I remember the first time I saw Star Wars. ]

[ I mean, bits of it. I was real little, back in the ancient days of Cable Television, and Dad was flipping through channels--and the Sci-Fi channel was playing "New Hope" (Probably in preparation for the Prequels--I was baby at the time ), and it was the one before it became a New Hope--so we're talking unedited OG title drop "Star Wars". ]

[ And it was the Garbage Disposal scene. I remember seeing three people, two dudes in armor and a lady, surrounded by garbage and water, and seeing the *thing* pop out and pull one (Later to be known as "Luke") down into the water. ]

[ And I thought he was dead. I was uh, exposed as a baby to old films where, if you see someone pulled into the water by a monster--you knew they were dead. But no, he popped up fine afterwards. Then the walls started caving in ]

[ And as a child, when the walls start coming in, you knew they were dead. But no, the walls stopped in the nick of time and they cheered. ]

[ And then dad changed the channel not long after. ]

[ The only other times I got exposed to Star Wars after that, was watching Dad play Star Wars video games, like KOTOR or Dark Forces or that one old video game where you get to fly an X-Wing ]

[ I think it wouldn't be until just before the prequels really started coming in, that I was allowed to watch the full original Trilogy. And I mean, the unedited ones, with Han Solo firing first and Boba Fett as played by Jeremy Bulloch with his Clint Eastwood attitude. ]

[ I remember the Prequels too. I remember how off they were--as a kid, the style of the prequels contrasted with the OG Trilogy, they didn't seem to fit even though everyone insisted they fit. Hell, they still don't fit--two different styles with two different eras of writing and lore ]

[ And I remember how Bored I was. Like, they were Boring. Like, if I wanted bad CGI Action with good thrills, I'd go to "Men in Black". If I wanted Star Wars, I'd go to the OG trilogy. If I wanted prepetual whining and complaining quirky characters, I'd turn to Nickelodeon ]

[ Frankly, after a recent rewatching... I'm still fucking bored of em. ]

[ Even with the Clones, they were... Well, Redshirts. Nothing in the films really made you care about them. Nothing in the films really made you care about much else either, so eeeeh ]

[ But Thousands of Years Ago, in the year of 2005 or 6, I watched Revenge of the Sith, and I saw Order 66. And I cognizant enough of events in movie enough to wonder "Now hold on. The clones and Jedi were friends for years, how would a single order cause this? It has to be Dark Side Mindcontrol"... and before TCWs was even a twinkle in my eye, or even a twinkle in the network's eye, it was one of the only things that really got me thinking in the Prequels. Cos, you don't just randomly turn on your friends based on something vague and stupid, not with all of Star Wars' buildup a the time ]

[ Then, in... hmmm, I was in highschool at the time I think... I saw a commercial trailer on Cartoon Network, for The Clone Wars show. And I wasn't interested in Star Wars like that, like I said it annoyed me. Especially this trailer. ]

[ Cos it was weird worm things that went up your nose. ]

[ And to a teenage me, that was just Dumb. ]

[ Now, cut to billions of years in the future, in the far off distant planet of 2020, and I working a dull stressful job (that eventually drained my sanity dangerously in that following summer), and I was thinking about that trailer for one reason or another ]

[ And I decided, I was gonna look up the Clone Wars show. There was something I wanted from it, I don't quite remember what it was right now, I might later. ( It might've had something to do with Homestuck) ]

[ and, I fell in love with it. ]

[ The animations style reminded me of an old CGI favorite, ReBoot (and probably Code Lyoko), the personality of the Clones immediately caught my attention, then there was the short thoughtful stories and arcs of adventure. It expanded so much, made mere boring concepts in the prequels into full blown elements that you could touch and feel ]

[ and hell, it got me through some dark times. ]

[ So I found my first real attachments to Star Wars-- the Clones. Not the Live Action Clones, not the Prequels--the show's Clones, in their CGI voice acted glory. ]

[ And that's where I ran into the concept of the Chip, and that, was brilliant, it reconciled a long time question I had for the Prequels. ]

[ And wouldn't you know, that same spring came Season 7 of TCWs. Cos to remind, the original TCWs started prior to the Star Wars sequels, in the year of 2009, and was canceled in the first year of the Sequels, 2014. So TCWs was apart of pre-Disney Star Wars. ]

[ So Season 7 was a full on 6 years after Season 6 ]

[ And... that's where I found my second set of attachments. And its extremely rare for me, to love a full group of characters all at once. Usually its niche ones here and there that gets me attached to a full series. ]

[ And like most of us doing these blogs--that group was "The Bad Batch", long before their series. Gods I could go on about them, but we're not here for an analysis ]

[ And then came the Order 66 episodes, and I was in utter hurt for the longest time. Cos well, I had attachments, (which is a no no in Jedi code) to the Clones, and Order 66 became the worst thing imaginable. It was... so unbelievably unfair, knowing that those I loved were in the worst place imaginable, and were not only not saved, but were unsaveable. ]

[ Worst kind of broken heart ]

[ Then, billions of years later, the universe ended, the big bang happened, galaxies were formed and I started playing Darth Vader. Cos, I remember the OG, I remember from my childhood what I thought and felt about Darth Vader. He was a helluva of a presence, and I remember that I fucking hated how Disney played him. ]

[ He wasn't an overly fantastic presence, some symbol of power or representation, he was a grounded armored combatant with issues and years behind him. He wasn't some whiny jedi farm boy, he was a soldier who's both gone through some shit and done a lot of bad shit. ]

