#palpatine won twice

[politicalpadme]

kind of amazing how we've gone so far past satire.

[phoenixkaptain]

I love it when pre Original Trilogy era shows how much effort went into making the Death Star. It took decades, literal decades, and it took so much money and so many people and it was such a secretive thing and it’s staffed by millions because it’s the size of a small moon.

I cannot express how much all of the added information makes it so much funnier that Luke blew it up.

Luke destroys literally everything Palpatine built. He blows up the Death Star, which was referenced in universe as early as the second movie. He blew up the weapon of mass destruction twenty years in the making. And he blew it up pretty much directly after it’s first and only successful attack. It was operational for fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes that Palpatine had the thing he’d been building for longer than Luke has been alive, and Luke blows it up. First day retirement, but first hour retirement.

Luke convinces Darth Vader to turn back to the light side, a feat thought literally impossible by literally everybody. Sidious clearly doesn’t see Vader’s betrayal coming. Vader’s betrayal was not in his plans, nor was it something he was prepared for. Sidious is a powerful Force user with all four limbs while Vader is a man in the tin can Palpatine put him in. If Palpatine had seen Vader turning coming, he would not have allowed it to happen.

Luke literally should not even be alive. Palpatine almost definitely got Padme out of the way on purpose, and he almost certainly was trying for her unborn child as well (there was way too big of a risk that a cute liddol bebe would bring some humanity back to Anakin, and Palpatine did not want Anakin to have any humanity) Luke living is literally the first step in Palpatine’s ultimate downfall, especially once Vader finds out that Luke is his son. His very alive son. His son that is not dead, despite Palpatine claiming Anakin killed Padme. Implying that Anakin killed Padme and she posthumously gave birth. But, she didn’t give birth on Mustafar, which was the last place Anakin interacted with her. And once the mother dies, you have to get those fuckers out fast or they die too.

I imagine Darth Vader piecing all of this together is that meme with all the math floating around his head, because how could Padme have died by his hand and then given birth like two hours later?

Luke killing Palpatine is what ultimately leads to the dissolution of the Empire as an omnipotent entity. Luke killed the Empire. Luke spends a good amount of his adult life killing Empire remnants. We see that in the Mandalorian, since he’s so recognizable that Gideon immediately knows he’s fucked just by seeing an X-wing. We read it in Legends’ continuity, where Luke terrifies Imperials because he can walk into their changing room and stand in their for a minute and they don’t even notice.

Luke destroyed Palpatine’s life’s work. Everything Palpatine spent his whole life working towards, and Luke kills all of it. He blows up not one, but two Death Stars (he may not have pulled the trigger on the second Death Star, but without him, it never would have been destroyed). He convinces not one, but multiple Sith and Dark Jedi to return from the Dark Side. He is the only reason that Obi-Wan Kenobi, the biggest pain in Palpatine’s ass ever born, lives long enough to make it to the Death Star.

Palpatine went through so much effort. And just when he had finally won, when he finally had a weapon capable of destroying entire planets with a single blast, making it impossible for any planets or peoples to go against him, Luke shows up nineteen years late to the Jedi party with space Starbucks and a droid twice his age and almost singlehandedly destroys everything Palpatine ever had a hand in creating.

Luke manages to become even worse than Obi-Wan Kenobi, the ultimate thorn in the side of politicians, and Luke doesn’t even understand any politics. He wasn’t trained in diplomacy like Obi-Wan and Leia, no, he’s a farmboy who left home for the first time in his entire life, just this morning. And he is the one to destroy the Empire.

If they rewrote Star Wars and had it entirely from Palpatine’s perspective, Luke Skywalker would be his greatest foe. Luke Skywalker would be the final boss. Luke Skywalker is the antithesis of everything Palpatine believes in and he is the one character that Palpatine cannot predict. He isn’t as moldable as Anakin, he doesn’t respond to threats very well, he’s apparently impossible to kill via Force lightning (still the funniest scene of all times, the progression of Palpatine’s face falling and him looking like “what the fuck??? Is this kid rubber??? I’ve electrocuted him eight times???”), his unwavering faith in his father’s goodness makes Darth Vader want to be a better person, Luke Skywalker is the big bad of Palpatine’s story and—

There is nothing in this world that is funnier than someone’s biggest antagonist being Luke fucking Skywalker. Luke Skywalker, who saved the galaxy with the power of love and who shouldn’t exist, by Jedi rules and by Palpatine’s own attempts, and whose best friends are literally droids, which Palpatine canonically hates!

Everything about this is hilarious, this is the funniest thing in all of media, Palpatine loses absolutely everything to some backwater farmboy who fucking likes droids.

[skywalkr-nberrie]

No way I just saw an Anakin hater/Ewan/OW fan girl say that she’d “never forgive Padmé for choosing Anakin when OW was right there.” and even said how much it hurts that OW said he wishes he was “Leia’s” father so that means he was “in love with her” the whole time while he had to watch her be with Anakin.

Count on these antis to ignore batches of context to benefit their delusions.

1. Padmé didn’t care for OW, she didn’t choose him because she didn’t WANT him. She got the one she loved and desired. She won. Period.

(Side note: why do these weirdos pretend that Anakin/Hayden isn’t canonically and visibly super attractive? Or that OW/Ewan was unarguably more hotter than Anakin/Hayden?? Did you forget that “in universe” Anakin is canonically considered the “ladies man” and that’s actually acknowledged by OW twice? Once in the novel “Labyrinth of Evil” and again in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this… fact is that A LOT of girls would prefer Anakin over OW and Padmé is one of those girls, as we see 😬

I know why I chose Anakin over OW when I was only 8, and so does my niece who’s 10. And I know there’s many more that’s just like us, lol. If they’d stop projecting for a minute, they’d realize how it actually makes perfect sense why Padmé chose Anakin and not OW whom she never considered as an option for her, and never would be, regardless.)

Yes and I know it’s hard for misogynists to grasp this, because how dare a woman choose her own life partner. But I was never one (a misogynist) to begin with, so I can’t agree 🤷🏾‍♀️ and don’t even try with the “if Star Wars was written by a female” argument that’s tossed around. Because it’s not like most of the people who ship Anidala aren’t female??

And please be real for once, what’s more female gaze? The young and beautiful heroine ending up with someone she met as a kid while he an adult, who’s much older too, or her ending up with the younger (closer to her age) Prince Charming she didn’t even know she was dreaming of? If the self projection wasn’t so insane from thirsting over Ewan, they wouldn’t actually spout this crap.

2. OW didn’t say he “wishes” he was Leia’s father, lmao. He tells her he wishes that he could SAY he was. The two hold tremendously different meanings from each other, especially when you’re not ignoring “context.” The false one implies that OW wishes he was actually the real father instead (like the antis assume) and the correct one implies that he wished he could tell Leia in that specific moment that he was. And why does OW say this?

Well, I’ll let Ewan explain:

As stated in the video, OW only said that because he wishes he could bring Leia closure for not being able to know her real dad, and in that moment she was hoping OW was him. No where is it ever implied this was because he’s always had “secret harboured feelings” for Padmé (whom was his surrogate son/brother’s wife.) In Ewan’s words: there isn’t “any more to it than that.” Even went as far as to subtly mention how if there was any validity to this “OW and Padmé” theory, George would’ve put that in the script, or would’ve told that story. Which we’re all well aware he didn’t do of any sort. (And I should mention that Anakin’s seeds of doubt and mistrust in the deleted ROTS concepts, doesn’t count. Those were all planted by Palpatine to bring him closer to the dark side. It was never real.) So? Case closed.

