#we're going to naboo kids

[jedi-enthusiast]

Debunking the "The Jedi are Evil" Theory Made by The Film Theorists PT 8

Point 8 - Revisiting the Same Argument I Covered in Part 3

Matthew quote:

"The story of Anakin's recruitment also illustrates a larger point about how troubling the recruitment tactics of the Jedi really are. Aside from the obvious problems of taking very young kids and signing them up for decades-long obligations it'll be very difficult for them to opt out of in the future."

We're ignoring this part because I already covered this in part 3.

Matthew quote, continued:

"They're even dishonest in the way that they signed these kids up in the first place!"

...oh boy, I can't wait to hear this.

---

Matthew quote, continued:

"Going back that example of Anakin; when Qui-Gon is deciding whether or not to take him on as a recruit, one of the things he needs to do is collect a blood sample so they can measure his midichlorian count."

He then goes on to explain all of the red tape you have to go through in the real world in order to get a child's blood sample, then continues on:

"So does Qui-Gon ask his mom for a sample? Does he explain what he's doing to Anakin? Does he even sterelize the needle? Let's watch-" [cut to a clip in TPM of Qui-Gon telling Anakin he's testing his blood for infections] "-that's it. No permission slip, not even verbal consent, and on top of all of it he lies about the purpose of the test in the first place."

Firstly, taking a step back from in-universe talk for a second, obviously Qui-Gon doesn't sterilize the needle or start outlining HIPPA laws before he takes Anakin's blood. It's a movie, they're on a limited time table, they're not gonna waste a couple precious minutes that could be used for something else to do all that.

Now, back to the in-universe talk-

Shmi is the one that is pushing for Anakin to be brought to the Jedi Order and obviously Qui-Gon's gonna need to know a few things before he can just up and take Anakin to the Temple, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say that her consent was implied.

Anakin also doesn't fight or seem at all distressed or unwilling to have a blood sample be taken, so it would be a stretch to say that his consent was implied as well (especially considering that, when I get my blood taken, I'm never asked for my consent--I generally just cooperate and the phlebotomist takes my blood, and that's in a professional setting).

But that's not really how consent works, so I'll give Matthew that one. No, Qui-Gon doesn't ask for consent from anyone before taking Anakin's blood.

But I will defend him not telling Anakin why he's taking the blood, because Anakin clearly idolizes the Jedi and wants to be one--if Qui-Gon had told him that he was testing to see if he was Force-sensitive, Anakin would have gotten his hopes up. Which, if it turned out that he wasn't Force-sensitive, would have crushed him--so is it that much of a stretch to say that Qui-Gon wanted to wait to say anything just in case?

---

Matthew quote, continued:

"I guess you could try to argue that Anakin is literally living in slavery and so he and his mother are probably desperate to get out of the situation and maybe that makes it better, but no! You are so wrong! In fact, the idea that Qui-Gon is preying on people who have no rights and no way to advocate for themselves makes it that much worse!"

Again, Shmi is the one pushing for Anakin to be brought to the Order, not Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon isn't "preying" on anyone.

They ended up on Tatooine by accident, Shmi is the one that decided to take them in, and--once again--Shmi is the one that kept saying Qui-Gon needed to take Anakin back to the Temple with him!

It's not like Qui-Gon specifically sought out this poor family with the intention of inducting Anakin into the Order--all of it happened by complete accident while Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Padme were trying to save Naboo from being invaded!

And again, the Jedi are extremely empathetic and they're just plain good people. If Shmi had said "you're not taking him to the Temple, leave him alone," then Qui-Gon would have listened!

The Jedi aren't the Sith, nor are they the Empire, stop assigning them traits that they don't fucking have!

