#the entire clone wars? becoming literal war generals for the senate?

[lucyskywalker]

I have so many thoughts about The Jedi Order and Obi Wan Kenobi that wouldn't go well with the fandom.

[antianakin]

Antianakin's Anti-Anakin/Pro-Jedi Fic Rec List

The theme for this rec list is fics that either center on Anakin getting some consequences for his actions or are just generally more critical towards Anakin as a character. Please note that this means these fics will also be critical towards most Anakin ships, most notably Anidala and Obikin.

This list is dedicated to all of the people who have been sending me messages asking for fic recs over the last several months, there's clearly a market for fics that aren't kind towards Anakin.

A lot of these fics take things like the Tusken massacre, Order 66, and Anakin's treatment of Padme, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Rex very seriously. Please take that as a warning if any of those things might be triggering, and keep an eye on the tags for all of the fics included here just in case.

Here are the categories!

Anakin/Consequences: Anakin experiences consequences for his actions in some way shape or form, but doesn't die.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It: Anakin experiences the specific consequence of dying by the end of the story, usually at the hands of someone he's hurt.

The Jedi Deserve Better: There's a bigger focus on the Jedi recovering, Jedi culture, or the Jedi being philosophically right than there is on anything specifically "anti Anakin" as such, but the story is still critical of Anakin's beliefs and/or behavior.

Helpful terms:

Unfinished: Any fic that is marked as incomplete, or a series where the fic(s) in it are still incomplete and cannot stand alone

Ongoing: Any series marked as incomplete, but the fics in it are marked as complete or can stand alone as they are

There is no specific order to this. I tried to group fics from one specific author together, but other than that, I didn't place anything in any specific position for a reason.

This is not an exhaustive list of good anti-Anakin fics that exist, obviously. If your fic or your favorite fic isn't on this list, please feel free to rec it yourself in the notes, leave a reply or reblog with a link. I'm happy to read more anti-Anakin fic, especially if it's very Pro-Jedi!

One final reminder: NOTHING IN THIS LIST IS ANAKIN FRIENDLY! If that's going to bother you to read, please just skip this entire list, it's not for you.

Anakin/Consequences:

and the tide rises, the tide falls series by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 119k): When Anakin's actions with the Tuskens on Tatooine become known a few months into the Clone War, Agen Kolar comes in to temporarily take over the 501st while Anakin is sent back to Coruscant to face the Council. I cannot recommend this fic enough. This is the fic that introduced me to Agen Kolar as a real character (as opposed to just one of the random Jedi who immediately die going up against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith) and now he's one of my favorite Jedi of all time. Agen is such a beautiful character and his relationship to his identity as a Jedi gives me just about every feeling I think I've ever felt in my life and the development of his relationships with Rex, Kix, and Ahsoka as the fic continues is such a well-written slow burn. I'd recommend reading more of blackkat's works just in general, too, because they're pretty much all Pro-Jedi and have a delightful tendency to focus on more niche Jedi and clone characters and rarepair ships if you're interested in that.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by @blackkatmagic (27k): Fox is sent back in time, immediately murders Palpatine, and surprisingly nothing but good things follow so he's got plenty of time now to get to the other things on his bucket list, including but not limited to: murdering Count Dooku, murdering Anakin Skywalker, saving Senator Amidala from her atrocious taste in men, and seducing Mace Windu. This fic is BLISTERINGLY funny, Fox's very dry point of view on things and readiness to shoot Anakin at literally any moment literally had me struggling to not laugh out loud at work. This is also an INCREDIBLY pro-Mace Windu fic, with all of the clones, for once, in love with Mace Windu instead of the more popular suspects. It's what he deserves, and Fox agrees.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Time Travelers by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 78k): Fives is stuck in a time loop where he tries to stop Order 66 from happening and his latest plan is to kidnap Mace Windu for his own protection because he's the only person capable of defeating Palpatine. Fives' opinion of Anakin is now INCREDIBLY low, and the constant comparisons to Mace and how much better Mace is, are deeply satisfying. Fives' immense distress and somewhat manic passion don't take away from just HOW competent Fives is, and I really love getting to see a depiction of him that really allows him to fully be both at once and neither one takes away from the other. I love how his relationship to Mace develops from Fives' initial desperation into something so trusting and passionate through difficult circumstances.

in search of a sky for smoke to rise to by @blackkatmagic (7k): Padme has to go on the run after reporting Anakin's massacre of the Tuskens to the Jedi in fear of Anakin's rage. She lands on Sundari to try to hide there and meets with Arla Fett who sparks her interest. Padme gets to be a total BAMF in this which is always fun, and I LOVED Arla in this so so much!

sanguine series by @glimmerglanger (157.5k) (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so the link below is now broken. I am leaving this series in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment): Obi-Wan is a vampire in an AU where vampires exist in the GFFA and this changes some things. The ramifications of what it means to be a vampire in this AU and the biases and prejudices that Obi-Wan has to deal with are so interesting from a worldbuilding standpoint. The way Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan CHANGES because of it is also an interesting thing to see develop in this series.

uncomfortable by @panther-os (1k): When Anakin won't respect Padme's boundaries in the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Padme requests a different bodyguard from the Jedi. Short and sweet and removes the rather unfortunate "yes means no" theme that taints Padme's storyline in Attack of the Clones.

Slices of Happiness series by @feybarn (unfinished, 40k): No Order 66 AU where Obi-Wan takes a short sabbatical after the war to handle his mental health and is joined by some of the clones before he returns to the Temple. It is, as the title of the series says, mostly just little slices of stories as the clones and Jedi heal and reconnect after the war. There's a large emphasis on Obi-Wan healing from Anakin's rejection of the Jedi and having to come to terms with his relationship with Anakin having perhaps been less healthy than he'd realized and learning to enforce healthier boundaries when Anakin gets entitled and selfish.

Wasted Training by @thesecondbatgirl (700): Obi-Wan finds out about Anakin's "training" for Ahsoka from TOTJ. Very short but OH so satisfying to see someone react appropriately to this.

Liberosis by Be_Right_Back (2k): In a No Order 66 AU, Anakin's secret marriage comes to light and the Council asks Anakin to make a choice. This one is a tad softer on the "anti Anakin" aspect of it, but the Jedi are portrayed as entirely within their rights to make Anakin choose which life he wants to live.

Stay by @amukmuk (2k): Commander Thorn has been helping Padme out in a No Order 66 AU as Padme's been dealing with her divorce from Anakin, and Padme finally comes to a decision about her feelings. I am an unrepentant Thornidala shipper, and as many problems as I tend to have with the way Padme's written and the implications about her as a character because of that, I also have a nostalgic attachment to her and wish she could just... have a happier healthier relationship with someone who ACTUALLY loves her and respects her. I would take an entire series of this AU, I'd read a longfic of this AU, but I will also happily accept this short sweet little peek into this AU and let my daydreams do the rest of the work.

The Burden of Secrets by @jedi-order-apologist (9k): In the aftermath of the Deception arc, Ahsoka discovers the truth about the Tusken massacre and confronts Anakin about it. This one is a little lighter on the "anti Anakin" elements, but his choices on Tatooine are very much called out for the horror that they are, as are Padme's for hiding it. The fic also delves a little bit into the Rako Hardeen arc, Obi-Wan's choices in it, and Anakin's reactions to it and how appropriate they are.

Consumed by Greed by virdant (900): Obi-Wan travels back in time to the beginning of Anakin's apprenticeship and tries everything to try to keep Anakin from joining the Sith, and fails until he comes to a crucial understanding about Anakin as a person. The concept of this is absolutely heart-wrenching, thinking about Obi-Wan going back over and over, changing everything about himself and the Jedi in an attempt to save Anakin, only to finally realize that the problem lies in who Anakin is at his heart, and he can't change that. The ending is a gutpunch, but it feels so absolutely true, too.

Justice by virdant (1k): Padme makes a different choice at the end of AOTC and decides to report Anakin's crimes on Tatooine to Obi-Wan instead of marrying Anakin. Obi-Wan confronts Anakin about what he's done in the aftermath and forces him to face the consequences of the choice he made. I really like that the concept here isn't just that Anakin gets kicked out of the Jedi and sort-of set loose upon the galaxy, but that either the Council or Obi-Wan decided Anakin also needed to face reparations ON TATOOINE, from the Tuskens themselves, and that Obi-Wan plans to ensure that it happens. Anakin cannot be a Jedi until he makes as many amends for that as he can, until he recognizes the truth of what he's done and accepts the responsibility for it, and even then there's no guarantee he could be a Jedi afterwards. Either way, the Jedi are not not the only people Anakin has hurt, and not the only people with the right to ask for reparations from Anakin.

The Cost by luvewan (5k): Anakin jumps off the gunship after Padme in Attack of the Clones and deals (badly) with the fatal consequences of that choice when Obi-Wan dies at Dooku's hand before Yoda can show up. So this has been a favorite of mine for just about as long as I can remember, predominantly because of just how tragic it is and the very realistic consequences of the choice Anakin makes here. This fic was written before Revenge of the Sith had come out, so none of the choices Anakin makes in that film are taken into account, but the accuracy with which Anakin absolutely unravels and devolves into darkness because he lets his guilt turn into anger that he turns on other people in the name of justice feels so immensely in character. Seeing it all happen from Padme's point of view as she watches Anakin's descent, knowing she's the reason it happened in the first place, is so devastatingly beautiful.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It:

@glimmerglanger's fics are getting an entire section dedicated to them again. I'd honestly just recommend reading all of glimmerglanger's work, but here's some fics that specifically showcase (deadly) consequences to Anakin below (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so all of the links below are now broken. I am leaving this section in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment):

A Treatise on Breaking and Repairs (60k): Anakin captures Obi-Wan shortly after Revenge of the Sith and it goes very badly for Obi-Wan. This shit's dark, y'all, and things get way worse before they get better, please mind the tags, there's a reason the series is labeled the oof!au. That being said, this fic is sort-of the peak example of what I want out of a really good hurt/comfort story, where both halves of that are equally emphasized.

But What We Make series (ongoing, 125.5k): Cody from post-Return of the Jedi travels back in time to just before Order 66 and this changes some things. My favorite part of this series (so far) is the way Obi-Wan, future-Cody, and present-Cody are all forced to come to terms with their respective traumas and relationships to each other and none of them are handling it perfectly, but none of them are treated as more or less important than the others either.

Convergence Zones (115.5k): A sort-of modern day fantasy Jedi AU where the clones are made of clay and brought to life via magic. It's a little hard to explain in like 20 words or less just read it, it's so great. The collaboration between the clones and Jedi in this is so sweet, and the worldbuilding of the "clones" in this verse is really good.

Haunt Me, Then (31k): Post Order 66, all the surviving clones can see their Jedi as Force ghosts except Cody and the 212th, and when Cody's chip breaks early he helps start a revolution to gain justice for their Jedi. Cody's going through it in this one, too, and things get pretty dark, but this is another really great catharsis fic if you're in the mood for that.

Make Your Bed (Lie in It) (58k): Cody and Obi-Wan share a bunk during the war and this changes some things. I love all the ways in which this AU moves events just SLIGHTLY to the left and then the butterfly effect impact afterwards. The Cody and Obi-Wan relationship development is also just impeccable.

Natural Wonders (56k): Shapeshifter modern AU with nature photographer Cody and park ranger Obi-Wan and a murder mystery they solve together. There's some really cool facts about Yellowstone National Park in this fic as a delightful bonus to the sweet relationshippy stuff and the fun murder mystery storyline.

Greater Than Your Hoarded Gold series by Quietbang (ongoing, 96k): Anakin doesn't burn on Mustafar AU where there is a different kind of rebellion in the galaxy post Order 66. This author focused in on and centered the Jewish elements to the Jedi and brought in more Jewish culture to the Jedi, which is so interesting to read. The shifting perspectives, including totally outside perspectives, on the Jedi and the situation in the galaxy at large, makes for a really cool story with some incredible worldbuilding.

Unmasked by @schizo-fractured (17k): Footage of the Temple during Order 66 is released and this causes a series of changes in the galaxy as they confront what REALLY happened to the Jedi and the person who caused it. This got recommended to me based on a post I made wishing we could've seen Beru and Owen learn the truth about Anakin and what might've changed for them as a result, and while that's not the singular plot of this fic, it is kind-of an example of the underlying theme of the entire thing. It's a nice almost wish-fulfillment style concept where the loss of Anakin Skywalker's good reputation allows the general populace to rise up in defense of those he betrayed in righteous rage. It's time for the galaxy to defend the Jedi for a change.

the time when stars align by @deniigi (7k): Cody accidentally adopts some young stormtroopers post Order 66 and escapes with them to the Rebellion after Vader finds a way to "cure" him of his accelerated aging. Cody goes through so much horror in this fic and is still so SO funny with the way he looks at the world and speaks to his loved ones, allowing this fic to still feel sweet and wholesome despite how awful Cody's life is and has been.

When Night Falls series by Penguin Kiwi (ongoing, 7k): Cin Drallig gets more of a warning in the Force just before Order 66 and is able to put up a defense of the Temple and stop Anakin at the steps. I love these AUs that allow more niche Jedi to shine through, especially when it means they get to defeat Anakin because the Force looked at Anakin's choices and decided to abandon him for a better option. The conversation between Cin and Obi-Wan in the second fic really hits home, too.

The Jedi Deserve Better:

grow bold in a barren and desolate land by @blackkatmagic (5k): Mace survives Order 66 and Anakin's betrayal and stages a rescue for two clones left in prison who he knows never would've had their chips activated: Slick and Dogma. This has literally the barest mention of Anakin, but that mention is that Mace could easily beat Anakin in a fair fight, so I'm including it anyway. This is another one of those AUs I could read an entire longfic or series for and be eternally happy. There's a follow-up to this fic that's more explicitly Mace/Slick which is by no means ever a ship I had ever even considered before, but it works SO WELL here and gives me some interesting feelings. I'm also just always down for Dogma being treated kindly and getting a happier ending than canon chose to give him.

i am creation, both haunted and holy by @blackkatmagic (800): A'Sharad Hett makes a visit to Kamino where he meets Alpha-17 and finds they share an opinion about Anakin Skywalker. I'm so intrigued by A'Sharad Hett as a character and wish there was more content written about and for him. A'Sharad and Alpha-17 bonding over thinking Anakin Skywalker is an entitled selfish jerk is the best possible beginning to a ship, I'll be honest.

that was a spring of storms by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 9k): When Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star, Leia's grief causes herself, Luke, and Bail Organa to travel back in time to 8 months into the Clone Wars, where they are determined to ensure things go a little differently. This fic is only 2 chapters in, so I don't know precisely what kind of consequences Anakin may or may not end up getting, which is why it's in this category, but unsurprisingly neither Bail nor Leia are feeling particularly benevolent towards him and it is so incredibly satisfying. But holy FUCK am I hooked to this entire concept. Bail and Leia's relationship is heart-wrenching as all get out, Bail's protective instincts towards the Jedi absolutely kills me, and I'm so intrigued by these ship tags!

The Crime of Grief Series by @feybarn (ongoing, 34k): Padme goes into labor early while on the way to Mustafar, so neither she nor Obi-Wan ever make it there, and they go on the run with Rex and Ahsoka afterwards instead. Sides are drawn in the aftermath of Anakin's choices that causes friction among them before they can find healing. There's a large emphasis in this series that Anakin's choices are, in fact, HIS CHOICES, and the blame for them cannot be placed on anyone but Anakin, as well as the conundrum of whether it truly matters whether Anakin's got good left in him or not and if it's even worth it to try to save him.

吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? series by virdant (1.5k): A look at Obi-Wan and his experience of Jedi culture through food. Virdant's fics focus in on the Asian influences in the Jedi and builds out their culture from there. Not every fic in this series is explicitly anti-Anakin, but a few of them are more critical of Anakin's view of the Jedi and his unwillingness to understand their culture or point of view.

things the way we want them to be by virdant (600): No Order 66 AU, where a teenaged Leia talks to Obi-Wan about the struggles she's having with Anakin as a father and the future she knows she (and Luke) should've had but weren't allowed. Leia is just absolutely heartbreaking in this, and Obi-Wan's inability to truly help her the way they both want is equally so. It's a devastating look at a possible less happy future even in a happy fix-it AU because leaving the Jedi would never be enough to "fix" Anakin.

Not This Crude Matter series by @talesfromthebitterbeast (53k): The clones have picked up some misconceptions about the Jedi which causes the Jedi to distance themselves from the clones, even after the war ends in a happy fix-it AU. The fics showcase the situation from multiple different perspectives as misunderstandings abound, but is always firmly on the side of the Jedi. I really like the way the Jedi relationships are showcased here, the ways they communicate and lean on each other even in the face of being misunderstood and misrepresented by people they'd hoped would understand them better than anyone else.

Harmonic Oscillation by @jessepinwheel (2k): Originally a short tumblr fic that has since been posted to AO3. Obi-Wan time travels back to the Clone War era and confronts Anakin about what he's done. I always love getting to see Obi-Wan refuse to let Anakin get away with his bullshit and finally see Anakin for the piece of shit that he is.

Released by @jedi-order-apologist (6k): Cody is rescued from the Empire post-Return of the Jedi and has to come to terms with everything he's happened to him now that he's at the end of his life and spent the majority of it brainwashed and enslaved to the Empire. This is a fic I come back to a lot because I really love the way Cody works through what's happened to him and the way he's viewed from an outside perspective via Luke. I also really love how the relationship between Cody and Obi-Wan isn't made explicitly romantic, but is portrayed as immensely important and meaningful to both of them, regardless of how you choose to view it.

Knightrise by @deviantaccumulation (unfinished, 89k): Obi-Wan and Yoda choose not to try to fight Anakin or Sidious and instead retreat to Mandalore to attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as much as they can there under Satine's protection. This is an AU where Maul genuinely dies on Naboo which is a major plus in my book all on its own, quite honestly. There's some interesting political aspects in this for how the Jedi Order attempts to rebuild an actual community within Mandalore, with Mandalore still being a member of the Neutral Systems, and the Empire having risen already and all of the ensuing issues with that.

|keep the wolves away| by littlekaracan (unfinished, 46k): Obi-Wan and Yoda find Reva in the Temple and she accompanies Obi-Wan to Tatooine where they have to survive and recover together while watching over and protecting Luke. This is such a brilliant character study into Reva as a young child survivor of Order 66, being taken care of by someone who loves her but is equally as traumatized by the same event and the way that shapes their relationship and Reva's upbringing. I love her SO SO MUCH and I adore her perspective as she struggles to figure out what it means to be a Jedi in a world where being a Jedi openly means certain death but it's the last connection she has to her home, her family, and her culture.

our caches and constellations by johanneb (98k): "Eleven years ago, the Jedi order got wind of the closing pincers of a Sith trap and scattered to the remote corners of the galaxy. Ten years ago, millions of clone commanders and troopers were introduced as the Republic’s new Army, made for fighting a war alongside people the galaxy seemed to be forgetting ever existed." I couldn't come up with a better way to explain the fic than its own summary, but Cody and the 212th pick up Obi-Wan and Luke on Tatooine, while Senator Organa has to figure out how to get himself, Leia, and Leia's "tutor" to a rebel base without their two new Coruscant Guard escorts figuring out exactly how disloyal to the Republic they actually are. I absolutely SLAMMED through this fic, it's so good. Despite some of its heavier themes, it's honestly very sweet and wholesome with lots of cute Luke and Leia, some incredibly wonderful romances, and really interesting worldbuilding for this just slightly to the left version of the gffa. Anakin never makes an appearance in this, but he does get mentioned a few times for his betrayal and his part in the current state of the galaxy, and I REALLY loved that at no point in this fic was it ever important to either twin who their biological parents were.

ring the bells that can still ring by rain_sleet_snow (22k): Reva's been working with the Rebellion in-between the events of the Kenobi show and A New Hope, but when she hears Obi-Wan has made an appearance recently and goes to try to find him, she discovers Luke and Leia instead, with nobody left to train them but her. This fic was like a warm bread roll or a perfectly brewed cup of tea, it was just absolutely wholesome and exactly everything I could have wanted from this concept. The relationships between Luke, Leia, and Reva are both hilarious and sweet while allowing their respective traumas to still remain relevant to their journey together. Their discussions about Darkness, Reva's past, Obi-Wan, Anakin, the Jedi, and the events of A New Hope are all heart-wrenching and really feel so in-character but also so in line with the tone of the original trilogy. I could sit here and list things I liked about this fic all day, but it'd be faster to just read it yourself.

[bracketsoffear]

HOW is skeevy sheevy not absolutely Sweeping his poll. Palpatine/Sidious is like. The Web Archetype™ and one of the most well known master manipulators in fiction. He basically played 7-D chess with an entire galaxy over several decades in one of the most convoluted yet wildly successful Grand Plans ever enacted. Played such a compelling role as his kindly, "doing what's best for the Republic" senator alter-ego that he convinced the senate to give him increasing amounts of power so much so that his transition into Emperor was met with wild applause. Every plan, no matter how big or small, had contingencies upon contingencies and often actually relied on the initial plan/s failing/being found out to ultimately succeed (see: his wildly convoluted plan to further sow mistrust between Anakin and Obi Wan (and the jedi in general) starting with him "revealing" that there is a Separatist plot to kidnap him, even though the entire thing is his idea).

His main target, and the one most aware of the terrifying amounts of control and puppeteering he has over the galaxy, are the jedi. Due to visions of Sidious's plans of war, Sifo-Dyas, a high ranking jedi, commissioned the clone army to prepare against this threat. However, Palpatine, upon learning about the army, orchestrated Sifo-Dyas's death and took over the project. This included embedding a behavioural modification chip containing 150 contingency orders that would override each clone's free will to enact whichever one was activated, including Order 66: the immediate execution of all jedi. Once the army was ready, Palpatine essentially forced the jedi to lead the army into war. If they had said no, they would have been painted as traitors, abandoning not only the Republic at their time of greatest need at the beginning of the war, but also the clones since for all intents and purposes, it was the jedi who commissioned them. Therefore, the jedi reluctantly took on the responsibility of the army and lead the fight against the Separatists, going entirely against their more pacifist principles. Despite their best efforts to stick to their principles and end the fighting as quickly and justly as possible, many jedi were lost, either Falling to the dark side, leaving the order and/or killed. The jedi in general suffered as a whole, their entire way of life warped by this horrid war, and the public turning against them with help from Palpatine's machinations. Despite knowing that the origins of the clone army and the war in general are incredibly suspect and most likely due to Darth Sidious, the jedi feel trapped in their new role. Even when they do find out who is behind everything and try to do something about it, they play right into Palpatine's hands, cementing themselves as "traitors" to the Republic and ensuring that their total destruction via Order 66 is met with support from the public.

Thus, Palpatine/Sidious is successful in completing a plan 1000 years since its conception, something no other Sith was even close to accomplishing, especially since said plan involves staying several steps ahead of people who can literally see into the future.

If the above doesn't already scream Web to you, then there's also the fact that Palpatine "uses personal attachments and motivations to manipulate people" on the regular, most notably in his grooming of Anakin Skywalker to become his next apprentice. Palpatine is intimately aware of Anakin's strong personal attachments, using them to sow seeds of doubt and mistrust against the jedi, egging Anakin on to prioritise them over his duties while also making Anakin doubt they care about him in return. This ultimately results in Anakin's Fall, when Palpatine implants visions of Padme dying in childbirth, making him desperate to do anything to prevent it, including Falling to the dark side and massacring the jedi in the hopes that Sidious will give him to knowledge to save Padme. However, he even turns against Padme, choking her in a rage when he believes she'd brought Obi Wan with her to kill him. Sidious uses this to his advantage when, upon Anakin/Vader's awakening from surgery, he informs him of his role in Padme's death, "this final loss sent Vader over the edge of pure wrath and anguish, completing his transition into the apprentice Sidious had spent decades grooming".

And to finish off, here's some excerpts from his Wookiepedia page and some quotes from the master web weaver himself:

"Sidious was, in fact, a skilled manipulator and strategist, having orchestrated countless events in the galaxy, from the Invasion of Naboo to the Clone Wars, while deceiving the Jedi, Senate, Republic, and even the Separatists, with the sole aim of increasing his own power. Even when something occurred that he did not initially plan for, the Sith Lord demonstrated that he was as adept at improvisation as he was at plotting, continuing to play his long game—a smart game—for power." "Among Sidious' most effective traits was his deeply manipulative nature, manipulating and deceiving both the Jedi and Separatists, seducing many parties with promises of power, prize, or even salvation to further his agenda. He enjoyed the rush manipulating others to his will gave him. Even so, he was annoyed by when his pawns, such as Nute Gunray, failed to understand the grand scope of his plans." "Sidious saw his allies as pawns that he could use for his grand plan, and was more than willing to dispose them if they no longer served a purpose. He kept his allies as long as they served his purpose, but cut them loose when their purpose was over." "He considered his manipulation to be a sharp knife that, when stabbed into another, took time for that individual to notice, only realizing they had spread what he deemed to be the infection of his manipulation when it was too late. Even if the way his manipulation spread surpised him, it always gave him joy. Manipulation was ultimately his favorite way to grow his power." "There is only one plan—one great design which shall govern the universe—mine." "As a dark apprentice, I sensed that the Galactic Republic was in disarray. Its delegates held no interest in the common good. They would be easy targets for my influence. Serving as a senator, I manipulated their greed in my favor. With each new act of legislation, I rose through their ranks. Total control of the galaxy's governing body drew ever closer." "Orchestrating a conflict on my homeworld of Naboo, I sowed the seeds of civil unrest. Chaos erupted within the Senate—a chaos I controlled on every front."

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[newswcanonprompts]

Skywalkers are immortal eldritch fucks (there’s so many ways this can go)

1. How does being half-force affect Anakin as a force ghost

Anakin... wasn't properly dead. just a bit too present, a bit too lively, and that if only someone pulled hard enough on the veil, he could be made to bleed again.

Anakin just keeps coming back to life, And so do Luke and Leia when they die.

"You've done it, you've killed Anakin fucking Skywalker. Wait, why is he standing behind you? Where's his body gone? Oh fuck, what is that expression? Oh no!"

This happens to Vader and terrifies the f*ck out of literally everyone

the man is the son of the Force, yes? how could he "become one with it" if he basically already was part of it? or at least, made of it?

It'd be either kinda horrifying or basically a regenerate-your-limbs get out of jail free card

Anakin turns up in Luke's temple one day, like "hey turns out I can't die"

Luke is just happy to have a Dad

imagine the backlash if that little factoid ever went public. "What do you mean Darth Vader can't die???"

"You mean he's alive right now????"

Obi-Wan realising he can't have a peaceful retirement in the afterlife because Anakin's apparently immortal now

Anakin starts trying to figure out how to make Obi wan immortal too

Ahsoka is so confused at everything

"You look a lot like the Hero with No Fear from the Clone Wars. Are you his grandson or something?" 

"Nope, I am him." 

"Freaking weird Jedi and their not aging."