Now stop blaming Padmé for falling in love with Anakin and choosing him over the guy she canonically doesn’t have any interest in and didn’t have any interest in her.

P.S: OW canonically only loves Satine. Anyways, Anidala is the superior ship. Hence why they’re canon. Pack it up, and go home, folks!

[starwarsfangirl]

He was always working on contingency plans that would take decades to reach fruition and… technically he won the war against the Skywalkers.

He was successful in have their bloodline ended and his continued. It doesn’t matter how you feel about her last name being Skywalker, the fact remains that Palpatine’s bloodline survived and Skywalker’s didn’t.

He won.

It’s why I have only watched TRoS in its entirety twice. My childhood heroes died to save Ben. To bring Ben back into the Light.

And Ben still died.

It still is an open wound for me because I love both Rey and Ben/Kylo so much and not just as ReyLo but as their individual characters.

[weirdo-from-bonesborough]

Do you ever :) think about how :) fives and hevy :) were both killed :) trying to warn their brothers :) something terrible was going happen to them :) and it happened anyways :) and their deaths meant nothing in the long run :) ?

Hevy sacrificed himself to warn the Republic that the Separatists were going to attack Kamino and guess what? he only delayed the inevitable!!! Kamino was still attacked! just at a later date!!!

Hevy hated Kamino! He was going to AWOL when they failed the test! But he sacrificed himself to save his brothers, and they still died!

Troopers died! Cadets most likely died as well! 99 died!

They died, and Kamino kept operating.

Fives tried to warn Rex and Anakin. He tried so fucking hard despite being drugged out of his mind and hunted down by the people he was trying to save. And he was ignored and he was killed and Palpatine won.

He saved Kix and Rex and Ahsoka (post mortem) and that's it! Everything fell apart like he said it would! All his brothers were killed as slaves to their own minds, or were abandoned by the Empire for something they had no ability to resist! And he wasn't even alive to say I told you so!

The only mark Hevy and Fives would leave on the galaxy would be giving Rex and Echo even more trauma and guilt. Because, if you think about it, Echo got to be on the front lines to see everything they died to protect be destroyed, and got to walk away every time.

Echo listened to Hevy sacrifice himself, and Echo got a medal for it. Echo watched 99 die in his arms, and he got to be be an ARC, Domino's dream.

Echo watched Order 66, he watched the chips be activated, and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't save Depa or Kanan or Crosshair or any of the regs because he didn't know what the fuck was happening. Rex didn't tell him about the chips. He had to learn what Fives died to prevent after it already went down.

He watched the galaxy fall apart in real time, not knowing Fives had died trying to protect it. He was there when Kamino fell, making Hevy's sacrifice pointless twice over, and all he could do was survive. The Empire rose, and all he could do was try to keep himself and his squad alive for another day.

Cuz Echo dedicated himself to the cause, and it was all for naught.

Echo wasted his entire life religiously obsessing over orders and regulations that didn't matter. The Republic didn't give a shit if he lived or died, and Palpatine was planning to take away his decision to follow orders anyways.

Echo kept going, barely pausing to mourn Domino, because he was a loyal soldier first and foremost, and it didn't fucking matter. He got blown up trying to secure the ship, and Piell still died and the information went to Palpatine, who still gave it to the Separatists.

Echo was tortured for battle strategies that the Separatists already had access to because Palpatine could have just told them. Echo suffered unimaginable pain, and it was just window dressing for Palpatine's show.

All the clones suffered for no reason, to the point that Droidbait died trying to protect Rishi Station, same as Hevy, and not even his brothers care to remember him. Because clones follow orders, and they get shot by droids, and they die, and that's it. That's just the life cycle of a clone, so why would you waste paint honoring someone who didn't do anything special.

Domino squad was so bright-eyed and hopeful. They wanted to serve with their brothers so bad, and they wanted to save their brothers so bad, and now all the clones are dead. They could have failed their test, become maintenance clones, and nothing would have changed.

They were all selfless, sacrificing soldiers, who fought til they fell for a pointless cause.

Except for Cutup, who was eaten alive at age nine cuz that eel was hangry.

[redrascal1]

And here we go again with the JB adorers and AD haters on the JCF - this one in particular has a nice record of contempt not just for Kylo (fictional character) but also for Adam.

Boyega has several matters that he could easily point to as evidence of LFL having blatant preference for Adam Driver over him - in particular, that when TROS was released, they proceeded to push (in published materials, no less) for Adam Driver to receive any “Best Actor” consideration, even though he always had less screentime than Boyega and Boyega had auditioned for and won the part of the male lead back in TFA.

To quote an interesting poster on Quora: ‘Adam Driver is a powerhouse actor.’

Yes, he is. And this is why he stole the show in the ST - his talent as a fine actor shone through despite, as the little troll above says, having less screen time as Boyega. Boyega acted well, don’t get me wrong - but Adam’s performance was consistently mind blowing. 

Then there is this:

I think that TLJ blatantly and consistently holds Finn to an almost standard impossible standard while practically worshipping Kylo in comparison - so much so I’d argue that we should note how Boyega’s acting never really gets criticized even by people who dislike Finn, while Driver *does* receive some criticism because of how little the film requires out of him.

‘Little’? For fuck’s sake....Adam had to work extremely hard throughout the entire ST, but most of all in TLJ. And not just because he did his own stunts but because he had to play the most complex character in the entire trilogy. And present that character’s nuances in a manner that did not degenerate into ‘ham’ acting. There is a very good reason why he was hailed by critics as being the series’ breakout star - critics, not Ben/Kylo stans, or reylos. 

I am fed up beyond belief of these horrible toxics constantly comparing Adam’s acting skills to John Boyega’s and finding them wanting. If they hate his character, fine. I hated Palpatine. But Ian McDiarmid is a delightful man and I both like and respect him. John Boyega was great as Finn in both TFA and TLJ. But Adam wasn’t great - he was outstanding. There is a reason why he has twice been nominated for an Oscar. 

They are being wholly unfair to start picking on him just because he stole the show. If they are pissed off at Boyega’s supposedly bad treatment then they should take it up with DLF, not Adam. Adam has done nothing but be professional throughout the whole shoot of those films, both on screen and off - even Boyega said that. And oh how I wish they would stop moaning about how Adam ‘stole’ Boyega’s role as ‘leading man’ - there wasn’t a leading man, the ST was all about Rey. Adam, as Ben Solo, last Skywalker  in the Skywalker Saga, should have been the main character, but Ben was demoted for Rey. Blame Rey, Finn fans. 

I am so tired of Boyega’s whining. Finn - or Sam, as he was originally called - was always meant to be a supporting character. This is from the beginning, when Tom Holland was slated to play him. John Boyega was not hard done by because of his ethnicity. He was not hard done by because of Adam Driver. He was not hard done by, by DLF. They gave him the role, after all. His constant petulant behaviour makes me wish they’d cast Tom Holland now - I often wonder what the reception would have been if they had.

Boyega’s fans on the JCF will only be happy if they make a Finn film. How many bets that even if he does appear in the forthcoming Rey film, they will still complain about him ‘playing second fiddle’ to Rey. But at least they won’t be able to blame Adam for it.

