#maybe it wasn’t always that way but it definitely is in TCW and Obi-Wan could do so much better

[flashthescalesian-art]

Kit sees her master flirting with Satine and just immediately starts waving red flags around frantically. No you cannot change my mind on this.

[cypanache]

For the WiP Ask: Trap (Obidala) 👀

Oh thank you for asking about this. This fic is so dear to me pardon me while I ramble a lot.

A Trap of Your Own Making for anyone who is unfamiliar with this fic, is my canon-compliant obidala gap fill. Yes. Really. It is, as strange as it sounds, my love letter to OWK and tries to write a backstory for this pairing that could still allow OWK to happen unaltered but provide as much emotional weight behind the way Obi-Wan talks about Padme in that show as possible. The general premise explores how Obi-Wan and Padme’s relationship and the way they feel about each other throughout the arc of the prequels (good, bad and ugly) plays out within and contributes to what we see happen in canon.

The story starts smack dab in the back half of TPM establishing a connection between these two that while essentially platonic (at least for Obi-Wan) is still complicated and intense. I’ve completed the Naboo arc and am currently working on the next chapter which picks up during the 10 gap between TPM and AotC. We will eventually work all the way through AotC, TCW and RotS, taking into account everything that happens between these two and Anakin at least within on screen canon.

It does have a trigger warning for emotional infidelity in upcoming chapters (again canon-compliant), but it is honestly the most ‘faithful’ emotional infidelity I can write. Like these two love Anakin so much. But they also love each other, no matter how much they refuse to call it that or wish it were otherwise. They will tear themselves apart in order not to betray him and still somehow make choices that while understandable and rooted in the best of intentions will from Anakin’s POV legitimately feel like a betrayal. Hence the title. (Also my unofficial subtitle: “or how Obi-Wan and Padme fell in love and accidentally broke the galaxy”)

Okay with that really long intro/pitch and as a reward for sticking with me while I rambled about the fic that is definitely closest to my heart here’s a very obidalay excerpt from the upcoming chapter behind the read more cut for spoiler protection (as if I haven’t already done that)

FIC SPOILERS

- First meeting post the Naboo arc. Set a little over 2 years after TPM during Nute Gunray’s first trial -

He knew Padme would be there. But the knowledge doesn’t prepare him. Maybe it’s the way this trial has dredged up everything about that time and brought it close to the surface. Or maybe it’s the fact that after that moment with Master Billaba he’s become adept at shoving every thought of her into the far back corner of his subconscious so quickly he could almost convince himself he doesn’t think about her at all. Or maybe he has simply missed her more than he let himself realize.

Whatever it is, the first time he catches sight of her, tucked in among the handmaidens, it feels like he’s been hit by a Gundark, and all he can think as he takes his seat across the courtroom from the Queen’s retinue is it's a good thing he didn’t see her before he testified.

She looks exactly the same and completely different and he can’t make himself look away.

The hood pulled up around her face somehow does more to accentuate her features than obscure them, giving him nowhere to look but the newly sharpened line of her cheekbone, the deep brown eyes that catch his gaze and won’t let go, the way her mouth curves in a small, secret smile that he can’t seem to stop himself from returning.

He wasn’t sure what he expected when he saw her again. Had determinedly done his best to have almost no expectations at all. Not after the way they parted. After he had used her terribly and then tossed her aside. Nevermind that he’d done it for Anakin, who had always been her first priority. Nevermind that she had agreed to the exact scheme. Or how little he had wanted to, how many hours he had waited on that bench hoping for the chance to explain himself, to apologize. The end result was the same. The sin was his. She has every right to be angry with him at least. Indifferent at best.

The fact she seems to be none of those things feels life altering. A grant of absolution he didn’t know he needed.

He’s not entirely sure what to do with this unexpected absolution, but that turns out to be okay because Padme decides for him.

So apparently some things haven’t changed.

“Knight Kenobi,” Sabe’s voice carries well across the antechamber.

He turns and bows low at their approach, “It is good to see you again, your Majesty.”

“And you. You spoke well on our behalf. Naboo is grateful for your continued friendship.”

“I merely spoke the truth. And as for my friendship,” his eyes slide over to where Padme stands just at Sabe’s shoulder before he can stop himself, “Naboo embraced me in an hour of great need. I can think of nothing that would change the affection I hold for it.”

“Then I wonder if I might impose upon you for a favor.”

“Of course.”

“My handmaiden,” Sabe turns to direct his attention to Padme, which is good because his eyes haven't left hers, “has an errand I need her to run for me. Coruscant is very large and we are all still finding our way. Would you be willing to escort her on your way back to the Temple?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

—

They are halfway to the transport platform before his brain catches up with him enough to pose a critical question. “Where are we going?”

Padme bites at her lower lip. “Would you be terribly cross with me if I told you there is no errand?”

“Absolutely.” Obi-Wan deadpans, ignoring her small gasp of indignation, as he continues, “Because now I have to admit I’d been planning on getting lost.”

He’d almost forgotten how much he likes making her laugh.

[phoenixyfriend]

Fake Sith TCW Trio

I have another fucked up time-travel AU! Who’s surprised? (Nobody.)

So like. Have you guys read that one fic where Luke and his students go back in time and pretend to be Sith Lords and are super hammy about it? (Sith Lord Swell by AMournfulHowlInTheNight)

This AU has contributions by @atagotiak, @the-lunar-system, @purronronner, @gelpenss, @creepingthroughthistidalwave, and @thisarenotarealblog.

I want TCW trio (plus Rex and Cody) to go back to several years pre-TPM and, since the Council DEFINITELY won't believe them about the Sith being back... they'll force the issue.

Anakin is weirdly excited about things and building up their backstory.

Anakin: Okay so I can definitely be a Maul type, with the unhinged ranting and manic laughter, Obi-Wan can be the whole Refined Rich Guy type like Dooku, where you can't even tell he's evil until he starts talking about getting out the eyeball scoops, maybe toss in a bit of mad science stuff? Ahsoka could play up like Ventress OR, oh oh, she can be the Light Side Child we need to PROTECT who's publicly begging us to return to the Light after our big dramatic Falls where we murdered like eighty people to save her, and-- Obi-Wan: Why are you never this enthusiastic about actual undercover missions. Ahsoka: Did you just have all this ready to go, or...? Anakin: WE COULD GET YELLOW CONTACT LENSES FOR ME.

Obi-Wan: How's my evil laugh?

Anakin going “Okay.. so if any of us need to murder someone to sell the bit it should be me, I think I could handle it the best. Why? No reason.”

Obi-Wan: I'm not sure a complete Fall could come from protecting Ahsoka, really-- Anakin: No, no, it could.

Obi-Wan: Surely you’d hold back because you realize neither of us want that for you. Anakin: Uh. Sure. Definitely.

Obi-Wan points out that none of them can channel the dark side to Prove they're Sith and Anakin just goes "Okay, give me like two seconds to stew in my negativity and--right, you can stop staring in horror, please."

Anakin rambles on that they can TOTALLY make the galaxy a better place while playing at being Sith! He's got a whole LIST of slave empires to "take over" and disassemble!

Anakin has a whole excited spiel about how EVIL soldiers and assistants are minions, in this case partly because Cody and Rex are too good at what they do to be mooks. Cody could pull off evil minion very well. Facial scar? Looks good in black? Quietly competent and sarcastic?

He also pushes for Obi-Wan to lounge in a fancy throne with a glass of wine while Anakin stalks the shadows and Ahsoka hangs out on the window ledge. The disaster lineage is dramatic, okay, Anakin’s just leaning into it, he’d appreciate it if everyone stopped looking at him like that.

Qui-Gon, surprisingly, ends up a skeptic about all of this. Everyone is freaking out about the Sith and he’s like “y’know I’m not even sure they’re darksiders.”

Some Jedi, possibly Qui-Gon for his conspiracy board, gets in a real risky situation and one of the Fake Sith saves them, but also panics and kinda drops character for a bit.

Jedi: You saved me! Why’d you do that? Anakin: I uh... just wanted the pleasure of killing you myself?

"You saved me. Why?" "Mmmm. Jedi." [walks away]

Qui-Gon: [trying to figure out what is up with these people semi-competently (from his perspective) pretending to be Sith] Dooku: [trying to protect Qui-Gon from Sith influence]

The gang is the most successful at pretending to be Sith to Dooku. Sure, they’re not gonna punish him for something he hasn’t done, but it’s not hard to act menacing and angry around him.

(They really do have so much fun irritating the heck out of Dooku. He hasn’t Fallen yet, but they want to keep an eye out.)

At some point, future Obi-Wan definitely drops that little tidbit of "What, you didn't think the Banites were the only Sith running around did you? You... didn't even know about the Banites. How... disappointing."

They REGULARLY use Ahsoka as an excuse to be marginally less terrible. They claim that if Ahsoka pouts, they stop. ‘Soka also uses them as an excuse for why she’s a lil feral. (To be fair, that one is accurate. She was already a lil feral before but it’s not like they did anything to stop it.) Ahsoka gets her "breaking into people's offices" jollies by bugging Nute Gunray's office.

The Jedi keep trying to Rescue Ahsoka.

Rex and Cody end up in real beskar, there's a whole Thing with Mandalore and Jango and Satine.

Obi-Wan is CONSISTENTLY worried about Anakin Falling for real, which... hey, at least he knows to be worried about Anakin Falling. Step up from canon, really.

Anakin is WAY too into killing the Hutts but like. It does... technically sell the bit.

Obi-Wan: Sure, I’m not sad that they’re dead, especially because we’re not connected to the Republic, so we don’t need to worry about starting a war and all that. But. Anakin is disturbingly cheerful about this. Rex: Wasn't he a Hutt slave? Obi-Wan: Well yes, but-- Rex: I'd kill Nala Se if I could get away with it.

Cody and Rex are very supportive of Anakin's murderous intentions.

Obi-Wan does understand anger, even killing someone in anger. Like Maul (the first time at least) and D’nar and a few others. All the same, like... y’know. The level of bloodthirst from the others is a little off-putting.

At one point, Anakin accidentally addresses young Obi-Wan by name, despite never having met before, and to cover it up, he... panic-flirts. He panics, and so he flirts, with young Obi-Wan.

(He will later blame this on old Obi-Wan, because he had to pick up the habit of flirting with the enemy from somewhere.)

Anakin vaguely implies that he's a wee bit obsessed with young Obi, and that the padawan should "get used to being the target of a dark-sider's interests," because he’s scrambling for Ominous Shit and, well, future Obi-Wan was pretty frequently a fixation point for darksiders, right?

The second he gets out, he just starts screaming into a bucket while Rex pats him on the back.

For the next however many terrible months, possibly years, he has to keep up the act while having an ongoing meltdown about how That's My Dad As A Twenty-Something.

(It doesn't help that young Obi-Wan reflexively flirted back.)

Old Obi-Wan, meanwhile, is just very "you dug this hole yourself, padawan."

There is an argument at the beginning about Obi-Wan’s outfit. If he’s gonna be a Sith, he can’t just go around in beige, but he’s like “I like this and it’s comfy.” Sure, he’s changed clothes for undercover stuff, but that’s always been temporary, y’know? He likes his beige.

We have a number of options.

My first instinct? Beige linen three piece suit, like a southern lawyer. "Now I may just be a simple Outer Rim force adept--"

And, of course, you can TOTALLY make the beige sinister: he’s impersonating a Jedi! Jedi impersonation would also explain why nobody has a red saber.

“Sure is good that the Jedi don’t seem to realize most of the galaxy doesn’t know red sabers are different and bad.” “Shhhh, stop poking holes in our story where a Jedi might overhear.”

Like.... if you do enough doublethink, it works! How would a Sith hide? In plain sight. Also, it’s a GREAT way (if they were actually assholes) to try to slander the Jedi name.

(Anakin and Ahsoka still think he could stand to put a little more effort in. Add a splash of color, for pity's sake!)

Though tbh part of me is like “What if Old Obi wore, like... a split skirt suit...” Victorian womenswear inspired because he misses his robes, but he has to look Professional, and like he's MOCKING Jedi instead of BEING one, so he wears a vintage-y split skirt thing over his leggings. Ends up looking a lot like what Ventress had for a while, but Beige. I also keep wanting to put him regency menswear.

Anyway. Obi-Wan’s wardrobe aside...

Anakin builds up his Tatoo accent again. It helps him with the (mostly true) "slavery helped me fall" backstory.

Either Cody or Rex offhandedly mentions being made to serve them (the Fake Sith) and now the Jedi are somewhat concerned about brainwashing. Are these Mandos the victims here?

“No like. Literally made for this. In a lab.” This is even more horrifying. So...

On the one hand good! The Jedi should be scared about Sith! On the other hand... it makes the Jedi more determined to stop them, specifically. They keep on getting in the way, just, all the time, and they’re not investigating the actual Sith problem, which is decidedly not great since the Team doesn’t actually know who’s a real Sith right now, except Maul, and who even knows where that guy is.

Obi-Wan, at some point: Do you think we've succeeded at this ruse... a little TOO well? Anakin: I don't follow. Obi-Wan, gesturing at the truly obnoxious amount of wealth they've collected, including "trophies" of their kills: Really? Because I'm a little worried! Anakin, planning out a battle to take on Nar Shadda: ...I'm not.

"How many people do we realistically we need to take over Hutt Space? Apparently... five."

(Mostly because Anakin is ridiculously op.)

ANAKIN AND YOUNG OBI GET KIDNAPPED BY PIRATES TOGETHER. It's tradition.

Anakin: Okay, so, I need to get really angry about something to pass as a Sith... time to think about my WIFE and how I'll NEVER SEE HER AGAIN.

Since Anakin’s life never goes as planned... this does not work. Instead of getting properly angry, he makes himself sad. There are tears. There is wailing. There’s a distraught rant or two. Young Obi ends up awkwardly trying to comfort him.

“Oh no, this… Sith?? Is crying on me. What do I do???”

Later on, when the Council wants intel: "So... one of the Sith cried on me about his wife. I think she's dead? He wasn't very clear about it but it, uh... it sounded like it might have contributed to his Fall. Also the relationship was a little unhealthy? He basically worshiped the ground she walked on and kept ranting about how he would have given her the galaxy on a platinum platter of she'd only asked, but that might be new and inspired by the Dark."

One of the random Jedi is REALLY good at detecting the truth Through The Force, and asks Anakin how he Fell...

Anakin just. Tells the Tuskens story.

They don't get pinged as lying, but oh boy does old Obi have a LOT of questions for Anakin once they're in private.

There are other things happening to help sell the ruse. Some of them are necessary! Some of them are... not.

Obi-Wan: What's the best way to show we're rich and kind of evil, but like... classy about it? Anakin, immediately: I sit on the floor next to the throne, leaning against it, and you call me pet names while stroking my hair, and then when you need something killed I get to do it for you and then I go back to the floor and you thank me for the directed violence, and then you go back to Negotiations with criminals while I’m sitting there covered in blood. Obi-Wan: ...is there something you want to TELL us, or...?

"You're all going to get a glimpse of something normally kept hidden about me." "Anakin, you don't have to do that." "No, I'm gonna."

(Anakin has decided hes going to peel his kink tomato to sell this ruse, and the others are slightly uncomfortable with that.)

Anakin: Okay, I cannot keep flirting with you. Young Obi: Wait, what? But that's the best part of any time we run into you! Anakin: You look WAY too much like my Master did when I met him. Obi: O...kay? If someone looked like my master when HE was young, I'd-- Anakin: My Sith Master half-raised me. He's basically my dad. Obi: ... Anakin: What's that look for? Obi: I mean, you spend a lot of time lounging at his feet, and, like, given how much you hate slavery, I... kind of assumed it was a kink thing? Anakin, brightly: Oh no, I just have a LOT of trauma. And neuroses. Snips says they’re neuroses.

Young Obi is a little upset because he was actually getting REALLY into Flirting With The Enemy and was hoping it would go somewhere. He mopes to Qui-Gon about it. Qui-Gon isn't sure whether to be proud about Obi breaking rules, or worried over Obi-Wan falling for a Fake Sith.

(As Tia put it: "You enjoy making young Obi-Wan have a completely unrequited crush on Anakin, don’t you?")

Fortunately, one of those attractive Young Mando boys very kindly helped him tape up his ribs this one time, and has thus caught his eye...

I feel like having Cody date Young Obi would court an entirely different kind of (internet) drama because clone ages, but whatever.

Also please imagine an element of "so I'm dating the genetic identical of my boss... who's dating the man I'm a genetic identical of..."

(It's probably not actually Jangobi but man would that be funny and also stupid.)

Somehow Young Obi figures out that the "Sith Master" is a future him before he realizes that they're not actually dark. In his defense, Anakin was pretty convincing. Especially with the wife rant. It makes HIM more obsessed with Anakin, in a reversal of the implied earlier dynamic, which is all kinds of weird. Less romantic but like. Still weird.

"Future Me Scares Me" with Extra stupid. "Future Me Annoys Me." "Future Me acts like grandmaster Dooku, but more sass." "Future Me raised a really hot evil guy that refuses to bang Present Me." "Future Me might be a Sith, but I'm getting more and more convinced he's just fucking with us all." "Future Me is really rocking that beard, and I can't BELIEVE we figured out a way around the babyface."

"I’m kinda concerned about the whole evil thing, but I’m also glad that I know I’ll stay hot as I get older."

Quinlan approves of the priorities.

Also a lot of interactions with older Obi are very Anakin: [does/says something deeply unhinged] Obi-Wan: So, do you want to…. Talk about that? Maybe? Anakin: What’s there to talk about?? I’m fine, everything’s fine! Anyways how about those plans for tracking down Maul?

Anakin later, like way after the ruse is lifted, just blankly tells everyone that he did Fall, once, and Older Obi made him get therapy about it after the truth came out between the two of them a few months into the Fake Sith thing.

Where'd they find a therapist? I'm sure there's one SOMEWHERE around. Denon and Herdessa are close enough, and they've done enough "your criminal empire now belongs to me" that they can pay well. They make sure to find one that takes confidentiality real seriously.

It's all very "we need some more time to unpack all that."

Therapy helps get Anakin to figure out Sheev’s whole deal. They don't necessarily figure out he’s a Sith from it, but they figure out he’s sketchy and they need to look into that more. Obi-Wan probably already thought he was sketchy, but the whole active gaslighting campaign was a little surprising. They realize that he kinda benefited a lot from a lot of Sith plots and they still probably don’t think he’s a Sith but Obi-Wan is definitely starting to think he’s working with one.

"Okay, we're already bugging Gunray, should we bug Palpatine just to be safe?"

They get away with a lot of slicing because Anakin is a technical genius from twenty years in the future.

The reasons they're so good at Taking Over Hutt Space: 1. They know parts of the future. 2. They have superpowers and FAR less reason to not use them, now that their actions aren't going to reflect on the Republic. 3. They have Cody and Rex, who are two of the greatest military minds in the galaxy, and know EXACTLY how to wage a war that covers a solid third of the galaxy, starting from a position of relative weakness. 4. Anakin's charisma is scary high, and his knowledge of slave culture means they gain a lot of trust from the people they free, and they just... keep acquiring volunteers for the army they didn't plan to have. Obi-Wan doesn't know what to do. He thinks they might have started a cult?

In his defense, Dooku sort of started a cult, and Komari got kidnapped by a cult, brainwashed into joining it properly, and then took it over as head figure of said cult. It's practically tradition!

