#we don't need satine in the kenobi show

[alliwantistowearcomfypants]

I'm not gonna lie, I think mandalorian should have ended at season 2. It just buttoned up so well, and the message was incredible. It was touching and sad. And then, like a month later, it didn't matter. Season 3 was so disappointing to me, and I think a big reason for that is because it lacked that simplicity the first 2 seasons had. The show was just about a damaged man finding his humanity and helping various people along the way. I know that not everyone loved the simplicity, but I think it was the best thing the show had going for it. Star Wars often suffers from stuffing so much crap in the story that it forgets to add character arcs.

The first 2 seasons are super character focused. The plot is so intertwined with Dins' character growth that it doesn't focus on the big picture. But in s3, Din barely has any growth as a character. There's stuff happening left and right, but Din doesn't really have any emotional stakes in it. Him trying to get his mandalorian status back feels hallow because we literally just watched 2 whole seasons of him breaking away from it. One of the biggest character moments for him was taking off his helmet for grogu. He's telling grogu that he matters more. That he would give it all up for him. It's so touching and feels like his character's natural progression. And then we're supposed to care when all of a sudden he wants back into the morally questionable pseudo cult he broke away from for his baby? I don't care! That plot point also resolves itself in like 3 episodes with little to no confluct, so now what. He wants to help Bo Katan. Ok. Why. No idea. He's kinda just there, watching things happen around him. There's no inner conflict or tough decisions he needs to make. His character arc is over, and you can tell the writers didn't know what to do with him.

The show is honestly focused more on bo katan than din. Which, no hate to her, but I'm not here for her. She's treated like a wronged princess, not like a deeply flawed terrorist who saw the error of her ways way too late. She literally aided in getting her planet overrun by crime leaders and sith. And the show just brushes past that. They don't even mention Satine, which could have been a great way to humanize Bo. Have her struggle with the fact that she got her sister killed. Have her wanting to restore mandalor for her sister, who died trying to protect it. It would have been so much more impactful if Bo Katan's motivation was out of guilt for getting her sister killed and planet overrun. She could have slowly opened up about her complicated relationship with her sister. She could have had an obi wan kenobi type arc. Learning the only thing she can do is move forward. Try to right her wrongs. Restore Mandalore in the name of her flawed but deeply devoted sister. I do not understand why they didn't at least touch on Bo's personal ties to the planet. She feels so one dimensional, and they could have easily made her more interesting. Or at least motivating.

My biggest problem with the show is that I didn't really care. I didn't care about Bo Katan's goals or Din's. And I think the biggest reason is because the show forgot to add character moments that tied them to the things they want in a personal way. Also, Din's baptism thing was stupid. Just cut that out entirely. No one wanted that.

[im-a-wonderling]

Rescue Me, Part 1 ~ Obi-Wan Kenobi

I started writing this in August of 2022. Four rewrites later, I’m posting it now in August of 2023. Shoutout to @writing-on-the-wahl​ for inspiring me and helping me smooth this over as well as to my brother for supplying all the military/niche Star Wars knowledge I needed. 

Summary: A simple mission takes a turn, and suddenly Y/N has to work carefully with Master Kenobi to ensure they both survive. 

Warnings: Satine doesn’t exist, mentions of mistreatment, mentions of Pong Krell (yes, this is a warning, Clone Wars fans get it. If you haven’t watched Clone Wars, you should still be able to understand this fic) 

Word count: 7.5k

Rescue Me masterlist | Main masterlist

Never in my entire life had I been so cold.

The cold sucked all the Force-given agility from my limbs, numbness spreading from my toes to my knees. I could feel the hairs inside my nostrils freezing, and every gasp of air burned its way down my throat and into my lungs. My nose felt moments away from falling off my face altogether. 

There was no blushing horizon, no boulders or trees visible, no dynamic landscape whatsoever. There wasn’t even a way to discern where the sky ended and the land began. 

 It was just white. 

The pelting snow obstructed everything from view, keeping me unaware of anything unless it was two feet from my face. For all I knew, we could’ve been walking in circles. 

The very idea set my teeth on edge, and I quickly attempted some deep breaths to calm myself down. I kept pushing forward, practically dragging Master Kenobi along through the snow that had reached my knees.

It was because of this blasted snow that he hadn’t seen the D’oemir bear trap until its metal jaws closed around his foot. I’d been busy studying the defenses of the Separatist base when a shout of pain came from behind me, alerting the Separatists of our presence and our location. 

What had started as a simple scouting mission was now a fight for survival.

I took more deep breaths, trying to lean on the Force for peace, just as I’d always been taught. And yet, like every other time I tried, the mystical energy seemed fuzzy and muted, like it’d been covered in a blanket to hide it from view. For all intents and purposes, Master Kenobi and I were alone. 

As if the planet somehow eavesdropped on my thoughts, the wind picked up, sending an extra bite of pain through my exposed cheeks. “How much farther to the ship?!” I yelled in an endeavor to be heard, holding tighter to the arm slung around my neck. 

Master Kenobi didn’t answer, and my heart sank. We weren’t even close then. 

A particularly brutal gust of wind buffeted past us, nearly pushing us backwards. 

"We can't go on much further!" I shouted. "Master, I don't think we're going to make it!"

Master Kenobi held up his free hand, holding it up to block the gale from his face. His lips moved, but the sound coming from them was lost.

"What did you say?!" 

He leaned in, positioning his lips right beside my ear. "You need to get yourself to the ship!"

A blast of anger imploded in my insides, momentarily warming me up. "I'm not leaving you!" Another squall of wind nearly sent us toppling over. 

"There's no point in both of us being stuck out here when you can save yourself!" Master Kenobi pulled his arm, unwinding it from its position around my neck.

I fixed him with a glare and gripped his arm tighter. "I'm not deserting you!" I didn’t know what exactly the council would do if I showed up on Coruscant without Master Kenobi, but I knew the judgment would be swift and severe. 

Master Kenobi's exasperation grew as well. "I'm your master, you need to do as I say!"

Yet another gust of wind barreled past us, breaking the conversation and forcing us to brace ourselves. 

"The only other shelter for miles is the base, and we can't go back there!" I said, once the wind returned to its previous howling intensity. “So we have to find some other means of staying alive!”

Master Kenobi straightened, studying our surroundings. There was nothing to see except wind, snow, and desperation, yet he surveyed it all with great care. I tried not to roll my eyes. Even a gaze as hypercritical as Master Kenobi’s wouldn’t be able to conjure something from nothing. 

Suddenly, Master Kenobi twisted around, looking behind us. A strange light jumped forth in his eyes. He mumbled something, but the wind blew it away. 

"What?!"

"That way!" he shouted, pointing off to the side. 

"What about that way?!"

Master Kenobi still didn't answer. He took a step in the indicated direction and would've fallen, had I not shifted to take the weight. 

I glanced down at his injury. The sight of the dried blood that long since had soaked through his boot sent my stomach flipping. Ironically, the only thing keeping him from bleeding out was the same infernal cold that would kill us if we were exposed much longer. 

We didn’t have much time.

"C'mon!" he yelled, bringing me out of my thoughts with an impatient look thrown at me. 

"Where are we going?!" 

"There's a bunker this way, I've been in it before!"

I stared at him warily. "How do you know where it is?! I can’t see a thing!"

"I just know!”

He just knows, I thought sourly. The almighty Jedi master in his boundless knowledge just knew everything about everything.

An irritated grunt left my lips. Thankfully, the wind covered up my defiance, and my mental shields kept any doubt from spilling over. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter where we freeze, I thought to myself grimly before obeying Master Kenobi. 

“Just keep heading towards the mountain!” 

Mountain?

I glanced around, checking to see if a mountain had somehow snuck past me since the first time I’d looked. But no, the terrain was the same.

“What mountain?” I shouted back.

Master Kenobi shut his eyes for a moment, and I couldn’t tell if it was due to exasperation or pain. “Reach out with the Force, and you can feel it!”

The Force? As some sort of land radar?

I wanted to scoff, to argue with him. But while giving into my doubts seemed appealing, I knew Master Kenobi would still be assessing every move I made. If we somehow made it back to Coruscant, he would be giving a report to the council. So I pushed on, fighting the snow and the wind for every step of distance covered. What felt like an eternity later, Master Kenobi reached out his free hand to point ahead of us. “Look, there it is!”

I peered around us, feeling the snowflakes stuck in my lashes. “I don’t–”

“Just keep going!” Master Kenobi urged.

I’m never leaving Coruscant again, I promised myself with every step. The numerous threats and corrupt politicians would be manageable, especially because death would likely come in a swifter and more exciting package. Like poison. Or a dramatic duel to the death. Not something as rudimentary as snow.

To my utter surprise, I felt the ground underneath us start to slope upwards. Could I really be at the foot of a mountain and not see it? I squinted in the direction of the slope and caught sight of hits of gray mixed in with the white. 

Son of a mudscuffer, there really was a mountain. 

Master Kenobi brought the hand that wasn’t around my neck to his mouth, tearing his glove off with his teeth. Fingers free, he pressed his hand to the snowy rock.

“Welcome, Obi-Wan Kenobi,” an automatic voice said. The wall of rock slid to the side, revealing a door that slid open.

A sudden burst of heat came from the doorway, and I nearly lost my grasp on Master Kenobi as I stumbled through it, leaning against the wall immediately inside. Clearly aware of my exhaustion, Master Kenobi leaned his weight away from me and up against the wall as the door closed behind us.

The roaring of the wind dulled, making me feel as if someone had stuffed earplugs into my ears. But I couldn’t make myself care about that.

The delicious warmth caressed my face, like flickering flames running their soft, welcoming hands up and down my skin. I started to regain feeling in the tips of my ears and my nose. 

Then the burning started. 

The air grew stifling, setting my skin on fire. It itched. I could feel my joints getting stiffer and stiffer as parts of my body started to swell. The heat that I’d so desperately craved a few moments ago was proving to be just as dangerous as the chill.

“What the–” Master Kenobi said, raising his rapidly puffing fingers. 

“We’re warming up too fast,” I gasped, picturing a description from a med book I’d read once, accompanied with gruesome pictures I didn’t want to recreate. “We have to slow down the temperature change. Is there a refresher in this place?”

Master Kenobi stepped forward to show me the way, and he immediately pitched forward, losing his balance.

My arms shot out, grabbing him before he could fully fall to the floor. “Silly old man,” I said through gritted teeth as I began to drag him once more. 

“I’m not that much older than you,” Master Kenobi bit back before pointing down the hallway with his free hand. Wordlessly, I followed his direction. Scorching pain started where his arm met the skin of my neck, but I only held him tighter as I focused on getting us to the refresher. Master Kenobi tried to help, leaning some of his weight against the wall as we passed, but it didn’t make much of a difference in the strain pulling at my back and knees. “Last door on the left,” he panted.

I slammed my hand against the pad, and the door slid open with a swish.

The revealed quarters could barely be called a refresher. It wasn’t even big enough for a Wookie to hide in. Would Master Kenobi and I even fit? 

The prickle of my skin somehow grew worse. Only one way to find out.

I lowered him to the floor and quickly turned the water on. “We have to get in.” I jerked my hat off, shrugging out of my coat. “If we take too long, our hearts are going to fail.” I pulled off my overtunic, cursing the number of layers I had on. After getting the undertunic off as well, the exposed skin of my arms and stomach started to prickle painfully. It grew even worse when my pants came off, leaving nothing to protect my skin from the heat except a pair of tight undershorts and the fabric binding my chest. All I wanted to do was get under the stream of water for some relief. 

I stepped towards the refresher, my foot touching the water as I glanced over at the master.

Master Kenobi’s shoes lay discarded as his fingers fumbled with the fastenings of his coat. He saw me watching him. “Get under the water!”

I didn’t hesitate, crouching in front of him, clumsily pulling at the fastenings of his coat. By some miracle, they opened, and I tugged the coat off.

“Get under the water!” Master Kenobi ordered, but I ignored him, fisting his overtunic in my stiff hands. “Leave me!”

I met his eyes, ignoring the fire ants crawling all over my skin. “Arms up.”

“Y/N-”

“The more difficult you make this, the longer it will take for me to get in the refresher,” I barked. “Arms up.”

Looking extremely vexed, Master Kenobi finally sat forward, lifting his arms to allow the overtunic to be tugged over his head. I tossed it to the side, getting to work unwrapping his undertunic. He shifted his weight, hooking his thumbs into his pants and pulling them down his legs. I pulled them off, discarding them as well.

Then I stared down at his body, a new conundrum taunting me.

Master Kenobi’s frame far exceeded mine in size, and it was riddled with heavy muscle. The refresher was barely big enough for us to stand in it together, so he couldn’t crawl in and sit on the floor. But how was I supposed to get him into a standing position and into the refresher? 

“Go.” Master Kenobi’s shove was far from gentle. “Get in.”

I grit my teeth. “I told you,” I learned forward, hooking my arms under his armpits, “I’m not leaving you.”