Finally....one of my fave scenes from TLJ, showing just how good Adam was as Kylo Ren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PO2vF6msXw

[knightsofrayx]

tumblr’s being a lil shit and saying it wasn’t able to send an ask, so apologies if this is in your inbox twice or anything, but what are your fav pieces of star wars media?

(Lol this one showed up and then what I'm guessing was your initial ask popped up a couple minutes later)

Anyways, favorite pieces of Star Wars media?

I mean, obviously there's the Original Trilogy. They're a classic. As for the Prequels... I really love playing in the pre-empire sandbox, but in terms of actually enjoying this trilogy, it is more for how it laid the groundwork for greater stories than the actual plot (and well, of course the memes). And the Sequel Trilogy? I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it? Like, they definitely tried to flesh out the situation to be more complex and nuanced, but kinda dropped the ball on it. I think it had the potential for greatness, but they just kept falling short on the delivery.

One of my early favorites was the "Jedi Quest" book series by Jude Watson, which takes place between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. It was the first piece of media I was exposed to that got into what life as a Jedi (at least pre-empire) was like. And also, it introduced the character Darra Thel-Tanis, who was one of the first female Jedi characters I had come across (I don't count anyone who showed up in the prequel movies because literally none of them had speaking roles). Granted, back when I first read the books a lot of it went over my head as I was about 7-8 years old, but I hold a nostalgic fondness for the series even though it's no longer considered canon.

Another one I really enjoyed was the "Young Jedi Knights" series, which follows Han and Leia's children Jaina and Jacen as they train in the Force and deal with the threats of the remnants of the Sith and the Empire. It's been a while since I've gone over them, but I remember the series just being filled with so much world-building stuff, as well as a good depiction of what a post-empire galaxy would look like.

The "Crimson Empire" and "Dark Empire" comics were also pretty memorable. They dabbled in the palpatine clones (and honestly did a much better job of it than Disney) and kind of serve as a prequel to the "Young Jedi Knights". But "Crimson Empire" specifically stands out to me because it was the first Star Wars content I came across where the main character was "one of the bad guys". Just... having that alternate point of view was eye-opening.

I'm not really a video game person (my gaming consists of Lego Star Wars wii and building castles in creative Minecraft), but I do love the storylines in Fallen Order, Battlefront: Inferno Squad/Resurrection, and KOTOR and it's expansions.

Are we counting music? Because in that case pretty much everything both from the OSTs and the epic orchestrations (I have multiple playlists dedicated solely to Star Wars music).

Moving on to the TV shows

I haven't actually watched Andor yet (i know, I'm a disgrace), but I have high hopes based on what I've heard.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Mandalorian. I mean, it's cool, Baby Yoda's cute and the little bits of world-building are nice; plus actually showing how even though the Rebellion won at Endor and toppled the Empire, it still exists (that just killing Palpatine isn't enough to "fix" the galaxy, and not everyone is going to just accept another regime change). And I just love Mandalorians. They're freakin awesome, so having an entire show dedicated to them was cool.

But my main problem with the show was how it practically ignored so much of what Star Wars had already done with Mandalorians. Earlier canon stuff (such as The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels) already gave us some pretty solid background and lore to Mandalorian culture and history, and it feels like they kinda just brushed it off in the show (I mean, come on. They literally went all three seasons without even name-dropping Satine) (also, Mandalorians have their own language, multiple dialects of it even, yet we pretty much only heard them speak Galactic Standard. I am saltier than the Dead Sea about this). I also just, expected it to be a little more dark and angsty than what we got (lol went on a bit of a tangent there).

Anyways, next up is Star Wars Rebels. While it is a little more juvenile in execution (i mean, it is a kids show), I think it did a good job in setting up the foundations of the Rebellion, and how small acts can lead to great change. Also just, contextualizing the state of the galaxy under the Empire's thumb and incorporating a lot of the rejected concepts from the Original Trilogy.

And finally, my all-time favorite, The Clone Wars. I practically grew up watching this show. There is just so much to it. While yes, most of it follows Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, we also get entire episodes dedicated to other characters on all sides of the conflict, and the show does a lot to set up later events in Revenge of the Sith and beyond. My favorite thing about the show was the character development. We get to see Anakin in the context of his relationships with others as well as the progression of his downfall. We get to see the clones actually get personalities and become more than the faceless armored bodies of the movies. We get to see the progression of the characters being fired up to fight to steadily getting worn down by all the loss and destruction of war. And we get to witness some of the best character development ever in Ahsoka. There is so much this show gave the fandom that I can't really verbalize it all.

So yeah, these are all my favorite/most memorable pieces of Star War media as well as my thoughts on them.

[squirrelno2]

Thinking about this post again with the Separatist clone infiltration

Because. They can’t rely too heavily on the Kaminoans’ work or technology because even though technically they have access since Palpatine is pulling both sides’ strings, nobody but Dooku and maybe one or two other people knows that and that’s how Palpatine likes it. So it’s a defecting scientist here and some leaked data there to make the DNA really useful, but at least the template is set up – all the first clones they make are viable. Of course, at this point, even aging twice as fast is too slow; they’ve entered an arms race that was won ten years ago. Dooku keeps those first few clones, still young children by the end of the war, just in case, but the next batches have to be sped up. They can’t age rapidly their whole lives, or someone would notice these shinies turning to old men in a matter of months, but the Separatist scientists can probably figure out a way to age them and train them quickly in order to be sent out. It’s star wars, science is what you make of it.

And then like. Maybe, maybe you could put these clones in with the others, disguised as an attack on Kamino that fucks with data and then suddenly there’s an extra squad or two that must have gotten lost in the shuffle – but more likely these clones have to literally take people’s places. Sole survivors of squads, clones gone MIA for months, so on and so forth, all coming back just a little strange, a little different than people remember – but that’s going to be the effects of what happened. They’re still obviously, visibly clones, after all.

Some of these clones are lucky enough to replace shinies without names or friends, letting them establish their own personalities as the ones of the person they’re replacing. Some of them not so much, and instead of picking their own name it’s assigned to them by the people who ask these clones to turn on an army of people who look like them and understand them on a level nobody in the Separatists does. But the Separatists have one thing over the Republic – they don’t have a million clones. Every one they send out is trained carefully and specifically for their task, and they know they’re special and can’t afford to be lost. The cruel irony of it all would be that the Separatists value their handful of clones in some ways more than the Republic, even though they deny theirs even the recognition of their own names/identities that the Republic clones get from the Jedi.

Anyway thanks for letting me make this more fucked up

[tennessoui]

“You always this quiet?” 🙈

ah bless, ok !!! this is set in the couples counseling au, which is post-rots where obi-wan and anakin accidentally sign up for couples counseling, thinking they're going to like. counseling for teams. for people closer than brothers, etc etc. they end up falling in love (of course this IS me). this takes place right after they realize that the counselor thinks they're in love, about a month and a half after they start the counseling.

(again this is obikin, anakin is just both still married to padme for right now and very oblivious)

(1.4k)

Anakin isn’t sure he can look at Obi-Wan right now. He’s had the same dilemma on and off for a number of years, but never because of something this mortifying. And they’d been doing so much better as well. They’d really been getting along so well, cutting their twice-a-week counseling sessions to once a week ones with the approval of their counselor. They’d been making real progress.