Comics Vader is the central figure of like three different cults, it was really just inevitable.

Anakin: Aw, don't worry master, it's not a cult, it's a revolution! Ahsoka: They're worshiping him, though. Anakin: ...it's still a revolution! Just... with some misunderstandings.

Also, if they got wind of people trying to keep people from being able to leave and other culty stuff like that, they’d probably put a stop to it pretty damn quick.

Names! Time for names. As per usual, it's easiest to keep track of Obi-Wan's alternate Older Self by just calling him Ben.

Darth Ben.

Ahsoka: You should be Darth Boring. Obi-Wan: I can still make you run laps, you know.

Anakin: The Force is telling me to call myself Darth Vader. Obi-Wan: ...why? Anakin: I dunno, but it sounds cool, I'll run with it.

Someone: Ben has all the answers; we shouldn’t question him, ever. Ben: One time I lost a planet, and a five-year-old found it for me.

More options: Going with the "evil word with the prefix 'in' chopped off" that we get with Sidious and Vader: Darth Surrectus (as in insurrection) Just random Latin words: Darth Temporus (time) Darth Commenticius (fake)

Anyway, back to Nonsense:

Maul goes after young Obi early, because the Fake Sith are really invested in this one random Padawan (Sidious is saying he might be a cousin of the false Sith Master? They do look similar enough) so someone needs to investigate. Naturally, Anakin shows up with some wild screeching to fight Maul, and when someone questions why he got involved it gets very "Kenobi is MINE!" and like. Okay. So.

Anakin means it in a very Sith "to toy with" and "to torture" way, or the ‘my chosen opponent!’ way, just the same kind of Obsession as Maul had with Obi-Wan in the original timeline. Unfortunately, Anakin’s a weird-ass person who flirts with Young Obi against his own better judgement, so there's some awkward "Like... your boyfriend?" from young Obi. Anakin just screeches in SOME emotion that nobody wants to interpret, and couldn't even if they wanted to, and starts whacking away at Maul again.

(Anakin hasn't explained the "you look exactly like my dad, sorry, it's just too weird" thing yet, and he is HAVING MANY REGRETS.)

There's definitely at least one instance where a person asks Anakin if he's planning on dating That One Jedi Twink, or at least banging out the tension. At that point in time, Anakin doesn't actually know who the fuck they're talking about, because "Obi-Wan + Twink = Does Not Compute" for dear, dense Ani, and instead he just ends up ranting about how he is LOYAL TO THE MEMORY OF HIS LATE WIFE, how DARE anyone so much as INSINUATE that he would TARNISH HER PERFECT MEMORY and UNWAVERING KINDNESS and WHOLESOME BEING, and the person who asked doesn't end up lightsabered but they do end up with a LOT to tell whoever they're reporting to.

Young Obi-Wan definitely hears Anakin mutter the phrase “something to discuss with my therapist later” a few times, and he’s a little bewildered because darksiders definitely don’t seem like the type of people to go to therapy. They’re the type of people to need therapy, sure, but not the type to go to therapy.

I think it would be very fun for Young Obi to continue sighing over Anakin (who's pretending to be fine with it and even flirting back because he's in too deep to stop and hasn't worked up the courage to explain the elephant in the room) while Anakin is covered in grease and infodumping while having a slightly manic hyperfocus on engine repairs while the two of them Somehow got stranded together in the middle of bumfuck nowhere (it's Plagueis's doing, he finds the interactions between THESE two in particular to be the most informative regarding the fake Sith).

Anakin, at some point while stranded with young Obi-Wan, and having actually started unpacking some stuff in therapy, though he’s def still got a ways to go: I’m pretty sure Ben cares about me. He acts like he cares, like he’ll do stuff like put extra blankets in my quarters in the spaceship because I get cold real easily or track down those droid parts I need for a project and he always has my back in a fight but y’know it’d be nice to hear him say he loves me once in a while. Especially because we kinda had a rough start and idk I don’t think he wanted me around at first.

And uh. Obi-Wan definitely relates to that a bit too much, y’know?

I want to say that Young Obi ends up mentioning All That to one of the clones or Ahsoka later, because they seem probably invested in Anakin's well-being, even if Ben is, well, a Sith, so Obi-Wan's a little worried the man's affection really is fake, but at least Ahsoka...

(Ironic, given what Anakin's actual eventual Sith would-be-Master was like.)

Young Obi mentions Anakin’s most recent rant to Ahsoka, and she just goes "Wait, is that why Skyguy likes to sit by the throne and get called pet names?" "Uh... I don't... know... but it sounds like all of you have a LOT to unpack there, Miss Apprentice."

Later on: "Master Kenobi, you need to tell Skyguy you love him 'cause apparently he's been having a lot of emotions about you not telling him you care and he's been talking to mini-you about it whenever they get stuck together and--"

Young Obi-Wan is just constantly the "Now we don't have time to unpack all of that" John Mulaney gif. Anakin in particular is a mess, and young Obi-Wan slowly goes from "I want to date that" to "I want to study that" about him.

Obi-Wan gets stuck somewhere with Ben, tries to small talk, gets on the topic of Vader, and spills the drama. He gets an awkward “Thank you for bringing that to my attention.”

It’s followed by a fairly frustrated “I try, but Anakin refuses to communicate his needs to me, and it feels like I’m always falling short.”

At least one member of the group is in therapy, probably all of them, but they’re still using young Obi as a sounding board for all this stuff. On the bright side, this is probably good for impressing the importance of good communication on Obi-Wan.

Good for Obi-Wan! And... whatever Padawan he eventually has.

As for baby Anakin, who is approximately age four, I want to go with "Anakin decides to be his own uncle, and Shmi just rolls with it because fuck it, she’s not a slave anymore, and a Fake Sith is a solid defense against anyone trying to re-enslave them."

[This is a backstory I've had them use before (see here and here).]

Seeing Big Ani and Little Ani in the same space might be what finally pings the "oh shit, that's future me" thing for Obi-Wan... you know, if he’s ever allowed close enough to see Little Ani in the first place.

Little Ani stays with the fake-Sith and is sorta jointly trained by all of them, and young Obi-Wan teaches little 'Soka at the Temple. Ani and 'Soka still end up friends somehow, but it is fairly different.

Every time little Ani addresses Old Obi as "Dad," it's just like ten kinds of awkward. The one time someone tried to explain that Ben wasn't his new dad, Shmi glared them down. She is of the opinion that, all the gods be damned, Ani deserves to refer to the most mature man in his life, who raised another him in another timeline already, as a father.

Ani doesn't NEED a father, Shmi herself is more than enough, but he does deserve to have this if he wants it.

An alternative conclusion to the time travel is uh. So the Mandalorians are genetically identical (give or take a hair gene) and really resemble Jango Fett, though whether anyone notices that is up in the air. Then the three ‘Sith’ (two fake Sith and their morality chain tag-along) have three younger, identical copies show up….

It could be really weird cloning shenanigans. Now, it makes no sense that they’d make clones, and stagger their production like that, and leave them as babies on various planets for Jedi to find. IDK what reasons Obi-Wan would come up with for that, but it’s a fun little detour before he gets to time travel.

There's a really painful moment (for the audience, who know about canon Vader) where someone tries to convince Ahsoka to leave the Sith and she's just like "no way, they'd never hurt me!” Then she clarifies that “someone has to keep them from doing stupid Sith shit whenever they get bored, you know?"

A bunch of Jedi probably think she’s delusional, but the few that have seen her get into trouble that is legitimately too much for her, which isn't often, have then seen Anakin show up like the devil himself to save her, and it's like. Oh. This is why she isn't scared of them hurting her.

We’ve discussed how Anakin does get concerningly in character with the fake Sith thing. However, Anakin and Ahsoka are, just once in a while, surprised by how Ben gets sometimes when playing the bad guy.

After all, he stabbed a dude with a fork and threatened to eat him during his time as Hardeen…

He has the same dramatic streak as all the rest of the lineage. He can be vindictive and creepy and scary as fuck.

HOWEVER:

Obi-Wan: I know I'm supposed to be playing at evil right now, but how do we feel about me making that evil a little... fruity? Ahsoka: Fruity, master? Anakin, who knows where this is going: [buries face in hands] Obi-Wan: You know, the... [limp wrist] Ahsoka: ... Obi-Wan: I mean, I'm already bisexual and well-groomed, I can play it up.

What’s the point of being evil if you can’t be flamboyant?

Anyway, I had to put in a lot of thought for what to do with Rex and Cody, because there's a solid place for them in terms of strategy, but it doesn't do much to give them independent narrative arcs, and 'young Obi-Wan has a crush' isn't much of an arc, you know?

So, basic info first: Cody, Rex, and Anakin all hold the rank of General in this AU because, like... who else is gonna. Ahsoka remains a commander because everyone declares her Baby, and also to keep up the "I'm a morality chain" ruse.

Cody maintains a very stern and unyielding public persona, but the second they're behind closed doors, he's roughhousing with his little brother.

Rex has some fun pretending to be a sadist whenever he and Anakin have to team up, because hamming it up as an evil bastard in front of Jedi is actually really fun... but usually, he's a competent fucking professional.

Because here's the thing: someone has to be.

They both kind of hate the army they've gotten, because these people don't even have proper trigger discipline, let alone any actual discipline.

This army? Tragic. They hate it. Give them the clones.

They have to be drill sergeants for months before they have anything worth sending onto the field.

I think that might be how/when they end up reaching out to Jango. Like, the first inroad is absolutely "we're your clones from the future and you were a Shit Dad so you owe us," but then they actually talk him around into letting the Fake Sith hire him. He brings along all the Mandalorians he can get to answer his calls, and on suggestion from Those Mando Twins, joins the army Ben doesn't even want.

Darth Boring doesn't want an army! Unfortunately, Cody thinks that's stupid as hell, and is overruling Ben so they can actually work on this 'cleaning up the galaxy of slavery' thing with actual resources.

Cody and Rex are super competent, and it shows in their horrified disdain for the state of their troops.

Rex: Fucking natborns. Anyone who isn't in the know: What's a natborn? Rex: [leaves without answering] People: WHAT'S A NATBORN???

(I'm assuming that the word smush is harder to parse in Basic.)

I think young Obi-Wan's new crush on Cody should also be unrequited. Cody's just like... bemused. Very "Okay, then, that sure is an Affection you've decided on."

Cody and Anakin both: Sorry, it’d just be too weird. Obi-Wan: Why would it be too weird? Cody and Anakin: Reasons.

Rex has to deal with the "whyyyyy" from both his brother and his (former?) General.

Young Obi-Wan just likes cute boys that fight good! Is that so wrong???

Ahsoka: So since we're not officially Jedi anymore-- Obi-Wan: We're still Je-- Ahsoka: Can we date? Can I date now? I want to date someone before we go back to the Code. It's a classic life experience for most teenage girls, and I want to Have That Experience before we're back at the Temple. Obi-Wan: You're not... you can date, Ahsoka, that's not actually banned by the Code. I mean, you'd have to keep it casual, but-- Ahsoka: I CAN DATE!!!

(Great priorities, Ahsoka.)

An idea I'm toying with is that one of the clones ends up Legally Engaged to Satine for political reasons, and young Obi-Wan is just like ???? because not only can he not date the hot boys, but one of said hot boys has become Mr. Steal Yo Girl.

Young Obi-Wan is suffering, and Quinlan is the worst friend ever because Quinlan is laughing at him.

There is obviously the question of

"How would Satine ever end up agreeing to that, given what their public personas are like and all that? She puts duty ahead of personal feelings but all indications are that it’s a terrible decision both ways." (as stated by Tia)

Which, yes, I forgot to actually say that I was imagining Jango had declared "those twins" his heirs after telling people they were his younger* cousins. Because reasons.

* Jango is about 27 when they land in the past, and I’m going to say the accelerated aging ended after hitting physically twenty because no, I don’t want to deal with that. As far as anyone knows, Cody and Rex are about five years younger than Jango. They’re less than year apart, which isn’t very visible, and most people assume they’re identical twins (except Rex’s hair), and that Cody just looks slightly older because of the scar.

Darth Boring had convinced Satine that the way to keeping Mandalore peaceful was to work with Jango (because Darth Boring, which is not his actual title but it is what Ahsoka insists on calling him in private, has a vested interest in keeping Mandalore and all interested parties calm), and he... maybe accidentally set up a political marriage between her and one of the clones.

It wasn't on purpose! Satine never married in his timeline, okay, he didn't expect her to ever get married here, either! He didn't even suggest it! This just happened!

(I want to say that Cody would be more competent at having a political marriage? But IDK.)

Do I do the Satine thing? It has potential, but also it's a bit of a cop-out. Do I have Cody be a diplomatic representative for their pseudo-Sith empire? He could be, but I think he'd hate it. Do I have Rex date one the Chaos Entities (Anakin or Ahsoka), or is that too repetitive with my other works? THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH GOING ON.

Part of me wants Quinlan to get a crush on Cody, and the crush gets bigger specifically in response to the fact that Cody refuses to take him seriously and/or just doesn't give him the time of day.

Based on their one interaction in TCW, they probably let get along ok. Cody maybe likes him back, buuuuuuut internally he's just a little "you were tolerable at almost-forty; early twenties you is obnoxious."

Just imagine the absolutely puppyish attempts at gaining approval and Impressing The Hot Mando General. Quinlan keeps having vague daydreams of seducing someone to the side of the Light. He really leans into the bodice ripper fantasies of saving someone evil with the power of love! (And also the power of really good sex.)

Bant looks at Quin and Obi and wants to throw them both into the nearest pond because they're idiots, but on this topic they are the same flavor of idiot. She considers calling up Reeft and Garen to help her knock some sense into them.

Quinlan: Can I volunteer to go undercover to the Sith? The Council: No. Quinlan: ...what if I-- The Council: No.

Tholme tries to get Qui-Gon to commiserate over their Padawans getting obsessed with Hot Sith Boys, but Qui-Gon just finds the whole thing funny. He knows from the chats he has with Ben that Anakin feels so completely, utterly, incredibly awkward about all of this.

(Ben continues to hold to "Anakin brought this on himself.")

(Ben also “kidnaps” Qui-Gon a lot.)

Also, hey, at least Quinlan isn’t actually into hot Sith boys! He’s into hot Sith minions which is... probably a step up. At least Cody’s not a Sith himself!

It's a step in some direction but Tholme has no idea which one.

(Quinlan sees Cody in dress uniform once and just keeps the mental image for Ages. It’s in his dreams. Sometimes said dreams overflow to Tholme via Force Mind Magic and Quinlan wakes up to someone smacking his face with a pillow.)

Arguably, Quin's also a lot more romantic about his crush than Obi-Wan is, in this case. Quinlan: I want to save him... Obi-Wan: Hey, hey, cute boy. Look at me. Let’s bang.

Cody: There are currently two future Jedi generals having some form of absurd romantic fixation in my direction. I don't know how to feel about this. Rex: Bed them. Cody: ...I'm not saying that's not eventually an option, but one of them is the younger Kenobi, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Rex: Pat him on the head like a tooka and then bed his friend, it'll be funny.

I think the Quinlan thing and also general exasperation of leading an absolutely useless army can function pretty solidly as the basis for Cody, but I have another idea for Rex now.

Komari is currently brainwashed in a cult, yes? So.

I keep bouncing around back and forth on what to do with Rex, but part of me suddenly really likes the idea of, after Team Fake Sith finds and dissolves the cult (as one does), and takes Komari into custody (because she's dangerous and deeply unwell), Rex kind of ends up her touchstone to being a decent person. He’s not a morality chain, and it’s not really a redeemed-through-love thing, just This Is A Solid Dude who doesn't pity her or thinks she's irredeemable (however you choose to define such a thing), but actually relates to the kind of conditions living like that can involve, and just kind of...

I don’t know. I think Rex's arc in this AU could be very heavily grounded in something to the effect of "You're not the worst darksider I've met. You're not the only person who was in a cult. You're not even the only former Jedi I know that's committed awful, horrible crimes. My question is just this: What are you going to do moving forward?"

Later Anakin: Wait, who do we know that was in a cult? Rex: What did you think Kamino was?

(Rex isn't as chill as he'd like her to think, but he's trying, and she's fairly reliant on the Force to understand emotions, and is currently in nullifying cuffs, so he can bluff.)

Komari needs someone solid and dependable to rely on for at least conversation, and I think Rex needs to feel needed.

I’m not sure if it’d be romance or friendship, but I think there's a solid basis to work with, potentially.

Per Tia:

One thing about Rex and shipping is like. If you want to do Rexwalker again that's fine, but if you're worried about repetitiveness but still want to like. Ship him in a non-political-convenience way. Rexsoka here actually would be different than your other stuff.

I'm trying to figure out if I can make it work because Ahsoka thematically fits very much into a little sister shaped hole here? She feels younger than in other works, despite not actually being younger than she is in, say, Commander Buir. In those other fics, she has some time alone to function and prove herself independently of Anakin and Obi-Wan.

I usually pluck Ahsoka out at sixteen if I'm pulling her from TCW, so she's got most of her competence but hasn't gotten quite all the trauma yet. Commander Buir, in particular, also has baby-shaped Anakin for contrast.

That said, I can see a decent source of narrative conflict in her wanting to experiment with romance and all that, and Anakin trying to tell her she's too young.

A year into this whole time-travel mess, she wants to give the dating thing a shot, and it spirals into "You were only two years older than me when you got married!"

I think I could build a plot out of Ahsoka wanting to do these things, and Anakin as an audience insert not quite processing that she's old enough to make these decisions. If she's choosing to date Rex, whose age works out as being close to hers when one takes into account Kamino fuckery, and whom she trusts absolutely, it’s arguably extra weird for Anakin to be upset with it.

"Senator Amidala was five years older than you, and you married her when you were nineteen and had only really known her for a week! I can go on a date with a guy we both know is one of the most trustworthy people alive if I want, Skyguy!"

I can definitely see Ahsoka getting annoyed with Anakin being overbearing and controlling at some point before that unrelated to romance, too. It’s not exactly a new fault of his.

My god, just imagine someone snidely asking Anakin "where's your little shadow?" and Anakin, being Himself and also a Fake Sith, has an emotional breakdown about how Ahsoka yelled at him for micromanaging her and not trusting her to make her own decisions in life and so she got herself a multi-month solo mission from Ben that Anakin isn't allowed to know any details about, and--

It's another one of those "oh, you have PROBLEMS problems with your mental health" incidents for the Jedi to add to the file, because Anakin having emotionally charged rants about his issues at seemingly terrible times is how they get a lot of information.

Some of the rants are planned.

Many of them, actually.

They want the Jedi to know these things.

Just, well. Anakin.

He really is a little Like That.

On that note, I'm low-key imagining that Anakin gets put on mood stabilizers by the therapist in this context, and he's doing good! He's handling his issues! He's--been captured with Obi-Wan the Younger again and his medication was confiscated.

Anakin is... not great. He's a little out of practice managing his unmedicated self, and when adding withdrawal symptoms onto that... poor Anakin.

(Poor Obi-Wan.)

I think it would be best if Anakin makes a bunch of ominous blustery comments at their captors about how they won't like what's coming to them if they take his belongings (AKA the fanny pack that has his backup pills), and then Obi-Wan just gets to watch Anakin get more and more erratic, because like. Yes, Anakin is using the Force to compensate, but unfortunately he's mostly cut off, and the stress of the situation is pushing him away from depression and into the beginnings of a manic episode.