[ He isn't going to walk in a room and tear a ship apart from around him to throw at you, no, he was gonna walk up and fucking stab you, because someone who's on a constant march across a galaxy isn't gonna waste energy on petty magic warriors with laser sticks. If you backtalk him, he silents you. If you're proud beyond your merits, he snarks at you. ]

[ And if he's redeemed, inspite of all he's done, he's going to have some unique perspectives, and a whole of self reconciliation to do ]

[ He's a great way to have humor, history, a way to explore star wars from start to finish, and to bring to light and life what one little child watching a garbage disposal scene saw, when they first entered the Star Wars. ]

[imaginedisish]

Two Weeks (Din Djarin x Reader)

Chapter 1 (Chapter 2 coming soon)

A/N: Hi everyone! Here is my first chaptered Din Djarin x Reader fic. I’ve got big plans and I hope y'all like it. Requests are still open. Bruce Wayne x Reader coming next!!! Thanks y'all!!! Enjoy :) (also this is gonna be based on Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear but each chapter will have it’s own name after this)

Summary: After running away from Luke’s training, Din is tasked with bringing you back to him. What neither of you anticipated was the connection that would come with being stuck together for two weeks.

Warnings: Eventual smut!!! So imma put an 18+ warning just to be safe. I don’t think this is going to be too slow of a slow burn (like I’m talking smut by the next chapter or chapter 3 so...), canon violence, implication that Din got another Razor Crest bc im lazy, creepy/sexual harassment-y Twi’leck, and my favorite: the one bed trope muahaha.

Word Count: 3,605

The holobooks glow a cerulean blue, illuminating the dimly lit shelves that stretched on for what seemed like miles. The library was unsettlingly quiet, too quiet. The silence gave you more than enough time to drown yourself in your own thoughts. 

You can’t help but go over that last conversation you and Luke had shared just two months ago. It plays over and over again in your head, tempting your brain to split open with guilt. 

“I’m not picking a side,” You shouted, storming towards the X-Wing you intended to take from Luke.

“But by leaving you are,” He insisted. “You’re giving into your fear, your hatred, your emotions.” His voice was stern, yet calm. It annoyed you. How could he possibly be so collected at a time like this?

“No!” Your shout was now a scream. “Leaving isn’t the same thing as picking a side.” You could feel your throat closing, growing hoarser with each syllable. “I’m done being an apprentice. I’m done serving someone else!”

And with that, you left.

You knew you had made the right decision, but you still felt undeniably guilty. You didn’t want to hurt Luke, but you needed to save yourself. You wanted to go down your own path, to make your own choices. 

After all, you had spent the first fifteen years of your life with the Empire. You’ve never known the full story, but you were apparently kidnapped by the Empire before you could crawl. They knew you were force sensitive, and so you always assumed you had come from some powerful Jedi Knight. Once kidnapped, you trained under Vader as an apprentice. While it was in small doses, you had brought out the light in him. Then, the Rebels found you during the Battle of Yavin, and took you in.

So, when Luke began training you, he was shocked to see that you already knew an abundance of Jedi skills. He realized that whatever was leftover of Anakin Skywalker had trained you. However, your Sith training was still certainly prevalent. But because of this, you felt as though you could use both sides of the force comfortably. You tried to explain to Luke that you found balance in using both the light and the dark, but he refused to understand.

Luke often treated you like you were something that needed to be cleansed, like something that wasn’t enough. He immediately forced himself into the traditions of the Jedi. You, on the other hand, knew that would be a mistake. 

You decided to steal the X-Wing and fly to Nevarro. You sold the ship and found a job as an archivist at a brand new library on the planet. Things had been going well, but today you simply couldn’t stop thinking about your past, about Luke. You could feel something coming, something that was connected to-

Suddenly a shiny figure covered in Beskar approached your desk. You swallow harshly, immediately sensing that he isn’t just here for the books. 

He’s here for you. 

“C-Can I help you?” You stutter. Your eyes flash under the desk, checking quickly to ensure your sabers are still there. Although, they aren’t quite yours. One was your father’s — whoever that was — and the other was Vader’s. Luke had given you your father’s, while you found Vader’s in the destruction of the Second Death Star. You never told Luke about it. 

“I’m looking for a Jedi,” The Mandalorian’s modulated voice snaps you back to reality. You know he means you, even though you don’t consider yourself a Jedi. You reach your hands out and attempt to discreetly force pull the sabers to you. 

You fail completely, as one knocks over a paper weight and a canteen of water before flying into your hands. 

“Guess that’s you,” He states matter-of-factly. 

You leap over the desk and sprint into the stacks, igniting your sabers in the process. The blue and red beams reflect against the gray marble floors, your boots pounding with each step you take. 

You look behind you, noticing that the Mandalorian is gaining on you. His armor clatters as he closes the space between the two of you. 

You concentrate your energy, bending down into the floor, and leaping up, bouncing from shelf to shelf until you reach the top of a bookcase. You look behind you again, and the Mandalorian is now climbing the shelves. You pause for a moment, knowing that he isn’t going to make it up as quickly as you did. 

“Who sent you?” You question as he continues up the case. 

His gloved hands finally reach the top. “A mutual friend,” He says, his voice a bit strained through his helmet as he pushes himself up. 

You point the red saber towards him as he stands just a few feet away from you. “Are you with the Empire?” You ask, swallowing the fear in the back of your throat. “Because if so, you can fuck off. I’ll kill you before you can take me back to wherever you’re stationed now. I’m not going back,” You can feel tears stinging in the corners of your eyes. “I-I’m not going back,” You say again, stuttering. 