And then they’d realized last night that their counselor thought they were…involved. Romantically involved.

It can’t be further from the truth, of course. Anakin has been and always will be in love with Padmé, and the way he loves doesn’t leave room in his heart for anyone else. And besides, his master is just—so perfect. The perfect Jedi, the perfect man. He’d never want Anakin that way. He could probably have anyone in Coruscant he wanted, a thought that fills Anakin’s chest with a weird mixture of pride and distaste. No one deserved his master. He’s always known that to be true, but it’s especially obvious now that they’re a month and a half into their counseling.

Anakin had been horrified to learn how many people in the past had hurt his master, betrayed his trust and tried to break him. He’d been even more horrified that he had been so close to being one of those people, that the war could have ended so incredibly, painfully differently had their time aboard the Invisible Hand gone a little worse. 

But it hadn’t. They’d won, and everything had come to light. Palpatine’s manipulations, Anakin’s own crimes, Anakin’s own betrayal of the Code. Obi-Wan knew everything now.

It’s still surprising to Anakin, the fact that Obi-Wan hadn’t just…left. It speaks of serious attachment on Obi-Wan’s part, attachment to Anakin. It means something that his master had not been able to let him go, that he had been angry and wounded and betrayed but he hadn’t cut ties. He’d agreed almost immediately to Anakin’s half-drunken idea to go to counseling together, talk through their issues and hurts with an unbiased, professionally trained third party.

His agreement had meant the galaxy to Anakin at the time, because it had meant Obi-Wan wanted to work on them. That he loved Anakin. That he wanted them to stay the way they’d grown together: the Team, closer than best friends, closer than brothers.

But too bad for everyone involved that Anakin had accidentally signed them up for couples’ counseling.

Which—in hindsight—makes a lot of things make a lot more sense. 

(Just the memory of Counselor Sheari asking them probing questions about the frequency of their intimacy brings a flush to Anakin’s cheeks. Oh. That’s what she’d meant. He’d thought she’d been talking about casual touching, like hugs.

He’d said not enough, and by the Force, she’d written that down. She’d asked Obi-Wan how comfortable he felt with their level of intimacy, and Obi-Wan had said he’d never been as demonstrative as he was with Anakin, but that it was hard for him, and it was hard to face the fact that his padawan had needs that he’s been failing to meet for years now.

And in the bedroom? Sheari had asked, scribbling furiously on the flimsi in front of her. Is it easier to be affectionate and intimate when you know no one but your partner will be able to see you?

I… Obi-Wan had stuttered, flushed all over. Anakin had thought the dull red of his cheeks had contrasted so beautifully with his hair, lit almost gold from the dying of the Coruscant daylight. I will hold him sometimes, if we sleep together. He had averted his eyes, as if he couldn’t feel Anakin pressing their Force signatures as close together as he could in reward and support. I have nightmares. We have nightmares.

Master Kenobi, Sheari had said, I find it interesting that you seem to take comfort in touch and intimacy, but only in the cover of darkness where only your partner can see you. It’s understandable but curious, given that you say you struggle to be demonstrative in public. Anakin, how does that make you feel?

Wanting, he’d admitted, if only to feel the way Obi-Wan’s Force signature twine with his in return.)

“You always this quiet?” Sheari asks, looking up from her notes to gaze at the pair of them. “I’m kidding,” she clarifies after a second. “After the third shouting match, I’ve marked you down as my loudest clients.”

Right, Anakin thinks dully. Because her clients are married people on the edge of getting a divorce. It’s a category she must think they fit into as well.

“Did something happen last night or in the past week?” she asks, folding her hands neatly on the desk in front of her.

Obi-Wan coughs from next to him. “Oh—no, nothing particularly revelatory.”

Anakin snorts and crosses his arms. It’s just that we realized you think we’re a couple, but Obi-Wan likes you and I don’t want to have to start all over again with some new person, so we talked about it and we’re going to try and pretend that we’re in love. Please don’t tell my wife.

“Hm,” Sheari appraises them. “Actually, I want to try something different today after looking over my notes from the past few sessions. I believe—perhaps from your past, your shared traumas, a sense of propriety and duty, and even a belief in trying to protect the other from the worst parts of yourselves, there is…a wall that you’ve built between yourselves.”

Anakin wrinkles his nose. If there’s a wall, it’s made up of Obi-Wan’s shields. Anakin has been doing nothing for years but throwing himself at them, trying to make them break, a one-man siege warfare.

But—perhaps Sheari has a point. Anakin’s secretkeeping, it had been from fear, yes, but not just of being found out and punished for his mistakes. He’d been afraid of disappointing Obi-Wan, of the man seeing his worst and most ugly parts, his rage and his greed. So he’d pulled away too. He’d built the wall too.

“Alright,” he admits slowly. “Yes. How do we break it?”

There’s a fond curl of amusement from Obi-Wan’s side of the bond, and Anakin sends out a loose question.

Spoken like a true war general, Obi-Wan’s mind whispers back, brusing against his own.

“Thank you for asking,” Sheari says. “I’d like you to climb into Obi-Wan’s lap and remain there for the rest of the session.”

“What?” The both of them squawk, but the counselor remains firm.

“I feel that getting both of you used to casual intimacy—around other people—will be good for you. You want to hold and be held by the other, otherwise you wouldn’t have submitted yourself to this counseling, especially for as long as we’ve been meeting. Now, come on. It’s only for thirty more minutes.”

Thirty minutes? Of—of sitting on his master’s lap as if he were a youngling?

Anakin, his master whispers over the bond, we don’t have to. We can tell her no. I will not do anything you are not comfortable with.

The words draw Anakin to a mental halt. Because that’s—that’s Obi-Wan implying that he’s comfortable with holding Anakin. That he’s worried about Anakin. 

Well, if his master is fine with it, Anakin certainly is.

He tries to not appear too enthusiastic as he scrambles over the couch and into Obi-Wan’s lap, straddling his hips and wrapping his arms around his neck. It takes a little adjustment, Obi-Wan’s hands guiding him with one on his hip and the other on the small of his back, before they’re comfortable. Obi-Wan even goes as far as to ghost a hand up and down Anakin’s spine, and Anakin relaxes into the pressure, his master’s scent surrounding him and calming him. He smells like he always has, the spice of his tea and a bit like the sun. So warm and full of Light.

“Perfect,” the counselor applauds. “How does that feel for you, Anakin?”

Anakin’s eyes catch with Obi-Wan’s. The older man smiles slightly, and his eyes crinkle with his joy. “Perfect,” Anakin tells her, fascinated with trying to count his master’s crow’s feet before they disappear. 

“And you, Obi-Wan?”

“Perfect,” Obi-Wan echoes, and Anakin has to fight the confusing urge to squirm in place from the heavy word of praise. 

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

"Tom Riddle effectively destroys the country from the inside out, which I believe was his true goal the entire time" (c) wait a second, so you think that he wasn't going to really take over or anything, just destroy the fuck out of w britain?

I have avoided this ask long enough.

I’ll start by saying that asking me about Tom Riddle is like staring down into a bottomless rabbit hole. We could travel down that path, but it is a dark and perilous journey, and by the end of it I will come out looking like the Mad Hatter.

It also requires a few prerequisites that you’re just going to accept as true (or else got off the crazy train here).