“You are my padawan, and you will listen to–”

I hoisted, trying to pull Master Kenobi up. He barely budged.

“–me because I am your–”

I tried again and failed again.

“–master–”

I screwed up my face, shutting my eyes and summoning every last bit of strength I had.

Master Kenobi’s body lifted, his arms wrapping around me as he let out an alarmed yelp.

For a moment, satisfaction wracked through my core…but I’d underestimated how much momentum we’d generated.

I stumbled backwards, my arms wrapped around a toned torso and heavy arms wrapped around my shoulder. The stream of water hit my back, it’s chill making me gasp. Then my back collided with the wall, just before a body slammed against mine, knocking all the air from my lungs.

My eyes flew open, and all I could see was Master Kenobi.

His usually voluminous hair stuck to his head as water ran down in torrents. His lips, surrounded by his overgrown beard, were parted, and his chilly blue eyes were wide.

I shoved him away, forcing him to catch his balance by bracing himself on the wall opposite the refresher head. Unfortunately, the refresher was so small, if I wanted to, I’d still be able to place my palm on his chest without even straightening my arm. The tempo of my heart hastened, the little pitter-patter sounding akin to quickening footsteps. What my heart barreled towards, I didn’t know, but my body seemed to.

A shiver ran up my spine, causing me to tremble. 

“Are you alright?” 

“S’cold,” I said shortly. 

“I believe that’s the point,” Master Kenobi shot back. Despite the humor in his comment, I couldn’t find any in his expression, not even so much as an upturn of his mouth. His face was a hard slab of stony displeasure. 

Standing here in a refresher with Master Obi-wan Kenobi in nothing but my undergarments was not my idea of a good time either, but it was better than freezing to death. 

“Next time,” he grunted, “you’d better get in the refresher first.” 

Nevermind.

Master Kenobi pursed his lips, still looking upset. “I’m not solely charged with teaching you–.” 

“I get it.” The impertinent words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Master Kenobi’s face spoke of vexation, like it always did when he was interrupted. “You are not just my student, you are my ward. I am responsible for you, so when I tell you to save yourself, you are to listen, do you understand?”

I hated that he was talking to me like I was a child. I may not have been his padawan for longer than a week, but I wasn’t a youngling.

“It is not a hard concept to grasp.” His tone danced between stern and impatient.

I remained silent, twisting the refresher dial to make the water slightly warmer and keeping my face impassive as I’d always been told. But his words only fed the fiery furnace roaring inside me.

The crease between Master Kenobi’s eyebrows flattened. “You’re angry.”

My cheeks heated up. I quickly shoved the rage down, frustrated that it had momentarily broken through my mental shields and bled through my Force signature. My previous master had been able to harness the Force to hide his emotions as easily as breathing. I tried to do the same, but the Force rarely allied itself with me.

“I understand,” I said as evenly as possible, keeping my eyes averted and my temper in strong hand. “I'm just a padawan. You're the master.”

“There is no ‘just a padawan’,” Master Kenobi interupted. “Being a padawan is just as crucial a part of the Jedi cycle as being a master.”

I barely withheld my huff as I turned the water slightly warmer again. I didn’t need any Jedi propaganda about the value of life and each stage of it. 

“You’re angrier.”

I quickly raised my mental shields again, cursing them for continually breaking down.

“Tell me why you’re angry.”

I eyed Master Kenobi warily. To discuss this with him was wrong, but to disobey a direct order from my master was even worse. 

“Y/N-” he began, and I snapped. 

“Do you think I’m stupid?” I barked. “That I don’t know this mission is a test? If I show up on Coruscant without you, the council will assume I’ve followed in Master Krell’s footsteps and execute me.”

“Why would you be executed?” 

“Master Krell was,” I said with gritted teeth. “A padawan stands in their master’s shadow, don’t they?”

His mouth turned down in a deep frown. “You haven't gone over to the dark side and killed scores of clones.”

“And yet if the council trusted me, we wouldn't be here on a so-called surveillance mission!” Master Kenobi didn’t immediately reply, watching me, waiting for more answers. I lifted my hands to pull the pins out of my bun, letting my hair fall. My outrage cooled slightly. “Look,” I set the pins off to the side, “saving myself doesn’t do me any good here. Can we leave it at that?”

Master Kenobi didn’t seem to catch the hint. “No.” 

I lifted my eyes to the ceiling. The more my irritation grew, the more he questioned me, making my irritation rise even further. It was an endless cycle.

“You're frustrated.”

I slammed my mental shields back into place.

Master Kenobi tilted his head. “Why do you try to hide your emotions from me? 

Distantly, I knew the more anger I showed, the more likely I was going to get into trouble, but when there’s enough heat to make the pot of boiling water froth and overflow, slamming the lid down only worked for so long. “If you want to quiz me on the Jedi Code, can it wait until we’re back on Coruscant?” 

“No, it can’t.”

I wanted to scream.

“You’re getting angrier.”

Gripping the reins of my temper, I yanked them back so hard, my body hit the wall of the refresher.  “Why do you care?” I bit back.

“Because only a Sith tries to hide their true feelings.” He looked me directly in the eyes. “Are you a Sith?”

It was a natural thing to ask, yet the question still felt like a hammer between the eyes. 

No! I wanted to scream. Of course not! How could you think such a thing?!

But as I looked into Master Kenobi’s grave expression, a small trickle of doubt started.

Master Kenobi wouldn’t lie. It was against his character and offered him no advantage here. If hiding emotions was a component of the Code of the Sith instead of the Jedi Code…

Pong Krell was my master. As his padawan, I was expected to follow his lead and take his teachings to heart. To be a padawan was to be molded. Master Krell abandoned the Jedi Code, lost his respect for life, regardless of whose it was, and started ending lives instead of saving them.

It wasn’t until the day of his death that I’d realized where his allegiances lay. Was it because everything seemed so normal? Because the signs were so subtle? Or was it because his teachings never allowed me to recognize the ways of the Sith apart from the ways of the Jedi?

How long ago had he chosen the dark side? And how long had he been molding me the wrong way?

Maybe…maybe I didn’t know how to be a Jedi at all.

Thoughts started swirling in my brain, picking up speed until they were so fast, I couldn’t catch hold of them.

“You don’t want to be one,” Master Kenobi said softly, more to himself than to me. “And you’re worried you are.”

I almost went to reinforce my mental shields, but if that was truly the method of a Sith…perhaps my own impulses were untrustworthy. “I’m so confused,” I managed to say. 

“Why are you trying to hide?” Master Kenobi asked, slowly and clearly. I considered him, no longer with skepticism or a wild need to prove myself, but to see him as he was.

Tall. Pale. Strong-browed. Sturdy-shouldered. Piercingly blue-eyed. Hair charmingly tousled. Mouth sternly set. 

All of it whispered of forbearance. 

I felt it then, deep within myself. A push to speak.

“Because Master Krell told me to,” I mumbled. “He…he said my thoughts were too loud, so…he taught me to conceal them.”

Master Kenobi’s mouth opened and closed, producing no sound as he stared at me. Finally, he closed his eyes, looking pained. “I didn’t realize that his teachings were so corrupt.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

Blue eyes rested on my face, striking me with soft wisdom. “I am sorry. Krell’s failings should’ve been spotted long before they were.”

I nearly gaped at him, discomfort coursing through me as my skin started prickling again. A master, apologizing to a padawan? It wasn’t seemly. 

“His failings?” I repeated.

Master Kenobi squared his shoulders. “To be a master is to be your padawan’s strength so you can aid them in their weakness. To protect them, to respect them, to build their confidence.” Master Kenobi’s eyes turned sad. “Did Krell do that for you?”

I thought I felt bare already, but Master Kenobi’s question stripped me completely. To ask for my opinion…it felt wrong. So wrong, that I couldn’t even fathom giving it. I crossed my arms, bowing my head to let my hair fall forward like a curtain. I stared at the drain at our feet, wishing I could melt and slide away with the water.

A hand rested on my shoulder, calluses gently scraping against my skin.  

I started to lean away from it, but I froze when I looked up, coming face-to-face with the fiery resolution in Master Kenobi’s face. “Now that you are with me, things will be different.” Master Kenobi’s hand squeezed my shoulder. 

A simple gesture. A kind one. 

Different, Master Kenobi said, did I dare to hope it could even be better? 

I immediately buried the hope in an avalanche of doubt. My display of emotion and insubordination surely warranted chastising at some point, as neither of them were signs of a competent Jedi. He was waiting. He would scold me for my actions at a later date, surely. 

Yet no trace of Master Kenobi’s displeasure remained in his face. The moments that passed were only filled with the sounds of water hitting the refresher floor.

My body still felt too big for my skin, like my skin was straining to stay together, but my skin no longer burned. I reached over, turning the dial farther, and the water could finally be called warm. 

A small sigh sounded, and Master Kenobi leaned his head against the refresher wall, his eyes closed. Even with his slumped posture, the ends of his hair brushed his shoulders. With the rapid succession of our last few missions, neither one of us had much time for personal grooming, even by Jedi standards. Judging by the way he’d been absentmindedly brushing his hair out of his face these past few days, it was far past the length that he liked it to be. It’d fallen into his face now, collecting in a tangled clump on his forehead. 

As I watched and without opening his eyes, Master Kenobi lifted a hand, pushing the hair back. As my eyes remained on the locks, a bizarre fluttering started in my stomach. 

The sensation started out subtle, but the longer I looked, the more it grew. 

Was I getting sick? 

Had our traipse through the snow caused some further harm than just the discomfort I was now experiencing? 

His eyes fluttered open without warning, meeting mine. I read the question there, clear as day. Had he picked up on my feelings? “Your hair,” I replied, hoping the Force hadn’t given him the exact subject of my musings. “It’s long.”

He self-consciously ran his fingers through it. “I know, I know. It’s high time for a haircut.”

“I could cut it for you.”

Suspicion bloomed on his face. “Have you ever cut hair before?”

I gestured to my own hair. My work was a bit choppy, but I wore my hair up most of the time anyway.

“Yeah, you’re not touching my hair,” he said, running his hand protectively over his locks. “I’d probably end up having to shave it all off.” He shuddered, and I nearly snorted, reaching over to turn the water off.

“Are there towels in this place?”

“Here, I’ll-” Master Kenobi stepped forward and immediately crumpled.

I sprang forward, but my strength was only enough to slow his descent to the floor. 

I’d forgotten about his wound. I kneeled beside him, reaching for his bare leg, but he quickly shifted out of my reach. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

“Taking a look at your injury, old man,” I said matter-of-factly, trying not to show how worried I was.

“I assure you, I’m fine–”

Before he could finish his protests, I grabbed the leg, pulling it towards me. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on it that it was bad.

The punctures oozing blood were not the worst of our worries, nor was the swelling and bruising already making their way up and down the appendage. It was the odd angle of the foot.

I looked up at him. “I think it’s broken.”

A ripple ran up his jaw as he grit his teeth. “Can you set it?” he asked. 

“You didn’t even want me to cut your hair!”

“Can you set it?” he repeated. 

“I-I know the theories of how, but you should really have a med droid do it.”

“I don’t have a med droid.” Master Kenobi paused, his expression softening before he said: “I have you.”

“I could hurt you.”

He glanced at the wound. “I think we’re beyond that now.”

“I could make it worse.”

“You won’t.”

He was…trusting me…to help him.

I shook my head slightly. I was the best chance he had. There was a difference. 

I studied Master Kenobi’s foot. If I did something wrong, would there be lasting complications? What if I did something that delayed his healing? Or worse, what if I made a catastrophic mistake that led to him losing his foot altogether?

I didn’t want to do this now. 

But if we waited, the untreated break would surely take ages to heal.

“I’ll do my best.” 

He nodded, looking determined, and his resolve lent me strength. As gingerly as I could, I prodded the skin.

Master Kenobi’s whole body tensed. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for the exact point of the break. It doesn’t seem as though the bone has pierced the skin, but it’s displaced.” I finally located what I was looking for and got my hands in the right position. Then I stopped. If Master Kenobi tensed up, it’d make it harder to shift the bone. I could put him through all the pain of trying to set it, only to not get the bone back to where it needed to be.

I needed him to loosen up, something I hadn’t seen the Jedi Master do in all the time I’d known him.

“How do you know all this?” Master Kenobi asked. “About the rewarming and the bone setting?”

“Before I was chosen as a padawan, I was studying to be a healer,” I answered distractedly, still trying to figure out how to get him to relax. Perhaps he was ticklish? 

Master Kenobi cocked his head. “You didn’t continue that study after you were chosen?”

I shook my head.

“Why not? The Jedi Order always needs healers.”

I glanced up at him, slightly irritated that he’d chosen this moment in time to ask questions. “Um…I tried to help heal a Clone once.” Maybe laughter would help him relax. What were the odds of me telling a joke that would make him laugh?

Master Kenobi raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“When Master Krell found out, he hit me.” So distracted by my task, the words left my mouth before I could even think about them. 