 2. how terrifying it would have been if during the Dooku fight in AOTC his arm just regrew the moment it was cut off

3. them realizing this during the clone wars: CHECKMATE BITCHES

imagine the propaganda if there was a General who literally couldn't die

the Seperatists wouldn't know which way was up anymore

Anakin realised he had this sort of ability during the clone wars it would be hilarious to see him just throwing himself at things

he could protect his men better

Imagine how distressing it would be for a shiny to just see their general die and then come back seconds later

And Rex being like "Yep, the general does that."

just rubbing his eyes. and being completely done

Imagine the bitching sessions with Cody "At least yours resurrects! Mine just runs off without his kriffing lightsaber and armor all the time!"

clone boys have a heart attack whenever their general just decides to regrow limbs

rex faints the first time he sees anakin's arm grow back.

instead of the whole "my general keeps losing his lightsaber" it becomes "my general keeps losing his arm"

"My general keeps dying."

"Oh, how many have you been assigned to now?"

"No, no, he gets better again afterwards."

the 501st never tell the shinies that their general is immortal because the vets like to fuck around like that

it's kind of a right of passage for shinies to almost have a heart attack when the general comes back from the dead

Anakin is basically just the "if all else fails" option at that point because no matter what happens to him, he will be back at the temple annoying the hell out of everyone before dinner time

Anakin gets mortally wounded and is like "Well, I'll see you in five."

Droids: * shoot Anakin *

 * Anakin: * dies * 

Anakin, 5 minutes later in the middle of a crowd of droids: SURPRISE BITCHES!! * Murders them all *

Anakin dying to Dooku at the end of Attack of the Clones and then coming back and Dooku just being like "Fuck this shit I'm out."

him coming back and chasing dooku with his arm

Imagine the moment they find out Anakin can come back from the dead:

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan just sobbing their hearts out and then suddenly he's behind them like "Hey, bold of you to presume I'm mortal."

He pulls a Percy Jackson, and walks into his funeral.

mace windu utters a quiet "are you fucking kidding me"

next time anakin dies, his funeral includes a "welcome home anakin" banner

Mace stops letting the Yoda Lineage have funerals because they don't stay dead

They keep having funerals for Anakin just as an excuse to have a party

what if politicians don't know this. like the first time he dies during the war, and all the diplomats are there. Except Padme. She knows all and is just there to see the chaos.

They're usually private funerals, so they can keep inviting new people to screw with

"general skywalker just died"

"senator he's right here"

"i saw him die protecting me right before my eyes"

"senator do you need the healers?"

Obi-Wan, just watched Anakin go splat at the bottom of a ravine:

“ANAKIN!!”

Anakin, popping back into the mortal coil just behind him: “Yeah? What's up?”

obi-wan finding out about a Anakins thing and keeping it a secret,

so one day anakin dies and the whole council is like, mourning

obi-wan is just rolling his eyes and saying “it’s fine he’ll be back”

everyone thinks obi-wans having a mental breakdown

but then anakin walks into his funeral with a cup of caf and sunglasses and flashes everyone a peace sign

All of Yoda’s lineage (except dooku) and padme know.

"can you guys not cover me in white next time? it's pretty boring"

"can i get, like, glitter? is that a thing? make it a thing"

Skywalkers can also breath in space.

They just don’t have to breathe. 

4. THE FORCE IS A PROACTIVE PARENT IN THIS (AND AGENDER) (THEY/THEM PRONOUNS)

during the time it takes for him to resurrect, the force and anakin talked.

Bc that's the only time he could talk with a tangible parent.

he learns about palps that way

one time Anakin dies twice in one day

turns out the ability has a bit of a cooldown time so everyone's just panicking a bit because he should be back by now

then he appears like three days later

Obi-Wan's like "You bastard."

"Gotta keep you on your toes."

Really his parent just wanted some more time with him, and who was he to refuse?

a cracky! anakin basically having annual dinners with The Force because of how often he dies in the clone wars

in this verse the clone wars was created so Anakin & his parent The Force can have family dinners

Mortis, but instead of All That Nonsense, it's just a nice episode of meet the parent

padme dies, and then at her funeral she comes back, but force sensitive.

force sensitive, immortal, padme amidala. The seppies are going DOWN

The Force wills Padme to die because The Force wants to meet their daughter in law

It does this for basically everyone Anakin cares about

sometimes anakin and padme just drop dead, and wake up a few hours later bc they had a family dinner to get to.

"I'm going to kill you" is suddenly the literal way for Anakin to say "I love you"

Anakin dies on Mandalore and Satine witnesses it and she's horrified and doesn't know what to tell Obi-Wan but then she sees Obi-Wan talking to Anakin and she's so confused

So if anakin kills you and you’re someone he cares about you come back to life immortal.

Death By Skywalker basically being a way of becoming immortal is gonna fuck with the war so much

when Palpatine tells Anakin to kill all the jedi he thinks Palpatine is telling him to invite all the jedi to his Force Family Dinner

One day the entire Jedi temple just dies all at once, and comes back a couple hours later, to the confusion of literally everyone (including the Jedi)

yoda is frequently killed to spend time with the force because after 900 years the two of them are tight as fuck

Anakin doesn’t have attachment issues in this bc hey, people die all the time! :)

He also ends up being worshipped as a demigod.

More Angsty version of this: young anakin kills palps bc he thinks he'll resurrect, but then the tangible form of the force appears and explains that he was the sith master.

Palpatine would probably actually try to get Anakin to kill him, because hey! Free immortality! Don't mind if i do!

5. Imagine if this was something he discovered as a little kid. Anakin going off to visit Qui-Gon in the force and Obi-Wan wondering what eldritch beast he has ended up with as a padawan

"Anakin what are you doing?"

"I'm making master Qui-Gon a friendship bracelet?"

"...master qui gon?"

"yeah! i gave one to my parent yesterday and master qui-gon said he wanted one too!"

"Your parent? when exactly was this yesterday?"

anakin being a convoy for dead masters and their old padawans like Weed Dad qui gon jinn and his Struggling Son obi wan

anakin has two parents

Parent and Mom

[babblingbat]

Obviously this wouldn’t solve ALL the problems in star wars but like.  Imagine how much in star wars would be better if adults treated children like, dare I say it, actual children.

Like, if 9 year old baby Anakin Skywalker is brought to the Jedi Council and they say “you are practically an infant and require so much therapy for literally growing up in the worst environment in the world and regardless of what happens next we’ll make sure you end up somewhere safe”... idk what would HAPPEN but at least you wouldn’t be questioning this 9 year old’s right to like, exist outside of slavery.

Or! Obi-Wan in TPM! Granted, he’s like, 25 or something, but he’s also a dude who just became an adult in the eyes of the Jedi because his pseudo-dad died, so maybe don’t saddle him with responsibility right off the fucking bat.  Maybe he’d have fewer issues? Obi-Wan’s canonical childhood is already so incredibly fucked up, he doesn’t need more of this.

The clones! Those are children in adult’s bodies! Don’t send them to WAR are you KIDDING me they’re TEN.  Not to mention they have no rights, aren’t paid, are barely considered sentient, and aren’t given a choice about being cannon fodder in the eyes of the government.  THEY’RE CHILDREN.

The padawans! ALSO CHILDREN.  And you don’t even have the excuse that they look like adults here or that they’ve been trained for war since ever (again, what the fuck).  Ahsoka was FOURTEEN when people said “yeah we can send this kid into an active war zone” and DID.  And initiates can become padawans as young as ten years old! Somewhere in the clone wars there are FIFTH GRADERS running around getting shot at and some of them have probably died because they’re IN A WAR ZONE.  If the Jedi pressured the senate a little and was like “no, actually, you can’t put CHILDREN in BATTLE there are LAWS against that”... well, they might not be successful, but the fact that they were just like, “I mean, lesser of two evils, its our duty to the republic, must be done I suppose” about the ENTIRE ORDER being-- what? conscripted? into the GAR is just... idk.  How can you possibly justify putting kids in war zones when they’re literally there as students who aren’t fully qualified, and then REPEATEDLY left to deal with things like this on their own.  I can understand it if the galaxy was a little chiller and it was more of “yes padawan mine sort out this trade disagreement I’ll be monitoring but it’s your show” that’s fine.  That’s a good learning experience.  But you can’t leave the equivalent of a high school freshman in the middle of hostile territory and be shocked when something goes wrong.

Also, just in general, the idea of children being capable soldiers at all is awful! And, I would think, something that the Jedi Council would disapprove of! Oh, you look out for the interests of other people? Hm, why do you, General Jedi #6, have a middle schooler with you? HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THIS

More specifically... Ahsoka was the age of a high school sophmore/young junior when she was ARRESTED AND TRIED FOR TERRORISM as the Jedi Council tried to make a point about not being soft on their own members during war.  How callous do you have to be to not show compassion to a, again, LITERAL NON-ADULT who must have so much PTSD already and then just go “in fact, we’re going to arrest you for MURDER” as if her life couldn’t get any worse, only to then not give her ANY support after leaving.  That’s not an adult, there! That is a TALL CHILD with laser swords and a lifetime voucher for therapy!

And looping back around to between TPM and AOTC, people let Palpatine talk to a ten year old? Repeatedly? Like, the amount of interest that this elderly man is showing in a middle schooler should definitely raise some eyebrows, regardless of sithy dramatic irony.  Anakin is a CHILD and, if I recall correctly, Palpatine, like, threatens the Jedi order in order to speak with him alone? No one said, “no actually we’re calling the police because this REEKS of come into my white panel van child I have toffee energy”? No one wondered why on earth this guy who runs the galaxy wants to speak to this random snot nosed kid? For crying out loud, no one says “hey mr. Chancellor, I think you probably have like 5 million better things to do than chat up an infant”? hell on earth, no one even does THAT much, which isn’t so much looking out for Anakin as it is wondering why the chancellor isn’t doing his job! TAKE CARE OF YOUR FUCKING CHILDREN, STAR WARS UNIVERSE, BEDAMNED HYPERFIXATION

[gffa]

ALL RIGHT THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG, BUT BEAR WITH ME.  I rewatched all of The Clone Wars recently and it was a great way to look at both the details of each episode and get a sense for the bigger arc, because I was watching them all at once, both The Wrong Jedi arc and the Protocol 66 arc, the latter of which I think is super important to the context of the former, especially because they are right next to each other in the course of the series. Here’s the thing that surprised me the most about this arc:  Ahsoka immediately didn’t trust anyone when she was framed.  She instantly went on the run instead, she never tried to contact any of the other Jedi, not the Council, not even her own Master.  She immediately ran and never put her trust in anyone else.  I don’t know that this was the narrative intention, I would almost put money on that it’s probably not, but sometimes in writing characters when you’re true to them and how they would react, unintentional themes will rear their heads and be just as important. Now, she’s not necessarily wrong to have done this, because we’ll see Fives does trust in the system and he’s murdered for it anyway.  Would Ahsoka have turned out the same?  Possibly, she’s definitely not wrong about the system being stacked against her.  But ultimately its not her own efforts that save her, but Anakin’s investigating as her Master.  Possibly not, she doesn’t have a chip in her head that leads straight to Order 66 and Darth Sidious himself making sure she absolutely has to die.  Oh, he wouldn’t have minded, but it wasn’t his direct goal. Ahsoka has a right to feel wary, because Anakin didn’t go visit her while she was in jail.  Anakin’s right, they absolutely would have used it against her, it would have made her look even more guilty, and he was trying to give her the absolute best shot possible.  This is almost assuredly the same exact reason the Jedi don’t go visit her after she’s expelled, because they do protest the entire way and a huge point is made about how she needs to get a fair trial, that the Senate is forcing them to expel her so that the Jedi won’t be accused of not taking this seriously, because they’re in a war and sedition/treason is an incredibly huge deal. And that’s also the thing--it’s easy to say that they should have stuck by Ahsoka (and I don’t disagree, they don’t disagree, they directly apologize to her for all of this!) but it’s still true that the Jedi were absolutely railroaded here.  They worked to keep this a Jedi matter, but Tarkin and the Senate said that it involved the deaths of clones and Republic citizens, so she had to face a Republic trial.  This is brought up like four separate times over the course of the arc, that the Jedi do not really have jurisdiction here.  (And, yes, they did try to keep her there--that’s the whole point of showing Tarkin forcibly strong-arming them and saying what they believe doesn’t matter.  That’s the whole point of Mace saying, “Let’s hope we can keep her here.”) This is also why the Protocol 66 arc is so important--Shaak Ti practically breaks her back trying to get Tup and Fives to the Jedi and she is roadblocked at almost every single turn or else plotted against behind her back to literally kidnap them away from her.  She argues that they have jurisdiction here as Generals in the war, but the Kaminoans argue right back that the clones belong to them, and then the Chancellor’s office gets involved and there’s even less chance to get them to the Jedi, because the Senate’s involved now and what they say goes more than anything. Further, these two arcs are important as bookends to each other in two really important ways: 1.  Each of them has a moment where the fugitive is finally caught.  Ahsoka dives down into the lower levels of Coruscant to evade capture.  Fives makes his case to Shaak Ti, who says she’ll take this seriously. They both ask a Jedi to trust them, but one turns himself over and one goes on the run.  Again, who’s to say if Ahsoka made the better choice, because she is the one who lives, but Fives was basically dead the moment he started looking into this, no matter what.  The point isn’t the outcome, but more that the Jedi don’t just throw him to the wolves, they fight to take this seriously and fight to find out the truth.

2.  The cases against Fives and Ahsoka have some really fascinating parallels in that they’re both accused of a murder they didn’t commit (against Letta, against the Supreme Chancellor) and there’s footage of them running/seemingly attacking others along the way. This is important because, if you strip away the context of what we, the audience knows, Ahsoka looks incredibly guilty. There’s footage of her apparently choking Letta to death.

She runs away from the Jedi from the moment she’s set-up, even not trusting her own Master.  She refuses to turn herself in or even contact them to tell them her side of things. There are dead clones in the path she takes out of the detention center, which appear to have been killed by a Force-wielder. She’s seen working and escaping with a known Separatist terrorist--because they have no way of knowing that Ventress has broken with the Separatists.  Ahsoka herself says, in this arc, that she never saw her and Ventress working together, showing that it’s pretty hard to believe even when you’re in the middle of it, much less from the outside!

Eventually, she’s found and captured, while in possession of the very nano-droids that were used to blow up Jackar Bowmani in the Jedi Temple. If you take out the context of us seeing Ahsoka’s reactions and how she put these pieces together (which no one else in universe would know), it isn’t just the frame job that makes her look guilty, but that her own actions contribute to the way this looks from a distance.  The evidence that piles up is really damning, that it’s not just one or two coincidental things, but an entire case against her! But they know Ahsoka, they have to know she couldn’t have gone to the dark side like that! And that’s why the beginning of this arc has a line that’s so easy to miss but it’s so important:

“There are many political idealists among us.”  “But a traitor?”  “I’m afraid one can eventually become the other.  Remember Count Dooku and General Krell.  That’s how they started too.” This has already happened before, that someone they thought they could trust turned out to be capable of terrible things.  This entire arc cannot exist without the context of knowing that there is a Jedi in the Temple right now who is betraying them, that if Barriss had been in Ahsoka’s position for all of this, it would be entirely possible that she would have acted the same way from an outsider point of view.  And how easy is it for us, even knowing that she absolutely is guilty, before we watched the end of this arc, to go, “But Barriss would never do that!  I cannot believe she would have fallen so far!” It also cannot exist without the context of another important thing--and this was a deliberate detail put into the episode, as Dave Filoni comments on in one of the featurettes for this arc, how they deliberately had Anakin chasing her, because it was a moment of foreshadowing for Darth Vader to be chasing a Jedi down. Darth Vader looms over this arc in a way that deepens the context.  Darth Vader, who is right there and the Jedi are trusting him, too.  Trusting him to be impartial when looking into whether a Jedi was behind the bombing.  Trusting him to be impartial when chasing after Ahsoka: Mace:  “I think it would be best if Skywalker stayed here. Having you involved may actually make things worse.” Anakin:  “Master Windu, with all due respect, she is my Padawan.” Mace:  “The reason for you not to go.” Obi-Wan:  “I think we're being foolish if we take Anakin off this mission. Who knows her better?” Mace:  “He's emotionally tied to her. Probably too emotional to do what needs to be done.” Anakin:  “I'd rather capture Ahsoka and find out the truth then let her run because of a lie.” Yoda:  “You must prove to us that you will stay focused. Can you?” Anakin:  “I've already alerted security on the lower levels to be on the lookout for Ahsoka.” Yoda:  “Go swiftly then, Skywalker, and bring back this lost child before it is too late.” The point is that it’s incredibly hard to know who to trust, it’s easy to say with an omniscient point of view of the entire story and 20/20 hindsight, but they have concrete examples of people who have betrayed their trust before, so it’s entirely reasonable for them to recognize that someone else may betray them, too.  That talking to them and showing that you’re willing to extend trust, that you’re willing to do this with a clear focus, is what gains their trust.  And, yeah, for all that the context of Darth Vader is hanging over this arc, it’s also true that they’re right to trust Anakin in this moment.  It’s his actions that save Ahsoka and bring the truth to light. As a fun bonus, this is all while the Force is so clouded with the dark side that Mace already said way back in Attack of the Clones, at the start of the war, that their ability to use the Force is diminished.  The psychic stress that must put on them (as people who can feel the entire weight of a planet on their minds), that the normal non-psychic stress of being in a war that there are too few of them and they’re dying in it is already pushing them to their limits, including that the dark side is hampering their ability to cut through the fog, it’s reasonable not to blindly trust people.  Baby Darth Vader being right there is a giant neon flashing light pointing to this. They want to treat Ahsoka fairly, but she isn’t giving them anything to work with, because she doesn’t trust them, either.  Which is why I keep coming back to that line she says when she leaves Anakin and the Jedi, her reason for doing it: “Why are you doing this?” “The Council didn't trust me, so how can I trust myself?”

Earlier, she says, “I don’t know who to trust!”  Then she begs Anakin to trust her.  And ultimately she doesn’t know if even she can do that.  Because trust is at the heart of this entire storyline. The opening quotes reflect this very nicely, too: 5.19 – Sometimes even the smallest doubt can shake the greatest belief. 5.18 – Courage begins by trusting oneself. 5.19 – Never become desperate enough to trust the untrustworthy. 5.20 – Never give up hope, no matter how dark things seem. An interesting note from one of the featurettes as well is that, originally, Ahsoka was going to rejoin the Jedi Order and that was going to be that.  They changed their minds because the opportunity to do something else with Ahsoka was more tempting.  Which says to me that this wasn’t an arc about exposing a fundamental eventuality, but instead about a far more complicated situation. Again, Ahsoka’s not entirely wrong or right in the way she goes about this.  We can’t say for certain what would have happened if she’d trusted other people, all we can say is that she didn’t trust any one when she ran, that ultimately that she doesn’t feel she can trust herself by the end of it and Anakin was the one who finally cleared her name, not her own efforts.  That she shows incredible fortitude for not giving in to the dark side, even when she was isolated. By the same token, the Jedi aren’t entirely right or wrong in the way they go about this.  I do think they should have visited her, even though Tarkin would almost assuredly have used it against Ahsoka to make her look guilty, but to say that they just abandoned her and never tried to help her, that they totally betrayed her when she was clearly so innocent, that they never even said sorry--that’s incorrect, too. Both sides were right and wrong.  It’s easy for us to feel for Ahsoka because we love her and her goodbye is incredibly heartbreaking, it’s so easy to trust her when we’re shown all the scenes of how this connects together and we see her reactions, that the story trusts us to let us in on her side of the events that happen.  It’s so easy because she feels very vulnerable and she was a victim of a really shitty situation.  It’s so easy because this is an incredibly harrowing experience for her and she stayed true to the light through it, through her own resilience. But stepping back from those feelings, hard as it was for me to do, let me see that Ahsoka failed in some important ways as well as that the Council failed in some important ways and that's why she herself decides that she needs to go figure herself out on her own, away from the Council and even away from Anakin, who was the one that always believed she was innocent and trusted her.  Because it wasn’t just about other people, it was about her and her own actions. I had all of this put together just from watching these two arcs, but then I started watching the story reels, including, “In Search of the Crystal” where Obi-Wan and Anakin have a conversation about Ahsoka leaving and Obi-Wan says, “I will grant you mistakes we made but she chose to leave.  Part of the Jedi way is not letting emotion cloud your better judgement.  And that's precisely what Ahsoka did. Even in her most critical moment.”

Not too long ago I was watching the featurette for “The Lawless” where Dave talked about Obi-Wan (more in the context of how he cannot embrace the dark side) and how the events were written to show that he’s a true Jedi, that he sticks to the bigger themes of Star Wars, which that’s how Dave sees Obi-Wan. I was reminded of that, in that Obi-Wan is, for all that we give him shit about the “from a certain point of view” line, actually a really reliable narrator when it comes to emotion and how it can cloud a Force-sensitive person’s mind. Obi-Wan’s right, especially because it’s pretty easy to make the inference that he’s one of the Council who voted in favor of Ahsoka, that he believed in her, even as he recognizes that her emotions clouded her judgement.  Even in her most critical moment. And when I went back to do my rewatch of The Clone Wars and these arcs, that became a lot clearer when I stepped back from my own emotional reactions to how much I love her and think she’s an incredible, good-hearted, kind, and compassionate person.  Because even the best of people can be both wrong and right at the same time.

[disneydreamlights]

Anidala Fic Recs

I got asked for fic recs for these. NSFW will be in a private post (that I’ll make later GOING THROUGH YOUR AO3 HISTORY IS TEDIOUS) for easy DMing purposes. All recs under a read more.

So first for authors:

Just about anything by SkywalkersAmidala and Gemma’s Writing (@gemmaswriting​)

Everything I’ve read by them is absolutely fantastic, and believe me, I’ve read pretty much everything from them. Multiple times in some cases. They’re just very good. SkywalkersAmidala in most cases writes more silly lighthearted AUs and Gemma’s Writing does a bit of everything, all of which are good.

Padme Lives/Anakin Doesn’t Fall:

(Anything on my Vaderdala fic recs list, you need Padme alive for Vaderdala)

Precipice by Shadowsong26

An AU in which Anakin Skywalker does not follow Mace Windu and the others to Palpatine’s office after they leave to arrest the Chancellor. As a result, he doesn’t get that final push over the edge, and doesn’t Fall.

(Padme returns to the Senate with Luke, Anakin to lead the Rebels with Leia. Things get better is the absolute best way to summary this one.)

To These Memories by KatieRoseFun

After Darth Sidious is defeated, everything changes. Some for the better, others not so much. Mostly better though. (Or: Anakin becomes a dad. Rex rehabilitates clone troopers who no longer want to be a part of the army. Ahsoka gets a call from an old friend. And maybe Obi-Wan finds out it’s not just his enemies who don’t stay dead. Basically, everyone gets the happy ending they deserve.)

Pocket Full of Sand Verse by Philthestone

Anakin goes missing, Padme is captured, and this causes Leia Skywalker and Luke Amidala to meet.

Clash of Fates by AliceBDS (In Progress) 

Sometimes, the course of life is changed with one decision.

When Ahsoka Tano requests the help of her former master in liberating Mandalore, a twist of destiny sends them to Coruscant to rescue Chancellor Palpatine instead, altering the course of galactic history forever.

When Dead Men Walk by Ellapromachos

Anakin hesitates just a few minutes longer, and the entire galaxy is better for it.

or; Anakin is at the Temple for Order 66, but not as Darth Vader. And when Palpatine comes for him, he plays his cards just a little bit better. He digs his heels in, and prepares for the long con.

My Loyalties Lie by Stranestelle (In Progress)

When Anakin initially rejects Palpatine's offer to 'help' him, the Sith Lord, in a rare moment of hastiness, ships him off to Kamino to have a control chip implanted.

Nobody Needs to Know by Elizaham8957

The twins are born in the middle of the Clone Wars, and Anakin and Padmé try to continue hiding the fact that they're married and now have two children.

Nobody buys it. Like, seriously, nobody.

Hunter by Zinoviev

Leia is offered a chance to escape Bespin when Boba Fett enlists her help to prevent Luke from falling into Vader's clutches. She has plenty of questions, however. Who is this mysterious bounty hunter, and what does he want with her friend?

The Bantha in the Room by Estrangedlestrange

concept: anakin sitting in the council room bouncing baby luke on his knees as he adamantly denies having children or attachments

Time Travel:

Stand the Hazard of the Die by KeelieThompson1

Baby Luke is sent back in time by Obi-Wan to the prequel era. Needless to say, things change.

Just One Wish by LadyVader23

On a trip to Dathomir, Anakin Skywalker finds a spell that will grant him one wish. Anxious to return home, he wishes for a way to end the war. As a result, he ends up accidentally kidnapping his future children...moments after they've escaped Bespin. Luke is quite done dealing with his mess of a father, and Leia is convinced telling the future Darth Vader about the future will only make it worse. Desperate, Anakin calls in the only person they might listen to: Padme Amidala. Too bad Padme has a surprise of her own...

Temper With the Stars by Pipionem

After being pulled through the World between Worlds, Ahsoka finds herself in the final days of the Clone Wars, on a Separatist ship holding the recently kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Saving the galaxy from the horrors to come is a lot to get done in a week, but Ahsoka has lost everything before - this time, she won't let that happen. Of course, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

Skywalker Family Fics:

Skywalker Family Values by Ariel_Sojourner

Camp Chippewa is proud to be the Empire’s foremost camp resort for privileged young adults. Located on the picturesque forest moon of Endor, your child will have the opportunity to participate in wholesome outdoor activities and socialize appropriately with their peers. We invite your offspring to join us for the experience of a lifetime and a bright future in service of the greater glory of the Empire.

On opposite sides of the galaxy, on opposite sides of a civil war, Darth Vader and Padme Amidala unwittingly send Luke and Leia to the same camp during school break. Chaos naturally ensues.

Mild AU:

Desideratum by Sithanakin (In Progress)

As a young Initiate in the midst of a childish crush, Padmé had always dreamt of Anakin Skywalker becoming her Master. But she was to turn thirteen too early for that to be possible.

Then, at sixteen, she loses her Master in the battle of Geonosis. In the confusion of all her grief, she does not expect newly-knighted Anakin Skywalker to offer to take her on as his Padawan.

The Wise Thing by Stranestelle

Warning: Very dark, not happy ending.

Padmé Amidala may not be all she seems. Anakin Skywalker wears his heart on his sleeve. People have crushes every day, it’s not the end of the world. Is it?

or, if you will, a sith!Padmé AU

Bonded by Betts

(Okay I’ll out myself slightly with smut but just one on my mostly SFW recs.)

Padmé had always been better at the mental half of the Jedi code—coercion, manipulation, meditation. Anakin had always been better at the physical half—beating shit up with his lightsaber.

Heirs to the Empire by Aldojlc

Alternate Universe. En route to Endor, Luke, Leia, and Han during the events of ROTJ find themselves transported into a different universe and a different Empire, with a different Vader.

Heavy AUs:

(it’s not so bad) being dead like me by Estrangedlestrange

Recently deceased Anakin Skywalker (killed in an taco truck explosion) finds himself not in the after life but recruited as the newest member of the undead, he’s become a grim reaper. He’s told that it’s his destiny but really he thinks it’s just rotten luck. Rotten except for the fact that one of his fellow reapers is Padmé Amidala, the most beautiful woman Anakin’s has seen, dead or alive. As he struggles to come to grips with his death and his new role in the universe, Anakin finds that taking souls isn’t the easiest job out there, he also finds himself falling in love.

Skyborn by Silverdaye

Senator Padmé Amidala enjoys spending her time in a bookstore, one made of real flimsi books where each one costs a small fortune. It is there she meets a strange man, Anakin Skywalker, who is searching for long forgotten planet, Kesh. 4,500 years ago a ship crashed on Kesh. The survivors told the natives they were their gods, the Skyborn. Anakin is one of them.

