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cruella1989 · 3 years ago

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The Tragic Life of Darth Sidious

Why are villains like Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and Kylo Ren considered tragic? Well, the short answer is because they had “tragic” experiences that played into them going down the wrong path (although I think in the case of the latter it’s debatable). But they’re not what I’m going to discuss today, it’s another villain who has an equally sad background, but for some reason is often considered very unsympathetic. That antagonist is none other than the big bad guy, himself, Emperor Palpatine.

Personally I’ve never understood why so many fans say that it’s “impossible to feel any sympathy for him” and that he has “no redeeming qualities”. I especially don’t understand these type of statements with the fans that pity other villains. I’m talking about bad guys who have killed and hurt many people, some of which have not reformed, others who don’t even have that sad a backstory. Is it because, he’s the guy in charge? To each their own, I guess?

Anyway, here’s why I view this particular villain a little differently than the norm. (Disclaimer! I am in no way excusing his actions! I know he’s evil, and I’m simply explaining why I think he’s more sympathetic than many other fans do.)

When we first meet Palpatine in the, now Legends, novel Darth Plagueis he is a troubled seventeen year-old, to say the least. There’s also no denying that he’s an egocentric, little jerk right from the start of his initial appearance. It can be hard to see him as anything other than that, especially with some of the things he admits to have done. Those include all kinds of petty crimes and even vehicular man-slaughter! How are you supposed to feel bad for somebody like that? I’d say the first thing you need to do is look at what caused him to become that way.

I think a lot people either ignore or miss a few very important clues when reading the novel that strongly states he was abused by his father and came from a very dysfunctional home. For example, they tend to take his father buying him out of trouble with the law as a sign that he’s a spoiled brat. Of course, that action does send the message to youth that they are above the law no matter the intent. But the book states that the patriarch of the Palpatine home is doing that because he wants no ‘stain’ on the family name, not out of some kind of mislead love for his troubled son. On top of that, the book makes it clear that his father, Cosinga, was a terrible man that did awful things to the family and all sorts of illegal acts. In fact it’s stated that he committed fraud, made bribes, hired hit men, had multiple mistresses, and intimidated his wife and children into being subservient to him.

“Palpatine forced a laugh. “Only because she espouses no views of her own; only because he has made her subservient to him—as he has my well-behaved brothers and sisters, who treat me like an interloper and yet, to my father, represent all I can never be.”

“Plagueis had no need to delve any further into whatever traumas had given rise to Palpatine’s cunning, secretive nature.”

“Cosinga flung his words with cruel abandon, “It will be so good to have you gone.”

Being raise by someone like that in that kind of environment is really going to mess a kid up, especially if said youth already has violent tendencies. All children need some sort moral guidance, but when a child has a bad temper they particularly need help learning how to controlling it. I think it’s pretty safe to say that young Palpatine was getting much the opposite of what he needed in his childhood home.

“…his father, who shared with his son a penchant for violence,…”

“Sidious took a moment to respond. It was odd to think now that he had once known fear... But as a child, he’d experienced fear as a conditioned response to threat. Despite a reassuring voice inside him that had promised no harm could come, there had been, for a time, a chance that something terrible could happen. More than once his father’s raised hand had made him cringe.”

But, what about him killing his own family before he even became a Sith apprentice? Okay, there’s a difference between premeditated murder and self defense. Palpatine’s dad had just said he wanted to kill him, and in response the boy unleashed a force-storm on him. It was obviously result of a bunch of fear, anger and force power that had been bottled up inside of him. The author makes it plain that he doesn’t know what he’s doing and that he’s even scared of his own power. Heck, Palpatine even tells his mother to stay away from him while this mess in going on. Please, keep in mind he’s only seventeen, has had no force training, and his father just said he wanted him dead.

Also, do not forget that Hego Damask, (aka Plagueis) who was likely Palpatine’s only friend, had goaded him on about killing his father only a few days earlier, when the boy stated that he wanted be free of his family. Yes, he tells the impressionable teenager a story about how he ‘did away’ with his own family, when they were in the way of his own desires. He even admits it after the event is over.

This particular act by Damask obviously left a big impression on Palpatine and angered him even decades later. This is shown when Sidious brings it up right before killing Plagueis and becoming Sith Master.

{“Hated you more than you know,” Cosinga said, allowing his ire to rise once more. “Enough to want to kill you from the start.”

Palpatine stood his ground. “Then you had better do it now.”

Cosinga took a step in Palpatine’s direction…}

“Palpatine stood rooted in place, his hands trembling in front of him and his face stricken. Something stirred behind his incandescent eyes. He heard the pounding on the hatch and whirled. “Don’t come in! Stay away from me!”

“It was Hego Damask as Plagueis who then set his sights on a seemingly confused young man and, with meticulous skill, manipulated him into committing patricide, matricide, and fratricide.”

Another argument I see being made against young Palpatine has to due with a few insults he and his father throw at each right before the latter’s death. I’ve heard many fans claims that these quotes prove that he was “born evil” or “it’s meant to symbolize the devil”.

{“…You are an animal heart.”

“King of Beasts, Father,” Palpatine said.}

“I knew this day would come. I’ve known it since the first moment I tried to swaddle you, and you fought me with strength that was too powerful for your size and age.”

Okay, to start with his abusive father calling him ‘an animal’ doesn’t mean that he behaved in a sadistic way his entire life. I know that that’s popular belief when in comes to that line, but it is not true. Remember, this is the guy who made most of his family subservient to him. So why wouldn’t he call his rebellious eldest son, a name like that? If the insult did have any meaning to it (beyond just being mean) likely he’s referring to the boy’s bad temper and his trouble with the law. And second Palpatine’s response is more than likely a claim that he’s stronger than his father, not confirming that he’s ‘demonic’ or whatever.

Also, baby Palpatine being strong and more powerful than the average infant does not prove that he was born evil, or was some kind of demon baby. It only confirms that he was strong in the force from infancy. And guess what? Babies fight all the time.

So, did the troubles stop once the dysfunctional family was gone? Not exactly. After witnessing Palpatine’s strength in the force and hearing the boy admit that his true desire was to be powerful, Plagueis decided to offer him an apprenticeship. Damask revealed that he was a Sith Lord, and told Palpatine that if he swore his allegiance to the order, then he could obtain great power.

He, of course, took the offer as he did crave power, and there was a promise of it. Was it the right path to take? No. Did he join for selfish reasons, like the promised strength and authority. Of course, why else would he? But, that doesn’t change the fact that he was put through a lot brutal physical, mental and emotional tests while going through Sith training.

I’d also like to add, that unbeknownst to the his new pupil, the Sith Master had other plans to use the boy as a way of obtaining power for himself. This basically involve getting Palpatine elected Chancellor, (since a human stood a better chance than a Muun) and using Sidious as a ‘puppet’ while he called the shots. So Plagueis was not innocent here, by any means.

"He admits it! And who better than a human to wear the mask of power while an immortal Sith Lord rules in secret!"

{“Now tell me again, Apprentice, and in greater detail.”

Once more Sidious allowed his memories to unfold, and he relived the crime— the event as he had come to think of it. His father’s limp and bloody body, the smashed skulls of the bodyguards, his hands around his mother’s slender throat—but not really, only in his mind—strangling her with his thoughts, the lifeless forms of his siblings, slumped here and there. In telling it and telling it, in reliving it, he had finally gained a kind of authority over it; the ability to see the event merely for what it was, without emotion, without judgement. It was as if the event had occurred years, rather the months, earlier.}

“…You want strangle me like you did you’re poor, misunderstood mother, tear me limb from limb like you did the bodyguards. Fair enough. But to do so you will have to make a greater effort, Apprentice.”

Clawing his way across the tundra, his body rashed with lightsaber burns, Sidious looked up at Plagueis imploringly, “H-how much longer…Master?”

The final dispute that I tend to hear made against him is that he was “tricking” his master, Plagueis, the whole time they worked together. Personally, I never saw that. Much of the dialog, his internal thoughts and the situations that he was in during the Sith training made it pretty clear Sidious was not the one in control.

Now it is true that Palpatine does start tricking him later, as he gains more desire for power, and wants to kill Plagueis and become the Sith Master. It starts off subtlety but you can tell when he starts loosing respect for Plagueis and wondering when he will be the one in charge. I’m not saying that it didn’t start before that, but I just have a hard time imagining the young Sidious “clouding” his master’s mind the entire time, without any previous training.

I’d also like to point out that despite popular belief, it’s actually never stated that he was tricking him the whole time, not even during his villainous rant at the end. What Palpatine actually says is that he never intended to share the power. And okay even if he had somehow been “clouding” Plagueis’ mind (despite having no force training) during the entire apprenticeship, what do you expect out some one who was raised in a dysfunctional home until age seventeen and was then taken in by a mass murderer?

“You lost the game on the very first day you chose to train me to rule by your side—or better still under your thumb!”

“The truth is, I haven’t changed. As we have clouded the minds of the Jedi, I clouded your’s. Never once did I have any intention of sharing power with you.”

Now, I’m sure that people are going to claim that, unlike many other Star Wars villains, he still as no redeeming qualities. Of course, having no positive qualities makes it much harder to view him in any sort of positive light or feel pity for him. At least it would be if that were true. Especially in Legends timeline, there are several glimpses of humanity that we see from him. These are mostly shown by some attempts to help and in hints that he cares about his apprentices in his own twisted way.

“…that the force was strong in the infant was reason enough not to let it wonder around unprotected, and perhaps fall in the hands of the Jedi.”

“There is a moment—just one moment,” McDiarmid remembers, “It’s after Anakin’s been almost destroyed and he’s got little life in him. Palpatine has sent for a medical team and he’s waiting for them to arrive—and he just gently touches Anakin’s forehead. Sidious doesn’t have any qualities we normally associate with humanity, except he does have a master-servant relationship with Anakin. Anakin means something to him.”

The Making of Star Wars: Episode III- The Revenge of the Sith

J.W. Rinzler

I hope that you enjoyed this article and that it has clarified things, and maybe helped you see him in a bit of a different light.

#palpatine #star wars #villain #bad guys #sympathy #tragic #darth sidious #darth plagueis #sith #backstory #antagonist

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sl-walker · 3 years ago

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Thoughts on The Unwilling Apprentice

Okay, so the resplendent @xiamei-sami -- bringer of excellent gifs -- brought forth another treasure, which is ostensibly ‘new’ backstory for Maul. You can find it linked in this post here. I read it myself a couple weeks ago and have thought about it and, of course, developed opinions about it, but thanks to the whole work thing, haven’t been able to put those down yet.

So, spoilers ahead! Beware! If those bug you, anyway.

Okay, so. There are a few things I liked about it and then some that I was scratching my head about, and then there were some that were just stupid and the author should be ashamed of accepting money for. But since I’m in a reasonably charitable mood, I’ll start with what I liked.

1.) Maul was not born evil. And, in fact, was portrayed here as a perfectly darling kid who did chores and liked hanging around in nature like the actual Disney princess he is. For people who prefer canon over Legends -- though, this story’s relationship with canon is tenuous at best -- it’s nice to have something to point to and go, “Hey, he wasn’t actually inherently evil!” I mean, Legends proved that with Wrath, but now we have two sources for it.

2.) He was shown as being very much in tune with the Living Force. Frankly, the reason I liked this was because I wrote that years ago, dude, and I did it better than you lol, but still, it’s nice when something quasi-canonish does the same thing years after you and with less skill. XD It just is.

Anyway, those were really the only things I actually liked liked.

Now onto the headscratchers:

Where the fuck is canon? For real. Suddenly, we have Nightbrothers living with Nightsisters and there’s no mention whatsoever of their marginalization which is ??? It sort of loosely follows Son of Dathomir, in terms of Talzin being Mother of the Year by kicking her son out and ignoring him being abused by other people, because supposedly Sids offered to make her his apprentice and ??? Profit!

Like, I do seriously LOL anytime anyone tries to portray Talzin as some kind of decent person. I mean, we did watch her feeling Savage up and being complicit in making him murder her other son, and then there’s the fuckery she pulled on Maul, too, and yet somehow there are still people out there who act like she was a great mother. Boy, have I got a bridge for you!

But anyway. This had, at its very best, a very fucking cursory relationship to current recognizable canon. Maul had a brother in this story, but then all those years later just forgot?? What??

So, have that headscratcher. Now, let’s go into why the author should feel bad about accepting money for this:

1.) The canon thing. The lack of canon connection. Completely ignoring that the Nightbrothers are actual canon slaves holy shit. How do you ignore that? Like, how do you not acknowledge that?? Even current Disney canon does! Admittedly, I do believe this story is meant for school kids, but like-- my dude. So was TCW, and they’re the ones who explicitly stated it. There are ways to make this canon without ignoring swathes of it for supposedly school-age readers.

2.) The motivation for Maul ‘going dark’ makes-- exactly no fucking sense. It’s basically just a literal adoptive-parent abuse story, which is lazy as fuck, btw. He basically gets beat up a lot. There is not, as there is in Legends, a very notable and concerted effort to twist his perceptions and manipulate him. His mom kicks him out (Mother of the Year!), he gets beat up by the adopting family, he learns how to use the Force and fights back.

One of the reasons this annoys me is that it’s lacking all of the clever work Ryder Windham did in Wrath to not only portray Maul as an inherently sweet kid trapped in truly horrific circumstances, but draw an absolutely credible mental roadmap of how you would take that inherently sweet kid and twist him into a Sith assassin. And in case anyone’s wondering? Wrath of Darth Maul was meant to be a YA book.

