#this applies to my interpretation of obi wan.

[eternalegolas]

If you find people walking away mid-way through discussions to be a recurring event it might be time to consider that it's because you engage in those discussions in a disingenuous and bad faith manner.

The theme of A New Hope is Hope. And that theme is expressed so heavy-handedly that it even makes it to the title. The title of the movie doesn't dictate the theme, the theme dictates the title, and its ironic that A New Hope is the only title that is that direct about its theming and also the one film you seem to have the hardest time identifying a theme for. @trrenchertrash already told you the theme and you dismissed it as "nothing" because it doesn't suit your narrative. And not only have you completely dismissed it but you've also done so with no real rebuttal, just a rejection, which makes it impossible to engage with you in any meaningful way. But hey, I'll bite anyway.

If your issue with "hope" being the theme of the original Star Wars film is because you find it to be underdeveloped and simplistic, I would remind you that theme as a literary device is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative (which the answer of "hope" covers) and is also often able to be expressed in a single word. In which case an argument that "hope" is too simplistic, implies a fundamental misunderstanding of literary theme and does not apply here. But i am also perfectly capable of providing you with a more complex interpretation of A New Hope's theming if that's your requirement.

The theme of A New Hope is not just hope, but the endurance of hope, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and even after crushing losses, when it seems that all hope has been lost. The film has many instances of hope returning after seemingly having been lost but the most poignant follows the first and last major scenes in the movie. A New Hope opens with the interception of Leia's ship, the failure of her mission, her capture, the unveiling of an extremely formidable weapon, the destruction of an entire planet, and the lines "This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope". So we open on a very dire note, and with only one avenue of salvation - Obi-Wan. But between this opening scene and the celebratory victory at the end of the movie, we lose that avenue - Leia's proclaimed only hope for the rebel alliance is lost, in the form of Obi-Wan's death. And yet the movie still ends in victory for the rebels. The Death Star is destroyed, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Luke are new members of the rebel alliance, and even though the empire still exists, even though Alderaan and Obi-Wan are gone, there is still so much hope.

But please tell me how that is "nothing". You're entitled to dislike the theme, or even the entire movie, but to deny its existence only implicates your ability to identify what is frankly a glaringly obvious message, out of what is likely willful ignorance given your lack of struggle in identifying one for The Last Jedi.

As for the depth of Star Wars as a whole, George Lucas' competency or lack thereof as a director has little bearing on the messages his story contains. Star Wars is full of meaningful themes and messages throughout all its installations, including the endurance of hope, the power of will, faith in oneself and ones abilities, the importance and influence of immaterial forces, love, mercy, self-sacrifice, humility, the corrupting nature of power and also of fear, criticism of political systems, and so many more. You could write a PhD dissertation on the messages and lessons conveyed through the prequel era Jedi Order alone. Just because the themes aren't shrouded in layers and layers of complexity doesn't negate their value. Star Wars is meant to be an easily digestible and fun story for all ages. None of that makes it shallow in any sense.

People scream “show don’t tell!” all the damn time, but the second a show actually DOES just show you stuff and make you use your brain to piece things together you scream “bad writing! Bad writing!”

Fuck you. You don’t want a story to “show don’t tell,” you’re literally angry they won’t just spoon feed you the answers on a silver platter.

[jedimastre-archive]

I was going to write a whole ass post about my thoughts on Obi-Wan's view of Padmé but for now I'll just say this; Obi-Wan had an unwavering faith and fondness for her. She was a true friend and her death effected him greatly.

[rootspiral]

Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 2 part 1

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4][5] ep6 [1][2][3] ep7 [1][2][3][4][5][6] ep8 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] ep9 [1][2][3][4][5][6])

Hey tumblr queers and agathario enthusiasts (I see you guys in the comments! @crybabyheathen, sorry to cause you so much distress! @onceuponalegendbg: I KNOW, RIGHT?? @ragnarockz thank you for being a butch!Agatha truther ❤️❤️)

Let's start episode 2, Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate. Which, yes, has no Rio. But it has Lilia! Se let's count our blessings!!

oh my god girl, calm down! she's gone! focus!

that's a beautiful composed shot, with billy's head next to the rabbit, already telling us that he's going to become a son to Agatha

lmao she's about to bolt

aaaand she stops dead in her tracks when Billy mentions the Road. Look at her reflection again! that's so deliberate and so intriguing. how would you guys interpret it?

the Ballad theme playing in the background again. Agatha takes a whole step back when she hears the words "the Witches' Road" and immediately says no. she might be despicable, but there's no way she's getting a kid involved. especially not this kid. because they are somehow connected, otherwise how would she know about the car crash? even without knowing that this is Billy, she already cares about him. and she doesn't lie to him, even the tarots will say so. she might just, you know, omit things or even tell the truth from a certain point of view (already working on her obi-wan ghost mentor tricks)

"The road is no place to a kid." and so he was christened

but I can't stop staring at that rabbit picture. were the set people told to find the brightest bunny they could find? they really want you to notice it

now he's hopping like a bunny too! yes his legs are still tied, but I'm telling you it's all deliberate!! (insert either the pepe silvia or the I've connected the dots meme here)

don't tell him THAT. now he's gonna internalize it and accidentally kill you all one by one. christ.

girl you just got thrown around the room like a rag doll. you put together that outfit in two minutes, didn't even take a shower. you have no make up on. are you wearing ralph's shoes. is that his hat. (her being so frazzled speaks of how shell-shocked she is, she would usually take time to perfect the way she looks, because her looks is her armor)

billy is bullshitting too, he just googled her last night. I mean, I'm 100% convinced he cares about Agatha, but he is faking at least some of that trust and innocence (and good for him because she's a menace)

great, she found the brooch and nicky's hair. who needs a heart anyway, here, tear it out of my chest why don't you

Lilia has such beautiful handwriting. what a multitalent

NO, agatha. BAD agatha. now she's decided she might as well throw a little Road together and kill two or three idiots while keeping the boy safe on the side, which HISTORICALLY HAS NOT WORKED WELL FOR HER. how can she be so smart and SO STUPID

this also goes in the Top 5 Funniest Things Agatha's Ever Done list. now picture again all the dramatic car scenes from episode 1

covens are drawn together by fate and are the truest form of sisterhood??? why is rewatching this show kind of like being repeatedly stabbed in the heart???!!!??

look billy, it's the house where you were born! it was incredibly weird. a stork was there. (oh god, I just realized Billy is 3 years old)

Agatha spits at Wanda's home because a) she hates wanda and b) she hates that people hate wanda. this is the equivalent of being a queer kid and seeing faggot written on a locker (do I need to censor words? do tiktok rules apply now? I haven't written tumblr posts in so long)

except that, as Lilia will tell you, agatha has done a lot to smear witches' reputations, so yeah. consequences of her own actions etc.

be cool, man. mama is having the worst hangover of her life.

oh yes, Billy's boyfriend, Boyf.

shut up agatha, you know you wanna protect that little twink with your whole life

I almost wish I had an extra hour so I could gif agatha throwing the pen out of the window.

don't steal other people's pearls you hooligan (but see? clothes and accessories are props to her)

(by the way you won't find any Billy hate here, because I adore parent-children, mentor-mentee and found family relationships. and I think he's a sweetheart)

agatha discreetly snatching the eviction notice from the door. always thinking ahead, always scheming. the con master at work

*angel choir*

✨✨LILIA CALDERU✨✨

this show gave me a tragic villainous middle aged lesbian, which is literally my catnip, and she's only like, my second favorite character. which tells you all you need to know about the powers of dame Patti LuPone (I know she's not technically a dame) (yet) (I don't care if she's american Chucks, get to it!)

that's all I have time for tonight, can't wait to get me some ✨✨✨✨ Lilia scenes ✨✨✨✨

go to episode 2 part 2

[allhallowsjangobi]

Masterpost 2024

Hello there!

