#meaning not being restricted by the label of hero and resorting to murder

[darkpoisonouslove]

Hi! For the ask game. For your delightful Shadow Queen fic, Breakfast, how do you think Regina's relationship with Facilier developed over time from the point where your fanfiction diverged from canon to the story itself?

Edit: OH, MY FUCKING GOD! I just noticed this was in the queue. I thought I posted it. So sorry for that! I definitely was not ignoring this ask! I've had it written since August 30th. I don't know what happened.

Hi! Glad you like the fic!

To be fair, I don't really have anything deep about him (obviously) deciding to abandon his quest for power in favor of his relationship with Regina. I was kind of riding on the proof in the show that he would put Regina and her feelings over everything else. His interest in the dagger was completely unmotivated and I think they just had it as a built-in setup for killing him off. I imagine the idea was that he was somehow tempting Regina into her old patterns of wanting everything and reverting to villainy (much the same as Rumple manipulating her for the better part of her life, especially since Facilier was practically Rumple 2.0) except that that went nowhere because he was just So. Good! for her. I'm really not sure what happened in the writers' room but anyway, my idea with the story was just "axe the moment of Facilier's death because it was stupid (and more than questionable) and from there it will all happen naturally since the dagger is also gone once Rumple dies". Those were pretty much the only obstacles between them and with them removed, I really think that the two of them would have been a couple.

I wish I could give a more detailed answer but, truly, Facilier had so little screen time and development that we are completely in the dark on his story or his motives. Instead, I just rolled with him being written as total husband material. You know, I am willing to entertain the idea that there might have been some need to process emotions and heal from Robin's death on Regina's side simply for the realization that the universe sent her Facilier after Daniel's death and then returned him to her after Robin's death. Almost as if they were meant to be together (btw, I have a sort of meta/kinda rewrite about the whole soulmate story with Robin that would bridge canon and this nicely but I'll have to work on it some other time) and help her find herself again when she feels like she's lost in grief.

[creative-frequency]

Cayde-6 x Reader: The Trigger Ch. 2

Word count: 2816 Pairing: Cayde-6 (Destiny) x Female Reader Contains: Rating eventually up to mature/explicit, Cayde being Cayde, hunting trips into the EDZ, reader is tired with Cayde’s shit

Previous Chapter | My Writing Masterlist

You had compiled a list of Cayde-6’s new hobbies at the Farm:

Tagging along on hunting trips Being unhelpful Throwing stupid comments about everything Acting like a nosy buffoon Spoiling your dog Dramatically lamenting the lack of ramen Enraging you to the point where you’re planning his violent murder

And he had stolen (or rather, adopted without a permission) your chicken.

“This is Colonel!” Cayde held the brown chicken high in the air. His voice was lilted with pride.

“…Is that one of my chickens?” you paused to ask. It was time to head out again, so there were a lot of preparations to make. The last two hunting trips hadn’t been as bountiful as you would’ve hoped. Or solitary, thanks to a certain Exo. His presence was distracting, to put it mildly.

“Not anymore. I love her,” Cayde announced, holding the bird tenderly in his arms and stroking its head.

You replied with an angry glare. “You can’t just go and steal animals.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No you can’t.”

“Yes I can.”

“No you– Y’know what? FINE.” You shook your head and started walking. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

Cayde silently labeled the term from adoption to rescue and kissed the chicken’s head.

For the last two trips into the EDZ, you had stayed close to the Farm. There were still deer and hares in the forests, but the more the Cabal surveyed the area, the more scarce the animal population got. You were not a soldier, maybe a scout at best, but you had an inkling feeling that soon you’d have to lay down your bow and resort to stealing instead of providing.

Cayde had of course wanted to follow every Cabal aircraft you had seen fly over. Or infiltrate the dark nooks and caves where the Fallen resided. Neither of the propositions was tempting. Your prey wasn’t the kind that carried weapons.

The Exo was itching to get into action and it was as difficult as it was annoying to watch. He didn’t carry a bow, so he was forbidden from shooting any animals that were meant to become food. He would sometimes play practice without actually firing at cones in trees with his hand cannon. It would’ve been easy to ignore, but he made ridiculous explosion and pew pew sounds.

The tranquil silence and solitude the forests had provided for you before was long gone in Cayde’s company. The guy was able to shut up only when you hissed at him and he saw you taking aim. He didn’t want to tempt you to turn the aim towards him any more than you already wanted to.