We know very little about Tom Riddle or Voldemort

What we do know of Tom Riddle comes to us from suspect sources

I’m just going to go out there and start with the basis that Tom is not crazy

Elaborating a little on number 1. We never actually see much of Tom Riddle or Voldemort directly. He’s a bit like Thanos in the MCU, or Palpatine in the first two movies of the Original Trilogy, he’s this looming threat that we pass by and glimpse every once in a while but never really get quality time with.

Generally, Voldemort makes an appearance in a moment of crisis.

He and Harry fight over the philosopher’s stone for Tom’s very survival. He and Harry fight over the diary for Tom’s very survival. He resurrects himself with Harry as a witness. We get those very strange dreams from Voldemort’s perspective (half of which we later learn are fabricated).

None of these really lend to our, or Harry’s for that matter, understanding of Tom Riddle. There’s too much going on, it usually happens far too fast, and there’s usually something Tom Riddle desperately wants or needs that eclipses all other concerns or else he has an audience.

This is part of the reason we get those Halfblood Prince pensieve lessons: Harry knows nothing of Tom Riddle and doesn’t understand him at all.

Which leads us, of course, to number 2, most of what we know about Tom Riddle comes from Dumbledore. I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t spend much time on it, but Dumbledore has a very clear agenda in relaying these memories to Harry. Dumbledore already has strong suspicions of what objects are horcruxes and where they’re located, he already has Snape as a very reliable agent to continue work when he’s gone, his job here is to convince Harry there is no path but suicide. And that involves portraying Tom Riddle as the most evil man who ever eviled, was born eviler than the antichrist, and will die eviler than the antichrist. 

Now, does this make Tom necessarily good or bad? No.

However, it does mean when Dumbledore tells us things like, “See, Harry, an impoverished child was upset when I lit all his belongings on fire! What a monster!” (especially given that, in a similar situation, Harry thought it was hilarious when Hagrid gave Dudley a permanent physical deformity and Harry was told he was an angel child) we should take it with a very large grain of salt.

Right, so, with all that backdrop what I’m getting at is that a) we can’t take Dumbledore at his word b) even if we could he could be wrong c) Harry doesn’t have the introspection to be able to figure himself when a or b is happening. I won’t elaborate on this last much, suffice to say that Harry’s world is very black and white, divided into the camps of those who personally like him and those who don’t.

So, why do I think Tom’s goal was not to rule the wizarding world but instead to destroy it?

A few things.

First, there are so many easier ways he could have ended up ruling the wizarding world. More, even when he effectively does rule the wizarding world in book seven, he takes very strange actions so that he’s never directly in power.

Second, I never really bought Tom’s racism. It’s too convenient and too contradictory with his backstory.

The second first, because we’re going out of order today. I’ve gone over this before, but I don’t believe Tom had minions early and I think he was effectively treated as a muggleborn (see here and here) until he took on the Voldemort persona many decades later. I’m hard pressed to believe someone as intelligent, angry, and proud as Tom Riddle would willingly believe and accept he was inferior to the likes of Abraxas Malfoy. More, even if he wished he was a halfblood, I think the evidence of him being muggleborn would be stacked too high against him to deny even to himself (and when he finds out it’s not true, he has maybe a month or so before he realized that he’s the bastard son of a squib). 

And it’s just so convenient. All the people with the power, with the money, who are itching for a cause against a threat that doesn’t really exist believe in blood purity. Ergo, Voldemort shows up suddenly espousing over the top blood purity rhetoric (rhetoric that directly clashes with his “there is only power” philosophy at that). 

In other words, I think Tom Riddle gave himself a line that he knew would get him places very quickly.

And now for the first. For a guy who has had the entire country in the palm of his hands twice, one time taking it over in a bloodless coup, he’s really big on causing collateral damage and really small on actually doing the ruling thing.

The first wizarding war, Tom Riddle as Voldemort has the backing of the heirs of the most prestigious and wealthy noble houses save a select few. These are people with seats in the Wizengamot, which has a frightening control over the government itself (including the minister of magic). I imagine, in 1980 had Tom Riddle wanted to be elected as Minister of Magic, he would have been elected as Minister of Magic. If he wanted a friendly face in office then he probably could have made that happen to.

More than even this though, by this point, Tom had already won. By having control over the majority of the Wizengamot he owns the government. He’s done, it’s over, it’s finished, and many of the characters admit as much which is why Harry Potter was such a miracle. So why all the seemingly random, exceptionally pointless, terrorism? 

One answer is that Voldemort is crazy bananas. And sure, I guess we can go with that, except for someone insane he’s oddly effective and very consistent. 

I believe Tom was systematically destroying the very foundations of the country through its core aristocratic families. Within a few short years Tom decimates the Black family, it goes from having five heirs to none, and while some of this isn’t Tom’s fault he does take care of quite a few of them. He brands Lucius for life, while Lucius rises high in politics he never escapes the stigma of being a known Death Eater and in the end cannot escape the consequences for his actions. The Malfoy family is very nearly destroyed by the end of the series, had Draco died in the Fiendfyre. The LeStrange family, presumably decimated as well.

More, this is mostly me headcanoning, but I imagine Tom fuels an extremism that the Wizarding World had never contemplated. I imagine, previously, anti-muggleborn sentiment was probably fairly rampant among purebloods. Oh, some were very pro-muggleborn I’m sure, but I think most were fairly “eh” on the people and felt they were a drain on society (such as requiring constant funding for the obliviation department).

However, when Diagon Alley starts getting blown up every other week, when muggleborns start being tortured and murdered, when purebloods who aren’t anti-muggleborn enough are being tortured and murdered, this starts wigging people out in a way they’ve never wigged out before.

By the time we get to Harry Potter’s canon, it is now only a minority that are anti-muggleborn, and they’re perceived as raving lunatics. Nobody wants to be grouped with these people. Which, just goes to show, how much Voldemort rattles the wizarding world in a very small amount of time.

Then there’s Deathly Hallows, rather than become minister himself Voldemort installs a puppet minister. He shows no signs of wishing to change this and instead does things like destroy the sorting hat (which again shakes the very foundations of the wizarding world as whta will we do if we don’t know who’s a Gryffindor anymore?!)

So, where is this ramble going?

Given the results we see, that more than any others it seems to be the purebloods and often Tom’s own followers that suffer colossal losses, I think Tom’s actions are, in part, a means of vengeance against the entire damn wizarding world (but especially the purebloods).

He makes fools of these people, brands them as his slaves, and has them participate in the most over the top ridiculous rituals (the cloaks, the masks, the entire theatrics of it feels like Tom got drunk one night and planned this whole thing out). He destroys them entirely, and better, enables them to completely destroy themselves and the country they believe they’re trying to save.

Basically, I think by the time the series begins Tom is fueled by a nihilist rage that knows no bounds. But dammit all, the wizarding world is going to burn.

[ace-din-djarin]

Secret

If you have sent me a drabble request recently, rest assured that I am working on them! But this one popped into my head and I just had to get it out. Hope you enjoy!

“Master Skywalker, are you quite alright?”

Luke jumped a little and opened his eyes. There were several faces turned towards him, including one very familiar silver helmet, and Mon Mothma, the Chancellor, was looking at him with a concerned frown.