For Even the Very Wise Cannot See All Ends by UncorrectGrammar

When people think of Anakin Skywalker, they think of the Chosen One, the Hero With No Fear. They think of an accomplished duelist, of the best flyer in Hogwarts, of the prophesized savior of the wizarding world.

They don’t think of gardens diligently kept or dirt under fingernails.

Or: Anakin Skywalker and his legacy. Hogwarts AU.

General Prequel Era (Non Anidala Centric, but still contain Anidala)

Like Fire In Our Bones by AcuteNeurosis

With all of the most important things in the galaxy literally exploding around her, Leia is given the chance to go back and help keep a promise she never personally made.

But then, for Skywalkers, saving the galaxy was always a family matter.

Well It Goes Like This by Corde_and_Dorme

At the end of it all, the thing is: Palpatine breaks his heart.

(or the one where Anakin makes the hard choice, the right choice, the other choice. Then he keeps making it.)

Vode An by Epsiloneridani

There are millions of lives on the line, clone and Jedi alike. Every second brings them one step closer to the chip's activation - one step closer to the endgame. The truth is shrouded in secrecy and clouded by doubt. The clock's ticking down.

It's a race against time.

Fives is gone. Echo finds the courage to ask why.

Bonus: ObiAnidala

For We Are A Woven Thread; Find the Strand by Shadowsong26

The night before Obi-Wan was to leave for Utapau, he and Anakin and Padme agreed that, regardless of the Council's orders, Anakin should go as well. They split up over the course of the battle--and when Order 66 is given, they cannot find one another in the chaos; Padme, on Coruscant, is left with the knowledge that neither of them is coming back.

This story covers the next four years in their lives; how they survived and coped with the loss; how they began to fight back--and how they found their way home.

[jgvfhl]

An Awkward Bly One Shot

The war had officially been over for a couple months now, and, while there were still small conflicts around the galaxy to put down the last of the Separatist resistance, for the most part, it was oddly peaceful. Odd to the clones, anyway. The Senate was still a mess after the reveal of Chancellor Palpatine’s true nature, but luckily, Bly wasn’t a senator, and he was more than happy to act as a makeshift security detail for General Secura while the Jedi Council went through much the same process of sorting through the mess they’d been left with. Until the entire Coruscant Guard had been through surgery to remove those kriffing inhibitor chips, the Jedi weren’t taking any risks. The generals had sent their commanders for treatment almost immediately after the discovery, so she was safe with him.

Still, that didn’t change the whole “she’s a Jedi” thing. Jedi weren’t supposed to have attachments, and they both knew that, of course. But ever since the scare with the chips, Bly had been loathe to leave her side, and as long as they kept up the appearance of security, she assured him he wouldn’t have to.

The Jedi had arranged places for the commanders to stay within the temple, which had led to some awkward exchanges between batchmates who hadn’t spoken to each other in months or even years. Thankfully, Cody and Wolffe were nowhere near each other, or the others might have had to stage an intervention. However, being across the temple from her was too far for Bly’s comfort, and of course she had noticed, because she noticed everything.

So that was how he had ended up here, gently prying strong blue arms from around his bare torso so he could dress and leave in time to dissuade suspicion.

Aayla’s brows scrunched together and she gave a quiet hum, still half asleep, but aware he was leaving. He tore his eyes off her to glance at the clock on the bedside table. Oh kriff, how--how was it that late?

Quickly, he pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered, “I’m late; I’ll see you soon.” He received a mumble and a small smile in return.

Within two minutes, Bly stuck his head out from the doorway of Aayla’s room, checking to see if anyone was around yet. Luckily, no one was, and he slipped out silently, letting the door slide close and lock behind him. Careful to keep quiet and calm so as not to draw attention to himself, he followed a path back to the commanders’ rooms that avoided main thoroughfares and meeting places. Aayla had shown several to him, to keep him out of trouble.

He was approaching a T-intersection, and he slowed his pace, listening intently for approaching footsteps. Bly was an unfortunately bad liar, so he preferred to have some warning in case he needed to make something up on the spot. However, he heard nothing, so he continued, turning left at the corner.

Of course, the one thing he wouldn’t have heard was another ARC trooper silently listening from the other corridor, which was why colliding with a clone was such a surprise.

Bly stumbled back, adrenaline rushing his system in a heartbeat. He looked up at the man he’d encountered, and his heart stopped. He froze where he stood, already feeling his face turning an embarrassing shade of red.

It was Cody.

Of all his batchmates, it had to be Cody.

For what felt like a small eternity, neither of them spoke, staring in barely-concealed shock at the other. Bly could feel his heart pounding in his chest, because it was one thing to get caught by a Jedi and have to explain why he was sneaking around the temple this early in the morning, but it was quite another to find Cody, who had no doubt heard plenty of rumors about Bly and his general throughout the war and who would not let him live this down. Ever.

On top of that, Bly was very aware that in his haste to leave Aayla’s room, he hadn’t exactly taken the time to perfect his attire. His shirt wasn’t buttoned all the way up--something he never had to deal with wearing blacks, dammit--and he’d only bothered to tuck in the front, and it in no way looked purposeful. Any soldier of his station wouldn’t be caught dead looking like this. And Cody knew that.

In the third second of staring at each other, Bly finally bothered to look at Cody, seeing past his own panic at being caught. He narrowed his eyes slightly. Cody kept a tight ship--as did all the commanders--yet his appearance was showing more and more similarities to Bly’s by the second. His shirt, while it had no buttons to leave undone, was tucked haphazardly into his pants, which were likewise tucked haphazardly into his boots, like he had dressed in a hurry. So far, few clones were as quick changing in and out of civvies as they were with blacks and armor. However, as if to make up for the lack of buttons on the shirt, the vest he had become strangely fond of over the past few weeks was only buttoned in two places, and mismatched places at that.

They still stared.

Finally, Cody moved, using ARC sign to silently communicate. Cody made loose fists and traced two circles over his cheeks. “Bly.”

Bly hated the name sign his batchmates had given him. He couldn’t change it, of course, but it still made him bristle. It was a jab at how easily he blushed. Bly signed back, making two fists, laying the left palm up, the right facing his body, and striking his wrists together. “Cody.”

After another tense few seconds, Cody asked, “How’s General Secura?”

Bly felt his face somehow get redder. “Fine, how’s General Kenobi?” he replied, his hands moving rapidly. He wasn’t the only subject of rumors flying around the GAR. He watched Cody tense when he recognized his general’s name sign. Gotcha.

Another beat of silence went by before Cody signed, “Asleep.”

They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds longer. At length, Bly offered, “Keep this classified?” He knew Cody probably shared the desire to keep his Jedi out of trouble for having “attachments” to--well, anyone.

Cody nodded. “Affirmative.”

Cautiously, they sidestepped each other, switching places in the hall so they could each continue on their way. Eye contact didn’t break between them until they were backing away from each other down respective corridors. When Bly finally turned his back on Cody, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. In his years serving the Republic on the frontlines and nearly dying every other week, he could safely say battle wasn’t nearly as awful as that exchange had just been. Maybe because he’d been trained for battle. How to Keep Calm When Your Batchmate Discovers Your Relationship with Your Jedi General wasn’t exactly in any reg manual.

You’re welcome, it’s done. This is likely the shortest piece of writing I’ve ever created. Literally. @sw-maddie @vitodelaney @littlevodika @persaloodles @raf-loves-everything @paragosm @im-x-winging-it @mayorandqueenofthelost @ct7567329 @big1ron @mun-of-501st-verified @darksabered

[ariainstars]

Star Wars or Why Rebellions Are Necessary

There was a lot that irritated me with the ending of the Star Wars sequels, among other things considering that they were supposed to be a wrap-up of the saga. But you know what… Looking back now, one of the things most I miss is the rebellion.

In many ways, the saga is a coming-of-age story through three generations; but it seems that in the case of the third generation, the journey to adulthood was aborted. (Is it a coincidence that the erstwhile Rebellion, under Leia Organa’s leadership, is called not Rebellion but Resistance?)

Every generation - this also applies to our own world - has and needs dynamics of some kind. The world keeps changing, and we need to change accordingly. Many people unfortunately adopt some mindset or other (of their own, or instilled into them by people they trust) and stick with it for the rest of their lives. This is one of the main reasons why children and their new, fresh points of view are so extremely important.

“I believe that you are redeemed by your children.” George Lucas

Prequels

Anakin Skywalker is often accused of being a whiny, perpetually dissatisfied brat both by the Jedi Council and by the audience.

But on watching the prequels again, after some years and distance, the Old Republic gave me the distinct impression of a stagnant society on the verge of its breakdown, very far removed from the peaceful world Obi-Wan Kenobi had described to Luke when they first talked on Tatooine. And Anakin rebels against it right from the start. 

Anakin repeatedly chafes against the restrictions of the world around him. He wants to be free and also to free his mother; the Jedi’s strict code of non-attachment paired with their conviction of being always right drives him downright mad. This reaches a painful peak on the terrible night he has to watch his mother die a cruel, senseless death.

The unpopular truth is that Anakin is right when he accuses Obi-Wan of holding him back. This may be jealousy the way he claims (and indeed Anakin repeatedly proves to be stronger than his master); in any case, Obi-Wan is clearly not much inclined to compassion. He is a dutiful man and he knows that the Jedi’s eyes are on him as the master of the boy they didn’t want in the first place. He and the other Jedi know almost nothing besides their Code, having grown up in the Order from infancy. So, they struggle to keep things under control and to preserve the world they know the way it is. 

But this world also contains a lot of injustice: the Separatists do not want to leave the Republic without reason. The Jedi use the Force for their own purposes, instead of teaching the populations of the galaxy faith in it. Anakin is deliberately held back, kept down and even humiliated by the Jedi, the cunning Palpatine being the only one who shows him some respect. In the end, he is even denied the title of “master”, although he more than earned it (apart from everything else: risking his life over and over on the missions they sent him to). It is not hard to see that “he is too young” is only a lame excuse contrived by the Jedi to hide what Anakin suspected all along: that they don’t trust him. Anakin has an uncanny talent for seeing through the Jedi’s hypocrisy, and being both honest and bold, he often says what they don’t want to hear.

Created by the Force to bring Balance, Anakin derives his enormous power from both the Light and the Dark Side. The Jedi, who have made it their task to dedicate themselves to the Light Side only (completely ignoring the Dark Side), fear and shun him and never seem to ask themselves what is actually meant with the “Balance” of the old prophecy and why this must be “brought” from the outside. Obi-Wan’s last words to Anakin clearly say that according to him, the Dark Side has no right to exist. 

“You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them!” Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith 

The Jedi seem to have forgotten that the Force actually does not belong to them but the other way around; meaning that the Jedi are not automatically the Light Side and the Sith the Dark Side. They derive their power from these, but they do not embody the Force at any moment. 

The only act of rebellion Anakin manages to perform is his secret marriage to the woman he loved ever since he was a little boy. It is an insubordination that would cost him his status of a Jedi if it was known. Anakin, having lost his compassionate mother who taught him always to help others, and being is repeatedly told that he must do what the Jedi order him no questions asked (mostly actions designed to make them preserve their status and their political power) instead of helping who is actually in need, chooses to marry a woman who is compassionate herself.

This leads at least to some years of balance for him, and the children he generates are the future hopes of the galaxy; so Anakin’s rebellion to the Jedi Code, though secret, causes a lot of good.

The trouble is not Anakin’s rebellious nature; it is, like with most teenagers, not that he sees what is going on but that he doesn’t quite understand why ongoing things are never to be questioned, and that he doesn’t find the right words or actions to articulate his anger and disappointment. Nor does he know what needs to be done to make things better. In the end, the only tragic solution he comes up with is literally burning the house down.

At the other end of the scale, there is Padmé: the daughter of an influential and obviously affluent family of Naboo, she is not a rebel because she sees no need for rebelling. She does want to make things better, though not in such a harsh way as her husband: and this is where they ultimately clash. While Anakin sees through the evils of the Republic and the Jedi and decides to put a radical end to them, Padmé begins to doubt the justice of her mission just shortly before the world she knew is destroyed by the hand of the very person whom she loves most. 

“What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?” - Padmé in Revenge of the Sith 

Anakin, though, had his own ideas about rebellion: he executes Order 66 as per Palpatine’s order, but when his wife comes to find him on Mustafar he tells her what he actually wanted all along, which was not, ultimately, to be the Chancellor’s minion. 

Anakin: “I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I can overthrow him. And together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be!“

Padmé: “I can’t believe what I’m hearing!” Revenge of the Sith 

The most powerful couple of the galaxy breaks apart over their different ideologies. Anakin is misusing his newfound powers, and his appalled wife must learn that he expects her to be on his side. He believes his care for her is leading him, when in truth it’s his fear; if he truly cared for her so much, he would not do things which he ought to know she would utterly disdain and be horrified by. 

It is interesting that despite the chasm in their attitudes, their emotional bond still stays strong. Padmé manages to reach through to her husband’s heart one last time, almost succeeding to make him leave Mustafar with her. Then unfortunately Obi-Wan interferes, pushing Anakin into his head again: he realizes that Padmé loves him despite his choices, not because of them, and that Obi-Wan wants to take him to account. Seeing his rebellious acts coming apart, Anakin lashes out setting the final seal on his destiny. 

And this is where Palpatine, the future Emperor, steps in. He neither openly rebelled nor tried to improve the galaxy’s order while preserving it, but planned his putsch on the long run for decades. His usurpation at last puts an end to the clone wars, which is why the former Republic, tired of the fighting, destruction and deaths, welcomes him as a peacemaker before realizing that it exchanged one evil for another, much worse one. 

  Classics 

The original trilogy is the story of a rebellion at its very core. By the time Luke and Leia are grown the Empire has become so powerful and ruthless that the populations of the galaxy feel oppressed and welcomes Luke and Leia’s, and their allies’, struggles to overthrow it. 

Leia speaks up against Tarkin, Emperor Palpatine’s deputy, and Darth Vader right from the start, without even knowing that Vader is her biological father. She does not need this knowledge to be aware of his wrongdoings. Leia’s rebellion is justified and her own adoptive parents, a queen and a senator, actively assist her with it.

At first, Luke rebels against staying on his desert planet without any prospects for the future; then he is sucked into the vortex of politics (Rebellion) and religion (Jedi) and dedicates himself to both.

Luke rebels against his father to the last: even trapped, maimed, isolated and traumatized he chooses rather to jump into an abyss, narrowly escaping death, than accepting to be his ally.

His ultimate act of rebellion takes place before the Emperor: again, Luke faces almost certain death rather than the corruption of his ideals. 

“You lost, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” Return of the Jedi 

Though Darth Vader does have plans of his own (corrupting his son and overthrowing the Emperor), he always obeys his master. Only at the very last moment he rebels, saving his son at the cost of his life. 

Whatever they do, Luke and Leia never give up on rebelling. Before Tarkin, Vader, Palpatine or Hutt, they always speak their minds and if they are afraid, they do not show it in their least. Their faith in their ideals makes them bold. 

Rebellion wins. A family is formed, peace ensues and stays in the galaxy for many years.

 Rogue One, Solo, The Mandalorian

 “Rebellions are built on hope.” Rogue One

The heroes of Rogue One rebel because, each in his own way, they have nothing left to lose; contrarily to Anakin who had everything to lose. But that is not entirely true: we see glimpses of friendship and love in the members of the Rogue One mission, and they all still have their lives. But instead of making something of what they have, they all decide to risk (and indeed lose) what little they have for a greater good.

The world needs rebels because it needs hope. Without hope, there is only the stagnancy which we can so clearly see in the Old Republic before its fall. Yet Rebellion does not only need a cause, it also needs an aim.

Han, whose story mirrors Rogue One’s, knew he wanted to escape from slavery and later he found out what he wanted to do with his new freedom: help Luke and Leia, to whom he had become attached. It is not coincidental that he’s the most mature of the bunch.

This is what we can see in The Mandalorian: he belongs to the guild of bounty hunters and then he also rebels - though he ought not to take interest in a bounty and not to ask any questions, he stands up against leaving the unprotected Child behind.

  Sequels

The first person we see rebelling in the sequels is Finn. Appalled by the ruthlessness of the First Order, he decides to leave. His choice at first is a selfish one though, he only thinks of escape, not of any greater good. He has to meet Rose and DJ and to make his experiences at Canto Bight to understand that it is important to rebel for a cause.

Phasma: “You always were scum.” Finn: “Rebel scum.” The Last Jedi

Though commonly seen as modeled upon Luke’s character, Rey lacks one major trait that he had: instead of actively looking for her fate, she remains passive, merely surviving, her attitude and looks the same she had when she was a little girl.

Rey is not willing and impatient to leave her home world and embrace her destiny. On the contrary, she waits and waits for a family which, as we later learn, she unconsciously knew would never come back to her.

Ironically it is Kylo Ren, the alleged bad guy, who is the main rebel of the sequel trilogy. We learn that he is our hero’s son and nephew and that he turned his back on them for unknown reasons; and he always has his own agenda. His temper tantrums are not there for a good joke: they show that he is interiorly conflicted and not really committed to the First Order. All of his acts are rebellious in one way or another.

Kylo searches for the map leading to Luke because he wants to confront him by himself: Snoke’s intentions only happen to have the same aim. (He indeed kills Snoke when he no longer needs him, the way Vader had wanted to do with Palpatine.)

Kylo unexpectedly kidnaps Rey on Takodana, and at first, instead of reading the map in her mind he tries to get to know her.

Kylo kills Han, coerced by Snoke, and we see him unhinged and deeply upset right afterwards, showing how he hated what he did.

 On seeing him first in The Force Awakens, I remember thinking repeatedly: “What’s the matter with this guy?”

Kylo (Ben) only has one chance to open up to Rey and tell her at least a part of his story from his own point of view, i.e. the fatal night at Luke’s temple, during one of their Force connections. And that is not nearly enough. One of the sequel’s biggest mistake was, in my opinion, telling us next to nothing about what had happened to the Skywalker-Organa-Solo family after the rebellion had ended in victory.

The other big mistake was not to show the road for a better future for the galaxy. Ben Solo comes back “home” in death, which is not a satisfying conclusion for his story. He is practically regressing to childhood, and his rebellious acts led to nothing except pain and death and ultimately, the rise of the girl of Palpatine blood.

Now this would still be acceptable if Rey had proven to be a deserving heir to the Skywalker family’s legacy. But she isn’t.

Why?

Because whatever Rey may be, she’s not a rebel. She was introduced to us as a scavenger, and she remained one to the very last - searching for old artifacts and legends and cherishing them never knowing their actual meaning and history.

For me, this is one of the many reasons why she ends alone on a desert planet. Rey did not grow up. She did not experience the painful but necessary process of coming of age that the heroes of the classic trilogy went through. If anything, it’s still ahead of her.

Rey wanted a family, though obviously not one of her own with a partner and children. The only person we ever see her feeling anything intimate for is Kylo / Ben; but with few exceptions, she adamantly pushes him away. He obviously terrifies and angers her, although since she is a child of Darkness herself, she ought to have no reason for that. Also, she quickly realizes that she is not powerless before him; that he both wants to keep her near and that he acknowledges her power and listens to her. But he always brings out her true self apart from the “good little girl” she wants to be; the good sides together with the bad sides. 

“You need a teacher - I could show you the ways of the Force!” The Force Awakens 

And Rey’s own authenticity frightens her. She seems afraid not so much of Kylo but of her own burgeoning adulthood and femaleness. Having been sold into slavery, she did not get the chance to have a normal, protected childhood and adolescence; her personality did not grow into womanhood, and she is aware of this lack, searching in all places for parental figures who will “show her her place in all this”. 

Rey briefly glimpsed a different kind of life sometimes, like on Takodana, or Pasaana (an odd symphony with the planet’s names, too) where she realized she wanted to live on a green planet, and to have children of her own. Also, Kylo saw her dreaming of an ocean. However, those remained vague dreams.

Unpopular opinion: maybe Rey did not want her dreams to come true. Hers is the story of a girl who first and foremost has needs, not dreams. When we first met her she was alone, enslaved, abandoned, overworked and hungry. As the audience, we expect as a matter of course to see a protagonist following his dreams and reaching them, and she didn’t. Rey’s needs were fulfilled during the course of this story, the way she wanted; nothing more. 

  Sacrifice Is Necessary, Too

So the question is, why does the saga end like this? It doesn’t feel like a fitting ending to a story that was always about rebellion. As I already said, rebelling itself is not enough: one must also know to what end, and the sacrifices one is ready to make.

The Jedi, as well as Padmé and Anakin, wanted to keep their cake and eat it, making a better world without having to give up anything that was dear to them.

The middle generation of Skywalkers did rebel but did not follow rebellion through: they longed for the seemingly beatific Republic before the rise of the Empire. Yet watching the prequels, as the audience we clearly see that it wasn’t quite that good. So our heroes fought, unknowingly, with the aim of restoring something that would have needed to be improved in their first place, and their “happy ending” did not last very long.

Luke read the ancient Jedi texts and wanted to rebuild the Jedi Order the way it was. Leia, the princess, probably learned about the Old Republic from her adoptive father, Senator Bail Organa, and wanted to restore it. But when we see them again, both twins are disillusioned and tired. Their own son and nephew destroyed whatever they had achieved with their efforts - and at least Luke is aware that he was partially responsible for it.

So the question arises, what are rebellions good for if they lead to no better future? What good is fighting for without asking how things could come so far in the first place, and without wondering about how to make things better? Ben Solo is repeatedly depicted as someone who has doubts, but it is also obvious that his doubts were not taken seriously and that he was just expected, both by his family and Snoke, to meet expectations. And like his grandfather, he had other things in mind: something new. Ever since their first Force vision (when Rey touched Luke’s light sabre in Maz’ castle) he knew that Rey was his other side in the Force. The moment he learned she was on Takodana he relentlessly pursued her, and no matter what happened, and despite everything she did to him, he was adamant to keep her by his side.

“We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy!” Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi

Rey rejects his offer, disappointed that he will not turn the way she expected him to. Maybe she was afraid that he was trying to lure her to the Dark Side; but given the wording, he wasn’t. Ben knew that with Rey he could find Balance, and he wanted to do so and to offer this Balance to the galaxy. At no time did he speak to her about the “power of the Dark Side” the way Vader had with his son; Ben obviously appreciated Rey’s strengths and did not want her to turn for him but to stay by his side, to create something new. Rey, ever the scavenger, does not want anything new; she longs for the past, so she unknowingly turns her back on Balance.

The sequel trilogy ends without leaving anyone with a feeling of hope exactly because the coming of age of both protagonists failed: Ben’s rebellion came to no satisfying conclusion, and Rey’s rebellion didn’t even get started. Though many fans interpreted her as such, she is not and never was a new interpretation of Luke Skywalker but his inversion: first she did not want to leave her desert planet and now she is on another.

By the time The Rise of Skywalker comes to a closure, Kylo / Ben, the last of the Skywalker blood, has not brought Balance to the Force; Ben’s journey ends because he has learned to let go. Anakin learned this important lesson only when he had already been Vader for many years; Luke learned letting go much earlier - losing his home on Tatooine, his mentor Obi-Wan, giving up his crush on Leia realizing that she had fallen in love with Han. But Rey did not; we never see her give up anything or anyone dear to her. Her journey feels unfinished and even more - it feels like it didn’t begin yet.

“Ben is someone who has hope. ... For the first time, someone who has never had the answer, now finally knows his purpose or destiny. He has to let her (Rey) know that they’re together. But I don’t know that he entirely is sure of what’s going to happen from there, nor do I think he cares. I think, it’s so long as he is with her, he is on the right path.” (Adam Driver)

Ben, who was named after Obi-Wan Kenobi, princess Leia’s “only hope”, the rightful heir of the Chosen One, is supposed to be dead and gone for good right after having found his way? Sorry, I can’t believe it.

Also, given the parallels between Padmé and Rey, it is to be hoped that maybe Rey will go her way - that she will want to make a better world without using violencev.

And I for my part wholeheartedly rebel to believe that this is supposed to be the ultimate ending. 😊

[doopcafe]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Seasons 1--6), Final Analysis

Well, I made it through. 

Let’s be absolutely clear: The Clone Wars (TCW) is not good television. For the most part, it’s not even watchable television. The show suffers from serious fundamental issues in nearly every aspect of storytelling. Characters are underdeveloped and inconsistent; the dialogue is expository and contradictory; the tone is disjoint and jarring; and most episodes serve no greater purpose than to be a twenty-minute vessel to house lightsaber fights. 

So I want to put this part of the show to rest before I move on to Star Wars: Rebels (and before returning to watch season 7). 

With two exceptions, the show poorly handles twists and reveals. In the earlier seasons, reveals were spoiled mostly due to telegraphing: Captain Sleaze in Cloak of Darkness, Senator Clovis in Senate Spy, and Yolo (?) in Senate Murders come to mind, but there were others. In later seasons, telegraphing was supplanted by “small universe syndrome” as the primary cause of spoiled reveals. In The Academy, a cloaked figure was seen doing shady, back-alley deals, but his identity could only have been the Prime Minister. During the “Ahsoka framed” series, Barriss was obviously the traitor, simply because her character suddenly reappeared after four seasons and there were no other candidates. 

Probably the most successfully executed reveal was that of Krell, as his assholeness was at least initially masked as military rigidity. But even so, it was so over-the-top that when the reveal finally came to light, it felt more like an overdue disclosure than a dramatic twist. It didn’t help that, by that point in the show, the format of “asshole = upcoming reveal” had been firmly entrenched into the show’s DNA. 

I would argue that the most effective plot twist of the entire show was when the dancer/singer girl shot and killed Ziro the Hutt in Hunt for Ziro. Although irrelevant to the greater story, it was an actual twist because it was strongly implied the opposite would happen (i.e., Ziro would betray the girl). If there is to be a second place, that award would go to Ahsoka’s decision to leave the Jedi Order at the conclusion of The Wrong Jedi. But this leads me into my next point...

Who was the main character of The Clone Wars? If we go by the logic that whoever had the most screen time was the main character, then Anakin probably wins over Ahsoka. But if we go by the logic that the most developed character was the “main character,” then this is a show about Ahsoka. Ahsoka---more than any other character---grows in a noticeable way (from impatient, violent child to impatient, slightly less violent teenager). In contrast, Anakin in Rising Malevolence is the same character as Anakin in Voices (only a little more violent and angry for some reason). 

It’s unfortunate that her major character moments were never capitalized on. Intentionally sacrificing herself for the greater good in Weapons Factory apparently led to no lasting repercussions on her character. Her impatience and disobedience led to the deaths of thousands in Storm over Ryloth, but was similarly forgotten immediately afterwards. Even Ahsoka’s major character moment at the end of The Wrong Jedi resulted in her walking away from the show, never to address the implications of that decisions (although I suppose that’s the subject of Season 7). 

On a different note, the show was riddled by a shameful amount of “references” and fan service, for reasons exclusively external to the story. These “nods” ranged from the obvious “Obi-wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” (or whatever Senator Jimmy Smits says in Cat and Mouse) to the innocuous design of a droid or background device. 