So, there were multiple reasons why you were not so eager to wander further from the Farm. It meant sleeping under the starry sky with the noisiest person on the planet. Stealth was a thing in hunting. You had pretty much given up on the hope that Cayde would decide not to come.

You had complained, obviously, but any and all of your protests had fallen to deaf ears. Zavala and Suraya didn’t seem to care. They were too busy coordinating the defense efforts and distributing supplies evenly to the residents of the Farm. In fact, the two seemed satisfied that Cayde had something to keep him busy, and as long as you kept sending food to the table, they saw no problem with him tagging along into the EDZ – no matter how much trouble it meant for you.

Babysitting hadn’t been in your job description before, but neither could you have guessed you’d be hanging out with a Guardian. Or several, in fact, since it had become impossible to completely avoid the surviving ones at the Farm.

The fabled hero of the Light had not yet returned from Io and it was making everyone worried. Your only worry was that you would happen to be at the Farm at the same time. That would be one too many Guardians.

“Got something botherin’ you?”

Cayde waved his hand in front of your face. You were staring at the contents of your rucksack under the pretense of checking everything was packed but didn’t really see anything.

“Stop that,” you snapped and his hand dropped. The dog whined next to you. You didn’t want to take him with you since you didn’t know where exactly you were going. Not that you wanted to take Cayde with you either.

“That’s a yes, no?” Cayde continued.

“It’s nothing. Time to go,” you said, closed the bag and threw it to your back. The dog got onto its feet, puppy eyes looking for yours in an attempt at melting your resolve.

“Okay then, let’s go!” Cayde pumped his fist in the air but stopped abruptly to clear his throat. “Uh, I mean, yeah, I’ll come and make sure the Cabal don’t ambush you while you– you do your… thing. Great. This is great.”

You didn’t even have it in you to argue anymore, instead just shaking your head. The first time that argument had taken over an hour, unnecessarily delaying your departure and had brought no results. Cayde had tagged along anyway. Not to mention the unwanted publicity the volume had brought to you at the Farm.

Hunting was a solitary art form, which you had perfected during the long years outside the City walls. As much as you tried to ignore Cayde while you were in the forest, his presence still bothered you. You had to be continuously aware of his movements and at least pay enough attention to know if he tried to warn you about the Fallen or Cabal.

Cayde’s Ghost appeared in the air when you started walking. It had taken some time for you to get used to its sudden appearances.

“Cayde, remind me again why we–”

The Hunter silenced it with vigorous swatting in the air. “Nope, we already talked about this, Sundance. We’re not doing it again. Not in front of the lady.”

A light huff escaped your lips before you could stop it – a slip that would tell you had been listening. Cayde had taken a peculiar liking to referring to you as a lady. Maybe because it was so bizarre to anyone who had actually met you.

Sundance warbled disapprovingly, but let the subject go. Based on what you had seen, the Ghost was eager to go along with the stupid shenanigans Cayde came up with, but they didn’t always see eye to eye. She seemed to think they had better things to do and you were inclined to agree.

The plan was to trek towards the mountains in hopes of finding larger game than brown hares. You had completely given up on laying traps since the Fallen would pick them clean and steal them before you would have the chance to check them. It wasn’t worth the materials or the work.

“Now, I was thinking,” Cayde began and hurried to walk beside you, “We could take a ship, fly there, hunt some deer, transmat it here and fly back. Hm? How does that sound?”

In the direction away from the City, the untamed wilds started literally from the Farm’s backyard. There were several Cabal scouting camps close by, but they were small. A larger base nearby had been under construction for a few days and it made the refugees anxious and worried. Soon you would have to figure out a way to circle around to get deeper into the forests and the mountains.

“Great, but we can’t spare a ship for that right now. And the air traffic is restricted,” you said.

“Aw man, can’t we even get a lift there while cloaked? Save some time? And our legs?” Cayde pointed at his feet as you walked. The undergrowth was engraved with clear paths that were used for patrolling and the terrain would stay rather easy until you’d have to start climbing. If you were going to try and find new hunting areas, you’d much rather get to know the route on foot.

“Does it really save time that someone dumps us into the middle of the forest?” you retorted with slight humor in your tone.

“Is that a rhetorical question? ‘Cause yeah, it does.”

You glanced at Cayde. “And do you know where the deer are?”

“Uhh, well…” He motioned towards the vast forests ahead, “There?”