The Mandalorian takes a single step towards you, slipping his blaster back into its holster. He puts his hands in the air, “Maker, no, I’m not with the Empire,” He takes another step towards you, and you slowly lower your saber. “It’s okay,” He breathes. Despite the helmet, you know he’s looking into your eyes. He can feel your pain. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”

You close both sabers, still clasping the hilts tightly in your hands. “So, then who sent you?” You press, apprehensively closing the space between you and the Mandalorian. You feel as though you can trust him. You can tell he isn’t here to hurt you. If he was going to, he certainly would have already.

“Luke Skywalker,” He finally admits. “He asked me to bring you to him.” 

You scoff, shaking your head as you turn away from the Mandalorian. “No kriffing way am I going back,” Your voice is callous and coarse. You sit on the edge of the bookshelf, your heels tapping against the shelf below.  “He couldn’t even come get me himself,” You whisper, looking off into the distance. 

The Mandalorian stands next to you, and that’s when you sense something else. 

You look up at him, his armor glimmering in the blue light, and see a little green figure peeking through the brown sack around his waist. You smile softly, instantly feeling the force coursing through the little creature. 

“Who’s this?” You ask, reaching out towards him. The little guy reaches towards you too. Before the Mandalorian can stop him, the child falls into your arms. “The force is strong with him,” You say as you scoop him up. 

“His name is Grogu,” The Mandalorian remarks, snatching the child back. He reaches a hand out to you, “But now isn’t the time for introductions. I have to get you back to Luke.” 

You breathe deeply through your nose, sighing audibly as you exhale. You take the Mandalorian’s hand and stand up. “I’ll go with you on one condition.”

“I don’t negotiate with bounties,” He states nonchalantly. 

You roll your eyes. “The condition is that you bring me back here once I’m done talking to Luke. I don’t intend to stay with him for more than ten minutes.”

He’s quiet for a few seconds, pondering your proposition. Finally, he nods. “Fine,” The Mandalorian huffs. “But then my condition is that I’ll do some bounties on the way, and you’ll stay on the ship with the child.” 

You arch your brow and shake your sabers. “You want me to stay on the ship? The wanted, force sensitive, Sith Lord-Jedi?”

The Mandalorian chuckles softly. For some reason you can’t quite place, your heartbeat speeds up at the sound of it. “Maybe I’ll think about it,” He says, walking away from you and jumping down from the bookcase. You follow closely behind him. 

“What’s your name?” You ask as you head towards the doors of the library. 

He doesn’t answer right away, as if he’s unsure of how to respond. “You can call me Mando,” He says finally. You nod. 

Mando. 

You grab your cloak from one of the hooks in the foyer of the lobby, and swiftly put it on. You lift the hood over your head, ensuring that you stay at least somewhat hidden, and exit the library.

—————————————————————————

After a mile or two of walking, you and Mando come across a cantina. He stops in front of it, carefully grasping his blaster. His visor looks down at you, and you meet his gaze. He’s heeding a wordless warning. 

But you didn’t need any warnings. You could handle yourself. 

You nod once and Mando presses a button that opens the door. You walk into the dark bar, music blasting from the speakers. 

“So, what are we doing here?” You ask, your eyes searching the cantina. 

Mando nods over to a corner booth. “You see that Twi’lek sitting next to that guy?” Mando asks, and you nod. “He’s coming back with us, whether he likes it or not.” 

“How do I help?” You question, moving your cloak to the side to grab your sabers. Mando reaches down to your hand in response, his gloved fingers wrapping around your wrist. 

“Not like that,” He says, his grasp still firm on you. You can’t help but notice the contact, the closeness. “Go sit in that booth over there,” His voice is barely audible as he points to the booth a few seats away from the Twi’lek. “And take the kid,” He says, pulling the bag off of him and handing it to you. You wanted to roll your eyes at the lack of importance in your job, but the cuteness of the kid quickly makes you happy to be of service. 

You head over to the table and sit down. Grogu wiggles out of the bag and into your lap. A feeling of safety washes over you as he makes himself comfortable, and there’s no doubt in your mind that Grogu is attempting to communicate to you that his father isn’t as bad as he appears to be. 

And you’re quick to believe him.

It’s clear that the child loves Mando, as Grogu fills your mind with images of the Mandalorian going above and beyond to save him, putting him above all else, sacrificing his own happiness just so Grogu can live a good life. It makes your heart warm. It gives you a certain feeling, a feeling you haven’t felt…

Ever.

“I get it little guy,” You whisper to him, rubbing his head with the fist of your hand. He coos and giggles as you squeeze him closer to you. 

But those feelings of safety and comfort and warmth turn into nothingness the second you feel a hand grip your shoulder tightly. 

You whip your head around to see another Twi’lek. “Can I help you?” You snarl condescendingly. 

The Twi’lek chuckles. “That’s no way for a woman to talk to a man who’s interested in her,” He answers. You roll your eyes. 

“Interested in what about me, exactly?” You question, placing the kid in the space next to you. “In getting your ass kicked?” Your voice is firm and growing louder with each word that leaves your lips. 

He brings his hand up to your chin, lifting it up so that you’re forced to meet his gaze. You grab his hand in response, trying to pry it off of you, but it’s no use. “You need to learn how to behave yourself,” He growls. You contemplate force pushing him off of you, or reaching for your saber and chopping him in half right here, but you know that would ruin Mando’s bounty, and it would blow your cover. 

“Let me go,” You demand, your eyes searching the room for some sort of escape. There was nothing you could do without giving up your spot. You look over to the other booth, attempting to catch Mando’s attention. You can hear the child screeching behind you. Your heart pounds in your ears. “Please just let me go,” You’re begging now. You don’t know what else to do. 