Anakin is aware of his issues to the point where he's mostly managing, and he keeps asking Obi-Wan "would it make sense for me to [slightly deranged, very impulsive action]," and Obi-Wan realizes he's being the morality sounding board for the Hot Sith because ??? reasons?????

Eventually, Anakin does flop back in bed and dramatically throws his arm over his eyes, and says he needs his meds back, he's absolutely going to lose it, and Obi-Wan tentatively asks what kind of medication. There are levels to worry about. Mild allergy medication is one thing, but heart medication that needs to be taken every four hours is another, you know? He wants to know how much panic is appropriate.

Anakin lets him know that it's Psychiatric In Nature. Obi-Wan suddenly realizes that he really, really, really doesn't want to know what a properly erratic, unmedicated Anakin is like.

(An unmedicated Anakin really isn't nearly as bad as Obi-Wan fears. Anakin's been dealing with this for a while, and knows what his issues are and some of how to deal with them. He'd need to be running on no sleep and higher levels of stress, or to have been drugged with something meant to increase his aggression, to really lose his shit and do something worthy of Vader. RotS levels of stress and sleep deprivation is required to pull RotS levels of manic paranoid delusion.)

Tia asked:

How long does it take the Jedi in general to catch on to how like. They have opportunities. But these Sith never seem to harm any Jedi. And it’s not just like, the past timeline parts of the disaster lineage. They probably get opportunities to hurt other Jedi. Ones that are less skilled at saber work. And more importantly ones that they don’t seem weirdly interested in."

I'm not sure, really. The Jedi don't spend as much time in the Outer Rim as they could, and that's where the Team operates, so actually running into them by accident is unlikely for anyone other than Shadows.

Fortunately, it's really easy to toy with Shadows with the excuse of "I want to see how long it takes before you Fall with us."

I do want like... okay. Here’s the mental image:

Qui-Gon calls them out on being Fake Sith pretty quickly, so Ben just sort of eyes him, dramatically, and orders out "Leave us" to all non-team people. The threat of torture is implied but not stated. He gestures with wine to keep in character. He definitely makes sure Young Obi-Wan is ushered out, so it's just five time travelers, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ahsoka's immortal force birb.

"...so, what's the reason for the farce, Obi-Wan?" "How in all the hells did you figure it out so quickly?"

(Qui-Gon cheated a bit. He could feel the broken training bond that was never properly severed due to Traumatic Death Of A Master on Ben's end)

Ben didn't realize he'd feel it! Young Obi-Wan can't feel his older self or a training bond with Anakin or Ahsoka, so why could Qui-Gon?

IDK if there would be anything on the level of crying and hugging it out, but I think it would be very funny if, every time young Obi and Anakin are getting captured by pirates or something, Ben and Qui-Gon are just having a nice afternoon tea and checking their watches to see if their respective walking bundles of neuroses are done with their adventure yet.

The Council is So Done, because Qui-Gon continues to insist that they're Not That Bad, but every time anyone other than Qui-Gon brings up the friendship, Ben laughs and makes a comment about how absolutely gullible Master Jinn is.

Obi-Wan is skeptical of his own experiences with Anakin, at least, if only because he's skeptical about Anakin's everything.

"I don't know if Vader is telling me the truth. I don't know if he's telling himself the truth. I don't think he's a great source of information even when he thinks he's being honest."

Anakin could tell Obi-Wan the full and complete truth, and Obi-Wan would worriedly put a hand to his forehead and start doing tests for hallucinations and paranoid delusions. In his defense, this is a very reasonable assumption to make with an individual like Anakin. It's just also not accurate, this time. I don’t know if Anakin hallucinates in canon without a weird inciting incident like Force Nonsense or getting drugged by the enemy, but paranoid delusion is pretty much all of RotS.

"I’m your time-traveling padawan who’s pretending to be a Sith to catch some other Sith who’re going to start a galactic civil war and those Mandalorians you like are from a clone army based on a template of Jango Fett made to serve the Jedi (because that’s totally something he’d sign up for), and one of the Sith is your grandmaster but he doesn’t seem to have fallen yet, it’s probably fine," is hard to believe.

Honestly, even if he seemed stable before saying that, which he doesn’t, it’s all real far fetched. There's a lot going on and Obi-Wan wouldn't even begin to believe it without evidence.

I've had it in my head that he and Bant and Quinlan have been gossiping about the mess for months if not years about these idiots, and at one point it became common knowledge that Ben was a Kenobi, and Bant convinced them (since the two were among the most likely in the entire Order to encounter the Fake Sith) to get a DNA sample, probably hair or blood since that's easiest so they can figure out HOW these two are related, if they are, and then there's a whole big thing.

Bant: No, no, this must be contaminated, it's coming up as Obi-Wan! Are you sure you didn't accidentally grab some of your own hairs? I know it's a little long for most of your hair, but the braid-- Quinlan: Wait, they keep claiming stuff about cloning, right? Maybe someone's a clone? Check for artificial telomeres! Bant: ...okay, so, there aren't any artificial telomeres, but the ones from apparently-Ben are... a lot shorter... um... I don't know what to do with this. It's like I have two samples from the same person, twenty years apart. Quinlan: Obi-Wan, what's that face? Why are you-- Obi-Wan: Vader told me he was a time-traveler. I thought it was the fever talking, but...

That’s how he finds out that Ben is future-him before finding out about how he’s not evil!

"Master Jinn... I think... I think the Sith controlling the Outer Rim is me from the future." "Oh, you finally figured it out?" "I AM HAVING A CRISIS HERE."

Obi-Wan, after a few hours of dazed realization, runs screaming to Quinlan and Bant like 'GUYS GUYS THIS EXPLAINS WHY VADER KEPT SAYING IT WAS WEIRD AND THAT I LOOK LIKE HIS MASTER AND THAT IT WOULD BE LIKE DATING HIS DAD.'

You know, the important stuff.

I think Qui-Gon tells him that Ben isn't evil because, like, That Sure Is A Crisis Obi-Wan's Having. He could hold off for shits and giggles, sure, but Obi-Wan’s on the edge of something Really Concerning, mentally. Best help calm him down on at least one or two things.

Obi-Wan’s maybe still a little skeptical until he confronts them over it. Because their Sith act was real good and also like. Maybe Qui-Gon just wants to believe the best of his Padawan, y’know?

Quinlan runs into Ben before Obi-Wan does, after this whole mess, and gets to observe as money changes hands and people act like sore winners about bets made for When Does Obi-Wan Figure It Out.

Anakin was saying 'soon' because he really didn't think the fever-fueled rant would be discounted as easily as it was.

Cody was of the opinion that it would take at least a few more years since they're actually pretty damn good at this whole schtick.

Quinlan: Wow, he's... going to be really disappointed that you have such a low opinion of his intelligence. Cody, gesturing at Ben: Experience. Darth Ben: ಠ_ಠ

Cody just rattles off some of the Extremely Stupid Shit that Ben's done in their time working together.

Rex cheerily offers up "You didn't even realize General Skywalker was married, sir! And they weren't subtle!" "I knew they were together, I just didn--" "Everyone knew they were together, sir. Everyone."

(Rex had the lowest opinion of their deductive capabilities. He claims it would have taken until Baby Ahsoka showed up at the Jedi Temple.)

-Once Obi-Wan accepts that they're decent people after all- Obi-Wan: Wow, Anakin, you're real good at acting unhinged! Anakin: Haha. Yeah. Thanks?

[ooops-i-arted]

I know that considering (TCW-2008) refs/characters in this episode that it won’t be your fav but can you please share your child development thoughts for S02E05 please??

They may have been stuff I wasn’t fond of but there were so many cute Baby & Dad moments to make up for it!!

First of all, the puppeteers deserves ALL THE AWARDS for bringing Baby Yoda to life!  Not just making Baby “come alive” in general, but also that sort-of-awkward way children move when they don’t have complete confidence in their limbs yet.  The are doing a phenomenal job this season and I hope they are all safe and healthy and have all the chocolate they want.  Not only is it fantastic from a special effects perspective, it really highlights how far Baby has come now that he’s not stuck in a pod all day and implies that Din is trying to keep him active and physically healthy, and giving him opportunities to develop his muscles and muscle control.  (Just imagine them playing a makeshift game of chase through the Razor Crest!)

I absolutely loved Din saying “Hey, what did I tell you” because I have said those exact words in that exact tone SO MANY TIMES and also his Dad Voice is getting so much better!  Baby actually listens to him and understands that Din expects him to listen!  Of course he still wants the ball (and apparently takes it enough that Din has been practicing his Dad voice on that too, “What did I say about that” is another phrase I also use at work).

Though there may have been another reason he wants the ball this time - as a comfort item, like a child bringing their favorite stuffie to the first day of school.  Baby was there when the Armorer told Din to find Jedi to bring the Baby to.  He has been listening a lot when Din talks about finding Jedi to train him and give him to.  I think Baby is very, very aware of the fact that the end goal is to leave him with the Jedi and is very afraid of leaving his beloved father.  He would’ve had stable caretaker(s) at the Jedi Temple but in the last twenty years who knows what’s happened to him.  His subdued, don’t-draw-attention-to-myself behavior in Season 1 definitely makes me think he’s been neglected, bare minimum, and possibly abused.  Din not only treats him kindly but actually takes care of his needs, is kind to him, and is the most stable presence in his life.  Of course he’d be terrified to leave him!

I think that’s also why he doesn’t play ball with Ahsoka, so to speak.  We all know he can lift a mudhorn, a rock is no problem for him.  He could do it in a heartbeat.  But I think he understood that if he showed off for her, Ahsoka might take him away.  So he refused for that, and because it’s very common at that age to refuse to do something to regain control of a situation.  (That’s why you get kids enjoying telling you “No!” and the whole terrible twos thing.)  If he refuses, he stays in control of what’s happening.  But of course Din knows exactly how to tempt him with his favorite ball, and kids do want to please adults they like.  Anything to hear that sweet, sweet positive reinforcement.  So it wasn’t just the shiny ball that convinced Baby - it was the fact that Din was the one playing with him, and that Din so enthusiastically tells him good job.  (And Din is noticeably more into it when using the orb.  Maybe he and Baby have played with it before?  So it’s more natural to both of them.  And he was truly so proud of his boy!!  It was adorable.)

It’s the same with hearing his real name, which he presumably hasn’t heard in twenty years.  He responds when Ahsoka says it, but when Din says it?  He’s instantly turned around, ears perked all the way up in “happy” mode.  It’s special when Din says it, because Din is special to him.

Which then ties into the whole attachment thing.  Baby is very healthily attached to Din.  There’s a reason we stick kids with the same teacher for a year plus at a time, it’s because kids are comfortable with a regular person they can get to know, just like adults are.  To Baby, Ahsoka is just some orange stranger and Din is his dad.  Of course he is more attached to Din and has fears over losing him, especially if he’s been deprived of that for the last 20-odd years!  It’d be different if Din was sticking around to transition Baby somewhere new, or just dropping him off for lessons.  But leaving a parent permanently and abruptly after likely previous trauma?  That would be horrible for Baby.

And re: The Jedi + attachments Ahsoka (and Filoni) are wrong on that.  The Jedi do not forbid attachments, only letting your attachments rule you.  Ki-Adi-Mundi is married and so were others, and there are plenty of Padawan-Master relationships to see - for example, Obi-Wan was attached to Qui-Gon and clearly loved him and was devastated by his loss, but it’s only when he conquers his emotions and calms himself is he able to defeat Maul, and afterward is implied/shown to mourn Qui-Gon and handle his grief in a healthy way.  Anakin doesn’t fall because he’s attached to his loved ones.  He falls because he’s willing to commit murder and genocide over his attachments.  So “I can’t teach Grogu because he’s attached to you” is bullshit.  “I can’t teach Grogu because he is attached to you and needs to be safely transitioned into Jedi life in an environment that is comfortable and safe for him, with your help as his adoptive father, and I have no way to do that here and/or don’t feel comfortable doing that” is much more accurate.  (This is probably what would’ve happened if the Order was still around, anyway, and/or how he was actually taken in - the 3D TCW episode with the Jedi children shows the bounty hunters tricking the parents to kidnap the kids, implying that a real Jedi would work with the family to transition the children in a safe and healthy manner.  The Rodian even says the Jedi have already spoken to her iirc.)

Of course even if Grogu is unhealthily attached to Din (which he isn’t, imo, he behaves like a child at a normal level of attachment to a regular caretaker he loves) then ignoring it and not doing anything about it is equally bad.... as we’ve already seen when he got upset with Cara last season.  Baby must learn to control his powers so he doesn’t hurt himself or others, especially since he’s so young he doesn’t always have full control over his own emotions.  “Big” emotions can be a lot for a kid; a screaming meltdown is bad enough when the kid can’t yeet you with their mind.  I’ve been hit, kicked, bitten, scratched, had toys thrown at me, even been hit with heavy wooden blocks.  A Grogu out of control with his emotions and using the Force?  Terrifying.  Yes, his attachment to Din makes him more vulnerable to his fears and anger - we’ve seen him choke Cara and while he only held back the mudhorn, in theory he could’ve done more.  But that is just all the more reason to teach him control.  Ignore harmful behavior and it will only get worse, and Din isn’t really equipped to help him navigate that since Din doesn’t understand the Force and can’t understand what Grogu says.

(Also lol at “He doesn’t understand” “He does.”  You can 100% tell when kids understand you perfectly and are refusing to do it, even when a parent is making excuses for their darling. xD  Especially since kids will frequently act/react differently to their parents versus other caretakers.)

“He’s hidden his abilities to survive over the years” I call partial bullshit on that.  No, I don’t think Baby has done any long-term planning or had thoughts along the lines of “I’m being hunted and need to protect myself by pretending not to be a Force-user.”  But I think he has probably figured out people react a certain way when he does Force things and perhaps decided “I shouldn’t make things float because then people will grab me/I will get taken away/other consequence I don’t like will happen.”  That’s more in line with a toddler’s level of thinking/comprehension.  And it adds greater weight to him saving Din from the mudhorn - he didn’t know how Din would react to him using the Force, if Din would try and hurt him or lock him in the pod or whatever, but he still wanted to save Din.  Overall though I think Baby’s Force-use is in line with a toddler’s thoughts.  “I want X to happen, I can make that happen with the Force, so I will make X happen unless I’m more scared of [consequence] happening.”

So overall a pretty revealing episode for Baby/Grogu.  (I’m not used to the new name yet tbh.)  Although I’m worried about how many times it will take Din hearing it to realize that yes, you are this baby’s father, get that through your beskar-plated skull.

[padawanlost]

Hi! First of all thank you for all the content, I love reading your metas and thoughts! I wanted to ask your opinion on something. Since S7 came out there were all these jokes about how Obi-Wan always knew of the secret relationship and how unsubtle Anidala were and how Anakin didn't even have to bother to hide it (from him). But I feel like this is a wrong take on the Obi-Wan/Anakin relationship? On Anakin's mind, Obi-Wan DEFINETLY would've told the Council, or force him to give her up, or Do-Something-About-It? Like I know there were brothers but am I wrong in thinking trust issues were definetly a problem?

Hi! 

As I’ve mentioned before, I too have a problem with how Obi-wan knwoleged of Anidala was handled (specially on TCW’s S7). 

Here’s the thing, Obi-wan knew Anakin and Padmé had feelings for each other, he knew Anakin hadn’t given up on his love for her and might even have suspected they sometimes had sex (which wasn’t forbidden, btw) but he DIDN’T know they were in a secret marriage. Obi-wan knew about the feelings, not the relationship. And, no, he didn’t tell the council. But that’s only because he didn’t know the extent of the problem.

If Obi-wan had known Anakin had married Padmé he would’ve told someone the same way he would’ve told someone if knew about the tusken slaughter. It’s one thing to be a little indulgent and even protective, it’s another to watch as someone knowingly breaks some of their most important rules and lies about it.

Obi-wan might have covered some of it for Anakin:

The man he faced was everything Obi-Wan had devoted his life to destroying: Murderer. Traitor. Fallen Jedi. Lord of the Sith. And here, and now, despite it all … Obi-Wan still loved him. Yoda had said it, flat-out: Allow such attachments to pass out of one’s life, a Jedi must, but Obi-Wan had never let himself understand. He had argued for Anakin, made excuses, covered for him again and again and again; all the while this attachment he denied even feeling had blinded him to the dark path his best friend walked. [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

But Anakin didn’t know that. He loved Obi-wan but he didn’t confide in him:

“But we—we can’t just … wait. I can’t. I have to do something.” “Of course you do.” She smiled fondly. “That’s who you are. That’s what being a hero is. What about Obi-Wan?” He frowned. “What about him?” “You told me once that he is as wise as Yoda and as powerful as Mace Windu. Couldn’t he help us?” “No.” Anakin’s chest clenched like a fist squeezing his heart. “I can’t—I’d have to tell him …” “He’s your best friend, Annie. He must suspect already.” “It’s one thing to have him suspect. It’s something else to shove it in his face. He’s still on the Council. He’d have to report me. And …” “And what? Is there something you haven’t told me?” He turned away. “I’m not sure he’s on my side.” “Your side? Anakin, what are you saying?” “He’s on the Jedi Council, Padmé. I know my name has come up for Mastery—I’m more powerful than any Jedi Master alive. But someone is blocking me. Obi-Wan could tell me who, and why … but he doesn’t. I’m not sure he even stands up for me with them.” “I can’t believe that.” “It has nothing to do with believing,” he murmured, softly bitter. “It’s the truth.” “There must be some reason, then. Anakin, he’s your best friend. He loves you.” “Maybe he does. But I don’t think he trusts me.” His eyes went as bleak as the empty night. “And I’m not sure we can trust him.”[Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

“You think Skywalker won’t be able to handle this?” Mace Windu said. “I thought you had more confidence in his abilities.” “I trust him with my life,” Obi-Wan said simply. [Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith]

So, yeah, it’s definitely a communication issue. Sadly, an issue that started with their relationship. 

When they’d met, Anakin had been a warm-hearted nine-year-old boy with an open nature. He was twelve and a half now, and the years had changed him. He had grown to be a boy who hid his heart.

The problem between Anakin and Obi-wan was never about a lack of love, it’s about their lack of communication.

PS: THANK YOU!

[helbertinelli]

Anon from before, I think I would have had less of an issue if Ahsoka wasn't so similar to Anakin, if he got a Padwan at all. I think it would have worked better if they both /tried/ to understand each other but fundamentally didn't. It would make her seem.. cold comparatively but I think it would be easy to rationalize her/the jedi opinion on thing and provide more evidence that the Jedi were broken (that everyone still somehow misses). cont

I think it would have been great if maybe they JUST started understanding each other when she dies in something basic like a firefight. Something that the Jedi see as a noble scarifice but Anakin knows was avoidable (not even planned by Palps just.. Bad Luck). Like finally a Jedi (esp a temple raised youngling who he never thought he'd have anything in common with) that Anakin could potentially connect to (had influenced) that could possibly be part.. and possibly be a family (in addition to Obi Wan but.. warmer)... which lead to him wanting to do better with his own kids later on with Padme, adding to the whole tragic story even further. Because Anakin definitely always wanted to be a dad. I would have loved a conversation about that, and them waiting until after the war. I'm not saying Padme would have put her career over having kids but I feel like its something they definitely discussed about their future/dreams about it. /end

I would have liked for Anakin to have a Padawan that is similar to him, but probably not between AOTC and ROTS. Like it would have been really cool to see him train Leia or someone else who was very similar to him. I feel like he would have been challenged by having to guide someone so similar because while it’s easy for him to deal with himself and to be wrong about what’s the best thing for him, it would have been way harder to do the wrong thing or to not be perfect when trying to deal with someone else’s life.