Master Kenobi’s eyes grew wide as his limbs went completely slack. “He-”

I seized the moment, wrenching the bone back into its proper place.

To his credit, my master only let out a strangled groan. After a moment passed, he shifted. “Y/N–”

“It’s a good thing you’re not a Vodran,” I said, trying to change the subject. “Their bones are considerably harder to set because their skin is so tough.” Sitting down, I pulled his foot into my lap, grabbing my overtunic. The fabric was thicker than the fabric of my undertunic, meaning it would behave more like bandages. 

“What are you–” Master Kenobi started to say.

“I have to bind your foot so that we didn’t just set the bone for nothing.”

“But that’s your tunic!” 

I shot him a confused look. “It’s just fabric.”

He went quiet, but judging by the ferocity with which he started chewing on his lower lip, he was still anxious. Why was Master Kenobi, the most practical creature I’d ever met, worried about a tunic?

Maybe he was experiencing the same weird feelings I felt earlier, where pain and low temperatures met to form a delirium.

I wrapped his foot up as best as I could, but I had no idea how tight to tie it. I didn’t want to cut off circulation, but the bone needed support. He definitely needed a med droid, and that would require us somehow getting back to our ship. But that wasn’t going to happen until the snow let up, which meant we were stuck here for the foreseeable future. We could only hope that the Separatists didn’t find our ship, and that the ship was still functional when the snowstorm ended.

In the panic of getting his foot set, the water clinging to our skin had evaporated. Grabbing my pants and undertunic, I shrugged them back on, getting to my feet. “I’m going to go see if there’s food.” I nodded towards his foot. “And you should elevate that.”

An exploration of the bunker didn’t reveal much. It was small and almost completely empty, save for two bunks that had been built into the wall, one on top of the other. There were some empty boxes here and there, but there were no provisions to fight against hunger or cold. This bunker functioned as a hiding place and nothing more. 

I returned to Master Kenobi to find him not elevating his foot, but instead struggling to put his pants on over his undershorts. I briefly considered helping, but if he wanted help, he would ask for it. 

“Did you find anything?”

I shook my head. “Just empty boxes. What is this place anyway?” 

Master Kenobi shifted side to side, slowly inching the pants up his legs. “Anakin and I once had to lay low here for a week. It was originally a hideout for some workers from the shadowport on Socorro, but Anakin reprogrammed everything to only respond to us two.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why were the two of you here for a week?” 

A mischievous glint gleamed in his eyes. “We might have had a bounty on our heads.”

“What did you guys do?”

“Anakin made a bet with some mine slavers on Socorro. They lost and had to free fifty slaves.”

A pang shot through me at the casual pride in Master Kenobi’s tone. 

Anakin Skywalker. 

The chosen one himself. 

The relationship between master and padawan was a profound thing. An eagerness to learn and single minded devotion on one side, and knowledge rooted in deep compassion on the other. Given the Jedi stance on attachment, it was the most important relationship a Jedi experienced. Everyone in the Order, padawan, knight, or master, had heard stories of Master Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker. No pair got in more trouble nor accomplished as much as they had. It didn’t matter if Skywalker was no longer a padawan; the admiration and respect they held for each other was unmatched. 

I didn’t need to hear it from Master Krell’s lips to know that he never felt that way about me. All I ever received from my old master was guidance, and stern guidance at that.

Suddenly I realized my mental shields were up again. Without meaning to, I was again trying to hide my thoughts and feelings. I frowned. I didn’t want to lower my shields, to expose myself to Master Kenobi, but…if I wanted to be a Jedi, I needed to act like one. Slowly, I let my defenses fall, carefully watching Master Kenobi for a reaction. Master Kenobi’s gaze remained on his foot. Perhaps his pain was blinding him to my feelings.

Master Kenobi put on his undertunic, but he left his overtunic where it was on the floor.

I shook my head, letting the thoughts fall away. “C’mon,” I said lightly, holding my hand out to Master Kenobi. “Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable.”

Lifting his arm to wedge myself into his armpit, I hoisted him to his feet, and together, we shuffled towards the bunks. I helped him sit on the bottom bunk and stepped back, stretching out my neck.

“When you say Krell hit you,” Master Kenobi started, causing me to freeze, “what do you mean by that?” I shifted uncomfortably. “You don’t mean that he physically struck you, right?”

As I hesitated, a wave of discomfort washed over me so suddenly, I nearly staggered back.

It wasn’t my own, I realized, as I looked at Master Kenobi’s face. 

As a youngling, I hadn’t heard of any physical punishments being used by the Jedi to discipline their padawans, but it happened often enough with my previous master, that I’d assumed it was common practice. Did Master Kenobi’s reaction mean that it wasn’t?

“I can feel your turmoil,” Master Kenobi murmured. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He was apologizing again?

“It…” I licked my lips. “It wasn’t that bad.” 

Really, it wasn’t. 

He raised a hand to me once in a while, but most of his aversion was reserved for the clones. Unlike them, I was never intentionally put in danger for the purpose of furthering strategy. Master Krell treated me more like an ally than them, and that counted for something. 

Still, a memory surfaced from a few weeks ago, shortly before Master Krell’s deceit had been uncovered. 

Master Krell had caught me dragging the battalion’s captain out of danger during a conflict, but he hadn’t said anything until the battalion had camped for the night.

The deep tenor of his voice and his related stance with all four of his hands clasped behind his back hadn’t matched with the accusation in his words when he’d asked me what I was doing, neglecting my duty in a fight to save a clone.

I didn’t have time to reply before Master Krell took matters into his own hands. A phantom burst of pain across my face, the memory as clear as when it’d happened.

“Caraya's soul,” Master Kenobi said softly, the color draining from his face. “He hurt you.”

Out of habit, I threw my mental shields back into place. “It could’ve been worse.” It could have been so much worse.

Master Kenobi must’ve been in a lot of pain, for his face was screwed up in an unpleasant expression.

“Is your leg alright?” I asked worriedly. Maybe the bandages were too tight, and he was losing blood flow.

“Leg?” he asked slowly. “Oh, my leg…it’s fine.” He seemed almost distracted, as if he’d not only forgotten that his leg was injured but that he even had a leg in the first place. Master Kenobi sat up, leaning closer with such intention, I knew more questions were coming.

“I should go check the status of the storm,” I said, getting up.

“What?”

I grabbed my coat off the floor, pushing my hands through the sleeves. “The snow might have stopped.”

“I’m coming with you.” Master Kenobi sat up in his bunk.

“No!”

Master Kenobi blinked at my outburst. “You’re injured,” I said abruptly. “You shouldn’t be putting any weight on that leg.”

“You can’t go on your own.”

“Why not?” I rubbed nervously at the inside of my wrist. “I can secure a perimeter.”

“You should have someone watching your back.”

“It won’t take long.”

“Wait!” Master Kenobi held up his overtunic. “At least wear this. You can’t go out in the cold with just your undertunic.”

I hesitated.

“Please.”

I gingerly took it, wrapping it around me as carefully as I could before walking to the door. 

As I lifted my hand to push the button on the pad, a strange, masculine smell drifted up into my nose. 

Master Kenobi’s smell.

It made my head spin a bit, and I quickly hit the button before ducking back into the harsh winds. I couldn’t be angry with the pain flashing through my face, not when the winds seemed to blow away my momentary vertigo. 

I glanced around. The snow had stopped, and the planet had lightened, meaning I could decipher where the sky ended and the land began. The wind continued to blow, and that was probably the reason that there was no sign of our footprints.

Now was the time to make a break for the ship.

-

The biting wind continued to harass us on our trek back to the ship, but being able to see made the journey much quicker. I kept us moving, worried that when we got to the ship, we’d have to commence the warming process again, especially Master Kenobi, since he’d insisted I wore his overtunic. 

As we neared the ship, I noted with relief that the astromech droid was still in its droid socket. It beeped and whistled in droidspeak, relaying its concern for our tardiness.

As soon as Master Kenobi was inside, I went straight for the cockpit, turning the ship on while thanking the Republic fleet for allocating us a ship designed to withstand freezing temperatures. The ship turned on with a slight hum. Wasting no time, I maneuvered the ship off the ground and into the air, straight for the atmosphere.

Once we left the planet’s atmosphere, I relinquished the ship to the astromech droid, quickly ducking back into the hold to check on Master Kenobi, who lay on the cot, using the stiff pillow not for his head but to elevate his foot. 

“We’re maybe a few hours away from Coruscant.”

Master Kenobi didn’t say anything and didn’t spare a look in my direction. I lingered for a few moments, waiting to see if he would break the silence. If reputation was to be believed, he didn’t stay silent for long, prone to questions, criticism, even wisecracks. Perhaps he would dig more into my past or shed more light on the actual teachings of the Jedi code. 

But the silence remained unbroken.

Unsure of myself, I walked into the cockpit, and the door slid shut behind me. The astromech was doing all the work, so there wasn’t much point in sitting here. But to go back in there…for some reason, the idea of it made my stomach twist. 

I realized, as I sat in the pilot’s chair, that my mental shields were up again. Frustrated, I lowered them.

And then, what I could only describe as the humming of light came from behind me. 

Master Kenobi, I realized. I could feel him. Not his thoughts or his feelings, but his presence. Here, in a separate part of the ship, I felt closer to him than when I’d been standing skin-to-skin with him in the refresher. 

“What in the name of Chobb?” I muttered to the stars, who of course, offered no answers. 

-

“Master Kenobi, we are pleased to see you and your padawan returned safe,” said Master Windu, clasping his hands in his signature, thoughtful look. “I will say, your mission took quite a turn.”

“That it did,” Master Kenobi said. “I certainly didn’t expect to nearly lose a limb.”

Chuckles rippled through the councilroom. I nearly rolled my eyes. When we’d landed, I brought Master Kenobi to a healer right away, who declared that Master Kenobi would heal just fine. From my position slightly behind Master Kenobi, I could see that he was still favoring his uninjured side, despite the healing sheath that was currently wrapped around his injury. Even so, the healer had never even mentioned amputation.

“What did you observe of the base before the snowstorm hit?” Master Murag asked.

As Master Kenobi rattled off the information we’d gained, I subtly gauged the expressions of the masters.

Their expressions were pleasant, but revealed nothing. They kept their attention on Master Kenobi, barely sparing a glance in my direction. I couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.

“Well done,” Master Koon said once Master Kenobi had finished. “This information is valuable. We have another mission for you, once you have healed up.”

I bowed, expecting the meeting to be over.

But Master Kenobi didn’t move.  

“To say, more have you, Master Kenobi.” Master Yoda said, showing his famed clairvoyance. 

“Yes.” 

I tried to keep my face impassive while desperately wishing I could see Master Kenobi’s. What was he doing? What more could he have to say about this mission that hadn’t been in his report? I’d been both at the mission and in this room when he gave his report. There was nothing he missed.

Master Kenobi rounded out his shoulders, standing tall.

“Padawan Y/N’s diligently-gained knowledge kept me safe from threats I myself would not have known how to approach.” My breath caught, and I stared at the back of his head, wondering what he was doing. “Without her, I would not have made it back. She was invaluable.”

None of the masters reacted, their faces not showing a single hint of surprise, as if they had no investment in the conversation at all. I, however, felt like I’d swallowed a box of fireworks and been told to stand still. 

“Is that so?” asked Master Tiin.

“Indeed. I believe she is well on her way to being a great asset to the Jedi Order.”

Master Windu glanced over at Master Yoda. “Well, thank you for your words. You both are dismissed. We will inform you of your next mission once your injury has fully healed.”

Master Kenobi nodded to his fellow masters and walked out of the councilroom. 

I followed him through the door and through the Jedi temple, completely at a loss for words.

“Why did you say all that?” I managed to ask once we’d passed the library. 

Master Kenobi didn’t even bother to act confused or clueless. “Because it was the truth. And they need to know the truth.”

“But they weren’t asking about my conduct.”

Master Kenobi stopped walking, looking at me dead in the eyes. “The way Krell treated you was abominable. I suspect I know very little of the true extent of his mistreatment, but had any of us known what I do know, we would’ve put a stop to it immediately. But you spent years under his tutelage, suffering.” He paused, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “It is my responsibility to right his wrongs. That starts with clearing your name.”

“Why?”

“Because I am your Master. It is my job to help you become the best Jedi you can be.” 

“But–” I froze, wishing I could recall the interjection. It wasn’t right to question my master like this. 

Master Kenobi gave me a meaningful look. 

I shifted. “You’re not going to pass me off to someone else?”

Master Kenobi smiled softly, like there was some secret joke between us. “I may not have chosen you traditionally, but I did choose you.”

“Why would you–”

“Because you saved Captain Rex.”

My mind went utterly blank, and it was only by some miracle that my jaw did not drop. Saving a clone—the action Master Krell condemned me for—was what appealed to Master Kenobi?

“Who told you I saved him?”

My only answer was a tiny gleam in Master Kenobi’s eyes. “I believe it is time for you to wash up and get some sleep. In the morning, we will start to fix Master Krell’s teachings.” He turned and started limping down the corridor.