These “references” are objectively problematic for at least a few reasons. (1) They contribute to the sense that the universe is a really, really small place. Is the Mos Eisley cantina really the only place in the Outer Rim where shady deals go down? Is carbon freezing really the only way to store a person in stasis for transport? How long do Rodians live for anyways? Greedo’s gotta be what, like 80 when Han shoots him in A New Hope? It’s ironic that ultimately, this incomprehensibly large, diverse galaxy actually feels much smaller after watching this series because we keep going to the same twelve places...

(2) “Fan service” is tricky to get right because different people have different memories and impressions of the source material. In result, copying material will oftentimes comes across as a blatant misunderstanding of the original content. For example, to me, Vader put Solo into carbon freeze because it’s what Lando had lying around. It’s not a galactically established method of transporting people. Obi-Wan trained Luke with those laser balls aboard the Falcon because Han had them lying around and Obi-Wan needed to improvise a training exercise to kill time. 

(3) "References” and “nods” usually are just a band-aid for a lack of creativity. Some of the better episodes in the initial seasons were just direct rehashes of famous movies. Seven Samurai, Godzilla, Stray Dog, The Most Dangerous Game, King Kong... I mean, it’d be pretty impressive to mess-up stories like these, but it’s concerning that there were just so many episodes made from other people’s stories. 

These “references” even seep into the most innocuous of scenes. When Prequel!Wan lands on Mandalore to attempt a rescue of Satine from Darth Maul, one of the Mandalorians takes aim at him, only to have their blaster pushed down by their companion who’s shaking their head. This is a direct reference o the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine when Luke went after R2 in the desert. Even if this scene served an important plot purpose (it didn’t), there’s undoubtedly a multitude of ways to communicate the same thing. Instead, a small reference to the OT is interjected into the show, deimmersing the audience from the events shown. Unfortunately, this is just one (very small) example of hundreds over the whole show. 

Let me say something positive. The episodes that worked best (especially early in the show's run) were ones that focused on mortal people, usually the clones. Innocents of Ryloth was one of the first watchable episodes, simply because we didn't have to sit through twenty minutes of unlikable, unrelatable “Jedi” and instead followed around a pair of troopers helping a little girl using their limited abilities. Likewise, Pursuit of Peace was way more enjoyable than it probably should have been, simply because the story was understandable, the consequences clear, and the drama real. Plan of Dissent (when the clones actively rebel against Krell) was also noteworthy for similar reasons: clones we liked must subdue a “Jedi” we’ve learned to hate. 

This isn’t to say that episodes focused on the major characters were inherently unenjoyable, it’s just that none of these characters had any room to grow (with the exception of Ahsoka). Dooku, Grievous, Anakin, Prequel!Wan... They were the same characters as portrayed in Episode II and III. As presented, there was nowhere for these characters to go. Dooku was literally identical at the beginning of the series as he was at the end, and the same can be said about the others. 

But these are false constraints the writers imposed upon themselves. Grievous was not in Episode II and was introduced in Episode III. TCW could have started him however they wanted and then illustrated his change into the character he later becomes. Who was he? What was his motivation? Why did he hate Jedi so much? The show was handed a completely clean slate to deliver a character from scratch, but instead we were immediately shown “Episode III General Grievous” with zero introduction because fans were expected to already know who he was. 

This is partly why the backstory episode to Grievous was so compelling, at least in premise: viewing his home was personal to his story and it represented a chance to learn a bit more about the character and where he came from. Of course, it was mostly mishandled by a reliance on meaningless action, but the high ratings of that particular episode suggest there was room for quality television here, it just was never capitalized on.

Instead, we have completely static caricatures, especially for minor characters from the movies. Admiral Tarkin, Admiral Ackbar, Greedo (among others) were written out of cardboard and their roles in the plot could have just as easily been played by anyone else (there was nothing unique about their roles that required them to be these characters). 

This is a shame because a lot could have been done with the established premise to really focus on Anakin, his motivations, and his relationship to his Padawan. I would have been okay with a lot of backtracking if it meant I could begin to grasp his “fall” to the Dark Side. Instead, I’m honestly more confused than ever about his motivation.

One argument is that Anakin joins the Dark Side because he like, “loves” Padme (or whatever). However, what we’re shown in this show---consistently, clearly---is that Padme and Anakin have a toxic, dysfunctional relationship. He is uncomfortably jealous and rarely trusts her. They argue nearly every time they’re together. Their “love” (or whatever) must remain secret, equating their relationship to something “wrong” or even “illegal” that must be kept secret, even on the verge of death. In a later episode, Anakin orders Padme to listen to him because he’s the “man” and, as his wife, she doesn’t have a say in the matter. This is clearly a broken relationship and the best result is the one that actually happens: They stop seeing each other. Anakin wants to save this woman from a vision? Why? 

This brings up a second point, which is that Anakin can’t stand the pain of losing someone. His desire to protect those close to him may be Anakin’s only redeeming trait. He has a single selfless scene (in the entire show) during the opening of Jedi Crash where he sacrifices himself to delay an explosion and save his companions. I want to stress that any other scene where Anakin saves or helps someone isn’t done because he’s a good person, it’s done because he’s a broken person. It’s done because he, personally, would struggle with the emotional toll of knowing he allowed someone close to him to be hurt or die. In other words, he’s doing nice things for selfish reasons. 

As far as I’m concerned, Anakin has always been Darth Vader. He is given choices between being a Jedi and allowing a lot of people to die, and he enjoys choosing the second. In Ghosts of Mortis, we’re shown that the threshold between “Anakin” and “Darth Vader” is disconcertingly low, requiring only a few choice words and less than a minute to convert him. In short, what I’ve learned from TCW regarding Anakin Skywalker is that he was an unlikable dick, and his “turn” to the Dark Side was just a long-overdue reveal. 

While the later seasons worked towards the events in Episode III in a way that at least made a bit of sense, earlier seasons were focused on adult-themed wacky hijinks. In a way, the show almost would have worked better as a kid’s show, but this was clearly meant for adults: politics, war, slavery, and lots and lots of horrific violence. In comparison, the silly adventures of Star Wars: Resistance worked well because the show didn’t take itself too seriously. It was very clearly, from the start, a lighthearted show about kids going on fun adventures. In contrast, TCW suffered because its themes were adult in nature, but was portrayed as a Saturday morning cartoon show. The humor was misplaced, the tone disjointed from actual events, and the violence excessive. 

Let me say a few words on the “Jedi.” Initially I labeled them as overpowered (OP), because in earlier episodes they seemed invincible and dissolved tension in every scene. Later, we see a slew of them get cut down as plot fodder, even against widely different situations. We see Luminara and others push through hoards of droids only to see “Jedi” Master Yoda-like dude get taken down by a dog. We watch as Fisto *heh* powers through entire battalions and the cone-head guy counting coup against an army, only to watch as pink girl gets shot in the face by a single clone who stands in front of her for several seconds before pulling the trigger. 

It’s nearly impossible to feel tension in these scenes because the metrics for judging the true strength of a “Jedi” keep shifting as a function of the plot requirements. Anakin suddenly forgets how to use the Force when the plot needs his help to fake some drama. Prequel!Wan pointlessly fist fights with a slaver cat for an hour until the plot needs him to get back up again and OP everyone in the room. Even their ships are only as strong or weak as the plot needs them to be. Plo Koon’s fleet is devastated in seconds in order to portray the Malevolence as being a threat; Anakin’s fleet powers through a larger force three times its size because Anakin’s like, really mad about something. 

Secondly, the “Jedi,” in general, were unlikable assholes. They were consistently portrayed as violent and ignorant and I struggled to understand them as real people. Frequently, we witnessed them torture victims, default to a lightsaber to solve problems, and enjoy death to the point of counting coup against sentient life forms defending their homes. Anakin threatened civilians with his lightsaber. Ahsoka was annoyed when she’s asked not to murder a defenseless creature in Jedi Crash. Prequel!Wan and Anakin team up to hurtle enormous rocks into a beaten monster in Dooku Captured. A trio of Jedi Masters mentally gang bang a shackled Cad Bane. They supported state terrorism when it suited their needs, but agreed to abandon their friends for political reasons. 

I mean, these are not good people...

This is a shame, because my impression of true Jedi comes from Luke, Yoda, and Obi-Wan in the OT, as well as the expanded universe novels that take place afterwards. It always seemed to me that being a Jedi was about conquering oneself, one’s fears, and learning to use the Force to selflessly help others and let go of all worldly attachments. You know, like the Buddhists they were originally inspired by. I always had the impression that the Force was extremely powerful and that Yoda was only showing Luke a portion of what was possible. That the Emperor was only using Force lighting to toy with Luke. That Vader only Force choked his officers because it was visually intimidating and kept them in line. 

Instead, we’re treated to some garbage about how a “Jedi” is nothing greater than an actuator to swing around a lightsaber. When Luke enters Jabba’s palace in Jedi to rescue his friends, it’s not with lightsaber swinging, cutting shit up, flipping around like an acrobatic monkey. Imagine Anakin and Ahsoka in the same scene. They’d blaze through the palace corridors before Force choking Jabba as the Darth Vader theme plays. Forget the rancor, these are demigods. They have lightsabers. Have you seen them? They go “woosh woosh.” 

In short, there was little to look up to in terms of a “hero” character. I can see how children can look up to Luke as a role model, someone they want to emulate or play with as a toy, but looking up to Anakin? Ahsoka? Hey kids, wanna learn to become a psychopath? First, you use your power to abuse those who are weaker than you. Then you need to get really really angry and uncontrollably choke someone, preferably your sister or one of your cousins. 

And so, for a Saturday morning cartoon show, it is very unclear who we’re supposed to care about. I liked when Ahsoka went against Anakin because I hated his character so much. I liked everything with Hondo, a pirate. I liked Ventress a little, because she was actively seeking to kill the main characters. I liked some of the clones, but I don’t know which ones because they all looked the same. I cared about Darth Maul because I’m honestly a little worried about him, especially after the loss of his brother. I kinda liked General Grievous just because he hates the “Jedi” and was therefore relatable (even though the reasoning was never explained). And... that’s it. 

At no point did I ever “look forward” to the next episode. I painfully died a little on the inside hitting the “watch next” button every single time.

This “review” is already way too long, so let me summarize by applying my five-star rating system (developed for movies) to each episode. In review:

5. Amazing, classic, culturally important. Something everyone should watch.  4. Great; very well done, no significant flaws. 3: Entertaining with only minor gripes/criticisms.  2: “Watchable,” but suffers from flaws and has some poor parts.  1. Uncomfortably bad; suffers from serious flaws. 0. Painfully bad, would actively fight against being forced to watch a second time. 

The 3-star episodes were: 

Hostage Crisis

Lightsaber Lost 

Pursuit of Peace

Carnage of Krell

The Wrong Jedi 

Hostage Crisis was the introduction of Cad Bane, Lightsaber Lost was the remake of Stray Dog (and the only episode to include a real Jedi), Pursuit of Peace was the random Padme/politics episode that was strangely well-executed, Carnage of Krell was the reveal of Krell as a bad guy and his clones working to apprehend him, and The Wrong Jedi was Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order (and the only episode to include a true character moment). 

Also, I scaled the IMDB ratings of each episode to my ratings and then detected outliers in their overlap. In other words, I wanted to answer the question, “which episodes did I rate the most differently from others?” 

Turns out, I rated every single episode lower except for seven. Those seven were: 

Mercy Mission (+1.853) - R2 and 3PO discover an underground world with ents. This one is universally panned by “fans,” but was a competently handled episode apart from the disappointing resolution. 

Pursuit of Peace (+1.382) - Padme struggles to win support for a Senate bill. Another competently handled episode that focuses on Padme and politics and is ranked low by “fans.”

Lightsaber Lost (+0.6471) 

Weapons Factory (+0.4118) - An average episode with a dramatic scene of sacrifice by Ahsoka and her “friend” Barriss. 

Shadow Warrior (+0.3824) - Grievous is captured during some dramatic moments on Naboo. 

Hostage Crisis (+0.3529)

Front Runners (+0.0882) - One of the rebels episodes, I don’t remember which. 

In conclusion, Star Wars: Rebels is next and I am somehow still alive.

[reydjarinkenobi]

I think that there’s something that people tend to forget about the Jedi: there are only 10,000 of them and that’s at the start of the war.

I agree with the sentiment that the Jedi have stagnated (the low numbers) and that the war has forced them to undermine what they were originally intended to do. However, that is the whole tragedy of the situation. The Jedi are conscripted as generals in a war that they didn’t want to happen and both the people and the Jedi are suffering for it.

The people on the republic and the fandom unreasonably expect the Jedi to be able to fix every problem in the galaxy. However, there are thousands of worlds in the republic (probably more) and the fact of the matter is that there are only so many Jedi. By season 7 of the clone wars, the Jedi numbers are at an all time low, the fact of the matter is that they physically cannot help everyone. Content that shows Jedi before CW shows that they did have people in the slave rings, in Coruscant on corrupt planets, trying to fix the galaxy, but they only have so much power.

People expect the Jedi to be able to do everything, call them power hungry and child snatchers and stuck up. (Although, I will conced that there are some Jedi who are stuck up and too removed from the people to be able to truly relate to them, which is, I think, one of the two main issues with the Jedi Order we see in the CW).

However, the Jedi we see are at their most powerless. The corruption in the senate and the political machinations of palpatine mean that they are more enslaved to the senate than ever. Though some people may view them as such, the Jedi are not gods, they cannot perform miracles. In fact; how can you call the Jedi power hungry when it is their inherent lack of power and influence within the senate that had them in this situation. We see how much power they have lost between TPM and CW, where Qui-Gon could be sent on a mission with just a personal request from a politician (the chancellor at the time was the one that asked them to go to the aide Naboo because the Senate would not vote to help them. And at the time, the chancellor didn’t have nearly as much power as palpatine does. The republic was at piece and the chancellor mostly acted as a mediator for the senate rather than the almost absolute ruler palps is by CW). Now the Jedi are forced to do what the senate says, and because of this position that they were sourced into, even their own internal matters are often brought before the senate.

This isn’t even counting the fact that Sidious is literally clouding the Force. It is stated multiple times in the movies and in the shows as well as having been outright told to us by Lucas the Palps is using a very powerful force technique which basically fucks up the Jedi’s ability to use the Force to sense deception and find the truth. (See the million times Yoda or some other master says the Force is clouded.)

I agree that the Jedi Order should have taken the threat of the Sith far more seriously than they did after TPM. However, there also hadn’t been a Sith on their radar for one thousand years. Yoda, the oldest Jedi, had never seen a Sith. It is understandable that the Jedi would try and deny their resurgence, since it’s natural that they would not want that to happen. This is a failure of the Jedi Order. In this case, they react out of fear which definitely contributes to their later downfall.

However, Palps gives no indication to people that he is anything other than a (possibly corrupt) politician. The Jedi can’t sense him and they would have no reason to think he’s a Sith Lord. They can sense that Dooku is a Sith, they could sense that Maul is a darksider. There is no reason that the Jedi should think that there is a Sith that can completely mask his darkness because they have never encountered someone like that before.

As for the baby snatchers, I mean come on, seriously? In the CW, there is literally an episode which shows that the Jedi do encourage people to hand their children over, but by no reason force them. Anakin was an unprecedented event and the Council would actually have preferred that Anakin grow up with his mother (although they did address the whole Shmi situation incredibly wrong, they should have freed her. However, that then feeds into the fact that they would then be morally obligated to free all the slaves on Tattooine which would mean taking on the Hutts, which the Jedi did not have the resources to do.) if the Jedi were baby snatchers, there would not only be 10,000 of them. They would steal any child that had any semblance of force power, as we know that with enough dedication and training even someone who has average raw power can become very skilled and powerful (Obi-Wan being the best example).

Again I want to emphasise how few Jedi there were. That is 10,000 total. Not 10,000 knights and masters , 10,000 including all the Padawans and younglings and masters so old they can’t fight anymore. (I don’t know if this includes the corps workers in this but we can assume their number isn’t that much larger). That’s 10,000 across the entire galaxy. To put that into perspective, the Rebellion at the end of the OT had 1 billion people across the galaxy, and they were still reported as a relatively small movement. The Jedi would be a small organisation even if they operated just on modern day Earth. And by this point in the CW, the Jedi have even lower numbers.

Ahsoka’s anger in the latest episode is entirely justified. She was scapegoated for a crime she did not commit. Yes all evidence pointed to her and objectively she could have been charged, but she had sacrificed so much for the Order by that point, she rightfully believes she should have early their trust. (Although, I do think both Plo Koon and Obi-Wan argued for her, but in the absence of evidence were only able to vouch for her from her strength of character, which really doesn’t cut it in that sort of investigation).

Her frustration at the order’s inability to help the people like it had been before the war is reasonable. The Jedi should be helping people like Trace and Rafa, and before the war they would have. Now the Jedi are caught up in trying to stop the Separatists invading and enslaving entire worlds. That whole situation is for another post because this one is way too long already and I haven’t even gotten to my point.

I think Ahsoka’s accusation that the Jedi are too involved in politics (even though her attack at Obi-Wan is also personal because of her thinking that he didn’t try and help her before, which is correct from her perspective. Obi-Wan was obligated to go with the Council’s decision and was powerless to fight i and uggfgh that scene hurts me because my two favourite characters are fighting) is ironic since it was the Jedi’s separation from politics which got them into that situation in the first place. If the Jedi had had a representative in the Senate, or hell, even more people dedicated to monitoring the politics of the Senste, they may have been able to circumvent the war before it even started or at least give themselves a little more agency in this war.

Ahsoka’s argument is ultimately unfair in my opinion even though she is making a very relevant point. The Jedi have, at this stage, stopped functioning in the capacity that they were originally supposed to. However, there is nothing they can do to stop it at this stage.

I think people are forgetting the absolute genius of TCW and that PT in that it is one of the hugest examples of dramatic irony in modern day narratives. Yes, from an outside perspective, I can say that the Jedi were too removed from the people and were failing to uphold their values. I can see that palpatine is manipulating everything and that he is the Sith Lord. However, the thing is the characters can’t. If I was a Jedi, I would be too blinded by this war and keeping my men alive whilst also trying to stop the Separatists to pay attention to the intricacies of the Senate, if I was a citizen, I would see this war and the Jedi leading it and demonise them because they are the most visible people for me to hoist my resentment on. Padmé states that the war is affecting the people. The republic are in debt and their support network for their people is suffering because of it.

Yes, the Jedi should have done a lot of things differently. Yes there are Jedi (particularly some on the council) who are up themselves. But the Order as a whole is not to blame. Jedi as a people are largely just trying to do the right thing. They lead their men because if they don’t the Seperatists will continue to take over worlds and enslave them. They are forced to make impossible decisions and it is destroying them. We see this in Ahsoka’s resentment, we see it in the way Anakin is so desperately trying to hold on to both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, we see it in the absolute defeat that we can see in Obi-Wan in this episode.

Let’s not forget that Sidious is the real bad guy here and that he is a genius at manipulation. By this stage in the CW, the Jedi are powerless to save themselves and the galaxy. We can blame anyone else all we want but ultimately this is a terrible tragedy and the Jedi do not deserve what is about to happen to them.

[jedimaesteryoda]

Things I Don’t Like About the New Disney Star Wars

I’m a longtime hardcore Star Wars fan. I was introduced to it as a child, and became a bigger fan when I went to high school. I enjoyed the movies and the Expanded Universe, and still go to Comic Con in Jedi and Sith outfits. I was among the fans that was a little worried when Disney bought Lucasfilm and planned to make movies from the franchise. I am sorry to say my fears didn't prove to be unfounded. 

1. Luke Skywalker

The protagonist of the original trilogy that we followed on his path to becoming a Jedi Knight. We meet him in The Last Jedi as he is now a disillusioned, bitter old man haunted by his failure with his nephew, Ben Solo. Now, I love the scene where he talks to his old mentor, Yoda, who gives his signature wise words and points out Luke not being grounded in the present, but stuck looking at the past. I also like seeing this Luke show some character development, and sacrifice his life to save the Resistance. 

However, I find it hard to believe that a man who never gave up on his father when everyone else including his mentors told him Anakin was a lost cause, would give up on his nephew. I think it would have been better if instead of Han going to Ben in Force Awakens, it was Luke, thinking he could save his nephew like he did his father. He also states the Jedi record is nothing but failure, which is clearly false as Obi-wan stated that up until Palpatine the Jedi served the galaxy for over a thousand generations (25,000+ years). While there is some truth in what he said in there being arrogance among the Jedi with Yoda stating in Attack of the Clones that overconfidence was becoming common among Jedi, saying that the Jedi let a Sith lord come to power really undersells Palpatine. It wasn’t a case of the Jedi’s incompetence letting him come to power, but more Palpatine being a brilliant grand chess master who managed to outplay the Jedi, and effectively manipulate the Senate into granting more power that he was then able to use to crush the Jedi Order and crown himself Emperor. Luke stating that Jedi felt the light side belonged to them showed that Johnson’s homework left something to be desired, given the possessive attitude towards the Force was more the philosophy of the Sith who saw the Force as a tool while the Jedi philosophy was the opposite, in that they saw themselves as tools of the Force.

I can see Luke living in isolation withdrawn from the rest of the galaxy, having stopped taking on students out of feelings of guilt over his personal failure with his nephew, but I don’t see him deciding to end the Jedi and in doing so, choosing to turn his back on the promise he made to his mentor Yoda on his deathbed: pass on what you have learned. I also doubt the guy who abruptly left training on Dagobah to save his friends (and who also saved his life a few times) would abandon them and the galaxy to their fate. 

2. The Handling of Rey

I thought Rey could or rather should have been handled better as a character. The problem is how we are really unable to see her growth as a character. Look at Luke’s journey in the original trilogy. In the first film, he is pretty helpless as he needs Obi-wan’s help when he is attacked by Tusken Raiders and two criminals try to fight him at the Mos Eisely Cantina. He also needs Han’s help on the Death Star, and during the Battle of Yavin. In Empire Strikes Back, he needs his friends’ help when Han finds and rescues him on Hoth. He needs Yoda to lift the X-wing out of the swamp during their training, teaching Luke to unlearn the limits he put on his abilities. We also see Luke abandon his training on Dagobah to save his friends only for it to backfire as not only did his friends not need him to escape, but he ends up falling into Vader’s trap, and gets kicked around by Vader. He finds himself stuck in a precarious situation with his right hand cut off and hanging on an antenna. It is only contacting Leia for help that saves him. He knows he screwed up badly. However, in A New Hope you see him use the Force to fire proton torpedoes successfully into the exhaust port. You also see him use the Force to pull the lightsaber from the snowdrift and save himself from the wampa in the beginning of Empire Strikes Back. The beginning of Return of the Jedi, he doesn’t need Obi-wan’s help as the first scene shows him easily subduing two Gamorrean guards with simply a wave of his two fingers. He also manages to kill a rancor with a rock and his wits and later take on an entire barge full of armed men with the whole thing being a plan he came up with to rescue Han Solo that works. The end of the film has him winning a duel with Vader, and managing to turn him back to the light side. You can chart his progress throughout the films, and see his journey going from a helpless farm boy to a powerful Jedi Knight. 

In Force Awakens, Rey manages to successfully use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper and pull a lightsaber from a snow drift despite no training, even though with Luke it clearly took effort to pull a lightsaber from a snowdrift in the beginning of Empire Strikes Back. She also managed to defeat Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel when she should have lost. Firstly, even if she did have some ability with the Force, Kylo did too, and unlike her, he actually had years of experience and training in using the Force and dueling with a lightsaber. He was injured when he fought her, but even injured he managed to defeat Finn who unlike Rey was a soldier with likely years of training in melee combat, so logically Kylo should have won. Secondly, it made more sense from a story perspective for her to lose for the same reason why Luke had to lose his first duel with Vader: to show that even though she was strong and had potential, she still had a long way to go. If she loses her first duel, it makes it that much more meaningful when she beats him in their final duel as it shows how much she has grown. However, winning her first duel with him makes her defeating him in their final duel have less impact, given if she defeated him the first time, how is it surprising if she defeats him the second time?

In The Last Jedi, she managed to move literally hundreds of tons of large boulders easily without any strain, again despite any training, even though Luke struggled to get his X-wing out of the swamp in Empire Strikes Back, and unlike her, he had some training. She also managed to take on multiple Elite Praetorian Guards at once, who along with outnumbering her, as the word in the name “elite” suggests, were also exceptionally trained and skilled in melee combat, the best of the best. With Kylo it makes more sense given he actually had training under both Luke Skywalker and Snoke while she should have been able to do that and move those boulders only after having undergone extensive training. Having her try lifting some heavy objects on Ach-To with some apparent difficulty would have made her moving those boulders more meaningful as it would have shown a clear progression in her abilities, and created a payoff due to her hard work and dedication. Having her spar with Luke with him giving her some tips would have helped to explain her taking on some of the members of the Elite Praetorian Guard, and even with that, she should have taken them on with more difficulty. Hell, you could have had Kylo taken them on easily to show that on Starkiller Base, he was deliberately going easy on her in their duel as he intended not to kill her but turn her. In the Rise of Skywalker, to Abrams’s credit, we do see her train, but a scene like that was needed in the previous films.

That’s because using the Force isn’t supposed to be like superpowers, where like Superman and Spiderman, one gets and is able to use it easily. There is a reason why both Jedi and Sith spend years training to use the Force. It is a power that requires an extensive amount of hard work and discipline to be able to hone and use. Showing her train, and her astounding abilities coming as a result would have been not just more realistic but better for her character story as a whole. 

The trilogy also tries to avoid the fact that she made a mistake in coming to Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi as it proves to be a decision that nearly got her killed. She needs to make mistakes to both humanize her character, and as a form of progression as we see her learn from them. I would go so far as to say that Luke had more character development and growth in The Last Jedi than Rey did in the entire trilogy. 

As for her backstory, Abrams likely intended for her to be Luke’s daughter only for Johnson to retconn that, and make her a nobody of any special lineage. Abrams then rectonned that, and made her Palpatine’s granddaughter. In my honest opinion, Abrams would have done well to keep Johnson’s change. It was better with Rey as a nobody. Especially when combined with the scene of a child using the Force to pull a broom, it sent the message that the Force pays no attention to bloodlines when choosing who is worthy, and that anyone can be a Jedi, anyone can have the power to make a difference. That power can be found even in the most obscure places like a scavenger on Jabiim or a child slave on Canto Bight. It also fits with Maz Kanata telling Rey that her path is not behind her but in front of her. 

She also chose “Skywalker” as her surname at the end, when I think she should have gone with her actual name “Palpatine.” Luke didn’t exactly go around calling himself “Kenobi” after Return of the Jedi. Rey could have gone by her actual surname, signifying that she acknowledges and owns where she came from, but at the same time, she isn’t going to let her grandfather’s dark legacy define her. I think that would have been the better angle. 

3. The Plots of the Sequel Trilogy Films

Force Awakens was basically a copy-and-paste of A New Hope. I would have been okay if it was new characters with some old characters going on a mission to a distant planet to destroy a facility, but not one of the good guys carrying plans for basically a bigger version of the Death Star hidden in a droid on a desert planet, and it ultimately culminates in a final battle with said superweapon destroyed (and a mentor figure killed by the new Vader). That was a bit lazy on Abrams’s part. He played it too safe to the point that the whole film felt generic. 