All Hallow’s Jangobi is a Halloween-themed Jango/Obi-Wan week that will take place in the week leading up to Halloween 2024. It will start on October 25th and end on October 31st. The event is open for everyone, writer or artist. You can write, draw or create as much or as little as you want. If you want to write 1k, 20k or three different fics, it's dealer's choice! Every day will have two different prompts, that you are free to interpret however you want. You are also free to participate only one day or every single day, do only the main prompts, or only the alts, or both.

The prompts for 2024 can be found here.

There is an open AO3 collection for everyone to post their works to, and we will do our best to reblog everything posted to tumblr as well. ❕❕ As a reminder, if you post anything here on tumblr, tag this blog directly (@allhallowsjangobi ) so we can see and reblog your creations. ❕❕

Important links again: FAQ How to join the Jangobi discord server

Under the cut you read the rules for the event:

1) All submissions are welcome,

as long as they feature the pairing Jango/Obi-wan and correspond (as least a little) to the All Hallows theme and prompts. You can create anything you want!

2) All ratings and archive warnings accepted

Most of the content will be hosted either on AO3 or on tumblr. Please tags your content accurately and use the correct warnings when they apply. You are free to create any type of work you wish, but appropriate warnings are a must, especially since halloween topics can be open to a wide range of interpretation and can range from cracky to angsty: one might take the topic zombie and make it a cute trick and treat fic, another might turn it into an mcd zombie apocalypse.

If a mod ask you to add a tag, please do so.

3) No rude comments or harassment

Self-explanatory. We all want to have a fun event, so don’t offer unasked for criticism, let people create whatever they want (even if you don’t personally agree with it) and don’t be rude! Don’t like, don’t read and ykinmkato (your kink is not my kink and that’s okay) rules apply.

4) WIPs are free to be shared

This isn’t a secret event or an exchange, so feel free to share snippets, sketches, anything of the likes with people! Feedback can help motivate anyone.

5) Dark content allowed when correctly tagged

You can create something light-hearted or go as dark as you want, but you must tag your creation accurately. Use the AO3 warnings as a reference and complete them if necessary. If a mod ask you to add a content warning, please do so.

6) Submissions will be tagged all hallows jangobi 2024

You can submit your creations to this blog or the AO3 collection. You can post to the collection by either going to the collection page and clicking “Post to Collection” or by adding allhallowsjangobi2024 in the collection field on a new work.

You can also post them on your own blogs. You just need to tag them AND tag this blog so the mods can find them!

[antianakin]

I'm realizing that part of the reason I don't buy Obitine as a ship is because I can't apply the thwarted love story (the "We can't be together because who we are and the lives we've chosen are incompatible but we love each other because of who we are anyway" storyline) to Obi-Wan.

My interpretation of Obi-Wan does not allow for him to be someone who would ever be remorseful about choosing to be a Jedi. My Obi-Wan would never feel remorse about giving up a life where he COULDN'T be a Jedi. My interpretation of Obi-Wan requires that he love being a Jedi SO MUCH that nothing else even comes close, nothing else compares. There is no relationship, romantic or otherwise, that could ever eclipse what being a Jedi means to him. It's in his bones, his blood. He can no more feel remorseful about choosing to be a Jedi than he can feel remorseful about breathing.

The thwarted love storyline requires that the incompatibility is really really sad for the people involved even as they recognize it's the best thing for both of them, but I don't honestly believe Obi-Wan would ever feel that sad about choosing to be a Jedi over a relationship. I can buy that he'd feel remorseful about hurting Satine's feelings or breaking her heart or whatever, but not over the choice to remain a Jedi itself.

So I just... don't buy it. It doesn't fit into my interpretation of who Obi-Wan NEEDS TO BE as a character in this narrative for him to be remorseful over not being with Satine, it never will.

[nicolabarth]

Last Line Challenge

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).  I was tagged by @omaano and @mcu-supersoldiers (a while back. I'm sorry, work is eating my brain).

So here is a snippet from the next part of the Darth Victus AU. Watch me applying a very liberal interpretation of how force lightning works and stealing the lightning rerouting trick from atla ...

The ball of lightning hit Obi-wan’s hand and some of it spread, splashed like water over Obi-wan’s arm. Maul’s master cursed, and for a moment it looked like he wouldn’t manage, like he would get overwhelmed. But then the lightning flowed from one arm to the other, being rerouted. It sprang from his fingertips on the other side, hit a nearby rock and split it in two.

Obi-wan didn’t stop cursing when it was over though. He shook out the arm that had caught the lightning ball as if trying to get rid of lingering pain.

Maul couldn’t help but grin again. That he had managed to be better at something related to force lightning put him in an extremely good mood. “Someone is not used to being on the receiving end of this.”

Obi-wan glared at him. “Someone is asking to get force choked.”

I'm tagging: @withercrown @spicedrobot @mcu-supersoldiers @obimaulartfire

[kostantina]

Saxon Bros (that's what I will call the HWS Saxony and England duo from now on):

So I suddenly got the idea of England joking about Saxony being his father (they just have a brotherly bond) and then Saxony not knowing all about it until someone mistook him for his father. And Saxony in his mind would be like: "I'm too young to be a father (perhaps being a sugar daddy's fine)" and "What the fuck is Arthur doing?"

Either he would deny that he was not really Arthur's father or would play along with Arthur's little joke (perhaps even thinking of killing Arthur later), depending on the circumstances.

An alternate scenario was Saxony being aware of it from the start and engaging in shenanigans with Arthur. Or Saxony being the one who would start the joke out of the two of them.

Also, if you watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, remember Katara and Sokka and the scene where they disguised themselves as Aang's parents. Then, imagine Arthur and Saxony in something like that instead. (We can also add Fem!HRE!Germany, whom I shipped with Arthur, in the mix, replacing Katara, considering Katara was also Sokka's younger sister and Aang's future lover. But having the male HRE!Germany disguised as a woman adds to the comedy effect lol.)

(Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Three: Fire, Episode 2: The Headband)

It's funny to imagine Saxony disguising himself to make himself look older, such as wearing a moustache or beard, (and perhaps to also resemble Arthur), and Arthur restraining a laugh, as they talk to humans, who do not know who and what they truly are, thinking that they are merely talking to fellow humans who are father and son.

Add to that their joking about being father and son to Arthur's siblings/children, depending on how you interpret his relationship with his young colonies, given that they don't know Saxony well and haven't known Arthur for very long.

I suppose this can also work for those who knew them best and longer, such as their biological (in personification's definition) family, confusing the hell out of them.

Arthur: "Yes, I treat him my father, and he treats me as his son, now shut up."

-----------------------------

I also thought of comparing their relationship with Anakin and Obi-Wan in Star Wars. I love the interpretation of Anakin seeing Obi-Wan as a father figure at first, while Obi-Wan only saw him as a brother, with Anakin eventually learning to see Obi-Wan as a brother as well.

