#man i want to like padme so bad but im struggling

[kylo-skywalkerr]

Confession time im not really into Anidala. Yes, I like the angst! The love that made vader the cruel and broken man that he became! That's cool and all.

But idk I didn't really like the characterization of Padme in the prequels. She could hold her own a bit, but the writing was so. ??? She didn't give that much of a shit about Anakin slaughtering an entire race, including their women and children who didn't do anything wrong and was like. "Anakin wtf :( How are you evil? Why would you kill those younglings?? This isn't like you!" Girl, he did that a few years ago to the sand people! You just didn't view them as "human" enough to see it as a red flag! At that point, you deserve to die from something as stupid as being very sad! Bitch it wasnt even just the flag that was red, the whole house was, and that red was the blood of the innocents that Anakin had previously spilled pre-vader 😭 You knew about most of this!

And yes. You can die from a broken heart, but it isn't... like that. She could have died from intense stress instead and had a heart attack or something, but they gave her the weakest reason to die. A broken heart. Tbh, it would have been cooler if it actually was the injuries from Anakin that killed her. It would at least be less... victorian era woman cliché where women can't handle intense emotions without fainting or dying. Obi wan didn't die from sadness. Ahsoka didn't either. They all loved him far more than they should have, and platonic love absolutely does measure up with romantic love. They painted padme as strong and then threw it all away to give Vader a reason to be Vader.

Disclaimer, I think Padme's an okay character, just a bit bland and inconsistently written. I'm also biased since I'm not huge on the prequels, but I dont mind them either. It's more of an "eh" compared to my love of the OT and spiteful love of the ST. They tried to make Anidala a romeo and juliet tragedy, but it reads more like Musk and Grime's whole "This isn't your heart." stuff.

[phoenixyfriend]

Mace windu and anakin for the detailed character meme?

A more detailed character meme! Send me a character and I’ll answer…

Mace:

What I like about them: He's got this incredibly strong moral core, and despite his fanon reputation, he's amazingly understanding about the things that are genuinely difficult to understand and come to terms with. Mace understands anger and Falling, yes, has struggled with these things even, but he's come through as one of the strongest, fairest, most respected Jedi in the Order, and he is... honestly every time I think about him and Obi-Wan reacting to Depa waking up from her post-Fall coma, I'm just like [jennyslate-drunkhistory-im-like-SCREAM.gif] about their understanding and forgiveness and listen he gets such a bad rap for being 'stern and unyielding' but his actions in canon are all so positive and his fanon reputation is entirely built on The Specific Delivery that GLucas insisted on for all the actors in TPM and just. [scream] I love him.

What I dislike about them: The comic where he lets Palpatine have access to Anakin at 12. It's not canon anymore but I don't Like it.

Favourite moment: His immediate response to Anakin telling him about Sidious. There wasn't any doubt, he just fully believed this admittedly unstable subordinate, because even if Anakin lies a lot and everyone knows (see: Padme situation), he fully believes that Anakin wouldn't lie about something as important as this. Runner up is Mace complimenting R2D2 in TCW.

Least favourite moment: Uhhhhh I don't have a least favorite moment, so to speak? I do hate his character design in TCW and '03, it's... I know everyone's features are exaggerated for the animation designs, but for him it feels as though the features exaggerated for Mace were kind of um. Riding the line of racism.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more: I wish for more scenes where he and Anakin are alone together. I want to see one or both of them in a slightly negative situation, like injury or illness, and the other having to handle that. Both directions are good, in different ways. More generally, I want to see more one-on-one interactions between Mace and younger Jedi. I want to see those character dynamics! Show me Mace with Depa or Aayla or Ahsoka!

An interesting AU for this character: I'm always down for those "Mace survives RotS" AUs, they can be so good.

A crossover: Not counting the obligatory "Mace and Nick Fury have to interact" MCU crossovers? Hmmmm put him in Twilight. Just to see what happens.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship): I don't really do a lot of Mace ships (just the time-travel one), but I really enjoy seeing Mace/Qui-Gon in fic.

Other ships? I did write Mace/Jaster recently for an event, and that was fun, but also funny since I'm open to Mace/Jango. I'm also, obviously, a fan of Mace/Anakin in a time-travel context.

BROTP: Depa (obviously) but also...

NOTP: I'm sorry but Ponds. The power/age difference bothers me and the character dynamic I imagine is much more Best Coworkers than anything romantic.

An assortment of headcanons! - Generally kept to short cuts and fades before he went with shaving. Not counting his padawan braid, I don't think he really experimented much with growing out his hair for braids or knots or locs. Googled a few haircuts for black men and I think a normal fade and 'the Duke' might be about the area I'd consider him in. Might have done some shorter locs (like two inches) or the like, but that's about it. - He 100% knows that Padme and Anakin are going at it like rabbits whenever they're in driving distance of each other. He does not know they're married, but he knows Padme's pregnant before Anakin does. - I want to say that he doesn't have any food allergies, but does have a topical allergy, like skin contact types? Maybe space eucalyptus.

Anakin:

What I like about them: Absolute disaster man. Wet cat energy. Gender as hell. Unhinged. So easy to save and push in a better direction. So easy to turn into a complete monster. Impossible to be boring.

What I dislike about them: Bro he killed babies.

Favourite moment: Bickering with Obi-Wan in the arena in AotC while not even noticing that Padme's being all competent behind him.

Least favourite moment: He murdered babies. So. The Tusken slaughter.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more: Willing confession of the Tusken slaughter and submitting himself to the fallout without whining about it or continuing to try to justify it to himself.

An interesting AU for this character: I have dozens for him. Just. So many AUs about this lovable moron.

A crossover: Anakin commits a homicide in 1890s London and now Sherlock Holmes is trying to find him.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship): Rexanidala, slight bias to Rexwalker.

Other ships? So many??? Anifives, Lumakin, Windwalker, Codakin, Barrakin, Foxakin, Anakin/501st, Bokkin, Anakin/Organas, Obikin (if only as a reader)... the list goes on.

BROTP: Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, definitely.

NOTP: Despite my openness to Obikin as a reader, and it having sixteen years and raising from age nine and years parenting, I run into that shape of a block with An*soka, despite them having significantly less Messy Dynamic in all directions. Like. It exists! I see it! But I do not wish to read it. Just. Cannot brain it. I tried and it doesn't work for me.

An assortment of headcanons! - Fucking. Gender. - Develops a shellfish allergy around 20 - Likes spiced food (like Indian 'mixed spices', rather than 'burn your mouth' spicy) - Had a rage crush on Mace as a teenager that nobody is ever allowed to know about (it's not as good a secret as he thinks)