You turned to quirk an eyebrow at him.

“…Damn it. You do have a point.”

You kept the smug smirk to yourself to not make Cayde think you were enjoying the banter.

“We can hunt while we move and transmat on the way,” you said, “With some luck we won’t have to go far.”

Cayde sighed in defeat. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do that. That’s smart.”

“That’s what I thought,” you mumbled.

Getting back to the Farm for the night was ideal, but not probable. The day was only just beginning but you were already mentally prepared to sleep under a lean-to. A foreign feeling of anxiousness swelled inside you, but you brushed it away.

It took several hours filled mostly with Cayde’s monologue and a couple of hares until you were in an area with even hope for finding larger prey: Promisingly thick undergrowth and no Cabal. The weather was warm but cloudy, so the walk so far had been fast and easy. The mechanical bow was pitched in your hands, an arrow ready to fly at the smallest sign.

Cayde was hanging back while you looked for tracks. He kept talking in half-whisper about his heroics during the Cabal attack, or was it something about the Taken? It was hard to focus on listening to him while watching out for any animals trying to make a run for it.

“—They kept coming at me, but I took out every. Last. One. Burned my fingers on the Golden Gun, too, but it was so worth it–”

Cayde chuckled to himself while you drew in an exasperated breath through the nose.

“Okay, okay, but the best part was when–”

You hissed sharply to silence him and motioned for him to stop moving. There were clear tracks where something larger had laid down underneath a thick spruce, but they were cold. When nothing turned out, Cayde continued his bored humming, about to start blabbing again.

You took another deep breath to force yourself to calm down. He was swaying on his heels, hands planted on his hips and looking around for something interesting.

“You’re bored, I get it. But you need to–”

Just then you caught a flicker of motion between the shadows, four legs that were ready to gallop to safety. The first deer on your path and the reason to go back to the Farm was right–

“Hey, did I ever tell you how I became the Vanguard?”

The arrow landed on a tree. In a flash of a white, fluffy tail, the deer was gone.

You turned to Cayde with a wrathful glare. He had the most unapologetic “Oh shit” -look on his face. Partly, because for a fleeting moment, he had thought you were going to stick an arrow into him.

“Why don’t you ever just SHUT UP,” you practically growled, bow shaking with irritation.

“Shh, don’t be so loud! You’ll scare the animals away,” Cayde hissed.

You snarled in anger and wished for his painful death. He was distracting you despite your direct wishes and orders cultured with swear words against that.

You took three quick steps and shook your index finger at Cayde’s face while letting it all out:

“I’m trying to pull my weight here – even help others, which is not like me at all, but you’re making it really difficult, so if you could just kindly SHUT THE FUCK UP OR STAY AT THE FARM WITH YOUR GUARDIAN BUDDIES. I DON’T HAVE TIME TO BABYSIT YOU.”

Cayde’s mouth was hanging open and he tried to motion for you to calm down, but you were not done.

“I don’t care about the Guardians. I don’t care that you’re the Vanguard – I barely even know what that means”–Cayde tried to interrupt you, no doubt about to explain the term, but you kept spitting the words at his stupid, metal face–“What I do care about is getting the job done cause those people need to eat. Unlike you, I’m not here to play around.”

You paused to take in a breath, nostrils fluttering in anger.

“Wow. That’s more words than you have said to me in total before that.”

“Fuck you. Go home.”

You turned to leave, but Cayde rushed to block your path. His hands were raised in a soothing motion, but for each second he stood in front of you, your blood pressure kept rising.

“Okay look, I get that you’re angry. I’ve been cooped up in the Tower for Traveler knows how long and to get to walk in the forests like this… It’s just…” Cayde sighed heavily and hang his head. His hands dropped to his sides. “I’ve really missed it.”

For a moment, you were at a loss on words. Hunter was a hunter, no matter whether he was a Guardian or not. Anger slipped from your grasp with each short, annoyed breath.

“I was just so happy to get out, y’know? The thrill, the danger! Gaah! I’ve really missed field work.” Cayde chuckled and shook his head in regret.

You stared at his animated face until you found the right combination of words and tone to describe your feelings.

“Then why, pray tell, you’re trying to muck it up for me?”

Cayde scratched the back of his neck, looking around the undergrowth for an answer. “Uh… I got sidetracked? I wanted to impress my new friend aka you? The baseline– no, wait, don’t leave!” He circled around to stop you again and started speaking faster: “The baseline is; I get excited. And I didn’t take this as seriously as I should have. Sorry. There. I said it. Please don’t make me apologize again.”