“Yes-- forgive me. I was, uh. Meditating.” Luke gave a small smile, doing his best to radiate serenity. “Jedi stuff, you know.”

Next to him, Leia snorted into her cup of caf, and Luke, without looking in her direction, kicked her in the shin. She kicked back, and he bit back both a grin and a hiss of pain when her sharp heel bit into his ankle. Further down the table, Din stared at him-- Luke could feel his gaze boring holes into the side of his face, even through his visor-- but Luke didn’t so much as glance at him, for fear he would burst out laughing.

“Alright,” the Chancellor said, casting him a dubious glance, before turning back to her notes. They were seated at a long table with a podium at one end, where the speaking senator could stand to present their debate. Leia had explained to Luke that the Imperial Senate, and before it the Senate for the Republic, had been much larger and much more ostentatious, with each planet’s representatives occupying their own pod, and the Chancellor (and then Emperor) stationed in the center. But the New Republic, much reduced in number by the Empire’s destruction, had no need for so much space, not to mention that Mon Mothma was not inclined to show off her power the way Palpatine had been.

“As I was saying,” Mothma said, “The next order of business for today’s discussion is the potential integration of Mandalore into the New Republic.”

Luke sat up a little straighter, and saw Din and Bo-Katan Kryze do the same further down the table.

Mothma reached down and pressed a button on her podium, which activated the holo display in the middle of the table. A glowing image of Mandalore, along with a description of its exports and imports, flickered to life above their heads. Mothma turned to Din and Bo-Katan.

“Mand’alor Djarin, I understand you have some reservations about joining the New Republic. The senate will hear your opinions, and then we will open the floor for discussion.”

Din nodded, and Bo-Katan stood up from her chair and made her way to the podium, Mothma took her seat with a look of expectation on her face.

“I am the representative for Mand’alor Djarin,” Bo-Katan began. “I will be taking over the discussion for him.”

Luke had met Bo-Katan once or twice before this, during his regrettably brief trips to Mandalore with Din, and he had never failed to be impressed by her dogged dedication to her planet. Din had explained that Bo-Katan had initially wanted the Darksaber and title for herself, but had been slowly won over by Din’s commitment to Mandalore’s people, and Luke knew that now they considered themselves allies, if not friends. She handled the questions the senate posed to her with a grace that reminded Luke of Leia at her best. Luke knew he didn’t have the head for politics that the two of them had, and neither did Din-- they were each of them much more suited to tests of skill that involved blasters and lightsabers, rather than battles of will and elocution. No wonder, then, that Din was allowing Bo-Katan to take over the discussion.

Luke was brought out of his musings and back into the conversation by the sudden swelling of indignation throughout the room.

“How can we be sure of Mandalore’s loyalty?” a senator a few seats away from Luke was saying. “A planet of bloodthirsty warriors will surely turn on the New Republic as soon as they have gotten what resources they need from us.”

Bo-Katan scowled and opened her mouth to argue, but another senator cut across her. “We need some way to guarantee Mandalore’s loyalty to the New Republic.”

“And what, exactly, do you suggest?” Bo-Katan said, her voice dry as Mandalore’s deserts.

A Nautolan senator a few seats away stood up. “I propose a marriage,” they said, a look of smug satisfaction on their face, “Between the Mand’alor and a party loyal to the New Republic.”

The room went silent, all heads turning to Din, who was sitting ramrod straight in his chair.

“I don’t think--” Bo-Katan started, before yet another senator cut her off.

“That would give the spouse’s home world too much power!” they said, and murmurs of agreement sounded up and down the table. The senator continued. “We would need a neutral party to agree, one without allegiance to any one world in particular.”

Suddenly, a few of the faces around Luke were turned in his direction.

“Perhaps the Jedi?” the same senator said, and Luke couldn’t take it any more.

He burst out laughing.

Next to Luke, Leia dropped her face into her hands, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bo-Katan do the same. The senator who had spoken looked affronted.

“If you don’t like the plan, Master Skywalker, simply say so, there is no need to---”

Luke waved a hand and sucked in a few quick breaths. “I apologize. The plan, uh, has its merits,” he stifled another giggle, “but, I’m afraid, the both of us are already spoken for.”

The senators’ stares turned to Din, now, who huffed a sigh so loud even Luke could hear it from where he sat, distorted as it was by Din’s voice modulator.

“We’re already married. To each other.”

Leia made a muffled scream of frustration into her palms as the room around them erupted into pandemonium.

I can’t kriffing believe you! She yelled in his head, and Luke reached out to pat her on the knee, doing his best to be consoling even as he grinned in delight.

Sorry, he returned, though he knew she could tell that he didn’t feel a bit remorseful about this. It was rather sudden.

“Order!” Mon Mothma shouted into the podium’s microphone, and Luke looked up to see her standing at the podium next to Bo-Katan, whose arms were crossed and who was glaring daggers at Din.

“Our apologies, Master Skywalker and Mand’alor Djarin. We were not aware of your nuptials. Congratulations to you both.” Mothma’s voice was calm, but her brow was creased with frustration as she glanced at Luke, who did his best to look at least a little contrite. “I believe, at least, that that settles the issue of Mandalore’s loyalty to the New Republic. Are there any other issues at hand?”

Luke looked back over at Din as the arguing started up again, this time over exports or imports or something that he, frankly, didn’t really need to listen to. Din looked back at him, and Luke could feel his radiated amusement even from this distance. Luke grinned at him, and Din tilted his head in the way that Luke knew meant he was smiling back.

At least, he thought to himself, we don’t have to hide anymore.

I still haven’t forgiven you for not telling me, Leia interjected, though her thoughts were tinged with fondness. He glanced at her, and she smiled softly and took his hand. Congratulations, she said, and he squeezed her hand in thanks, neither of them paying any attention to the senate’s ongoing debate around them. He definitely owed her a night together, just the two of them.

Yes you do, she thought, and he laughed and squeezed her hand again.

I promise, he said, and she laid her head on his shoulder as they let the continued chaos of the senate’s discussions whirl around them.

[marvelstars]

I guess the problem isn´t just the fact that Shmi wasn´t freed until Cliegg fell in love with her and helped her, it´s also the fact that the Jedi Order believed Anakin´s relationship to his mother was a problem that could lead him to the darkside, which did happen but not for the reason they believed but precisely because they seek to cut off that connection instead of allowing it to grow and mature naturally.

My guess is that from Lucas pov only Qui-Gon understood the need for Shmi to be freed, because only he saw the connection between mother and son, he saw how much good Shmi´s parenting did for Anakin even in such horrible circunstances of slavery. Shmi´s parenting bassically keep Anakin sane, his enormous power under control, his heart kind, his intentions noble and without greed. But Qui-Gon was killed and so Anakin was trained without any consideration to his personal circunstances because for Obi-Wan Qui-Gon´s final words were enough, no matter if at the time he didn´t know or cared much about the boy he was going to take care for, on this Yoda was right, he should not have taken anakin as an apprentince in such circunstances.

What happens when the Jedi training cuts Shmi´s and Anakin´s connection abruptly?

Anakin becomes secretive, fearful for his loved ones when he used to be open and brave and more sociable, he doesn´t feel secure in sharing his povs or feelings without being judged, unless he is with Palpatine and worse he is afraid of even asking to see his mom after having dreams of her dying because he fears he is going to get the attachment lecture once again or be accused of not advancing enough as a Jedi. Add to all of this the guilt of leaving his mother on slavery, the torture and death Shmi endured with Anakin just able to see her die, showing that for all his power and all his training as a Jedi, he could not save the person who cared for him the most, the person most important to him in the galaxy and we have the tragedy.