Like, I hate to tell this guy this, but most people who are abused do not, in fact, turn into villains. Most people also don’t turn into abusers themselves. So without the manipulation that Ryder depicts, and that Luceno and the others touch on, it just seems kind of like-- he needed an excuse and went with the cheapest, laziest version of Disney he could.

But this brings me to the next point, which is the most egregious point for me:

3.) The author puts the responsibility for Maul being taken and abused by Sidious on Maul himself.

If there was one thing that made Legends absolutely spectacular, re: Maul, it was that never once did Ryder Windham imply, even a little bit, that little Maul had ever asked for or deserved what happened to him at Sid’s hands. At no point did any of the authors who handled Maul pre-Disney imply that he would choose what was done to him if he’d ever actually been given a choice. And to me -- and to a lot of other abuse survivors -- this kind of thing is a Big Deal. It’s a really damned important distinction to make.

But no, in this story, Maul actually chooses to be Sidious’s apprentice.

W. T. F., dude. What the actual fuck, dude.

I guess I should write this out for anyone who might not know it, but taking a character who in canon was stated to have no choice in it and suddenly giving them responsibility for their own victimization is highly fucked up.

Anyway, that there is some lousy writing. Just sayin’.

So, there is my opinion and thoughts. There are some things I liked, there are some things that were just confusing and then there was shit like the immediate above that means the author should be slapped around a parking lot a few times. I probably would not kick if people did adopt it as their canon backstory, because it’s still better than the crazy shit people currently assume, like that Maul was somehow born dark.

But please, for the love of god, I am not even kidding about this: If you really want to understand and write a genuinely interesting, nuanced version of Maul, and have a pretty damned cohesive, tragic and psychologically more realistic backstory to build on, stick to his Legends materials. Those guys who did it first actually did do it best, and this latest offering is very milquetoast by comparison, when it’s not a turd wrapped in paper.

#maul #the unwilling apprentice #my opinions #let me share them #>:)

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redrikki · 4 years ago

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May The Fourth Masterpost

Prequels/Clone Wars Era

May the Force Get With You- You’d think Anakin Skywalker’s conception would be pretty epic, mythic even, but you’d be wrong. Turns out, the Force is a lousy lay and a worse father. (Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, The Force, Salty Narrator)

Second Wind - Ahsoka takes the wrong exit of the the world between worlds and ends up with a second chance at saving her master. (Ahsoka Tano, Shmi Skywalker)

Pain Management - Anger can get a slave killed. Shmi teaches her son some coping strategies. (Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Watto)

The Force Is In the Details - The chance cube lands on red and now Shmi must learn to manage with a freedom she never asked for. Written as part of the Jedi Fest Rogue Robin challenge as a continuation of The Force is in the Details. (Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, Padme Amidala, Jedi Council)

The Anchor That You Can’t Leave Behind - On the queen’s yacht headed back to Naboo, Anakin and Padmé miss their mothers but Obi-Wan can’t get why. (Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi)

Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose - When Obi-Wan told him he was free at Qui-Gon’s funeral, Anakin took him at his word. There may, however, have been something of misunderstanding. (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi)

For Amidala - Her handmaidens had all poured so much of themselves into Amidala, it was like they were part of her now. Padmé didn’t know if she had the strength to let one go. (Padme Amidala, Sabe, handmaidens)

Wordspring - Anakin’s words dry up in the middle of his fourth month at the Temple. If Obi-Wan can’t get them flowing again, maybe someone else will. (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sheev Palpatine, various Jedi)

Nothing to Write Home About - A month after losing his wife, Cliegg Lars decides to write to her son. Anakin Skywalker gets the pen pal he never knew he needed. WIP. (Anakin Skywalker, Cliegg Lars, Owen Lars, Beru Lars, Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala)

For the Greater Good - Count Dooku has never seen the appeal of Anakin Skywalker, but, when the Chosen One breaks with the Council over the treatment of the clones, he decides acquiring the boy’s allegiances might be worthwhile after all. WIP co-written with @grand-duc and @thendstartsnow (Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker, Palpatine, Clone Troopers)

Once More With Feeling - A redeemed Anakin travels back in time post-RotJ and decides to unfuck the timeline with mixed results. (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, Sheev Palpatine, Jedi Council, bunch of other people)

Bridal Carry - On Naboo, it’s tradition for the groom to carry the bride to their marriage bed. With Anakin’s new prosthetic, it’s more difficult than it sounds. (Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker)

Secret Tunnel - War in the Outer Rim! While fighting on the mining world of Mumblety, Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano is tasked with mapping the tunnels along with a team of clones. When trouble strikes, will she have what it takes to save the day and complete the mission? (Ahsoka Tano, Echo, Fives, Anakin Skywalker)

No Place Like Home - Ahsoka’s return to the temple after her first deployment was strange, made even stranger by the fact that it should’t be strange at all. (Ahsoka Tano, Rex)

Eat, Snip, Love - Ahsoka can’t remember the last time she had a home cooked meal. Anakin and Padmé are determined to change that. (Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala)

Love and Support - After Padmé is shot at a conference, her mother insists she come home. Padmé, of course, is going no where. Episode tag to 3.07 “Assassin.” (Padmé, Ahsoka)

Across a Crowded Room - It’s a party in his honor, but it turns out the Hero With No Fear isn’t good with crowds. Padmé to the rescue. (Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker)

Lightening Rod - Anakin gets electrocuted…again. It probably says something bad about his life that he’s getting used to it. (Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi)

Coming Out of My Cage, Doing Just Fine - On the way back from Kadavo, it finally hits her. In this war, Ahsoka had been outmatched, outmaneuvered, and outgunned, but she’d never felt powerless. Not like she did in that cage on Zygerria. (Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker)

In Our Bed After the War - After the mission to Zygerria, Padmé and Anakin have a difficult conversation. (Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker)

Domestic Life Was Never Quite My Style - Despite her best efforts, Padmé is pregnant. Now she has a difficult decision to make. (Padme Amidala, C-3P0)

You Call That Family? - In an AU where Anakin has left the order to be Padme, Obi-Wan encounters unexpected resistance when he goes to collect the twins. (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala)

Birthright - The Force called him to his family and Anakin is not prepared to give them up. Not even to the Jedi Council. (Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, baby Skywalkers)

If Not For These Bad Dreams - Fives has dreamed about killing every Jedi he’s ever met except General Skywalker. Turns out he’s not the only one. (Fives, Kix, Tup, Jesse)

Dateline Felucia - Embedded with the troops on Felucia, a reporter from HoloNet News paints an intimate portrait of the men of the 212th Attack Battalion. (Cody, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Waxer, Boil, clone troopers)

Ahsoka the Vampire Slayer - Ahsoka is the Chosen One, the Slayer, or at least she was until she died. She got better, but now there’s a new Slayer in town and things with her Watcher are strained at best. Add in a bunch of zombie mind control bugs and Ahsoka’s week could be going better. BtVS fusion. (Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, Barriss Offee, Luminara Undili)

Bursts of Stardust - Collection of short tumblr prompts. (Everyone ever)

Rogue One

The Lord’s Estate - Every lord must have an estate. Lord Vader’s is Mustafar. (Vader, Palpatine)

Peace is a Lie - Sometimes Vader wakes up and can’t remember what war he’s fighting. (Darth Vader)

A Cog In Something Turning - Cassian hadn’t meant to give K-2SO free will. Good thing for both of them he’s a terrible slicer. (K-2SO, Cassian Andor)

Original Trilogy

Sea of Sorrow and Sand - Ben Kenobi is an island in a sea of sorrow and sand. Beru Lars has come to drag him back to shore. (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Beru Lars)

What Remains - What remains of a relationship built on lies? Nothing, as Darth Sidious will soon find out. (Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, Padmé Amidala’s preserved corpse)

On This Strange and Mournful Day - The events of Vader Down go very differently. The father and child reunion is only a motion away. (Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Dr. Aphra)

After the Funeral - Han offers Luke some unexpected support after the funeral of the guy who tortured him. (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo)

A Cynic’s Guide to the New Golden Age - The second Death Star goes kabloowie and takes the galaxy with it. It’s a new golden age of piracy and Aphra’s got some looting to do. (Dr. Aphra, Luke, 0-0-0, BT-1, Black Krrsantan)

The Last Truce We Ever Came To - Darth Vader is dead but he won’t leave Leia alone. (Leia Organa, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker)

Sequel Era

Red Fish, Blue Fish - Leia bought an aquarium for her child like her father before her. In a perfect world she could raise Ben to fill his grandfather’s legacy. Too bad he had more than one. (Leia Organa, Ben Solo, Angst)

A Matter of Precedence - FN-2187 wasn’t the first, except for the time he was. Others have defied the First Order before, but none quite as spectacularly. (Finn, First Order)

So You Want to be a (Space) Wizard - Finn finds a mysterious book, takes an Oath, and starts one hell of an Ordeal. Crossover with Young Wizards. (Finn, Poe Dameron, Rey)

Old Haunts (All We’ve Ever Known) - Anakin and Obi-Wan as snarky Force ghosts during The Force Awakens. (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, TFA cast)

Lady in Waiting - Rey’s spent so much of her life waiting it’s hard to know when to stop. Luckily, Poe’s there to give her the push she needs. (Rey, Poe Dameron, Leia Organa, Finn)

Not a Drop to Drink - On Luke’s island, Rey couldn’t quite get her mind around the sheer amount of water stretching out towards the horizon. (Rey, Luke Skywalker)

#star wars #may the fourth be with you #my fic

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space-girl-and-droids-art · 3 years ago

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Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark- Book Review

“Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark” Is an anthology of stories narrating some of the arcs of the clone wars from the perspective of the characters. It gives more details and depth to some episodes, as well as giving us information that makes us have a different view of the events.

This is not exactly a review, but mostly my reactions to reading the book. I do recommend it, if you loved the clone wars and want another perspective on some of the arcs this will be a good read. That said, this does contain spoilers for the clone wars.

#1 “Sharing the same Face” -Jason Fry (from the episode “Ambush”)

Okay this was once one of the most light-hearted episodes of the series and now I ended up crying. I did not expect an order 66 reference here. Every time Yoda addresses Dooku is painful. Seeing how Yoda perceives the clones is really heart-warming, but knowing how it all turns out in the end is really sad and during the whole text you are really aware of that. In the show you kind of forget about what’s going to happen for a while, but this text just keeps you thinking about it constantly. It was a good read, I loved it. I found it really interesting knowing Yoda approaches the clones the same way he approached his students at the temple, and knowing what his opinions on the clone army it was a good detail. Loved this one.

Did I care that much about this episode before? No. But watching it right after reading this made me cry for half an hour. (I am a really emotional person, so take this with a grain of salt.)

#2 “Dooku Captured”- Lou Anders (From the episodes “Dooku Captured” and “Gungan General”.

This was a funny read, and the fact that the events are narrated by Dooku Himself made it even more hilarious. It’s supposedly a holorecording Dooku was doing for Sidious, and you can tell by his words that he was so done. Poor Dooku deserves a meditation day after it. You can tell how annoyed he was by the whole situation and his perception of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They really are bothering for the count. I’m surprised he didn’t retire after this event, man’s gotta be really tired. Also, when they were tied together, they just shared a braincell and most of the time, Dooku was the one carrying it. The love he had for Qui-Gon does not extend to rest of the lineage, clearly.

At first it was really slow, but after they get captured by the pirates it just gets funnier. Good story to read after the sadness the previous text gave me.

Also, the fact that Dooku canonically records himself venting to Sidious is hilarious to me. Like, can you imagine being Palpatine and receiving daily vlogs from your apprentice ranting and complaining about Anakin and Obi-Wan? Dude was tired, of course he would let Anakin decapitate him in the end.

#3 “Hostage Crisis”- Preeti Chhibber (from the episode “Hostage Crisis”)

For an Anidala shipper this is a must read, because you will know exactly what Anakin thinks of his wife and how he views Padmé. This text was more Anakin centric (I believe the next one is Padmé centric) and it was a delight. I haven’t read much in canon about stuff that involves Anakin’s feelings so this was really good.

The scene from the beginning of the episode? Is hotter when you read it, trust me. For a clearly SFW text, this was intense. I’m pretty sure I can guess all of Anakin’s kink only by what was implied in his thoughts. Is also really sweet to see how much she cares, but also know why everything went downhill at the end. Good retelling.

#4 “Pursuit of Peace”- Anne Ursu (from the episodes “Heroes on both sides” and “Pursuit of Peace”)

I really love Padmé Amidala. My favorite senator. If you have seen my review of Queen’s Peril you KNOW How much I love her, and even when this text was written by another author, I still got the same feeling about her. Padmé is amazing. This arc is one of my favorite of the Clone wars because it’s the arc that let you see that it wasn’t a black and white kind of situation, both sides were being played. An none of them were really worrying about their people, they were in it for the money. I love reading Padmé’s thoughts on the whole situation. Also, the way this story is written makes what went down with Padmé and Anakin in the third episode make more sense and more in character. She is a strong, good, and smart politician. But she is also motivated to see the light in the dark and preserve the light, it gave me major Qui-Gon from “Master and Apprentice” vibes. It did make me tear up a little, because when I finished it, I realized everything she did was for nothing. She was too kind in a galaxy already so corrupted.

Also, Palpatine stop calling her “my child” you disgusting sith lord, I know you are responsible for her death and so do you, so shut the f up. Padmé was doing everything right and she hasn’t done anything wrong in her life whatsoever.