“Master Kenobi?” I called, and he turned to face me. “How...how am I supposed to know which of his teachings were good and which were bad?”

“Simple,” Master Kenobi said. “You ask.” With a nod, he went on his way.

I watched him go.

When I’d been informed after Master Krell’s death that I would now be reassigned to Master Kenobi, I expected a period of adjustment, but I hadn’t known the two masters would be so different.

Master Krell accomplished much in this war, because his single-minded approach meant nothing else mattered besides victory. He was brutal and untrustworthy. Because he’d been my master for so long, I’d nearly forgotten what the Jedi Order valued.

Over the course of this mission, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had proven himself to be the epitome of everything a Jedi should be.

A selfless, powerful warrior equipped with bravery and strong with the Force. 

I didn’t…I didn’t have the words to explain it, this feeling rising up in me. The feeling that made me hold my head high. The feeling that challenged some of my long held beliefs. The feeling that perhaps I wasn’t completely alone in this galaxy. 

I only knew that whatever it was, it was because of the Jedi Master with hair too long and heart much bigger.

-

Part 2

Overall tag list:

@thelastpyle​ @valiantlytransparentwhispers​

Rescue Me tag list:

@penfullofwordsaheadfullofstories @starlazergazer

[antianakin]

what do you think are some of obi wan's character flaws

Throughout TPM and AOTC, his flaw is primarily a lack of faith. He questions Qui-Gon's just "belief" in the Force's will and the prophecy etc in the first film, it's one of the reasons Qui-Gon tells him he has "much to learn of the Living Force" or whatever. In AOTC, it's more specifically about faith in Anakin and that Obi-Wan has done as much as he can do to help Anakin be a good person and a good Jedi and at some point he has to just trust that Anakin will figure the rest out for himself and Obi-Wan has to let go of his worries and doubts.

The lack of faith tends to manifest as arrogance a little bit, as a belief that he knows better than other people like Qui-Gon and the Council and Anakin, and it's pointed out several times in AOTC as specifically that.

This is the character flaw that he actually has OVERCOME by ROTS and that's why a lot of people have apparently decided that Obi-Wan is "too soft" on Anakin or whatever as a character flaw. I don't really see that as true, especially given how much of a nag he is and how quickly he puts Anakin in his place throughout AOTC. In ROTS, he is CHOOSING to have more faith in Anakin and not be quite as harsh because he wants to believe that Anakin can and will always make the right decision in the end, even if he struggles. So yes, he doesn't put Anakin in his place as much when Anakin throws a temper tantrum about not being made a Master and he vouches for Anakin in the conversation with Mace and Yoda later (an obvious parallel scene to the AOTC one where those roles are swapped) and he desperately wants to believe he can change Anakin's mind and save him after Order 66. But he also isn't like Padme in his refusal to believe that Anakin did the things we know he's done and he doesn't try to let Anakin get away with it either.

Obi-Wan isn't soft on Anakin, he just learned to have faith and that faith happens to not be rewarded because Anakin is, well, a selfish turd.

And if we go into the Kenobi show, the lack of faith actually comes BACK as a character flaw, but this time it manifests not as arrogance but as defeatism. He's lost everything, his faith last time was horrifically proven wrong, and he doesn't have a single ounce of support anywhere from anyone anymore. So he pins his entire identity on looking after Luke, but he doesn't trust himself OR Luke much because the last little Force-sensitive Skywalker kid he tried to train ended up ruining everything and Owen presumably picks up on some of that desperation and that's why he's not super keen on letting Obi-Wan spend time with Luke, even without the context to understand it. By the end of the series, he has to let go of all of those worries and doubts again and just trust that he gave Luke to good people who will ultimately raise him into a good man and that Luke won't make the same mistakes Anakin did and that Obi-Wan won't make the same mistakes either.

The lack of faith is a really important and relevant character flaw because Obi-Wan by ANH is Luke (and the audience's) whole introduction to the Force and the Jedi and their faith. He IS faith personified, he has to get LUKE to trust and believe in the Force in the first place so that the audience can believe in it, too. He is calm, settled, confident, and sure, but in a way that we need to believe is completely earned. That faith is the CORE of his character and it's why watching Obi-Wan learn to KEEP faith, even in dark times, even in the face of loss, is so so important. It doesn't just help us understand how he came to be the character we know from ANH, but it obviously also helps him be a foil to Anakin who never has faith in anything, especially in dark times and in the face of loss.

(This is also why I really really hate the whole backstory with Satine and how he nearly left the Order for her because it just demonstrates such a lack of understanding of who Obi-Wan actually is as a character, his place in the narrative, and why he's a foil to Anakin at all, but that's a different post.)

He can also get cocky in his own abilities sometimes and he's obviously something of a sarcastic bastard who enjoys pointing out other people's mistakes as a form of teasing friendly banter. Neither of those things are quite as narratively relevant as his lack of faith, but they're fun to play with.

[macabre-mangled]

Love Like Wolves

OBI-WAN KENOBI X READER (gender neutral)

WARNINGS: canon typical violence and innuendos, insecurity (on readers end), brief mention of small age gap

SUMMARY: Obi-Wan assures you you're his despite it being secret

A/N: hot dilf. I also don't proofread my writing so deal with it lmao

Satine was gorgeous. You'd admit that. She also was so kind which made it hard when she was clearly showing interest in your lover. Obi-Wan wasn't flirting back by any means, but that didn't stop the hands of that ugly feeling to take hold of your brain. You of course masked it with the force, knowing that he could sense it otherwise. He could definitely tell something was wrong, but didn't have any idea what. You excused yourself to go and lick your wounds like a cowardly youngling. If Obi-wan was concerned he didn't voice it.

In our quarters you didn't find much peace either. in fact you had been pacing, your lightsaber clinking in its holster as you did. You know Obi-Wan would never be disloyal despite no one knowing about you two. He's not the type. However; it also means he can't publicly claim you. Maker, you sound so primitive. Is that really what we are in the end? Just like animals? Are you the same as a loth wolf? They mate for life. Does Obi view you as his life partner? All These thoughts swarmed your head like wasps. Obi was older than you, surely he's smart enough to not throw away a good thing. At least you hoped so.

"They're a good catch, Master Kenobi."

saltines eyes glittered as she spoke, A knowing glint in her eyes. Obi took notice and looked around in panic.

"Relax, I will not speak of it to anyone."

"If I may ask; how did you know?"

Obi-Wan didn't think he was THAT obvious. Or was he? Maker, he hopes not.

"The way you look at them. Its not obvious, but if someone knows where to look they can tell. Now, I will be taking my leave."

He watches Satine go. He surely hopes no one heard their conversation. Maker knows how much trouble he'd be in if the council found out. he wouldn't be able to take it if they took you from him. You're his light in the dark. He NEEDS you. Although now he's picking up on your distress. How did he not notice before? He starts off towards your quarters. He knows how you get. He just hopes you'll be in the mood to let him calm you down.

Upon his arrival he knocks twice then three times; the secret knock you two have. When you open the door he's greeted with your glare. Oh maker, what did he do? He doesn't recall doing anything. Your strained voice startles him out of his reverie.

"How's Satine? You two have fun making eyes at each other?"

Your tone gave away your emotions, something Jedi are not supposed to do. But right now you didn't care. Realization hit Obi-Wan's face.

"Darling, we weren't doing anything of that sort. Satine knows about us."

He calmly said in something just above a whisper as he slowly moved to cradle you in his arms. You let your shoulders fall. you knew this was ridiculous. Of course he wouldn't. You knew that, but maker that feeling took you by the horns. So you gathered all your courage to ask him the one question you had in the back of your mind.

"Do you see me as a life partner? Like would you marry me if you could?"

If he hadn't been right next to you he wouldn't have heard it. But he did and it made his heart ache how small you sounded. He knew you had insecurities, but never had he heard you sound so unsure. The answer was obvious he thought.

"Of course my darling, It's only you. We're bonded like loth wolves. Nothing or anyone will change that."

You snuggled closer to him at his words but his hand held you softly by the chin to look into his eyes. His eyes held an unspoken question and yours held the answer.

[direwolfrules]

Here, have some random Satine Rambles

I like to take a lot of the fandom misconceptions about Satine and the New Mandalorians and headcanon them as in-universe Death Watch propaganda.

Like the idea that Satine banned Mando'a. This is a weird one to me. So, Mando'a script is all over the place in Sundari. It's on the police speeders, it's on signs, it's on the wall of the Cadet Squad's dorm room, all of which is official government property and would have been some of the first places to have Mando'a removed if the ban was an actual thing. Also, Satine speaks Mando'a and Concordian (the dialect from Concordia and in Legends Concord Dawn). We as the audience don't see her speak Mando'a often because when she appears she's usually either:

1) Talking to someone whose primary language is Basic.

or

2) In a setting where slipping into Mando'a to talk to one person would be seen as undiplomatic at best.

Also, we as the audience don't primarily speak Mando'a, a fictional language with massive gaps in the canon vocabulary, and why would the Clone Wars crew put effort into translating a bunch of conversations into Mando'a for a kids show. They barely had an animation budget, you really think they had the money and time to translate politics into kid/teen-friendly language and then translate that into Mando'a?

Also, Pre Vizsla doesn't speak Mando'a in the show. I don't think he even says a single Mando'a word, which is less than what Satine says.

Or, the idea that Satine banned beskar armor. Here's the thing about armor, based a bit on real-life history. Armor is expensive. Especially well-forged armor. Especially well-forged armor made of a rare, extremely valuable metal with important cultural significance. And if centuries of strip mining depleted the supply of that already very rare metal, and damaged the ecosystem enough that mining it was banned? Well, now the price is at a point where anyone who isn't a noble or exceedingly wealthy can't afford new beskar. Even then, most noble families passed on their beskar through the generations, partly because of legacy and religion and also partly because obtaining new beskar was already ruinously expensive unless you took it from an enemy in war, which would have been ruinously expensive in other ways.

The fact that we barely see anyone wear beskar in Sundari isn't indicative of a ban on beskar armor, it means armor isn't a practical or attainable expense for the average citizen of Sundari. Sundari was a city at peace, before Sidious' plots and Vizsla's attacks. There was no need for anyone but the Mandalorian Guard to wear armor. Does a midlevel office worker need to wear armor to go about his job? Does a retail employee need the weight of beskar plate in addition to whatever stock they have to shelve? Unless you were a member of the warrior caste, which was primarily made up of nobles who either already had or could afford new beskar, you didn't need to be constantly armored.

And since we're talking about armor, the next logical misconception to discuss is the "weapons ban" that keeps getting brought up in every single "Satine Bad" fanfiction ever. When we first meet Satine, there is no weapons ban. Carrying weapons in a city at peace like Sundari is probably frowned on the same way carrying weapons on Coruscant's upper levels is frowned upon (if you're not Padme "Constantly-dodging-assassination-attempts" Amidala that is). It's a case of why would the average citizen need to carry a weapon, not them not being allowed to.

The first and only mention of a weapons ban in the show is when Ahsoka is welcomed to Sundari in "The Academy". Everyone's least favorite corrupt worm-man Almec says that after the trouble surrounding Master Kenobi's last visit, offworlders can't bring weapons into Sundari. It's literally just a ban for offworlders, which is reasonable when you figure out most of the terrorist group threatening to destroy your hard-fought peace and overthrow your government is based off-world.

And like, we see Mandalorians carry weapons. Satine has her deactivator, which we know from the actions of Rush Clovis and Lolo Purs can be a lethal weapon if used against organics. We see the Mandalorian Guards carry stun batons and shields, and some, like Captain Patrok Ru-Saxon, carried blasters to use as a last resort option. The Protectors, who at this point were Satine's bodyguards, had blunt-tipped spears that, judging by how they could be used to block blaster bolts during the warehouse raid in "Corruption", were probably made of beskar. Also in that same warehouse raid we see the Guard use flamethrowers.

Another common misconception is that Satine is opposed to any kind of violence, even in self-defense. This is not true.

As stated above, Satine carries a deactivator, a weapon primarily used to disable droids, but by its very nature of being a weapon designed to output high-level energy blasts can be lethal to organics. When she's using her deactivator she tells Obi-Wan, "Just because I'm a pacifist doesn't mean I won't defend myself".

And this is true. If Satine was so opposed to violence that she wouldn't fight back if threatened, she either would have died on the Coronet or been taken captive by the Separatists. She would have been killed back during the first confrontation with Vizsla, or during the arc on Coruscant. She would not have taken part in the warehouse raid. Satine was not opposed to violence in self-defense, she was opposed to violence as the first option and lethal violence as anything but a last resort.

One of the only times Satine doesn't fight back is when Pre Vizsla and his Death Watch soldiers invade the palace during the coup. If she had fought back, she would have given Vizsla exactly what he wanted: evidence of her betraying her ideals just when her people needed them the most, and an excuse to kill everyone on her side of the throne room. Satine made a choice to let herself be captured in order to spare as many lives as she could. And the minute she has a chance to escape, she takes it.