Now, apply that to England and Saxony. England would see Saxony as a father figure at first, and as he grew older, he would begin to see Saxony as a brother. Of course, they would not always get along, just like with Anakin and Obi-Wan.

[archivyrep]

The relevance of Star Wars to pop culture depictions of archives [Part 3]

Continued from part 2

The entry for Nu on page 87 of Amy Ratcliffe's Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy, which summarizes her role in Star Wars.

What McGrath is saying echoes what is stated elsewhere in the archival literature: that Nu wore "a traditional, conservative robe" and that the archives "even resembled a library, with stacks of glowing records lined up on the shelves," while stating that she exhibited some qualities of stereotypes usually applied to librarians. The same article in Archivaria notes that Obi-Wan did not follow the advice of the archivist, going on a search for the planet, while Nu "with all of her extensive knowledge, was quickly forgotten" in the film. [10] Additional literature noted the similarities between the BIONICLE universe made by Lego, with a Great Archives in Onu-Metru. This series even had a character named Tehutti who is said to have spent all his time within the archives! I was a big fan and user of LEGO for years and never remember this, or how central this archives is to the universe. [11]

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on Oct. 12, 2022.

Others have said that Obi-Wan was "put in his place by the lady archivist" (Nu) and summarizes Ketelaar who describes archives as "sites of power". Furthermore, renowned archivist Michelle Caswell in 2020 speech at the Association of Canadian Archivists’ annual conference, made an argument about liberatory memory work, saying that they are not bound to linear time in a "sort of Star Wars out-of-order kind of way". [12] That's just two examples, but there is more in other archival literature. For instance, on pages 22 and 23 of the May 2022 edition of Estudios del Discurso, Nina Hoechtl, a visual artist, curator, teacher and independent researcher at Museo Amparo, noted Attack of the Clones as an example of an archival imaginary, and said that:

The archive is a site that joins various sorts of assumptions about kinds of knowledge –how to store,access, retrieve and re-active them, and what is knowable– that are crucial to the ways people, communities, and societies think about themselves, deal with their pasts, ponder on their presents, and imagine their futures.

Caitlin Patterson of Western Washington University makes one one of the more interesting perspectives about Nu: that she does not "conform to all the standard stereotypes" of archives, describing her as "fierce and imposing," and countering "the image of archivists as shy and retreating", stating that her age "commands more respect than that of the average fictional archivist". She goes onto say that Nu is intelligent and dedicated but not "cloistered or passive", but seems to have a "certain possessiveness of the collections" and states that Nu suggests a "different interpretation of the archivist which...still offers a reasonable explanation of her role". [13]

In conclusion, the cranky archivist I noted at the beginning of this post is dead wrong, and should be a bit ashamed of themselves. Star Wars, and pop culture in general will continue to be relevant to archives, and the profession as a whole, [14] whether we like those depictions or not. As for this blog, I'm going keep posting these articles even if people on /r/archivists, a group of individuals who luckily do not represent the majority of the profession, hate them.

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[10] Aldred, Tana, Gordon Burr, and Eun Park. (2008). "Crossing a Librarian with a Historian: The Image of Reel Archivists." Archivaria 66: 80, 84, 89.

[11] Schwartz, Joan M. (2006) "'Having New Eyes': Spaces of Archives, Landscapes of Power." Archivaria 61 (September), 19-23.

[12] Buckley, Karen. (2008) "'The Truth is in the Red Files': An Overview of Archives in Popular Culture", Archivaria 66 (1), 101; Caswell, Michelle. (2020). "Feeling Liberatory Memory Work: On the Archival Uses of Joy and Anger", Archivaria 90, 151.

[13] Peterson, Caitlin. “No Dust in Cyberspace?: The Effects of Internet Technology on Perceptions of Archives.�� Masters, Western Washington University, 2012. See page 18.

[14] Star Wars appears to be mentioned in archives (and library) literature such as Archive Stories: Facts, Fictions, and the Writing of History, Ljiljana Gavrilović's Culture in Show-Window: Toward a New Museology, Beth M. Sheppard's "Future Shock: The Inevitable Impact of a "New Generation of Patron" on Theological Libraries" (calls Nu a librarian rather than an archivist), a conference paper by Alexandra L. Fitzpatrick and S. Halmhofer entitled "There is Power in the Past: The Politicization of Archaeology and Heritage in the Star Wars Universe", the books Teaching Gender with Libraries and Archives and The Image and Role of the Librarian, S Koevoets' "Into the Labyrinth of Knowledge and Power: The library as a gendered space in the western imaginary", an quoted at the beginning of David Levente Palatinus's article "Subjectivity and the Hauntology of the Digital", to name a few.

[rantingoverbadfic]

Only Sith deal in absolutes

but goddammit if there isn't a great deal of writers salivating at the idea of committing to the sithly path in the name of the Light.

It isn't like this maxim isn't widely known - it is one of the most recognizable quotes from the movies and firmly established as canon, instead of being in that grey area of Legends canon that a lot of our other worldbuilding blocks are, like Obi's background and upbringing, or the fighting styles and forms, or the clone troopers own internal culture and the mandalorian influence on it. And while there is some sophisticated wankery about the statement being an absolute in itself, Obi-Wan is still voicing a prevalent belief held by the Order.

And then an author goes and says, you know what would be a splendid idea? If we had one chosen being or one designated race that is hundred percent immune to the Dark Side! I am going to create an Absolute that is Light!!11! Talk about failing to understand the assignment.

I understand where those authors come from - it is so much easier to deal with amoral choices when you can chuck off all the responsibility on some Chosen One, so much easier to argue that it is not you, the author, who had killed off a fave, or failed to reconcile a conflict that had caused a lot of pain and grief in canon (Jaster, my beloved, you died too young!), but it was the Force's will, or the inability of your savior to act in time.

But this is bullshit reasoning. People fail. Bad things happen. If you are immune to the struggles normal Jedi - and normal people - have of finding the most honorable path forward out of only bad choices, then you can't understand that struggle and you will lack compassion for those who are fallible. Your own choices will be based on something other than compassion and honor, most likely efficiency, which will in turn likely make your decisions monstrous in eyes of others, making you a monster. Just because the author writes the most positive outcome possible, doesn't change that this is the same road paved with good intentions that Anakin embarked on - if only there was one good, trustworthy politician who could be trusted with absolute power to make decisions over everyone! We all know how that turned out.

The danger of the Dark Side is not in merely existing. That 's a purity wankers' mindset and I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. The danger of the Dark Side is that it is pervasive and can corrupt even the best of men, no exceptions, if they don't stay vigilant and guard against letting small exceptions slide that tend to be followed by big exceptions and being open to blackmail until they suddenly find themselves doing the work of evil unquestioningly and enthusiastically, even if it is just to stay ahead. That is what the Jedi were supposed to learn - not to stagnate in their moral superiority but to be ever vigilant and not compromise their beliefs. And that is much more difficult to write, and much less rewarding emotionally, when whatever you choose still leaves your hands dirty.