“Just because there’s darkness in something does not mean you do not love it. You show it love, you show it light, and you hope it chooses the light”.

She was talking about the senate but you just KNOW she isn’t really talking about the senate.

This story re-telling broke me, just as the first one. I am not ready for the next one. Do I have to? Man, I really don’t want to go through Umbara again.

#5 “The Shadow of Umbara” -Yoon Ha Lee (from the episodes "Darkness on Umbara," "The General," "Plan of Dissent," and "Carnage of Krell”)

I was, indeed, not ready for it. It doesn’t really add much to the story… except pain. Rex’s pain, to be precise. Let my man mourn Hardcase :C I just wanted to give him a hug, him and all of the clones to be honest. Fives was as good as always, but re-reading his lines knowing what happens to him made me sad. I hate Pong Krell, get you dirty hands off my babies. I don’t think this re- telling made me sadder, but that’s only because it was just as painful as the episodes.

Dogma my beloved, you deserve everything.

I love how this arc develops Rex character and his attitude towards the war in general.

#6 “Bane’s Story”- Tom Angleberger (from the episodes “Deception”, “Friends and Enemies”, “The Box” and “Crisis on Naboo”.)

Is Cad Bane the Regina George of the Bounty Hunters?

The answer is yes. Yes, he is.

I wasn’t really excited to read about Cad Bane at first, I felt that everything that had to be said about the guy had already been stated in the show. He was just a mean bounty hunter in space. But this was actually pretty funny to read, specially because it’s narrated in first person from Bane’s perspective on what happened with Kenobi. And it’s hilarious.

He is basically re telling the events to Boba and Bossk while he is in jail again. During his story you can learn a few things about him as well, specially what his thoughts are in relation to some important topics. You would think he is only concerned about the money and blasting people, and you would be right. But he also does have an opinion on what’s happening on the galaxy at large, on the jedi, on Palpatine and Dooku. But those opinions don’t affect how he gets the job done. It was really interesting seeing him internally judging Kenobi for being a liar, and knowing something is wrong with the jedi order if they pulled that off. He knows everyone is being deceived, but doesn’t know how. That’s why he doesn’t care, and doesn’t get involved on anything unless you offer to pay him. Money moves him, but not the people who has it.

It was a good story, and I also liked to see how Bane respects Boba and sees him as the one that’s going to take his place eventually.

We know from the deleted episodes that Cad Bane was supposed to be killed by Boba Fett, but we haven’t seen that in canon yet. I really hope they answer what happened to Cad Bane in the current canon, I would love to see that in a comic, or in a book.

#7 “The lost nightsister”- Zoraida Cordova (from the episode “Bounty”)

I love Asajj Ventress for a million reasons and this story just made me love her even more. It’s the same story from the episodes but with an insight of what Ventress is thinking about. Which is unsurprisingly very depressing but the story itself turns out to be pretty uplifting.

It’s about her thoughts on what happened after the massacre of her sisters, her family, and how she deals with everything she had already lost. How lonely and worthless she feels. But during the course of the story, we see her reconnecting with who she is, and learning her value. Learning she is a powerful person, master or not.

It was also really sad to see how she compared herself to others. She was really sad and angry that nobody cared about what happened to her people, no one that cared about her. She saw how people wanted the girl in the box back and thought about how nobody would ever do the same for her and it was sad.

I also find very depressing that she couldn’t mourn her family.

But then she said this:

“What made her so special? What made her worth—No. She couldn’t think that way. This girl’s worth didn’t diminish her own. “

And like, I’m 100% rooting for her here.

Also, I love that once she realized the girl from the box was being smuggled to be essentially a child bride, she didn’t hesitate to scam the old creep. She may be an assassin, but during the course of this story you learn that she is disgusted by men who take advantage of female beings. I also love her internal monologue after the guy was bothering her in the cantina and how she just knows that if she can defend herself, she will do it with no hesitation.

Lovely story, I love knowing more about Ventress. Beautifully written.

#8"Dark Vengeance”-Rebecca Roanhorse (from the episodes "Brothers" and "Revenge")

It’s so on brand for Darth Maul to have his entire story be about Kenobi. It’s narrated by him, but directed towards you, like he is telling the reader a story. That in some stories could be like an awkward thing, but here it was well done. I love Maul and like, I could picture us having that conversation, well, me listening to him monologuing.

I really liked that he started telling the story from the events that happened on Naboo. You get to really see what happened from his perspective and understand why his hatred of Kenobi only grows over time.

Also, Darth Maul was like “I can excuse murder, but I draw the line at being rude”. Which is so morally wrong, but very fitting to his character. He is really upset at Kenobi for not caring about what happened to him. From what I gathered of the info that he let us know, he would probably like it more if Kenobi killed him instead of having to spend all those years in the garbage. Nobody cared for him enough to go and check up on what happened to him. That doesn’t excuse murder though.

The interactions he had with Kenobi let us know that it was not very jedi like the way he treated Maul, ignoring his rage and letting it consume him. Obi-wan just kept adding fuel to the fire because he was also really angry at Maul for the murder of Qui-Gon, not realizing that that would only make Maul be even angrier. And we know how that ended up for Satine Kenobi.

Final thoughts: Savage, I love you.

#9 "Almost a Jedi"-Sarah Beth Durst (from the episode "A Necessary Bond")

I thought this story was going to be from Ahsoka’s point of view. It was not.

I’m not mad at it though.

The story itself does focus on Ahsoka but it’s narrated by Katooni. It’s basically about how much she adores Ahsoka and wants to be like her, but also doubts herself a lot. She thinks she is not good enough to be a jedi. But her experiences both with Ahsoka and with Hondo Ohnaka makes her change her mind.

I want to say that I love the fact that it’s canon that she drew a poster of Ahsoka for her room because she really admired her that much it's so wholesome. It’s cute, and also let us see the perception the younglings had of Ahsoka.

Also, the bond between Hondo and Katooni is really wholesome. This also made me realize that this encounter with a young jedi is the reason he is immediately friendly with Ezra in Rebels. Ezra and Katooni do share similar personality traits sometimes.

Deep diving in Wookiepedia after reading this I found out that Hondo’s ship in Galaxy’s Edge is called “The Katooni” and now I’m sad thinking he was probably devastated when he learnt about Order 66 and what Vader did to the younglings. Great now I’m angsty about a chaotic evil space pirate.

I think it was confirmed by Dave Filoni that those kids are dead now. May the force be with them, they were good enough jedis.

#10 "Kenobi's Shadow"-Greg van Eekhout (from the episode "The Lawless”)

This is the re-telling of one of the saddest clone wars episodes. The episode just lets you think that everything’s going to be alright, that they are going to survive together, lets you hope that they take off just in time… and then it doesn’t happen. I’m still not over Satine’s death. And this made it even sadder. There were so many points their story could’ve gone differently, but their story was already at an end.

This is in third person but heavily focusing on Kenobi’s thoughts along the way. He really was close to turn to the dark side, but his love for Satine and his grief made him not surrender to it. But he felt an anger, a justified one, but an anger that I have never seen in a jedi other than Anakin Skywalker. And we all know what happens to him.

It was a good but sad reading. I won’t be reading this one again. It’s too much. I knew what was going to happen and it still hit me hard. I wish things would’ve gone differently for the both of them. I wonder if we will get flashbacks to this in the Kenobi show.

Also, I really need an Obi-Wan Kenobi and Satine book of their time on the run.

#11 "Bug"-E. Anne Convery (inspired by the episode "Massacre”)

I can’t talk openly about this story because it’s not actually featured on the clone wars. It’s a really good story, specially if you want to expand on the lore regarding Dathomir and the Nightsister in the new canon. It’s perfectly executed, and even when the story isn’t about any of the main characters it hooked me from start to finish. Definitely one of my favorite stories of the book and If I had to pick one story from this anthology to read again it would be this one.

It has more gruesome details than the others and the atmosphere is dark, and I loved it. I would read a whole Dathomirian Nightsister novel written by this author if it was in this exact same style. I really liked it a lot.

In summary, I really enjoyed reading this Anthology. I would really recommend it to anyone who is fond of the Clone Wars or the prequels era. Adults, Kids, Teens, Young adults. I think I would’ve enjoyed this book as a kid as well, and I enjoyed it a lot now in my early twenties. It contains a little bit of everything and that makes it a really complete anthology.

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noddytheornithopod · 3 years ago

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The two most non-controversial men: Steven Universe and Kylo Ren

(For this)

Wow, trying to get me cancelled much? :P

Steven

My favorite thing about them: Just a really positive role model for masculinity, being someone pretty nice and sweet and open about his feelings, and his failures are when he fails to live up to those things. It's good he's not perfect either.

My least favorite thing about them: IDK... I guess maybe he's a bit of a handful in the really early episodes? But even then, it kinda makes sense.

My favorite canon relationship: Relationship is very open ended and doesn't specify if it means romantic or in general, so I'll cover all bases. Ship wise, I ship him with Connie, they're just really sweet and compliment each other well while bringing out the best in each other. In terms of general character relationships, I think all of the main Crystal Gems have really great dynamics with him, they all have their nice features while still having specific nuances to them. I enjoy his dynamic with Peridot too, for similar reasons.

My favorite non-canon relationship: I mean, Steven being the viewpoint character has a dynamic with pretty much every character on-screen. :v So it's Rose Quartz by default, because she's the only major character I can think of he wouldn't have met. Would be interesting to see what a conversation between them would be like, even if neither can exist.

The sexuality I headcanon for them: Probably pan if you ask me.

What I’d do if I could spend the day with them: Make sure he's taking it easy and enjoying himself, I don't want him to have another SU Future incident. :P

Random fact about them I like: Nothing really comes to mind?

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo

My favorite thing about them: Hmm... I feel so indifferent this is actually really hard. Until I can think of a better answer, I'll just say Ben Swolo memes. :v Okay fine, for a more serious answer... I do think there's potential in the whole "kid of galactic heroes feels isolated" and parallels to IRL radicalisation into harmful ideologies thing.

My least favorite thing about them: the fact that people either love him so much he becomes all they care about, or that people hate him so much like they have a vendetta against him they think his mere presence ruins everything I kinda feel like he's kinda safe as a character, in a way? The most interesting thing he did was when he killed Snoke to become the big bad and go further into darkness, making any potential redemption harder, but then as we know, "somehow, Palpatine returned". In general, I just kinda get this sense he feels so manufactured to be "sympathetic evil but secretly not that evil deep down" guy. I find the internal conflicts and moral ambiguity of characters like Anakin, Maul and even freaking Dooku more interesting, personally. I feel like whenever I'm watching him I'm seeing an "I'M SO CONFLICTED" sign. I don't dislike the character or have anything against him like some people who seem to fume at his mere existence, but I feel like there's just more interesting dark side characters. It's not even that he's a failure at living up to the legacy of the dark side or anything, it's just again I feel like they played it too safe with him.

My favorite canon relationship: IDK, Rey? *sees pitchforks* Oh shut up, I'm not even a Reylo shipper, I'm completely indifferent to what people do and don't ship with the character. I purely mean this in terms of their dynamic and chemistry.

My favorite non-canon relationship: I like the idea of him being in his Darth Vader phase and then learning about what Anakin was like, maybe ghost Anakin can show up and tell him "lol I moved past all that".

The sexuality I headcanon for them: I barely care enough to even answer?

What I’d do if I could spend the day with them: Try not to piss him off in case he gets violent. :v

Random fact about them I like: The idea that he talks to Darth Vader helmet all the time but it's actually secretly Sidious amuses me to a degree.

#ask #meme #star wars #steven universe #kylo ren #ben solo

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padme-amitabha · 4 years ago

Text

Prequel And George Lucas Appreciation Post

This is an ongoing list of everything I appreciate about the Star Wars Prequels (and by extension the Original Trilogy) and appreciation of George Lucas’ vision and a tribute to Star Wars when it was still about morals and depth because Disney is intent on ruining the franchise and George’s creation. I am only referring to the six original films here and the list is in no particular order.

1. Villains - One thing that Lucas does well is creating great antagonists. Now Darth Vader being a great villain and character is pretty self-explanatory but I love the way his character is handled in the movies. He is presented in three different ways in each film, or that’s how I interpret it anyway.

We see him being an imperial in ANH and a bereaucratic one at that. He is defending the battle station and basically doing his job i.e trying to locate the stolen plans. In ESB, he is suddenly a much bigger threat. He is the epitome of evil which is further enhanced by the stunning visuals. He is the ultimate bad guy who Luke has to defeat to become a Jedi. What we did not expect is the “I am your father” reveal and that Luke is defeated and manages to escape in the end. The Darth Vader in ROTJ is much more subservient and loyal to the Emperor. He obeys the emperor and waits for Luke to show up and is not much of a threat. He is also shown to be very conflicted and tries to convince Luke to join him rather than making Luke join him against his will. The reason I think he’s portrayed differently is because the story is from Luke’s perspective. Yoda and Obi-Wan led Luke to believe Vader is evil and the narrative stays faithful to that. However, when Luke realizes the word of the Jedi cannot fully be trusted, he decides to come to his own conclusion and sees the conflict and good in his father after a brief conversation. Even with the black and white symbolism in the OT, we are introduced to the gray area in ROTJ when it’s revealed Darth Vader is not as evil as he appears to be and the “good” Jedi can just be as manipulative and biased (as acknowledged by Obi-Wan clinging to his own point of view and encouraging a boy to kill/fight his father without even sharing the information with him) - and Lucas continues to explore this in the Prequels.