Then there's the common fandom idea that Satine is destroying Mandalorian culture, which is just ridiculous. Culture is more than just martial abilities and rigid clan hierarchies. It's food, art, clothing, language, etc. Satine telling her people they're not allowed to kill and bomb each other indiscriminately and empowering a central government over the hereditary clan-based caste system is not destroying Mandalorian culture, it's trying to save Mandalorian culture. After all, who'll be left to practice their traditions, to speak their language and sing their songs, if they wipe themselves off the face of the galaxy?

Mandalore had been jumping from one massive civil war to the next for generations, not to mention the wars against outside powers like the Republic. These are massive depopulating events. Each successive war does more and more damage to the planets in the Mandalorian sector. Mandalore went from a lush jungle to a desert. Concordia was nearly entirely deforested. A third of Concord Dawn is rubble drifting through space.

Satine made decisions that, until the machinations of the Sith, brought a level of prosperity and growth to Mandalore that it hadn't seen in living memory. The forests of Concordia were growing again. Trade was beginning to flow. Her people were happy and not constantly fearing war if one of the Houses took offense to something another one did.

Satine encouraged and promoted the aspects of Mandalorian culture outside of the martial domain. She was a patron of Mandalorian artists, and favored geometric designs and art styles, something that most Mandalorians also enjoyed. Her personal yacht was designed to display Mandalorian goods to representatives of other sectors/governments/galactic powers in order to promote trade and encourage a demand for Mandalorian goods. Her iconic dress with the massive headdress is meant to look like a mythosaur, with her earrings serving as the tusks.

She had that classic Mandalorian love for children. The only times we've ever seen her come close to compromising her principles was when children were threatened. When Mandalorian children were being poisoned by black market tea, she threatened the school's superintendent with violence. She was so enraged by the senseless deaths of many of the poisoned children she ordered the warehouse the black market goons had set up in burned down. When Almec went to torture Korkie and his friends she almost gave in to his demands, despite not cracking when she herself was under torture.

And New Mandalore in general was not a society built on cultural genocide like so many people in this fandom like to claim. In New Mandalorian Society a traditional kar'ta was present on many buildings, clothing (there are like five on the Academy's uniforms), and even hairstyles. Sundari's architecture was filled with geometric buildings that only really differed from the Clan Wren stronghold in height and number of turrets.

The real major difference between New Mandalorian culture and the old ways is those not of the noble, warrior caste had much less political power under the old system. New Mandalorian society is committed to peace, because many New Mandalorians are everyday individuals who now get a say in a diplomatic government instead of watching their system get crushed under leaders who only need to know how to fight well. Farmers don't have to worry about their local lord and his dumbass kid pissing off the neighboring lord, leading to a war that burns their fields and orphans their children. Business owners and employees don't have to worry about losing their shops/factories/office spaces in constant bombings.

Speaking of New Mandalorian society, another common misconception I see is people claiming Satine/New Mandalore was racist because it's all white blondes and brunettes. So like, that was a bad design decision by the Clone Wars crew, who wanted to make Mandalore look like space Scandinavia, and it's compounded by the reuse of models and assets. Korkie's class at the Academy has three groups of identical triplets. The crowds of Mandalorian citizens have so many repeated models, hairstyles, and the like, that there are more identical individuals there than on Kamino. The explanation there isn't "Satine is racist", it's "Cartoon Network gave them zero animation budget". Mandalore only got more diverse after Filoni got called out for it and had the budget and opportunity to fix it, which happened after Satine's rule ended.

Also, I see a lot of people taking the word of Death Watch members, children of Death Watch members, and Death Watch-aligned groups as gospel when it comes to Satine. Like, holy unreliable narrator Batman! If the person criticizing Satine is a member of the terrorist group dedicated to her death, a child of one of those terrorists who has probably been indoctrinated in Satine hate from day one, or a member of one of the splinter factions of that terrorist group, they're probably just a little bit biased, ya know? Satine's people genuinely loved her, Pre Vizsla had to stage elaborate schemes with Sith backing to sway the people's support away from her.

Oh, and people like to say that Satine was a bad leader/bad politician because she "left Mandalore weak" and "wouldn't join the Clone Wars". Which is just— did we watch the same show?

Joining the Clone Wars would have been Bad with a capital B. Palpatine wanted a Grand Army of the Republic presence on all the major worlds to facilitate his takeover when the time for Order 66 came. Mandalore was a priority target, remember when he doctored that footage of Satine's Deputy Minister to get the Senate to vote on sending troops?

Mandalore was along the Hydian Way, a major hyperspace route that was the site of frequent conflict. Mandalore's place on the Hydian Way, if they had joined either the Republic or the Separatists, would have made it and its vassal worlds battlefields. It would have devastated the hesitantly recovering Mandalorian people and the even more hesitantly recovering ecosystems of the planets.

Mandalore's position along the Hydian Way also meant that for some trade goods it depended on the CIS and for others it depended on the Republic, so committing to one side or the other would have made the already dangerous black market situation during the war even worse. What Satine did by declaring Neutrality and forming the Council of Neutral Systems was protect the interests of her people and form a voting block to prevent those interests from being trampled over.

Even with all its problems, Mandalore under Satine was strong, just going through issues many other worlds underwent during the war. Death Watch was a relatively new problem, as Pre Vizsla and his followers only got up the guts to act when their Sugar Daddy Dooku gave them Separatist backing. The food shortages were directly tied to the war disrupting the major trade route Mandalore depended on. Corruption amongst members of the government was a plot point in half the episodes of the show.

Mandalore only fell because Satine fell. Satine kept the war away from Mandalore as much as she could. Sideous couldn't get troops onto Mandalore while Satine was alive. With the exception of the very vocal Death Watch minority, the people were united behind her. It was only by running false flag operations with Maul's Shadow Collective that Death Watch was able to generate enough support to stage a coup. A coup that involved killing any government officials and trained warriors who refused to forswear their loyalty to the Duchess, thus robbing Mandalore of a considerable number of possible defenders and the people who knew how things ran and where the paperwork was filed.

If it wasn't for Vizsla's coup, and Maul's second secret coup, there would have been no need for Republic troops at the Seige of Mandalore, because there would have been no Seige of Mandalore. But there was, and Mandalore fell to the Empire. Which led to more internal Mandalorian on Mandalorian violence, which killed even more warriors. Which paved the way for the Night of a Thousand Tears.

[sunsetgloom]

yesterday i said i was trying to work out how Mace Windu's legends padawans fit in a timeline today, i bring you the fruits of my labour :)

Behold:

And if you want to take my word for it? Go right ahead. You don't need to keep reading this post. If you want explanations and detailed workings out? Keep reading, for in this essay I will tell you exactly how Mace Windu's four legends padawans fit into the canon Star Wars timeline :) Here are the rules I worked with and the assumptions I made while working on this accursed thing: Rules 1. Canon takes priority (Movies first, shows second, Wookiepedia third. This is stated FOR A REASON, see: Depa and Anakin fighting over who is the youngest on the Council) 2. Legends is to be included as best as possible (the whole point of this is fitting all four of Mace Windu's padawans from legends on a timeline) 3. Fanon? Only in small doses (see: me trying to place Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's Mandalore mission several paragraphs down). This also includes any headcanons of my own, which I will try to use only as last resorts to narrow down specifics. Assumptions 1. 13 is a limit during Obi-Wan's time at least (see: that book series he's in, Ahsoka being 14 during the first year of the Clone Wars) 2. Padawans can be taken earlier than 13 (see: Anakin, Bant Eerin, Quinlan Vos, Mace Windu) 3. There is a one padawan at a time policy with rare exceptions (see: TPM - Qui-Gon asking to train Anakin and basically being told Obi-Wan needs to be knighted first) 4. Jedi training is on average 10+ years but can be shorter or longer depending on the Master-Padawan pairing (see: Obi-Wan Kenobi's padawanship lasting 12 years, Ahsoka being offered promotion after barely two years, and Vernestra Rwoh the youngest Knight ever at age 15. That's two peacetime examples and one wartime example) Cool? Cool. Here's where I dove into timeline hell.

Some of it was easy to figure out; Mace Windu is canonically born 72 BBY, Obi-Wan Kenobi canonically born 57 BBY, etc. We also know for a fact (a.k.a. Google Told Me So) that Mace Windu was made a Councilor at the age of 28. 72-28=44 BBY. Tales of the Jedi allows us to fact check by giving us a rough time estimate for when he took over for the deceased Master Katri, whose canon Wookiepedia page states she died sometime between 68 and 42 BBY. Perfect, it all lines up!

Now, there's a reason I've included Obi-Wan Kenobi's birthdate on the timeline. According to his canon Wookiepedia page, "[Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi]'s continuing training issues were discussed with Jedi Councilors Depa Billaba and Mace Windu in an attempt to find a remedy[.]" This can be found under the 'Early travels and visit to Kashyyyk' subsection of OWK's canon page. Notably, the subsection right after is labelled 'Protecting Satine Kryze'. This means that Depa Billaba is already a Councilor before the mission to Mandalore, which according to canon Wookiepedia places it to be about 41-39 BBY. The timeline ran out of room to give it a definitive placement, but we'll assume it's sometime during 40 or 39 BBY as most fics I've seen place Obi-Wan at about 17 years old (57-40=17). Additionally, Depa Billaba's Legends Wookiepedia page states, "After serving as a Knight for a few years, Billaba was appointed to the High Council; the youngest Master to ever sit upon the august body." Typically 'a few' references to about three years, so we'll assume she was a Knight for only three years.

However: here's where my 'canon take priority rule' threw in a bit of a wrinkle. Depa's legends page places her as the youngest to sit upon the Council, but Revenge of the Sith says Anakin Skywalker is the youngest to ever sit on the Council. Here's where I let my inner Obi-Wan out to play. From a certain point of view both are correct. Depa is the youngest Master. Anakin is the youngest Knight (and might possibly be the only Knight as typically, as you do need to be a Master to be on the Council. See: the whole 'we do not grant you the rank of Master' scene from RotS). This distinction is not a vital thing in the long run as will soon be seen in regard to age logistics for Mace and Depa but I thought it important to be pointed out here.

There is still a little wrinkle but it is why I stated the movies take first priority in terms of canon. Wookiepedia says Anakin is born 41 BBY, which is physically impossible if he is only 9 years old in The Phantom Menace, which it is explicitly stated he is. TPM takes place entirely in 32 BBY, meaning Anakin is born at most in 42 BBY and he is turning 10 during that year according to the movies. Movies take priority, so that's how old he is. He's not on the timeline because I didn't realize how important his age was until I started writing this :( Anyways, as far as I've seen when it comes to how old Anakin is by the end of the Clone Wars, he has an age discrepancy of about a year - I'm solving this by combining it. He is turning 10 in TPM, and turning 23 in RotS. Thus, Depa Billaba is probably at least already 23 and at most 27 turning 28 when she is made a High Council member. Looking at Tales of the Jedi, Mace Windu goes on a mission with Dooku and together they investigate the death of council member Master Katri. At the end of the episode it is revealed Mace Windu is being considered for Katri's replacement. Depa Billaba is nowhere to be seen on this mission. As Depa is a fully canon character, we can probably assume she's been Knighted at this point. And if she's only a Knight for 'a few years' and then on the Council by 41 BBY and Mace Windu joins the Council in 44 BBY... The best logical conclusion is that Depa Billaba was knighted prior to the mission in 44 BBY. Reminder: Mace Windu is 28 in 44 BBY. His canon Wookiepedia page reveals he was a padawan by at least 60 BBY as this is when he goes on a mission with his Master, Cyslin Myr. This means he is taken on at about age 12 or perhaps before that. If Depa joins the Council in 41 BBY, the oldest she can be to be the youngest is 27 and the youngest we know prior to her is her own Master who joined at 28. 3 years prior to her. Huh??? (I called it timeline HELL for a reason folks). So, she's not 27 as that would make her Master only four years older than her and I doubt things would work like that in peacetime. 26? 5 years older. 25? 6 years older. 24? 7 years older. 23...? 8 years older. This is the absolute lowest we can push Depa's age because if Anakin were any better adjusted and any less forced to take on the role by Skeevy Sheev he likely would have been the youngest Master on the Council. Some quick math can now reveal Depa's birth year: 41+23=64 BBY. If Depa is 23 when she joins the Council, she is 20 when she is knighted. If 10 years is roughly the average of a padawanship, she'd need to be taken on at 10 years old, when Mace is 18. He is a prodigy in the Order, sure, but either way, taking on a padawan immediately is seemingly discouraged in the Order (see: TPM, Yoda's reluctance to allow Obi-Wan to take on Anakin. Without rewatching the movie/reading the novelization I won't know for sure the context unfortunately, but it does fit my headcanon that Knights are encouraged to take some time to find their own before teaching the next generation). Let's say, because of Windu's prodigal nature, he is able to train his own padawan in 7-8 years. 8 for a nice round number that won't give me a headache when trying to put it on the timeline. We now have Depa's padawanship covered!