You shot an unconvinced look at the Exo and puffed the air out of your lungs.

“Whatever,” you mumbled.

“Sooo, does that mean I get to come with you?” Cayde asked carefully, eyes lit with excitement.

“…Whatever,” you repeated and shook your head. You were probably giving up too easily but based on previous experiences Cayde wasn’t an easy person to disagree with regarding his comings and goings.

He pumped his fist in the air behind your back but didn’t make a sound.

You returned to tracking the deer. That particular individual was already far away, but the herd was in the area, so there was bound to be other tracks. Miraculously, Cayde was silently following right at your heels. There was a whole different aura about him: He was focused, attentive and serious about the hunt. You eyed the gun on his side, hoping he wouldn’t reflexively use it to spoil the food.

You stopped at the edge of a clearing. Judging by the tracks, the area was like a shopping center for the inhabitants of the woods. The lack of humans outside the City walls was good for the animal population. The Fallen had zero interest in the local fauna and there was nothing valuable to them anyways so deep in the forest.

You found yourself hoping the Cabal wouldn’t destroy the whole planet. There was indescribable beauty in the untamed wilds and it was a privilege to be able to appreciate that.

“Got anything?” Cayde asked suspiciously quietly. As if he didn’t want anyone else to hear.

When you turned to reply, he was crouched right next to you, closer than you anticipated. You ignored the jump your heart made, but the words got momentarily lost on your tongue.

“Some of these tracks are probably from this morning,” you said after returning to looking around.

Cayde’s brow plates quirked up. “Uh-huh. How can you tell?”

You side-eyed him and held back a sigh that wasn’t as annoyed as the previous ones of the same day. “It rained last night.”

“Riiiight.”

The dents in the soft moss were steep and the tingling feeling of getting closer to your prey grew with each step.

The forest was spotty beyond the clearing, even sparse in patches. Prey animals wouldn’t stay in such areas where they could be easily spotted, so you turned to follow your instincts towards area with thick undergrowth, similar to the place where you had seen the first deer.

Cayde followed you in complete silence and you had to glance over your shoulder to make sure he was still there. He could be unbelievably silent when he wanted to.

When the first faint rustling broke the normal background noises, your body moved on its own. Every other sound disappeared. Your eyes fixated forward.

You aimed without thinking and let go.

Next Chapter

Tagging: @bleucommelhiver @lucianhuntress @singlebecauseofthechocobros@sherniwrites @owlwrites @toastyfiction @sevansheart @xcayde6

[strawberryinoue]