The Prequels are about the fall of a centuries old noble religious order and how a single man managed to bring an end to democracy. History shows to bring down an established government it must have some structural flaws and as such the Jedi are shown to be just as bureaucratic as the imperials in ANH; the Jedi are portrayed in a negative light. The Jedi had grown arrogant in their abilities and had grown personal loyalties (such as Mace Windu to the Republic) and they were too blind to acknowledge the flaws in their perception. Qui-Gon was an exception to this and he was more compassionate and better Jedi like the knights in the Old Republic and his death in TPM foreshadows the fall of the Jedi order and of the golden era of the Jedi. At the end of the trilogy, Yoda and Obi-Wan are the sole survivors. It proves even the wise and experienced Yoda could be wrong as he confessed to Qui-Gon in ROTS. Obi-Wan was a Jedi who was very loyal to the order and the council and wished to follow the code by the book and still over the years he had grown attached to Anakin and had a strong emotional bond with him which was why he was still alive although deeply affected by the events. Hence, both Yoda and Obi-Wan were forced to acknowledge the weaknesses in their order and as a result grew as characters.

The prequels also demonstrate how the strict and flawed ways of the Jedi drastically changed Anakin’s life and how he struggled to fit in the order but at the same time making a point that the code didn’t change the lives of all the Jedi such as Obi-Wan who was quite content as a Jedi. The contrast shows how the lifestyle affected people like Anakin who were ruled by their emotions, and how it ended up pushing him to the dark side.

Palpatine is another great villain in contrast to Vader because he is anything but conflicted. He is the true epitome of evil and unapologetically so. I have seen very few stories actually pulling this off because a character who’s purely evil tends to be one dimensional or run the risk of coming across as incompetent even though the creator tries to tell us that they are very capable, such as Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. However, this can be done well if the main focus of the story isn’t on the main villain by minimising their screentime so they still appear a looming threat till the main character(s) defeat them in the end and accomplish something, as done with Fire Lord Ozai from ATLA and Palpatine in OT. Palpatine is a looming, sort of foreign threat in the background who is shown to be purely evil and chaotic and he only appears in the last film. He isn’t defeated by the hero but by his own apprentice who served him for years. Vader is the main villain in OT and of course a great one at that. But the PT establishes that Palpatine is very much an accomplished villain as well. He’s a treacherous Sith Lord who has managed to evade the Jedi at the height of their power by hiding in plain sight. He orchestrates a galactic war by playing both sides and emerges victorious. He turns the clones against their allies and comes to power by latching onto emergency powers, much like Hitler. Even without Anakin/Vader’s help, he’s fairly successful in eradicating an entire order by studying and utilizing their weaknesses.

One of his greatest accomplishments is manipulating Anakin for years and slowly grooming him to be the perfect Sith apprentice. He takes his time to get in his head and establishing trust and knows exactly what to say to win him over, and while he is doing this he isn’t sitting idle. He has other apprentices whom he discards after they serve a purpose. He is ambitious and always scheming and I would say he’s a pretty successful politician too as he had quite a few supporters in the Senate to be elected Supreme Chancellor. He was the ultimate mastermind pulling the strings and manipulating everyone around him even Padmé in TPM.

As others have noted before me, the titles of the prequels have multiple meanings. While Darth Maul is shown to be the Phantom Menace in regards to being a mysterious figure who looks like the devil himself and stalking the main characters, so is Sheev Palpatine and Queen Amidala in the sense neither are who they pretend to be. Padmé’s two identities are obvious in the film while Palpatine’s double identity remains hidden. The Attack of the Clones can also be interpreted as Palpatine vs Sidious as they are the leaders of the both sides and they are referred to as clones as they are identical i.e. the same person. I also love how they incorporated the emperor’s theme from ROTJ into the ending theme in TPM and it’s a subtle reminder that it’s as just as much Palpatine’s victory in being elected chancellor.

I personally don’t mind that Maul was killed off in TPM because even though he lost to Obi-Wan it wasn’t before he killed an accomplished Jedi Knight. He was just as skilled as them and we see the Jedi struggle to keep up even with their strength in numbers. I love the fact that he more like a silent assassin because a lot of villains have a habit of chattering which is often utilised by the heroes to win, and Maul still retained the sense of mystery around him by the end of the film.

It’s pretty well-known that Maul, Dooku and Grievous all foreshadow the rise of Darth Vader, the franchise’s most iconic villain. Maul is a Sith Lord who unquestioningly obeys Sidious, Dooku is a former Jedi who left the order due to ideological differences and also personal ambition and Grievous is part cyborg with a preistent cough (similar to Vader’s wheezing) to make a point that technology is not without limitations and also a reminder of his humanity.

All in all I think Lucas is a genius who has managed to give us pretty amazing and actually proficient villains who could give the heroes a run for their money.

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twilightofthe · 4 years ago

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So...about that Obitine Anidala rant. Also, you said something about how Sidious and Obi-Wan are foils. I would love it if you elaborate. (Also, I love your blog.)

Awwwww thank you anon! I just be yelling on here!

*wheezes* okie doke! Tho I stress that this won’t exactly be a rant because I adore Obitine and Anidala and rant kinda implies aggression towards them, this is more of just a long-ass ramble because while I love them, I don’t always love the way canon portrays them in the narrative, particularly in relationship to each other, because I often do not feel that what the show is trying to push us to think about them is accurate to how they actually act and come across. Notably, the show attempts to draw comparisons to the two relationships that really don’t exist below surface level similarities. Again, these are my own personal opinions, and in fact, I welcome discussion! I truly do! Please politely debate me on this if you disagree!

(god dammit it got long again, so long I’ll actually put ur Sidious and Obi Wan as foils part in a separate post)

I’ll get to why exactly the show compares the relationships very strangely in a moment, but first we gotta explore the reason why it does this in the first place, which is that the Clone Wars show has decided to make Obi Wan and Anakin narrative foils to one another. Narrative foils, by the literary definition, are two characters that contrast one another. They don’t have to be the protagonist and the antagonist, these characters can be on the same side, basically the thing is that they have “opposite” personalities where if one character is hot, the other is cold, if one character chooses to go right, the other will go left. It’s usually used to show one character’s qualities as more favorable for the situation as opposed to anyone else’s.

TCW does this whenever they possibly can with Anakin and Obi Wan. I get its reasoning behind it. I do. The reasoning is that while Anakin is supposed to be a main character, he makes questionable decisions quite often and for the kiddies watching, those decisions must be seen as Bad even if the hero does it, so they have Obi Wan, the unquestionable good guy, encounter the exact same scenarios Anakin makes his questionable decisions in, and then has Obi Wan make the Right(TM) decision to teach the kids a valuable lesson. They turn Obi Wan into the voice of reason for the entire show, which turns basically almost everything Obi Wan and Anakin do into a constant competition in the narrative in a way the movies do not do (and I’ll get to the movies later). I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing, making them foils, but it’s definitely more of a show-only thing and it does it quite, quite often.

So yeah, TCW likes to compare Obi Wan and Anakin to the point that sometimes they try and use Obi Wan to diminish Anakin’s genuine trauma and struggles by going “well why didn’t you do it like THIS?” and I think that writing parallel plotlines for the purpose of shaming/criticism is kinda ://////, but that’s another rant for another day that again, if y’all wanna hear about, lmk

Anyway, the need to compare them absolutely made its way into their romantic relationships as well, as they acknowledge the similarities in the show, and Filoni and the crew explicitly compare the two relationships in interviews.

Basically my problem with how they try and draw said parallels can be boiled down to one quote by Filoni that a cursory Google search could not find but I know exists so y’all can take my word or not, that went along the lines of “Obi Wan and Satine are like Anakin and Padmé but better because they know how to stay unattached and let each other go. They’re a success story.” I disagreed with this quote so much it inspired me to write a whole-ass fic about it (Mutuals update: yes, it is coming soon, Darth Maul is just himself and therefore an utter pain in the ass to do a POV on and is fighting me like the bitchass he is)

My thesis that I will be arguing today is that while TCW tried to create Obitine as an Anidala parallel, they’re really not similar in the way the writers think they are. Obitine is not a success story to Anidala, they’re a goddamn tragedy too; the real parallel to Anidala is that Obitine also ended in death and tears despite making all the “right” decisions instead of all the “wrong” ones, and that is what is sad about them.

Like, on the surface level? Yeah, the crew-intended parallels are there. A fancy politician and a Jedi get together after the Jedi is assigned as the politician’s bodyguard. The first time they see each other in over a decade the guy’s first words are basically “damn girl you’re still hot”, there is Conflict(TM) and the choice to try and be together or stay yearningly apart because they are Forbidden(TM) to be together, and ultimately a Sith Lord fucks them both over because he’s obsessed with the Jedi and uses Politician Lady to his advantage, finds and exploits a vulnerability of hers, destroys her life’s work, and then lets her die to make Jedi Man sad. The difference is all that one pair said “yeah we aren’t gonna break the rules to be together” and the other said “fuck it yeah we are, let’s do this”

But beneath all of that, they real similarities are different and not at all focused on by the narrative. Obi Wan and Anakin are extremely different people, as are Padmé and Satine, so their relationship dynamics together will not be the same. You want to try and compare Obi Wan and Anakin and then compare Satine and Padmé like the crew attempts to, and you can’t, they have the same job but not nearly the same life. Namely, the funny coincidence is that Obi Wan and Padmé are much more similar in personality, while Anakin and Satine are also much more similar in personality, so the first time they meet again, it’s both Anakin and Satine as the one who’s been pining for over a decade and the one more actively pursuing the relationship, while Obi Wan and Padmé who are more like “uh, hi, wow, you’re hot and this is a Problem because I have a job to do pls don’t look at me like that but also I will Cause Problems On Purpose and flirt with you anyway because I can’t help it”. I get the Corruption TCW ep with Sati and Pads was mostly intended just to help Satine pass the Bechdel test and also show how similar the two leading lady love interests are, but it was a genuinely creative episode that actually ended up showing how much Satine and Padmé compliment each other instead of mirroring each other, much like Obi Wan and Anakin do.

And, onto my next point, despite the character parallels being wrong, the parallels in the relationship are different too. Like I said, the parallel isn’t that Obi Wan and Satine aren’t attached like Anakin and Padmé are. The parallel is that Obitine is actively running from what that attachment means instead of embracing it like Anidala is. The show would argue that since they try to avoid it, that they are able to live without one another, means they aren’t attached like the Jedi define it, but I argue that they definitely still are attached to a degree because they cannot give each other up. They held torches for each other from a timerange of 15 YEARS. Yes I know they spent an entire year together at a young and emotionally volatile point in their lives, but I stand that NO ONE is that hung up on their ex for that long unless there is some serious emotions involved. Anakin was hung up on Padmé for ten years, and that was because Palpatine was constantly bolstering those affections and reminding him of Padmé. Obes and Sati both-- or at least Satine, the show always makes Obi Wan’s feelings for Satine in return much more vague --held on to their feelings for five years longer without the influence of a Sith Lord.

And the thing is, they know it. Obi Wan and Satine are both fully aware that they haven’t been able to shake each other off like they should and that that is a Problem, that’s why they’re both a mite venomous with each other beneath the flirting at first, they’re both extremely frustrated with themselves for not being able to get over this thing they have, and frustrated with the other for being there as an active temptation.

And yet, they still are attached to each other. They try to avoid it, they definitely try, and that’s what makes them different from Anidala, but they are definitely still attached. You can see it in Obi Wan’s actions in Voyage of Temptation when Merrik is threatening to blow the ship, the way he hesitates in attacking him because that would be “striking an unarmed man”. Obi Wan Kenobi does not prefer violence, no, but he has never hesitated to cut a bitch before if it’s for the good of the many. This is the man who stabbed someone with a fork and threatened to eat him just to maintain his cover as a dangerous criminal. This is the guy who had no problem killing Zam Wessel for information to protect Padmé. This is a pragmatist who prefers peaceful solutions, but he does not hesitate if he feels it is a justified offense. But this time, when an entire shipful of people is at risk, Obi Wan hesitates. Because he doesn’t want to upset Satine. Because he’s probably thinking on how she told him that if he had killed the last terrorist they encountered, she wouldn’t speak to him, how she had criticized every time he used violence to escape Death Watch before. He hesitates because he’s putting her happiness, just for a second, over the sake of duty. Do I think that if Anakin hadn’t shown up to save their moral compasses, Obi Wan would have eventually taken out Merrik? Absolutely; hell, I honestly think Satine might have done it.

But the matter was, Merrik could have pressed the kill switch any second of Obi Wan’s hesitation, and Obi Wan knew that, and was hesitating anyway.

I am calling this attachment solely because if the situation was reversed, if this was Anakin and Padmé in this situation, with Anakin not taking out a dangerous criminal because he doesn’t want to upset Padmé (lol ignoring the fact that Pads 1000% would have shot that bitch, and even if she didn’t, Anakin would because he is perfectly fine with hurting his loved ones’ feelings if he feels it’ll keep them safe), god, the narrative would have eaten Anakin alive.

No, I won’t take criticism. I know how the show handles the Anidala dynamic. It would have shown Obi Wan popping up to take out the baddie as him doing the right thing and saving the day, and then Anakin would have been shamed for letting his feelings for his wife get in the way of protecting a shipful of people. THAT would be the Vader foreshadowing, none of this “only a cold-blooded killer” shit, no way would they ever stick that label on Obi Wan.

So yeah, I’m going off of the fact that if that would have been classified as attachment for Anidala-- which, it would, then. it counts for Obitine.