The Twi’lek scoffs. “Not happening. Not until you learn how to-,”

Two blaster shots ring out, and the Twi’lek immediately jumps back in fear. 

“You kriffing touch her again and you’ll end up like your friend here,” Mando says, holding up the lifeless body of the bounty. “I should kill you for just talking to her,” His voice is commanding as he closes the gap between himself and the Twi’lek. 

You grab the child and pull him into your chest. You can feel his fear, and you’re sure he can feel your own too. “It’s okay,” You whisper. “I’ve got you now.” Mando watches how you’re caring for Grogu out of the corner of his eye. Something stirs within him, something he can’t quite place. 

He storms over to you, bounty in tow, and grabs your arm. His gloved fingers once again find their way to your wrist, and he guides you out of the cantina. 

Just behind the cantina is a ship. You figured Mando had planned that whole thing out. Dragging a bounty for miles on end doesn’t exactly sound like fun. Regardless, you wanted to forget what had just happened. You had been through enough for one day, never mind an entire lifetime. 

“What kind of ship is this?” You ask, trying to make conversation. Mando’s grip on your wrist tightens, and he stops in his tracks. 

“You just almost got killed, or…” He trails off, looking down at the ground. “Or worse, and you want to know what kind of ship this is?” His voice is no longer strong or confident, it’s shaky and unsure. You’re shocked at how much he cares for your wellbeing. Even inside the cantina, something had come over him. No one, including Luke, has ever shown so much care for you before.

That’s when you feel the tears pricking at your eyes. That’s when you finally register the weight of what tonight’s events could have meant. 

“I-I’m sorry,” You stumble around your words, staring down into the orangey-tan sand coating your gray boots. 

Mando shakes his head, his arm moving up to rest on your shoulder. He rubs softly and breathes deeply. “No, don’t apologize. I’m being too hard on you,” He whispers. “Are you alright?”

You nod once. “I think so,” You reply, settling into his touch. It’s relaxing, warm, and you’re enjoying it far more than you should. You don’t know what it is, but there’s something endearing about him, something that lures you in and keeps you hanging. You want to hold onto the feeling, to keep it in your pocket and wear it around your neck whenever you can. 

He keeps his hand around your wrist while the other pulls the bounty along as you walk up the ramp together. He drops your wrist and yanks the bounty over to the carbon freezer. He makes quick work of the Twi’leck as you look around the ship. In the corner, underneath the cockpit, is a single bunk. Your exhaustion makes the makeshift mattress look extra comfortable. You could fall asleep standing up, to be honest. 

Mando finishes with the now dead bounty and stands by your side. You hand him the bag with the kid in it. He peers inside and catches a glimpse of a sleeping Grogu. You hear him chuckle through his modulator and you can feel that feeling again, that feeling that makes your heart want to burst. 

You smile softly. “So how long am I going to be a burden on you,” You joke, your smile widening. 

“Two weeks,” He says plainly. 

For some reason, two weeks didn’t seem long enough. 

Mando’s visor meets your gaze again. You can’t help but yawn, your exhaustion thoroughly catching up with you. 

“You should get some rest, we’ll be on Tatooine tomorrow,” He says, his voice equally thick with tiredness. “My bunk is down there, you can take it.” 

You furrow your brows. “What about you?” You ask. You really were going to be a burden on him. 

“I’ll take the cockpit,” He says back, pointing over to the uncomfortable looking chairs at the front of the ship. 

You shake your head. “We can share, it’s fine,” You insist. But Mando doesn’t listen. He walks towards the cockpit. 

“Maybe,” He finally responds, “But for now I’ll stay up here. I have to put in the coordinates and get us on course anyway.” 

You nod. “Goodnight,” You whisper, your voice coated with fatigue. 

“‘Night,” Mando whispers back as he takes his seat. You do as he says and waddle down into his bunk. 

Normally, something like this wouldn’t seem comfortable to you, being that the mattress was probably no more than two inches thick and the blanket was incredibly thin, but you were far too tired to care. It felt like heaven just to lay down, so much so that you drift off to sleep before Mando can even take off. 

—————————————————————————

There’s lightning, and a hooded figure. You can see Mando and the child on the other side of whatever platform you’re on, maybe on a rock somewhere off in the distance. Your sabers glow in your hands. You try to run towards the figure, but you’re stuck. You can’t move. 

The figure reaches out their hand, and force lightning pours out from their fingertips. You drop your blue saber and extend your hand out, electricity shooting from your fingers with twice as much force. Your eyes glow a threatening, dark yellow.

You scream out as the hooded figure fights back, increasing his force, stepping closer towards you. 

“The Mandalorian and the Child are mine now,” He says, his voice cold and cruel. 

“No!” You shout. “N-“

“No!” Your eyes open wide as you push yourself up on your forearms. You practically smack your head on the roof of the bunk. You’re shivering. You can’t tell if it’s just the temperature of the ship, or if it’s a product of the nightmare you just had. 

But that wasn’t just any nightmare, it was a vision. You had never seen that place, that planet before. And the pain you felt, it stemmed from a place, a feeling you just haven’t felt yet. 

Love, true love.

You can hear the clunking of metal above you, and seconds later, Mando appears at the entrance to the bunk. 

“Are you alright?” He’s panicked and practically shouting. 

“Y-yeah,” You mumble. “Sorry if I woke you, it was just a nightmare.” That wasn’t the complete truth, but you figure he isn’t exactly ready for the truth just yet. 

After all, you did just meet. 

“Are you sure?” He presses. He isn’t buying it, and he’s completely right not to. 