(I am not calling out those who write fic using those tropes - I have read plenty of fic in SW utilising it with great enjoyment. It's just - as as I loved those fics, they always ring wrong because they go against everything I understand about the Force from canon. Even the prophecy that Qui-Gon believes to apply to Anakin talks about bringing balance to the Force - not the complete eradication of one side of it. But it's not like I don't have my problems with the Jedi's interpretation of what the Force wants and how to achieve that anyway, and I suppose that this is a matter of a difference of opinion. After all, if only the Sith deal in absolutes, then only the Jedi are capable of waffling the smallest disagreement interminably until everyone involved longs for the sweet embrace of death.)

((I wanted to say the Dark Side is capable of corrupting everyone and everything, with no exceptions, so long as you draw breath, but had to rethink that. Is it really true that the Force stops influencing someone when they are dead? We DO have Force Ghosts. And while Anakin did repent upon dying, was it really long enough to reverse his Fall, so that he could become a Ghost himself? Do we really know how far the effects of Sith Alchemy reach? So, yeah, you might not even be safe when you are dead. I would watch out, Bail, if I were you; the enemy knows your name.)

[chinposan]

Well, I got this on my feed thanks to the algorithm, so now I kinda feel obliged to reply as an Obikin enjoyer.

I think three important notions of having a ship and let ship mentality is 1. awareness of the fact that we all interpret a body of work differently. Even what is explicitly said in text may be interpreted through storytelling devices like unreliable narrators or by assuming omission. 2. Remembering that the whole point of fandom is finding new angles/creating narratives based on the stories we love. Shipping especially so. And finally, that 3. it's all fictional good fun. Disregard the author, do your what-if's, write a bunch of noncon pwp, crack-ship characters who've never met or whatever.

In my humble opinion, you don't 'ship and let ship' nor are you fandom-friendly on this topic 🤷. I say this because you first claim that your interpretation is more valid than anybody elses by stating that Obikin and Quiobi don't work in-universe without saying why. Then you instead list a bunch your own preferred real-world norms, moral standards and associations as if they apply to others' fictional narratives.

To answer your question "Why can't Obikin be in a familiar relationship, not romantic?" it's because I don't interpret Star Wars the same way you do, I want to explore other kinds of narratives than you do, and I like to have good fun in the fandom we all love, just like you.

The world is a complex place and some of us prefer to explore other scenarios and narratives than those that are normative and entirely expected. For me personally it's because I find those narratives uninspiring.

To go into specifics, which you may not care about, I personally ship obikin as something in between platonic, romantic and familiar that is both intense, complex and blurry - feelings that they themselves don't fully understand or ever get to explore due to Obi-Wans repressed nature and reluctance towards discussing emotions. I see these feelings as existing parallel to Anakin's infatuation with Padmè - you can love more than one person - and for Anakin that's a big narrative theme. This interpretation is based on my reading of the 20 years or so of legends, canon and reference material out there. I enjoy this narrative becasue it enhances the tragedy of Mustafar, as there are extra layers of unresolved emotional tension there when the plot drives our trio into a corner.

I also enjoy jokingly referring to Obikin as endgame in reference to their reunion in the Force that is orchestrated by Obi-Wan while Padmé remains gone. But of course that's up to interpretation like everything else 🤭.

I really can’t understand Obikin and Quiobi. For me it tastes as both partially pedophilia and partially incest. Just think of it – both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have known their padawans since kids were 9 and 12 respectively. They were parent figures, literally brought their padawans up. And then – romance? How can any adult feel romantic towards a person who they remember as a child? It’s not the same situation when people with big age difference meet as grown-ups. Also marriage between step-parents and step-children or adoptive parents and adopted children, although not blood-related, is considered incest.

Ship and let ship, I know, but in-universe these ships just don’t work at all – and there’re a lot of shippers who insist Obikin is endgame and it has always been so. Specifically thanks to Matthew Stover, the author of ROTS novelization, who inserted a lot of ‘Obikin’ moments which are often translated as a prove of in-universe romance.

And I’m not even mentioning power imbalance of ‘teacher-student’ relationship. Why can’t Quiobi and Obikin be in ‘familiar’ relationship, not romantic? After all, Anakin canonically has Padme, and Obi-Wan is shippable with lots of characters without weird pedo stink (including clones, because clones are adult men who grew up faster, not kids in adult bodies).

[willowcrowned]

Was reading a fic that touched on Qui-Gon teaching both Anakin and Obi-Wan and was suddenly struck by "Obi-Wan assures Anakin that he'll be fine, because Qui-Gon is better than he used to be, on account of Obi-Wan clicker-training him throughout his padawanship."

IDK what to do with this other than offer it to you because. It doesn't seem like Qui-Gon would be receptive to Pavlovian processes. But also. Obi-Wan is a conniving bastard.

no okay thank you SO much for sending this to me because it plays into my latest favorite interpretation of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s relationship in a really interesting way

Recently I’ve been really enjoying unpacking the potential that Qui-Gon subconsciously parentifies Obi-Wan over the course of his apprenticeship, because I think it applies a really fun extra dimension to the existing dynamic of uptight nerd attempts to control guy whose modus operandi is bulldozing through a situation in the most efficient and least appropriate way possible. Obviously the implication in TPM is that Obi-Wan is Like That because of Qui-Gon—it’s a sort of survival strategy—but making it a direct result of Qui-Gon’s own insecurities just adds that little extra special something that makes the Star Wars Flavor.

The basic idea I’ve been playing with is that Obi-Wan readily encourages Qui-Gon’s parentification of him because to Obi-Wan’s messed up ridiculously insecure and in need of therapy brain, being parentified means he’s needed, he’s useful, he can’t be tossed away. Of course the problem with being fifteen and deciding that you’re now responsible for a man fully in his forties who continuously gets chewed out by his boss is that at a certain point all that internalization of Rules and Proper Behavior you did as a child because you were terrified of being so unworthy you’d stop being loved is going to kick in, and you—subconsciously—are going to start believing that it is your responsibility to train the middle aged man in your care into being an Upright Young Man. Which like, as things go? Is a pretty standard Obi-Wan interpretation.

The FLIP SIDE of that though—the Qui-Gon side, the even weirder and messier side—is that Qui-Gon is parentifying Obi-Wan out of a very real and very deep fear that he cannot and should not act as a responsible guardian as a child (which, well, he’s not wrong. but he’s right for all the wrong reasons). Subconsciously, he’s trying to set them on more equal ground, trying to keep his influence on Obi-Wan to a minimum so he doesn’t have to acknowledge the responsibility of shaping Obi-Wan both through the ways he’s absent and the ways he’s present. And of course it’s not going to work! Of course it’s not! Even when he’s an adult, Obi-Wan will always be too aware of the rules that constrain his actions as a padawan to put himself on the same level as Qui-Gon. As a child, all he’s going to do is feel… abandoned on some level. The parentification might confirm that he’s needed on some level, but it can’t replace what for him is a very keen awareness that, on some level, Qui-Gon doesn’t want to be his master. Kids that get forced to be an adult to early, even the ones who think they like it, are always going to be fundamentally, subconsciously aware that they’ve been denied a childhood that other people weren’t. For Obi-Wan, I think that subconscious awareness manifests as a desire to affirm himself as an adult—to convince himself that he wants the responsibility, that it’s right for him to have the responsibility.

And he does that by clicker training Qui-Gon.