---

Matthew quote, continued:

"You can even make a case that the Jedi barely think of their recruits as human! As even the venerable old Obi-Wan Kenobi, everyone's favorite Jedi, describes Anakin like this-" [cut to clip of Padawan Obi-Wan saying they've picked up another pathetic lifeform]

So...the entire Order obviously doesn't think of their recruits as human or people...because of one comment made by Obi-Wan who, in this case, seems to be pretty aggravated at their situation and is probably just snarking to blow off steam.

Yeah that holds up. /sarcasm

[photogirl894]

Thank you for answering right away :) I’ve read some of your stuff and really like it! I’ve never requested before so let me know if I did it right.

I was wondering if you could do a Hunter/f!reader where someone mistakes the two for dating/married when out getting supplies with Omega. Omega always liked the idea of Hunter and reader together especially knowing that reader liked Hunter. If the encounter went south and Omega is determined to play matchmaker and fix the broken situation. Maybe one or two tries goes wrong (she could enlist different Batchers for help with different ideas) maybe after one particularly bad encounter Hunter finally talks to reader and they sort everything out but decide to let Omega go for the win as she tries one last time to get them together, letting her think she accomplished what the two of them already sorted out. Also SFW? Thank you but don’t feel like you have to if you don’t like the idea.

Your request is totally doable, no worries! 😊 Thanks, anon!

"The Matchmaker"

Pairing: Hunter x fem reader

"You know, I think we need to have a talk," Hunter said to you.

The two of you were sitting alone in the Marauder waiting for the others to get back from a supply run on the planet of Naboo when Hunter suddenly made that comment to you.

"About what?" you inquired.

"Omega," he said. "Ever since that day on Alderaan when you and I were mistaken for a married couple in the market, she's been...really pushing for us to be a real couple."

You chuckled. "You don't say?" you asked rhetorically. Omega's attempts at matchmaking had certainly not gone unnoticed by you, especially since she already knew that you had feelings for Hunter. Knowing that and then the comments that had been made in the market only encouraged the young girl to push things even more.

He nodded. "And I know she's gotten the others in on it, too."

"Like when Echo conveniently suggested we be paired off on the last mission?" you recalled.

"Or when Wrecker said I should share my oversized ration bar with you because it was too much for just me?" he added.

Then you laughed. "Or Tech saying you had to be the one to give me mouth-to-mouth when I got electrocuted and knocked unconscious because the accident was your fault and, somehow, you were the only one who knew how to do it properly."

Hunter shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...he wasn't entirely wrong. That was my fault."

With a snicker, you replied, "I never blamed you for that, don't feel bad."

He brought his hand down from his neck, looking relieved.

In the moment, you felt it was time to let the walls down. He was bound to figure out the truth eventually, especially with Omega's attempts at meddling. You sighed loudly and told him, "Look, Hunter...I have to be honest. It wasn't just the comments about us looking like we're married that got Omega to start acting like this. The truth is: I do have feelings for you and she already knew that. What happened in the market, I guess just spurred her on even more to try and get us to...well, to be together because I know she'd love that...and I would, too." You hung your head slightly and averted your gaze from him. "I just don't know if that's what you want."

Hunter's eyes had widened a little at your confession and a pleased grin slowly etched up on his lips. "(Y/N), are you kidding?"

Your eyes shot up, wondering what he was about to say.

He stood up from his chair, stepped over and took your hands, pulling you up with him. "There a reason I went along with Echo's suggestion of us being paired on that mission...why I followed Wrecker's advice and shared my ration bar with you...and why I did revive you from unconsciousness even when I knew any of the others were capable of doing it." His hand, light as a feather, traced the contour of your cheek, his eyes gazing deep into yours as if he could see into your very soul. "My reason is I care for you, too, and nothing would make me happier than to be with you."

You felt as though your heart was about to explode and excitedly, you threw your arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, his arms wrapping around you and holding you close to him in return.

"May I kiss you?" he asked, his voice low with desire.

"You need to ask?" you asked back, flashing him an inviting smile.