Johnson took a lot more risks in The Last Jedi, and some I felt were good like making Rey a nobody, but it was also the plot of Empire Strikes Back: begins with battle that hurts good guys, hero goes to train with Jedi Master on far-off planet while the others are chased by the Empire and the latter group is betrayed while the hero comes back to save them. He also failed to do what Empire Strikes Back had and even Attack of the Clones had: end the middle film on a cliffhanger. Empire Strikes Back ended with Han captured and Vader having revealed to Luke that he is his father. Attack of the Clones ended with the beginning of the Clone Wars as Palpatine overlooked clones marching and being deployed, the war being revealed to be a machination with Dooku acting on the orders of Darth Sidious from the previous film and Anakin and Padme being married in a secret ceremony. The Last Jedi ended with Luke dying and the Resistance having escaped, but no plot point is left unresolved. Johnson also made the short-sighted decision to wrap up so many plot points that should have been saved for the final film that he basically left Abrams with little left, and played a role in Rise of Skywalker’s foundering. An example being that Snoke was killed off so he couldn’t be the final villain, and Abrams likely decided to make Palpatine the final villain instead of Kylo Ren given the handling of Kylo didn’t leave the impression that he would make a great final villain. Essentially, Abrams had been painted into a corner. 

Rise of Skywalker, I already covered here. Abrams was again a bit generic with Rise of Skywalker feeling like Return of the Jedi: more superweapons that are destroyed with one shot while the hero fights Palpatine and turns his subordinate to the light side. I had low expectations when I heard Abrams decided to have Chris Terrio help him write the script, the same man who wrote Batman v Superman and Justice League for the franchise of DCEU, both films being critical flops that were considered big letdowns for the the newborn DCEU. Rise of Skywalker ended up having some of the same issues as those films in the form of poor pacing, too much plot convenience and characters being resurrected in a ham-fisted way. Also, if Palpatine was controlling Snoke and was building a fleet of planet-destroying capital ships, then why have Snoke go through the trouble and expense of making Starkiller Base? Hell, why didn’t they wait until after the Sith fleet was finished, and send the fleet out into the star systems with Palpatine sending the message that he had returned, and blown up a planet (the New Republic capital) to demonstrate his power? That would have effectively checkmated the galaxy. 

Rey is apparently Palpatine’s granddaughter, which creates so many questions. If Snoke was being controlled by Palpatine, and Palpatine knew Rey was his granddaughter, then why did Snoke try to have Kylo kill Rey if Palpatine intended to use her?

Disney also made the mistake of having another director make the middle film, The Last Jedi, whose vision was at odds with the previous (and later succeeding) one, instead of keeping one director and ensuring the films have a single vision. The three films felt like each was their own thing instead of feeling like part of a larger narrative arc with each sequel retconning the previous film. You can see it in Rise of Skywalker with Luke grabbing the lightsaber that Rey threw away, and saying that is no way to treat Jedi’s weapon as a reversal of Luke tossing away the lightsaber in the previous film. You can also see it when Kylo’s helmet is reforged after it was shattered in the previous film even though the ship it was on exploded. Would Kylo really have gone through the trouble of going into the elevator to gather all the pieces on a sinking ship? Abrams clearly originally intended for Rey to be Luke’s daughter, but after Johnson’s changes, felt he had to change that to her being Palpatine’s granddaughter and choosing to call herself “Skywalker.” That’s what happens when you use two directors with two competing visions. 

While the prequels had plenty of flaws, they at least felt like someone was trying to tell a story instead of being a company trying to cash in on a successful franchise.  Another issue is that Lucas was a fan of Dune, Flash Gordon and samurai films, and then he mixed all that together along with some other stuff and made Star Wars while Abrams enjoyed Star Wars as a kid, and then made Star Wars. 

4. The Background to the Sequel Trilogy

It is established in the new Disney canon that the Rebel Alliance managed to take control one year after the Battle of Endor, and crush the Imperial military. I’m sorry, but I find it incredibly unrealistic that a fascist government (a kind which historically has placed a great emphasis on the military) with a military large enough to control an entire galaxy could have been subdued in such a short amount of time by a force as small as the Rebel Alliance. Even without the Emperor and the second Death Star, the Imperials clearly still had the military advantage against the Rebels in both numbers and resources. 

Legends, for all its flaws, was more realistic in how the Rebel Alliance/New Republic took control of the galaxy and subdued the Empire. Killing the Emperor without him having named an heir basically had them dealing with a snake with the head cut off. The Empire, like many empires throughout history once central authority disappears, fell to factionalism with different Imperial generals and Moffs declaring themselves the rightful heirs to the Empire, fighting each other as well as the Rebels and New Republic. This proved to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the Rebels didn’t have to fight a united Empire, and were able to deal with smaller, splintered factions as the Empire gradually weakened and the New Republic gradually grew in strength. On the other hand, this also made defeating the Empire a more prolonged struggle since they needed to subdue each Imperial faction and warlord, and there were occasional reversals of fortune where it looked like the Empire was winning. It ended up taking three years after the Battle of Endor to take the capital of Coruscant, and fifteen years until the last Imperial faction surrendered, finally ending the Galactic Civil War.

Instead of the Resistance fighting the First Order, it could have been the New Republic fighting against the remnants of the Empire led by a newly appointed Emperor or Supreme Commander. 

5. Bendu and the Ones

In Star Wars Rebels “Steps Into the Shadow,” we are introduced to the Bendu, a giant being that is the personification of the center of the Force. In Star Wars Clone Wars “Overlords,” we have the Ones, a family of beings who are the embodiments of the Force with the Son and Daughter representing the light and dark sides. They are all immortal, indestructible beings that serve as representations of the Force, or they are essentially gods. 

I’m sorry, but whoever proposed these characters clearly doesn’t know anything about the mystique of the Force in Star Wars. In the original trilogy, we were never given an explanation for what the Force was other than Obi-wan’s brief explanation and Yoda’s speech of the Force being a mystical energy force that binds the galaxy together and flows through everything. As acclaimed fantasy/sci-fi author George R.R. Martin noted, you need to “keep the magic magical — something mysterious and dark and dangerous, and something never completely understood,” and Lucas understood that to an extent as he was usually intentionally vague when asked to describe the Force. The idea was that the Force was something so infinitely big and vast that no one, not even the wisest and most skilled Force users like Yoda, could truly comprehend it. It’s true power and scope was simply beyond imagination, and one could only scratch the surface of it. What made the Force have such a powerful effect on the imagination of the viewer is the sense of mystery and magic coming from the unknown. Putting in, essentially, deities who are personifications of the Force actually wrecks that unique aspect that gives the Force so much of its power and mystique. 

6. Clonetroopers’ control chips

In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “Conspiracy,” it is stated that all the clonetroopers on Kamino have control chips planted into their brains as an explanation for why they carried out Order 66, and killed off their Jedi commanders. I felt that was completely unnecessary given we were already given a satisfactory explanation in Attack of the Clones when Lama Su stated: "You'll find they are totally obedient, taking any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent." In other words, the clones were bred and trained since conception for complete obedience, taking literally any order without question. What’s more, this order was given to them by none other than the Supreme Chancellor himself, the commander-in-chief. Few soldiers would have refused a direct order from the highest authority, especially if they were trained for obedience since childhood. 

It wouldn’t be the only time they answered a question that didn’t need answering. Rogue One had the guy who designed the Death Star intentionally build an unstable reactor to explain how firing a a pair of proton torpedoes into the exhaust port destroyed it. 

7. Solo

I am not in the minority when I say that Solo wasn’t a particularly great film. It was a film that no one asked for, and was completely unnecessary given we had all the information needed about Han Solo from A New Hope: a loner smuggler. For starters, if Solo isn’t his real surname, then a random Imperial official shouldn’t have given him that name, but rather, it would have been more fitting his character if Han himself picked that name. I also think where the movie started was a mistake with a teenage Han fleeing from a crime boss, the beginning should have either spent a good deal on Han’s childhood, or started in the present with Han and Lando planning the heist with background info filled in through flashbacks or dialogue. 

The biggest offense was Han actually helping to fund the forerunners of the Rebel Alliance in the end. That actually made his decision to help Luke in the Battle of Yavin less meaningful. It was supposed to be a self-interested smuggler who only looks out for Number One making the selfless decision to risk his life to help people he just met in the midst of a seemingly hopeless space battle. Now, it’s a guy getting back into the game of helping the Rebel Alliance. If Han was going to help any rebels in Solo, they at least could have done it in a way where he suffers a huge personal loss, ie a close friend (like Qira) dies in the effort, and after that, an upset Han basically tells Chewie something along the lines of “From here on out, it’s just going to be you and me. We’re not going to get involved with anyone or anything, it’s just us from now on.” That at the very least wouldn’t have taken meaning away from his decision in the Battle of Yavin. 

8. Bringing Back Darth Maul

I liked Darth Maul as a character, and I think he should have gotten more lines in Phantom Menace. However, I may be in the minority on this, but I don’t think he should have been brought back. That he managed to survive being cut in half, falling and survived by himself despite missing the lower half of his body stretches credulity. Even more so when Palpatine thought he was dead, which creates a continuity error. In the Last Jedi, Rey and Leia were able to sense when Luke died despite how far away he was, and in Revenge of the Sith, Yoda was able to feel the deaths of all the Jedi killed in the Jedi Purge, so it isn’t unlikely to say that Palpatine would have known if Maul survived or died given he would have felt his death in the Force. What’s more, Mother Talzin knew Maul was alive, and we’re supposed to believe that she knew, but Palpatine somehow didn’t? As for after Palpatine learns Maul survived years later, I don’t think Palpatine would have allowed another Sith to survive either given it violates the Rule of Two. Maul had also just tried to kill him, making Maul a clear threat, and Palpatine isn’t one to leave any loose ends. 

I’m not against having Darth Maul on-screen again, but I think it would have been better if instead of Maul miraculously surviving his duel with Obi-wan, he was shown in a prequel to the Phantom Menace. We would have gotten to see some of his backstory, his relationship with Palpatine as well as be given a look at how Palpatine operates in the shadows behind the scenes. 

9. Time Travel

In Star Wars Rebels “A World between Worlds,” Ezra comes across a chamber in the Jedi temple on Lothal with different portals to time periods and space. Ahsoka Tano is rescued through one of them. I’m sorry, but time travel doesn’t belong in Star Wars. I’m okay with seeing visions of the future or premonitions, but being able to travel through time seems out of place, and makes the whole universe feel less grounded. 

10. Lightsaber color explanation

I’ve written about this before, but I think making kyber crystals choose the Jedi wielder is a rip-off of Harry Potter with wands. The Sith blades being red, because kyber crystals are attuned to the light-side of the Force and turn red because they are forced by dark-siders to be used is gilding the lily. I felt the original Legends explanation was good enough: the reason Sith blades are red is because their kyber crystals are synthetic while the Jedi kyber crystals are naturally occurring. It fits the whole nature vs. technology dichotomy of the Jedi and Sith. 

11. The Villains

Kylo Ren

As far as villains go, I find Kylo Ren to be pretty disappointing. They were clearly going for a combination of Anakin Skywalker from the prequels and original trilogies with a confused young man and the Darth Vader aspects. Darth Vader did well, because in A New Hope, the first scenes we see him are all the introductions needed: his deep voice, his large, imposing black masked figure as he casually and confidently strolls down the hallway of the Tantive IV and choking a soldier to death helped to firmly establish him as the enforcer for the tyrannical Empire (combined with John Williams’s score), and is able to even harm and kill people without touching them in the case of the meeting with the generals. Kylo Ren doesn’t have the same power in his introduction, hell, he doesn’t have the same effect as a villain. While I admit that stopping a blaster bolt in mid-air was impressive, he generally lacked/s the imposing figure and calm, controlled demeanor of his predecessor. Vader was always subtle and controlled with his actions and movements, usually doing little more than extending an arm to either physically choke someone or Force choke them from a distance, and we never saw him bring out his lightsaber until another lightsaber duelist came his way, generally leaving his subordinates, the stormtroopers, to take care of the Rebel soldiers (except in Rogue One, which i felt was out of character for him). Kylo, by contrast, brought his lightsaber out even when there weren’t any enemies around, just so he could wreck a control panel when he threw a tantrum. He got more temperamental in The Last Jedi as he called for the First Order forces to fire on Luke, constantly telling them to fire "MORE!” and Force choked Hux for telling him to stop as opposed to Vader who only Force choked his subordinates if they either failed him, or showed blatant disrespect towards him. Kylo is just a temperamental, overgrown man-child while Vader was largely a cold, calculating and controlled man. 

Yes, I think that might have been the point, that Kylo doesn’t measure up to his grandfather, but it still could have been done in a way that made him a more memorable villain. Having a calm, controlled demeanor would have made him more intimidating as a villain, and behind the mask we could have seen a more vulnerable young man. Abrams was kind of going for that, but he made some missteps and Johnson faltered. Vader also wasn’t defeated in a lightsaber duel until the final film, which helped to sell the idea that this guy was invincible while Kylo was defeated in his first duel by Rey, reducing the size of his threat and making him less believable as a final villain. 

Vader’s story in the original trilogy is also more compelling as he starts out as the blackest of villains, with his connection to the main hero of the story later established when it is revealed that he is Luke’s father. This affects Luke’s story in having him deal with the temptation of following in his father’s footsteps and turning to the dark side. Vader, on the other hand, has a layer of complexity added to his character, and by the end, he surprises the audience by turning on the Emperor, and saving his son. Whereas with Rey and Kylo’s connection, she is just a complete stranger to Kylo with no real past or ties to him the way Vader had with Luke. Kylo and Rey’s connection is just some Force connection, and it feels quite forced (no pun intended). 

I think his gradual conversion back to the light side might have been okay, and his final decision to sacrifice himself to save Rey. Although, Kylo telling Snoke in Force Awakens he feels stirrings from the light side of the Force was too on the nose. Vader didn’t need to say he felt stirrings of that light, as we could tell through scenes and dialogue such as the long pause at the end of Empire Strikes Back and turning and leaving the bridge without saying a word after Luke escapes without Force choking his admiral like he did throughout the film, as well as telling Luke in Return of the Jedi “It is too late for me.” Abrams would have benefited from using more subtlety and nuance. 

General Hux

Hux’s character was mishandled. He could have been the new version of Grand Moff Tarkin, a villain from A New Hope portrayed by the great Peter Cushing who would have benefited from more screen time. He and Kylo were set up as rivals, and could have been taken as representing the two sides of the First Order/Empire with Hux representing the the military hierarchy/practical military side and Kylo representing the dark side of the Force/mystical side. The fact that the trilogy had two directors really showed in how his character was handled. In the first film, with the exception of his passionate speech, he for the most part came across as a cold, disciplined military man akin to Tarkin. In the next film, he came off as pretty hammy, lacking the subtlety and nuance of his character in the previous film as he got emotional pretty easily such as in the beginning of the film when dealing with Poe Dameron. He also hardly got any screen time in the final film, and was revealed to be the spy only to be dispatched easily as if he was just a side character rather than a major supporting character. His performance also felt like he was trying too hard to impersonate a Nazi officer with a kind of faux-German accent. 

Snoke

Supreme Leader Snoke is the leader of the First Order, and Kylo’s dark mentor. He is supposed to be Palpatine’s new counterpart. Unfortunately, Palpatine is a villain not-so-easily replaced (something Abrams realized, and tried to over-correct to disastrous results). 

In the original trilogy, Palpatine isn’t seen in the flesh until the final installment, and up until then, he had been mentioned in the first film and seen through a Holonet in the second. Snoke was introduced much earlier in the first film, Force Awakens, via Holonet and seen in the flesh in the second. When we finally see him, he dies in the second film, without really making a lasting impression. Palpatine’s threat was largely implied through the other characters’ reactions and McDiarmid’s subtle performance and dialogue, making it more effective. The only hint we get to his character before we see him in Return of the Jedi is Vader telling an Imperial commander that the Emperor is coming for a tour, and the Imperial commander changes his position from complaints about being understaffed in making the second Death Star operational to stating nervously “We’ll double our efforts.” Vader adds that the Emperor is less forgiving than he is (Vader having killed several of his subordinates by Force choking for failing him). Just the commander’s reaction is enough to send the message to the audience that the Emperor is a scary guy. However, when we see him, he is a seemingly frail, old man who uses a cane. For most of the film, Palpatine never showed anger or disapproval, if anything he seemed genial and calm, but with an undercurrent of menace. However, like it was with Yoda, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, as this appearance was just a front. Palpatine demonstrated how dangerous he actually was when he did get angry, and shot lightning from his fingertips at Luke as his true nature came out. He chillingly stated “And now young Skywalker, you will die,” showing a certain coldness towards the act of killing this person, and then he gave a slight smile right showing that he was enjoying inflicting pain on him. It was a look that in a matter of seconds went from one of sadistic pleasure to uncontrollable rage as he resumed electrocuting Luke. 

Snoke’s treatment lacked that subtlety and nuance. We just see him bully Hux and Kylo around with his Force powers, as opposed to keeping his power hidden until the final moment, and we don’t see any of the characters give any real reactions towards him when he is mentioned that make an impression. Having him shown only once briefly via Holonet in Force Awakens at the end when Hux goes to him for instructions once Starkiller Base is blowing up, and having Hux in the next film show some fear when told Snoke wanted to speak with him after the loss of the Dreadnaught and the Resistance’s escape would have done a better job of selling the threat of this villain.

There is also the case of how Snoke dies, as Kylo killing him doesn’t have the same impression or impact as Vader killing Palpatine. For starters, it wasn’t surprising given how horrible he had been to Kylo in the film, going so far as to use Force lightning on him while Palpatine on the surface seemed to be very chummy with Vader, addressing Vader as an old friend and acting like the wise mentor to him. It made it that much more surprising when Vader turned on him. Snoke is killed when Kylo manipulates the lightsaber on his throne to cut him in half. While I admit that is a cunning and creative maneuver on Kylo’s part, it comes a little too easy. When Palpatine was electrocuting Luke, the camera focused on Vader’s face, and even though we couldn’t see his face through the mask, we could tell he was being affected by seeing his son writhing and screaming in agony. Vader then looked back and forth from Luke to Palpatine, showing he was choosing between his mentor and his son. Kylo had no such moment with Rey. 

But then it is revealed that Snoke wasn’t the true villain of the series, but Palpatine. Abrams tries to have Palpatine become the main villain in a way that is pretty half-assed, as he basically just shoehorned him in.

12. Bringing Back Palpatine

The main villain of the Rise of Skywalker turns out to be the main villain of the previous two trilogies: Palpatine. Admittedly, Palpatine is one of my top two favorite characters in Star Wars, and it was always great to see Ian McDiarmid play him on-screen. He was the main highlight in the prequels; I could look at each scene he’s in, and write an essay or at least a few paragraphs about just that one scene. His character seemed out of place in this one. 

For starters, they just shoehorned him into this film without him even being mentioned in the first two. At least in the original trilogy, by the time we see him in person in Return of the Jedi, Palpatine had previously been mentioned in the first film, A New Hope, and later introduced via Holonet in Empire Strikes Back, which provided plenty of build up towards his appearance in the third film. He played a key role in the story as he was the dark side counterpart to Yoda, founder of the tyrannical Empire, the one who turned Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, and was seeking to do the same to Luke. He was the personification of temptation towards the dark side and the Empire, the devil himself, who along with Vader was the final trial Luke needed to face before becoming a Jedi. In the prequel trilogy, Palpatine was the main villain in plain sight all along who was masquerading as the friendly Supreme Chancellor while he was Darth Sidious in the background pulling strings, and slowly turning the Old Republic into the Empire. In the sequel trilogy, he is introduced at the eleventh hour just to give Kylo and Rey something to unite against, and serve as the main antagonist. He didn’t contribute at all to the plot in the first two films. 

In my opinion, he should have stayed dead. It seemed more fitting in that despite being the most successful Sith lord in history, having gone where no Sith has gone before by conquering the Galactic Republic and wiping out the Jedi Order, Palpatine still succumbed to the tradition of the Rule of Two, and like his predecessors was killed by his apprentice. The man who destroyed countless lives and betrayed so many people in his rise to power as well as after from the Separatists and senators to his apprentices, himself met his end by betrayal. By making him alive, Abrams also made Vader’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi less meaningful. Vader originally found himself in choosing between the light (Windu) and the dark (Palpatine), chose the latter largely to save someone he cared about, his wife, and nearly wiped out the Jedi Order. He found himself in the same situation again, choosing between the light represented by Luke and the dark, again represented by Palpatine, and he chooses the former this time for the same reason: to save someone he cared about, his son. In the end, he turns again and in his last act destroys the Sith line, killing the last of the Sith lords, and ending Palpatine’s reign of terror for good and all. He thus fulfills his role as the Chosen One . . . only, whoops, turns out Palpatine survived, and the Chosen One didn’t actually do shit. Some do argue that Anakin did bring balance to the Force for a time, but if Palpatine was the cause of the imbalance and he survived only to be defeated permanently by Rey, then Anakin didn’t truly bring back balance to the Force, Rey did. 

Also, I had trouble following his plan. I mean in the prequels you could follow his plans and actions, and see the logic behind them. In the Phantom Menace, he had the Trade Federation invade his planet of Naboo so he could simultaneously get Supreme Chancellor Valorum removed from office, and use the sympathy vote over his planet being the one blockaded to win the race for Supreme Chancellor. In Attack of the Clones, he had Dooku hire Jango Fett to assassinate Amidala, since he was the cloning template for the clone army, and he knew Obi-wan would eventually track Fett down to Kamino and discover the clone army that would be used to fight the Separatists. He had Dooku create the Confederacy of Independent Systems so he could ignite a galactic civil war, and use it to have the Senate give him emergency powers that combined with the clone army could eventually be used to crown himself Emperor and wipe out the Jedi. In Revenge of the Sith, he revealed to Anakin that he was a Sith knowing that Anakin would tell the Jedi, and they would come to try and arrest or kill him, providing Palpatine the purported justification for issuing Order 66.

In Rise of Skywalker, he told Kylo to kill Rey. He then told Rey he expected her to come, and that his plan was for his spirit to go into her body. He then used both Kylo and Rey’s life forces to heal fully. I’m sorry, but what was his plan exactly? If the plan involved Rey in any capacity, why didn’t he just tell Kylo to bring Rey to him? If he needed to use both their life forces, sending Kylo to kill Rey would just result in at least one of them dying, and if it was just Rey he wanted, it would risk her being killed.

I wouldn’t have opposed seeing Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker, but as a Force vision a la Luke’s experience in the cave on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back. 

Then, there was the way Abrams handled him. Instead of not mentioning him, and just saving his reveal for the third act after some building up, Abrams just reintroduces him in the opening. It doesn’t have the same effect. Palpatine also was most effective by being subtle and nuanced with an undercurrent of menace, which clearly wasn’t present in this film. He didn’t feel as threatening as he did in Episodes VI and III. He was also disposed of too easily, all it took was Rey to cross two lightsabers in front of her, to deflect his Force lightning back at him. 

With Palpatine, Abrams and Disney just brought back something beloved by fans with no real reason to other than as a cheap throwaway to sell tickets, and proceeded to use it in a half-assed way without any real regard for or understanding of it’s role and importance. The way they treated Palpatine is a perfect symbol for how they treated the entire Star Wars series. 

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars Canon Timeline in Chronological Order

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Need help starting your Star Wars adventure? Check out our beginner's guide to the canon timeline!

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens ushered in an entirely new generation of fans looking for more adventures in the galaxy far, far away, but with the whole issue of Legends canon vs. the new canon and a whole slate of new books, comics, and movies arriving in the next few years, it can be hard to figure out where to start. Luckily for you, it's become a bit easier to dive into the canon materials now that a clear line has been drawn between Legends (pre-Disney) and new canon (post-Disney) stories, but that new material is quickly growing, too. 

In order to help new fans get a clear look at the official Star Wars timeline, we've put together a list of the most central Star Wars books, comics, and games and detailed how they relate to the movies and TV series.

Read More: Everything We Know About Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

What won't you see on this list?

Most Star Wars Insider short stories, Star Wars Rebels Magazine comics, Forces of Destiny shorts, or Disney novelizations like The Princess, The Farmboy, and The Scoundrel. Star Wars Insider stories have been included where we felt they contributed most to the overarching timeline -- or if we felt they were particularly good.

This timeline is intended to help you find the best jumping-on point. (There's always the "pick up whatever you find first" approach, though.) Dates are sometimes approximate and are based on years before (BBY) and after (ABY) the Battle of Yavin, equivalent to before and after A New Hope, as per the official canon chronology.

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32 - 20 BBY - Age of Republic

Written by Jody Houser

Art by Cory Smith and Luke Ross

The Age of Republic comics miniseries is composed of one-shot issues that prove writer Jody Houser is a powerful new addition to Star Wars fiction. The series focuses on Prequel characters such as Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Maul, Jango Fett, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku, and General Grievous. They each get their own issues, which can be read together or separately. Age of Republic Special stars Mace Windu and brings in heroes and villains from across the Clone Wars.

32 BBY - Marvel's Darth Maul

Written by Cullen Bunn

Art by Luke Ross

Set before the events of The Phantom Menace and the villain's first demise at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, this comic book miniseries follows Darth Maul in the early days of his apprenticeship under Darth Sidious. While he's not allowed to engage the Jedi just yet, Maul still manages to come face to face with a young Jedi Padawan during one of his missions for the Dark Lord of the Sith. The events of the series show how the dark side makes Maul more powerful but also incredibly flawed.

Buy Marvel's Darth Maul

32 BBY - The Phantom Menace 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy The Phantom Menace

29 BBY - Marvel's Obi-Wan & Anakin 

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Marco Checchetto

This comic series, written by Charles Soule and penciled by Marco Checchetto, is Disney’s first foray into deep Prequel territory, without even The Clone Wars to hang on to. Devoid of any ancillary material. Obi-Wan & Anakin paints a slightly different picture of the iconic Jedi team-up than the Legends stories did before. Anakin is a headstrong tinkerer, but there is also an edge of vengefulness or self-hatred around him in the first issue when he summons a hologram of Darth Maul that surprises and disgusts the Jedi Council.

The series expands on how Anakin’s life as a slave affects the way he views the Jedi. This isn't an easy apprenticeship for either Jedi, but we know that it’s leading up to at least some camaraderie by the time of Padme’s attempted assassination in Attack of the Clones.

Buy Marvel's Obi-Wan & Anakin

28 BBY - Queen's Shadow

Written by E.K. Johnston

This young adult novel details the lives of Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens. The loose plot follows Padmé as she transitions from queen to senator, but the episodic story is much more than that. It confronts the idea of slavery in Star Wars, the tragedy of the way Papatine manipulated Padmé’s political path, and the problems and privileges of ruling at such a young age. Padmé is presented as a formidable warrior, a teen still learning to hold her own, and a shrewd negotiator. 

22 BBY - Attack of the Clones 

Directed by George Lucas

Written by George Lucas & Jonathan Hales

Buy Attack of the Clones

22-19 BBY - The Clone Wars 

Created by George Lucas

Buy The Clone Wars

21-17 BBY - Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

Written by James Luceno

Before Jyn Erso embarked on her fateful mission to steal the plans to the Death Star from the evil Empire in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, she lived on Coruscant with her parents, Galen and Lyra. Galen is a scientist who means to use his kyber crystal research to produce renewable energy for the galaxy, but his friend Orson Krennic has very different plans. The scientist doesn't know that he's actually helping create a weapon for the Death Star!