Anakin Skywalker + Darth Vader | Character analysis

Anakin Skywalker was born into slavery on a desert planet. He has no father, only a mother. While this isn't explained throughly within the films it's widely believed in the more hardcore fandom that Anakin's father is the force itself. In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine aka Darth Sidious tells Anakin his master Darth Plagueis could influence the Midichlorians to create life. I've never dug too deep into expanded universe content but I'm aware that his experiments failed. The living force rebelled against the Sith and thus the chosen one was born. It's Anakin's destiny to destroy the Sith and bring balance back to the force. He's discovered by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn as a by product of Palpatine's plan to promote himself to Chancellor. In The Phantom Menace he's characterized as a gifted child like hero. He's competent with technology enough to build his own pod racer and multi-language protocol droid; more importantly being much more gifted with the force than any Jedi or Sith alive. Qui-Gon senses the hidden potential within him and his mother confirms that he's always had special powers. Had he not won the pod race tournament then Qui-Gon and company would have been stranded on Tatooine longer than they could afford. If Anakin didn't fly up to space and take out the droid control center then the Gungan army would have fallen. Many complain about the fact he flew up into space on accident and accomplished what older more experienced pilots couldn't. That's the point. In the original trilogy Obi-Wan said he was the best Star Fighter pilot of his time. Another piece of characterization he gets in this film revolves around his fear of loss being a weakness. The Jedi don't want to train him because they can sense the fear within him. Which stems from separation with his mother. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. This is the philosophy of the Jedi. His future can't be predicted and the Jedi council doesn't like that. Without Qui-Gon's insistence on the training of the chosen one being mandatory then Anakin wouldn't have became a Jedi. Anakin also meets Padme during all of this, developing interest as a young boy. These two things are important for the sparks that will lead to an immense fire.  Moving on to Attack of the Clones. Many argue the prequels should have just started here and that TPM had no point. In addition to what I've explained already I'll add that without TPM his overall character development is weakened by not seeing his child behavior in comparison to his adult behavior. Though I will admit that I think TPM and AOTC could have been 1 film. In AOTC he's classified as whiny and a failure. All of this is a huge misunderstanding. As the chosen one Anakin's skills develop significantly faster than other Jedi or Sith. Obi-Wan comments that Anakin's senses aren't attuned enough to keep track of Padme. This is proven wrong when Anakin senses the threat to her just as fast, if not faster than Obi-Wan. Then we have the Dooku duel. Anakin may have held the L here but he really did better than Obi-Wan against Dooku. Mind you Dooku was keeping up with Yoda for a period of time. What's my excuse for allowing himself and Padme to get captured like Obi-Wan? I've somewhat answered already. The Jedi aren't invincible, Anakin and Padme didn't plan on getting into a fight when entering that factory. They got separated and thrown into an unorthodox situation. My point here is that the reason Anakin has become arrogant and hasty is because he actually IS fairly powerful. He's ready to move on from being beneath Obi-Wan. Not just in name, a Padawan literally has to go where or do whatever is requested of their master. During this film he loses his mother in which case he breaks the Jedi code by viciously striking down her murders. Including women and children of said species. Believing he should have been able to recuse her increases his fear of loss. As well as his lust for power. All of these aspects compliment someone who's meant to end up on a dark path. That's furthered when he tells Padme he thinks a dictatorship would be fine if someone suitable was in power.  Now we're at Revenge of the Sith. It's been a few years and Anakin has been promoted to a Jedi Knight. Noticeably on better terms with Obi-Wan and is more humble. Anakin was the one who bested Dooku while Obi-Wan was rag dolled by his force abilities. Anakin expresses it's because of his master's training. This seems to fly over most people's heads since the majority of the film is Anakin's transformation to Darth Vader. Immediately after this is when Anakin starts dreaming of his wife Padme's death. After that is when suspicions about Palpatine arise. Palpatine proceeds to request Anakin becomes his personal representative on the Jedi council. The council is taken aback by this and only approves Anakin's promotion in hopes of using him to spy on Palpatine. Though they make the error of not also promoting Anakin to a Jedi Master. Something that hasn't been done in the history of the Jedi. This is another instance of Anakin being labeled as whiny but if you ask me it's a legit reaction. That's pretty much the highest form of insult possible. You might say Anakin's reaction is exactly why they didn't want to make him a master. Yes by their standards Anakin couldn't qualify as a master and I don't think he ever would. But that's not a bad thing, quite the opposite. The council is not the end all be all. Even Qui-Gon was known to have issues with the council and he followed the living force to the core. Allowing him to maintain his consciousness after death. Later teaching Yoda and Obi-Wan. Quite frankly the council have a questionable way of thinking. Anakin often conflicts with this because his humanity is stronger for better or worse. Look at what happened when Anakin came to Yoda for advice about his visions.  Yoda: "Rejoice for those around us who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy, the shadow of greed, that is." Anakin: "What must I do, Master Yoda?" Yoda: "Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."  