His hand cupped your jaw and his lips descended upon yours with both sweetness and vigor unmatched, his mouth moving perfectly and softly against your own. It was unlike anything you'd ever imagined when you thought about kissing him. In fact, it was better than anything you'd ever dreamt of.

When you came apart and took a moment to catch your breath, you said to him, "With how hard she's been trying, I feel like the next time Omega tries to play matchmaker again, we should let her have a win; play along and let her think her plans finally worked. Don't you think?"

He snickered and nuzzled your nose. "I don't see why not."

With that in mind, the two of stayed in the ship and continued talking, throwing a few kissing sessions in between, until you heard word from the others that they were on their way back to the ship. Once you heard that, you retreated to the back part of the ship and got out a datapad to not let on to the others that you'd been together the whole time.

The others came back and Omega immediately rushed over to Hunter, almost bursting with enthusiasm. "Hunter, I saw something amazing while we were out!" she cried out. When he inquired as to what she saw, she informed him, "There was a beautiful lake we passed by where the sun reflected perfectly off the water and it sparkled like a large jewel! It was so pretty and romantic."

"Romantic, huh?" he repeated, his eyebrows raising slightly. "What are you getting at, Omega?"

She leaned in and whispered, "You should take (Y/N) there. She would love it."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! You two would have fun and I think you need some time alone."

Hunter stole a look back at you in the back of the ship, pretending as though he hadn't already kissed you several times before that moment. Then he gave Omega a grin, stood up and went to where you were sitting.

When you looked up at him, he said, "Omega tells me there's a beautiful lake they passed by. Would you like to come with me and we can maybe...see it together?" he asked you, holding out his hand.

You snuck a look at Omega, who was peeking around the corner with wonder-filled eyes and an eager smile on her face. She was buying your guys' ruse and it made you glad to see her happy. She deserved it.

You took Hunter's hand and stood up. "Yes, I would love to."

He kept your hand in his as you two left the ship and you both couldn't help but snicker to yourselves as you heard a triumphant "Yes!" behind you.

More Hunter fics

Bad Batch Writing Requests

[invisibleraven]

"Stupid thing to say" but it's Reggie talking to/interrupting himself (bonus points if he's practicing a confession)

Was inspired to do something Star Wars inspired after seeing this gorgeous art from @galentir yesterday!

The reflection stared back at Reggie, showing the dark circles under his eyes, the paleness of his skin, and the new scar decorating his shoulder from where he had been clipped by blaster fire. He knew he was lucky to have kept the arm-Master Skywalker might be able to function with a robotic hand, but Reggie doubted it was a look he could pull off.

Not that Reggie knew if he had much longer as a Padawan-he could swing a lightsaber with the best of them, but he was restless during meditation, his Force powers wavered at the best of times, and he was still unable to give up attachments.

He couldn't help it though, he and Luke had been friends since they were younglings, always having each other's backs. Saving each other from Storm Troopers and Hutts alike. He couldn't give him up, even if they were destined to serve different masters.

What was worse was the fact that Reggie knew his heart cared for Luke as more than a friend-a forbidden feeling that was looked down upon throughout much of the galaxy.

He had been determined to keep it to himself, he had been training too long to become a Jedi, he couldn't let something as silly as a crush screw it up right?

But then he thought of the decades of loneliness that awaited him-years of battles and study, with little companionship or affection. Was it worth it?

And even if he did confess, would Luke reciprocate or report him? Would he be willing to abandon the order to run away with Reggie?

He looked at the mirror once more, forming his confession in his mind. "Luke...my feelings for you are bigger than the deserts of Tatooine. No, that's a stupid thing to say."

"Never been a fan of sand."

Reggie whirled around, seeing Luke there in the doorway, a smug smile on his lips. "Might work on Master Skywalker though, he is from there."

"Oh um..." Reggie stammered. "No I..."

Luke laughed. "I get it man, we've all been there, crushing on the legend that is Luke Skywalker. But he's a little too old for you man."