And now, we must finally turn to Mace Windu's legends padawans. He has three others: one unnamed failed padawan, Devan For'deschel, and Echuu Shen-Jon. We know very little about these padawans other than Devan is born circa 53 BBY and dies circa 19 BBY, and Echuu was able to take on two padawans of his own who were siblings. Echuu's first padawan, Stam Reath, died 22 BBY during the first battle on Geonosis, and that same year he was assigned Stam's sister Naat Reath. It is also known that the unnamed padawan failed sometime before the Clone Wars. Let's deal with Devan since we know their rough year of birth. If Devan is placed at 53 BBY and we assume the 'must be taken as a padawan before 13' rule is still in effect as they're born only four years after Obi-Wan Kenobi, Devan must become a padawan at 40 BBY. This fits well, as Devan's padawanship was during Mace Windu's tenure on the High Council (which started 44 BBY) and stated to be 'nonstandard' due to this (I found this on a wayback machine page I can link if you want to read it for yourself. The extent I went to confirm some of these things :/). This also makes Devan Mace Windu's second (fully trained) padawan. We also need to make sure there is enough room for Echuu, who would have to be Mace's third (fully trained) padawan to have roughly the same amount of training as Devan and to be given breathing room as a Knight before taking on a padawan of his own. For simplicity's sake, I propose giving them both roughly 8 years of training as anything more than 10 would be too much and not give the failed padawan any room to breathe either. Plus, it's the same length as Depa's own padawanship.

Let's talk about the failed padawan. We'll call him Bron from here on out. All we know about Bron is that he was deemed to have failed as a Jedi sometime before the Clone Wars began. This could either occur right after Depa, between Devan and Echuu, or after Echuu. If we put Bron between Devan and Echuu or after Echuu, that gives him only two years of being a Padawan. Assuming he's taken on at 13, he'd only be 15. However, if we put him after Depa and before Devan, he'd be 17 at the time of his failure. There are a couple of issues I have with both of these options. The first is that Bron is either 15 or 17 - still young and a male human. Two words: Puberty and hormones. Additionally, if Bron is after Depa, Mace has just been added to the Council when the padawanship between him and Bron begins to give them the longer time period together. It has already been said that Devan's training was 'nonstandard' because of Mace being on the Council at the time of her own padawanship. I counter myself with these thoughts: if Bron was taken on in 44 BBY, that places him in the same generation as Obi-Wan and Bruck Chun, an initiate who died after being tempted by the Dark. Alternatively, if Bron was taken on in 24 BBY and fails only two years later, the galaxy is tipping closer and closer to war before it erupts. The Dark side of the Force is a real concern in this generation and is what causes Bron to fail - his failure to recognize the darkness in his own actions and reactions (wrath, pride, and fear as the Wookiepedia page says). Even if he is still in Obi-Wan and Bruck's generation, the Dark side is still a concern due to Bruck and Xanatos' own actions less than four years prior (for Xanatos at least). We also don't know what exactly Bron's behaviour prior to being taken on as a padawan is like nor what his fate after failing was. Perhaps there were already concerns about wrath and pride. Perhaps he chose to join one of the Service Corps, as he did offer to Mace that he could still learn. Either way, we now know the timeline of Mace Windu's padawans and now I AM DONE AND I CAN PUT THIS BEHIND ME.

Fun fact: Have a look at 44 BBY. Windu was made a Jedi Councilor either before, during, or after all of that and I feel sorry for him and the amount of shatterpoints he must've seen that year. . . . (Do you want me to solve other timelines? Because I will definitively solve them for you. I actually had a lot of fun doing this despite all the head banging it made me want to commit)

[lightwise]

Ahsoka Episode 1 Rant/Spoilers

This is a pretty dramatic rant, I don't normally express my feelings this vehemently on here, so please don't take this overly seriously. But I had to get this out 🫣

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT! DO NOT SCROLL IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE EPISODE YET! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

*Deep breath* I am NOT OKAY with Star Wars making it normal now for people, humans, to survive a lightsaber stab to the stomach/gut/torso area. It completely undermines Qui Gon’s death which is what sets in motion the entire freaking saga. I guess this will be me coming out as the Phantom Menace lover as I am, but Qui-Gon and TPM seriously have such a special place in my heart, and the importance of its place as the chronological beginning of the movie saga, the importance of Qui-Gon's death specifically in the lives of Obi-Wan, Anakin, Maul, and therefore the fate of the rest of the galaxy, cannot be overstated. Reva surviving the same kind of blow, Sabine surviving the same kind of blow (yes I know hers was a little to the right, but it's still the same concept), while it doesn't lessen Qui-Gon's sacrifice, just makes it all look rather silly.

(Not to mention Satine dying by the same kind of stroke either. Not to mention the effects that had on the narrative and important characters either.)

I accepted it with the Grand Inquisitor in Kenobi bc A. We knew he survived already, and B. He was a different species with different anatomy. I also somewhat begrudgingly accepted it with Reva later, because its effects on her were not neglected, and for whatever reason it worked for the plot and made the stakes feel higher. Still wish it had been some other sort of injury that made us think she might die, but I was willing to overlook it.

But again? Again with the making lightsaber stabs a paltry affair that have no consequences? When it was obvious both at the beginning (Phantom Menace) and end (Force Awakens) that people should NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE THAT. Heck, Baylon uses the same move in the beginning of the episode and it is clearly stated the Captain he uses it on is dead immediately! But Sabine just walks around casually a day or two later? Showing very little need for recovery and it all seeming like "just a flesh wound", cauterization or not? What the hell Dave????

I'm not saying I wanted Reva or Sabine to die. I'm saying please for the love of all things Star Wars pick a different body part to wound/end a fight with!! That's all I'm asking *sobs*

The ONLY good thing about that kind of move, is that stabbing and slashing moves are more in line with how a lightsaber type weapon would be used in real life/the historical weapons they are based on, rather than the typical parry/block moves we see in lightsaber fights. But, I still don't think this is the way to use it.

*okay, rant over. Thanks for letting me get that out ya'll*

[buckybarnesss]

agree with you when it comes to misogyny in the fandom (and in general lol) and shipping etc and I wanted to dump this here because it's been bugging me and I have nobody to talk to about it irl that hasn't heard me muttering about it before but why do people seem so anti-romance in general? I see 'Star Wars doesn't need romance or a love story' all the time and I can't help but feel like it falls into the misogyny category a little because romance is seen as something inherently feminine or 'for the girls' ig so people think it's an unnecessary addition to a plot but it can actually affect a character and how they act/think etc so much whether that's for good or bad, hope that makes sense?

obviously not every character needs a great romantic love and Din-doesn't-need-or-want-love enjoyers do your thing but even in the first season he clearly considers Omera and seems open to the idea at least, so people being against Bo just doesn't make sense to me? has she done bad things? well yeah but what character hasn't in Star Wars? and even if it's not Bo I still see it thrown around that Star Wars doesn't need a love story but why? what's wrong with romantic love? there are other shows that they're making/have made that yeah shoehorning in a romance would've made no sense (i.e. Kenobi, I mean I've not watched it but I can't imagine a love story working in that) but the Mandalorian hasn't set itself up to be a show like that?

I hope this has made sense but I basically wanted to air that out and it just came to me reading your answers to other questions that it's probably at least a little misogyny that plays a part in that anti-romance feeling going around or that makes sense in my head anyway

(also Jyn and Cassian soulmates truther here so if people wanna beef about them pls consider not doing that or I'll cry, they're basically built to be perfect for each other so???)

i wanted to publish this before tonight's episode (i just woke up for work 😂).

i agree. it's always when there is some prospect of romance for these kinds of female characters that the "we don't need romance" brigade comes out. like, there's nothing inherently wrong with romance nor is there anything wrong with not wanting romance. it's preference. but c'mon it's not star wars even has a lot of it on screen for major characters. at least healthy relationships or ones that don't end in untimely death.

i can name the actual romances on one hand probably and further discussion is going under a read more out of sake for length and because some minor spoilers for clone wars and rebels.

padme amidala and anakin skywalker ends in tragedy, the eradication of the jedi order and the fall of the republic. anakin turns into darth vader.

hera syndulla and kanan jarrus again ends in tragedy. he sacrifices himself to save hera, sabine and ezra.

bail and breha oranga perish in the destruction of alderaan.

obi-wan kenobi and satine kryze never officially get together as she's dutchess of mandalore and he's a jedi knight. she's murdered by maul to spite him.

vel sartha and cinta kaz external circumstances and cinta's devotion to The Cause of the Rebellion put them on shaky ground.

han solo and leia organa are depicted as a kind of volatile relationship and we never actually really see them be a couple on screen besides some crumbs. by the sequels they are separated.

cassian andor and jyn erso dead before they could really have a relationship.

galen and lyra erso ends in lyra being murdered in front of galen.

owen and beru lars seem to be a relatively normal married couple but than they get brutally murdered by the empire so.

so where's the over abundance of romantic relationships in star wars?

i'd like one couple in star wars that doesn't end in a tragic demise or a "casualties: everyone in the local vicinity" type of scenario.

besides a "strong female character" doesn't have be devoid of romance.

allison argent still says it best "can't i be strong and go to prom?"

[impossibleprincess35]

Asphodel | ch 22

[Excerpt:]

Minutes began to tick by, and Obi-Wan knew that he needed to get moving. He now had a commitment looming in Sundari, and he did not want to keep anyone waiting. With a deep breath, he smoothed down the front of his tunics, frowned, and looked up, “I will be taking leave now to assist in locating incendiary devices and such..”

The way his voice lingered, Satine made a face as she stared out into the park, wondering what his endgame was. She knew where he was headed as she had been sitting there as it was being discussed and decided. What was he getting at? Did he want a sentimental farewell and a kiss goodbye? Was he looking for sympathy?

“Yes, I know,” she stated dryly.

Pressing his luck a bit with the temperamental Duchess, Obi-Wan slyly asked, “Do you not care to wish me luck or send me on my way?”

It was all Satine could do not to turn and allow the palm of her hand to connect with his cheekbone. She clenched her hands together before her and gritted her teeth, “No, I don’t think I do. I’d tell you to be careful and not get killed, but you’re very good at rising from the dead, so I feel certain that even at your worst, you’ll be fine.”

The sting of her words was razor-sharp and Obi-Wan blanched at her, saying, “Even for you, Satine, that’s low.”

And with that, the Duchess of Mandalore swept herself around to face him. A flutter of her skirts swished around her ankles, dusting across the polished marble floor, and she looked upon him with a sarcastic smile that was slightly dangerous.

“I can go lower,” she murmured, “but still not as low as you, Master Kenobi. I might sink to the floor, but you’ve gone below it. Tell me, when your casket was lowered into the burial vault and we later saw smoke coming from the towers of the Jedi Temple in Coruscant, was that all for show?”

A smirk crossed her face and her eyes were cold and attached themselves with the sharpest focus he’d ever thought possible upon him.

“Brilliant deception,” she murmured. “I’d laugh about it, if I hadn’t cried while boarding the Coronet believing that ash was the remains of your flesh and bone.”

The smirk and amusement left her face and a pallor of grief washed over her. Once gathered together, Satine’s hands began to tremble and her lip quivered. Quickly, her jaw tightened and her face appeared to strain as she fought the urge to become upset before him, and she swallowed hard, as though she was eating the grief that she wanted so badly to spit out before him like poison.

Obi-Wan replied quietly, “Anakin told me it would have been best for you if I had just stayed dead. Perhaps he had been right about that.”

Satine looked away and shrugged, admitting somberly, “Losing you once was enough for a hundred lifetimes.”

--

Chapter 22 is up.

This was agonizing to finish. I don't know why, but this one I really struggled with. Edits, re-writes, more edits, more re-writing. I hope my awesome readers enjoy it.

[trashquisitor-shirozora]

Full-on disclaimer for anyone who's never seen the disclaimers on my Star Wars fics - I never saw ROTS (I've tried, I've fucking tried, but retaining knowledge of TPM and AOTC to understand ROTS is impossible when my mind just wanders the fuck away during every attempt at a marathon PT watch), I only saw a handful of TCW episodes to study Satine and Mandalore, I never saw Rebels, I haven't seen TOTJ, and my non-OT/ST/Mandoverse/Andorverse/Kenobi/TBOBF/Solo knowledge comes from getting lost in the Wookeepedia, fandom osmosis, and several years playing SW Galaxy of Heroes.

The point is, I have half-baked knowledge and I am trying really hard and I can see the little kernels of interest and intrigue and "A ha! that's a Star Wars!" and my concluding thought for the 3rd episode of Ahsoka is, "FUCK YEAH, SPACE WHALES!!!"