And then Obi Wan and Satine continue to be hung up on each other for the rest of the eps they’re in, Satine saying in words multiple times how much she loves and cares about him and wishes things could be different, and Obi Wan performing it in actions, risking his own neck and political standing to help her even when she’s a fugitive, probably personally putting in to send his own grandpadawan to help her later. Right up to the time when Satine decides that she is going to call Obi Wan when she is deposed. Not the Senate. Not any powerful politician friends. Not even the Jedi Order or the Council as a whole. She calls and addresses her distress call to Obi Wan alone. And Obi Wan, as now revealed to us by TCW S7, defies Council orders and breaks a century old neutrality treaty to try and bust her, a convicted murderer in the eyes of the Republic and Mandalore, out. He didn’t even know Maul had her. Just knew she was in danger and came running to her aid. He risks starting a potential war to come save her. They acted so in love that Vizsla was able to guess from being around them for like five seconds, and was able to tell Maul exactly who he would need to bait Obi Wan.

That is where the attachment comes from. It’s the fact that Obi Wan and Satine tried so, so hard to give each other up and do the right thing, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t lose the other one so they put them first when logically they shouldn’t. And thus, Satine ended up dead.

Now I know most people will argue with me that actually Filoni means that since they didn’t stay together after the year on the run, THAT is what makes them able to give each other up, and also the fact that Obi Wan didn’t go dark side and murder everyone when Satine died.

But I still think that at least the murder front is a fairly low bar to cross, and anyway, that just because they could live without each other didn’t mean they weren’t still attached. Anakin and Padmé were apart for 10 years and then even after that, they were apart almost constantly during the war. Just because they could live apart or even past the other’s death didn’t mean they weren’t attached, as they both still had not let the other go mentally and also broke rules to try and ensure the other would not die, even if the rules said they should let it happen.

So yeah, that’s my big theory. We can’t compare Obitine with Anidala by saying Obitine was a success story, we compare them by acknowledging that both struggled with attachments and letting the other go, but Obitine at least tried to the bitter end to do the right thing while Anidala didn’t really bother, and both ended up with dead women and broken men regardless, and that is the true sad parallel to me.

#ohhhhh my god i really gotta learn how to shut up lol #thanks anon! told ya it was long!#ask #asks #when we were young #star-crossed lovers #our only ho #peace out #one (1) hot mess #queen of my heart #anon

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adelcrait-old-account · 4 years ago

Text

Lost and Found— Chapter 15: The Boss

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24522103/chapters/64196512

After discovering a security breach, Vader sends Luke and Piett undercover to a bar frequented by criminals, hoping to run into the woman that is planning to defeat the Empire.

Meme spoilers and a rant under the cut:

Hello!

This chapter was a long time coming thing. I wanted to change the scenario and get them all to an actual planet with real air. Luke’s been up in space for weeks, but Piett must have been there for a few months, if not a year. I’m sending him on a vacation, he deserves it.

July me also thought it was the funniest idea to write Piett, unmasked Vader and Luke in a bar talking about Vader. Luke would introduce unmasked Vader as “his mortal enemy”, and Piett would believe it. I also find it incredibly amusing (to me) that Vader refuses to act as another person because: a) *dramatic spotlight* He is Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, current temporary Emperor, Leader of the Imperial Security Bureau, Leader of the not-so-secret Investigation against the Galactical Insurrection....He will not do something as foolish as acting. Do you even know who he is? He is Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith- b) He refuses to act as Agent Broly because he just doesn’t care. In the end he did reveal his identity to Piett, and he knew it was a risk coming there unmasked, but there is trust between them, and so Vader doesn’t see the point of acting as this Agent Broly.

For some reason when I first started writing Agent Broly I imagined a tall surfer himbo of some sort. Do with this information whatever you want.

1. The Boss

Now onto the star of the night, Anak- sorry. *coughs* the spotlight please? Thank you. nOW ONTO THE STAR OF THE CHAPTER: Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, current temporary Emperor, Leader of the Imperial Security Bureau, Leader of the not-so-secret Investigation against the Galactical Insurrection... My mans a bit out of character, but hey! This is an Alternate Universe where Vader when stressed acts like clone wars Anakin because there is enough love in my heart for all versions of this character.

The real boss of the chapter is Miss Celissa Vanis, finally making an appearance after Chapter 6, when Luke and Vader just found her in the Coruscant rebel base. Remember those times? Feels like ages ago. Where has she been? What is she doing? Does anyone know what she’s doing? Do I know what she’s doing? What is her Modus Operandi? Does she have one?

Listen.......She’s out there getting stuff done. It took her less than six months to scare The Darth Vader, kidnap Palpatine and Mothma and start a very organised clandestine riot. SHE’S GETTING SHIT DONE.

I really like her. She is the antagonist of the story, yes, but hey! She’s charming and makes some very good points even if the execution of her ideas is....well, bad. People are dying. But she makes sense, even if I, as a person that is also reading the story and has opinions, disagree with her.

Celissa had a dramatic entrance, and she also got a dramatic exit. It has taken me over 70,000 words, but I finally decided to include something about...you know. That guy.

Celissa stared at the ship. Her people looked at her for guidance, but she didn't have any. She was already planning to get rid of Darth Vader's new Sith apprentice. "You! Pick up the blasters and let's go. The Emperor has some questions to answer."

Palpatine, answering questions? Celissa, teach me your ways.

2. ‘The Skywalkers: I am The Last Skywalker Left, both Skywalkers say’ A STAR WARS STORY

These two... I know they’re related, you know they’re related, everyone knows they’re related, and I know that they will know that they’re related (I’m not telling you the How yet ;D) but...they share one brain cell, and in this chapter Luke has it. Which is understandable, because Vader is out of his comfort zone and has a lot on his plate. He probably hasn’t been to a space!bar since that time Hondo kidnapped Obi-Wan and him...about twenty-five years ago.

Luke, on the other hand, spent most of his life on Tatooine. He probably befriended ‘cool looking people’ in Mos Eisley when he was five and his Uncle had to drag him away because those people were dangerous. Luke in a bar filled with dangerous people is like a fish in the sea. But I think that the fact that Luke and Vader are related by blood will just be a major Plus when the truth is revealed, because I already see that they’re vibing as friends. Hell, they even argue like children through the Force because Vader’s being snarky (because he’s out of his comfort zone) and Luke is just not letting him get away with things Vader usually did.

Hey, and I love them for that.

3. ‘The not-a Commander, Someone Help Him’

I would quote Rickey Thompson’s you are my ride or die video, but I want you to watch it. This is me talking about Luke in this fic. The Commander, Ben Starkiller. As I said before, Luke is more comfortable in the ground with the normal people because he spent most of his life on Tatooine with his Aunt and Uncle, moisture farmers. He understands people, he understands crime, he has seen people being wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit. So when Darth Vader starts talking about criminals, Luke steps in. He said this in Chapter 3, and his position still stands. He might not officially be a rebel anymore, but his morality hasn’t shifted:

Vader continued staring at him. “Why did you join [The Rebellion] ?” Luke clenched his jaw. “The Empire is a rotten, corrupt fascist state that supports slavery and massive genocide,” he said calmly with a shrug, “I have witnessed enough to see that something must be done against it.” “That is all theory, Commander. I am asking what caused you personally to be against it.” “I won't watch how innocent people are killed because the Emperor threw a tantrum.” Vader wanted to say that his Master never lost his composure: out of both of them he was the most likely to throw tantrums. Sidious was more strategic in his murders. “The Empire took the life of someone you knew.” Luke clenched his jaw. “A great deal of many people, sir. This is a war.” He would never reveal what the Empire did to his aunt and uncle, he wouldn't give Vader that pleasure. "No one cares about murders on Tatooine."

4. Hondo Ohnaka, Forever Young

I loved him in the Clone Wars and in Rebels. This is the man that when confronted by Darth Maul and Savage Opress, said the following:

Darth Maul: "Filth, you will pay for your insolence." Hondo Ohnaka: "Insolence! We are pirates! We don't even know what that means. Open fire!"

I can only imagine the kind of stories there are about this man in the galaxy, and Luke has heard them all, so when he heard that Hondo said Vader tried to kill him, I just imagined this:

Imagine sending this without context to someone that hasn’t read my fic but knows the star wars lore....I would be very confused. It could also be an AU where Hondo finds baby!Luke and raises him as a pirate, and then Vader comes for his child and finds Luke Ohnaka speaking fluent pirate slang with the man that raised him.

In case you didn’t know, Hondo kidnapped Anakin and Obi-Wan for ‘business’ in the clone wars TV show. After that, Anakin was too distracted with the war to go find Hondo again, so they left on neutral-to-bad terms. On the long list of people that Vader wouldn’t want to see him unmasked, Hondo is at the bottom, because Vader doesn’t even remember he exists. Imagine you’re Vader (I know, I know), you’re approximately forty-five years old, drowning in work, undercover in a mission, arguing with this boy who is accusing you of being “impossible”, and then he goes very quiet and says “That’s Hondo Ohnaka.” The name is oddly familiar, and you turn around and you see him. That dude that kidnapped you when you were only twenty years old. This was over 25 YEARS AGO, surely he won’t remember you, right?

Right?

5. Captain Kathmir, who?

Captain to Darth Vader at the start of the Empire, led the 501st to battles, a very well known figure in the Imperial Fleet...so why doesn’t Vader want to talk about her?

Piett spoke. "Yes, precisely. [...] Everyone knows what happened to Captain Kathmir."

The Force stopped ticking.

Luke frowned. "Who?"

"Nobody," said Vader urgently, "Drop the topic, now."

She disappeared after failing him. What happened?

The Force became cold, and Luke shivered when Vader spoke. "The story is a lie built on childish rumours." he spat quietly.

In case that you’re thinking Vader might have had something with this Captain, the answer is No. In my humble opinion, in canon, I don’t see Vader having anything with anyone that wasn’t Padmé, and this extends to all my fics. There are enough headcanons for everyone.

And to conclude, a wholesome one:

Thank you for sticking with my nocturnal ramblings about this story! I’m posting another chapter in a few days, where they will do Force magic in the snow.

#lost and found #My posts #my fics

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legobiwan · 5 years ago

Note

Despite your (justified) criticism of them, I'd like to hear your favourite positives about Qui Gon and the Jedi

Absolutely!

And as an introduction, yes, I love to pull on the threads of things to watch them unravel and then follow those tangled paths to their conclusions. (The fun in this is exploring the possibilities and the whys and wherefores.) The Jedi institution and the Jedi therein were flawed and those flaws were exploited - to a catastrophic degree by Sidious but also by others along the way, which created a network of fascinating causes and effects that I just find endlessly fun to explore. The Jedi were slow to change, too immersed in tradition, aware of their shortcomings but seemingly unable to do anything about it.1 This being said, their ideals, their basic philosophies of nonattachment, of duty, of their place in the galaxy - those were solid, if not wholly attainable by any sentient. (”Seekers, not saints,” as the saying might go.) At the end of the day, I consider myself a staunch Jedi apologist, even if I will first run them through the wringer before I get to that point.

But anyway -

Qui-gon

My favorite problematic Jedi.

I think this quote from Master and Apprentice is very illustrative:

And this, I think, is the true embodiment of Qui-gon Jinn. He doesn’t negate the fact the darkness will always exist, that terrible things and people will inhabit the galaxy. But he emphasizes (to Rael, who is a bit more nihilistic about the Code and life at that point) he turns to the Light not because of the Jedi, or Yoda, or the Code - but because it is the right thing to do.

It actually reminds me a lot of this quote that’s been going around irl2:

And it’s true. Turning to the Light will not win you any points. This isn’t a game or a sports event, and in the true sense of balance, there is no real victor in the end. You can choose the dark and it will always be there to balance the Light because there is no Light without Dark and vice versa. But does one want to live their life in the shadows or attempt to create something better, even if it is a Sisyphean task, in a chaotic and unruly universe? Qui-gon - for all his foibles and occasionally terrible execution - lives by this, sometimes in spite of the Jedi as an institution. And I admire that about him.

And it’s this type of mindset, that sees the Light as something beyond the Code, beyond the Jedi as an institution, that makes Qui-gon such an effective “maverick.” I love his reasoning for training Padawans away from Coruscant:

This is so good, such a fantastic idea, and it makes me yearn for an AU Council where Qui-gon did take the seat (and then Rael could have finished Obi-wan’s training which would have been hilarious). The Council needed someone like Qui-gon who would challenge them at every turn, who would not accept the answers of “status quo” and “tradition” as acceptable. (And we all know from whom Qui-gon inherited this tendency, although Dooku was trying too hard to be an exemplary Jedi to be able to be the maverick either Rael or Qui-gon turned out to be. Which mirrors...someone else I could talk about.)

Qui-gon questions, constantly, and if he had lived past TPM, he would have likely been a thorn in Palpatine’s side because he would have raised issues like this:

The Council needed a strong, dissenting voice, and Qui-gon would have been it.

Even beyond this, however, Qui-gon cares. He subverts certain Jedi morals (and probably Republic law) to free Anakin. (And guess who, many years later, subverted Republic law in several attempts to do good, attempts that came so close to unveiling Sidious. Yes, I’m talking about Obi-wan, if you were wondering.) He refuses to sign the treaty with Czerka because it will enslave Pijal for eternity. His ideals are not bound by a (the) Code, by his place in an Order, but by something deeper, by a moral imperative to do the right thing.

(And also, without Qui-gon, would we have had Force ghosts?)