It’s odd for Anakin to have a Padawan when he’s barely a Knight himself, but if he absolutely had to have one, it would have been nice to give him someone similar to who you’ve described.

I think Ahsoka in Rebels is more similar to the old Jedi Order than she is with Anakin. She keeps telling Ezra and Hera to let Kanan go and is kinda preachy on the no attachments rule. Like the Order is gone, just stop, Ahsoka... It kinda makes no sense for her to act this way either, since she left the Order because she disliked them and saw how unfair they are. And all of a sudden she becomes Yoda 2.0 in Rebels? I liked Ahsoka more in TCW, but I hated her 100% in Rebels. She just acts too detached and too much like a Jedi for someone who had more years of no Jedi training than she did Jedi training (I think she’s only with Anakin for like 1-2 years). And then she’s basically a Jedi Master when we next see her because of reasons? Like she’s on par with Vader (who’s still stupid powerful despite losing a lot of his power) that’s how powerful she is, with only like 2 years of Jedi training.... Mary Sue much?

But I digress... I feel like it would have been best if Anakin didn’t get a Padawan between AOTC and ROTS. It wasn’t really necessary for his development and it kinda contradicts his relationship with the Council and the Order if he’s entrusted with a Padawan. Because you can’t think Skywalker is dangerous and will be the end of you and then trust him to train another Jedi.

Also, I personally like that Padme got pregnant unexpectedly. It just makes the story even more fairytale like that they didn’t have a discussion on when to have kids and they kinda just happened, and as Anakin said, they were a blessing to both Ani and Padme and to the rest of the universe (except Sheev and his empire). I also like the unexpected pregnancy because we see that despite how in control Padme and Anakin were when it came to being a Senator and being a Jedi, they were completely lost in each other and out of control around each other, in private. It’s like they were responsible in their jobs, but they were able to let loose and not worry about anything or any consequences when they were together. I know it’s an irresponsible approach, but there’s some beauty to it as it relates to Anakin and Padme.

[lifeofclonewars]

why is it that in Revenge of the Sith and Attack of the Clones, anakin's flirting is awful. it's so bad and horrible and eugh. but then in the zygerria arc, HIS FLIRTING IS GOOD. WHAT HAPPENED THERE????

Well, I wasn’t quite expecting this in my inbox, anon, but I’ll try to give a good response.

So, in AOTC and ROTS, Anakin’s flirting is directed toward Padme, who we all know he marries after the First Battle of Geonosis. This probably plays a key role in why it comes across the way it does — Padme is former-Naboo royalty and the current Naboo senator. Anakin is maybe trying to up his game and sound more classy around her because of this, no matter how comfortable he gets with her. As we know he has a streak of trying to gain approval from others (Obi-Wan, Palps, etc), this could be his way of trying to show that to Padme.

In Zygerria, however, we have some differences. First, that his flirting is not aimed toward Padme. Granted, it’s still the Zygerrian ruler, and he’s trying to, in a sense, gain her approval. The key difference is that, after this moment/mission, he won’t continue to ponder on the moment and try to evaluate what he needs to change for the next time like he probably does with Padme. Once it’s over, he’d have more important things to think about — like when he’ll next see Padme, the next campaign, repairs to his arm/R2/other machines or droids. With Padme, he’s constantly trying to outdo himself, to keep her approval. He’s going to see her again; he’s not going to be on Zygerria again if he can help it. I wouldn’t be surprised if these things carried over to any other time he needed to flirt for a mission (not that we see any).

Additionally, there’s also the fact that Anakin’s an awkward 19-year-old in AOTC (this coming from an awkward 19 y/o). In modern-day perspective, he’s about a college freshman or sophomore, with the additional fact that he’s never really flirted with anyone before this. Also, as part of the whole “trying to gain approval” thing, he’s really nervous around Padme, at least at first, in AOTC, which definitely plays a contributing fact. Since somehow Padme was charmed by it, that became his go-to move with her.

And there’s always the fact that George Lucas tried to make the prequels sound too Shakespearian (same with the OT, they just improvised a lot more, IIRC); he tried too hard on his dialogue and a lot of stuff comes across awkwardly bc of Lucas and not any fault to the actors. TCW was written after the fact, as a “kids” TV show, so the dialogue off the bat is better flowing and just overall better. 

TL;DR: It’s a mix of who the writers were and how Anakin acts around Padme v/s literally anyone else he needs to flirt with.

[disneydreamlights]

Across the Stars: Epilogue

AO3 | FFN

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Summary: Tensions between the Separatists and the Republic are climbing as the Senate debates whether there is need for an army. Anakin Skywalker, Senator of Tatooine, has recently returned to Coruscant to speak against its formation, resulting in an assassination attempt that forces him to reunite with long time friends Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and the newly knighted Padme Naberrie for his own protection. [Anidala]

A/N: Thank you to everybody who read this thus far. As I’ve mentioned on AO3 and ffn I do have plans to continue the roleswap into TCW, ROTS, and some of the stuff prior to AOTC at a future date. (Which has probably been clear by my NaNo given it’s ROTS roleswap.) If you have any requests for TCW arcs to touch on just let me know!

"Padmé, a word, please?" Padmé looked up, still fairly exhausted from the past few days, but slightly more functional than she had been as the pain from the attachment of her new arm was starting to ease, and so she had been weaned off of the painkillers and was finally working in more of a capacity than 'drug induced haze'. She wasn't surprised to see Obi-Wan in the medical rooms, he and Anakin had by far been her most frequent visitors on the rare times she was actually awake.

"Obi-Wan." Padmé pushed herself up off the bed, definitely trying to at least seem more alert than she actually was. "Am I in trouble?"

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Nothing of the sort, my dear Padawan." He sat down on the foot of her bed, but Padmé frowned. If she wasn't in trouble. "I wanted to talk to you about your mission to Tatooine."

"With Senator Skywalker?" She slurred, looking at him in confusion. "What about it?"

Obi-Wan hesitated, as though unsure whether he should bring it up at all. "Did something happen during it? Involving you and a certain young Senator?"

Padmé blinked, her brain still under the effects of the painkillers unsure of what she was hearing, or perhaps it was just her hoping that Obi-Wan hadn't picked up on what had transpired between her and Anakin. "What?"

"Padmé, we all know that Anakin has feelings for you." The honesty behind Obi-Wan's answer, caught her off guard. He wanted to know about her possible not even defined yet relationship with Anakin? "He has never made it much of a secret. Normally I'd presume the feelings are one sided, but I know you and him have always been...close. And the way he's acted during his visits, and even on Geonosis, aren't of a platonic nature." Padmé racked her brain, trying to remember through the drug addled haze of the past few days.

She knew Anakin had tinkered with her arm some, making it more responsive, but that couldn't have been what was cluing in Obi-Wan. They hadn't been significantly more physically affectionate than Padmé had been with any others who had visited. He'd grabbed her hand a few times, but there wasn't anything overly…

Right, he'd outright kissed her forehead, she'd nearly forgotten about that visit. Yeah, she wasn't going to be able to just lie her way out of this one, was she? "...they're not." She finally acknowledged. "Anakin is in love with me, and somewhere along the way I fell for him too."

Obi-Wan fell silent, his hand resting on his chin. "I see. I had a feeling something like this was coming. And I'm assuming he knows?"

She nodded. "On Geonosis...before we were going into the arena."

Obi-Wan sighed, and she prepared herself for the incoming lecture on attachments she knew was coming. "This can't go any further than it already has."

"I know."

Obi-Wan frowned, looking at the obviously guilty Padmé. "When you're fully recovered, you'll need to tell Anakin that the two of you cannot be together." For a moment, Obi-Wan gained a wistful look on his face, perhaps thinking back to another time. "You do not have to deny your feelings for him, my Padawan, but allowing them to continue to develop unchecked is against the code."

In that moment, she felt like a wayward apprentice rather than a freshly knighted Jedi, being scolded for breaking the rules she already knew. "We'll be too busy to try anything anyways right now." She responded after a moment. "We're going to have to become leaders in the war, and Anakin…" He was a senator. His goal was going to be stopping the war as quickly as he could. "I know he won't be free either. A relationship between the two of us would be destined for failure. I'll...I'll talk to Anakin about it when I'm finished recovering."

Obi-Wan smiled at her answer, and Padmé felt her stomach churn with the guilt that she had to lie. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Padmé."

"I know." And she did. Obi-Wan was her mentor, her best friend. He'd chosen her over Anakin, ignoring Qui-Gon's final wish ten years ago, and even now he cared for her happiness so much. He was telling her exactly what she knew all along, that eventually, she would have to make a choice.

Except a small, selfish voice in her head whispered that she didn't.

-x-

A little over a week later, Padmé was released from the Halls of Healing with an all clear on her ability to use her new arm in and out of combat and the rest of her wounds having been fully healed. It was weird, having a metal prosthetic now. It functioned like a real arm, touched like a real arm, and yet…

Before she could continue contemplating it, Anakin put his hand on her new one, startling her and pulling her attention away. "So, you're finally all better, General Naberrie."

"Please don't call me that." It was bad enough that once she was shipped out she'd have to hear the clones call her it near constantly. Hearing it from her friend (boyfriend? Lover? What were they?) just made her feel worse. A reminder of the war she'd had a hand in starting, that they were all trapped in now.

A mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes, and he smiled. "In that case, maybe I could suggest a new name to go with the title." She tilted her head, waiting for a response that he was only too happy to oblige. "General Skywalker."

"Are you hoping to get in on the war effort too, Ani?" She treated her question like it was a joke, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding as she realized exactly what he was implying, what he'd asked her with that statement.

"Me? No, my job is in the Senate, but my wife's job will be leading Clone Troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic." His confident smile became more nervous, as he looked up at Padmé with pleading eyes, betraying everything he wanted, everything he hoped for. "That is, if she'll have me."

"Anakin…" He waited for a moment, forever patient and understanding and willing to follow her lead for whatever they wanted. "You don't think it's too soon?"

Anakin simply smiled. "In the ten years since we've met, there's been nobody I've met who could even compare to you. If I could do it all over again, I would propose to you sooner."

Padmé closed her eyes, trying to remember Obi-Wan's warning. She'd lied to him about telling Anakin to break off what they had, but she'd figured she'd have had more time before having to make her decision fully between the Jedi Order and Anakin. "What about the war? I have to help lead Republic forces, I'm needed on the front lines, just like you're needed here. I can't leave the Jedi."

"So don't." It was as though Anakin had given the traitorous thoughts in her head a voice to finally speak with. "Stay with the Jedi until the war is over, and I'll be the husband waiting for you to come home, and doing what I can to make that war end faster." His eyes met hers, and she felt the same intense connection between them as she'd felt when they'd first reunited. Had that really only been a few weeks ago? "Please."

She kissed him as an answer they both knew to be yes.

-x-

The wedding itself had been beautiful, and the night afterwards held promises for both the week she would still be in Tatooine, and for the rest of her life so long as she remained with Anakin. Those thoughts were for later, however, as right now she was simply content to enjoy the feeling of her husband's arms around her, and the comfort he brought.

Husband. It still hadn't really sunken in yet that she and Anakin were now married to each other. That he would forever be hers and she would forever be his. And yet despite having only acknowledged their feelings for each other a few days ago, everything around her screamed that this was right. That it was where she was supposed to be, content, happy, and warm right in his arms. As she began to fall asleep, she heard Anakin speak. "I want you to take Artoo."

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes, and found herself looking right into Anakin's.

"I want you to take Artoo," he repeated. "He knows all of my tricks, and while I can't always be there to help you, he can. He's also an Astromech, and you'll have a lot more need for one in battles than I will."

Padmé nodded, surprised at the offer, but appreciative nonetheless. "Thank you, Ani." If he was giving her a droid as a wedding gift, surely she had something she could…

She wiggled out of his arms, Anakin giving her a look of confusion as she went over to her robes. "What are you looking for?"

She reached out into her pocket and pulled out the Kyber Crystal. There were already plans for her to go to Ilum to get a new crystal. The Jedi had all assumed with her lightsaber gone, the crystal too had been destroyed. "If you're giving me Artoo, I want you to have this."

"The crystal you grabbed on Geonosis?"

"It's a Kyber Crystal...the one that powered my old lightsaber." She smiled, and placed the small blue crystal in his hand. "Obi-Wan and I are going to get a new one before I go out into the field, so I figured if I'm not using my old one…"

"It's perfect." He smiled. "That way, I'll always have a piece of you with me." And she knew right away that Anakin meant it. That he would treasure the small crystal forever, just as she did the tiny piece of carved wood a little slave boy had given her all those years ago. He put the small crystal on the nightstand by the bed, and it wasn't long before they had returned to their prior position in each other's arms.

The world outside would be ready for battle, a battle in a week they would be rejoining as Senator and Jedi, but for now the outside world didn't matter. It was just the two of them.

"I love you, Ani."

"I love you too."

-x-

In the bowels of the Senate building, deep underneath Coruscant, Count Dooku arrived in his ship, undetected by the remainder of the Coruscant. He had a mission, and it would be unwise to let his master down. "The Force is with us, Master Sidious."

The hooded figure smiled, Sidious, smiled. "Welcome home, Darth Tyrannus. You have done well."

"I have good news for you, my lord. The war has begun." Everything had gone exactly as Sidious had predicted. Dooku handed him the file he had collected from the Geonosians, and Sidious uploaded them into the system.

Sidious smiled as he looked at the plans within the database. "Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

In the Jedi Council chamber deep within the temple, Yoda, Mace Windu, and the newly elected Obi-Wan Kenobi stood together, troubled as Obi-Wan finished giving his report to the other two council members. "Do you really believe what Dooku said, about Sidious controlling the senate?" It was hard for Obi-Wan to wrap his head around, at least. "It doesn't feel right."

Yoda frowned. "Joined the dark side Dooku has. Lies, deceit...creating mistrust are his ways now." Obi-Wan could only imagine what the Grandmaster of the council was going through, right now. Yoda was Dooku's master, after all, and if Padmé fell to the dark side, he wasn't sure he would be able to face it either.

"Nevertheless, I feel we should keep a closer eye on the Senate," Mace said. He was right. If Dooku was lying, no harm was done. If he wasn't, then keeping one eye on the Senate might be the only thing that could stop them from meeting an early end.

"I agree." Yoda nodded, and the matter was settled. If Padmé hadn't yet broken Anakin's heart, perhaps the Senator would be willing to help them in this matter, but that was a matter for another day, another time, when she wasn't escorting Anakin back to his home.

"I must admit, without the clones, it would not have been an easy victory." Obi-Wan looked to his fellow masters to thank them for the help they provided, but before he could say more, Yoda spoke.

"Victory? Victory, you say? Master Obi-Wan, not victory. The shroud of the dark side has fallen."

"Begun the Clone War has."

[obiwanobi]

if you don’t mind sharing, do you think Obi-Wan ever told Anakin about the darker aspects of his childhood (almost not becoming a padawan, bandomeer, melida/daan, etc.)? how would he have told him? or if not, how would he respond to Anakin finding out accidentally, like if they ran into someone from those times while on a mission? thank you so much, i always love reading what you have to say about these two!!

It’s a difficult question for me because I didn’t read Jedi apprentice (I should read it, I knoooow), so I’m not that knowledgeable about Obi-wan’s childhood. But I know what happened, so I’m going to try to reply with a lot of ‘if’ and ‘maybe’ and ‘in my opinion’.  

I don’t think Obi-wan talked about it with Anakin in canon, but I think he would have, if given the opportunity. 

Obi-wan is a pretty private person, and not really prone to sharing. But he does care about people, he likes to help people (I think helping people is actually what all his character is really about, but let’s not get into that here) and sometimes he acknowledges that you have to give something too so people can understand you, relate to you or trust you. And we know that Obi-wan has some friends, he actually seems like a friendly guy who gets along well with other Jedi but also regular folks! 

On the other hand, Anakin? I actually can’t remember if he was shown being friendly with other people than Obi-wan, Ahsoka, Padmé and the 501st. Like I spent 5 minutes thinking about it and I really can’t remember if the guy actually has friends other than people who ‘work’ with him (his master, padawan, clones) and his wife. And this is probably why he tends to have such strong feelings about the people in his life (’the code? I don’t know her’ - Anakin, probably). 

So him asking about Obi-wan and his past, wanting to know what made his master what he is now, is something I can totally see! But I want to believe that Obi-wan would have talked about it. He would probably not tell the whole story and definitely try to avoid the topic when Anakin was his padawan, but I’m sure he would not be against talking about some parts of his childhood to soothe Anakin’s struggles with some parts of the Code, and even less so after Anakin was knighted. Once he’s not his padawan anymore, the dynamic can change and becomes more balance so Obi-wan doesn’t need to be a role model and a teacher who’s supposed to always to be right and irreproachable at all times. The clone wars series clearly shows us that they’re way more equal now and consider each other close friends. So it makes sense that Obi-wan would be willing to share, especially since he knows most of Anakin’s past. 

BUT. For Obi-wan to actually talk about it and be comfortable with sharing some dark details with Anakin, he needs to do it on his own terms. ‘Running into someone from those times’ is probably the worst way to make Obi-wan talks, I’m sure. 

Our best example is with Satine in tcw. If I remember correctly, Anakin tried to get him to talk about what happened between him and Satine right in the middle of a mission, and Obi-wan didn’t expect it so he kind of shuts him off coldly. Which is… more telling than anything for Anakin apparently, because he makes this face:

THAT is the face of someone who smelled a good story and who’s going to come back to it at the worst possible time!! He also makes the same face TWICE when he meets Satine, and Obi-wan and her start bickering in front of the whole Mandalorian court while Anakin enjoys the show with a cup of space champagne in his hand and is clearly thinking about live tweeting this bitch 

Obi-wan ends up telling him about it more calmy during the same episode and even if he doesn’t tell him everything, Anakin gets it and only makes a snarky comment at one point, but that’s it. He then gives Obi-wan some kind of privacy later and doesn’t push it. And like I said in another post, Obi-wan was willing to talk about his relationship with Satine in season 6, so Anakin would open up about his relationship with Padmé. Clearly, Obi-wan wants Anakin to trust him just as much as he trusts him.  

So yes, I’m sure Obi-wan would talk to him about his childhood and even the darkest parts of his life because he trusts Anakin as a close friend. He would probably need time to think about it first, but he would. Also, it would be a good thing for Anakin to hear that Obi-wan is not a perfect Jedi: that he had anger issues, wanted at one point to leave the Order, that his relationship with his master wasn’t always perfect. It would definitely change the way he sees Obi-wan: lose a bit of his hero-worship that all padawans have I’m sure, but really make him feel better about his own struggles, bring him closer to Obi-wan and paradoxically make him prouder to have this man as his master and his friend.