Buy Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

19 BBY - Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir 

Written by Jeremy Barlow

Art by Juan Frigeri

Although Mother Talzin appeared to have perished in The Clone Wars, she returns in what may or may not be a spiritual form during the many battles in Son of Dathomir. This comic miniseries, like Dark Disciple, was adapted from unused scripts from The Clone Wars, and is something of a battle royale, pitting Darth Maul against a variety of foes, including Count Dooku and General Grievous.

Buy Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir

19 BBY - "Kindred Spirits" 

Written by Christe Golden for Star Wars Insider #159

Often, Star Wars Insider stories will tie directly to one of the recently released novels, exploring side characters or presenting scenes before or after the book. In the case of "Kindred Spirits," the author was also the same: Christie Golden penned this tale of Asajj Ventress finding an unlikely ally shortly before Dark Disciple. Readers interested in the bounty hunter persona Ventress adopted during The Clone Wars might especially appreciate the tone of this one, which also features another tough female character.

19 BBY - Dark Disciple 

Written by Christie Golden

While fans clamored for more of The Clone Wars after the animated series’ cancellation, stories set in this era, and overseen by many of the same writers and producers, began to emerge in different formats. Some unaired episodes of The Clone Wars were aired during conventions or released online; others were adapted into comics, as in Son of Dathomir. Dark Disciple was one of the more high-profile results of this effort, as it is a full-length novel telling the story of Asajj Ventress after her story on the television show had ended.

Ventress is reluctantly recruited by Quinlan Vos, a morally ambiguous Jedi in pursuit of Count Dooku. Dark Disciple is, in part, a love story, showing Ventress and Vos’ relationships with one another and how that affects their views of the Force. It’s also a war story, with the inventive action typical of The Clone Wars.

Buy Dark Disciple

19 BBY - Revenge of the Sith 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy Revenge of the Sith

19 BBY - Marvel's Kanan 

Written by Greg Weisman

Art by Pepe Larraz

If you watch Rebels but haven’t read Star Wars books or comics before, Kanan series is a good place to start. The stories alternate between the crew of the Ghost undertaking what at first seems to be a simple mission on Lothal, and Kanan’s memories of Order 66 and his training with his Jedi Master. This is a good way to learn about this fan-favorite character.

Buy Marvel's Kanan

19 BBY - Marvel's Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli

This series literally starts at the moment Darth Vader is born, a second after the end of Revenge of the Sith. Unlike Marvel's first Darth Vader series, this new ongoing book tackles the earliest days of Anakin's transformation into the feared Sith apprentice, more machine than man. 

Buy Marvel's Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

18 BBY - Ahsoka

Written by E.K. Johnston

What happened to former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano after leaving the Order in The Clone Wars? This is the story of what led Ahsoka down the path to becoming the Rebel agent Fulcrum. Anyone who loves the character's appearances in the animated series should read this book.

Buy Ahsoka

14 BBY - "Orientation" 

Written by John Jackson Miller for Star Wars Insider #157

Like "Kindred Spirits," John Jackson Miller’s "Orientation" has some of the same characters as the Star Wars novels that came out around the same time. It was packaged along with Lords of the Sith, but touches some other Star Wars material, too.

Darth Vader is ostensibly the main character of the story, strutting his way around an Imperial training ship. But the other star of this story is Rae Sloane, a young cadet. Remember that name.

14 BBY - Lords of the Sith

Written by Paul S. Kemp

Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine have crash-landed in the dangerous wilderness of Ryloth in this dark side road trip. Lords of the Sith also has a connection to Rebels and The Clone Wars: freedom fighter Cham Syndulla sees a potential advantage for his rebels and tries to assassinate the Sith while they’re working their way through the wilderness.

The novel explores Vader and Palpatine’s tense power struggles as well as the things that bind them together. Lords of the Sith also has the new canon’s first LGBT character, the slovenly Imperial Moff Mors, who has her own character arc as the story goes on.

Buy Lords of the Sith

14 BBY - Tarkin 

Written by James Luceno

Another tale from the dark side, Tarkin shows the history and martial rise of the man who would one day command the Death Star. James Luceno was known for writing big, encyclopedic novels in the Legends timeline—he’s particularly good at fitting different parts of the canon together and talking about the political landscape of the galaxy far, far away. The Tarkin novel brings both of those things into the new canon and tells the story of Tarkin’s attempt to retake an experimental starship from Rebel saboteurs.

Buy Tarkin

13 BBY - Lando's Luck

Written by Justina Ireland

Disney Publishing has been knocking it out of the park with the young adult Star Wars novels, and Lando’s Luck is the most entertaining of the Solo tie-ins. Funny dialogue and a fast-paced adventure make this story—in which Lando and L3-37 team up with a young princess—a good one to pick up if you liked Lando in either Solo or The Empire Strikes Back. 

13-10 BBY - Solo: A Star Wars Story

Directed by Ron Howard

Written by Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan

11-5 BBY - Lost Stars 

Written by Claudia Gray

Although Lost Stars spans throughout the Original Trilogy, it starts beforehand, with two young people joining the Imperial Academy. It’s essentially a love story, with Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree still holding their feelings for one another even after Thane joins the Rebellion. This book is also a great look at the psychology of the people inside the two armies.

The new Star Wars books have dispensed quickly with the idea that all Rebels are noble (or noble scoundrels) and that all Imperial loyalists are scheming. Lots of different things drive people to make their choices in war, and Lost Stars shows that. It also culminates in an exciting battle that ties into The Force Awakens. After reading this one, you’ll never look at Jakku quite the same way again.

Buy Lost Stars

11-2 BBY - Thrawn

Written by Timothy Zahn

When the old continuity was turned into Legends, it meant that many of the greatest characters introduced in the old EU were no longer canon. It seems like even that couldn't keep the Empire's greatest tactician down, though. The cold, Chiss admiral Thrawn returns to continuity with this new origin story from writer Timothy Zahn, the man who created the character back in the '90s. 

Buy Thrawn

11 BBY - A New Dawn 

Written by John Jackson Miller

For fans of Rebels, A New Dawn shows the origins of some fan-favorite characters and sets the tone for the new canon Imperials. It introduces the ruthlessly efficient Count Vidian, who goes up against Hera and Kanan when the fate of a planet is on the line. Joining them are the unlikely duo of conspiracy theorist Skelly and ex-Imperial surveillance officer Zaluna. Although it explains more about Kanan’s history than Hera’s (more about her can be found in the short story “Mercy Mission,” in the Rise of the Empire collection), A New Dawn is a good piece of the continuity puzzle for Rebels fans.

It was also the first book in the new canon, making its title doubly appropriate. Author John Jackson Miller was well-known for Legends material, like the novel Kenobi and the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, before he contributed the first book to the new canon.

Buy A New Dawn

6-4 BBY - Servants of the Empire 

Written by Jason Fry

This four-book young reader series follows Zare Leonis, the Imperial cadet who helped Ezra escape the stormtrooper academy in season one of Rebels. Like Rebels itself, the series can be enjoyed by people outside of its grade-school audience, too. Part of the appeal is the characters: the story switches between Zare and his conflicting ideas about the Empire to his friend, hacker Merei Spanjaf, who launches her own investigations while trying to avoid being caught by her security expert mother.

Zare is on the hunt for his sister, a promising, Force-sensitive Imperial recruit taken by the Grand Inquisitor. Like in A New Dawn, Rebels fans will be able to find plenty of connections to their favorite characters.

Buy Servants of the Empire

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6 BBY-3 ABY - Battlefront / Battlefront: Twilight Company 

Video Game Developed by DICE

Novel Written by Alexander Freed

Like John Jackson Miller, Battlefront: Twilight Company author Alexander Freed came to Star Wars novels through short stories and comics. His canon short fiction has appeared in Star Wars Insider before (“One Thousand Levels Down” and “The End of History”).

Twilight Company visits some of the same locations available to players in the 2015 Battlefront video game, but its characters are new and unique. The cynical protagonist is Namir, a soldier who fights doggedly for the Rebellion’s cause without ever really believing that the cause is as noble as others do. He finds an unlikely ally in Chalis, a former Imperial governor whose ruthless plans for the Rebel squad’s success cause some dissent in the ranks.

Buy Battlefront

Buy Battlefront: Twilight Company

5-2 BBY - Rebels 

Created by Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, & Carrie Beck

Buy Rebels

3 BBY - Leia: Princess of Alderaan

Written by Claudia Gray 

After winning fans' hearts with the political novel Bloodline, Claudia Gray returned with a young adult novel about Leia's youth on Alderaan and her first missions with the Rebel Alliance. Leia: Princess of Alderaan focuses on the princess and her parents, Breha and Bail, but also includes cameos from characters such as The Last Jedi's Amilyn Holdo, Captain Panaka, and Grand Moff Tarkin.

Buy Leia: Princess of Alderaan

2 BBY - Thrawn: Alliances

Written by Timothy Zahn

The wildly popular canon Thrawn novels continue with a story set during the Clone Wars. Alliances jumps between the Original Trilogy and the Prequel era, showing how Thrawn worked with Anakin Skywalker before and after he became Darth Vader. The book also features Padmé on her own mission during the Clone Wars. She finds herself reluctantly teaming up with the titular Chiss mastermind. 

0 BBY - Guardians of the Whills

Written by Greg Rucka 

A fun look at Jedha before the decidedly less fun events of Rogue One, Guardians of the Whills captures Baze and Chirrut's voices well and shows what Jedha City was like before its destruction. 

Buy Guardians of the Whills

0 BBY - Rogue One

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Written by John Knoll, Gary Whitta, Chris Weitz, & Tony Gilroy

Buy Rogue One

0 BBY - A New Hope 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy A New Hope

0 BBY - 5 ABY: Battlefront II/ Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

Video Game Developed by EA DICE, Motive Studios, Criterion Software

Novel Written by Christie Golden

A prequel to the video game Battlefront II, the novel Inferno Squad introduces players to Iden Versio, special forces commander and daughter of Imperial loyalist Admiral Garrick Versio. Assigned to infiltrate a group of Saw Gerrera's Partisans, she and her team grapple with the morality of both the Empire and the violent splinter group of the Rebellion. 

The video game's campaign follows Inferno Squad from shortly before the destruction of the Death Star to the Battle at Jakku, where the Empire finally fell. Fans who read the novel will have much better context for the relationships between the characters in the campaign, which also introduces playable versions of Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. 

Buy Battlefront II

Buy Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

0 BBY - Marvel's Princess Leia 

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Terry Dodson

Many of Marvel’s Star Wars comic series so far take place in the Original Trilogy time period. Before information about The Force Awakens was public, Marvel was already doing all it could with its re-acquisition of the Star Wars brand, launching three ongoing series (Star Wars, Darth Vader, and Kanan), along with a succession of miniseries. The Princess Leia story picks up immediately after the end of A New Hope, touching on Leia’s feelings—or lack thereof—about the destruction of her home planet.

Although Rebel High Command wants her to keep a low profile, Leia makes it her mission to recruit surviving Alderaanians to the Rebel cause. They are in diaspora, but not all of the people she meets want to go to war. She’s helped by Evaan, a Rebel pilot with a not-so-favorable view of the woman she calls “ice princess.”

Buy Marvel's Princess Leia

0 BBY - Heir to the Jedi 

Written by Kevin Hearne

Heir to the Jedi was published right in the middle of the transition from Legends to new canon. Originally branded as part of the Empire & Rebellion series, along with Razor’s Edge and Honor Among Thieves, it alone of the three books in that series survived the cut-off. Kevin Hearne’s story explains how Luke learned the telekinesis he used in The Empire Strikes Back.

Since Obi-Wan never taught him that, someone had to encourage Luke to use the Force—and in Heir to the Jedi, it’s Nakari Kelen, a fellow Rebel pilot with whom Luke goes on a mission to retrieve a Rebel codebreaker.

Buy Heir to the Jedi

0 BBY - Marvel's Chewbacca 

Written by Gerry Duggan

Art by Phil Noto

Some time after the events of A New Hope, Chewbacca finds himself comfortably crash-landed on the planet Andelm IV. He’s willing to have a bit of a nap before beginning a leisurely search for parts for his ship, but there are other people on the planet who aren’t so relaxed.

A girl named Zarro and her father have been conscripted into working essentially as slaves in a mine run by a man who plans to profit off of the Empire. Chewie and Zarro hatch a plan to free her father in this fun, five-issue series with beautiful art by Phil Noto.

Buy Marvel's Chewbacca

0 BBY - The Weapon of a Jedi  

Written by Jason Fry

Prolific Star Wars writer Jason Fry tells a quintessential Luke story in The Weapon of a Jedi. A young Luke travels to Devaron on a hunch sent by the Force and discovers an ancient Jedi Academy where he can hone his skills—and where he fights with a lightsaber for the first time.

Although we don’t know for sure whether the Jedi Temple on Devaron will affect the Star Wars universe going forward, it’s Luke’s best canon example of a place where Jedi can go to learn, and maybe influenced the academy he eventually built in the New Republic. The book also features flash forwards to Jessika Pava, the Resistance pilot who flew with Poe Dameron at the battle of Starkiller Base.

Buy The Weapon of a Jedi

0 BBY - Marvel's Star Wars & Darth Vader 

Star Wars: Written by Jason Aaron, Art by John Cassaday et al

Darth Vader: Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Salvador Larroca

Some of the best—and more surprising—stories in the Marvel Star Wars line come out of the ongoing series, which occur concurrently and crossed over in their first big event, “Vader Down.” The series follows both heroes and villains of the Original Trilogy, including Luke’s earnest, enthusiastic slide into learning how to use his Jedi powers; Vader’s conflicted relationship with Emperor Palpatine and the Sith legacy of betrayal and competition; and Han’s maybe-wife Sana Solo. 

The longest-running Marvel Star Wars series so far are also the ones that most clearly show how Marvel is handling the core characters going forward, so check these out if you want to see what Luke, Han, and Leia are up to after A New Hope.

Darth Vader recently wrapped and it's easily one of the best stories to come out of the new EU so far. You NEED to read this series!

Buy Marvel's Star Wars

Buy Marvel's Darth Vader

0 BBY - Marvel's Doctor Aphra

Written by Kieron Gillen & Simon Spurrier

Art by Kev Walker et. al.

After becoming a breakout hit in the comics, Doctor Aphra became the first Star Wars character who never appeared in the movies to helm her own comic book series. Her title reveals her history, including her parents and how she became a rogue archeologist. 

Buy Marvel's Doctor Aphra

0 BBY - Smuggler’s Run 

Written by Greg Rucka

Smuggler’s Run is one in a series of three young reader books put out as part of the Journey to The Force Awakens line. Along with Weapon of a Jedi and Moving Target, Smuggler’s Run follows one member of the Original Trilogy trio and is bookended by scenes set in the Sequel Trilogy era.

This one focuses on Han Solo and Chewbacca balancing living the lawless life with their work for the Rebellion. Written by Greg Rucka, Smuggler’s Run shows Han as he reluctantly takes on a mission to save a Rebel scout from the Empire.

Buy Smuggler's Run

0 BBY-3 ABY - Marvel's Lando 

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Alex Maleev

Lando, written by Charles Soule, with art from Alex Maleev, shows the suave baron-administrator before he got his title. Lando thinks he has scored big when he plans to steal a valuable starship, but it turns out that the ship once belonged to Emperor Palpatine (and Darth Maul), and there are plenty of unpleasant Sithly surprises in store.

As well as featuring Lando himself, the comic has a lot of great supporting characters, including mysterious twin aliens and Lobot himself. Watching Lobot’s stoic expressions in The Empire Strikes Back will never be the same after reading this comic.

Buy Marvel's Lando

0-3 ABY - Marvel's Han Solo

Written by Marjorie Liu

Art by Mark Brooks

Buy Marvel's Han Solo

3 ABY - The Empire Strikes Back 

Directed by Irvin Kershner 

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & Leigh Brackett

Buy The Empire Strikes Back

4 ABY - Moving Target 

Written by Cecil Castellucci & Jason Fry

Leia’s installment of the Journey to The Force Awakens series follows her on a mission to distract the Empire from the Rebellion’s growing fleet—the fleet that will attack the second Death Star at Endor. Her team travels through various adventures in their effort to do that, while Leia weighs her feelings about duty against the idea that she might be sacrificing some Rebel sympathizers in order to buy time for others.

Like the other two Original Trilogy books in the line, Moving Target is a quintessential Star Wars story with a few connections to other parts of the saga. The flash forward involves PZ-4CO, the blue droid seen in the Resistance base in The Force Awakens, interviewing Leia for her memoirs.

Buy Moving Target

4 ABY - Return of the Jedi 

Directed by Richard Marquand

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas

Buy Return of the Jedi

4 ABY - Marvel's Shattered Empire 

Written by Greg Rucka

Art by Marco Checchetto

The timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is a bit sparse right now, with the Aftermath trilogy expected to fill up the years after Return of the Jedi. Another novel, Bloodline by Claudia Gray, due out in 2016, is set about six years before Episode VII.

However, Shattered Empire wastes no time in showing where Luke, Han, and Leia were immediately after Return of the Jedi, while also introducing Poe Dameron’s parents. Pilot Shara Bey and soldier Kes Dameron join the Original Trilogy heroes in mopping up what’s left of the Empire on Endor—and find some strange, Force-sensitive trees.

Buy Marvel's Shattered Empire

4 ABY - Alphabet Squadron

Written by Alexander Freed

This military novel is primarily concerned with the titular squadron, a bickering but charming group of Rebel sole survivors and ex-Imperials tasked with hunting down an elite TIE Fighter squadron. It’s one of the heavier books in the saga, not just because of the page count but because of the thorough look into the characters’ psychologies. (Thankfully, they are provided an in-universe therapist.)

It also earns its place on the timeline because it sits between the formation of the New Republic and the establishment of a truly stable galaxy. Characters like General Hera Syndulla show the struggle of former Rebels, whose lack of a central leadership helped them survive, as they adapt to being the dominant power in the galaxy. Alphabet Squadron is the first novel in a trilogy. 

4 ABY - Aftermath 

Written by Chuck Wendig

The first novel set after Return of the Jedi brings a new cast of characters to the story, Rebels who, with varying degrees of reluctance, find themselves embroiled with a meeting of the surviving Imperial officers. Remember Rae Sloane? She’s back, as an admiral this time—and she has her own plans for how to restore the Empire to both greatness and stability.

Aftermath also stars Norra Wexley, an X-Wing pilot who fought at the Battle of Endor. She has become estranged from her son Temmin, who will one day become “Snap” Wexley of The Force Awakens’ Resistance fighters, and recruits him, plus a bounty hunter and an Imperial deserter, on a quest to find her missing husband. Aftermath is followed by two sequels, Life Debt and Empire’s End.

Buy Aftermath

5 ABY - Aftermath: Life Debt

Written by Chuck Wendig

Buy Aftermath: Life Debt

5 ABY - Aftermath: Empire's End

Written by Chuck Wendig

Buy Aftermath: Empire's End

7 ABY - Last Shot

Written by Daniel Jose Older

After years of friendship, Han and Lando reminisce about getting older while facing the same old trouble these two always seem to get into. This is a must-have tie-in novel to Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Buy Last Shot

9 ABY - The Mandalorian

Created by Jon Favreau

28 ABY - Bloodline

Written by Claudia Gray

Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray gives a clearer picture of the state of the galaxy before The Force Awakens than any other new canon entry. The New Republic has been standing strong for almost thirty years, and the events in the novel tips things toward the chaotic scenario we saw in Episode VII.

Buy Bloodline

28 ABY - Phasma

Written by Delilah S. Dawson

The history of the First Order's feared enforcer is revealed secondhand through a Resistance spy interrogated by the First Order. The Phasma novel explores the irradiated planet Parnassos and the way Phasma first met Brendol Hux, shedding some light on the premier stormtrooper without explaining everything behind the mask. 

Buy Phasma

28 ABY - "The Perfect Weapon" 

Written by Delilah S. Dawson

"The Perfect Weapon" by Delilah S. Dawson was the first short story to feature one of the new characters from The Force Awakens. Like the young reader books listed earlier, it’s part of the Journey to the Force Awakens line and was released as an ebook and excerpted in Star Wars Insider #163.

Bazine Netal, the woman who informs the First Order of the Resistance fighters’ presence at Maz Kanata’s castle, works as a bouncer and hired gun in this story. It doesn’t take place at the same time as The Force Awakens or particularly illuminates Bazine’s actions during the movie, but if you’re interested in her from the few glimpses in The Force Awakens, it might be worth checking out.

Buy "The Perfect Weapon"

28 ABY - "Bait" 

Written by Alan Dean Foster for Star Wars Insider #162

The Star Wars Insider story that ties most closely with The Force Awakens so far is also tied to "The Perfect Weapon." "Bait" follows Grummgar, the alien seen lounging with Bazine in Maz Kanata’s palace. Like "The Perfect Weapon," it takes place at an unspecified time before the movie and shows a hunting trip that doesn't quite go as expected.

28 ABY - Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens 

Written by Landry Q. Walker

Although four of the stories in this collection were released as e-books, six of them, all by Landry Q. Walker, are only available in this collection. The anthology tells selected tales from the lives of the denizens of Maz Kanata’s palace, including the Jakku lawman Constable Zuvio and the red-masked Crimson Corsair. The stories follow in the tradition of Legends' "Tales" anthologies that were set in the Original Trilogy and have some surprising connections to the Prequels.

Buy Tales from Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens

34 ABY - Marvel's Poe Dameron

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Phil Noto

Before he destroyed Starkiller Base, ace Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was already taking on missions from General Leia and fighting the good fight against the First Order. This comic book series shows what Poe was up to before he met Lor San Tekka on Jakku. 

Buy Marvel's Poe Dameron

34 ABY - Marvel's C-3PO Special

Written by James Robinson

Art by Tony Harris

Want to know what was up with Threepio's red arm in The Force Awakens? This touching one-shot tells the story of a droid adventure for the ages that is surprisingly full of emotion. Who knew droids could feel so much?

Buy Marvel's C-3PO Special

34 ABY - Before the Awakening 

Written by Greg Rucka

There’s something to be said about not having to answer every question about a large science fiction universe in a movie, but for people who have questions about The Force Awakens, this is the book that answers them.

How did Poe Dameron become part of the Resistance? What was life actually like for Finn in the First Order stormtrooper corps, and why does he make his decision on Jakku? When did Rey hone her piloting skills? Before the Awakening answers all of these questions, as well as tell three fun stories suitable for young readers.

Buy Before the Awakening

34 ABY - Resistance

Created by Dave Filoni

Overlapping with The Force Awakens, Resistance follows former New Republic pilot Kaz Xiono on a mission to discover a First Order spy on a floating platform where starship racers rule the roost. Kaz is joined by the aspiring pilot Tam and quirky Neeku in the mechanics’ shop run by deadpan ex-racer Jarek Yeager. Poe Dameron, BB-8, General Hux, and Captain Phasma make cameos in this laid-back Star Wars romp, which might be best for the younger set who aren’t ready for Rebels.

34 ABY - The Force Awakens 

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, & J.J. Abrams

Buy The Force Awakens

34 ABY - Marvel's Captain Phasma

Written by Kelly Thompson

Art by Marco Chechetto, Andres Mossa 

Set immediately after The Force Awakens, Captain Phasma follows the titular stormtrooper captain out of the trash compactor in which she was imprisoned at the end of Episode VII. She quickly finds her way to an inhospitable planet in pursuit of Sol Rivas, a First Order lieutenant and the only person who knows that Phasma lowered Starkiller Base's shield. The comic shows how Phasma escaped and some of the tough choices she had to make in the aftermath.

Buy Marvel's Captain Phasma

34 ABY - Canto Bight

Written by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, John Jackson Miller 

The Canto Bight novella collection includes four stories set in the lavish casino city from The Last Jedi. Its varied visitors include a down-on-his-luck gambler, a casino servant, and a salesman who won a trip to the city. 

Buy Canto Bight

34 ABY - The Last Jedi 

Directed by Rian Johnson

Written by Rian Johnson 

Buy The Last Jedi on Amazon

34 ABY - Resistance Reborn

Written by Rebecca Roanhorse

Leia Organa called for allies at the very end of The Last Jedi, and this novel, the first set after Episode VIII, shows who answered. Characters from across the Expanded Universe reappear for a who's who of current Star Wars. It also takes a look at the more banal side of the war, showing a middle manager in the First Order instead of a wartime villain at the helm of a starship. Resistance Reborn's heroes and villains are no less heroic or villainous for trying to survive in their day-to-day lives (and in Poe Dameron's case, trying to deal with his interpersonal complications). 

35 ABY - The Rise of Skywalker

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio

Megan Crouse writes about Star Wars and pop culture for StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider, and Den of Geek. Read more of her work here. Find her on Twitter @blogfullofwords.

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.

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Megan Crouse John Saavedra

Dec 17, 2019

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[the-irish-mayhem]

Oooooooooooh, you have some sw fic outlines. Please, please tell me! I'd love to know.

Oh jeebus. I have a lot of them. While I was reading over these again/condensing for purposes of the ask, I realized the reason I probably haven’t finished any of them is because they’re all so plot-heavy and god knows when I start writing something with plot it’s gonna end up AT LEAST 20k.

I put this under a cut because it got long and apparently I am having lots of Star Wars feelings tonight and because I love you anon :D

A) There was the one Clone Wars-era fic where I literally created an entire race of aliens inhabiting a small planet not unlike Hoth and their entire culture was based off of ice carving. Like, they had massive ice cities and ice sculptures and stuff and there were whole celebrations and coming-of-age ceremonies related to ice carving, and even the prefixes of their names had to do with their specific family tradition of carving/where they were from because that influences their style of carving. for some godforsaken reason the separatists hone in and start terraforming the place to be warmer/melt the ice (I say ‘for some godforsaken reason’ but the actual reason is because in its liquid form, this ice isn’t water, it’s some sort of valuable starship fuel [this gives the ice unique properties, and figures into carving traditions, and makes it more hardy than normal ice]) and even though this is one of the good ol Neutral Systems, the Republic gets word of this and is like ‘well shit, we can’t let the Seps get all that fuel’ and Padmé Amidala is sent as a diplomatic emissary (partly because her coalition fought for it, but also because in the back of her mind she knows what it’s like to have your peaceful planet invaded by those who want to exploit it and so she packs like her whole arsenal of blasters because she may be a pacifist in theory, but she’s also fucking pissed.) Padmé also sees an opportunity when the Senate requests she accept Jedi protection on this mission, and she humbly suggests Jedi Knight Skywalker and Padawan Tano accompany her, because they have worked together in the past and will mesh more smoothly with her own security. Cue the shenanigans, with Anakin and Padmé poorly concealing their relationship from Ahsoka, political trickery and corruption, fighting Separatists, aggressive negotiations, and the Republic wins the day.

B) With his padawan gone and his legion falling apart in the waning months of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker wonders what will come after. Or, the Chosen One ponders peacetime. Set post-Fives’ death. (A look at how Anakin feels about losing the people he trusts the most. He 100% has a conversation with Rex about it. Address the “nightmares” Fives mentioned. Talk about clones as “property” and what will come after. Bonding over it.) first line: Fives’ last words stick in Anakin’s head like an itch he can’t scratch. It’s a flutter, a prod in the Force that he can’t understand. (also like. yo. if this turned into a multichapter, imagine Anakin and Rex prodding at this issue and the plot starts to unravel and after like 8 chapters of misdirections Anakin realizes the Chancellor is behind this and yo. YOO.)