We can learn a lot from Qui-gon, even if (as I said) his execution of his ideals left some bodies in its wake.

The Jedi

One of the things I love about the Jedi is their approach to attachment. And I’m always reminded of this T.S. Eliot quote I got from a horoscope 10 years ago in a local alt-weekly paper that I ripped out and have carried with me since:

“We die to each other daily. What we know of other people is only our memory of the moments during which we knew them. And they have changed since then.“

Everything in this universe is fluid and in my mind, out society places far too much importance on a linear trajectory, on this cause-and-effect growth of “this is who you were and this is where you will be according to our metrics.” People change. Goals change. Life happens. Friends, lovers, strangers - they flirt in and out of our lives, always impactful, but never forever. And therefore, attachment - a form of control, a way of executing a will on an unknowable and recalcitrant universe - tends to be detrimental. And this isn’t to say that one should be without meaning and maintain some form of attachment to people and ideals and identities. But it’s a matter of managing that. Which is...not easy for anyone.3

I love the alternate Jedi Code.

Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.

It acknowledges that we will feel, will experience all these emotions and stimuli, but we can work on observing our reactions, and then watching them fly away.

And in a lot of cases, this is good. We need to be able to observe our own reactions, as if in a scientific experiment. I experience this, but it doesn't not define me, is a great way to deal with adverse circumstances.4

Taken to an extreme, however, and things get a little dicey.

The Jedi wanted to do good, hell, they even allowed themselves to be policed by the Republic to show their non-intrusive intentions to the populace. And a bunch of psychic space monks can be a little scary - let the holomedia get a hold of that narrative and things could go downhill real fast.

Mace wanted to see justice. Yoda wanted to see peace. Obi-wan wanted to see order. Anakin wanted to see love. None of this is bad, none of this necessarily conflicts with the Code. The Jedi believed all life connected through the Force, and it’s kind of beautiful, in a The Good Place-type of way that, I think, gives some real optimism to our whole sentient existence on this floating rock. And the Jedi, they give up everything, even if it isn’t necessarily by choice, to devote themselves to a higher ideal, to - at its core - helping. To - as the Qui-gon quote references - a greater good and the defense of that greater good in spite of everything.

In the end, I feel like it was really a matter of ideals vs. institutions. Jedi ideals are wonderful. Jedi institutions, like any, have their own inherent difficulties.The Jedi. as a whole. were doing their best to stick to their ideals in a non-ideal situation. Traditional culture versus ideals, however, is a whole other story.

1 this is very connected to my feelings about the classical music industry which are complicated and deep

2 uhhh, you paying attention, America?

3 I think this is where Dooku’s inherent nihilism came into play. And there’s no easy answer to any of this. Also, life is weird, you guys.

4 This is literally how I managed a very severe phobia of flying. Had to cleave the connection between fear I am going to die now and being in a plane. Which is hilarious, because prior to COVID, I was flying A LOT.

#Anonymous #hello there #ask legobiwan #qui gon jinn #the jedi #and now #time to go running #back later tumblr

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ariainstars · 5 years ago

Text

TRoS Speculation: Maybe It Was Intentional…

All right, since the subject obviously doesn’t let me go, new speculation on my side. WARNING: this is a longer post.

Ever since the 80es, Star Wars has become a universal phenomenon with millions of fans all over the world. And while fans often agree, they more often than not disagree about the characters, the themes, the different turn of events etc. Star Wars touches very many different kinds of people deep down due to the emotions it provokes. Many of us have grown up with the saga, some with one trilogy, others with another. Others have read the EU novels or watched the TV shows first. The saga’s themes are so many that they appeal to all kinds of people, and the approaches are varying. There are very many topics on which we will never make everybody agree. Being the foundation for many fan’s view of the world, the root to a lot of their ideals, the source of many a dream, the saga has become a hugely personal matter. No wonder viewers all over the world can quarrel about it so venomously and get downright aggressive if you only introduce a new line of thoughts. Many fans feel that the saga belongs to them and not to the man who created it and the creative studios who are now employing it to develop new stories.

We have made our mistakes in our fandom, too, in the years since The Force Awakens came out. We were so excited in what we believed was investing into a redemption arc, love story and happy ending, connecting all kinds of dots throughout the saga and analyzing it from almost every angle. Some of us simply thought that who didn’t think like us was stupid. But many other fans believe that this saga is only about Good against Evil and not about human feelings. They keep seeing it as some superhero story, a comforting world where to retire when reality got too much, a place where bad things happen but then the hero eventually comes to take care of it. They stick to their conviction that the good guy (or the one you root for even if he’s a villain) is the one who’s the coolest. Many of them love the OT above all and plainly refuse to see anything positive about the PT or ST because they always expected to see the New Adventures of Han, Luke and Leia. Some of them have waited for literally decades for the OT’s continuation. We, who also love the other trilogies (or at least the sequels) were at times disrespectful and arrogant looking down on them and believing that they simply don’t know what the saga actually is about. And all of us need heroes. We apply our own problems, needs and expectations to them and wait for them to fix the problem as an example for us. That’s also why we expect them to get their happy ending.

I have seen videos and read articles about how highly divisive The Last Jedi was. Some fans (a few of them even with tears in their eyes) openly declared that the saga was ruined for them. Similarly to us, who identify with Ben Solo and / or Rey, they had often found courage in the examples set by their heroes and it was offensive and hurtful to them to see Luke Skywalker reduced to a hermit who drinks green milk, rejects the ways of the Jedi and was personally responsible for his nephew’s fall into his abuser’s clutches. They were entitled to their feelings of disappointment and inner numbness as we are now. I know of people who actually survived many ugly periods in their lives finding solace in the saga. Some in one part of it, some in another. And we all got duped and let down, each by one chapter of the sequel trilogy, like some naughty, sadistic kid was kicking apart our favorite doll house a few days before Christmas.

I assume now that The Last Jedi was an experiment to gauge the audience’s reaction. It touched many a sensitive issue. My personal approach is that in order to like it, you don’t only have to be a fan of the sequel trilogy and its characters in general, or a hopeless romantic who wanted to see Rey and Ben Solo’s love story. You have to accept in the first place what the prequel trilogy painstakingly tried to explain to us (though it wasn’t actually said but more shown): that the Jedi were no heroes but got destroyed by their own hubris, and that Anakin Skywalker was largely a victim and not someone who became a villain because he enjoyed being evil, like the typical Batman or Superman villains. The prequels are not a fairy tale like the original trilogy but a cautionary tale following the lines of “society creates its own monsters.” It was only logical to deduce that if the Jedi were so perfect and the Old Republic so idyllic as Obi-Wan described them to Luke when they first met on Tatooine, Vader’s rise and the creation of the Empire couldn’t have happened in the first place. This was never said as clearly and concisely as by Luke to Rey during their second lesson on Ahch-To:

“Now that they’re extinct, the Jedi are romanticized, deified. But strip away the myth and look at their deeds: the legacy of the Jedi is failure, hypocrisy, hubris. At the height of their power they allowed Darth Sidious to rise, create the Empire and wipe them out. It was a Jedi who was responsible for the training and creation of Darth Vader.”

This is the message of the prequels in a few sentences, and a pivotal change to the “superhero approach” to the Jedi which might qualified if you only watch the OT and never question its themes on a larger scale. If you accept the Jedi’s failure for a fact, all of the rest falls into place - Vader being but a broken, sad old guy, Luke’s disillusion, his decision to give up the ways of the Jedi, his first lesson teaching Rey that the Force is not some kind of superpower, his forgiveness towards his nephew, the glimpses of goodness we saw foreshadowing Ben Solo’s redemption. The prequels also make much more sense this way than watching them expecting to see the Jedi being super-cool heroes and Anakin becoming Vader because he thought it might be fun.

But many fans chose not to see or accept what The Last Jedi actually was trying to say: that things couldn’t continue the way they did, because the Old Republic and the Jedi (though they didn’t actually have bad intentions) were deeply flawed. Leia tried to build another republic without any major changes that we are aware of, and Luke wanted to rebuild the Jedi Order without effectuating the considerable changes their Code would have needed. Both failed. It was e.g. never explained why Luke spirited his students away to a lonely planet for their training, but the fact that they were taken from their families when they were too small to make a choice and stick to it - Ben e.g. wanted to be a pilot like his father and not a Jedi - already shows the same pattern. Luke had not learned from the faults of his teachers until his exile. Logically, Episode IX ought to have continued these themes and showed the ST protagonist finding a new and better approach to the Force. Instead, what we got was another (in my opinion: redundant) Ultimate Battle of Good Against Evil, in other words some kind of superhero film which largely ignores the themes of its predecessor.

Any fan is entitled to his opinion. If someone hates the PT because it shows a stagnant society and the Jedi as highly flawed, because they didn’t get to see Darth Vader becoming over-the-top cool but were confronted, in Anakin, with a deeply compassionate person crushed by expectations he never could meet in the first place, if they judged him a whiny brat instead of an intelligent guy who clearly saw through the flaws of the society he was forced to live in and simply didn’t find the right words to express it: they’re entitled to it. Same goes for not feeling the tension between Rey and Kylo in the ST, for judging Kylo quickly (again) as a whiny brat instead of a complex, tormented character, for not appreciating new characters like Rose on account of not being Star-Wars-y enough. These feelings mostly stem from the fans’ long-standing wish to see an actual continuation of the original trilogy, not a new instalment where a new generation takes over and the old heroes are relegated to the background and, additionally, their characters and past decisions are openly criticized.

We may claim that fanbros are simply too stupid to understand what the saga is actually about. Well, maybe they are, or they are just too lazy to look at the bigger picture. But they have a right to that. Of course, it doesn’t entitle them to harass the studios, directors, creative team or actors the way they were, mind you: what e.g. Kelly Marie Tran, Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd had to endure was a disgrace. There are very many fans who disagree with the PT and ST without getting bitter or even vicious.

This doesn’t mean I have changed my mind. I still believe that the Jedi were everything but heroes, that Darth Vader is a tragic figure, that the main themes of the saga are family, hope and new beginnings and not “the coolest ones win, ka-boom, the end”; that what it means to say is that human feelings are in the end more important than power, even an enormous power like the one the Force can provide.

We who are angry and disappointed with TRoS now like to blame how it went that way due to the influence of angry white dudebros, misogyny, Calvinism, racism, the overall political situation, the Mouse only wanting to make money etc.

But we ought to consider that The Last Jedi, which was so deeply controversial, hit theatres only two years ago. Have mentalities, politics and social structures and Disney’s overall approached changed so considerably, in so short a time, to produce two so radically different approaches to the saga within the scope of two years?

Sorry, I can’t believe it. it doesn’t really make sense.

The Mandalorian is met with universal acclaim, no doubt partly due to the fact that it’s a standalone story without the huge dynastic weight the saga has on its shoulders. Being a TV show, it had more time to introduce characters and situations and develop them. And it worked out fine. It had all the Star Wars themes - a lot of action scenes, sure, but it was also about belonging, family, redemption, protectiveness, friendship. Meaning that the studios didn’t lose track or are too dumb to think up a good story.

The Rise of Skywalker seems to bring the saga to a closure, but it could also be a wholly new beginning; the beginning of what I was foreseeing and still believe was in the cards - a new galaxy with a new and better political order kept together by a common belief in the Force as a whole; a new Jedi order where Force-sensitive children are not torn away from their families but can choose whether they want to become Jedi or not; and where Jedi are not taught emotional detachment. This would mean balance at last, a balance from which everyone would benefit. I have no idea how Ben Solo could be revived but I still am certain that he would be an excellent father figure, the perfect foil to his grandfather; and that the best thing for Rey would be to take care of children who are lost and abandoned the way she once was. And with Rey being a Palpatine, there is an interesting ground from which to explore her character’s tendency to the Dark, mirroring Ben’s. The basic approaches for this kind of development were all there in The Last Jedi. But a project like that would be something completely different from the original saga, and it would take a lot of time. Maybe that’s why the studios dropped it in favor of appeasing the angry fanbros who didn’t receive The Last Jedi well at all.

Anyone has the right to think that the original trilogy is the one and only and that the rest is rubbish. But the heroes of that story had their friendship, their family, their adventures, their successes, their happy ending. Even the heroes of the prequel trilogy had their moments, including Anakin Skywalker. Our heroes didn’t. That’s why this ending is so bitter for us and so hard to stomach. Essentially, we were right - we knew that Ben and Rey belong together, that Ben would redeem himself and make peace with his family, that balance would come. What we didn’t get was our happy ending.

The Force Awakens was still more or less accepted, because despite the many new themes and choices it wasn’t subversive and controversial in its approach. The actual wasps’ nest was stirred with The Last Jedi. No argumentation could convince antis that it is actually a well-made film and that their personal approach on the saga is too narrow-minded to appreciate it. They wanted the same villains, the same settings and costumes, the same heroes (or at least rehashes). And they had a right to want that, exactly as we had the right to expect a better development and ending for our new heroes. The hardcore OT fans wanted and expected The New Adventures of Han, Luke and Leia kicking ass. Well, it seems The Rise of Skywalker took care of that, finally giving them what they wanted and ignoring or “correcting” the course of events from The Last Jedi.

So, that’s it now. The OT fanbros got “their” Star Wars. I hope they’re finally appeased. They can ignore anything that happens next. That the saga is finished does not mean that the Star Wars universe came to a standstill.