Can someone just.... please explain the fuck to me what Dave is doing here with Ahsoka and Sabine? I don't know if it's the "Sabine thinks the best way to honor and also find Ezra is to become like him" or the whole "everyone has the Force Actually but you need talent, training, and some other fucking thing that sounds exactly like all the times I've been scolded for not trying hard enough thanks to my ADHD brain so that's fucking cool" bit. I don't know if it's that interview press tour thingy where Daisy told Domhnall that even Hux has the Force! Everyone has the Force! The Force is in all of us! We can all become the Jedi! I don't know if it's George's original idea that everyone can use the Force but not everyone does that eventually got changed to "a certain number of midichlorians in your blood gets you into the Jedi Temple". Or is it the whole "the Force is female" campaign? Is it Disney saying, "You can be a Jedi, too!" Are we Spider-man-ing the Jedi? Is that's what's going on? What the fuck is going on? Someone please tell me how we got from "the Force is in all living things and some people are able to sense and use the Force" to "the Force is in all living things and also everyone is capable of sensing and using the Force with the right amount of discipline and training and desire/'can do' attitude" because it feels like I'm being lied to. I'm being fucking bamboozled about what I know about Star Wars.

I don't even know what to say about the spacesuit. Just a lot of hysterical laughter maybe. Cool idea and I bet the concept designs were real fun but still. Hysterical laughter.

Slap some green hair on a kiddo and call him half-Twi'lek. OKAY THEN. Brilliant character design y'all got going. I guess you'd rather invest in the Volume than practical FX and makeup and shit?????

You know that feeling where you have all these thoughts and feelings and WORDS at the tip of your tongue but you lack the vocabulary or the fucking memory to hold that vocabulary and use it well? That's what I'm experiencing after watching Hera argue poorly with Mon and the Senators (they just formed the band and it's not going well, or so they say). This characterizing of bureaucracy, politicians, government is useless, clunky, stubborn, foolish, naive, soft, obstinate for no reason other than to hinder the rogueish hero, is such a tired, cheap trope. Haven't we learned enough from American copaganda shows? Haven't we learned from watching our hero cops and detectives bending and breaking rules to catch the bad guys while the Internal Affairs people are antagonists, rule-abiding busybodies who don't see that they're only getting in the way of our intrepid heroes catching the real bad guys?! Politics is messy and it is complicated and it is hard and it does have people who did sit on the sidelines during the war but to villainize them just because they didn't fight in the war, they didn't lose friends and family and Kanan, they won't give our general what she wants? Or do these senators already have history in the GFFA that I would've already known if I already watched some other TV shows or read the 'pedia religiously?

I thought the first 2 seasons of the Mando Show explored the post-OT galaxy pretty well. I liked how Din and Greef called the New Republic "a joke" and insinuated that they were unreliable and can't be counted upon to protect little Outer Rim worlds like Nevarro from Imperial remnants. It gave the impression of a baby Republic that is trying hard but struggling and their patrols are stretched so thin because of Mon's decision to demilitarize the Republic, and that's why they're such a non-presence out here in the Outer Rim. That's why Carson went out of his way to recruit Cara. She's been out here, she's done shit, she knows shit, she knows the lay of the land, she can be the eyes and ears that Carson and the New Republic can't be. You can build so fucking much out of these little interactions and conversations... but Dave & Jon chose to make things easy for themselves by characterizing the New Republic as incompetent, feckless, nonsensible, cruel, decadent, apathetic, uncaring, utterly useless to our very active rogueish heroes. They fast-tracked the New Republic's downfall to make it so much easier to prop up our heroes, and for what? To remind us that in the end it all doesn't fucking matter because Starkiller Base blows it all up anyway?

At least, at least, make it look like our heroes fucking tried to rebuild the galaxy after the Empire fell. At least make the New Republic fumbling and earnest but ultimately weighed down by so many voices demanding that they be prioritized in the rebuilding. Mon's government inherited a really fucking bad situation but at least have them reach halfway to something that she and Leia can be proud of before the infighting started and political factions started ripping down all that hard-fought and hard-won progress. Talk about the fucking whiplash from the despair and hope of Andor to whatever the fuck Mandalorian Season 3 showed us and whatever the fuck Ahsoka is continuing to show us.

Anyway.

I get that having a droid sidekick is the Cool Star Wars Thing To Do, but should Huyang really be treated as a sidekick and an expodumper? He really fucking should have gone to Ossus with Luke but nah, leave that fucking loser to his own business ignoring Ahsoka and Hera trying to stop a new war that nobody believes is actually going to happen. I mean, if you really think about it, did Hera really sell anything to these senators? It seems to me that all they see is a general who has only known war and will only ever see war around every corner, in every nook and cranny, under every bed. Of course they're going to be fucking skeptical and of course they're going to question her request for even more resources to find Ezra and maybe stop Thrawn, and the fucking answer, Hera Syndulla, is to not question if these people ever fought in the Rebellion and shame them for the sacrifices they did not make. This is such fucking cheapsass writing and it really sucks all the fun out of the episode.

Speaking of fun, how about them space whales! Bring them back, Felony. I want space whales and I want space cats. Give me purrgils and lothcats all day, every day.

I can't stop thinking about Disney's decision to give Ahsoka a primetime slot. I can't stop thinking about why that show got a primetime slot and not any of the other ones. Is it the numbers? Are they trying to catch a particular kind of crowd? What are the numbers, Disney? Why won't you show us the numbers? Where the fuck are the numbers, Disney? What are you afraid of? What are you hiding? What won't you tell your writers and your actors, Disney? What aren't you saying?

Anyway, space whales rule and I got other goddamn shit to do like keep writing my own ideas on a post-OT galaxy through fic.

P.S. The way Ray just fucking oozes charisma even if he was only there for like 2 minutes. And Diana remains fantastic. I love her brand of villainy even if I'm still baffled by her being a human Witch. What the fuck.

[caroldanversinatardis]

Thoughts on Ahsoka

For context, I've seen all of Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, Andor, Kenobi, Episodes I-IX, The Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, Rogue One, Tales of the Jedi, and Visions 1-2. I've read the new Vader comics, but my knowledge of Legends lore is limited at best. Clone Wars is my favorite piece of Star Wars material. Ahsoka has ALWAYS been my favorite character since she came to the screen in 2008 and I was a small mammal of 8 years old, mostly because of how much I saw myself and who I wanted to be in her. I still do. I am excited for the show, a little apprehensive, and overall hopeful to see more new Star Wars content.

Thoughts on Ahsoka so far (spoilers ahead):

This is definitely Rebels part 2, and that's not a bad thing! Don't expect Clone Wars (maybe not yet at least?). There's some awesome cameos from Rebels!

The longer montrals was a good call. I like the casting of Rosario Dawson for Ahsoka.

Right off the bat with classic shots from Episode IV and V?? BEAUTIFUL.

What happened to Ahsoka's reverse grip?!!

I thought I would not vibe with Sabine's actor but she is quickly becoming my favorite. She has the most accurate transition from animated to live action character so far. I like her a lot.

The return of Huyang!! Him and Sabine are quickly becoming my new favorite pair on screen. David Tennant in Star Wars is great.

Loth cats are cute, still not cuter than Grogu. I like the puppetry skills on the Loth cat. Good fluffy addition. Now add Loth Wolves 😁

CHOPPER 🤩 I LOVE THIS STUPID MURDER BOT EVEN MORE IN LIVE ACTION

Hera and Ahsoka feel very different on screen live action than animated, but still are great!

WHY. CAN. EVERYONE. ELSE. WALK. AWAY. FROM. LIGHTSABER. TO. THE. GUT. This is absurd. Either bring back Qui-Gon, Han Solo, and Satine, or kill Sabine. Star Wars needs to be consistent on its wounds.

NIGHTSISTERS!! I want my witches!!!

I am liking the dynamic of "I was a Jedi" going on among the Force users. The galaxy of the New Republic lacks a clear dichotomy between good and bad. Maybe this whole show will be about how people exist in between the two.

I am SO EXCITED for the World Between Worlds connection! I have been waiting for more about this for ages!!

2 GALAXIES??? Are we breaking away from "A long time ago in a galaxy far far away?" Also, isn't the Deneb system....just...Deneb the star in Cygnus? I have astronomy questions!

Did we get ANOTHER Inquisitor?!?!

Sabine is the FIRST MANDALORIAN JEDI since Tarre Viszla?!?!!! I was REALLY unsure from the trailers what the heck was going on with her character whether or not she was all of a sudden going to become a Force user, but I'm not opposed to it so far. What is the extent of Sabine's Force-sensitivity? Will she be a Padawan with little to no Force skills? I want to see her on a jetpack with a lightsaber and slicing away at droids.

Sabine is a genius in art and tech and a badass fighter. Hera is a genius in flying and mechanics and a badass fighter. Two geniuses, two amazing people. 😁

Go give the show a chance. I'm happy so far seeing my favorite in live action.

[miaisdoodling]

I need to talk about this because. Listen. I'm here for all the Obitine content and love it and I believe that the potential of an "adult, Rebel Korkie meets old Ben Kenobi to reveal that he actually has some family left after he's lost his Jedi family" story is huge. S3 of The Mandalorian has now made it impossible, but it could also have been a great story if we had gotten to see an adult Korkie claim the Darksaber as the only Mandalorian with some Jedi heritance after Tarre Viszla.

Also, I believe the creators of the CW had the Korkie Kenobi idea in mind when they designed him. There's no way they could give him that hair and not realise that it was just like Obi-Wan's. And the fact that the Rey Kenobi idea was on the table at some point when writing the sequels, with the most prominent love interest for Obi-Wan, who could tie the sequels to the previous content, being Satine... who happened to have this kid around... it all speaks for itself. So I do think that, while they ended up not using this idea, Korkie was intented to be Obi-Wan's son.

That being said. I think I like even more the idea of Korkie Kryze being just that, a Kryze boy who Satine raised.

The way I see it, Korkie might have been the child of a third Kryze sibling who died during the Year on the Run (Obi-Wan mentioned how Satine abhorred violence because she lost many of her people to it). Korkie was then left an orphan — a foundling. Satine raising him as her own is a wonderful way of showing how she's Mandalorian too, caring for a foundling in the same way Din Djarin did with Grogu, not just providing for him, but treating him as her own child (and seemingly heir).

It also means that Satine, as a character, gets a more complex background that isn't entirely based on her relationship with Obi-Wan, but rather something of her own. As an independent character with solid character-building and not just a love interest whose story is meaningless with the male protagonist out of the picture. As much as I love this ship, I want her to be a character on her own, not just a plot device for Obi-Wan.

As for the obitine ship itself... Satine having to take care of a kid from a younger age than she probably should have and expected, all the while mourning the loss of her father (I'm assuming he must have died for her to have risen to the throne) is an interesting parallel to Obi-Wan having to train Anakin after Qui-Gon's death. Satine and Obi-Wan having gone through a similar experience, each in their own unique way, means they can understand to a degree what the other feels, making their bond even more meaningful. They don't just have their year on the run in common, they understand each other's story better than anyone else can because they both made similar sacrifices and experienced similar losses.

So, in conclussion. Korkie Kenobi has a lot of potential and I believe it was what they initially planned him to be but never finally used. But I'd feel a little disappointed if they eventually went for the hidden-pregnancy cliché.

TL;DR: Korkie Kenobi is a fun theory but Satine's story could be more meaningful if he isn't Obi-Wan's son.

MOST COMPELLING

Link to the "Most Narratively Likely" poll

[sirikenobi12]

This will be an unpopular opinion but I really hope they don't try to bring Satine or Korkie into the Obi-Wan series. We just don't have time for it and realistically it would just add a level of soap opera angst to a story that has more than enough conflict and drama in it already.

This story needs to be about bridging the characters of Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan to Alec Guinness' Ben Kenobi. We need to see him deal with the loss of EVERYTHING he's dedicated his entire life towards, not to mention the guilt of Vader surviving and the fact that he can't help the Rebels (he'd obviously be in a serious identity crisis).

There is so much meat on that bone that to try and add the "I'm your long lost son" to the mix would just be so very, very unnecessary.

Also, keep in mind this only going to be 6 episodes and watched by a large general audience who haven't watched TCW, so if Satine or Korkie were to be introduced they'd have to spend at least one or two episodes on their background relationship and that would mean everything else would be rushed to fit it all into the limited series.

Look, I'd love to see more Obi-Wan and Satine (maybe in an animated series of Obi-Wan's apprenticeship or a comic book), but the only reason we even had the Obi-Wan and Satine relationship in the TCW was to show a similar but opposite relationship to Anakin and Padme but to show a Jedi actually making the right choice by not letting their attachments rule him, to try and drag their love story out now and to add her or a superfluous child to the Obi-Wan show would actually make their arc in TCW less impactful/important.

The Kenobi show needs to only be about Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader and how that correlates to Obi-Wan rediscovering himself as a Jedi and his connection to the Force.

I'm sure that alone will be angsty enough for all us.

[kanansdume]

After reading this post by @ahsoka-in-a-hood, it occurred me to that this is exactly why I really don't like the way Obi-Wan's history with Satine is written.

Because it's not about Obi-Wan.