The PT is a tragedy, for Anakin not to fall to the dakside, Shmi needed to live, Anakin needed to naturally grow up and accept his mother wasn´t always going to be there in a natural way, not abruptly being cut off of from her and in this way he would have never developed the extreme fear of losing his loved ones to death, to the point that he made a deal with the devil just to keep his wife alive.

Anakin´s story with Shmi is also a foil for Luke´s story with his friends and family, Luke lost his family as a 19 year old, Anakin lost Shmi twice, at 9 and later at 19, Anakin obeyed his masters and didn´t go to rescue his mother, the result was him losing her to death and his first contact with the darkside. Lucas´s commentary on EP II adds that the balance within Anakin that he had at the beggining of the movie, was lost to him and he didn´t got it back until ROTJ, when he sacrificed himself to save his Son.

Luke disobeyed his masters, told them he understood the danger but went to rescue his friends from Vader on ESB and while he lost his hand, his friends were alive, he knew who his father was and the experience prepared him to be able to face Vader in the only way he could to bring him back to the lightside which was what won them the war.

I believe that while Lucas does enjoy to use mythos and stories he also enjoys putting them on their head, in the OT we have a distressing princess, a knight who wanted to stay as a farmer and a loyal friend who was bitter, sarcastic and a lone wolf and the OT is an Epic, all the characters get to grow up and become better.

The PT is a tragedy, we do have the well meaning warriors of peace and justice who wanting to take care of everybody, have chained themselves to the whims of the senate. We have the small slave boy who is never rescued, rather everybody expects to be rescued by him and we have the well meaning sage in Palpatine who is the serpent in the garden as the main mentor of the choseon one, while his master feels more secure taking a secondary position.

So Shmi isn´t rescued because Lucas was doing a social commentary on it, the Republic of Anakin´s time doesn´t care for the downtroden like Shmi, the clones or Anakin himself unless they make themselves useful, the Republic is going to become the Empire after all and this Republic is also a foil for the rebellion which consist of people of all walks of life who don´t have much but who CARE for each other on a personal level while relationships on the Republic look deeply impersonal and formal with some exceptions.

So my guess is that Shmi being left on slavery wasn´t a mistake by Lucas it was a point he wanted to make and he talks a little bit about this with Anakin in the clone wars series:"Only Anakin cared for the fact that Shmi died" that´s the origin of his fatal flaw and the source of his tragedy.

"Why didn't the Jedi help Shmi after TPM?"

Why didn't Padmé.

Ignoring the expanded universe stuff about Qui-Gon sending the expensive lens or Padmé dispatching Sabé years later, so long after that Cliegg had already met, wooed, and saved up to free Shmi himself, why did Padmé not include "paying back the slave woman who helped me save my planet" in her post-invasion plans?

The Jedi have budgets that are regulated, to some unknown degree, by the Senate. Sure, there's probably some discretionary spending, but an Entire Slave would be flagged. Not a purchase you can hide easily! They're also NOT supposed to operate in Hutt Space unless undercover OR as official Republic envoys.

Padmé? Literally a queen. In the same galactic neighborhood. Has inherited wealth. Probably has room in her staff for a mechanic or something. Can easily justify freeing Shmi to her cabinet as payment for services rendered; remember, that Nubian hyperdrive was paid with Anakin's winnings, meaning they came at the cost of Shmi's freedom.

The real answer is that George Lucas needed Shmi to still be on Tatooine in AotC, and never bothered to expand on how Shmi was freed, himself, so other people took up the slack.

But if we ask why the Jedi didn't free Shmi, then I think we also need to ask: why didn't Padmé?

(I love Padmé. I fully believe she would have sent someone to free Shmi after Naboo was in order post-Invasion, and that it was just an oversight or even plot necessity from G Lucas. I just dislike the double standards of hating on the Jedi for not helping when Padmé is right next door and has That Cash Money.)

[helbertinelli]

Your friend didn’t do anything to debunk my points of Anakin while being powerful being not as powerful as yoda, Kenobi, dooku and palpatine (Anakin/Vader is my favorite sw character to be exact and vader is way more powerful than even the powerful Anakin) your friend uses the non canon rots novel to try and prove Anakin>Dooku but in that same non canon novel palps tells dooku to throw the fight, also Sidious told grievous in rots the potential of his new apprentice not Anakins current powers

Anakin is more powerful than all of those though. Like it's canon or at least it was canon at one point, which means it's canon. If Disney took away Anakin's strength that's on them. But yeah Anakin is more powerful than all of those. He beat Dooku, he beat Palpatine (as Vader when he was weaker) also GL said that Anakin was supposed to be like twice as powerful as Palpatine. He also defeated Mace Windu (who is super powerful). He almost beat Obi-Wan and he would have won were it not for him trying that stupid trick that he was so obsessed with (so it wasn't lack of power that made him lose there, but hubris). He never fought Yoda, but pretty sure there's moments when Anakin was said to be more powerful than Yoda. Also Anakin defeated Palpatine, who defeated Yoda, so I guess we can assume he would have been more powerful than Yoda. Idk, it's 2022, Anakin is the most powerful Jedi. It was always meant to be that way from the start of SW. Being able to defeat powerful opponents doesn't make you a Gary Stu/Mary Sue when the story set you up as being the most powerful character and you have the skill and training to back it up. It's not like with Rey, where she's suddenly good at everything and she can even swim despite only living on a desert planet. Anakin actually trained. While baby Anakin had some Force powers and he was able to use them, his skills weren't as refined or as powerful as they get after he trains with the Jedi. I'm sorry about all those "powerful" Force users like Obi-Wan, Dooku, Yoda, and Sheev, but they don't hold a candle to Anakin and the level of skill and power he had.

[redrascal1]

Years ago I read a series of books by author Simon R Green which were heavily inspired by Star Wars.

What interested me was the books continued the stories of the heroes after the war was won....and we discovered what happens to our heroes when the fighting was over.

And it was actually....very sad.

I mention this because in some ways, that is what happened with the sequel trilogy. Take away Abrams's tedious Mary Sue heroine ....and the ST was all about the destiny of the Skywalker twins and Han Solo.

And ultimately....it focused on the after effects of what happened to them. That they really were...three people who were permanently marked, psychologically and in Luke's case, physically, by their encounters with Darth Vader.

ALL of them suffered from PTSD....and sadly, their son suffered as a result of it.

The fact that Darth Vader turned out to be a blood relation to Luke and Leia, only made it worse. Look at the history. Vader tortured Leia and Han - in Leia's case, twice. They never got to see him as Anakin. Luke lost his hand and his aunt and uncle, to Darth Vader. As a result, although he redeemed his father and conquered his own dark impulses, there would always be the underlying fear that maybe one day, he or his sister would slip - and fall, as their father had fallen.

And then along came Ben, with his father's passionate nature....and his grandfather's power.

And quite suddenly...the stakes were very different.