If fans of the original trilogy felt entitled to ask for The Last Jedi to be removed from canon, or at least to be “fixed” in some way, so can we. In case you didn’t see it yet, the petition is already there: https://www.change.org/p/lucasfilm-continue-ben-solo-s-story

Let’s tell the studios to keep TRoS the way they prefer, but that we wish to have our Star Wars now. Let us not steep down to the level of who made the lives of actors who played characters they disapproved of a living hell (see above) or say over and over “Star Wars is dead” when we don’t know what’s in store for the future. With the Star Wars universe, you always have to be patient. In the meantime, we can write and read fanfiction and other stories and purse our own lives, telling our own happy endings.

Happy New Year everyone. Feel free to reblog. 😊

P.P.S. On a side note: Rey’s last scene shows her where Luke used to be, on Tatooine watching the suns set. The twin suns. In A New Hope, this was shortly before he met the other half of his soul who had been separated from him right after birth - his twin sister. Considering that it was explicitly said that Rey and Ben Solo share the same soul, it might be a hint about the future. I’m not trying to make false promises or to fuel wrong expectations here. Just sayin’. 😉

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thescarletsith · 5 years ago

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I can only hope that this helps those who felt pain when finding out about the end of Rise of Skywalker. It was never about Kylo Ren getting what he deserved or seeking redemption, it was about ending the pain within Ben Solo. I had to find some sort of positive reasoning behind all of this before witnessing it for myself tonight.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Any negative reason given for why Ben Solo deserved to die isn't convincing, because Ben didn't do any of those things.

He was born into a family of Legends; expectations were set for him before he could even talk. The truth of his grandfather was hidden from him by his family. Facts of his bloodline would have given him insight as to why he felt the way he did, but they were kept away from him, leaving him to feel completely alone with a growing pain inside of him that he couldnt confide with anyone about. His whole family was painted as a perfect, lightside, good guy team. Saviors. Warriors. Heroes. Legends. So how could it be possible for him to feel the conflict that he was trying to hide? He would never be good enough or strong enough to belong to this family. He grew up feeling worthless to his parents who were always gone. The only place he could find self-worth was the darkness reaching out to him, wanting to help him and show him how to end his pain. But he didn't want help, he wanted to do it on his own. He wanted to push through and make his family proud. And when he learned the truth about his grandfather being Darth Vader, (a truth which he learned through the government his mother worked with, NOT from his own family) the teachings of Jedi being good, peaceful people became a joke to him. Good people don't lie. Good people don't turn a blind eye to the suffering of someone they claim to love for the sake of their own desire of not having to address something they'd rather forget. And good people own up to their mistakes - they try to right their wrongs.

Nobody did that for Ben. They saw a darkness in him and chose to fear it instead of face it. They chose to train him and raise him to be what they considered "good". They chose to invade his thoughts during his sleep and make of it what they wanted, deciding on their own that he was destined to belong to darkness no matter what measures they took to prevent that from happening.

Ben saw Luke standing above him with every intention to murder him. So Ben defended himself, disabling Luke from hurting him. The emotions he was constantly burying pushed through to the surface - his own fear, loneliness, anger, and confusion. He had done everything asked of him. On the outside, he was everything they were trying desperately to create and yet... he still wasnt good enough.

And those voices that had been with him since he was born called to him to go and find his true ally - the one who would make him as strong and fearless as Darth Vader.

When the light betrayed Ben Solo, the darkness welcomed him with open arms. It comforted him, embraced him, and accepted him, thus rising the darkness that Ben Solo tried desperately to run from.

Kylo Ren, who was birthed from his parents carelessness towards him and his uncle's betrayal, killed Ben Solo. And though Kylo still felt the same as Ben, he was now being given what he believed to be genuine help to forever end the pain.

And that's all he ever really wanted.

He was manipulated into believing everything he was doing would eventually bring him the peace he craved. He was convinced what he was doing what was right. He was told that the darkness would give him all of the things his family never even attempted to. The dark side became the good side and the Jedi didnt deserve to exist anymore.

He's told that killing his past will allow him to become who he's always been meant to be, and since he has no idea who that is, he's willing to do whatever he has to in order to figure it out.

Then he meets Rey, who makes him realize Ben Solo isn't really dead and that Kylo Ren is just a mask he wears.

Then Rey defeats him in a duel, wielding his families lightsaber. What a slap in the face. Some random girl from a desert planet who has never trained her Force abilities, never really even knew she had these abilities until she met him, was never directly involved with any Jedi, and totally naive to everything she was able to do that he was put through hell and back to learn, just beat him with his own families weapon.

And instead of being sympathized with by the person who swore to help him since he was a kid, he's spit on about it. He was told none of the others ever faced such a task like he would when encountering his own father and by killing his father, reguardless of how he truly felt about it, he expected praise for doing what was suggested to have been the hardest thing he would ever have to do to prove himself worthy, yet he's spit on about it. He's back in the same neverending loop of being a disappointment.

His family saw darkness inside of him and the darkness saw his family inside of him. He couldn't win with either side.

So the Force gave him someone else to turn to, connecting him to this girl he should hate, but felt no hatred whatsoever towards. Instead, he was intrigued by their bond, impressed by her strength, and comforted in the realization that he found someone who felt exactly as he did. He ignored her threats, her doubt, her insults and her disgust towards him because he understood it: Ben Solo felt the same way about Kylo Ren.

He saw so much of himself before his turn to darkness in Rey and wanted to be for her what nobody was brave enough to be for him.

He knew that the only restraint she had on becoming what she longed to be was her inability to let go of a past she didnt need. He saw her strength, potential, determination and hope when she didn't see herself as anything. If he wanted to coax her with him inside of a life of never ending pain, he wouldn't tell her to kill her past, the thing that caused her pain, he would tell her to embrace it, allow it to consume her and feed off the power that pain could give. Her fear of accepting that any family she had is dead was the only source of darkness inside of her - it was her greatest weakness. He tells her of his own families betrayal as a means to say having a family isn't always what she's convinced herself it is. And he's so aggressive about it because he envies her: she has no one determining her path for her. She is free to be whoever she pleases and would face no judgement about it, and yet for some reason she aches to belong to someone.

And she eventually sees him for who he really is; the person inside of him that he's been silencing because he knows he could never go back to that life. She has seen him murder in cold blood, she has felt his conflict, she knows for certain all the horrible things he has done, yet still tells him that it isnt too late, showing him the hope she has in him - a hope he was never shown even before he committed the terrible acts he's done. There in his darkest of days, he's finally found that one person who accepts him, and he has absolutely nothing to offer her.

Still, she goes to him to save him from the darkness that has always been there and because of that, he is able to kill the thing he rightfully assumed was trapping him in that darkness.

He doesnt want to belong to any group, he doesn't want to set himself up to fail again, but he wants to be with this girl and keep the feeling of validation she gives him. So he pleads for her to allow everything to end so that they could start a new order - a new life - together. But she doesn't view it the same way he does. She wants him to go back with her, to the light, but the light already rejected him. He doesn't belong there, even if he wanted to.

There's no common ground then, and she leaves him.

The emotions he is left with cause him to feel the dominant presence of the darkness he had rightfully assumed he killed, and he goes on a rampage, deciding he will end it all himself, only then to be stopped by the single person who's doubts towards him hurt the most. Surely killing his uncle would be the way to end his internal war...

But again, he was wrong.

He sees no other option now but to consume himself in his own misery, and uses his new title as Supreme Leader to cause as much death and despair as he's endured his whole life.

He figures out why his conflict exists when he learns from Lord Sidious that all of the voices he has heard were simply from Sidious.

And Kylo becomes a puppet for the dark side once more, tasked to kill Rey and destroy all Jedi once and for all.

So Kylo faces Rey again, senses his mother's death, nearly dies by Rey's hand, faces his father within that near death, then awakens by a Force ability used by Rey to heal him.

Knowing that Rey should have left him to die but didnt pushes him to help her end a war he helped create. He destroys his own Knights and stands beside Rey in the light to defeat their common enemy. While fighting along side her now, he feels whole. He feels like he has found where his destiny lies. And her small grin, her gleaming eyes of hope as she looks at him, prove that she feels the same way.

During the battle, he is thrown into a pit by their enemy, leaving Rey to fight alone. The physical injuries Kylo sustains in no way hold him back from trying to get back to her. He acknowledges his pain and he accepts it; he doesn't let it physically or mentally hold him back. He doesn't let it control him. And as he climbed despite the pain and weakness he felt as he did it, he accepts his past, and he rids himself of it. He accepts his parents distance from him, his uncles betrayal, the darknesses deceit and his ignorance to the truth. He accepts himself for who he is, what he has done, and where he comes from, because none of it mattered to him anymore. He needed to make sure he hadnt failed Rey the same way people always failed him. He needed to be sure she wasnt pulled to the darkness by her own bloodline. He needed to make sure she was safe, help her end this, and see where they may be able to go from here.

Ben Solo made it back to the surface, leaving Kylo Ren in the darkness of the pit.

But he was too late.

He fell to ground, pulling Rey into his arms. Pain returned to him, only now it was much worse. He has nothing. He has nobody else. He gave his life to the darkside because he trusted it and then he lost everything and everyone he ever loved because of it.

Looking at her lifeless eyes caused Ben to lose any hope for himself he may have had left. He knew Rey had so many people who would mourn her death, cry over her, need her, miss her...

No one would do the same for him.

It wasnt hard for him to find the strength to do what he had to do. He didn't even hesitate.

Through the Force, he gave all that was left of him to the only person he felt truly accepted it - it was all he had left to offer. A descendant of one of the most feared Sith Lords became a source of hope for so many, and was a light too pure to let fade.

Ben was able to accept his life and feel total peace within it when he felt Rey's hand hold onto his. Her smile when she saw him, the joy when she said his name, and the thrill when she kissed him allowed him to feel a happiness he would have otherwise never been able to feel. His own smile felt foreign to him, but he was thankful to feel it one last time.

He was thankful to pass away while in the arms of someone who cared for him. Thankful to have been able to make use of a life that never felt like his.

Ben Solo did not die as a legend. His sacrifice would be seen by others as an act of redemption, though Rey knew he didn't save her for that reason. He never felt as if he needed to seek ways to redeem himself for the damage he had done, because he was always lead to believe he was doing what was right.

Ben Solo was simply saving what he loved, and he was finally free of his pain.

#spoilers #rise of skywalker #ben solo #kylo ren #star wars #rey

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sl-walker · 3 years ago

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If I may ask; what is your opinion of Rebel's Era (canon) Maul?

Whilst I didn't feel like he was written out of character per se and I understand that Rebels aired prior to TCW Season 7, I felt like it was somewhat disappointing after what happened during Order 66.

I understand that he has lost hope and is, very reasonably, afraid of Sheev, but there's a few things that confuse me like the fact that whilst running the biggest criminal empire he never looked for Kenobi prior to Rebels (he knew Ashoka survived, so why shouldn't Kenobi?) or how exactly he ended up on Malachor and nobody came to look for him their criminal boss. Now the Dathomir-part was actually interesting, but I do feel, yet again, like it could have used more exposition and explaination considering he was there like 3x times in his entire life and everyone's dead, so who even sustained the Ichor after Talzin's death? Maul wasn't on Dathomir for at least some time.

It just felt like they knew Maul would draw in viewers, not like they had a plan for his character and that was kind of a pity?!

Obviously Maul couldn't interfere with pre-existing canon but at some point I really wondered why he was still in the story considering that Ezra's literal use of the darkside, due to Mauls prior influence & the holocron, for what we can assume to be months never mattered again after a single episode for some reason.

I love seeing Maul but I wished they did more with his character? I mean, it hurts to read e.g. Son of Dathomir, but it's still good and builds his character.

The only major thing I found consistent was him missing Savage, which obviously just broke my heart.

Dying by Kenobi's hand was poetic, but of course really sad and I wished there had been more to this scene - either conveyed through animation/dialouge or by having them part ways differently.

Also I can't believe Maul - a criminal mastermind - didn't manage to figure out that Kenobi was on Tatooine after seeing Twin Suns for almost the majority of a season. You know. The guy who used to track and hunt down whomever Sidious required him too for years. The same zabrak that basically ran a prison into the ground in lockdown whilst not/barely even touching upon his force powers and finding the dealer who managed to stay undercover for probably decades. Also the planet they literally first met.

I know the creators and Sam Witwer have repeatedly liked Maul to Sisyphus, but I don't think this applies to Rebel's Maul. Rebel's Maul, besides his motivation/need to find a new brother apprentice, just seems so hopeless and borderline suicidal? He doesn't know if it's worth trying anymore, which makes the idea of running a criminal empire so odd, seeing as he knows his insignificance to Sidious, whose downfall is all he is really yearning/hoping for. I know that his desperation always rivals his intense need to survive, but I really didn't got the latter from Rebels.

Idk, maybe it's just me, but I'm very keen on your thoughts.

(2/2) I'm asking you in particular about Rebels Maul because I feel like maybe I might be missing something or am lacking a certain insight into his character which you might have.

I think Solo made about as much sense as tits on a boar. I even said that when it came out. Maul's whole purpose to building a criminal empire was to have enough power to get to Kenobi. He had no interest in being rich or anything else, and frankly, even in TCW, he left Almec to run things on Mandalore while he nursed his grudge. So this whole Crimson Dawn crap is just-- weak. It makes no sense. It was fanservice.

I'm sure I've written my opinions on Rebels before, but in brief:

1.) Maul's characterization wasn't terrible, but the writing was super fucking lazy. No kidding. Especially his ending. That was Filoni basically splooging all over himself about how dEeeEEeP he was being without realizing... man, nothing here even makes sense. He took a character he didn't create and didn't want to bring back in the first place and giggled to himself behind his stupid hat because he got to kill him off. Since Disney's shit, they're like, "Oh, sure."