You sniffle and stir a bit under the covers. “I think so,” You lie again. You weren’t sure at all, and you certainly weren’t ‘alright’ in any capacity. 

Mando sighs heavily through his modulator. “Do you want to talk about it, cyar’ika?” 

You were shocked at how kind he was being. He could be so tough, so cold to his bounties. “What’s that mean, cyar’ika?” You question, trying your best to change the direction of the conversation. 

“That’s not what’s important right now,” Mando says, dismissing your question entirely. 

You smirk, attempting to convince him that you’re okay. “I’m fine, I mean it.” 

Mando nods once and begins to slip out of the bunk. But as he leaves, you begin to regret telling him you were fine. His proximity to you had made the pain go away, just for a moment. Now you were back to being anxious and cold. Genuinely, you were freezing. You must be in deep space by now. You were more than positive that you wouldn’t be able to go to sleep like this. 

You groan, embarrassed to call him back just as you had kicked him out. “Mando,” You call out. He’s back within seconds. “Can you…” You trail off, trying to find the right words. “Would you…” It’s impossible. 

“I’ll stay with you.” 

It’s like he can read your mind. 

He strips off his armor, save his helmet, and slips in next to you. He brushes up against you for just a second, and practically pulls away instantly. 

“Maker, you’re freezing,” He says. Suddenly, you feel his arm slowly wrap around your waist, hesitantly pulling you tightly against his chest. “Is this alright?” He asks. You’re too stunned to speak, so you simply hum a yes. 

After a few minutes of lying like that, with your back up against his chest, you begin to feel better. Still, you can’t help but feel guilty, like you’re a burden to him, like this is something he has to do. You’re supposed to be powerful. You were a Jedi, a Sith, and yet a Mandalorian is being forced to take care of you. 

“You don’t have to stay, you know. You can go back to the cockpit if you-,”

But he cuts you off. “I told you I would stay.” And so, he did.

Two weeks, You think to yourself. Two weeks.

And then you drifted off to sleep, without nightmares, without visions.

Just like yesterday

I told you I would stay

Would you always?

Maybe sometimes?

Make it easy?

Take your time

[cloudspotterclub]

not now (k.r.)

Pairing: kylo ren x fem!jedi!reader

Summary: Kylo encounters a familiar face on his quest to vanquish the last Jedi.

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: angst, friends to enemies to lovers

a/n: This takes place some time before TFA. It kind of came about as an alternate scenario inspired by Kylo and Rey's first lightsaber duel in the snowy forest.

“You don’t get to say that. Not now. Not to me.”

Kylo Ren tightened his grip on the brandished saber. “And what right do you have to tell me what I can or cannot say?”

The fire in her eyes dimmed even more. She’d heard the stories from other resistance fighters, of course. The temperamental dark side user, though not quite a sith as his grandfather once was, who had slain dozens under Snoke’s command despite not having completed his training yet. She’d heard he was now on the hunt for the alleged map to Luke Skywalker. There had been rumors that the First Order intended to rid of—to their knowledge—the last jedi, and seize command of the galaxy, unchallenged. She thought that was a load of bullshit.

The hum of her blue lightsaber mimicked that of Kylo’s—low and steady as they held still and waited for the other to strike. Her eyes squinted as they darted around his stance. Despite the tight hold on his weapon, his shoulders were lax and legs slightly bent. He was anticipating a hit, not planning one.

She sneered, “We lost any right to be civil with each other eons ago, Kylo.”

His lip twitched at the mention of his new name and the way she drawled it out. It was the first time she’d ever called him that to his face, and he hated how it sounded on her lips. Rather than a show of respect for his reborn self, he felt it a mockery. Worse still, it came from her, and he detested how it made him feel as though he was a petulant child again.

“You made the choice not to join me,” Kylo spat.

“And you made the choice to leave,” her voice shrunk, “but not before destroying the only family I had, of course. You can never just ruin and abandon things, no, you have to make sure they’re irreparable in your wake.”

Kylo’s mind clouded with a familiar rage that had come to the surface all too often. “He was about to kill me! What part of that don’t you understand?!”

Short buzzes sounded from the saber in his shaking grip, “Luke Skywalker was going to kill me because he gave in to his own dark desires. Because he thought I was as weak as him and would give in too. He did this.”

Try as she did, she couldn’t look past the way his voice cracked and eyes watered. It was the same expression she’d seen when he’d had particularly tough nights at Luke’s temple. Tears threatened to spill over her own eyes as she remembered how he’d beg for her to stay with him through those nights. She never could turn him away then, but she knew better now.

No one feels more like a stranger than the person you once knew best.

With an angry swipe at her nose, she retracted her saber.

Kylo’s hard stare faltered, leaving only a furrowed brow. His  defensive posture gave way to match hers. His lightsaber, however, remained ignited at his side.

She slowly met his now cautious gaze, “You’re right.”

Kylo thought he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. It was probably just in his head, or maybe hers. Either way, it was the only sensation he could feel. She had initially blocked him from prodding her mind the second they sensed each other, of course. He had done the same. But now, he wasn’t sure if either of them were in touch with the force at all.

Her words snapped him back to reality, “I know you don’t want that map to eliminate the last jedi.”

He stiffened, but even then his voice continued to waver. “Don’t be so naive. Of course I do.”

She shook her head, now allowing tears to flow freely down her reddened cheeks. “Underneath this mask you’ve tried so hard to put on, you’re still just a boy wanting to belong. You want to get to Luke. That’s all you want. You think you want him dead, but you don’t. After all these years, your thoughts are still so loud, Ben. Even if you’re not ready to listen to them. I always have.”