Reggie grimaced. "You're right, silly of me."

"Always figured if you were gonna crush on a hero of the rebellion it would be on Captain Solo anyways," Luke commented.

Reggie blushed at that, as he had once harboured quite the crush on the former smuggler, but it had faded with time, unlike the still burning feelings he had for his best friend.

"You did!" Luke crowed. "You dog you!"

"You're not going to tell are you?" Reggie asked.

Luke scoffed. "Who do you think I am? You know your secrets are safe with me."

"You don't know all of them," Reggie muttered.

"Oh yeah?" Luke asked. "Why, planning on quitting the order to go join a cantina band?"

"That's more your dream than mine," Reggie joked, giving Luke a playful shove. Luek grinned back, grabbing Reggie into a headlock.

"And don't you forget it!" He released Reggie, then sighed. "One day, maybe after I'm too old to be a Jedi, I'll do it."

"I don't think Jedi retire," Reggie said. "Look at Master Yoda, he's 200 odd years old and still can kick all our butts from here to Naboo."

"Then I'll be the first," Luke said. "You and me, open up a little place together on some far off planet. You cook, I'll play music, teach the local kids how to wield a lightsaber. It'll be awesome."

"You and me?" Reggie questioned.

"Who else? You know I love you more than I hate sand," Luke said, giving him a cheeky grin.

"Jerk."

"Maybe, but you know you love me too."

Reggie's smile dropped then. 'You have no idea' he thought.

"Now come on, we're going to be late for class. Last one there is a womp rat!" Luke yelled, running off with a gleeful laugh.

Reggie rolled his eyes before rushing after him, the confession still burning in his gut, but Luke's dreams for their future tempered it just a little. It may not be what he wanted, but he would take what he would get.

And maybe... maybe by then he'd have the courage to speak his heart.

[antianakin]

I love your blog so much. There is so much Anakin worship in this fandom and your blog is a breath of fresh air.

Anyway, I have a question: Do you think that Anakin never wanted the twins in the first place? It seems that after he had first nightmare about Padme dying, all thoughts about the unborn baby went flying out the window.

Thank-you, sometimes venting is good for us!

So my personal headcanon is that Anakin never wanted kids in the first place, but I don't think that this is at all canon or necessarily what Lucas or Hayden Christensen intended to get across in ROTS.

I think Anakin is likely INTENDED to seem very overwhelmed by the prospect of having kids and definitely MORE focused on Padme simply because he's in the habit of focusing on her and it's easier maybe. It's possible that we're maybe intended to understand that Anakin hadn't really THOUGHT about wanting kids, but that it didn't mean he wasn't happy enough about having them once they were in the equation. He certainly never SAYS he doesn't want them or anything negative about them at all, obviously.

But my personal headcanon is that Anakin wants the people he's in relationships with to be completely committed to and focused on him. Anakin is selfish with people's time and attention and we see this over and over again.

So when Padme mentions that she's pregnant, it means that there's now a new person (obviously it would actually be two, but neither of them are aware of that throughout ROTS) in this relationship that are going to take Padme's time and attention away from him and I don't think Anakin likes the idea of sharing Padme, even with their children.

I also think that Anakin, like Padme, is fully aware that throwing kids in the mix is 100% going to fuck up the secret part of their secret marriage. When it was just the two of them, they could keep pretending that this would never ever have consequences and that they could have their cake and eat it, too. They can keep their respective careers and their relationship and just take what time they have with each other as a gift or whatever. But kids require a lot more care and time and effort, Padme wants to raise the baby on Naboo rather than on Coruscant, and if Anakin wants to be in this kid's life AS ITS FATHER, then he has to be WAY more open about this relationship than he's ever been before, something that could easily end up costing him his position within the Order (the Jedi likely won't kick him out, but I do think they'd ask him to make a CHOICE between being with Padme and being a Jedi and it seems a lot more in character that he'd choose Padme over the Order). The pregnancy spells the end of their relationship and lives as they know it and I don't think Anakin really relishes what their new lives are going to look like. The kids are consequences for their choices, not a gift.