There’s a very fun feature of relationships mired in guilt (especially the ones where the guilt is born from a very deep love and a fear of failing that love) where, over time, certain patterns develop in which each person subconsciously takes advantage of the other’s guilt. When Qui-Gon bulldozes through an interaction, overstepping their jurisdiction by half and disobeying several direct mandates from the council, Obi-Wan finds himself… conveniently left behind for Qui-Gon to find later, when he returns wracked with guilt over having forgotten his apprentice but unable to admit to it because admitting to it would mean admitting to his fears, and admitting to his fears would mean admitting to the truth of his unfitness as a master, and admitting to that would mean he loses one of the very few remaining deep, meaningful relationships he has left. When Obi-Wan follows the letter of the law, refusing to break a single rule—even the ones designed to be broken—Qui-Gon goes ahead on his own, and just so happens to find himself injured and cornered by attackers he could have easily fought off with Obi-Wan’s help, left bleeding and tired for a guilt-wracked Obi-Wan to find, knowing that he never should have abandoned his master, knowing that he’s an awful apprentice, that he’ll never be up to Qui-Gon’s standards, that he’ll never confess that, because confessing it might finally make Qui-Gon realize it, and if that happens then he gets replaced and one of the deepest, most meaningful relationships in his life slips through his fingers.

It’s not healthy for either of them—it’s actually entirely the opposite—but it’s effective. And by the end of Obi-Wan’s apprenticeship, Qui-Gon is at least 30% less likely to go off on his own and start doing things he really shouldn’t, and 40% more likely to never, ever leave his padawan behind.

And then Anakin shows up, and suddenly everything they’d so carefully repressed and talked around and ignored becomes a big glaring issue in the face of Star Wars’ own #1 complicating factor

[allhallowsjangobi]

Masterpost 2023

Hello there!

All Hallow’s Jangobi 2023 is a Halloween-themed Jango/Obi-Wan event that will take place on the 31st of October 2023. This year we're trying another format: instead of the event taking an entire week, it will only take place during the day of Halloween itself. Since we realized a little too late that we didn't prepare a vote for prompts in advance, there won't be any prompt either: the general theme is Jango/Obi-wan and Halloween. Aside from that, you can go wild! The event is open for everyone, writer or artist. You can write, draw or create as much or as little as you want. If you want to write 1k, 20k or three different fics, you're free to do as you want! There will be an open AO3 collection for everyone to post their works to, and we will do our best to reblog everything posted to tumblr as well. As a reminder, if you post anything here on tumblr, tag this blog directly (@allhallowsjangobi ) so we can see and reblog your creations.

Important links again: FAQ How to join the Jangobi discord server

Under the cut you read the rules for the event:

All Hallows Jangobi is a free and low-pressure event based on the Star Wars pairing Jango/Obi-wan. The event will be somewhat moderated, so here are a list of the rules:

1) All submissions are welcome,

as long as they feature the pairing Jango/Obi-wan and correspond (as least a little) to the All Hallows theme. You can create anything you want!

2) All ratings and archive warnings accepted

Most of the content will be hosted either on AO3 or on tumblr. Please tags your content accurately and use the correct warnings when they apply. You are free to create any type of work you wish, but appropriate warnings are a must, especially since halloween topics can be open to a wide range of interpretation and can range from cracky to angsty: one might take the topic zombie and make it a cute trick and treat fic, another might turn it into an mcd zombie apocalypse.

If a mod ask you to add a tag, please do so.

3) No rude comments or harassment

Self-explanatory. We all want to have a fun event, so don’t offer unasked for criticism, let people create whatever they want (even if you don’t personally agree with it) and don’t be rude! Don’t like, don’t read and ykinmkato (your kink is not my kink and that’s okay) rules apply.

4) No bashing of Jango or Obi-wan

This event is centered around these two characters, so no bashing of Jango or Obi-wan. Bashing of other specific characters (e.g Dooku, Qui-gon, Palpatine, etc) is allowed.

5) WIPs are free to be shared

This isn’t a secret event or an exchange, so feel free to share snippets, sketches, anything of the likes with people! Feedback can help motivate anyone.

6) Dark content allowed when correctly tagged

You can create something light-hearted or go as dark as you want, but you must tag your creation accurately. Use the AO3 warnings as a reference and complete them if necessary. If a mod ask you to add a content warning, please do so.

7) Submissions will be tagged all hallows jangobi 2023

You can submit your creations to this blog or the AO3 collection. You can post to the collection by either going to the collection page and clicking “Post to Collection” or by adding allhallowsjangobi2023 in the collection field on a new work.

You can also post them on your own blogs. You just need to tag them AND tag this blog so the mods can find them!

[this-acuteneurosis]

Okay, 2 things I really, really love about your writing and DLB (be prepared for praise)

1. Your commentary and meta on the Force. Reading through your post on how western (Christianity) theology ruined the prequels— yes! I have been saying this for years but I never knew how to put it in words or explain why the force felt so different in the PT vs the OT, and why I always preferred the force in the OT more than the PT (you hit the nail on the head). And I appreciate that this is the route you’ve taken in your writing, and I have to say since I’m writing my own SW fic I have been reading through that post and applying it to how I write about the force in my own story, and looking at things with a more critical eye and being mindful of what the force is and how it does/doesn’t work.

2. Your characterization of Anakin. I think yours is the best characterization of him I’ve ever read in a fic (I mean it). When I read DLB, I feel like I’m actually reading an Anakin from the PT. I think when it comes to a lot of fics about Anakin, I think authors tend to write him more like he is in the TCW, which is totally fine (I love the TCW) but DLB is just refreshing to me, and I know it’s because you’re sticking mostly to the movies with added bits from the TCW. For me, TCW Anakin feels a lot different from PT Anakin (sometimes it feels like they’re two different people), and Ive always preferred the Anakin in the movies (which is why I LOVE DLB). And it’s not just Anakin, but all of the characters are just written extremely well and true to their portrayals in the movies: shmi, padme, obi-wan, the list goes on.

3. (I know I only said 2, but I feel like being a Rebel). I think you’re one of the first authors of a SW time travel to bring up the very poignant point that just because it’s a time travel fic does not mean that we’re owed a big reveal. I mean, honestly, if I was Leia and I was dropped into that situation, I would do the exact same thing. My mouth would be wired shut, you’d have to tickle/torture me to get that out of me. Leia doesn’t owe anyone that part of herself and it’s not super relevant either, so why bring it up just to bring it up. If it does end up being relevant to the plot then I would very much enjoy a reveal, but you’re such a good writer that no matter where the cards fall I know I will not be disappointed either way— I am all here for how you write it. But the way you’ve written so far feels realistic and authentic to how a real person would react in that situation

I’ll end it here, but yeah! I appreciate you and DLB and I look forward to seeing where you take things.

I am blushing like crazy, you're so kind.

1) I know my rejection of an even semi-sentient Force isn't popular and doesn't mesh with current canon, but I prefer and stand by it. I'm glad that it resonates with someone else!

2) I agree that Anakin characterization is So Hard because he's not really consistent between the OT, PT, and TCW. I find my interpretation strongly influenced by TPM Anakin specifically (another Anakin!). That bright, kind little boy who was too smart and too talented for his own good! I love him and I want to protect him!

3) Be a Rebel! :) The "reveal" issue is something I think about a lot. I get lots of comments--ever increasing as the story goes on and the silence holds--about how excited or anxious people are for a reveal. What they think people's reactions will be. Why it must happen at some point. I can understand the underlying tension issue, and how people are probably on the edge of their seat. But I agree with you anon, Leia doesn't owe her past to anyone. There have been, are, and will be consequences to her silence. If and when she chooses to break it, it will be a Big Deal for whoever she trusts with the truth.