Kylo’s face dropped before twisting into a bundle of strained muscles as he brutally thrashed his lightsaber into the snow-covered trees surrounding him.

She felt her heart break with every swing of his saber, watching in resignation as the man before her surrendered to his own emotions. She couldn’t help the quiet whimpers that left her mouth, not that she bothered to stop them anymore.

The boom of trees falling down all around Kylo mixed in with his loud cries as he continued his assault on the forest.

And then, the sounds stopped.

Left among the timber was Kylo on his knees, his face buried in his gloved hands, lightsaber finally withdrawn.

She took a timid step toward him, and then another when she felt he had no defenses up. All she could feel was anguish.

His eyes were still lowered as she knelt down in front of him. His chest seemed to take labored, uneven breaths under hunched shoulders that almost made him appear small.

She reached a hand up to cup his cheek, gently bringing his face up to look at her. His red-rimmed eyes bore right through hers, looking more wounded than ever before. Her lips tugged downward, unsure if she had whatever answers he seemed to be searching for.

His voice came out quiet and unsure, “I don’t even know what it is I’m searching for. It’s like—I don’t—”

He breathed, “I don’t know anything anymore.”

A new wave of tears cascaded down both their faces. He brought his own hand up to cover hers, leaning into it as he sobbed. Before long, she pulled his entire being into her arms and held him as he cried into the crook of her neck. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist as she delicately ran her hands through his hair in a bid to comfort the boy who had so often required it.

“Ben?”

He sniffled, “Yes?”

She pulled back and studied his face. His sobs had quieted to barely audible mewls, but the ordeal had left his eyes puffy and voice hoarse.

She ran her thumb over his wet cheek. “Do you want to stay with me?”

Tears pooled in his soft eyes once again. “Please. I won’t leave you again. I can’t. Ever.”

She could only nod as Ben buried his face back into her shoulder. She held him with all her might, and they both knew neither would let go again. Not now, not ever.

[anghraine]

I was thinking about the ROTJ duel some more, and another thing I find really interesting is that the thing that pushes Luke over the edge is the possibility of Anakin turning Leia to the Dark Side.

It’s understandable that this would be a horrifying possibility to Luke. He probably loves Leia more than anyone else in the galaxy (Anakin’s “especially for ... sister” suggests it) and he has the dreadful example of Anakin himself to illustrate how the Dark Side affects people.

At the same time, the idea that Anakin would be able to turn Leia to the Dark Side is IMO kind of ludicrous. I mean, as if she’d listen to anything he has to say! And I doubt he could even manipulate her all that effectively. When you think about it, this is actually a pretty toothless threat. But Luke is so sensitive to it that he loses his mind and flies into a violent rage, hovering right on the edge of fully turning to the Dark Side himself as he rushes at Anakin.

It’s the most glaring example of Luke doing this, but it’s not unprecedented. When Luke sees Anakin kill Obi-Wan, say, he forgets altogether about trying to escape and just keeps shooting stormtroopers until Obi-Wan’s spirit has to interfere. When he goes to confront Vader in Cloud City, Leia shouts that it’s a trap but he keeps going anyway because he’s so fixated on fighting Vader—and iirc, Luke is the one to start the fight. It’s clear that anger is his dominant emotion at that point (“now release your anger”).

And, of course, in ROTJ, he’s there to save Anakin, but he goes berserk at a speculative and improbable threat to Leia, and ends up attacking Anakin and everything in the vicinity, including inanimate objects.

The context of this being about Leia turning to the Dark Side is intriguing, because one of the ways I really depart from fandom is that I don’t think Leia is all that likely to turn to the Dark Side, and I think she’s certainly less likely than Luke. Leia, while often kind (to an extent that’s sometimes overlooked or dismissed), has plenty of anger, to be sure. She could turn and would make a powerful and terrifying Dark Sider. But her anger is a bit different.

She’s short-tempered in general, frequently irritable, often frustrated—arguably even more than Luke (though he can also be short-tempered, irritable, and easily frustrated!). Like Luke, she’s ready to act on her anger, whether in speech or through more direct action. But at least in the films (which are all I care about), I don’t think her anger leads into the kind of fury we see in Luke and Anakin.

She’s plenty assertive, but there’s still something ... contained about her general aggressiveness by comparison to Luke’s and Anakin’s feral rages. This is obviously super gendered, but it is how I see her as she exists onscreen. Put another way, she’s never going to end up going “what have I done?” (explicitly or implicitly) because she always knows what she’s doing and means to do it.

That said, I can still see Leia turning to the Dark Side, but I don’t think she would take the same path. Hers, I think, would be more conscious and deliberate, and probably ideological; she’d have to believe she was in the right, I think, in a way that Luke and Anakin don’t fully need. She’d probably be more terrifying in the long run than either of them could ever be, tbh. But I think the very things that would make her such a horrifying Sith Lord (or whatever) also make it pretty unlikely that she would become one in the first place. IMO, Luke’s terrible fear for her says more about Luke than Leia.

[jasontoddiefor]

A gift for @thenegoteator :D

It took a Temple to raise a child, and Mace Windu was very much aware of this. However, it did not explain what Ahsoka Tano was doing at his door in the middle of the night. Ahsoka had deep bags under her eyes, which wasn’t too much of a surprise considering the current living arrangements of her lineage. While little Luke and Leia were relatively well-behaved newborns, they were still only a few weeks old. If their human caretakers didn’t wake up at every single little whimper, then the togruta with the superior hearing certainly would.