But I really think that what would shake Anakin to his core is that Obi-wan almost didn’t become a Jedi. I think that this is the one thing truly inconceivable for him. Not sure it would help with his opinion about the council and the way the Order works in general, but I love to imagine it would make Anakin quite mad on behalf of Obi-wan, like ‘you’re telling me no master came for you. no one chose you. NO ONE WANTED YOU.’ ‘…you don’t have to say it like that-’ ‘WERE THEY ALL BLIND? STUPID?’ ‘ ‘please, Ana-’ ‘no, NO Obi-wan, you have to tell me who could say no to you, honestly, you’re like the BEST of THEM ALL-’ ‘I’m pretty sure there were several moments during your training when you said the exact opposite’ ‘yes but I can say it but NO ONE ELSE CAN’ 

[strrne]

Give Me a Signal, Ch.10

Chapters: 10/10

Words (altogether): 25509

AO3  Ch.1 Ch.2  Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9

a rewrite of the tcw S6 Clovis arc; anidala + gen

***FINAL CHAPTER. do make sure to have read all the previous installments!***

Chapter 10

“No authorities are coming, Clovis. They'll be busy fighting off the Republic fleet.” Anakin added, sneering, “Or surrendering, more like.”

“I think they can squeeze in a Republic spy,” Clovis said quietly. Anakin's eyes wandered from the control table in the center of the room to the antennae outside the surrounding windows. All the secrets that passed through… And then there was Rush Clovis, just casually sitting next to Anakin's precious toolbox, blissfully unaware of what the Jedi had just heard with his own two ears, what he had sensed with an ability that Clovis did not even possess. Anakin was not one to normally look down upon the non-Force-sensitive, but at least if Clovis had had the Force (or some common sense) he would have kept listening to the frequency after knocking out 'the spy'. But no, he just had to shut it down and chain the miscreant to the wall.

The double cuffs were doing an adequate job of suppressing the Force around and inside Anakin, but he thought he sensed some deep sadness wafting off the fallen head of the Banking Clan. Of course, he'd rather not have felt anything radiating from the wretch at all, but once again he couldn't help it.

“What are you even doing here, Clovis?”

Clovis lazily raised his eyes, and the two men stared at each other for a while. Anakin had always thought the banker's features unpleasant, but now he seemed to have suddenly aged about thirty years. Anakin wished Padmé were here – she would have known how to talk politics with him.

”What's going on with those contracts?” Anakin nevertheless pressed on. “Are you a Seppie after all?” Still receiving no response, Anakin took a deep and irritated breath and tried to sound sincere, “Can you please answer me?”

“Dooku gave me a false file,” Clovis suddenly interjected, while Anakin was still speaking. He then begun to vomit words in desperation, “The Core Five are not corrupt… or perhaps they are. There's no way of knowing now. It's the Separatists that have been stealing, without the middleman. And Dooku, he… he paid me a visit. Threatened to expose me as a 'fraud' trying to frame the Five with false data to protect the Confederacy. Personally tailored those awful, awful contracts…”

Clovis' voice trailed off, with a faint, pained sob. He buried his face into his hands.

Anakin gave a slow, thoughtful nod. Something was flailing about in the back of his mind, probably at the exact spot where the stun blast had hit him. He inclined his head back and gently thumped it against the wall, until it finally struck him. The voices he heard on the neighboring frequency, before coming across the Sith Lord – they were police officers.

And they had been in cahoots with the Sith Lord.

Anakin swallowed before speaking with fresh urgency, “You know who is definitely corrupt? Your law enforcement. I still don't completely – you know how I know that, Clovis?”

He nodded towards the control table. Clovis was suppressing sniffles, and seemed to be barely paying attention to his captive's words.

“Just let me go, and I'll show you something.” Anakin deliberately clinked his bounds in protest.

“Let you go?” Clovis echoed amusedly. He suddenly got up with a frightful swiftness, knocking over Anakin's toolbox. Then he roamed about the room for a while, clasping at his head with both his hands, before turning towards Anakin, and sitting down much closer to him, in what was obviously supposed to be a taunting move.

“You'd kill me.”

Anakin glared at the unbalanced mess of a man. He wasn't completely sure he wouldn't – eventually. But now he was just starting to get frustrated beyond belief.

”Padmé knows where I am. She'll be worried when I don't answer…”

”She'll think the signal is dead.”

”She'll wonder why I haven't fixed it.”

Clovis raised an eyebrow, then started laughing. He was close enough for Anakin to feel the individual sound waves of his sardonic mirth.

“Good grief, is there anything you can't do? You just have to be a mechanic on top of everything else?”

”Point is, my partner in crime will come for me. Your failures at justice will not.”

-

It was the timing of it all that proved critical. With this watered-down version of the Force, Anakin could not sense his own wife before she was already making loud footsteps in the adjacent stairway, nearing the top of the never-ending steps. And somehow Clovis seemed to know it was Padmé as well, as he suddenly shot Anakin a desperate look and reached for his belt.

Anakin jolted up to stand – having only seconds ago been able to separate the cuffs from the chain – but Clovis had gotten a head-start. He swiftly raised an arm to bash Anakin backward into the wall, then whirled behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck and placed a blaster on his temple.

Padmé darted into the room, stopping halfway through shouting Anakin's name. Anakin felt Clovis tighten his grip as Padmé instinctively reached for her own blaster, before thinking better of it. She looked shocked, but less than surprised.

“Let go of him, Clovis.”

Anakin closed his eyes. More than anything, he felt humiliated. Humiliated that this low-life had bested him, humiliated that his wife had to see him like this, humiliated that he might die like this… and maybe also a little fearful. Not for his, but for her sake. And that raised inside him that one sensation that he always seemed to fall back on, the one that he could feel stronger and hotter and better than everyone else.

“Clovis, please. Please.”

Let Padmé sweet-talk him, lull him into a false sense of security. Once he lowers the blaster, kill him. Kill him for humiliating you like this, for making your wife watch. This serpent has nothing to lose, nothing to live for.

“Now do you want to sign the contract, Padmé?” Clovis mocked.

Anakin shifted about under Clovis's grip.

You're not going to let him kill you, are you? Kill you, then hurt your wife?

He remembered the request he had made to Padmé on the ship.

That doesn't matter now.

Padmé's eyes never broke from Clovis. She wasn't even looking at Anakin, let alone signaling him.

Don't settle for just anger and fear.

Wise words, but how did they help him now? A madman breathing down his neck, blaster to his temple, hands bound behind his back?

Use the cuffs to strangle him.

Padmé would hate him. He would hate himself.

Once he lowers his blaster, act quickly. Use the cuffs.

“Clovis, the contract doesn't matter. You do. You have everything to lose… and everything to gain. Think about it. Do you think you'll still have my friendship, after you've killed my husband?”

Anakin felt Clovis shift. Padmé would still not look at Anakin. But Anakin was looking at Padmé. And again, even without the Force, he felt something.

She was not thinking of Clovis, of his friendship, of losing it. She was thinking of Anakin – trying to save him.

Anakin felt Clovis' grip loosen. The blaster shifted about on his temple.

When he lets you go, do it.

With a sob and a quick, resigned movement, Clovis put down his weapon and freed Anakin. Immediately the Jedi put some distance between them, leaped into the air, and skillfully brought his bound hands to his front like he had done innumerable times. He was vaguely aware of Clovis almost raising his blaster again, and Padmé shouting Anakin's name, but they both thought better of making any sudden movements, leaving Anakin plenty of stage to do so.

Do it.

Clovis was a sobbing heap on the floor. Padmé's stare was now burning into Anakin.

But…

Anakin halted.

Everything was fine. No, on second thought, it was not. But it was over. Whatever had happened just now didn't matter anymore. There was no reason for him to feel anything over it anymore.

It was over, everything was alright.

He finally locked eyes with Padmé. She ran up into his arms in relief, but not before pocketing Clovis' blaster that had been abandoned on the floor.

They all stayed like that in silence for a while, until Padmé whispered quietly, without letting go of Anakin, or even turning her head, ”You should go now, Clovis.” Anakin pressed his head down onto Padmé's shoulder, closing his eyes.

He heard rustling and sobs and receding footsteps.

When he opened his eyes, they were alone.

-

”Are you okay?” Padmé asked as she used Anakin's lightsaber to sever his restraints for the second time ever – oddly enough.

”Embarrassed,” he replied, probably truthfully.

”Ani,” she sighed into his chest, ”I never want to leave this tower. Let's just stay here.”

He was clearly not in a hurry to go either, or to break from their embrace. He inclined his head slightly towards the window.

”The view is nice.”

Padmé gave a laugh that sounded mostly like a sob of relief.

After a while, Anakin added, ”As long as we're staying…”

-

Once Anakin had finished explaining, Padmé had but a single comment.

”There's… so much about what you just said that I don't understand.”

”I don't understand it either,” Anakin confessed, moving over to the control table, unplugging a pair of headphones, and apparently switching to speaker mode. ”But I think… the truth is not on the battlefield.”

Battle… they both found themselves looking out the window again. The fleet would be arriving very soon. Scipio and the banks would belong to the Republic soon.

”It's okay,” Anakin reassured his wife. ”Obi-Wan is leading the attack. For all his flaws, he is a man of peace. He will not seek to destroy this place.”

Padmé nodded in agreement. Then Anakin added without warning, ”Padmé, I think he knows.”

”Of course he knows, don't be silly.”

”No, about… the marriage. I think I might have accidentally told him.”

Padmé gaped at him, but did so with a smile playing about her lips.

”Well, I guess we're even then.” After a while, when Anakin was already back fidgeting on the control table, she added, ”You know, we could really use a friend instead of an enemy.”

”Yeah,” Anakin agreed. Then his expression changed dramatically. He had probably just hit the right frequency. Suddenly, a sickening coldness filled the room, and the spouses froze in place.

”My Lord…” Padmé recognized Dooku's proud and aristocratic voice. She didn't know what Anakin had done with the signal, but the sound now rang crystal clear. ”I feel as though your plans concerning young Skywalker are becoming increasingly… specific.”

”And why should they not, Tyranus?”

Padmé tried to exchange glances with Anakin, but he seemed to have turned into a statue. Padmé, on the other hand, couldn't stop shifting – where had she heard… - no, that couldn't be right, for she had never, ever heard such a nasty voice. Yet…

”My personal feelings on the boy aside… He already holds an abundance of darkness within,” Dooku went on. ”All these needless detours… manipulating him into killing a minor pawn, separating him from his mentor, throwing him in cells and meaningless peril… This entire takeover could have been accomplished without him unwittingly playing his part.”

”And do you know what they say about little drops and mighty oceans, Tyranus?”

”I may have overstepped my boundaries, My Lord. I apologize.”

Padmé was now shaking, and she feared Anakin was too.

”Are they… are they talking about you, Ani? I don't understand.”

”I don't…” Anakin could not even finish the sentence. Slowly, he turned towards Padmé. They stared at each other for a long while, in silence, as the holo call ended with ominous words, and not even a single scratch of interference could be heard.

They shared a kiss – a kiss of mutual confusion, disbelief and solace. A kiss that seemed to come with a promise. A promise to stick together – to work together, despair together – whatever came next.

[cienie-isengardu]

Thank you for such interesting ask! And sorry it takes so long for me to answer. I needed to check out a few sources to answer as fully and coherent as it's possible. 

And yes, I do think that women were an important part of Anakin's life since the start. I would even dare to say, that his relationships with women in general were one of the most heatlhy & positive relationships he ever had. Just look at the authoritarian figures that have the biggest influences on Skywalker when he was growing up - in slavery it was Watto, then for another ~10 years Obi-Wan, Yoda & Mace Windu on one hand, on another - Palpatine. All men, and all have their own interest to keep eye on Anakin. Watto, because he was his property. Jedi, because of his connection to Force and some old, incomprehensible prophecy. Palpatine, for the same reasons that forced Yoda to take Anakin into Order. That, and desire to make Skywalker his new apprentice. And Anakin had very difficult relationships with them all. With exception of Palpatine, at least for the first decade of their familiarity (and we know that all the closeness and support given by Palpatine was a way to manipulate Skywalker through the years).

Watto constantly verbally and physically abused Anakin (and Shmi) and frankly, young Anakin all of his life was exposed to violence of any kind. When he lived on Tatooine there were few good and honorable men ("the kind that had always been in short supply in Anakin's upbringing"), what was pointed out by Vader's POV in The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader. It was Shmi alone - his mother - who loved him unconditionally. Not because he was special, or talented, or could be used so easily. She loved him even despite she didn't know herself how or why he was born ("there was no father") and being single mother in slavery must be hard thing. Anakin sometimes worried her, tested her patience and once admitted that even she didn't really know what to do with him [Roque Planet]. Still, she loved him, supported him, tried to protect him from abuse and stood up against Watto's greed that forced her son - a child! - into very dangerous podracing that no normal human had a chance to survive or finish.

Frankly, TPM movie alone showed that contast between women and men in Anakin's childhood. There is Watto, a slaver. There is Sebulba, a famous and rich winner of podracing who was quite violent and awful person ("Next time we race, boy, it will be the end of you. If you weren't a slave, I'd squash you now"). During podracing, we see Jabba the Hutt, criminal boss, who benefit from both sport and slavery. Then we have Shmi Skywalker, who despite being slave herself, taught her son importance of helping others. She may not be happy to allow her son to risk his life in dangerous podracing, but she believe he can help stranges in need and DO NOT ASK ANYTHING IN RETURN, the same as Anakin never did. There is also a old saleswoman who was warning Anakin about coming soon sandstorm, telling him he should go to home as soon as possible. And if anyone look at additional sources like books and comics, that saleswoman (named Jira) helped slaves to run away, or make sure that food for Shmi will not get wasted when her refrigerator broke down. Frankly, beside Anakin's childhood friends I don't remember that much male characters that Anakin liked or trusted or thought how honorable they were. Beside space pilot(s), who always told kids stories about space and planets and took care about them when fights began in cantina or Sebulba threatened Anakin. It's no wonder why Anakin was so heart-broken when his mother died in his arms and how guilty he felt - both for not saving her and for killing Tusken. Jedi didn't teach him how to copy with his loss, always told him to control his emotion, to let it go. Jedi made him felt unhappy though the years, and his relationship with Yoda was never good. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi damaged Anakin in many ways, like: avoiding deeply personal conversations especially about boy’s past or not understanding how slavery affected Skywalker and not showing him enough support or being too harsh, too critical to the point that Anakin felt sometimes his master didn’t trust him at all. Kenobi loved Anakin, but he never was capable to see him in different way than Jedi's.

Then we have Padme, a kind but strong-willed woman who showed him a support when he needed it the most; when he left Tatooine and mother as a scared boy, or when he killed Tusked Raiders and were full of grief and remorse. I like to think that Anakin's love for her is not based on stricte heterosexual reason (gender), but he loves her first and foremost for what kind of person she is. Skywalker said once [TCW Gambit Stealth] that Padme is the only person he can shows weakness - who allow him to be human, validate his good AND bad feelings. While others (Jedi, Republic, later Sidious & Empire) always expects him to be strong, indestructible. Of course, there is a lot things they didn't agree on or see in the same light. What mainly is rooted in their different upbringing and environments in which they grew up (slavery on Tatooine / Jedi Order vs peaceful and rich Naboo & political career). Still both grew up with the feeling that duty comes first before anything else, a sense that quite often made them push their own desire away for the sake of Republic. Padme as queen and later senator couldn't have kids or family due to lack of time for personal matters while Anakin, as a Jedi, were forbidden to love and marry because Jedi responsibilities shouldn't be corrupted by emotions. They married and maybe it was the first time they were truly selfish. Their relationship was difficult one, mainly thanks to ongoing war and forced discretion to keep their marriage a secret as long as possible. I may be wrong here, but as far as I remember, Anakin was willing to left Jedi Order for his family (and planned to do so after war for sure), but Padme wasn't ready to give up her senator role. She was scared when she told his about pregnancy. For Anakin that day was one of the most wonderful moments of his life. Padme was sure the child would be boy, while Anakin thought it will be a girl ("With a kick that hard? Definitely a girl").

I know that romance between Anakin and Padme is usally seen as awkard or boring, but I think it's worth to note that every time when Padme said she felt uncomfortable during their interaction in AotC, Anakin always backed off. Like I said earlier, Anakin grew up in abusive environment, so he was much more aware about sexual violence toward women than most of people were. Despite his feelings (and knowledge that Padme feels something toward him too) he agreed with Padme's first decision to not pursuit forbidden relationship - after that there wasn't any more flirt between them. Padme took him to Tatooine, so he could seek mother in danger and she comforted him after Shmi's death. It was also Padme's declaration of love that for truly started their relationship:

[Padme] I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life. [Anakin] What are you talking about? [Padme] I love you. [Anakin] You love me? I thought that we had decided not to fall in love... that we would be forced to live a lie... and that it would destroy our lives.    [Padme] I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway. I truly deeply love you... and before we die, I want you to know.

The words were said before their execution, but both decided to marry despite everything else. It was Padme that gave permission, and until that moment Anakin didn't try change her mind after she rejected his feeling on Naboo (”You're studying to become a Jedi. I'm-- I'm a senator. If you follow your thoughts through to conclusion... it'll take us to a place we cannot go regardless of the way we feel about each other. I will not let you give up your future for me. [...] We'd be living a lie... one we couldn't keep even if we wanted to. I couldn't do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live like that?“).

Anakin never had many good friends in Jedi Order; he was liked in general but only few became his truly confidants. Despite that, Anakin had positive relationships:

with Thracia Cho Leem (who called both Yoda and Mace Windu on their shitty behaviour towards 12 years old Skywalker and was responsible for helping him after traumatic mission)

with Aayla Secura, who was one of few Jedi that showed Anakin support and gave advice in a way he actually could understood and I suspect their familiarity is based a lot on their awarness about female Twi'lek bad situation and violence against them.

with most(?) of female padawans/Jedi we had a chance to see him interact. Zule was the unwanted padawan, the Council dislike her (so I assume their have a lot in common) and during his time in Padawan Pack, Anakin was protective(?) about Aubrie that according to additional sources was 13 years old at that time. There was Siri, who he liked when he learned the truth about her secret mission (until that moment he assumed Siri betrayed Order and joined Krayt, a famous pirate & slaver). He showed his worry for master Tohno, who was sent for dangerous (suicide) mission. Kenobi mistook his interest as romantic one, and then were brutally reminded that Anakin's is still affected by Jabiim and his concerns are only about her well being. He tried to save her, but couldn't. There is also Legends!Barriss Offee. And what is important - for me at least - is the feeling that his relationships with women aren't sexualized. Anakin is no "macho" who flirts with every female around him (not like Kenobi, the sassy master). Padme is the only one women he loves in romantic (and sexual) way and I hope it will never be changed.

There is also Ahsoka, a padawan he was forced to take, but who became an important part of his life during Clone Wars. Ahsoka, the same as him, cared a lot for clone troopers and people in general. I wouldn't say she was for him real confidant, but she understood him much better than most masters from Council even could.

BUT!

As much as Anakin respected women, he didn't blindly idolize them. He knows that women can be evil, selfish and cruel as any other being. He lived under Gardulla's regime long enough to see how the female hutt* mistreated slaves, what included killing them for fun or as the show of her power. Asajj Ventress was one of the most dangerous foes he faced during Clone Wars. In animated series Clone Wars [2003] he killed her in rage during battle, after she murdered clone trooper unit that Obi-Wan sent after Anakin while in Republic series he killed her to protect his and Padme's secret marriage. There wasn't any doubt or attempt to explain her behavior - you know, the standard formula she is woman, she must be just hurt or misjudged, because woman are good and kind by nature and just need help of hero. She tortured Obi-Wan (and Alpha), she killed Jedi and Republic troopers, Anakin definitely didn't like her. It was Obi-Wan who wanted to redeem her and was quite obsessed about that. He even guilt tripped Anakin, because Asajj's life could be his own fate if Jinn didn’t find him before Sith.