That answer does not fit the context of the situation; a completely robotic response. If you can prevent the death of someone you love then that's what you should do. The Jedi think running away from your emotions is the answer. Everything Anakin did was the will of the force. This is supported by the 2008 Clone Wars animated series. When a prisoner of war is within their grasp they insist on not resorting to brutality. Anakin and Ahsoka being the exceptions which has turned the tide of battle multiple times. The Jedi could capture Dooku who was one of the most dangerous men alive but they'd never execute or torture him. Providing the chance for him to be recused which would result in damage they could have easily prevented. Furthermore the Jedi are suppose to be keepers of the peace. But how much can they live up to that when they're restricted by being guardians of the Republic. An example would be when Alderaan had a resistance group but the council refused to aid those soldiers in fear of making it look like the Republic was allied with them. If Anakin didn't give them illegal assistance than the Separatists would have taken over that system. On a planet called Mortis Anakin encountered living embodiments of light (The Daughter), dark (The Son), and balance (The Father). The Son showed him the future where he became Darth Vader. Wanting to stop this tragedy he teamed up with The Son to hunt down Sidious. The Father erased his memory and told Anakin he shouldn't have seen what he did. That Anakin needn't lose faith in who he was and he'd surely bring balance just as he had by coming to Mortis. That's the closest thing in the lure to flat out telling you Anakin must destroy the Sith AND the Jedi. The force had a plan to reset the usage of the force. That reset starts with Luke Skywalker. The man who defeated his father via a balance of light and dark. In the final episodes of the Clone Wars Yoda is called on by Qui-Gon and spirits of the force to ensure he trains the unborn Skywalker who they foresaw.  What really adds stirs up the pot is when Anakin learns of his assignment. Anakin respects Palpatine because he befriended him all these years. Being disrespected and asked to spy on someone like that feeds into skepticism towards the Jedi Order. This is furthered when the council and Obi-Wan refuse Anakin's assistance to take down General Grievous which would end the war. Throughout all this he's been completely excluded from the council and used only as a means to an end. It wouldn't be strange at all if he was removed the council when this business was over. Including events of the Clone Wars such as Obi-Wan faking his death without telling Anakin the truth. As well as his Padawan Ahsoka's exile being unjustified. His anger boils over and he's unbalanced. Ahsoka was meant to help him get over his fear of loss and mature. If he could raise someone and let them move on then he could let other people go. It was working until the council betrayed him. His judgment begins to swift when Palpatine reveals that he's the Sith Lord they've been looking for. Instead of giving in to his anger and fighting someone he probably can't defeat he decides the best course of action is to turn Palpatine over to the council. But here's where Mace Windu fucks everything up. Windu tells Anakin to stay behind instead of allowing him to aid Sidious's capture. The excuse being he senses confusion within Anakin. Anakin later arrives to find every Jedi dead except Windu who has Sidious on the ropes seemingly. Protocol is that Sidious must stand trial. The Jedi way is not to kill, which Anakin reflects on after he killed Dooku. But Windu tries to kill Sidious anyway which technically IS betraying the Republic and confirms all of Anakin's suspicions from his point of view. Sidious told Anakin not too long ago that all those who gain power are afraid to lose it, including the Jedi. So Windu trying to kill Sidious who is the Chancellor of the Republic without putting him on trial makes it seem exactly so. That they wanted to overthrow the Republic.  But why couldn't Anakin see that the Jedi just wanted to protect the Republic from the oppression of the Sith? The answer is that he was blinded by love. The visions of Padme's death clouded his judgment until it transformed him into Darth Vader. Earlier in the film there's some dialogue between Padme and Anakin that indirectly tells you what I just said. Anakin's fate is an example of what the Jedi fear BUT they were the ones who pushed him down that path. If they tried to get him through his fears with more realistic means then his faith in them wouldn't have faltered. Sidious had been telling Anakin that if he joined him then he'd have the power to save his wife from certain death. Sidious was giving him something the Jedi wouldn't. The council was afraid of Anakin wielding too much power. Anakin could see this and Sidious hyped up the concept even more. With usage of the dark side the power of the chosen one began to grow even more. George Lucas stated that had he not suffered any injuries he could have beaten Sidious at this point. Anakin has exactly what he wants now. Unrivaled power and a way to stop people from dying supposedly. There's just no going back. Then why was he unable to kill Obi-Wan with ease? Because his mind wasn't stable. Before Padme arrived on Mustafar we could see Anakin shedding tears. He then immediately jumps to conclusion about why Obi-Wan was on Padme's ship. Common sense should have told him Obi-Wan just snuck onboard. His rage led him to making the last memory with the one he sacrificed everything for an unthinkable occurrence. On top of going against someone he looked at as a brother even if he doesn't admit it. He couldn't immediately recover from psychological damage like that. Admittedly the film doesn't make this so easy to deduce but the novelization spells it out and it can be applied to the film. With the death of Padme his transformation into Darth Vader is complete. It was own fault and he owns it. He has to live with this guilt for the rest of his life and therefore chooses to discard his old self entirely. This has nothing to do with Anakin himself but I feel the need to point out why exactly Padme died. She died because she was broken from how Sidious transformed what was most important to her within days. Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. The Republic of democracy into an empire of dictatorship. Depression during pregnancy can be fatal.  I find it very powerful when you flashback to the kid version of Anakin and compare him to the infamous robotic looking Sith Lord. His character is unique in the sense you rarely see the evolution of the hero into the villain. Along with the intentional character regression in the end. His son opens up old wounds and leads him to fulfilling the prophecy of the chosen one right before his death.