“Do you want to come inside?” Mace asked, not letting his confusion show. He was used to people coming to his door at the oddest hours.

“If—if I can?” Ahsoka replied as if only now becoming aware of her actions. In this, she reminded Mace of her Grandmaster and the many nights Mace had found Obi-Wan coming to his doorstep during the first months of Anakin’s stay at the Temple.

“My door is always open, Padawan,” Mace said – and watched her wince.

Ah.

So there was the problem.

“Caleb is currently sleeping in my bed as Depa is away,” Mace explained. “So please keep your voice down. I don’t want to wake him unnecessarily.”

The boy had already had a hellish enough month behind him, he needed all the rest he could get. Even though the war was officially over, enough planets refused to surrender, drawing out the battles until they had nothing but children left to sacrifice. It weighed on Mace’s shoulders, making him wonder whether he wasn’t too old to carry such burdens still.

Ahsoka nodded and followed Mace inside. He couldn’t recall whether Ahsoka had been in his room before, but from the way she eagerly looked around his quarters, taking in the sight of old instruments, books, and holos, he guessed she hadn’t. Well, at one point in their life, every Jedi had set a foot inside Mace’s quarters, so this was bound to happen sooner or later.

“Do you want a cup of tea?”

Ahsoka tore herself away from the sight and looked at him with surprise. “I—yes? That would be nice.”

“Then I will make a cup. Do you have any preferences? I believe I even have Obi-Wan’s favorite blend here.”

Mace had no idea whether he had bought it or if Obi-Wan had just left it here from himself when he came over. Knowing the other man, it was likely that the latter was the case. For a man claiming to be so very polite, Obi-Wan could be a right brat.

Mace’s kitchen was small, with only a few cabinets and one shelf, two cooking tiles, and an oven. He wasn’t much of a cook himself and preferred to eat in the cafeteria with everyone, frequently taste-tasting what the Initiates had prepared. He selected two uneven cups Depa had made for him when she’d been young from the shelf. Why she had decided to pick up pottery of all hobbies was beside him, but he supposed that she found the motion soothing. Devan did enjoy parkouring through the lower levels and Echuu was quite content playing the guitar to calm himself.

Perhaps Mace should focus less on why all three of his Padawans had decided they wouldn’t follow him into theatre so they could continue to make fun of him. Setting the water to boil, Mace searched through his cabinets until he found Obi-Wan’s favorite blend. The fruity tea was far from the blend he preferred, but Mace prided himself on being a good host. While he waited for the tea to finish steeping, Mace enjoyed the quiet of the night. For all that there were few sounds as dear to him as that of people walking, or in the case of some younglings and few selected Knights, running, down their large hallways, Mace could appreciate the quiet when the world came to rest.

With two finished cups in hand, he returned to the living room, where he found Ahsoka curled up on the sofa, no longer studying his quarters for any hidden secrets.

“Thank you,” she said when she accepted the cup from him. She held it in her hands as if to warm them, letting the steam hit her face. She breathed in once, twice, finding her rhythm again. Mace waited until she’d calmed enough to speak up.

“What brings you to my door, Padawan Tano?”

Ahsoka flinched and appeared to make herself even smaller as if attempting to vanish. When it became apparent that it didn’t work, that silence hadn’t been what she had sought him out for, she let out a sigh. “You keep calling that.”

“Calling you what?” Mace asked, his brow raised, playing oblivious.

“… Padawan.”

“Are you not? I was under the impression that you had returned to the Temple.”

“I did, but I still left,” Ahsoka replied. “I left and I was convinced that I had to leave and that it was good that I did. I still think I had to leave the Temple behind.”

“Then why are you torn?”

Ahsoka’s hold on her cup tightened and so, perhaps in wise anticipation, she set it on the table and buried her hands in her robes instead, hiding their twitching from view. Mace could trace all her mannerisms to her teachers and couldn’t imagine what it must be like to purposefully rip all those pieces from yourself when they had become so ingrained in your very being. Even Dooku, who’d fallen so far from their beliefs, had been unable to fully rid himself of Yoda’s lessons. Maybe it was for the best. Hope had become a scarce commodity during the war, yet Mace considered the possibility that in a decade, they wouldn’t be imprisoning a Sith anymore.

“But am I still a Padawan? A member of this Order?” Ahsoka asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she shook like the leaves on the trees in the courtyard.

“Has your Master told you anything different?”

Ahsoka paused. “…. No.”

Seeing that realization was settling within her, Mace nodded. “Then you should not doubt him. You are a Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, and you will remain one as long as you live by our tenets.”

That teased a startled laugh from her. “Compassion for all except people who cheat at push-n-pull?”

As if transported back ten years, hearing Anakin say the same, Mace snorted. “The similarities between you and your Master astonish me every time. Yes, Padawan Tano, compassion for all.”

This seemed to calm the youth as she reached for her cup again and emptied it slowly. “It’s good.”

Mace smiled into his own cup. “I’d be insulted if it wasn’t. Obi-Wan forced me to memorize all the steps for making it.”

The then young Knight had been frazzled, and Mace honestly couldn’t tell what it had been about and had forced Mace to learn how to make this tea until he’d more or less collapsed on Mace’s sofa, completely knocked out until morning when Anakin had picked him up.

“He does do that,” Ahsoka agreed. “I think this is the only thing anyone can make reliably now.”

“Sleep-deprived much?” Mace inquired.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Like you wouldn’t believe. I love Luke and Leia dearly, but they are demanding and need a lot of attention.”

That was honestly kinder than Mace would have described newborns at her age.