Any slaver, male or female, was despited by Anakin the same (though I would need to look at TCW comics Slaves of the Republic again, to see how his relationship with the Queen went there).

Frankly, there is so much thing to talk about Anakin's relationship with women, but to not bore anymore, I generally think that female characters played a big role in his life. He respected women and didn't see or treat them as objects. He was aware about various kinds of violence against them, including the sexual ones. Frankly, I don't remember much scenes when Skywalker invaded personal space of people he wasn't close with, and it's not just about women. Anakin never striked me as person fond of touching other or being touched by others. He admired kind women (Shmi, Jira, Mazzie) - because kindness and helpfulness are traits he very appreciated and had himself but at the same time I don’t think he told a woman (or anyone, really)  that she should be kind and nice or obedient (beside the standard Jedi’s “follow my/Council orders” toward Ahsoka and even then he tried to teach her that following order doesn’t mean she can’t be creative about the way she is doing demanded things). What was seen with Zule for example. When she made a comment about clone Alpha at the war meeting, Skywalker didn’t ignore her behaviour, but didn’t say she should be more nice either. I guess, Anakin understood that not everyone can be so detached from feelings like Yoda or... Kenobi. What is worth to note, a lot women that affected his life were brave and willing to fight for what they believed or for their families.

Anakin was also very affected by violence toward women (and children) or by their death. Maybe it partially was rooted in his childhood experiences when women were the kind but also mentally strong adult figures in his life and partially because Skywalker never copied well with Shmi's death. So women (espiecially those older) reminded him of his own mother he couldn't save. Sometimes he was aware of that connection, sometimes it hit him by suprise. I also have the feeling that Anakin relationship with men (especially male figures of authority) are harder due to growing up on Tatooine full of scums and slavers who were mostly men. I may be wrong here, but I think that happens a lot in real life, that men who grew up in abusive families & environments tends to be more protective towards women, more respecting them than men who try to contol (once again) their life.

It's also worth mention that no matter how Anakin changed because of dark side, as a Vader he treated people around him the same - with pragmatic brutality. Vader killed a lot characters, regardless of race and gender, sure. But I personally  don’t remember him killing any female characters with more gore than he would kill any male counterpart. Vader's violence  toward women is not sexualized and I hope it will never change. We seriously don't need any more creeps like that, the pop culture is already full of that  trends.

Also, Vader had a lot disciples, and many of them were females. Not sure how new canon presents Empire’s view of gender, but back in the old days, a lot imperial women were discriminated due to sexism. And Lord of the Sith never cared for race or gender, he cared only for results and skills. And some of his best (trusted) agents were women, including Shira Brie a.k.a. Lumiya. Not to mention difficult relationship between Vader and Leia, because there is so much to talk about!

So yeah, Anakin had interesting relationships with various women. Even as a Sith. But that he respected women (for kindness AND mentally strength) doesn't mean he wouldn't hurt or kill them if they were his enemies.

* to be fair, I'm not sure how TCW/new canon works around gender of Hutts, because in EU members of this space could switch their gender whenever they liked.

[marybeatriceofmodena]

what do you think of anisoka?

I like it! To be honest, in canon itself, I see it very much as a sibling kind of dynamic. Ahsoka is basically the little sister Anakin never had, and I love their dynamic. 

As for Anisoka in a romantic context… As I said, their dynamic never hadany romantic undertones: they had pet nicknames (Snips and Skyguy), theybickered and teased each other, but they were always way more like brother andsister and never had the respectful distance you’d usually see in master andpadawan relationships, unless they were in front of members of the Jedi Counciland had to behave as such. 

They were also very similar incharacter: what I think happened for TCW is that some characteristics Anakinshowed in the movies were taken away from him and given to Ahsoka. It resultedin an Anakin who was way more sympathetic and relatable for a lot of people,while said characteristics Ahsoka got from Anakin never made her annoying, butrather endearing.

Throughout their time together, therewere many times where Anakin and Ahsoka showed behavior when they were together(Anakin alone is another matter) that wasn’t quite “proper Jedi behavior”. Buton the other hand, it was never really presented as them acting all “Dark Side”either. You could actually say they were in a grayer area.  

But what made all the difference wasthat Ahsoka was a LOT more emotionally stable than Anakin, and despite all thehardships she went through, she kept a solid moral compass and a kind heart, nomatter what. 

This leads me to compare how Anakinbehaves around Padmé, and how he behaves around Ahsoka. He loved them both, very, very much:they were the two people he loved the most along with Obi-Wan and his mother.They were his family when he had none left: Padmé was the love of his life,Obi-Wan his brother and mentor and Ahsoka his little sister. But Padmé andAhsoka were both very different in their own way. 

Padmé was a brilliant lady: shebecame Queen of Naboo at fourteen years old, gave a big lucky finger to theSenate and went to save her planet on her own from the Trade Federation, wasone of the most illustrious Senators of her time and set the bases for theRebellion along with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma. She was kind and idealistic,and those were her biggest assets as well as the catalysts to her downfall.

When she first met Anakin, he wasstill a sweet, innocent little boy: what didn’t help is that even afterwards,she kept on seeing him that way, up to Attackof the Clones, and she realized how truly damaged Anakin was when it wastoo late.

It also didn’t help that she wasn’tForce-sensitive, and a marriage between a Force-sensitive and anon-Force-sensitive having complications or misunderstandings seems to beA-Thing in the Galaxy Far Far Away. Han and Leia are another example, and thishas repercussions on their son, how he is now (though it’s not the only cause,of course), and perhaps even the fate of the galaxy, and that’s not unlikeAnakin and Padmé: but that’s a discussion for another day.

Anakin did genuinely love Padmé, morethan anything. But he was always taught to repress his emotions, and wasencouraged to “let go of everything he feared to lose”. Considering thatmourning has different stages, going straight to acceptance is very unhealthy.As a result, Anakin was very much an emotional trainwreck, and that’s what ledhim to become so possessive of Padmé. 

Anakin and Padmé are very much theRomeo and Juliet of Star Wars: inAOTC, they were two teenagers forced to grow up way too quickly and who clungto each to each other by believing the other might be an anchor to what appearsto be a “normal life”. But as Padmé said in the Clovis arc in TCW, it was amarriage built on lies and deceit. 

Anakin’s downfall came from beingunable to accept fate and becoming obsessed with protecting his loved ones atall costs, even if it meant destroying other people’s lives. All of this isn’tPadmé’s fault, of course, since she’s very much a victim in all this mess, butshe was an unwilling catalyst. This, unfortunately, leads me to declare thatwhile Anakin and Padmé did love each other, Padmé was the one who brought outthe worst in Anakin.

It didn’t help either that wheneverAnakin was upset, Padmé would always receive the other end. Of course, hewasn’t verbally or physically abusive with her: but for Anakin, she was theonly person he could vent to about his frustrations and his pains. He knew hecouldn’t do that with Obi-Wan, since he didn’t trust him enough for that, andbecause he would probably shoot something not very helpful like “Remember theJedi code” or something. Padmé, on the other hand, was either too nice, toopolite, or a mix of both to tell Anakin to get a grip on himself. Or maybe shealso thought that Anakin did need to vent, which isn’t a bad thing in itself:but as I said, Padmé still saw Anakin as the sweet little boy from Tatooine, soit often ended up with her not seeing the gravity of Anakin’s situation.  

What about Ahsoka? 

What makes the difference is thatAhsoka was a lot more emotionally stable than Anakin and even Padmé. She didn’texactly follow the “no attachments” rule to a T, but in hard or even unhealthysituations, she knew when to let go and even when to leave. That’s what led herto leave the Jedi Order behind when she couldn’t trust them anymore, instead ofclinging to them like Anakin did. He didn’t trust the Jedi Council, but hestayed with them nonetheless because it provided him a sense of stability.Ahsoka, on the other hand, was willing to accept to go plunge into the unknown,for her own sake. That was how she coped: she walked away. 

Because of that level-headedness,Ahsoka was a lot more efficient at standing up to Anakin. Not that Padméwasn’t: but her not being able to take off her “little-Ani-goggles”,her emotional needs, and her lack of Force-sensitivity made her blind toAnakin’s pull towards the Dark Side. And that’s the tragedy of Padmé Amidala. 

No offense, Padmé, I still love you. 

But let’s just say overall thatdespite being Luke and Leia’s parents, and despite their love for each other,Anakin and Padmé were actually pretty badly suited for each other, especiallygiven the circumstances. 

Ahsoka, on the other hand, was neverafraid of calling Anakin out on his BS. And it worked.

She understood Anakin, more thananyone else could, and Anakin knew that. Heck, she even knew he was miserable in the Jedi Order. Like it or not, she was the onlyperson he knew he could fully trust. That was something he could do with anyoneelse, not even Padmé or Obi-Wan. They were more equals than Master and Padawan,and because Anakin truly felt comfortable around Ahsoka, she was the one whobrought out the best in him.  

Seriously, though, watch Anakin inseason 6, after Ahsoka has left. Behavior-wise, he has definitely regressed.

Also, as I said, while Anakin alwaysvented on Padmé, since she was the only person who didn’t tell him to shut upabout his frustrations, and since Obi-Wan would probably give him somenot-so-helpful advice, he didn’t really do it with Ahsoka. The reason why,though, is different: he knew he had to be a big brother figure to her, so ofcourse, he had to hold back. But the thing is, she provided him a gooddistraction from his ProblemsTM. That was actually very beneficialfor Anakin. He always protected Ahsoka at all costs, but at the same time, heknew he could trust her and that she would never let him down. And she didn’t,even when she discovered he had become Darth Vader.

So long story short: what Anakinneeded at all times was someone like Ahsoka. 

Could have the galaxy’s fate beenentirely different if Ahsoka had been a few years older and Anakin had fallenin love with her instead? Probably, yes. But still, honestly, I wouldn’t besurprised if Palpatine was the true mastermind behind Barriss’ terrorist attackon the Jedi Temple to frame Ahsoka and get rid of her in one way or another. WithAhsoka around, even Revenge of the Sithitself might have been different.

tl;dr So, basically, if Ahsoka was a few years older, could I see Anisoka happening? Definitely. 

[alizrak]

Finished watching Season 3 with my niece! (with bonus Rogue One!)

Hey! I finally finished watching Season 3 with my niece, and just like the previous two seasons, I made a compilation of most of her comments and impressions. As we had to wait for the Latin Spanish dubbed episodes to come out, we had the chance to also watch Rogue One, TPM, AtoC and the TCW movie. She had a meltdown with the S2 finale a couple of months ago so everything was still fresh for her. My own comments to her are in double brackets.

STEPS INTO SHADOW

“Where is Kanan? Why is Kanan not there? He’s always on the mission with them. Oh god, he’s dead, is he?”, ((The episode is just starting, watch)), “He’s dead in life…!! [wails]”

“WHAT? IS THAT EZRA!? How many years have passed?? I hate his new haircut, but… but he looks so grown up! And thin. Very thin. He’s a grown up noodle” (( HAHAHAHAHA)))

“Hey, I remember him! The pirate guy!”

“Woah. Ezra got a new gun”, ((blaster)), “Yes! He’s getting good! WOW! LOOK AT THOSE MOVES! Acrobatic fighting! He’s amazing now!”

“Great! He also got better with the Force. He’s going to-… [the walker scene plays out]… Oh no… Oh no! HE’S TURNING TO THE DARKSIDE! Kanan definitely didn’t teach him that! Who taught him that?? MAUL?”

“Ezra needs to chill, he’s too angry. The darkside will-… [holocron glows inside the helmet]. No. No. NO. Don’t touch the helmet. Put it down! NO. THE SITH HOLOCRON!?? NO! So dumb!! Haven’t you learn anything!?? Kanan needs to scold him! Set him straight!”

“Kanan is not there in the meeting either… ARRGH! Why wont they show him! That’s what we all want to know! They are making us suffer! [squirms on her seat]”

“FINALLY!”

“Kanan also changed, got older”, ((Just the beard))

“Is that a real voice? Is the sith holocron speaking to Kanan too? Nooo”

“Oh, ♫ here comes the scolding~! ♪”

“See? Only someone who uses the darkside can open it. Ezra’s going to use both! Light and dark”, (([poker face]))

“Yeah, take it from him. Make sure he doesn’t have it. It’s for your own good!… -[GASP] Talking back to Kanan! The nerve! He should ground him”

“Who is talking to Kanan? Is it a bad guy? He should be careful, it could be a trap”

[Bendu appears] “What is THAT!?”

“[eyes widen] Ashla? Bogan? He’s the one in the MIDDLE? THE BENDU!?? [starts going hype on her seat] SEE! THAT’S EZRA! EZRA IS LIKE HIM! Light and dark! He’s BENDU too!”

“He’s going to teach him how to see better with the Force? Neat”

“Who’s that scary blue guy”, ((His name is Grand Admiral Thrawn. He’s very intelligent and dangerous)), “I can tell”

“He can see the spiders now! And yes, yes, Ezra needs you right about now! Go!”

“Hahaha recovery operation”

“The phantom fell! D: Hera is going to be angry”

“Don’t worry Ezra. I’m so glad I know Hera and Kanan are on the way”

“Kanan should tell Ezra with the Force that he’s here to rescue him. He can do that, right?”

“He better catch him”

“Aww… they made up. Good!”

THE HOLOCRONS OF FATE

“Ezra still wants to use the holocron? Doesn’t he learn anything?”

“Oh. OH NO. MAUL. [RAGES]”

“Awesome! Bendu is going to be Ezra’s new teacher? To use the Light and the Dark?”

“I hate the spiders”

“Yeah, Sabine and Zeb are good, but they are no match against MAUL”

“Well, Kanan might have forgive him, but I still think THIS IS YOUR FAULT EZRA! HE WILL NEVER SEE HERA’S FACE! Ugh! I want to punch him!… and maybe hug him later, but slap him for sure!”

“Loook awaaaaay. LISTEN TO YOUR DAD”

((Who do you think Maul’s talking about? )) “Well, of course… [roll eyes] Obi Wan”

ANTILLES EXTRACTION

“Uuuh Sabine is going into the academy! Sneaky!”

“It’s nice that Ezra is worried about her”

[Kallus finds them] “Oh no, Agent Kallus is going to sto-…” [stares at me in disbelief] D: “Did he just… became a good guy?” ((Well, he still owed Zeb, remember)) “Yeah… you might be right”

HERAS’S HEROES

“Why are they risking going inside? Just for… that thing?”

“That blue guy will figure out she was a spy. He’s good.”

“See, he did.”

THE LAST BATTLE

“Those are the same droids we fight on Disney Infinity! This is awesome!” Note: She hasn’t seen clone wars or PT at this point.

“They have Zeb as a prize? Hahahaha”

“How was Rex programmed? Is he a also half robot?”

“Uhm… Ezra is good making friends”

“Yay! They got a new ship!”

IMPERIAL SUPERCOMMANDOS

“Who’s that again?” ((Fenn Rau)) “….who?”

“Why are the Mandalorians attacking them?”

“Her mom is BAD?”

“Hahahahaha, Ezra’s worried about his personal space! Look at his face!”

“They should just beat another mandalorian and steal his jetpack so Ezra can fly away with her”

“NO! THE JETPACK WAS SHOT!”

“She’s going to fix it, right?”

IRON SQUADRON

“They are going to regret not following Hera’s orders”

“Woah, Ezra, you are all mature now…. IS STILL YOUR FAULT KANAN LOST HIS EYES THO!”

“I think I can understand what Chopper says now”

“Now THAT is a Star Destroyer”

“Ezra and the others should just have left them” ((HAHAHAHAHA))

The Wynkahthu Job

“Yeah… Ezra trusts the wrong people easily. Like Maul. THANKS EZRA”

AN INSIDE MAN

“Who is that guy again?”, ((Ryder. From Season 2. The man who told Ezra his parents were dead)) “Uhmm….:|”

“Wait… is Thrawn going to make him ride the bike?… uh-oh… is he injured or…?” ((He’s gone)) “HE EXPLODED?”

“I LOVE WHEN THEY STEAL THE UNIFORMS. They just look at each other and it’s like they know what the other is thinking!” ((That’s kind of an ability with the Force too…)) “It’s awesome”

“Oh… there he is. Agent Kallus again. Ugh. Heh, at least he doesn’t know-… NOPE. HE KNOWS! HE KNOWS! …wait WHAT? He’s HELPING THEM? HE IS FULCRUM!? WHAT!? WHAAAAAAAAAT? He’s been a guy good all along?? BUT HE HURT THEM BEFORE!” ((It’s been only recently… maybe since that episode with Zeb. He helped Sabine, right?)) “YEAH BUT-… why does he stays with the Empire then!?” ((He’s a spy. He needs to keep face!)) “Is he going to come along with them?”

“WHAT? How… How does Thrawn knows what are they going to do?? He’s TOO SMART! D:”

“Ah, Ezra is smart by using the other walker as cover… small cover but its something”

“Oh, was that woman the wife of the guy who exploded? His… young wife? She does look young.”

“Thrawn knows it’s Kallus. He KNOWS it’s him. Thrawn is too smart! D:”

VISIONS AND VOICES

“That was a voice. Someone is calling Ezra. uh-oh… Ezra is going crazy”

“Oh no, no, no, no… it’s Maul, right? It has to be Maul”

“TELL THEM EZRA! SO MOM AND DAD CAN HELP YOU!”

“NO! IT’s RIGHT BEHIND-… WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM! IS EZRA DEAD!? He just fainted right? RIGHT? Oh, look at them…! They are all worried about him! EVERYONE IS WORRIED ABOUT EZRA! THEY ALL LOVE HIM” [starts sobbing] ((hahahahah, yeah, they all worry about-…wait… are you actually crying??)) “YES. They have become a real family! I’m so proud of them! They care about each other! It’s so beautiful!” (( [comforts/hugs her] o___________o [POTENTIAL DEAD OF KANAN AND EZRA STARTS MAKING ME FUCKING SWEAT] ))

“Look at them! They are waiting by his bedside! [dries tears]” (( .____. -OMFG- ))

“He is REALLY going crazy”

“Bendu is going to help them right?”

“Don’t turn around, don’t turn around, don’t- WAAAAAAAH!”

“He’s not your apprentice! Go Kanan! KILL HIM!”

“Well, Maul is right. They do need to defeat the sith. Uhmm… ok”

“He’s not going to hurt Ezra, is he?” ((No, remember when he said he was only loyal to him?)) “Yeah, but I thought he was lying… and because he keeps hurting his friends”

“oh, nonononono… Maul’s starting to talking about himself. I hate when he does that because it makes me care for him. His past is so sad” ((shitshitshitshitshit))

“They killed everyone… all his people”

“What is that place?”