But for now, get comfy folks. Leia isn't going to break so easily.

[gffa]

I'm always hesitant to apply too much neurodiversity to Star Wars when I'm not sure it's intended (in the sense of "this is the authorial intent of what's going on", not "interpreting this character through this lens adds so much cool stuff to think about", the latter is something I'm all in favor of!) but with this one I think it's fair to run a lot more freely with it, because Dawson's intro sets the stage for how this is about being a parallel for mental health and I think it works so well. Because Iskat is a character who is going to go on to be an Inquisitor, who will hurt many people, but the writing never lets you escape from how much you care about her or understand that the problems she faced were genuinely painful ones that, as those of us who struggle with mental health problems, can feel so intensely connected to her, especially that feeling of, "Nobody can understand what I'm going through and anything they try to say sounds like they don't care." And maybe I'm bringing my own baggage to the table there but oh my god do I recognize that mindset and how much I kept secret to myself for so many years because I didn't know how to perfectly explain it and the first attempt to try didn't magically fix everything, so obviously nobody would really care about me. And that's not true!!! People cared so much!!! They were trying to move mountains to help me!!! I just couldn't see it because my mental health was in the toilet!!! So that's the viewpoint I went into this book with and I feel like it's one that was extremely rewarding, especially with the ending, when Iskat goes to find her birth family and it's all just empty and meaningless to her, like, yeah, that's exactly the ending that tied it all together for me, that it was about searching for some magic external answer that didn't exist, rather than the hard work of looking inside myself and asking what path I wanted to take in life and what it would take for me to do to get on that path. (This is why the Obi-Wan bit hit so hard for me, too, in retrospect. Initially, I was just excited about the shout out to a fave character, but looking back, it's another instance where Iskat thinks, oh, if only I'd had this perfect Master, things would have been different for me, and I would bet money that Obi-Wan couldn't have been a magic fix for her, either, any more than Iskat's birth family couldn't be a magic fix for her or her mother.) Like, I'm not saying the Jedi were perfect. I think they were trying, like Sember wasn't really a good match for Iskat, but that doesn't mean she was insincere or didn't care, she genuinely cared deeply about Iskat, her dying words were about how much good she saw in Iskat. And I think looking at Force-sensitivity as an analogy for neurodivergence adds a lot of depth to how, when we struggle, sometimes we forget that other people are real people who struggle with their own mental health journeys. Iskat is a character that I felt dearly for, because I saw so much of myself in her and felt her pain and recognized a lot of the negative paths of thought she was going down and I never wanted anything but good things for her, even as she made all these terrible choices or didn't care about the people she hurt beyond how it made her feel guilty. Like, I think what really made me love this book is that mentally ill/neurodivergent people can be an actual hot mess, can be wrapped up in their own pain, pain that is genuine and real and deserves help and sympathy for, instead of perfect innocent lambs who never did anything wrong. (*laughs* I admit, I'm probably bringing a lot of my own baggage to this book, which is why it's one I'm hesitant to recommend or even write much meta for, because I feel so strongly about it and don't want to push out other interpretations when it's such a complicated, nuanced matter to approach these topics in our space psychic wizard books! So if anyone disagrees, understood and fair, this more than usual is one that I'm coming at from a very specific direction.)

I'm going through my screencaps from Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade and it really kills me that I can't recommend this book to more people because it's from the point of view of a character falling to the dark side, so on the surface it comes across as very Jedi critical, but as someone who constantly keeps a hawk's eye out for what the other Jedi say and do so I can put it in my citations project, let me tell you, this book drives me absolutely up the wall with how much I was handed on a silver platter for how it's structured. It's a book that's set from the point of view of a troubled young Padawan, Iskat Akaris, and everything in her thoughts is about how she does try to let go of her anger, which she finds very difficult, but she also constantly craves battle and violence and seeks to find ways to justify that. She's offered by multiple people to find avenues to help her, but she always turns away from them, because they're not exciting enough for her. She never tells anyone directly of her struggles and any time another Jedi expresses support, somehow it's never good enough, she assumes it's not real empathy (because she thinks they wouldn't agree with her feelings--she doesn't want to be an archivist, she wants to fight, she doesn't want to take a regular position with the children in the creche--despite that she was really good with them and felt calmer afterwards--because she wants to be out in the galaxy fighting), and when she makes mistakes, she looks to justify why it wasn't her fault (she doesn't actually care about the civilians her actions hurt, she just cares that Adi and Yoda are telling her she has to be more careful). She's offered mentorship multiple times, by Jocasta, by Josk, Master Klefan talks to her frequently, Adi and Yoda make a point to tell her that two specific Masters are available to speak to, the Council offers her a position in the creche because they think she'd do well there--but that's not the excitement she craves, it's not the admiration for her battle skills that she wants, so she turns away from it. She's offered a position that's clearly very dear to them, it comes with multiple compliments and that they say it's meant to be beneficial to her as well (with the implication of how much it calmed her), and yet she sees it as a demotion, because it's not a mission with action and fighting. Everything that is the opposite of what a Jedi needs to seek. And it's done with such deftness to Iskat's point of view that, if you're not paying attention, it might seem like she is justified in these things. But when you look beyond her, you see how hard the Jedi are trying to help her, how many hands they hold out to her, and I want to write entire essays about this book but arrrghhhh I'm probably the only one who read this book in this specific way and who still has tolerance left for unreliable narrators who unfairly criticize the Jedi, but I can see the consistent pattern of how compassionate they are beyond it, so I feel I'd just be yelling into the void even more than I usually do, so instead I just sit with my feelings, like, I enjoyed this book through this lens, but it's a lens that scrapes a lot of people's nerves raw, so I can't blame them, but also oh man there's so much to chew on in this book and I just have to delete these caps as I make my way through my backlog. Arrrghhh.

[starsdies]

How about an Obikin prompt where Obi-Wan has been on a mission too long and Anakin misses him a lot he just stops acting "normally" because he feels lost without Obi-Wan and everyone starts noticing (even the council) and they seem forced to bring Obi-Wan back earlier than expected????

(Sorry, I know this is very long 😅 but I needed somewhere to dump all my Obikin ideas that I have stored collecting dust in my brain)

hello anon! first, thank you so much for this prompt. i have so many thoughts on anakin and separation anxiety - which is kind of how i interpreted this. the drabble got alot longer than i anticipated, and i'm far too lazy to edit it, but i hope you enjoy this little drabble with some character analysis! now, here is 2k of obikin!

Obi-wan was not sure why, in the middle of an incredibly important diplomatic mission, he was called back under the strict orders of Mace Windu.

There was an air about the contact with his old friend that left him unsettled, especially when Mace’s voice was all but dripping with annoyance he has only ever attributed to his relationship with Anakin. He’d left as quickly as possible, leaving his senator counterpart, Bail Organa, to continue with his inquiry within the Banking Clan.

The whole ordeal left him feeling somewhat restless since he was not able to see a mission to completion, though the familiar ease of Coruscant was still infinitely better than listening to political exchange. Immediately, his presence was requested by the council for a break-down of the mission and…

“We must bring up something concerning to you,” Mace said after his brief explanation, his demeanor one of curiosity and discomfort. Obi-wan despised standing in the middle of this circle, feeling almost apprehensive now that the Force surrounding him felt so disturbed. “Your former Padawan… has behaved in a way with your absence that many of us have begun to suspect may be because of your unsevered bond.” 