“There is a reason why we usually don’t have children this young in the Temple,” Mace said. “They are very handful. Do you get enlisted to help very often?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “No, Obi-Wan, Skyguy, and Padmé got it covered, and I’m mostly just helping out somewhere else.”

She trailed off a little. This, perhaps, was another issue, but one that could be equally easily dealt with.

“Thank you then for going where you are needed,” Mace told her.

Ahsoka blinked. “Huh?”

“You will grow into a specific role someday, Ahsoka, and that needs time. Do not feel as if you need to earn back your place in the Temple. You don’t need to earn yourself a home you have always had. For now, trust me when I say that everyone you’ve helped is glad that you were there. It is an admirable quality to have a sense of where you are needed. Do not see it as being the odd one out.”

This was the hardest lesson to teach and learn, the fact that there was a path out there for you, but that it took time to see where it would lead. Too many of their Padawans now felt utterly lost without the structure the war had provided them with.

“Oh. I guess if you say so.”

“Yes, I do say so,” Mace agreed. Then, eyeing Ahsoka’s empty cup, he added on, “do you want another?”

“No.” Ahsoka yawned. “I think I might best head back.”

“You can also sleep here if you want, and don’t mind Caleb hogging the blanket. I won’t go to bed tonight anyway.”

Ahsoka squinted at him as if attempting to discern whether he was lying. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Really—”

“Ahsoka, go to bed.”

Clearly feeling better already, she saluted and, after Mace showed her his bedroom, made herself comfortable in it. She took off her shoes and tossed her robe over a chair before climbing into the bed. Ahsoka had barely laid down when Caleb already turned around to curl around her, clinging like a little monkey. After a moment’s apprehension, she relaxed and was fast asleep. Stealing one last glance at the two Padawan, Mace returned to his living room, looking through the incoming reports.

Hectic as the aftermath of the war was, as much effort as caring for their children was, Mace wouldn’t trade it for a single thing in the world.

[beesc0ut]

Math Homework

Darth Vader stood across from his son at the durasteel dining table of their adjoining rooms, his patience wearing dangerously thin. Though, of course, not because of Luke himself.

“This is not how I was instructed,” Vader growled. His education had, admittedly, been rather limited, but he had always been good at math; it came with the territory of being an exceptional mechanic. Unfortunately, Luke’s own instructors seemed to be… less informed.

“That doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Luke mumbled. “They just changed it, I guess.”

“Why?”

Luke groaned. “I don’t know! But I have to show my work, or I won’t get any credit!”

Vader could feel the irritation wavering from his son. He paused for a moment before summoning Luke’s disorganized stack of papers and pens in front of him. One way or another, they were going to work through this.

“Dad, give it back!”

Vader tuned him out. He focused, instead, on the paper before him, and his son’s surprisingly neat handwriting. The equation was relatively simple, and very similar to the previous two they’d gone through. Silently, he began working through the calculations on his own, much to his son’s dismay.

Only a few moments passed before he was scribbling down the solution step-by-step in his own, rather messy, handwriting. “There. That is the correct way to do it,” he announced, rather pleased with himself. It had been many years since he’d needed to teach another being something mathematical, though, usually, his subjects had been unintelligent adults who wandered into Watto’s shop and severely underestimated the young boy fixing a pit droid. How many times had he explained to an overconfident smuggler that their hyperdrive was not, in fact malfunctioning, but rather they had made a mistake in calculating their hyperspace jump?

Now, however, his student was someone far more precious, not to mention completely tolerable. Were Luke not so stressed, he would actually be enjoying this lesson.

Vader looked up to pass the papers back to his son to find the boy crying. Immediately, Vader’s instincts went into overdrive. Had he done something wrong? Was Luke hurt? Reaching out, he gently prodded his son’s mental shields, which let up reluctantly.

Stress, sadness, fear.

He sighed to himself. Clearly, he’d put too much pressure on his son. The boy was not Anakin Skywalker when it came to math, though he certainly surpassed him in many other fields.

Luke refused to meet his gaze, sniffling silently and stuffing his hands in his lap.

“Luke, I… did not intend to upset you. I… apologize,” Vader stuttered. He’d never been any good at apologizing.

“It’s fine, dad… it’s not you. I just…” he tapered off.

“What is it, little one?”

Luke sighed in exasperation. “Nothing. It’s stupid, just forget it,” he said, reaching for the papers. Vader quickly pulled them away, out of his reach. “Tell me,” he said, speaking as gently as the vocoder would allow.

“Promise you won’t freak out?”

No. “Yes.”

“It’s just frustrating that I don’t get it like you. You’re so smart, you can do this in your head, and I can’t even do it on paper!”

Vader froze. That was what he was upset about?

How to explain to him how far he’d passed Anakin already. How much better he was now than Anakin had ever been. How impossible it was that he felt inferior because of a silly math problem.

How much he wanted to deal, personally, with the boy’s teacher for taking part in making him feel this way.

“See? It’s stupid…”

Luke’s worrying shook him back to the present. “It is not stupid, Luke. Though I do not understand how you would come to such a conclusion, I understand your frustration.”

And he did, to a point. Though, as a boy, he often exceeded expectations, some Masters on the Council held him to a higher degree than they did his peers. He did not understand it at the time, and it infuriated him to no end.

In the past. Unimportant. He pushed it away for his son’s sake.

“You are worth far more than you give yourself credit for,” he stated simply. “Nothing you do will ever make me think less of you, do you understand?”

Luke nodded and smiled at him lightly. “Thank you, dad.”

Satisfied, Vader walked over to show his son how to do the math properly. And if his teacher took issue with it, she would have a Sith Lord to deal with first and foremost.