Obitine as a SHIP isn't about Obi-Wan.

It's about Anakin.

I've been looking at the moment where Obi-Wan confesses that he would have left the Jedi Order had Satine said the word as a take on a crisis of faith storyline for Obi-Wan, similar to ones seen in the Melida/Daan arc in Jedi Apprentice and, most recently, the Padawan book and Obi-Wan Kenobi show. And in that case, it fails. Entirely.

Because in order for it to be a good crisis of faith storyline, to me, it needs to have a moment where Obi-Wan actively chooses to remain a Jedi, where he recognizes he's on the wrong path and comes back. He can leave for a time, he can stray, he can question, that's the whole point. But it has to be Obi-Wan's choice to come back to the Jedi because he recognizes that it's the right path for him, that it's the path he WANTS to take.

And the line "I would have left the Jedi Order, if you had said the word" removes all choice from Obi-Wan. Because what's left unsaid here is, "I only stayed in the Jedi Order because you DIDN'T say the word." Which puts all of the power of choice onto Satine, not Obi-Wan. And we don't even hear why Satine didn't ask him to stay, whether it's because she just didn't realize he liked her enough to stay or because she recognized they would never truly work out even if he did stay for her. Obi-Wan nearly leaving the Jedi Order for Satine has no real impact on Obi-Wan's character because the reason as to why he DIDN'T is so passive. He's not acting, he's REACTING.

But it was never about Obi-Wan. It was about Anakin.

Obi-Wan's ENTIRE relationship with Satine and, arguably, Satine's entire character, is about being a metaphor/foil for Anakin (and Padme/Anidala). That's it.

Obi-Wan and Satine have a history where they went through a traumatic experience together where Obi-Wan was helping Satine escape a war on her planet that she was the ruler of, this war has a major impact on Satine's ideologies as we see them in the present day, Obi-Wan and Satine barely seem to truly agree on much of anything, their disagreements cause them to react unprofessionally in public. There's a lot of similarities in the dynamic set up between Obi-Wan and Satine, and Anakin and Padme.

Because Obitine is just a way to use Obi-Wan to showcase what Anakin (and Padme) should've done. Obi-Wan and Satine walk away because they both recognize this relationship is never going to truly work. They don't agree on much of anything, but both of them know that because they confront each other about things the other says or does they disagree with rather than brushing it under the rug and pretending it didn't happen. Obi-Wan and Satine allow duty to come first, but also appear to recognize that even if one of them gave up duty, the relationship would be doomed. They care about each other because they have a bond from spending a year on the run together, but this does not make them GOOD for each other and they're both smart and honest enough to recognize that and so, even after Satine pressures Obi-Wan into making a confession of love to her, neither of them acts on it.

And then, of course, in The Lawless, we see Obi-Wan facing Satine in a lot of danger and is unable to do very much to help her because of restrictions placed on him via the Senate and the Council, so he chooses to BEND some rules in order to allow him to give what help he can without bringing untold harm to everyone around him, and when he fails, he refuses to let it sink him into darkness. He makes a whole speech about it that's particularly on the nose, obviously, and it's pretty pointed towards "This is what Anakin should've done and didn't."

This is why Obitine just doesn't appeal to me, because it's not really about Satine or Obi-Wan at all. Satine is a prop, a Padme knock-off, intentionally. She's just there to show what Padme should've done, but also to be a catalyst to showcase through Obi-Wan what Anakin should've done. Obi-Wan's allowed zero real agency in this relationship because his "choice" to stay with the Jedi isn't there to actually say anything about Obi-Wan or further our understanding of him as a character, but simply for the audience to go "ah yes, the opposite of Anakin." Made even more heavy-handed by Anakin coming in 2 seconds later and killing someone to the tune of the Imperial March because the show decided to conveniently forget Jedi have telekinesis in favor of reminding everyone that Anakin's going to go dark side soon.

It's not a crisis of faith storyline, it's not an Obi-Wan backstory even. It's just a metaphor for Anakin and Padme.

[jedi-enthusiast]

Alright dude, I'm responding and then I'm gonna ask you to please get the fuck off of my blog because I don't have the patience to deal with someone whose only argument is basically- "well that doesn't count" -or- "nuh uh" -whenever I make logically sound arguments.

Which, side note, if the only thing you can do when faced with an argument that disproves yours is change the goalposts and refuse to actually respond to the majority of my points, then maybe you're just wrong and refuse to admit it 🤷‍♀️

----------

Sure, main characters in SW tend to be Jedi, but if we're still going by the "main characters" argument then you can't criticize the Jedi, you're gonna need to get real specific on who you're talking about because the majority of the Jedi characters we see aren't main characters either---and you can't criticize the institution either because, again, it's not a "main character" or around "long enough," in your opinion.

Three movies and a show with multiple episodes centered around them don't make someone a main character? Ok then, by that logic, the only main characters in Star Wars are Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Palpatine, and Anakin, going by Lucas-canon. No one else.

Luke, Han, Leia? Side characters.

Padme, Ahsoka, pretty much every other Jedi? Side characters.

The clones themselves? They only appear in two movies and in the show, sure they have some episodes to themselves, but they're usually side or background characters---so they don't matter either!!! Which means this whole debate is pointless!!!

Again, you either need to stick to the argument that only the main characters matter---which would mean the clones don't and so the Jedi don't have to do jack shit---or you need to stop responding to me pointing out the Senate's responsibility by saying- "nuh uh."

Next point, so being a woman immediately takes away a character's autonomy and responsibility? ...interesting that you think that, especially considering that sexism isn't really a thing in the SW universe. From what we see, gender never really comes into the equation throughout the shows and movies, not the way that things like class and age do---Leia is mocked by Han because she's a noble, not because she's a girl, Padme and Ahsoka are doubted because of their age, etc.

Not to mention that men are also equally doubted for the same things---Anakin is doubted because of his age in TPM (pod racing), Yoda is doubted because of his age (they think he's going senile), whoever the fuck Ahsoka had a crush on was doubted because he was a noble, same goes for Satine's nephew, etc.

So, again, you're basically just going- "nuh uh" -when faced with a sound argument.

And have you ever seen the show? The one with the characters you're arguing with me about? The Clone Wars? Because I can fucking list the times, let's fucking go:

The Lumen episodes, the Pantora moon episode, the episodes with Tarkin, again the episodes where people are literally protesting and bombing the Jedi, the episodes with the twins who don't like the Jedi, the episodes with Satine who vocally shits on the Jedi, and I could go on.

And I'll remind you that the galaxy cheered when the Jedi were murdered and that in Disney-canon it's shown that plenty of people actually didn't like the Jedi during the Republic and/or Empire days.

Some people loved them, yes, but not everyone and certainly not enough people to make the Senate give up their army---especially considering that most people never met a Jedi, so they wouldn't give a damn what they had to say just because they're Jedi. Again, people would be more likely to be swayed by the senators.

And why do you think it'd be fair for the Jedi to use their only "break" days, which usually aren't even breaks because usually they're just doing work on Coruscant, doing more paperwork...when the Senate and senators should be taking care of this shit?

Again, all you're doing is saying- "nuh uh" -and trying to blame the Jedi for everything rather than just admitting you were wrong when faced with a logically sound argument.

What, since Padme isn't a main character apparently, did you want Obi-Wan giving speeches in the Senate and walking around with 10 body doubles? Maybe Yoda could've been the one to give birth to Luke and Leia, since Padme doesn't matter. Palpatine should've just been having a conversation with a mirror in TPM when discussing the current Chancellor with the Queen of Naboo. Anakin was actually making out with his palm in that arena on Geonosis, and his wedding was really a hallucination brought on by the shit tons of medication he was probably on.

...

Because, yeah, Padme isn't a main character so therefore she and her actions don't count.

Maybe we could have Obi-Wan without a beard for Luke, Yoda with a gun for Han, and Palpatine in a drag for Leia since they're also not main characters---only being in three movies and all 🤷‍♀️

Could you debunk the "jedi are slavers/have slave" argument people always seem to bring up in correlation with leading the clones? Thanks in advance ! <3

Of course!!!

Firstly, while the Kaminoans say that the clones were made for the Jedi, they are actually property of the Republic---which means that, since I would agree that they're slaves even if that wasn't GL's intent, the Republic would be considered the slavers, not the Jedi.

"Oh, but Jedi-Enthusiast, the Jedi are still slavers because they're forcing them into battle-" NOPE!

The thing is, even if the Jedi could refuse to fight in the war---which is a very complicated thing, both morally and politically---the Republic would still be sending the clones to fight the Separatists, only this time without the Jedi. And, as we've seen multiple times in TCW, more clones tend to die on missions without the Jedi's help---and that the Jedi are often shown saving their men from situations where they would otherwise die or be injured.

And, as much as I enjoy the trope of "the Jedi have limited experience actually running a war, so they struggle a bit and ask for help so the Jedi and clones get closer" because of the angst and fluff potential, in canon the Jedi are shown to be very good tacticians and they're rarely shown to struggle leading their men.

All of this to say that the Jedi leading the clones actually saves more lives, and that the Jedi not leading them would mean a lot more of them die...and idk about y'all, but I don't think- "more clones should die so the Jedi stay morally pure" -is the gotcha anti-Jedi morons think it is.

Not to mention that, if the Jedi didn't lead them, the job would go to people like Tarkin---y'know the man who criticized the Jedi for not being ruthless enough and caring for their men.

Are the Jedi put in a difficult position by leading the clones? Yes.

Is fighting in the war a morally grey decision? Yes.

But are the Jedi slavers or terrible in any way for doing what they did? Absolutely fucking not.

[therealvinelle]

What are your heretical opinions on the clone wars?

Gosh, I have so many.

In essence, though, I disagree fundamentally with the characterization, the worldbuilding, and even the show's premise.

I don't recognize the Anakin Skywalker of The Clone Wars as Anakin Skywalker, they're different people who respond differently to various situations, whose relationships with others are different from what we saw in the movies. Clone Wars Anakin experiences things that make him no longer compatible with the Anakin we meet in Revenge of the Sith. Same goes for Obi-Wan Kenobi, completely unrecognizable. They're both made cooler, more laidback and relatable, dare I say Western, hero archetypes that ultimately lack the essence of what make them Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I do not forgive that Darth Maul was resurrected and question why they ever felt the need to do so. Darth Maul was left no venue of survival, and more, the character that Savage Oppress discovers in the cavern acts nothing like Darth Maul. Nice for The Clone Wars that they created a character that the audiences liked, but I wish they'd let Darth Maul stay dead, you know?

I disagree with the characters introduced in The Clone Wars, in particular Satine Kryze, Ahsoka Tano, and the Sith characters. The Sith are essentially made into people who were sorted into Slytherin, who do villainous things and are Bad Guys™, where the horror of what it means to become a Sith is lost. The show has Obi-Wan team up with Ventress for a fight, bantering playfully with her no less, I think that about says it.

I also have the apparently controversial understanding that the clones are mirrors of the droids, that is, not actually sentient beings. There's no sign of any chips in canon, Palpatine gives his order and just like that, they carry out Order 66. Now, this is a matter of preference, but this show failed on a very fundamental level to make me invested in the clones, instead I was battered over the head with repetitive clone angst. Had this show made the clones eerie beings that the Jedi trust but the viewers know they should be running from, I would have been much happier. But, that would be my preference, so my big criticism when it comes to the clones is not simply that they were sentient and so very angsty, but that the clone angst was so poorly done.

Then you have gamechanging events like Anakin falling to the dark side in a pointless arc that ended up not mattering at all. It's okay because he forgot about it. Obi-Wan knows this happened, but he never brings it up so it's all good. The avatar for the Light side of the Force died, this also affects nothing. All my problems with that will fuel a post of its own. Just-- my god, that show.

The Clone Wars reads as a fanfiction to me, where the characters have been remade into what the author wanted them to be, they have closer, easier, relationships than in canon(Yoda, while on bedrest, asks Anakin to break him out of the Jedi temple. Tell me that's not a bad fanfiction), their drama is contrived and gamechanging yet the author tries to insist it's all canon compliant ("Okay, so Obi-Wan faked his death, and Anakin's padawan that he has now had her life destroyed by the Jedi council, but it's still compliant with Revenge of the Sith because-- uuhh -- well, Anakin never in RotS said Obi-Wan didn't fake his death, did he? Check and mate."), and we have shiny OCs like Obi-Wan's love interest that Anakin knows about and Anakin's padawan.

Then there's the premise itself. By restricting themselves to the Clone Wars, the creators of this show put a lot of restraints on themselves, as they couldn't change too much and there was nothing that needed real explaining. 23-year-old Anakin is more self-assured and mature than his 19-year-old self while Obi-Wan and Padme are pretty much the same, good for him. That can't carry a TV show, though. And it didn't, this show spent four episodes on droids wandering in the desert and resurrected Darth Maul. That's not a show that has a lot of material to dig into, and makes me think they should have gone for something else.

These are my nutshelled heretical opinions.