A ripple of shock sound waves through Obi-wan. “What has Anakin—what's happened, Master Windu?” 

“Separation anxiety, your former Padawan has,” Yoda supplies gravely. “Feel it, did you not?”

Obi-wan’s mission extended well over the expected date he told Anakin, and of course he was nearly always attuned to his presence no matter how much he suppressed it. How could he not be, when he shone so bright the suns in their galaxy felt dim in comparison? Anakin was the power of two, like Tatooine’s binary suns, but Obi-wan has also grown used to building shields high enough to not let his former Padawan’s emotions affect his own duty. It was necessary. It was…

“More reason to sever your old bond,” Mace says, though Obi-wan is well aware of their disapproval to keep he and Anakin’s training bond intact. It leads to attachment, he’s been told, though countless times he only nodded in understanding. How could he admit that he is well beyond it now, their bond his only reprieve from the endless bloodshed, the loss, the pain? When Obi-wan Kenobi was not Master, or High Jedi General—he was Anakin’s best friend. Their bond was a bacta tank soothing open, festering wounds.

“I understand the severity of the situation, Masters,” he says slowly, sighing. He knows that if he did not comply, they would know how deep his own attachment has rooted. Still, he will try. “I fear severing the training bond will only worsen this separation anxiety you speak of. Time… time is what Anakin needs first.” 

Mace’s eyes squint. “He should have applied for severance when he was Knighted, yet the mention of it seems to unsettle you.” 

Of course it does, he huffs to himself. Duty in war was lonely, and loneliness was a path that even greater men have walked and succumbed to. Obi-wan had a brief walk down that path when Qui-gon died, never so close to darkness than those agonizing months. He didn’t want to be there again, but most importantly, he couldn’t push Anakin there. Not after his last visit to Tatooine. “I admit the idea leads me to worry it will bring more harm than good. At least in this war, where Anakin and I’s bond has proved beneficial in battle.” 

Silence falls, Obi-wan keeping his shields tightly enforced. And then, when he thinks it can’t possibly go on longer, Yoda hums. 

“A matter to look more into, we will, at a later time.” 

Obi-wan bows towards Yoda, his gimmick stick tapping against the floor with finality. Mace frowns, unsatisfied, but seems to accept the decision to put back the discussion, saying, “See to young Skywalker, then.” 

💫

Their shared quarters were never quite clean, but stepping into them now is reminiscent of a battlefield. Obi-wan stares in horror at the mess of old robes and casual wear tossed across the couches and tables, droid parts in the kitchen even after countless chiding lectures of Anakin, please do not use the kitchenette as your storage unit, Force’s sake—

He sighs, dreading what the rest of the apartment will look like. Obi-wan shoves a pair of sparring shoes away, feeling Anakin’s presence nearby. 

Of course, he finds him tucked into the spacious closet that was remodeled into Anakin’s personal tinkering room, his apprentice slumped over the table with his head in his arms, fast asleep. He didn’t ask what the Council deemed as inappropriate behaviour from Anakin, but he sees now why he was called back. The mess, the disorder signature radiating from Anakin, his schedule in disarray. When he reaches forward with the Force, allowing his shields to slide away, the bond shimmers with discontent, worry, a longing sadness that shakes Obi-wan to the core.

The reemergence of his signature, however, serves as a personal alarm, too, as Anakin stirs. 

He rests a comforting hand on Anakin’s back, and it causes Anakin to jerk back, a hand falling to his saber. War has hardened them both. 

“Anakin, it’s—it’s me,” he says, unsure of what will meet him. A pair of eyes slide over him, surging with life. 

“Master!” A pair of arms envelop him in a flurry of movements, Obi-wan’s breath knocked from his throat. “Sith’s hell, I almost stormed the Council when your signature dropped. I thought you’d… I thought you were in trouble and no one would tell me anything.” A pause, a taste of anger. “I almost went after you. I was this close, and you can thank Ahsoka for that.” 

Oh. Oh, Force. 

“I’m here. The mission was just extended much longer than I anticipated.” The arms around him squeeze once and slide away, a hint of bashfulness when Anakin realizes what he’s done. “You know how political talks go,” he finishes with a smile.

Anakin’s face, although undeniably warm with his return, is twisted with exhaustion. Dark circles beneath his eyes, lips dry, the smile not reaching his eyes. Obi-wan wonders how he could have missed this. How, despite their bond expanding across the entirety of the galaxy, he did not feel what his absence was doing. He’s heard of separation anxiety in bonds, but most of them were easily adjusted after Knighthood. Jedi Knights kept away from their Masters to build their independence, fulfilling the needs of the Council and Republic in farther missions. 

The two of them, however, were so whisked up in war that they were never offered that. A gift, truly, but not one without drawbacks. 

“Anakin,” he says carefully, hesitant. “The mission was not complete. I was ordered to immediately return.” A pause, Anakin’s brows pinching with worry. 

“For what? Is everything okay?” 

“I was ordered to return… because of you, dear one.” 

At this, Anakin’s open body language withers and hardens. He stands up straighter, jaw in place and eyes calculating. “Explain, Master, please.” 

Ah, yes. Obi-wan nods, tucking his hands into the folds of his robes so that Anakin cannot see the jittered movement there. Afterwards, he will need to meditate. His emotions will do him no good stuck inside him, especially with this new information. “The Council–”

“Oh, wonderful, my biggest fans,” the words fall in a half-growl, Anakin rolling his eyes. “Let's hear what they think of me this time.” 

“The Council thinks we should sever our training bond.” 

“What?” The surge of anger that follows is a tidal wave, Obi-wan’s signature tainted with the bitter and violent aftershocks. As much as Anakin was as warm as binary suns, his heat could also be blistering. “That’s completely–a nonissue. Who cares? Our bond is the reason we are alive on that battlefield most of the time, Obi-wan, tell me you told them as such.” 

“I did,” a nod, a sigh, Force, Obi-wan was tired. “I felt this coming, truthfully. After our bond was left intact and discovered, it was only a matter of time. These sort of things leave the Council wary… and I admit if it were anyone else and I were on the Council decision, it would worry me too.” His words seem to wound Anakin, but before he can voice his own thoughts, Obi-wan continues. “These things lead to attachment, Anakin. The bond has served its purpose in allowing me to help guide you. That being said, I will continue to ease their worry as long as possible.”

Anakin stares at him for a moment, features cloudy. His former Padawan steps forward, an arm around Obi-wan’s forearm. “It’s been too long, Master,” he bites his lip, a nervous habit that must attribute to the sore, chapped lips he sees now. Just how terribly did his absence affect Anakin? “I can’t - I don’t want to sever our bond.”

“I do not wish to either, dear one.” 

“We’ve - we’ve learned how to exist with it just fine. It will alter everything. All our decisions on the battlefield, our ability to communicate. It’s not fair.” 

“Anakin, it’s less the bond and more the way you have reacted when it’s not there.” 

His eyes slide across the mess of electronics, droid parts both crushed and intact, more of a mess than usual. Anakin only worked this diligently on his projects when he was bothered, when his moving meditations could not quell his brooding emotions. Ever since he was a boy, Obi-wan would watch him sulk to his closet and remain there for hours, the signature radiating from the room one dark and cloudy, but ebbing slowly away with his droid part companions. Tentatively, a hand reaches to press against Anakin’s cheek, his body much thinner than before Obi-wan left Coruscant. 