C) Fives shoots the probe droid off his back. Everything changes. I have a lot of feelings about this Clone Wars episode cLeArLy and also come on Fives isn’t a shiny he’d KNOW he was being followed. Anakin and Rex are drawn into Fives’ investigation. Anakin is leery, but in the end, much like the previous fic, they unravel the web and everybody lives! (or at least most of them do)

D) Anakin and Obi-wan crash land on a Separatist-occupied planet. Anakin is severely injured because no one can ever legally say I don’t love Anakin-whump, and Obi-wan mother-hens and is trying to keep this idiot alive and it’s part survival, part thriller (because they gotta avoid the Separatists and keep it way on the DL that they’re Jedi), and lots of whump. Ideally, this fic ends in a catharsis moment that, down the line, will lead to Anakin NOT falling to the Dark Side, but I DIGRESS.

E) So, there comes a Breaking Point™ and Anakin leaves the Jedi Order, and Padmé leaves the Senate. Maybe the kids came early, and it just became ardently clear to both of them that Luke and Leia were their priority, and they both just dip outta Courascant and fuck off to Naboo to live happily ever after….kinda. They both love their kids, but they both feel guilty for leaving. (Oh, and Aunt Ahsoka comes to visit, because she left the Order and she and Anakin stayed in touch and it gave him another person who wasn’t Palpy to lean on outside the Order. Uncle Obi-wan also drops in from time to time, when he’s on leave.) So yeah, they both feel guilty, Padmé still teleconferences with Bail and Mon, consults on bills and proposals; Anakin still offers advice to Obi-wan, battle plans (and here Obi-wan would laugh because Anakin when do you ever stick to a plan.) and they both generally just keep up with what’s happening in the Republic because they’re SO DESPERATE to know that everything would be fine without them. And then it becomes very VERY evident that things are NOT all right when Palpatine moves forward with his plans, executes Order 66, and shit is just CHAOS. Idk if he like…. sends some people for Luke and Leia on Naboo, because in this outline I hadn’t decided how much he knows about their departures from their positions/their marriage/the twins, but anyway when he declares himself Emperor and the Jedi have been nearly wiped out, Anakin and Padmé know they can’t just sit idly by. So they both become Rebel leaders, building the Rebellion to what we know it as in A New Hope. Anakin, Obi-wan, and Ahsoka all try to suss out where the surviving Jedi are, all while evading Palpy’s Sith agents. It’s clear Palpatine still wants to turn Anakin. Padmé runs things politically along with Bail and Mon’s help, building a galactic support network. The twins are brought up on Rebel bases, learning the ways of the Jedi from all the survivors, not just a single master. (Though, if they were to get particular about it, Leia is Ahsoka’s padawan, and Luke is Obi-wan’s. The latter was accepted with some grumbling One Skywalker was enough for several lifetimes but changing his tune when Luke turns out a lot more like Padmé than Anakin.) They don’t ever plan on having more kids–life in the Rebellion is stressful and not to mention dangerous, but as these things go, there’s a whoops and there’s now a third Skywalker child when Luke and Leia are in their mid-teens. Boy or girl, I’m not sure. If it’s a boy, they name him Jinn Skywalker (because tbt to that fake vision Vader had in Lost Command) and if it’s a girl? I don’t know. I don’t think it would be Shmi. Padmé 1000000% suggests it, but Anakin says he doesn’t think so. Anyway. Lots of spying and battling and military-ing and propaganda-ing and politicking and lightsaber dueling and Rebels winning later, the Empire is defeated! (Probably after a hella intense battle between Anakin and Palpatine, or his Apprentice of the Week, and Luke and/or Leia have to be there to help him and ground him maybe? Don’t know for sure but it would be TENSE.) Luke and Leia are in their early twenties, Jinn/not-Shmi is ten-ish? Timelines. But they did it! They beat the Empire!

F) This one is sparse, but like…. what if Cleigg freed Shmi and Anakin before Padmé and company found them? Or they just don’t find them until Anakin is a moody teenager, but now with Better Emotional Control because he wasn’t raised a Jedi, and has a loving family? So basically he kind of teaches himself how to use the Force, because he literally has such an intense unconscious connection to it. Eventually Someone Comes™ but I don’t know who this would be or what their reason would be, but I mostly wanted a reason for Owen to be Salty™ that Anakin left the farm. Because in this fic they would be proper brothers, ok. Also, Anakin wins a shit ton of pod-races and becomes semi-famous on Tatooine for being the only human to win not only one race, but a fuckin BUNCH.

G) Your classic Anakin-Gets-Thrown-Forward-In-Time

H) Your classic Luke and Leia-Get-Thrown-Back-In-Time

G) Not sure if this counts, but there’s like…….a massive Star Wars/Avengers Fusion AU that I’ve got going on. I’ve written like… thousands of words for it. Steve is a Jedi, trained by Jedi Master Peggy Carter. His best friend, former Padawan Bucky Barnes fell to the Dark Side after being captured by an enemy (either Separatists or Empire, but I’m thinking Separatists), but Steve still believes that Bucky can be saved/doesn’t believe his falling was purposeful. Cue Jedi rhetoric about falling to the Dark Side, and Steve goes rogue and tracks down Natasha Romanoff, a former Jedi-turned-Sith assassin-turned-bounty hunter whose wise-cracking, flyboy partner goes by the name Hawkeye and is allegedly the best shot in the galaxy. Nick Fury is Mace Windu but with an eyepatch and more justice given to his story. Thor is the prince of some rich planet in the Core (or maybe Mandalore) who was found to be extremely Force-sensitive as an infant, but his powerful family covered it up in his medical records so he wouldn’t be noticed by the Jedi. Jane Foster is a Jedi healer who kind of finds him out.

These are just the ones I have google docs for; this isn’t even counting all the notebooks that definitely have plot-bunnies written in them.

[mariaarnt]

Attack of the Clones Canon Divergence Poly OT3 Plot Bunny

So I dreamed the ENTIRETY of this last night, and I absolutely love it. However, since I literally need to crank out an entire YA novel by November (in addition to editing and publishing the first two in the series), I do not have the time it deserves to write it. Come December, I’ll have the new sequel to inspire me, and will likely write about that instead of more prequel stuff nobody cares about.

But, since my muse DEMANDS validation, I must share the idea with you. Because the summary I cranked out in a couple hours is very long and I respect your time and dash space, I’ll put it under a cut.

Super short version: because things went differently in AoC, Padme, Anakin, & Obi-wan end up in a Poly relationship, fight Palpatine and win, and Padme becomes Supreme Chancellor. I promise it makes sense but you gotta read the long version for that.

Follows the plot of AoC until

Padme insists on going with Anakin when he goes to find his mother. She’s able to comfort him & keep him calm. He can’t slaughter the Tusken village & protect her at the same time, so they simply leave undetected with Shmi’s body.

They arrive back in time to receive Obi-wan’s message live. The conversation is very short as Padme convinces him they should rendezvous nearby & he can use her ship’s more powerful communications array to contact the Jedi council. He quickly agrees & is able to leave Geonosis before the droids find him.

After they rendezvous, Obi-wan contacts the Jedi council & tells them about the Clone Army. When they suggest that they should use it to invade Geonosis, Padme butts in and warns the council that this would start a war they’re not prepared to fight. The clones were commissioned for the Republic, so the Senate should decide what to do with them. They reluctantly agree.

With no imminent emergency, Palpatine is not granted special powers. The Senate bickers about what to do with the army. A growing faction, including Padme, Bail Organa, & Mon Mothma, believe they should allow the Separatists to secede & have their own government in order to prevent a cataclysmic war. Palpatine is not happy with this, and his warmongering efforts cause him to begin to lose control of the Senate.

Padme continues to work with Obi-wan & Anakin to mediate issues concerning the Clone Army. Since they were commissioned by a Jedi (allegedly) but for the Republic, there’s still some question as to jurisdiction. The Jedi complain that there are too few of them to keep the peace in such volatile times, and if they were allowed to lead the army as generals they could do better. The Senate’s compromise is to deploy the Clone Army as a peacekeeping force in place of the Jedi, answering to the local government authorities. They are particularly used in areas that are being harassed by the Separatists who have expressed no desire to join them. The Separatists likewise deploy their droid armies to areas they are having difficulty holding on to. All action takes place terrestrially, and besides a few skirmishes with locals, there is no active fighting between the two forces, although there are several very tense standoffs. The end result is a cold war, with stockpiling continuing until they are close to reaching assured mutual destruction.

Throughout this time Padme, Anakin, & Obi-wan all become extremely close with each other. The unresolved sexual tension between Padme & Anakin is nearly unbearable, but Anakin does his best to respect her wishes (it’s very Victorian lol, lots of situations where they end up in close physical contact, or try to comfort each other without giving in, etc). Padme & Obi-wan find each other incredibly intellectually stimulating, often engaging in “wit-sparring” when one of them plays the devil’s advocate, until Anakin about wants to throttle them both. And as Anakin matures into adulthood, Obi-wan finds that their brotherly bond is deepening into something the Jedi would likely disapprove of. (But he made a promise to Master Qui Gon and he is determined to see it through).

Finally, one day Padme decides to take action (as usual). She sits them both down in private. First, she tells Anakin that she’s reconsidered their conversation at Varykino, and she has come to agree with him. She’s tired of pretending that there is nothing between them. When Obi-wan uncomfortably objects that maybe he shouldn’t be present for this conversation, Padme turns to him & explains that she has fallen in love with him too, she just thought it was best to tell Anakin first so he didn’t go on a jealous rampage. (They all agree she’s probably right, even Anakin). Then she notes that she may not be a Jedi, but even she can tell there’s something between the two of them, too. Obi-wan turns bright red & objects that this would be completely inappropriate to a Master-padawan relationship, while a surprised Anakin says he thought it was actually part of that relationship, and to be expected. Besides, he should have been allowed to do his trials by now anyway (he salty) so it shouldn’t matter.

Padme asks, and stresses that she’s asking, not requesting or demanding, if they would be willing to leave the Jedi order & get married. 3-person marriages are not unheard of on Naboo, and before Kings & Queens were elected, they often had multiple spouses (as many as 5) as the emotional care & support of a regent was often too much work for one person. Anakin immediately agrees without hesitation. He’s had it up to here with the Jedi order, and he would do anything for her. Obi-wan is a little more reticent. He had considered leaving once Anakin passed his trials, as his duty to his own Master would have been fulfilled. But he feels the need to disclose his previous & ongoing love for Satine Kyrze. Padme says she can certainly understand if he would rather go to her, although it pains her to say so. Obi-wan simply smiles sadly and says “she never asked me to leave, though.” He just wants them to know the relationship exists. He doesn’t want to go into this with secrets.

That decided, Padme reveals that the reason she is asking now is that Bail & Mon Mothma (among others) have been encouraging her to make a bid for the position of Supreme Chancellor. Palpatine’s insanity is starting to show, and while it’s uncommon for subsequent Chancellors to come from the same planet, her calm & reasoned handling of the Two Armies Incident has garnered her a lot of support. It’s becoming clear that a war would last decades, if not centuries, and would probably only end in the entire dissolution of civilization as they know it. But she doesn’t think she has the strength to do it without them, and if they remained with the Jedi there would always be rumors that she was being used as a puppet. The Jedi are still largely out of favor as they seem resentful for being removed from their role as peacekeepers in the galaxy and relegated to spiritual leaders only, despite it being more consistent with their philosophy. Freed from their responsibility to the Jedi, Obi-wan could act as an impartial advisor to those things concerning the Jedi. Anakin says he’s not sure how he could help beyond emotional support, he’s terrible at politics, and they both kind of stare at him for a moment. “Anakin, you can be very intimidating sometimes,” Padme tells him. “Uh, thanks?” he says sarcastically. Obi-wan catches on easily. “Sometimes, it’s easier to get things done quickly if there’s a little intimidation behind the request,” he explains. “Oh, so I’m going to be the enforcer?” he asks, a little offended. Then he sits there and thinks about it a minute. “Yeah, I could do that. I’d probably be good at it,” he grins. “Do I get a title? A lot easier to be intimidating when people have to call you “lord” so-and-so.”

This leads to a not-unrelated conversation where Anakin admits that Palpatine has said some very concerning things to him & he is beginning to suspect he may have dabbled in the dark side of the Force (he’s also not sure how he feels about that). Padme agrees and admits that one of the reasons she’s been so resistant to a relationship with Anakin for so long was partly because her old mentor seemed so bent on pressuring her into it. It seemed wrong, especially when Anakin was so young and she thought it would essentially ruin his future. Obi-wan also agrees that it often seemed that Palpatine seemed to be trying to supplant his place as Anakin’s Master, but as he often found himself at a loss for how to guide him, he couldn’t gainsay the additional advice.

Padme & Obi-wan begin to discuss the logistics of them leaving the order (this will be his 4th time so he’s old hat at it) and getting married so as to minimize the political scandal. Anakin seems to be having trouble paying attention & keeps staring at the door. Padme makes a joke about him being impatient as she is to get it over with, but he says “Something’s wrong. Something’s… coming.” Just then the chime for her front door sounds. They sit in silence for a moment, and Obi-wan says the classic “I have a bad feeling about this,” line. Padme decides to answer via an interior room’s communication panel, rather than at the door. Anakin & Obi-wan take places to ready for an attack. At the door is a young woman, one of Palpatine’s aides. No one else is visible on the security camera, but Anakin says he can sense at least 5 more people, and Obi-wan agrees. Padme turns on the audio and says she’s in a private meeting and asks what it is the aide needs. She’s informed that Palpatine has sent to make sure that Padme is alright, as there is breaking news of Jedi attacking Clone Army units & local government throughout the galaxy, and he understood she was likely to be in the company of two Jedi. (In truth, he’s executed order 66 and spun it as incited by the Jedi). Padme responds that no, she’s just fine, and thank you for your concern.

Apparently, this is the wrong answer. The door bursts open, and a unit of clone troopers storms in. These are men that Anakin & Obi-Wan know personally, have worked with, and it’s extremely unsettling to be fighting them. In the process, Anakin’s arm is cut off when he hesitates. (Is he distracted by Padme or Obi-wan getting hurt? Does he freeze when thinks he must kill Commander Cody, a friend? Haven’t decided). But the three of them manage to prevail until they have one injured Clone Trooper left - Commander Cody. Despite his injuries, Anakin uses his pain to gain the power to pull the necessary information from his mind (think Kylo Ren, definitely dark side stuff). He learns the truth about Order 66, and breaks the chip. They rush Anakin and Cody to a medcenter, where Padme turns on the holonet and they see the violence unfolding all over the galaxy. Because the Jedi were not actively working with the clone troopers, it has not been as quick or as successful. The Jedi temple is under siege. Anakin expresses concern for the fate of the younglings within and argues that they should go fight to liberate the temple, despite the fact that he is actively being fitted for a prosthetic arm. When Obi-wan protests, Anakin argues that he can just use the pain to his advantage. Obi-wan chastises him for giving in to the dark side, but Anakin just yells “does it matter which side I use if I’m saving lives? If I’m protecting people???” Without a good argument to the contrary, Obi-wan shuts up.

Padme, however, does have a good argument. Vigilante action is likely to just get them killed along with all the other Jedi. She’s just received word that an emergency session of the Senate is being called. If they can bring Commander Cody’s confession as evidence, it’s more than enough to get Palpatine impeached for abuse of power. They rush to the Senate building, and Bail has already started proceedings for a vote of no confidence. When they present the evidence, Palpatine loses his shit and pulls his “I AM the Senate!” nonsense. Think Yoda-vs-Palpatine in the 3rd movie, but the whole Senate is there and it’s Palpatine vs. Obi-wan & Anakin together. But by now, they’ve learned how to be an effective team, and Anakin has the element of surprise as he absorbs Palpatine’s lightning and throws it right back in his face. (There’s some comment along the lines of “bitch, please, you’re the one who told me how to do this shit).

At the end of the fight, they have Palpatine pinned but they won’t hold him for long. Obi-wan is arguing that they should try to find a way, that he must stand trial, but Anakin is arguing he’s too powerful. They both look to Padme. She knows that this will probably destroy her shot at the Chancellery, but it’s the right thing to do. She tells Anakin to do what he thinks is right. He kills Palpatine. They retrieve Commander Cody, and he helps them figure out how to rescind Order 66. A lot of damage has been done, but the Temple held fast and the losses, while significant, are not even half of the Jedi order as a whole.

In the aftermath, the Jedi Council rules that while killing Palpatine was likely the right course of action, Anakin’s use of the Dark Side makes him ineligible to become a Jedi Knight and he must leave the order. He has the distinct pleasure of telling them the equivalent of, “you can’t fire me, I quit.” A beaming Obi-wan declares that he’s out, too. Bail Organa has been given interim control of the Senate, but he makes it clear that it’s only until things calm down. Padme, Anakin, and Obi-wan are married in a quiet but public ceremony. Shortly after, the Senate reconvenes and surprisingly elects Padme anyway. Apparently, her decision to support Anakin’s argument was actually widely accepted (it’s pretty clear the trial would have ended in the same way anyway). She almost immediately becomes pregnant (dammit Anakin and his super-special chosen-one Force-sperm lol) but she’s confident navigating that at the process of reforming the Republic into a Federation. The galaxy has grown too big to be ruled directly. It will be split into individual factions who agree to a loose constitution of basic rights and laws, but the particulars are left to the rule of the region. The Separatists are offered a seat at the Federation table, and surprisingly, they take it (without Palpatine pushing his buttons, Dooku makes a remarkably capable leader). Peace reigns in the Galaxy, Padme retires the role of Chancellor and they go to live on the estate that Obi-wan apparently now inherits (along with lots of money) and all raise a very happy and well-adjusted Luke & Leia.

Anakin still kind of wants to strangle Padme & Obi-wan when they argue though.

[artyblogs]

Across the Frozen Sea ch5

Star Wars the Clone Wars, Ahsoka/Barriss/Riyo

Across the Frozen Sea summary: Ahsoka, Barriss, and Riyo find themselves stranded in the Pantoran Taiga. They must get back to civilization, but the wilds are more dangerous than they realize. If the cold doesn’t get them, the locals will.

First Chapter : Previous Chapter : Next Chapter : Last Chapter

Chapter 5: Mafoo Manor

Mafoo Manor is built out of dark hardwoods, and is bedecked in sigil tapestries woven with yellow and purple threads. The stone fireplace is tall enough for Riyo to stand in without slouching, and over the mantle are displayed a few elk carvings placed around a painting of Count Mafoo. Sheer, red fabric has been draped over the painting, somewhat obscuring it.

The dining table is draped in exquisite cloth, and features a magnificent spread of cooked fish, roasted meat, and other Pantoran dishes. Barriss eats a reindeer soup out of a finely-made bowl and hopes that she isn’t committing some social faux-pas. If she was asked if her table manners were impeccable yesterday, she would have answered ‘yes,’ but she’s no longer sure of anything after the raw seal debacle that they ate with their hands. At least the food is cooked now. She didn’t have the appetite to eat much of her share of the seal after she watched Ahsoka tear into the literal heart.

Next to her, Ahsoka eats in silence, content to leave the talking to Riyo. Riyo is all practiced grace and poise, emanating an air of power and confidence despite her wrinkled and blood-stained suit. Thankfully, she attracts most of their hosts’ attention, and most of the conversation is held in Galactic Basic.

What’s left of the Mafoo family sits with them at the dining table. Dowager Countess Xola’s gray hair has been twisted back into a bun, and her sad gaze has been steadily trained on Riyo for most of the meal.

Her second son, Count Mfuneko, sits at the head of the table, and he asks Riyo all sorts of questions about Coruscant and her life as a galactic Senator. He can’t be more than a couple years older than Barriss and Riyo, if he’s older at all. On the other hand, her daughter Thandi stares determinedly at her plate.

“My condolences on your loss, Count, Dowager,” Riyo says. “When is the drowning ceremony?”

“It hasn’t been scheduled,” Xola says. “Mfuneko is arranging everything, but he hasn’t decided on a date.”

“I entrust most of the arrangements to Paki.” Mfuneko gestures to a young man standing at attention in the corner of the room. His dark blue hair is short and spiked, and his yellow tattoos streak down over his jaw like a beard.

“You must remember Paki, don’t you, Senator? One of my father’s last acts was to promote him to the head of the guard.”

“I remember. The both of you are close friends,” Riyo says.

“We go back to the same wet-nurse. At any rate, my father’s drowning won’t be done until my brother Dumi comes home. He’s gone and fled in his grief and we can’t find him. Until he returns, it falls to me to act as Count in his stead,” Mfuneko says. He shrugs and slouches in his chair. “It wouldn’t be right to hold such an important ceremony without him, would it? It’s what my father would have wanted.”

As this, Thandi grips her fork so hard her fingers turn white, but no one else seems to notice.

Mfuneko continues. “He went so quickly; none of us expected it. I wasn’t even raised to inherit the title; that was Dumi’s burden to bear, but it can’t be helped. I must continue in their place.”

“Yes, you are the Count. I’m used to talking business during meals, but we could adjourn to the study if that’s preferred,” Riyo says. Mfuneko’s eyebrows go up.

“Of course, Senator. In due time. I’ll admit I have a favor to ask of you as well.”

“Oh?”

“I find myself tasked with finding Thandi a suitable match. No doubt you are well-connected. Perhaps you could recommend a few candidates for me to pursue on her behalf.”

Thandi lowers her fork and knife. Riyo’s eyes flicker.

“My Lord, your sister is only fourteen years old.”

“All the better to be interested in her future. I am determined that she be well taken care of.” Mfuneko’s voice becomes hard and cold. Ahsoka perks up at the change in tone, and Barriss is tempted to Mind Read him through the Force.

Xola sighs and busies herself with her napkin. “I’m curious about your friends, Senator. We hear of the Jedi, but we don’t truly know of them.”

The tension breaks as Riyo turns to Xola. “They’re humble creatures, my lady. The closest equivalent I can draw are the Mother Moon Priestesses.”

After lunch, Mfuneko, Paki, and Riyo shut themselves in the study, leaving Barriss and Ahsoka to Xola and Thandi. The four of them take a tour of the manor.

Mafoo Manor is located in the outskirts of Bravado, on top of tall sea cliffs. It used to be a castle until most of it burned down in a horrible fire almost fifty years ago, and the lavish manor was built atop the remaining ruins. Xola shows them the stables where they keep their prized elk, the conservatory, the ballroom, the music room, two different parlors, and the library. More tapestries and wood carvings are hung on the walls alongside traditional weapons made from whale bone and shark teeth.

In the entrance foyer hangs a three meter-tall calligraphy painting on canvas. It resembles the sigils that they’ve seen everywhere on Pantora, except this one is painted in a deep purple.

“You must have seen this when you arrived, Master Jedi. Chairman Cho started this trend when he had a similar one done for his palace, only his was six meters tall,” Xola says. She frowns up at the canvas.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is blood, isn’t it?” Ahsoka asks. Xola nods.

“Elk blood. I believe the artist mixed the medium with a stabilizing agent, then varnished the entire canvas to keep it from decaying. It’s terribly expensive to do. I must confess that this is the end of the tour, Master Jedi.”

“Of course, Lady Mafoo. You must be busy,” Barriss says.

“If you need anything, feel free to ask one of the staff.” Xola turns and disappears into the house.

Ahsoka looks back up at the painting. “We’re being followed,” she whispers. Barriss looks around, but sees no one else but Thandi, who’s busy looking at a intricate tapestry on the other side of the foyer.

“I saw three guards during our tour, which means that there must be at least nine in total around here,” Ahsoka continues.

“Do you think we’re in danger?” Barriss asks.

Ahsoka shrugs. “I’ve decided that it’s easier to just assume we’re in constant danger until we get back to Defiance, but I’m open to being proven wrong.”

“These guards are very good at hiding themselves,” Barriss mutters.

“Yeah, but I can still hear them moving and I can smell them too. One of them uses too much cologne.” Ahsoka wrinkles her nose.

Barriss lowers her voice even more. “Have you noticed that a lot of these things are new?”

“How can I not? It’s all Xola has been saying. ‘Mfuneko commissioned this, Mfuneko commissioned that.’ This painting alone must cost a fortune,” Ahsoka whispers back.

“It does. My brother’s going to run us into the poorhouse,” Thandi says. She’s standing right behind them.

“My apologies,” Barriss says, but Thandi shakes her head.

“It’s all right. He started burning through our credits as soon as he became Count. My mother tells him not to spend so much, but he doesn’t listen. He wants to marry me off because he wants my dowry.”

Barriss regards the skinny teenager before her. She’s small for her age, with thin shoulders and deep black hair that cascades down her back. Her skin is also a dark blue, making her yellow eyes pop.

“Do you want to get married?” Barriss gently asks.

“No way! I’m training to be a uhadi musician and I want to tour the moon someday. But I don’t have any choice, like Dumi didn’t have a choice when Mfuneko chased him away,” Thandi says.

Ahsoka waves her hands to stop her. “Wait, wait, wait. Dumi, the brother you guys were talking about earlier? That Dumi? He didn’t ‘flee from grief?’”

“No, he wanted to stay, but Mfuneko and Paki threatened him, so he ran away instead.”

“If I may ask, Thandi, how did your father die?” Barriss asks.

Sadness flickers across Thandi’s face. “I don’t know.”

“Where is he interred?”

Thandi shrugs and looks away, blinking furiously. Barriss and Ahsoka share a look. ‘Yikes,’ Ahsoka mouths.

“Does Senator Chuchi know nice people at least? If I must be married, then…maybe it won’t be so bad,” Thandi says.

“Let’s go talk to her now. Can you show us to the study?” Barriss takes Thandi’s arm in hers and lets her lead them through the mansion.

In contrast to the rest of the mansion, the study is paneled from top to bottom in dark wood. Pantoran constellations are carved into the ceiling, and the bit of walls that aren’t covered in shelves feature landscapes. There are two windows on either side of the desk, but despite the copious amount of light they let in, Mfuneko switches on the lamps and places another log in the fireplace. All of the chairs have fur pelts draped over them, and over the floor is a plush rug.

Mfuneko invites Riyo to sit, and she makes herself comfortable in the guest armchair. Paki softly closes the door behind himself and goes to stand in the corner.

“Please excuse the mess, Senator. I must rebuild my father’s network.” Mfuneko gestures to the stacks of flimsi and data cards scattered over the top of the desk. “Your arrival is a blessing; I understand that you were one of my father’s business contacts.”

“I was. He was one of the first to donate to my initial campaign. He was a good man. A generous man.” Riyo pauses. “I would like very much to pay my respects. Where is the body kept?”

Mfuneko looks to Paki, who smirks.

“Alas, he’s still at the embalmers,” Paki says.

“There, see? Never fear, Senator. You’ll receive an invitation to the drowning,” Mfuneko says.

There’s a sinking feeling in Riyo’s gut, but she presses on. “To business then. I’ll admit that my visit is motivated by my recent visit to Bravado proper.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I was astounded to learn that the public waterfront was closed, and that the only hunters allowed were those directly in your employment.”

“You wish to hear an explanation. I’m sorry to confess that the waterfront has been poisoned. My men have secured the piers for the safety of the people while my hunters investigate the cause.”

“And this investigation requires a sample size of a hundred seal? That sounds excessive, your grace,” Riyo says.

“It is unavoidable. I find it best to leave these things to the experts of course.” Mfuneko says.

“Of course. I only ask out of concern.”

There is a long moment in which nothing is said. There is only the crackling of the fire. Mfuneko and Riyo stare at each other from across the desk.