Whenever Ben had a tantrum, instead of seeing it as normal childish behaviour, his parents, their judgement coloured by knowing who his grandfather was, saw it as the 'dark side.' Leia hid her fear by focusing on her political career. Han ran from it, and spent time with other kids, such as Greer Sollen and Poe Dameron. Then Ben, who in his bewilderment thought his parents didn't love him...was sent away...only cementing his feelings of being unwanted. Remember, he had no idea who his grandfather was. He was just a kid who didn't realise his family were emotionally scarred. And thus..perfect for manipulation by Snoke/Palpatine.

The last straw was when he thought his uncle was going to kill him...and tragically Luke impulsively reaching for his lightsabre was a manifestation of his own PTSD; not even a conscious decision.

I am so tired of antis ranting that the OT trio were 'demonised' by TLJ...when they were actually presented as human beings who understandably had been left traumatised by their own past. And I am also fed up of them being seen as 'perfect' when Han, Luke and Leia were anything but.

And it's why I loved them.

[thechaoticfanartist]

Grim sat on the roof of the Temple, her legs hanging over the edge as she watched the night time sky. The stars seemed to glow with such light, and she held onto that light as tears rolled down her cheeks. She had failed, she could see as clear as day. Sidious had won Anakin over, she had watched as it had happened. The light that existed now would be the last that the galaxy knew. She reached for the light, grabbing for it as if it was the only thing that kept her on the roof. Perhaps it was. The fact that now in this moment there was light was the only reason she kept on the roof. Tomorrow she would pay the price for her failures, though if she would survive she did not know. What would happen if she did survive? What role would she play in the galaxy? Other than the one of a failed padawan who could not save her family.

She heard footsteps and her head turned away from the stars. Anakin had also come to the roof, though he had yet to notice Grim. She felt her heart twist at the sight of him. Tonight would be the final time she saw him in light, tomorrow he would fall. Or had he fallen already? She had seen what he did to Dooku when they had rescued the chancellor - oh how she now wished she had killed Palpatine then when she had the chance, she could have gotten away with it too, it was a dangerous situation for everyone. Anakin sat by her, still not seeing Grim, lost in his own thoughts about the future. A future they both feared, a future they were both desperate to prevent.

For the slightest moment Grim considered that she could stop Anakin’s turn to Vader right here and now. She could shove him off this roof and he would fall to the ground dead. Though she knew it would do no good, even without Vader, Sidious would still claim victory tomorrow - and besides even now, knowing what he would do once the sun set for the final time on the home of compassion and light tomorrow, she saw him as her brother. How could Grim kill her own brother? Though she knew tomorrow she and Obi-Wan would still be faced with that question, now only delayed the ending. The ending that was destined for tragedy.

The silence became unbearable as Grim sunk further into thoughts of what the next day would bring. She had to say something to announce her presence to the brother she already lost. “The stars are very beautiful tonight,” she said.

Anakin turned his head and saw the padawan. “Yes,” he replied. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you.”

“It’s fine,” she replied. “I could tell you were lost in your thoughts.”

“And you have been as well, what’s wrong Grim?” he asked, nodding to her tear stained face. The lights of the city world and stars above did nothing to hide the tears, in fact they helped to bring them out - as if her tears had been stars themselves.

“I’m afraid,” she admitted. “Of the future, what it may bring.”

“I understand that feeling,” Anakin replied.

"That’s why you came up here isn’t it?” Grim asked him.

“Yes,” Anakin admitted. “I have been having visions…”

“Of death, and you want to prevent that death from occurring,” Grim finished.

“Yes,” he said. “Is that why you came up here as well?”

“Mostly,” she replied. “Not through visions but I can tell that tomorrow brings tragedy and death, and I am afraid of what that may mean. I wish to prevent it but…”

“You’re afraid it may be out of reach,” Anakin finished.

“Yes,” admitted Grim. “And that I have already failed."

“The future can be changed,” Anakin replied. “Nothing is set.”

“Isn’t it?” asked Grim. “Has any one of your visions that you wished to prevent, been prevented? Or did they happen as you saw?”

Anakin fell silent, because he had never changed the ending of the future. They always played the same. Grim knew that he understood what she had meant. “Has yours?” he asked her.

“Hm?”

“Your visions - have you ever changed them?”

“Rarely,” she admitted. “I’ve saved a life once or twice, but every time I paid a price. It has been a long time since I have changed something I wished to change.”

“Then is tragedy destined for us?” Anakin asked her.

“I do not believe in destiny, and I doubt you do as well, for destiny means life is written in stone. If we believe this, then why do we strive to save those we love from a terrible fate?”

Anakin lowered his head, he knew exactly what Grim meant. “Then it can be changed,” he said.

Grim shook her head, “it is already too late.”

In that one moment the two Jedi understood each other. Outside they were brave, strong, and determined. Inside they were both padawans who feared for the future - one they worked to prevent but could not. The lights of the stars illuminated the Jedi - both padawans of Obi-Wan, though one bore the title of Knight, and soon the title of Sith. They were afraid and could not let go, they sat in silence, in understanding as the ending showed upon them. Tomorrow they would be enemies as their lives burned around them, but in this moment they were shattered remains of the Jedi they once were, as fear tugged their hearts. Inviting both to the dark.

-The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim Chapter 35

A moment of understanding before the darkness consumes them.

Your honor Grim and Anakin are siblings.

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[ilummoss]

Late night musings: I think Emperor Palpatine is miserable.

I have usually thought of Darth Sidious as kinda the one “happy” sith, the only one who isn’t just digging himself deeper and deeper into misery. That he truly enjoys his life, because he is just that evil. 

But yesterday it struck me that I while I think Palpatine had his own wicked version of fun during the clone wars, pulling off this entire centuries-in-the-making-plot to overthrow the Republic, he is bored as the emperor.

There are some good Lucas quotes on how the dark side of the force is very focused on transient pleasure, contrasted by the joy of the light side:

“The dark side is pleasure, biological and temporary and easy to achieve. The light side is joy, everlasting and difficult to achieve.”

“Pleasure is short lived. It lasts an hour, it lasts a minute, it lasts a month. It peaks and then it goes down–it peaks very high, but the next time you want to get that same peak you have to do it twice as much. It’s like drugs, you have to keep doing it because it insulates itself. No matter what it is, whether you’re shopping or you’re engaged in any other kind of pleasure. It all has the same quality about it.  (...) “People who get the pleasure they keep saying, ‘Well, if I can just get richer and get more cars–!’ You’ll never relive the moment you got your first car, that’s it, that’s the highest peak. Yes, you could get three Ferraris and a new gulf stream jet and maybe you’ll get close. But you have to keep going and eventually you’ll run out.  You just can’t do it, it doesn’t work.”

Palpatine hit peak pleasure in establishing his empire and murdering the Jedi. There is just no way to top that. He is bored out of his mind during his time as empreror. Oh, he gets a few more glimpses of amusement out of messing with Vader but that must have grown old quickly, as would inflicting systematic and personal pain on the galaxy (not that he would stop doing either, but that it just wouldn’t give the same satisfaction anymore). He can’t reach those same heights again. I also think Palpatine enjoyed the entire game of pre-empire, but now that he has won there is no need or space for that.

Luke showing up is probably the best thing to have happened for him in up to a decade. It’s a new way of causing Vader pain and he has one last Jedi to pull down into the dark (attempting to re-live his old victory). 

All Sith are miserable, and even Sheev Palpatine was no different. It’s just what the dark side of the force does to you.