“My shields were too high, weren’t they?” 

His beautiful boy, he thinks, as Anakin leans into the palm. He noses into Obi-wan’s palm, almost a nuzzle, before grasping his wrist with his mechno-fingers. Obi-wan’s breath short circuits when the prosthetic brings his fingers to Anakin’s lips, not kissing but pressing, feeling. Breathing him in as if he’s not real. 

“It’s like being disconnected to the Force,” he explains quietly, hot breath against Obi-wan’s fingertips. “You’re always there. Even when it feels too much, you’re there, solid, a–a rock, of sorts. And then you weren't and it didn’t feel good. Didn’t feel right. I couldn’t spar with Ahsoka. I couldn't eat. I walked out on Council meetings. I don’t know what was wrong with me.” 

A thumb presses down on Anakin’s bottom lip, chest fluttering when his mouth just drops open and– “Children and animals,” he clears his throat, breaking the moment and pulling his hand away. Chills creep over where Anakin’s mouth was, where his tongue almost touched. “often experience separation anxiety when someone they are close with is gone. It seems the most plausible explanation.”

“Separation anxiety,” Anakin repeats, rolling it around on his tongue. 

“Yes. You aren’t the first person to experience such feelings for their Master.” 

“I’m not like the other cases,” Anakin says adamantly, Obi-wan’s meant to comfort only seeming to agitate his former Padawan. He figured it would soothe his worries to know it was a feeling many understood, but Anakin only frowns. “Padawan…” 

“I’m not your Padawan anymore,” Anakin sighs, defeated. “I’m sorry. For ruining your mission and causing issue. I just— I’m not used to this yet. We’ve always been a team.” 

“And we always will, dear one, I swear it.” 

Anakin’s eyes meet his, not quite believing him. “It won’t be the same if we’re severed, Obi-wan.” 

“I will make them hear my case. I swear that too,” and this time Obi-wan smiles, jerking his head towards the kitchenette. “Now lets clean your mess and we’ll have a meal. You and I, alright?” 

“I’d like that, Master.” 

[marikn]

Let’s talk about Byler, shall we?

More specifically, I want to talk about my predictions for s5 based on various tidbits I’ve heard about the duffers and their inspiration, and trends in past media.

This is going to be pretty long but just stick with me, I promise it gets good.

(EDIT) This theory is not a happy one and has been upsetting people.

I talk exclusively about my doubts here. If anyone would like to see it, I can make another post about my byler hopes :)

Anyway can someone tell me how to insert a cut

1. Destiel syndrome

Byler reminds me an awful lot of destiel. I never finished watching supernatural, but I definitely heard about what they did in the finale, and I think it’s likely that byler would end up in a similar situation.

I fear making them obviously canon would result in a lot of controversy. I think it’s much more likely that we’d get a scene similar to destiel’s confession, where the “I love you” can be interpreted a couple different ways. 

Since Mike and Will often speak in a sort of code, I’m willing to bet Will’s confession will be encoded, and therefore entirely implicit (this ensures that the general audience can interpret it as Will talking about platonic or familial love instead), and Mike will be left stunned/speechless/unable to respond in some way before Will leaves, most likely to go straight to his death (like Castiel).

2. I don’t think we are going to get a byler kiss

As much as I would love to see it, I genuinely don’t think it will happen. There are a couple reasons as to why I think this, mainly having to do with the “bury your gays” trope.

I think Stranger Things has too wide of an audience for a kiss to happen, and I think the duffers know this. Typically, explicit romantic interactions in same-sex couples are avoided (unless the intended audience is the lgbtq community) because straight people don’t want to see that. No matter how beautifully a love story might be written, there are people who will claim they forced it for representation, people who will say it ruined the show, and people who will outright cover their eyes in disgust (I’m not exaggerating— I live with people who do this). It’s too much of a risk, especially with how popular the show has gotten.

All in all, there are too many “normal” people who watch st, and an on-screen queer kiss between two main characters would prompt too much backlash.

3. Star Wars parallels

The duffers have said they’ll be drawing inspiration for season 5 from Return of the Jedi. As it is, we can already see some parallels between the Star Wars characters and the stranger things characters (max in a coma/han in carbonite, el lifting nina/Luke lifting the ship). Assuming that Henry/Vecna/001 is meant to be Palpatine, I see two logical options for Darth Vader’s parallel. 

One: Eddie.   This ties into the kas!eddie theory a bit, but Vader’s origin began with Anakin’s defeat. Obi-wan battled Anakin and left him for dead on a remote planet, and he would have died if not for Palpatine and the suit he’d made for him. Palpatine remade Anakin entirely and gave him an all new identity— which could be a possibility between 001 and Eddie, now that we know the numbers have the ability to revive (el reviving max’s body in the finale). 

Two: Will.    This is the more likely option. In Star Wars, Palpatine poisoned Anakin’s mind by using his own fear against him (Anakin was seeing visions of his wife Padme dying, and was desperately searching for a way to save her). Palpatine took Anakin’s weakness and applied the necessary manipulation to mold him into a tool.

Much like Anakin’s “death” at the hands of Obi-wan, we can assume that Will Byers “died” in 1983 when he disappeared. When he came back, his mind was compromised, which allowed the mindflayer to take control of him. Much like Anakin, Will would (in theory) be willing to do whatever it takes to keep his loved ones safe, which will lead to his downfall (villain arc not included).

If they were to parallel Will and Vader like this, they would turn Will onto the path of the tragic hero archetype. At the end of Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader turns on Palpatine in order to save Luke, sacrificing his own life in the process. Remember when I said Will would confess to Mike right before walking into his doom?

4. Every ending has a beginning

Will Byers is going to die.

This show started with Will, and it will end with Will. Most likely, he will sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends and family. Once he does, I can see us getting a shot of Mike holding his body (probably similar to Richie and Eddie from IT) and only then will we get a glimpse of how Mike really feels about Will.

Will’s sacrifice will either destroy Vecna, or give El the upper hand so that she can kill him herself (this is, after all, her unfinished business). However it plays out, I have low expectations of Will actually making it through. The duffers seems to have been foreshadowing this, too.

Will has never had a happy childhood. Even before the Upside Down, he had Lonnie and the bullies weighing him down. He’s been doomed since the start; all throughout the show, he can’t seem to catch a break. He alone is linked to the upside down— to Vecna. We even see the two of them heavily paralleled through Vecna’s backstory (being “sensitive” children, not getting along with other kids, drawing the mindflayer). He’s been put through so much, time and time again, and it all reads very similarly to Harry Potter’s “pig for slaughter” storyline. 

Like Harry with Voldemort, Will was marked and linked to Vencna when he was taken into the upside down. From then on, he’s been able to feel Vecna’s presence in his mind and in Hawkins whenever he’s active, the same way Harry can feel Voldemort’s presence through his scar. They have a permanent connection, whether they like it or not, and the only way to break it is for one of them to die. Obviously, since this is the final season, they will find a way to defeat Vecna. I will not be surprised, however, if that way requires Will to die somehow. 

Only this time, there won’t be a way for him to come back.

(insert genius and well-crafted conclusion here) Basically: it’s not looking good for byler.