But Padme clearly wants to SEE IT as a gift and keep pretending like everything's roses and Anakin can tell that she's looking for a positive reaction from him so he gives her one. Because he wants to keep up the fantasy, too, so he just... smiles and says the right words. He changes the subject to something he's more comfortable with whenever she tries to talk about their future with the baby. But I don't really ever think he means it. I believe he mentions protecting their baby all of once after he has the visions, but Palpatine doesn't use saving the babies as his trump card in his office, it's only Padme that he accuses Obi-Wan of trying to steal, and after he gets in the suit, it's only Padme he asks about. And this could easily just be glitches in the script-writing, we all know how many of those there are in the Prequels, but as a headcanon, I think it tells me that Anakin never REALLY cared about the baby, he wasn't doing this for the baby, and he's not honestly all that upset that they're dead along with her.

And of course the natural counter to this is "but look how obsessed he is with Luke and how much he wants Luke to join him and what a massive impact Luke ends up having on him by the end! Of COURSE he loved the kids and wanted a family!"

To which my argument is, "yes, but all of that happens AFTER PADME'S DEAD."

And not only that, but so is Obi-Wan, and at this point he probably assumes Ahsoka is, too (even if he questions her death, she's long disappeared and unavailable to him anymore). Even R2-D2 is working with the Rebels, as is C-3PO, Shmi is long dead, he clearly didn't care much about the Larses or consider them family but even if he did they're also dead, and the Order itself is long gone with most survivors killed off over the last 20 years. So Anakin's got NO ONE LEFT of the people he cared about.

And then Luke walks in and all of the sudden, he has a SON. This piece of Padme, this piece of HIM who is young and reckless and full of anger and fear of his own. Of COURSE he fixates on Luke now that there's NO ONE ELSE to obsess over. But how would he have treated Luke if Padme had lived? Would he have cared so much about Luke's approval if he resented Luke for taking Padme's attention, for being the reason he had to give up his career as a Jedi? They intentionally parallel the offer he makes to Padme with the offer he makes to Luke. He tries to get Padme to rule the Empire with him and that doesn't work, but 20 years later he makes the SAME offer to Luke. Luke is just a replacement for what he had with Padme the same way Padme was always just a replacement for what he had with Shmi. He can have with Luke what he lost with the others, if only he can succeed at convincing Luke to do what the others would not.

It's never really ABOUT Luke, any more than his relationship with Padme was really about Padme. Padme was convenient, he wanted her because he saw her the way he wanted to see her rather than as the person she actually was, and THAT'S what he loved. He sees Luke the same way.

Obviously some of this changes right at the end because he does decide to sacrifice his life to save Luke and all, but he's also been put in a lose-lose situation for the first time. Even with Padme, he always thinks he COULD save her. He has to sacrifice the Order to do it, but he'll have Padme at the end of it so he still wins. Saving Padme doesn't require dying or losing her some other way. But in ROTJ, his choices are now limited. Either he dies to save Luke, or Luke dies. There is no version of this scenario where he gets to keep Luke. He can't win. Which, arguably, makes choosing the selfless thing a lot easier than it was back in ROTS where the option to win was still available at the cost of the entire Jedi Order (and the entire clone army, and the Republic). He still DOES choose the selfless thing and that's important, but it is made WAY easier by making it a lose-lose situation to begin with. He's not sacrificing as much because he's never going to keep Luke now no matter what he does. Whereas if he'd made the choice to help the Jedi and kill Palpatine in ROTS, he would theoretically have been choosing to give up what he believed to be a guarantee that Padme would live. He's choosing to potentially sacrifice Padme's life in favor of protecting the Order and the Republic. Doing the right thing requires giving up something he wants. That's not... really true in ROTJ because Palpatine's made it so he'll never get what he wants anyway so what does he truly have to lose now?