“My sister requires a husband,” Mfuneko says. “I’ve only just announced it yesterday, and already I have five offers for her hand. But surely you must know at least one young man you might be happy to recommend. In this house, your word as a trusted associate is held in such high esteem.”

Oh, how crafty. Riyo leans back in her seat and considers her answer. The late Count Anathi was a good leader for his people, but he wasn’t quite the political animal. It doesn’t matter who Riyo recommends, what matters is that she recommended them, thereby implicitly giving her blessing to the match. If Mfuneko followed through with her recommendation, which he will, then it would become known that he was in good standing with the Pantoran Senator of the Galactic Republic, thereby boosting his reputation and opening new venues for networking previously closed to him.

All he would have to do is use his fourteen year-old sister to get there.

“I know many suitable people, your grace. I could offer a match for you too, if you wish.”

Mfuneko’s eyes grow hungry and he leans forward in interest. “Would you? That’s very kind, Senator.”

“Matchmaking is such a delicate art, you understand. I cannot just drop their names here and be on my way; I’d be betraying their confidence. I must send them flimsies first.”

“Of course! But what can you tell me now, Senator?”

“I can tell you to expect my message in two week’s time,” Riyo says. Mfuneko cracks a smile.

There’s a knock at the door.

“It seems that’s all we have time for. Enter!” Mfuneko says the last bit in Basic.

The door opens, and Ahsoka pokes her head into the room. Barriss and Thandi are with her, the both of them glancing curiously around the study.

“Hi. Riyo, can we talk?” Ahsoka asks.

Riyo nods and rises from her chair. “Of course. Please excuse us, Count.”

Mfuneko waves it away. “Enjoy the grounds, Senator.”

The four of them leave the study and follow Ahsoka to the conservatory. It’s an odd choice until Riyo notices the dark shapes of guards beyond the glass. The guards can observe them in here, looking as if they are gawking at the exotic plants, and so won’t feel the need to follow them in, but they also cannot hear what they are saying if they keep their voices low enough, nor can they read their lips through the foggy glass.

Impressive.

Barriss and Thandi sit on a wicker sofa and tell Riyo all that they’ve learned. Ahsoka walks the small path around the conservatory as if she’s a casual observer, but Riyo opts to stand behind the last chair and crosses her arms over her chest, listening.

“Has your brother made any trips to the drowning shipwright?” Riyo asks. Thandi shakes her head.

“He only goes out to drink and to hunt, and that’s if he isn’t having a party in the music room. I don’t think he’s ever talked to a shipwright.”

“I see. Perhaps there isn’t any shipwright because one isn’t needed. Ahsoka, do you remember when we went to the Trade Federation ship?” Riyo asks.

Ahsoka grins. “I sure do. Do you want me and Barriss to look around?”

“Yes. Thandi, you and I will distract your brother and give the Jedi time to investigate.”

“How?”

“Why, by playing music. Barriss said you were practicing, yes?”

Thandi smiles and her eyes light up.

Riyo and Thandi leave for the study, and one of the guards follows them. There’s a painful tug on Ahsoka’s heart as the door shuts behind them, and she resists the urge to go after them. Beside her, Barriss also watches them go with a thinly-veiled glare.

“Perhaps this is a bad idea. We’re supposed to be with her,” Barriss says

“Mission parameters change all the time. Riyo will be fine. We won’t be apart for long,” Ahsoka says, even though she still watches the place where she last saw Riyo. Barriss sighs, but doesn’t disagree.

After a couple minutes, Riyo, Thandi, Mfuneko, and the guard pass by again on their way to the music room.

“How are we going to conduct a search while we’re being shadowed?” Barriss asks. “And don’t suggest knocking them out.”

“Okay, but that’s the easiest thing to do,” Ahsoka whispers.

“It’s too messy, the rest of the squad would throw us out.”

“Not if we do it quietly.”

“Quietly?”

Ahsoka strides to the door and yanks it open. She gestures to the guard. “Hey. Come here.”

The guard starts, then points at himself. He’s dressed in dark clothes, and has a sword hanging from his belt.

“Yeah, you. Do you speak Basic?” Ahsoka asks.

“Yes. Little,” the guard says. He turns to face her, wary.

“Where’s the kitchen? Can you tell me where the kitchen is?”

“Yes. It’s there.” The guard points down the hallway, and Ashoka looks, but she turns to him again, confused.

“I’m sorry, where?”

“There, there! Down, then you turn.” The guard comes closer and continues to point.

“Uh huh. Interesting. Thank you.” Ahsoka reaches out and wraps her arms around the guard’s neck in a headlock, then pulls him back into the conservatory. She’s almost half a head taller than he is, so it’s really easy to do. The guard gurgles and scratches at her, but Ahsoka tightens her grip and keeps moving backwards through the conservatory until he goes limp in her arms. She puts him on the couch and makes it look as if he’s taking a nap, then looks at Barriss, who gapes at her.

“Quietly. Although I expected more of a fight, so maybe he wasn’t formally trained,” Ahsoka says.

“You just snatched that man off his feet,” Barriss says in astonishment.

Ahsoka laughs. “I guess I did. Come on, let’s go.”

They sneak through the house, looking around corners to make sure they’re alone before moving forward. When they do see guards, they duck out of sight and Ahsoka uses the Force to knock over something in a different part of the house. When the guard goes to investigate the noise, they sneak past.

At the study, Ahsoka tries the door handle only to find it locked.

“Should I unlock it?”

“No doubt there could be valuable information in there, but I can’t read Pantoran. I felt so useless when I tried to help Riyo with the Kortzeer flimsies,” Barriss says. “Can you read Pantoran?”

Ahsoka’s lek stripes burn. “Uh…no. I didn’t think of that.”

The corners of Barriss’ mouth twitch. “Perhaps we should take Xola’s suggestion and ask the staff what happened.”

The kitchen is tucked away in a different part of the house, only accessible through a nondescript door. Unlike the rest of the house, the cabinets and the counters are done in light-colored woods and stone. Plain tiles cover the walls. In the middle of the stone kitchen floor, atop a tarp, is a half-butchered seal that’s much larger than the one Ahsoka caught the night before. A large, well-muscled man wearing an apron kneels next to it, but he pauses his work to look up at Ahsoka and Barriss when they push through the nondescript kitchen door. A woman in an apron is lining up empty glass jars on the counter, and she looks up too.

“Uh, hi.” Ahsoka waves. “Thanks for the meal. It was delicious.”

The man turns to the woman and speaks in Pantoran. She says something back, and the man turns to them.

“She says ‘you’re welcome.’ My name is Alack, she is Ila. Are you still hungry? Do you want more food?” The man asks in a heavy accent. His voice reverberates in his deep chest.

“We were actually wondering if there was anything odd happening in this mansion as of late,” Barriss asks. “Have you noticed anything strange?”

Alack translates between them. “She says that this entire week, Paki orders her to cook an extra portion of food every meal. He comes to pick it up, but he doesn’t eat. He takes it and goes.”

Ila says something else and Alack grunts in agreement. “It’s a tray. She puts it on a tray for him, and he takes it somewhere else. We don’t know. He doesn’t tell us. He orders us not to follow him. When he returns it, everything is gone.” He pauses again to listen, then, “If there is a knife or a fork on this tray, he leaves them on the counter.”

“That is incredibly odd, thank you. You’re very observant, Ms. Ila,” Barriss says.

Alack translates, then chuckles when Ila replies. “Yes, she is very smart. Ila has actually prepared the next meal already.” He points to the counter next to them, which has a plastoid food tray set upon it. On the tray is a wooden bowl full of soup, a spoon, and several cuts of dried fish.

“Haha, no way. It can’t be that easy,” Ahsoka says.

“It appears that it is,” Barriss says. “Mr. Alack, we would like to investigate this mystery for you and Ms. Ila, but in order to do this we would need to follow Paki. Is there anywhere in this kitchen we could hide?

Alack hums and reaches up to stroke his beard, but stops short when he realizes that his gloved hand is covered in blood. He talks to Ila, and she points at a door at the other side of the kitchen.

“The pantry,” he says. “But hurry, he’s coming soon.”

Ahsoka and Barriss pick their way cross the kitchen, careful to avoid the seal carcass, and go into the pantry room. Ahsoka pulls the door closed so that it doesn’t swing open, but holds it open a crack, so that they both can still see into the kitchen. She and Barriss are crammed together within the small confines of the pantry, and Barriss ends up holding Ahsoka round her waist to keep from falling out.

“At least nine armed men,” Barriss whispers.

“Yeah,” Ahsoka whispers back. She hopes that she isn’t crushing Barriss, but Barriss doesn’t seem uncomfortable at all.

“And if the one you snatched happens to wake up, then he’ll warn them all and everyone will be on alert.”

“Yeah.”

“And they could all be gathered in one place as a result, and would probably be guarding the place where we’re about to go investigate.”

“Yeah. Piece of cake,” Ahsoka whispers. She smiles when Barriss gives her a look of disbelief.

The two of them fall silent when the kitchen door opens again. Paki walks in and scans the kitchen, but his eyes slide right past their hiding place. He talks in Pantoran with Alack and Ila for a little bit, then takes the tray and leaves.

Instead of bowling Barriss over to get out of the pantry, Ahsoka simply scoops her up and carries her out. She crosses the kitchen and, after peeking into the dining room and finding it clear, goes into it and gently sets Barriss back on her feet. Ahsoka puts her hand to her lips and sneaks to the hall to see Paki, still walking down as if nothing is amiss. They don’t move out of cover until he turns a corner and disappears. Ahsoka and Barriss follow him through the mansion until he unlocks and opens a door. He goes through and closes the door behind him, and there is the faint scraping of a key being turned. Ahsoka ducks behind a huge, taxidermy Snow Bear. Barriss hurries to join her, and they wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

Eventually, Paki comes back out, still with the tray. The fish is gone, and so is the soup. He locks the door to the stairs, then makes his way back to the kitchen. Ahsoka stays absolutely still, and only turns to Barriss after the sound of his footsteps fade. She straightens and offers a hand to help Barriss up.

“Think you can unlock that?” Ahsoka asks.

“Of course. Please keep an eye out for me.” Barriss goes to the lock and inspects it, then closes her eyes to concentrate. The Force ripples from her hands.

CLICK.

Barriss’s eyes snap open and she opens the door, revealing a stone flight of stairs going down. “This must be a part of the original castle,” she says. She picks up her skirt and leads the way down. Ahsoka closes the door behind them and follows her.

The stairway opens up to a stone cellar. Segmental arches lead to different compartments within the cellar on either side, and in each compartment and along the center hallway hang simple electric lamps. Within the arches and the floor, stuck in the stone, are embedded iron where the bars were cut away and the remnants were ground flush with the surrounding surfaces.

Further down the hallway, however, are a couple cells that are kept intact. Ahsoka and Barriss run towards them, but another guard comes out of one of the open compartments. He yells at them in Pantoran and draws his sword, but instead of stopping, Barriss and Ahsoka rush forward even faster.

Ahsoka pushes with the Force, slamming the guard’s sword back into its sheath. The guard swears and tries to draw again, but before he can, Barriss leaps at him and slaps her palms into his face.

The guard crumples to the floor, unconscious.

Ahsoka slows to a stop and looks down at the guard’s form in awe. “What? What was that? What did you do?”

“I appropriated a Force-healing anesthetic technique to make him sleep,” Barriss says.

“Kriff, that’s scary,” Ahsoka says, still staring down at the guard. His mouth lolls open as he begins to snore.

“It’s efficient.” But all the same, Barriss’ cheeks glow with the compliment.

“Hello?” A voice comes from one of the locked cells. “Who are you?”

Ahsoka and Barriss go to the cell. An old man stands at the bars, his forehead pressed against them to better see. His gray beard and hair are disheveled and wild, and his clothes are wrinkled. He stinks, and Ahsoka resists the urge to pinch her nose shut. In the cell with the old man is a thin mattress and a chamber pot.

“Count Mafoo?” Barriss asks.

“Yes, I am Count Anathi Mafoo. Who are you? What brings a Mirialan and a Togruta to this place?”

“Senator Riyo Chuchi brought us here,” Ahsoka says, and the man’s bloodshot eyes widen.

“We’re here to investigate your disappearance, your grace,” Barriss says. The Force ripples again as she scans him for injuries.

“Thank the Gods! Thank the Gods. I do not even know how long I’ve been trapped in here.” The man, Anathi, wipes a tear from his face. “You must have seen my family. Are they doing well?”

“They’re mourning you. Your Grace, why have you been locked in here?” Barriss asks.

Anathi’s bushy brows knit together in pain, and he looks down. He says nothing.

About five men, including Paki, run into the hallway from the staircase, yelling in Pantoran. Ahsoka growls and goes to fight them, but they barrel into her and tackle her into the ground. Ahsoka lands hard, the air whooshing out of her lungs. She’s able to grab and throw only two of the guards off of her before they shove her into the closest empty cell. Ahsoka rolls over the floor, then reaches out to catch Barriss when she’s thrown in after her. Paki slams the door closed and locks it, and the guards around him cheer and give each other high-fives.

Paki drops the keyring into his belt pouch, and steps away from the cell bars. “Alive, unharmed. Good.”

Unbridled hot rage wells up within Ahsoka’s chest. If it weren’t for Barriss sitting in her lap, she would throw herself against the bars right then and there.

“You imprisoned the Count?” Ahsoka shouts. “You traitor! He trusted you!”

“You think it was my idea? You think I could do this myself? I’m flattered, Jedi.” Paki turns to the guards and says something in Pantoran, and waits as they pick up the unconscious guards from the floor, then leads the way back out of the cellar. Their voices echo through the cellar and abruptly stop when the door to the staircase shuts. Barriss crawls out of Ahsoka’s lap and watches them through the bars.

“They didn’t take our lightsabers,” Barriss whispers. Sure enough, their lightsabers still hang untouched from their belts.

“Are you complaining?” Ashoka asks. She really shouldn’t be so testy, but her annoyance still eats away at her. It really should have taken more than five fighters to bring her down. A kit could do better than that.

Barriss shakes her head. “I’m just surprised. I didn’t expect them to be so incompetent. They probably didn’t realize what they were. Jedi aren’t well-known on this moon.” She gets up and dusts herself off. “How did they know we were down here? Were we spotted by one of the guards?”

“There is a holocam. There.” Anathi points a small device that’s bolted to the ceiling next to one of the lamps.

“I see it,” Barriss says.

“Then summon it.” Ahsoka stands and unclips one of her lightsabers from her belt. The bile rises in her throat and her lip rises from her teeth in a snarl. It’s only at the sight of Barriss that Ahsoka realizes that she’s broadcasting her loathing through the Force. Barriss’ eyes are wide, and she hesitantly reaches out to touch her arm.

Ahsoka struggles to reign in her temper. It’s not Barriss’ fault, and she doesn’t know. How could she know when Ahsoka’s never told her?

“Summon the holocam now. The longer we’re in here, the more chances Paki has to confront Riyo about us.” Ahsoka ignites her lightsaber and swings it at the bars, chopping through them with ease. She swings again, and pushes with the Force, making the cut bars fall out and onto the floor with a satisfying clatter.

Kark yeah. Ahsoka steps through with a deep breath.

Barriss summons the holocam, plucking it out of the stone brinks, and catches it in her hands. Bits of stone crumble off from around the durasteel bolts.

“Ahsoka? I talked to Riyo yesterday, about…about your mission. You don’t have to tell me what happened, but if you ever do want to talk, I will listen,” Barriss says.

“Thank you.” Ahsoka helps Barriss through the bars with her free hand. Even if she wanted to tell her, what would she say? How could she even begin to explain what happened during that mission?

Barriss gives her hand a brief squeeze, but when she tries to pull away, Ahsoka doesn’t let go. She really hoped that she would take this to her funeral pyre, because it fills her up with hot shame and she doesn’t think she’s ever going to truly get over it, but it can’t be helped. Barriss offered to listen, and she wouldn’t judge her the way other Jedi would.

“They put me in a cage,” Ahsoka manages to say before her throat closes up.

Barriss staggers back, her mouth open. “A cage? Ahsoka, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. You had nothing to do with that.”

Barriss lowers her head only to eye the discarded, still-smoking bars lying at their feet.

One day, Ahsoka will be able to tell the rest. One day. But right now, she needs to focus on the task at hand. She turns towards Anathi’s cell. “Please back up, sir.”

Anathi’s eyes widen and he retreats to the back of the cell. Ahsoka swings her lightsaber again.

KRRRSH. BVOOSH.

Ahsoka yanks the sliced bars away and tosses them to the floor, then puts away her lightsaber. “Let’s go.”

“Eish!” Anathi mutters under his breath as he steps out of his cell. “I admire your enthusiasm, young lady, but Paki and his men locked you and your friend in here not more than five minutes ago. How do you expect the next fight to be any different?”

“Because this time, they won’t catch me by surprise.” Ahsoka leads the way through the cellar and up the stairs. “Doesn’t matter how many men they throw at us this time.”

“Please don’t kill them. I must deal with them myself,” Anathi says. “The Blizzard God demands that retribution come from the wronged.”

“Cool. Stand back, sir.” Ahsoka raises her foot and push-kicks through the door, ripping it off its hinges and cleaving the deadbolt through the doorframe in a shower of splinters. The door flies out and crashes into a guard standing across the hall, knocking him unconscious. The door and the guard drop to the floor with an unholy crash.

The two other guards standing on either side shout in Pantoran and draw their swords. One of them pulls his arm back to swing down, but Ahsoka catches his fist and punches him in the face. His head snaps back and a tooth pops out of his mouth.

Barriss ducks under Ahsoka’s arm and reaches out for the second guard. She uses the Force to bat his sword away and closes the gap between them, grabbing his wrist and locking her elbow so that he can’t swing the sword anymore.

Ahsoka disarms her guard and lets the sword fall the floor with a clatter. She takes him by the throat and lifts him off the floor, then slams him into the wall. The guard slumps, and she lets him go. Past him, further down the hall, are more guards. They run towards her with their swords out. Ahsoka growls.

The second guard’s sword slips from his fingers as Barriss renders his entire arm numb, and she steps onto the hilt with her boot to keep it from being picked back up. He punches, but Barriss swats his fist away and begins rapidly slapping him where he’s open: across the neck, the stomach, the chest. With each movement, she’s grabbing on to either his sleeves, or his wrists, to control him until she tugs on both of his arms to bring him in. As soon as his head is within range, Barriss grabs his face with both hands, putting him to sleep.

Ahsoka picks up the door and flings it down the hall at the oncoming guards. They shout and some of them duck out of the way, but the ones at the back don’t see it until it’s too late, and they’re hit.

The rest of the guards slow to a stop, wary. They retreat when Ahsoka takes a step forward.

“Surrender,” she says, and they stare at her in confusion. “Ah kark, I forgot. They don’t speak Basic.”

Anathi steps out into the ruined hallway, glaring at the remaining guards.

“Kunika!” He bellows. The guards glance at each other, then fall to their knees.

Thandi is a wonderful musician, although her best instrument isn’t the uhadi. She’d make a lot of credits if she got better at the uhadi, as traditional musicians are a disappearing kind, but not as many credits as she would make playing the stringed batanga. Thandi switched to the batanga after playing just one piece on the uhadi, and she’s played complicated song after song since, her fingers flying up and down the instrument’s neck.

Riyo sits in one of the chairs set around the room, watching. She’s didn’t take to music as a youngling; she never really had time to pursue the art, but she admires musicians just the same.

Halfway through the first piece, Xola came into the room. She gave everyone a tight smile, sat in the chair next to Riyo, and listened to Thandi play. She hasn’t moved much since.

Then Paki comes in. He silently crosses the room and leans down to whisper in Mfuneko’s ear. After a few seconds, Paki straightens up and goes to the back of the room, leaving Mfuneko stone-faced. He turns to Riyo.

“Are you a spy?” He asks. Thandi falters and stops playing, and Xola looks at them in confusion.

“No, and I’m insulted at the accusation,” Riyo says.

“Do not lie to me, Senator. Your associates were caught in the cellars, which are off-limits to guests. They were snooping; you are all spies.” Mfuneko’s voice takes a dangerous tone.

Riyo meets his eyes with an even gaze. “We aren’t spies, your grace. What we are is investigating the alleged death of your father, Count Anathi.”

Thandi and Xola gasp.

“If you required proof, all you needed to do was ask! This is a grievous breach of trust and etiquette. We did not elect you so you could come into our homes and pry into our sensitive business,” Mfuneko shouts.

“Mfuneko, wait,” Xola says. She puts a hand on his shoulder, but he shakes it off and stands up. He looms over Riyo, who doesn’t move.

“The people shall hear of your duplicity, Senator. Your political career is over.”

“I strongly disagree.”

“How are you so calm about these accusations?”

CRASH.

A commotion erupts elsewhere in the house, and Paki runs out of the music room.

“That’s how,” Riyo says. She and Mfuneko glare at each other for an extra moment, then they both scramble to follow Paki. Riyo slips and almost falls, but Thandi grabs her arm as she runs past her.

“Come on, Senator! Let’s go!”

They follow Mfuneko down to to main hallway, right next to the foyer, where they find Ahsoka and Barriss fighting off the guards. Ahsoka picks up a door and hurls it at the attackers as if it weighs nothing, while Barriss slaps a guard into submission, her hands a blur.

“Whoa. Senator, your friends are really cool,” Thandi says.

“Surrender!” Ahsoka shouts, but when none of the guards obey, she sighs. “Ah kark, I forgot. They don’t speak Basic.”

An old, disheveled man steps out behind Barriss and Ahsoka. His gold eyes blaze with anger. “Surrender! Surrender now!”

There’s a pause as the guards hesitate, then one by one, they toss their weapons away and kneel, revealing Mfuneko and Paki. The two of them gape at the old man in horror.

Thandi’s grip on Riyo’s arm tightens. “Baba?” She asks.

“Anathi,” Xola whispers, her eyes wide.

“Run!” Mfuneko and Paki turn and sprint to the front door. They trip over discarded weapons and over the kneeling guards, but they manage to keep upright.

Barriss gasps. “They’re going to get away!”

“No, they won’t! Get down!” Ahsoka picks up a sword and pitches it at them as hard as she can. The blade flashes in the light as it whips through the air.

“Ahsoka, no!” Barriss moves to stop her, but is too late. Thandi and Xola scream.

But the sword misses Mfuneko and Paki entirely and embeds itself through the doorframe and into the door itself, jamming it closed. Paki grabs the sword handle and tries to pull it out, but it’s stuck fast. He staggers back and falls to his knees.

“We’re done.”

“No, get up!” Mfuneko frantically tugs at the door in vain.

“We’re done! Stop!” Paki’s shout echoes through the silent house.

“Mfuneko. What have you done?” Xola asks.

Mfuneko turns to face Anathi, his face all purple. “Ruling Bravado has long since overwhelmed you! Your foolish insistence that we not industrialize keeps our people poor! You think I’m still a child?”

“Are you mad?” Anathi screams.

“I am not mad! You should have made me the heir! I know you’ve never liked me! Which one of you have ever cared about me? Which of you has ever thought about me?” Mfuneko starts crying halfway through his speech.

Xola sobs. “He is your father!”

“And I should have killed him!” Mfuneko thunders. “I hate him! I hate you all!”

A deafening silence follows. Ahsoka and Barriss lean down to whisper to Riyo.

“What are they saying?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Riyo absently whispers back.

Xola draws herself up, enraged. She goes around Thandi and Riyo and slowly crosses the foyer towards her son, her footsteps filling the silence. The guards shuffle to the side to let her through, and the closer she gets, the more Mfuneko backs away until he is pressed against the front door. Even though he is head and shoulders taller than his mother, he cowers now before her.

Thandi buries her face in Riyo’s shoulder, and even Paki and the defeated guards look away.

Xola slaps Mfuneko across the face.

Barriss, Ahsoka, and Riyo stay put as Anathi orders Mfuneko and his conspirators to be locked in the cellar, in the remaining prison cells, and the staff escort them down. Thandi waits until they are out of sight before running to her father.

“Baba!” Thandi envelops him in a hug, crying. Anathi laughs, then kisses Thandi’s forehead and murmurs something to her in Pantoran. Xola watches them with tears in her eyes.

Barriss smiles. While they weren’t supposed to come here at all, it’s difficult to consider this wasted time. She could think of worse things to do other than returning a man to his family.

“Senator, Master Jedi, you have my deepest thanks,” Xola says in a thick voice.

Riyo smiles. “It’s the least we could do, my lady.”

“Please, please come with me to the parlor,” Xola says.

Along the way, she gives gentle orders to Ila, Alack, and the rest of the staff. They bring out brooms, dustpans, and other tools to help clean up the aftermath of the fight. Alack goes to the embedded sword and grunts as he tries to pull it out.

In the parlor, Xola sits in the armchair and gestures to the couch. Riyo sits down, followed by Ahsoka and Barriss, who flank her.

“What can I do to repay you?” Xola asks.

“Live well. “My job is to serve the Pantoran people. Your happiness is reward enough,” Riyo says. Both Ahsoka and Barriss turn to stare at her. It’s astounding how gracious she can be. How effortless she makes it look.

Xola shakes her head. “There must be something more.”

“Perhaps access to a comlink. We need to message Defiance about urgent matters.”

“Alas, we don’t have a comlink strong enough here.”

“Isn’t there one in the local college?” Barriss asks.

“No, they tore the comlink tower down to build a more advanced one. It won’t be ready for another month.” Xola stands up and goes to the door, where she beckons to one of the staff. After a whispered conversation, they leave and return with a tray of supplies. Xola takes the tray with thanks, then sits back down in her chair. On the tray are flimsies, a handheld embosser, a stylus, and a small, velvet sack.

“All Galactic Senators are equipped with the latest portable comlinks, yes? You would be able to com Defiance from here if you had yours,” Xola says.

Riyo flushes indigo. “I might have been robbed, my lady. You’re rather perceptive.”

“Once does not become a countess through ignorance, Senator.” Xola takes up the stylus and begins writing in elegant script. “No identichips, no comlink. We must fix that.” She finishes the letter with a flourish and embosses it, then folds the flimsi and puts it into an envelope. She embosses flap of the envelope too, then seals it. Ahsoka whispers to Riyo.

“Was your letter of rec for Sanele supposed to look like that?”

Riyo sighs. “Yeah.”

“Please take this letter to vouch for your identity, and these five hundred credits with our thanks.” Xola holds the envelope and the velvet sack out.

“My lady, it is too much. The letter will do,” Riyo says.

“All Snow Walkers need basic supplies, and it won’t be the first time this house has funded you. It won’t be the last either. Now take these gifts.”

Riyo takes them and slips them into the interior pockets of her suit jacket. “What will you do now?”

Xola puts the tray to the side with a sigh. “There is much to do. We must auction off all of the tacky decorations Mfuneko bought, and then we must clean up the aftermath of that little skirmish. I must send messengers into town to muster the Bravado Security Force, to call back the hunters and open up the piers, and also to the records office to revoke my husband’s death certificate. I must also send word to Dumi that it is safe to come back. And then…and then perhaps I might have dinner with my family. Will you stay the night?”

Riyo glances at both Barriss and Ahsoka, and Barriss must have looked uncomfortable, because she says, “We must be off, my lady. Snow Walkers have long journeys.”

Xola gives them a warm smile. “Of course. Defiance is but a ferry ride away. Should any of you come back, this house will always be open to you.”

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