“Is that a lightsaber?” ((Yep… you have seen it. Remember the fight we saw? Of Maul vs Lord Sidious?)) “Uh… yeah, where he kills his brother” (( Maul also had another lightsaber. A black one)) “Oh, that’s right, who made that one? A sith?” ((No… keep watching ;) ))

“Sabine would surely know”

“wait… is he… IS HE GOING TO MAKE EZRA DRINK ALCOHOL!?” ((uh… no, that’s like a dark magic potion)) “IT IS ALCOHOL. EZRA CANT DRINK THAT! He’s not 18 yet!!” ((… yeah, he’s 17 but that still not alcohol)) “It is! LOOK! Maul just toasted with him!” ((No, it is not)) “Ezra is coughing. It is totally alcohol…” ((….I…. ok… ))

“What did they just see? I don’t understand” (( A desert planet with two suns… Tatooine)) “oooohhh… that’s right. Obi Wan.”

“What’s that-! GHOSTS! GET AWAY! DONT LET THEM TOUCH YOU!”

“NOOO THEY TOOK KANAN AND SABINE! NOOO! ITS YOUR FAULT, EZRA! AGAIN!”

“Master versus Student. Nope. NOPE. NOPE”

“FIGHT IT, KANAN! You are the best! You can shake their control!”

“Ezra needs to bring the others outside the cave. Lure them”

“…. like brothers? He misses his family. But is he going to hurt Ezra now??… uh? HE LEFT?” ((Yep. He’s not going to hurt him.)) “Woah… maybe he is loyal to him after all. Evil loyal”

“How is it possible that Sabine is using that lightsaber?? SHE DOESNT KNOW HOW!”

“Ezra, you are a genius!”

“Sabine is going to take the lightsaber with her, right? Just like the jetpack. AWESOME”

( BONUS COMMENTS FROM ROGUE ONE!!)

I wasn’t able to take my niece to Rogue One when it came out because she was off on vacation during the holidays, so I was waiting for the blu-ray to come out. To start, my niece understands this is “3.5” on the timeline. Rebels’ placement is still a little confusing for her. These were her comments and impressions.

Who’s that? why are they looking for them?“

Woah… those troopers… they don’t look the same. ((Death troopers)) Uh-oh.

What… what’s going on? I don’t understand. Why are they leaving the girl? ALONE?

Is that the bad guy from Rebels? ((You mean Tarkin? No. His name is Krennic)) what a weird name…

Trust the Force? Is she a Jedi like Ezra and Kanan?

Where is Darth Vader? Is Darth Vader in this movie?

And now she’s an orphan. Great. They should have just ran.

Why is she in prison? What did she do!?

WHERE ARE WE NOW? What’s going on!?? Why aren’t they explaining anything!??

Why did he shot that guy!? Is he really a good guy? Why-? What-?

WHAT

Ok, so… there’s a message… and that guy brought it and… it’s important for someone called Saw Guerrera? Who send it again?

So her father is with the Empire and made the Death Star? He was forced to do so, I guess.

They want to KILL HER DAD? Are these really the Rebels we know?? ((They think he’s making more weapons, they want to stop him))

K2 is really funny.

That guy looks Mexican. ((He is)) HE IS!? OH! GREAT! Did he have problems with his accent? ((They kept his accent… there are many accents in Star Wars)) Oh, that’s good! :D [NOTE: We are Mexican]

What are they going to do to the pilot?? ((read his mind with that monster)) But he is not lying and he could lose his mind! ((Well, Saw Guerrera is an extremist, right?)) Overkill.

[Chirrut appears] Oh no… no. NO! HE REMINDS ME OF KANAN! HIS EYES! NOOO!

Kyber Crystals? ((Jedi use that for their lightsabers. Like Ezra, remember? It makes the laser.)) Oh… OOOOH, that’s right!

Is he a Jedi? ((Nope. A guard. He feels the Force but can’t use it like Ezra and Kanan))

Jyn can fight!

The blind guy is going to kick everyone’s butt…. THERE.

Hahahaha he’s blind. It won’t matter if they cover his face.

Why does Saw sound like that? ((There is something wrong with his lungs.)) The actor’s or the character’s? ((The Character))

He left her! He raised and left her! But why? He seems to like her enough.

[Galen’s message plays] oh… he did all of this… for her… [sniffles] …this is the first time I cry with a movie.

They are not shooting the Death Star right at them, right? RIGHT? OH NO. RUN! RUN!

He still wants to kill her dad?? He can’t do that! He wants to save them!

Chirrut is going to feel his bad intentions with the Force.

Does he look like a killer? xD Hahahaha.

Yay, the Rebels are sending help. ((Not, really, they are going to bomb the lab)) WHAT!? NO!!

Why won’t she start shooting!? Kill Krennic! He’s right there!

Grab your dad and get out of there!… oh, he’s not going to make it? It didn’t look that bad… :(

What planet is this? (( "Where Jedi go to die?”)) oh. OOOOH.

Hahaha Krennic is scared. Darth Vader is so intimidating.

Ohhhh, hahahaha, that was a great joke. He’s good! xD

They don’t believe her? bah… I would believe her.

((Did you hear that?)) Huh? ((They are calling for General Syndulla)) Yeah. (( Hera Syndulla)) Yeah, so? ….. [beat] …. [eyes widen] HERA? HERA SYNDULLA!? IS SHE IN THE MOVIE!? WHERE!? WHERE!? ((It was just a mention)) For the fans?

Sorry, I’m trying to see if I can spot anyone from Rebels in the background. ((Not yet. I’ll tell you when))

Will the others come too? Are they volunteering? That’s good. But they are so few…

[Jyn gives the speech] You know… I want you to know… I love how the main character is a woman in the new movies. It’s just so cool. Like with Rey. I love it. (( I know))

Why is Hera not helping them? (( I don’t know, maybe she had another mission?))

What a pretty planet. Was all that made with the computer? ((Most of that place is real… the bigger buildings are not)) With like… all the little islands and stuff? ((Yep! Is a beautiful place! Maldives, I believe)) Woah.

Hahaha they stole the uniforms. Classic.

You know, I like how Star Wars doesn’t show much blood everywhere. They get shot but is not like BLEARGH IM BLEEDING OUT. I rather watch it like this.

[I pause it just in time] ((DO YOU SEE HIM??)) CHOPPER! THERE’S CHOPPER!! I LOVE HIM!

Wooo! Here they come helping! YEAH!

WALKERS! RUN! RUNRUNRUNRUN!

They closed the barrier! They need to send the files through WiFi? ((Uhm…Yeah, kinda? lol ))

THERE’S THE GHOST! [several times through the battle]

Oh No, they are shooting K2. No. No, no, no. Please… not him… oh no.

Chirrut… the Force is with him…

Throw the granade away Bhodi-!…too late…

They are all dying.

She’s very strong to be able to climb like that. Crossfit?

I can imagine Hera flying through all of that and like Kanan and Zeb on the turrets shooting at all those TIE. ((We don’t know if Kanan and Ezra are around at this time. Yoda says Luke is the last Jedi on the other movies)) [looks at me dead serious] I don’t care what Yoda says. I don’t care if Luke is not the last Jedi. All I care is that Ezra and Kanan are alive. That’s it! They already took his eyes! THAT’S ENOUGH!“

Send the files through the wifi! NOW!

Who’s there in the hallway? As long as is not-… yeah, it’s him. They are dead.

Oh, OH, RUN. NOW! GO GO GO! Hahahaha [CHEERS] THEY DID IT! IT WAS A CLOSE CALL!

[GASPS] PRINCES LEIA! How did they make her look so young!?? AMAZING!

GHOSTS OF GEONOSIS

"SAW GUERRERA!”

“Where is Jyn? Is she going to show up here?”

“Kanan can sense him with the force”

“Woah Kanan is amazing! So cool! He’s the best!”

“hahaha, not a Skywalker”

“Those droids are too much for Zeb and Sabine”

“I think the alien bug is scared”

“Saw is really extreme”

“Ezra is good at making friends”

“When will Saw get his funny voice?”

“NOOOO, he only wants to protect the egg! Saw is being just MEAN!”

“Poor Klic-Klac! STOP HIM EZRA! SLASH HIS HAND OFF!… ok, you can tackle him too, fine”

“Sabine got her jetpack fixed! YAY! She’s going to kick their butts!!”

WARHEAD

“Well, AP5 is not wrong. Zeb is kinda like the muscle of the group. He’s not that smart”

“Woah, that robot is scary”

[The droid returns to the Star Destroyer] “They are screwed” ((because the droid is going to explode?)) “No, because Thrawn will know at least one his droids did found the Rebels.” ((…. O______O…. ))

“See? He now knows they are in one of those planets the droids visited. He’s too smart!”

TRIALS OF THE DARKSABER

“Uh… so this Mandalorian Jedi must have been, like, super cool”

“SABINE’S ROOM IS AWESOME! [SQUEAL]”

“Why is Sabine’s family angry with her? THEY ARE FAMILY”

“She doesn’t want the responsibility…. Heraaaa don’t push her”

“You know… [a little embarrassed] I kinda wish Sabine and Ezra had a thing together.” ((I don’t know if Sabine cares for Ezra like that. They don’t have time for dating anyway)) “There’s nothing wrong if she does… I mean… when she’s older and she wants kids” (( …even after the war, that might be complicated)) “But if she does…” ((…maybe… but so far they are like siblings)) “But they aren’t. They can end up happy together like Kanan and Hera” (( [stares ahead] Yes… end up happy like Kanan and Hera… o_____o [♪ HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND ]))

“She needs to be careful with the darksaber or she will get hurt- AAAAAAAAAH! DID SHE LOSE HER HAND!?” ((no, she just signed it)) “She’s going to get angry”

[Sabine opens up] “….woah….”

“They will fight for her. They are family”

LEGACY OF MANDALORE

“Uh, I don’t understand what she’s saying. What is she speaking?” ((Mandalorian))

“I bet one of those Mandalorians is a sibling of hers. That one must be her brother” (( O_O ok…)) “SEE!”

“She’s in trouble with her mom!”

“Ezra is so silly and cute at the same time. Just shut up, hahahaha”

“So sad. Her dad is a prisoner… Maybe Ezra and Kanan can help her rescue him. That would make everyone happy and they would join”

“[GASP] Her mom is a traitor! She will betray Sabine! HOW DARE SHE!?”

“Ezra is such a gentleman, giving Sabine his lightsaber to defend herself” ((xD))

“Is no one really going to help her!? REALLY??”

“She can fix her jetpack, right?”

“She’s not a normal Mandalorian. Maybe she- [GASP] SHE GOT SHOT!? OH GOD, NOO!! HE SHOT HER!… ah, ok, it was her mom. GOOD JOB MOM!”

“Wa-wait… she’s staying!? WHAT!…. [sigh] Ok, ok, she’s right. She needs to save her dad and her people… [beat]… IS SHE NOT GOING TO GIVE EZRA A GOODBYE HUG!??”

THROUGH IMPERIAL EYES

[GASP] “What is Ezra doing here!?”

“He knows Fulcrum is Kallus, right??”

“YEAH! This is really dangerous Ezra! What were you thinking!?…Oh. They might know of Kallus? ok, then that’s fine then. They will need to flee quickly”

“What are those lizard things in Thrawn’s office?”

“Thrawn knows is Kallus. He knows. He’s just waiting for him to slip”

“Hahaha stop doing that… good old times”

“Not even Thrawn’s stormtroopers can resist the mind trick”

“Ezra! Push the rock on top of Thrawn! USE THE FORCE NOW! SQUISH HIM!”

“They think Ezra is Lyste. So funny!”

“‘You want to fill me in?’… :( … I keep forgeting Kanan can’t see… uuugh, WAAAAaaah! Why!? WHYYY!… [sigh]… seems like I’ll have to resign myself that he will stay like this forever…”

“W-what? Is Kallus staying!? AFTER ALL THEY WENT THROUGH!? IS HE STUPID? Thrawn knows it’s him! SO DUMB!”

“See? SEEE!? THRAWN KNOWS! UUUUUGH! [throws arms up] Great! GOOD JOB KALLUS!”

SECRET CARGO

“That droid again!”

“Uh-oh, these Rebel groups don’t like each other”

“Ezra knows how to fly those ships! Thanks Hera! He will make you proud!”

“That’s… that woman from the news” ((Do you remember her from Rogue One? The one that told Jyn they couldn’t do anything in the meeting)) “oh, right… so she joins the Rebels now”

“THE GHOST IS BURNING! NO HERA! NO! STOP! NOT THE GHOST. ITS YOUR BABY”

“Well, those ships really got there fast… like… too fast. She stopped talking and 'Hey! We are here!’. Weird.”

DOUBLE AGENT DROID

“Hahahah AP5 and Chopper are so funny”

“They are going to hack Chopper!? FIGHT IT CHOPPER!”

“AP5’s going to realize something is wrong. He’s being too nice”

“Careful with the codes! and with the base location!”

“No!… AP5 is lost in space! They can go back for him, right?”

“Yeah! Don’t mess with her droid!”

“YEAAAH EXPLOSIONS! Sabine would love this! Too bad she’s not here.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA, He’s singing! HAHAHAHAHA”

TWIN SUNS

“Who’s that… Maul…”

“Easy Maul. I know a way to bring Kenobi out. Just use a kid. A young one preferably. That should work. It’s what I would do if I was evil… see? He’s going to use Ezra” (( [nervous laugh] ))

“I still don’t get it” ((What?)) “Why does Maul want to kill Obi Wan? What does he expect to happen?” ((Maybe feel better?)) “But Maul already made him suffer before and did nothing for him… now he wants to kill him again?” ((He doesn’t know any other way to fix the way he feels)) “Uhmmm… [unconvinced]”

“That’s Kanan’s room… but where is Kanan??” (( [holding back a 'ON HERAS ROOM! YEAH’]))

“Why won’t they let him go? Hera… don’t be so strict. He’s a grown teenager now. Kanan can go with him and it would be quick”

“He’s going… ALONE?… ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Ezra! He’s Maul! MAUL! You can’t beat MAUL alone! He’s way more experienced than you! Even if you got better, you don’t have a chance against him! Leave that to the grown ups!”

“It’s amazing what the Holocrons can do”

“Of course it was a trap”

“[worried look on her face] You know… When Ezra hears Maul’s voice and makes him go a little crazy… I fear he will end up evil like Anakin”

“He should have stayed home”

“OBI WAN! HE CAME TO RESCUE HIM”

“OH MY GOD! THERE HE IS! Is he going to teach Ezra too??”

“Aw… ok, he needs to leave. Yep, he was manipulated. Kenobi will deal with that. Ezra has no business here”

“Does Maul want to get slashed through the middle, AGAIN?”

“He’s protecting… OH THAT’S RIGHT! LUKE!”

[Maul and Obi Wan prepare to fight] ((That’s Qui-Gon’s pose… the one he used when Maul killed him)) “oooooh”

“Bye bye lightsaber and… wait… Obi Wan got him too!?”, ((Yep, on the chest))

“THE CHOSEN ONE! Obi Wan must feel awful because he believed Anakin was the Chosen before and loved him, but at least he has Luke now”

“Is Maul bipolar or what. First he wants to kill Obi Wan, then he gets all emotional being held by him like he loves him… He can’t make up his mind. Oh well, at least the Chosen One will avenge him, that’s what mattered to him”

“Is… is Ezra keeping that ship!? Woah!”

“The family is back together! As it should be!”

ZERO HOUR

“Thrawn knows about the attack. Well… Kallus better tell the others.”

“Wait… WAIT. THAT’S EZRA’S ROOM! From the begining!” ((Kallus is sending his messages from that tower)) “SO COOL!”

“…what… THRAWN! Oh no…”

“Thrawn is going to win this fight… I don’t even know why Kallus thinks he can win. Just flee!”, ((He needs the message to reach them, he can’t leave before that))

“Those are the black troopers! From Rogue One! The really good ones!” ((Yep! Death Troopers))

“Heh, they had erased the planet from the maps… just like what happened with Kamino in the movies… but they couldn’t fool Thrawn either” ((Yeah, exactly, good catch. -Note: We saw TPM, AotC and TCW movies at this point… still need to watch RotS))

“Kanan still needs to teach him more things like a father… see? Ezra is right. Teach him more about life!”

“Wait, they even have a code signal to evacuate the whole base?” ((Well, yes, they need codes to know what to do, they are in war after all!))

“Heh, Kanan needs to go for Bendu”

“They can’t enter hyperspace… they can’t escape!”

“Mmmh… I don’t think Bendu is going to help them”

“What is Sato going to do? He rather die with a few…? Ok then”

“Oh… he rammed into the other ship-…WAIT! WHERE IS KALLUS!? He’s not in that one right? Oh! Phew! He was on the other ship with Thrawn. That was close”

“Well, now Hera is officially in charge of the whole base… not surprising”

“Kanan is making him angry. I think Bendu will end up attacking both sides”

“I still wonder if Ezra will end up in the Middle, like Bendu…”

“Why is he asking Mon Mothma for help?” ((She kinda became one of the leaders of the Rebellion, remember? When all the other ships showed up in the previous episodes)) “They won’t help… how ungrateful. Now what is Ezra going to do?” [“SABINE”] “What… WHAT? SABINE?? He can’t bring her into this! She has her own problems at home! He shouldn’t put her in more danger and there’s little they both can do!” ((He means her family, the Mandalorian)) “SNORTS HA! THEM? Please! The Mandalorians only care for their own people and their wars. You saw that. They are not going to help the Rebels just like that” (( [speechless] ))

“What is Thrawn’s plan now?” ((Attack them on ground and capture the higher ranks)) “What…? Why?” ((If he captures Hera and Dodona, he might be able to extract more information about the Rebellion and make an example of them by executing them later)) “Bah, Hera would die before revealing anything” ((They do have torture droids but they haven’t shown them in the show because this is for kids… they are very effective)) “Nah, Hera wouldn’t talk even then, they would have to kill her”

“How do shields work?” (( Sorry, I don’t know. Technology in Star Wars is sometimes a little fantastic… it just works)) “[unconvinced]”

“Oh no…. KANAN. KANAN FIND COVER NOW. NO. NO. NO! HE’S BLIND! STOP SHOOTING AT HIM!”

“That’s just funny because you are live! hahahahaha… yeah”

“I hate that they make Kanan 'look’ by turning his head around like he can still see. It confuses me…”

“I told you… the Mandalorians aren’t going to help Ezra”

“Ok, it won’t be an army… but I hope that’s enough to help them escape”

“Yeah, Kallus is not like Thrawn. He’s not blue! hahahahaha”

“Zeb and Rex are really good friends… I love how they fight together”

“They even brought those walkers! D:”

“The death troopers! They better run!”

“This is cliché… there’s a storm comming because OF COURSE it is [rolls eyes]” ((Isn’t it strange? This is a desert planet after all)) “Yeah, they have to get a storm in the story to make it feel more dramatic” ((well, you are not wrong but…))

“Ezra is here! Everybody run-!… HAHAHHAHA look how AP5 runs! HAHAHAHAH!”

“oh… is that… IS THAT BENDU?…”

“Ezra has a space suit!! HOW COOL!”

“Bendu is really going to attack both sides… Kanan better run. He’s reaaally angry at him”

“He’s the light, the dark, the one in the middle… it would be better if he was the one in charge of everything, instead of the Emperor. There wouldn’t be any fights” (( I’m… not sure about that))

“HAH! Thrawn thinks he can kill Bendu!… He-…what…he shot him down? WHAT!??? HE CAN’T DO THAT!”