2.) Maul already hurt Kenobi and took his revenge when he skewered Satine. Like you, I think the only reason he would have sought Kenobi out would have been because he wanted closure. Be it death or simply some ending. I explored what would have happened had Kenobi been a proper adult and apologized for his part in Maul's suffering when I wrote In defiance, because I absolutely believe they could have done some considerably more interesting with all of that.

3.) Honestly, like-- every time they've killed Maul off in canon, it's been a dumbass mistake. Because he's popular and once you close-end a character, it becomes a lot harder to do anything meaningful with them in canon. Because they offed him, he will never have a genuinely meaty storyline again and will forever be relegated to cheap cameos that capitalize on his popularity.

Dunno if that's what you're looking for Anon-buddy. Mostly, I just think the ending of Maul in Rebels came down to super lazy writing.

#salt mines

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redrikki · 5 years ago

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May the Fourth Masterpost

Prequels/Clone Wars Era

Second Wind - Ahsoka takes the wrong exit of the the world between worlds and ends up with a second chance at saving her master. (Ahsoka Tano, Shmi Skywalker)

Pain Management - Anger can get a slave killed. Shmi teaches her son some coping strategies. (Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Watto)

For Amidala - Her handmaidens had all poured so much of themselves into Amidala, it was like they were part of her now. Padmé didn’t know if she had the strength to let one go. (Padmé Amidala, Sabé, handmaidens)

No Place Like Home - Ahsoka’s return to the temple after her first deployment was strange, made even stranger by the fact that it should’t be strange at all. (Ahsoka Tano, Rex)

Eat, Snip, Love - Ahsoka can’t remember the last time she had a home cooked meal. Anakin and Padmé are determined to change that. (Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala)

Love and Support - After Padmé is shot at a conference, her mother insists she come home. Padmé, of course, is going no where. Episode tag to 3.07 “Assassin.” (Padmé, Ahsoka)

Across a Crowded Room - It’s a party in his honor, but it turns out the Hero With No Fear isn’t good with crowds. Padmé to the rescue. (Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker)

Lightening Rod - Anakin gets electrocuted…again. It probably says something bad about his life that he’s getting used to it. (Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi)

In Our Bed After the War - After the mission to Zygerria, Padmé and Anakin have a difficult conversation. (Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker)

Domestic Life Was Never Quite My Style - Despite her best efforts, Padmé is pregnant. Now she has a difficult decision to make. (Padmé Amidala, C-3P0)

Birthright - The Force called him to his family and Anakin is not prepared to give them up. Not even to the Jedi Council. (Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, baby Skywalkers)

If Not For These Bad Dreams - Fives has dreamed about killing every Jedi he’s ever met except General Skywalker. Turns out he’s not the only one. (Fives, Kix, Tup, Jesse)

Ahsoka the Vampire Slayer - Ahsoka is the Chosen One, the Slayer, or at least she was until she died. She got better, but now there��s a new Slayer in town and things with her Watcher are strained at best. Add in a bunch of zombie mind control bugs and Ahsoka’s week could be going better. BtVS fusion. (Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, Barriss Offee, Luminara Undili)

Bursts of Stardust - Collection of short tumblr prompts. (Everyone ever)

Rebels Era

With the Rest of the Miscreants - Boy meets galaxy and learns to live in it. A lost baby Jedi adapts in four ‘easy’ steps. (Caleb Dume, Janus Kasmir)

Cloak, No Dagger - In light of the intel from Gorse, Hera and Ahsoka rethink mission protocols while putting on a show for the ISB agent watching them. (Hera Syndulla, Ahsoka Tano)

Tag - Sabine and Ketsu, bounty hunters extraordinaire, argue about how to sign their work. (Sabine Wren, Ketsu Onyo)

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - Depa stumbled free of the maze, back into the atrium for the Lothal Temple. There was just one problem. The man kneeling between the desiccated bodies of the ancient Jedi was not her master. (Depa Billaba, Kanan Jarrus)

Swordsmith - Ezra makes his lightsaber. It’s not his life, except in all the ways it is. (Ezra Bridger, Ghost Crew)

Graffiti on the Walls of the Heartland - Three works of art Sabine made for crew members and one she made for herself. (Sabine Wren, Chopper, Hera Syndulla,Kanan Jarrus)

Chicken Soup for the Jedi Soul - Four meals Kanan cooked for his crew and one he made for himself. (Kanan Jarrus, Ghost Crew)

Ain’t No Fun (Life on the Run) - Ain’t no fun living life on the run but, with his Hera and their crew by his side, Kanan finds it isn’t always so bad. (Kanan Jarrus, Ghost Crew)

Wild Blue Yonder - After the events of “The Brotherhood of the Broken Horn,” Hera decides it’s high time Ezra learn how to fly. (Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Zeb Orrelios)

A Distraction - Kanan’s been blinded. There’s nothing Hera can do to fix it so Chopper gives her something she can. Written as part of the Jedi Fest Rogue Robin challenge as a continuation of A Distraction. (Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, Chopper)

Then My Hair’s Too Short - Apparently, Ezra had a new hair cut. That’s fine, it’s his head after all. Kanan just wished he had mentioned it. (Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger)

The Blind Beggar - When Ezra objects to Kanan taking point on a mission, Kanan decides its time they had a talk. (Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Ghost Crew)

Cut to the Heart - Sabine found the stupid thing in a cave, but now the Darksaber is taking over her life. Kanan gives her a little perspective. Tag to 3.13 “Trails of the Darksaber.” (Sabine Wren, Kanan Jarrus)

Rebel Moments - Collection of short tumblr prompts (Ghost Crew)

Rogue One

The Lord’s Estate - Every lord must have an estate. Lord Vader’s is Mustafar. (Vader, Palpatine)

Peace is a Lie - Sometimes Vader wakes up and can’t remember what war he’s fighting. (Darth Vader)

A Cog In Something Turning - Cassian hadn’t meant to give K-2SO free will. Good thing for both of them he’s a terrible slicer. (K-2SO, Cassian Andor)

Original Trilogy

Sea of Sorrow and Sand - Ben Kenobi is an island in a sea of sorrow and sand. Beru Lars has come to drag him back to shore. (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Beru Lars)

What Remains - What remains of a relationship built on lies? Nothing, as Darth Sidious will soon find out. (Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, Padmé Amidala’s preserved corpse)

On This Strange and Mournful Day - The events of Vader Down go very differently. The father and child reunion is only a motion away. (Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Dr. Aphra)

After the Funeral - Han offers Luke some unexpected support after the funeral of the guy who tortured him. (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo)

The Last Truce We Ever Came To - Darth Vader is dead but he won’t leave Leia alone. (Leia Organa, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker)

Lego Star Wars - The Freemaker Adventures

Disembodied - Roger loses his head and, frankly, it’s getting old. (R0-GR, Rowan Freemaker, Kordi Freemaker, Zander Freemaker)

Sequel Era

A Matter of Precedence - FN-2187 wasn’t the first, except for the time he was. Others have defied the First Order before, but none quite as spectacularly. (Finn, First Order)

So You Want to be a (Space) Wizard - Finn finds a mysterious book, takes an Oath, and starts one hell of an Ordeal. Crossover with Young Wizards. (Finn, Poe Dameron, Rey)

Old Haunts (All We’ve Ever Known) - Anakin and Obi-Wan as snarky Force ghosts during The Force Awakens. (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, TFA cast)

Lady in Waiting - Rey’s spent so much of her life waiting it’s hard to know when to stop. Luckily, Poe’s there to give her the push she needs. (Rey, Poe Dameron, Leia Organa, Finn)

Not a Drop to Drink - On Luke’s island, Rey couldn’t quite get her mind around the sheer amount of water stretching out towards the horizon. (Rey, Luke Skywalker)

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counterspelling · 5 years ago

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time for another angry tros post

why in the everloving fuck was kerri russell’s character codenamed MARA if she wasn’t skymom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the disrespect!!!! it’s not enough to name a random jedi kid jacen, or to name a new character in tros jannah, or a girl in the mandalorian winta........... they really went and codenamed another nobody mara????? why??? what’s the point????

luke and leia really went all that fucking time NOT telling rey about her parentage??? when they knew how important it was to her?? how desperate she was for information about her parents?? after everything THEY went through about birth family drama?? they really thought that was a good idea?? rey is more than her family name, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve to know. and HOW did they know she was palpatine’s granddaughter. like kyle, he’s a snoke acolyte, okay, so maybe at some point he’s taken into their confidence. but how the fuck do luke and leia find out

everything with leia was just. so bad. all of her scenes were so stilted, they would have been better off just cgi’ing her. and this movie isn’t technically their fault, but the fact that they’d already spent two movies completely wasting her. having her send her non-force sensitive husband to confront their murderous son, standing back and sending rey to her twin, literally never once doing anything but standing around and reacting to people around her. if leia trained as a jedi, we should have SEEN THAT. i did not wait my entire life to see jedi leia on screen and then never get it. and her death, completely unexplained except that for some reason reaching her son kills her.......... it’s fucking padme all over again. god, they just completely fucked everyone in the ot, so badly, but holy fuck does star wars hate women

still just generally really pissed off that they brought palpatine back at all. not just in the sense that they tried to fucking woobify kyle ron and stopped him from being the ultimate villain that they should have, but that disney continually shits on star wars’ legacy. anakin DESTROYED THE SITH. there was a whole prophecy. it took him 20 years, but he fucking did it. he killed palpatine. and now, like everything else disney has set up over the last few years, it means nothing, because he DIDN’T actually kill palpatine, just like everything luke and han and leia fought for is meaningless, because 30 years later everyone was still in the exact same place. a low-rent resistance without a lot of support, the jedi order slaughtered through treachery, fighting an overly powerful empire bent on slavery and destruction (also why i could never get into rebels. luke is a new hope, the presence of a jedi for the first time in 20 years is supposed to be a big fucking deal. hard to have that same shock and awe when kannan and ezra are formally joining the rebellion, meeting mon and leia and lando, prominently waving around lightsabers. if disney wanted to make stories about jedi choose literally ANY OTHER TIME PERIOD IN STAR WARS HISTORY. I AM SO DESPERATE FOR STORIES ABOUT JEDI. just in the right time, and not in this singular 50 year period where there shouldn’t be jedi, jfc)

the OTHER major problem in bringing palpatine back is yet again, they’re trying to top the “no, i am your father” moment, which is just never going to happen. that was a once in a lifetime moment. everything disney does is trying to bigger and better. it’s not just death stars that can destroy planets, it’s a million star destroyers! kyle ron and rey have a force bond unseen in generations that lets them trade items across the galaxy! force healing has always been a thing but now they can instantly heal death! star wars doesn’t have to be X-TREME to be good. its best moments have always been about its character beats. luke saying he won’t destroy his father, leia and han’s i love yous, anakin’s despair over leaving his mother behind to become a jedi. it doesn’t always have to be BIGGER and BETTER. E V E R Y T H I N G about tfa said that rey was a skywalker, that luke was her dad. the music, her dreams of an island, calling his lightsaber to her, their lonely upbringings on desert planets, their instant embroilment into a conflict much bigger than they are but that they quickly become central to. but because rian johnson is so up his own ass and so insistent on proving how clever he is, he couldn’t follow through on that. even though star wars has always been a fairy tale, and it’s never been about tricking audiences or proving them wrong or throwing out foreshadowing as a red herring. lucas is maybe the most straightforward filmmaker of all time. that’s why bad guys have names like sidious and maul and plagueis. subtle, he is not. and it’s one of my favorite things about star wars. and disney just doesn’t care

the fact that they gave us so many luke/rey parallels and STILL STUCK WITH SHITTY REY PALPATINE. rey flying in his x-wing wearing his helmet, rey leaping away to safety on the millennium falcon from an evil skywalker offering his hand asking them to join the dark side, rey’s fear of the darkness within herself.................. all of it meaningless, apparently

i am so eternally angry at the way they treated rey. removing her teeth, linking her story so inextricably with the man who tortured her, irrevocably tying her narrative to that of a man’s because apparently star wars just can’t handle a trilogy without a white man in a central role. the rey in tfa is a completely different character than the rey from tlj and tros. she couldn’t stand on her own merits? they respected her so little they had to force her to share her trilogy with a murderer who abused her, and try to call that love? to make her journey about a forced bond with him, when he only ever tried to murder her and bring about her downfall? that they would VALIDATE his gross treatment of her by having her kiss him........................... how they made a trilogy more sexist than 70s george lucas, i will never understand

the main movies are the skywalker family saga. that’s what they told us. ending the last movie with two palpatines facing off............. if they already said fuck anakin and everything about his legacy finally ending the rule of the sith, they should have at least let his GRANDDAUGHTER be the one to ultimately fulfill the prophecy. i really cannot believe they fucked anakin and all the skywalkers in this way. the final living skywalker descendant killed all of his remaining family members and THAT’S what we’re going to have to live with from now on. everything anakin and luke and leia struggled and fought for, everything they overcame, all meaningless because one fucking sociopath is such an edgy piece of shit that he’d rather build a shrine to his grandpa’s burned helmet and get stuck in teen “I HATE MY FAMILY” bullshit because...... his life was unfair, somehow??? he just really loves murder??? tyranny is cool??? who knows! not us! jaina didn’t get erased from canon for this. the skywalkers deserved better and so did we.

#tros #tros spoilers #sw negativity #star wars

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