“Is Pryce really going to throw him out to space??” ((did you catch Kallus’ smile there?)) “Yes! Maybe those two troopers are also spies of the Rebellion and they are going to help him escape!?” ((Erh… keep watching)) “Oh, well, that’s ok too… he’s very good fighting after all… only Thrawn has defeated him that badly”

“Is time to flee!”

“Do you see that Pryce!?? HUH! IN YOUR FACE! THEY ARE ESCAPING IN YOUR FACE! UUHH!! WOOOOOH!! [dances in front of the tv]”

[Bendu dissapears] “Heh…surprised, Thrawn?”

“Aaaaw… I don’t think I ever heard someone praising Kallus for a job well done like that… this is great, they are so accepting”

“They will make it happen!”

EXTRA:

Reaction to the Season 4 trailer: “Wait- wait… ’End like this’? Does- does she mean like 'in a good way’ or 'a bad way’?” ((…we don’t know…)) “Woah, this is very fast paced, very epic! Looks great!”

When told Season 4 is the last one: “WHAT!? WHY? Rebels is so good! What are they thinking? I still want more! They can’t do this!” [excruciating sounds]

When shown Forces of Destiny announcement and dolls: “They look amazing! I want to watch that series too and I want the dolls for Sabine, Ahsoka and Hera… there IS a Hera doll, right??” ((I sure hope so kiddo))

In general, I’m really freaking nervous with Season 4 because Kanan is pretty much her favorite character, and in her eyes Hera and Kanan are definitely together, being Ezra’s adoptive mom and dad. Her crying when Ezra fainted in Visions and Voices caught me completely off guard. He had just fainted. Dear lord, I don’t want think the problem I’m going to have in my hands with her mom if she returns home an emotional mess if they die. I don’t know about other target audience, but she made it clear to me during Rogue One that they MUST be alive. And I’m just here, praying and hoping she’s right.

Submitted May 10, 2017 at 01:00PM via reddit http://ift.tt/2q3ZzsQ

[calyssmarviss]

Calyss Watches the Clone Wars - 25

Tonight’s episode is 02x03 - Children of the Force (28CO) and I’m getting annoyed at the lack of Obi-Wan so far. YES I KNOW there is entire arcs about him (and his girlfriend and his nemesis and his suddenly hairless head) later but I WANT IT NOW.

Pffff. Dude does't answer? Won't show his face? Cad Bane's in the place. WAIT DOES IT MEANS WE'RE GONNA SEE HIM WITHOUT THE HAT?? HOW DID HE FIT HIS CHEEKHOSES INTO THE HELMET??? HOW DID HE PUT ON THE ARMOR FAST ENOUGH I SWEAR THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TIME BETWEEN THE MOMENT THAT TROOPER SAID HE WAS GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT AND THE MOMENT THEY TOOK OFF. FUCK I ALREADY DELETED LAST EPISODE I CAN'T GO CHECK AND I WON'T DOWNLOAD IT AGAIN JUST FOR CONTINUITY CHECK.

1) Cad Bane is bald and 2) He actually doesn’t have holes in his cheeks and I’m sad he doesn’t and what are the hoses for???

Dude has a collection of hats just in case and I’M SO DONE WITH THIS CHARACTER HE JUST LIVES FOR THE SPACE COWBOY AESTHETIC YOU CAN’T APPLY LOGIC TO HIM.

(Also I realized later that he’s got at least an other set of those nonsensical cheekhoses because he left the other with his hat on the ship that exploded and I’m SCREaMING)

I’m pleased ‘cause Obi-Wan is actually here but I’m also kinda weirded out by that meditation circle and does Yoda ever let the sun shine into this room? It feelslike some geek lair I’m sure there is dirty socks under the furniture and half eaten pizza in the corners.

Anakin: "I sense A place I've been to before. Waterfalls. Naboo."

Everyone in the room: *groans* Everyone in the room: “Anakin, no.” Anakin: “Anakin, yes.”

I swear it’s like there’s only like ten planets in this galaxy.

Cute. I always forget that Force sensitive children are usually really young when they're taken to the Temple. I guess I can blame it on the Skywalkers.

Well apparently this one wasn’t supposed to go to the Temple yet but still. Younglings are Young.

WALKING BOXES (of the episode).

I wonder what a Sith Rodian’s eyes would look like.

Google says black:

But maybe the pretty blues are just a tCW thing so idk. Mhm... I’m pretty sure Definitively-didn’t-shoot-first had black eyes so I guess it’s whatever they think looks good on the moment and the eyes turning yellow thing is more or less a human thing ‘cause the others species are too inconsistent for it.

*screaming at Obi-Wan’s face*

NO NEED TO PUT HIM IN AN EPISODE JUST TO HAVE HIM FAIL.

We’re not yet 9 minutes into the episode and Cad Bane just got arrested. Somebody is gonna fuck up.

Cad Bane: "I work alone."

YEAH SINCE CUTE ROBOT EXPLODED. Also no. Dude, everyone saw those separatist droids on that separatist ship.

Damn boys. I didn’t know that mind gang rape was the Jedi way.

BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE MIND RAPE

Anakin: "This could be a trap, Master. You sure you don't need us to go?" Windu: "Of course it's a trap, Skywalker." Obi-Wan: "I will contact you when we find the children." Anakin:

fucking hell this episode is taking me forever to watch

DON’T EVEN LOOK AT HER YOU DISGUSTING... I actually don’t have a word that translate accurately what I feel about this guy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ BUT DON’T EVEN DARE

HE DARED. Hack’n’slash his face Ahsoka.

1) I want to bash his face in

2) it makes me think a lot of this deleted scene from the Supernatural episode Lazarus Rising:

OMG it’s even more perfect than I thought! And here we have the Jedi with the guy he thinks is just a politician but is actually a Sith Lord and the Angel with the guy he think is just a prophet but is actually God.

Damn.

Cool shot of Mustafar  👍

(WELL MACE FUCKED UP)

Anakin going there makes me anxious even tho I know nothing bad is going to happen to him. THIS TIME.

*Anakin and Ahsoka feel the Dark Side on Mustafar*

Okay but there isn’t actually any Sith in the place? Is it because they came here? Or is the planet naturally Dark like “look at me I’m the Dark planet I’m made of lava and ominous stuff happen on me”?

Blah blah blah, Anakin and Ahsoka save the children, the station falls in the lava (note to self: never build anything on Mustafar)

Headcanon: Kit Fisto is actually chilling on a beach. As soon as the meeting his over he’s gonna rip off his robes, pick up his surf and dive into the ocean.

Gods it’s finally over. Not that it wasn’t a nice episode. I enjoyed it. But it also took me TWO HOURS AND A HALF and I kinda wanna go to sleep (hahahahahaha who am I kidding I drank far too much coffee to go to sleep at only 01:30 I’m gonna read some fics) See ya folks.

Prev/Next

[strrne]

Give Me a Signal, Ch.7

Chapters: 6/?

Word count (so far): 18880 

AO3  Ch.1 Ch.2  Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6

Summary: When Padmé Amidala is unable to contact Coruscant while negotiating a loan on Scipio, the Senate suspects trouble, and sends Anakin Skywalker to go check on her. Of course, the resourceful senator isn’t really in any trouble – don’t flatter yourself, Rush Clovis – but there’s definitely some brewing.

(or; rewrite of the tcw S6 Clovis arc; anidala + gen)

Anakin had not wanted to punch Clovis. He had wanted to kill him. It was as plain as that. Most of the time, he just hated the man. But at that moment, for whatever reason, he had wanted to end him.

If he had not sensed Padmé coming and snapped out of whatever episode he'd hurtled into, who knows what could have happened. He couldn't recall half his actions, or a quarter of Clovis' words – all he remembered was the blind fury.

And at what? Anakin stopped to consider for a while, trying to think through his enduring anger. The man had done plenty of things, and didn't seem to know what was good for him, but what had he done so far that merited... death? This wasn't two years ago, and thank the heavens of Iego, the rage Anakin felt now could not remotely compare to – did he really want to go there?

A punch he could have maybe justified to himself, maybe even to Padmé, if he hadn't known what he had meant to do.

Or did he know? The worst part was that he didn't – and wouldn't ever. He was already too far removed from the situation – that was mostly blank to him now anyway – still vaguely angry, but no longer bathing and reveling in the sensation.

He wasn't even sure if he was more or less ashamed now that Padmé wasn't here. As soon as she'd appeared, he'd truly and genuinely regretted his actions – or rather, been forced to acknowledge the regret. And once she'd gone, he'd wanted to keep on regretting, so as to make sure he'd never snap like that again. But now he wasn't sure what he was feeling anymore. It was certainly unpleasant, but he couldn't quite place it.

Anakin felt like he shouldn't have needed Padmé for this, but he was already a little confused whether the Jedi dogma dictated one try to identify their feelings and then ignore them, or just ignore them, and... feel harmony instead, or something.  

-

”It's that Jedi Knight, isn't it?”

For once, Anakin really wanted her to say yes – in public. In front of the Chancellor, all the politicians, Republic representatives – and… banking enthusiasts? – that had gathered at the spaceport to see Clovis off back to Scipio. In the earshot of Bail Organa and another senator Anakin didn't recognize, who had somehow missed Clovis's whispered words that he could hear crystal clear from a distance. Just in time to see him arriving, give him a warm smile, take his hand and pull him into a kiss. In front of all these people.

Wow, his fantasies had gotten tame these days. And yet, it was still the wildest, most surreal thing Anakin could imagine. Especially when reality played out quite differently.

”Anakin!” Padmé exclaimed as she first saw him coming, too surprised to greet a 'Master Jedi' or 'General Skywalker'. Clovis whirled around – the rest of the crowd did too – but it was Clovis's face that Anakin was gauging; his intentions, his sensations that he was assessing through the Force. The man was not afraid of him. He believed Anakin to be a raving lunatic and completely unfit for his chosen profession – and a part of him washalf-expecting to get hit again, on the spot – but he was not afraid, for whatever reason.

Good? Bad? Anakin didn't know – he was used to being feared, or at least respected, on the sliding scale from 'ever the Jedi, so mysterious' to awe-induced fear and envy. And he took that respect as a half-given from all his enemies – the lack of it was always something of a personal insult. So to have this man still scoffing at him, after he'd introduced him to forces from within less mystical than the one with a capital forn… bad?

Then again… maybe that just meant Anakin had not been quite as close to snuffing the Living Force out of him as he'd thought. Maybe he had just punched him, taken a punch, and the control table had imploded on its own. It wasn't as though he had found that many black tufts of hair while cleaning up the table. So... good?

”Master Jedi,” Clovis greeted, and Anakin had to give him credit for putting up a masterful faux diplomat face. And whereas Obi-Wan had lately pointed out that he owned a pair of eyes, the Senators apparently didn't – many of them seemed delighted at the General's surprise appearance, for whatever reason. Especially the Chancellor, but he was always happy to see Anakin. ”We didn't expect the honor.”

Padmé's expression altered between confused and hopeful as Anakin returned the greeting with a nod, then stopped before Clovis and held out his hand. Clovis took it, as though out of some ambassadorial reflex. Anakin had half a mind to keep and keep shaking it and involve his other hand too, like Clovis had been doing to his wife for weeks, but he was already disgusted enough with himself.  

There was nothing he actually wanted to say to this slime pile of a man – so he didn't – but if Clovis could make grand public displays in the name of whatever, so could he.

Clovis, a little puzzled at Anakin's wordless gesture, nodded in response and said, ”And thank you for all your assistance, Master Skywalker… on Scipio.”

That last addition prompted a few snickers and awkward looks. Either the politicians were not as discreet and subtle as they prided themselves in being, or Anakin just sensed their amusement through the Force. His plight on Scipio had been widely holovised, named as a problematic factor in the now-moot loan negotiations and used as a political argument, so of course that was hilarious. At least now everyone's eyes had been opened. There was about as much diplomacy and cordiality in the air as in a droid fight ring in some dank cave on Tatooine.

After the incident, Padmé had decided to step down from her role as negotiator for a new loan contract and recommended her friend Bail instead, to a disappointed but understanding Chancellor Palpatine. She had cited her personal history with Clovis as being an interfering factor and (in her professional and cautious politician's language) alluded ever so subtly to Clovis's inappropriate advances, probably making it seem like the blame was on her and her inability to reconcile with their last encounter. The Chancellor had then appointed Senator Organa and an assisting junior Senator to go to Scipio for a fresh round of negotiations and an extended diplomatic visit instead, while Padmé would still be hailed as one of the two heroes who discovered the data needed for the Five's conviction. And also suspected, alongside Clovis, of providing false data and potentially soon leading the Republic to ruin. The world of war finances was scary and complicated.

Anakin knew that the personal part of this ordeal could've by now been over. That is, if he hadn't developed an obsession with Scipio's holo tower and almost taken the opportunity to stow away on this very ship.

Not yet. He wanted all of his tools in prime condition, and for once, he needed to make one of those 'actual plans' that Obi-Wan was always nagging him about. He wondered what his Master would say if he knew he was going to make this rare exception for the sake of, technically, committing a crime.

Unceremoniously, his worst enemy was shortly packed into a ship and shipped off to Scipio. As they started to head back, Anakin sensed that Padmé wanted to talk, but Senator Chuchi apparently required Padmé's attention with greater urgency, and the Supreme Chancellor, in turn, wanted a word with Anakin.

”What a lovely gesture, Anakin,” he praised, placing a wrinkly hand on his shoulder. They were trailing behind the rest of the party, as the elderly Chancellor's movements were slow. ”I know you're not fond of the man. And when you consider the circumstances of his acquisition of the data file… oh, I myself worry whether he is to be trusted. But do not we all want to believe in second chances, hm?”

Anakin's handshake, to be sure, had not been for the sake of giving Clovis a second chance – more along the lines of pettiness, feeling superior, and maybe impressing Padmé, or at least making the handshake the last interaction she'd witness between the two men.

”Yes… we'll see,” Anakin muttered. Maybe the gesture had been a little too public for his taste.

”Please don't mistake my public endorsement of Clovis for my private confidence in him,” the Chancellor clarified, sliding his hand from Anakin's shoulder along the side of his arm, and giving a smile. ”I pray for this success and continued redemption, but between you and I, should any slip-ups transpire… ” He tutted and wagged his finger while still smiling. ”We will not hesitate to take drastic action.”

Anakin was inclined to agree.

-

”What was that all about, Anakin? Earlier today?” Padmé finally inquired. Somehow, between her busy schedule and the demands of his job, they had not found a private moment until this late at night at her apartment. Anakin wasn't quite sure whether she sounded appreciative – of the handshake, or his entering through the balcony, or what he was (not) wearing at the moment in a hopeful spirit – but he'd soon find out.

”I… felt bad,” he lied – or did he? ”And I guess… I wanted to provide him one last opportunity to… you know… spill the beans on me. I didn't want to hide like some coward.”

”They would have never believed him over you,” Padmé scoffed, now walking his way, looking his way, and certainly looking at his relative lack of attire, but very deliberately pulling a shawl over her shoulder-exposing nightdress. Anakin made a pout. ”He's a traitor, you're a war hero; he shrewdly maneuvered his way to the top; you were wrongfully imprisoned…”

Anakin was starting to deeply regret the handshake. The gesture in itself had done nothing but soiled his hand with treachery and smugness, but to have it generate this many prolonged conversations over Clovis, who was finally gone from their lives forever – except...

For a moment, he reconsidered his plan to go to Scipio. Why go closer, when he could be farther? In a rare moment, he remembered one of Obi-Wan's lessons, and a boring one at that, which was to look inward in a moment of agitation and ask the Force for an answer. Even as Padmé's tone gradually softened and she made a few concessions – still a nice gesture, perhaps you meant well – Anakin instead turned away for a moment, closed his eyes, and listened.

Obi-Wan's Force signature was especially bright tonight – worried, but… different somehow. Anakin wasn't quite sure, because he'd often been accused of making everything about himself – but it felt like his Master was thinking about him. About... him and Padmé? But Anakin had no time to dwell on what juicy secrets Obi-Wan believed he'd learned.

But the Force didn't seem intent on giving answers… and Anakin never been much good at meditating. He only saw the reception tower. But that was not the Force – that was a man-made, unmystical, different kind of Galaxy-wide connective tissue. Mechanical, more grounded. Sure, he was great at both, but the two had little to do with each other. One couldn't use the Force to fix the reception and no matter how good the signal, its capacity was insignificant compared to the power of the Force.

At least, what he saw didn't feel like a Force vision. But if he was already obsessing about something, could he even recognize a vision if it woke him up at night and bit him in the nose?

With his human senses, Anakin had actually heard most of what Padmé had said, as he slid back into reality, without the more mystical kinds of answers. She still loved him, needlessly apologized for something – still found something to criticize him for – and was now staring at his bare chest and swallowing.

-

Without wanting to, Padmé – or rather Senator Amidala – found herself contacting Director Clovis through her holoprojector in two days' time. She half-expected the message to not go through, but it did – of course it did, because Anakin was still the best at what he did even when he couldn't do his best.

”Padmé!” a flickering blue figure greeted her, his voice many things at a time – surprised, tired, elated, caught off-guard.

”Hello, Clovis,” she said, a little too coldly. ”I thought it polite to inquire – in a professional and cordial spirit – whether the negotiations are progressing smoothly?”

She had briefly holo'ed with Bail yesterday, the signal a little more unstable at the time. He had informed her that he and the junior Senator were only just settling in.

”Uh,” Clovis uttered, eyes tracing circles on the floor, hand scratching his neck. ”T-to be determined.” He gave an awkward laughter, still not meeting her eyes. A faint hum of interference seeped into the signal.

”Clovis, is everything alright there?”

He gave a brave smile.

”I… I do wish you were here, Padmé.”

Padmé sighed. Technically, she had officially pulled out of the professional side of things, and this was the reason. She had called Clovis of her own volition, against her better judgment, and if this is what he wanted to reward her with, if this what he wanted to have a discussion about, then so be it.

”Clovis, we talked about this. Your behavior during your stay here was inappropriate. I apologize for leading you on and for using you in the past, but frankly that is all the more reason not to bother with me, and instead focus on the demands of your new position. I almost filed a complaint on you, but I–”

He laughed again – now hollowly, snidely.

”And you would have been believed.”

Padmé tilted her head defensively.

”This was a mistake, Clovis. Good night.”

”No, wait!” he suddenly pleaded.

Padmé inclined her head, almost startled, wondering just how many moodswings this man would undergo in the space of a few minutes. But as he hesitated, opening his mouth to speak several times only to back down, Padmé had to take the opportunity to instead make her message clear once and for all.

”Clovis, despite… everything, I want to support you professionally, and I want you to succeed professionally. But I'm not going to be drawn into some imaginary love triangle when there's barely enough love here for a single one-way line.”

Clovis looked hurt – and maybe something else – scowling silently from under his brows.

Padmé had meant her words – the supportive and the hurtful. She knew that underneath that superiority-inferiority complex and his obsessive tendencies, her old friend possessed many great qualities. But she also knew that even had she not been with Anakin – Anakin. Why was it that the constant mention of her husband – or 'the Jedi Knight' – worried her the most?

To be sure, Anakin's anger issues had given her lots of concern in the past, and recently. But suddenly it struck her that Clovis had, at the very least, hit him back. And if Anakin could not get his obsession under control, Clovis would soon be in a position to hurt him again – more subtly – or vice versa – less subtly. Just what would it take for this man – for any man – to start to embrace their best qualities, instead of the very worst?