I recognize that that's... an uncharitable take on the end of ROTJ and removes a LOT of the messages of that scene and that choice he makes and nobody's going to like that. Anakin chose to die to save his son and that feels very heroic, I get that. But whatever. Long story short, no, I don't think he wanted kids at all as per my personal headcanon and I think his reactions to Luke don't contradict that because he mostly just sees Luke as an extension of the relationships he's been trying to replicate his entire life and, in many ways, an extension of himself. And when that relationship is taken from him a THIRD time, but the option is open to save Luke anyway, he chooses to take it. Because what does he have left to lose when he's already lost?

[ohgodmyeyes]

something that endears me to anidala (and that probably also turns some other people off of it) is the completely unnecessary-yet-unabashed manner in which padmé indulges anakin's broken masculinity and deep-seated fear of inadequacy.

she lets him hold her to his chest and make all kinds of weird promises, acting for all intents and purposes as though he's her chief protector… when, in reality, he's pretty much the farthest imaginable thing from that. (*probably the most ineffective physical security she's ever had, actually, if we're thinking about it in those terms.) at no point does she ever actually need his protection, but she accepts the idea of it anyway — and she does that solely to preserve his sweet, beautiful, fragile little ego.

not because she's subjugated or because he's abusive (she's not, and he isn't), but because she loves him. she knows how damaged he is — how fleeting/precarious/turbulent his own confidence in his identity really is — and so she's willing to nurture what little genuine self-assuredness he has, just to make him happy: even when it's annoying, embarrassing, or dangerous for her.

she only (finally) puts her foot down when he loses his marbles and takes it way too far… and even then, she still tries her damnedest to give him a way out by offering to take him back to naboo, forget about what he did to all of those other people's kids(!!!), and let him be a husband & dad in spite of it — as if stopping right then means he's somehow not going to have to experience the consequences of his actions.

she loves him enough to want to shield him from practically anything, even if she has to use her own self to do it. she believes she can, because she knows she's strong: but anakin is still anakin, no matter how much anybody loves him... and so of course it doesn't work forever.

it can't, and it never could.

but that's why i love them so damn much.

[materassassino]

Writing asks: 49 ^⁠_⁠^

49. What fic of yours would you say is the best introduction to you as a writer?

This is such a fandom-dependent question, I think, because I think we all write slightly differently depending on which fandom we're writing for, don't we? You wouldn't write for Pride and Prejudice in the same way you write for Adventure Time (I mean you could, but it would be a deliberate stylistic choice, I feel. Or you might simply want Mr Darcy to call something "algebraic", I don't know your life).

That said, there are certain Themes™ I keep coming back to and exploring that apply to most fandoms I write for, because I am a one trick pony at heart. So generally themes of hope, catharsis and healing. I'll choose two fics, because I'm in two fandoms right now and I feel like those work the best and they are similar but also different.

Other Misty Places [Star Wars] is a gen fic where Luke and Leia finally travel to Naboo to figure out their connection to Padmé and her legacy. The kids (Ben and Grogu) make a bit of a mess, Luke and Leia get to meet their aunt and grandmother, the twins discuss Anakin and Luke finally gets to connect with Padmé and her memory in a way that's substantial. It's also a spit in the face to canon refusing to even acknowledge Padmé exists or allow Luke to have some sort of fucking connection with her.

Vento di Tramontana [The Old Guard], in contrast, is very much not a gen fic, and while JoeNicky features heavily it is a Nicky-centric fic. While taking refuge in a remote Sicilian monastery during a storm, Nicky encounters someone he knew from his past, and has to come to terms with the fact this person is now very old and will die soon, and the might-have-beens that could have arisen between them. It represents an ending and a beginning. It's also incredibly over-researched to the point of parody, and that seems to mark the current fanfic writing era I'm in, hoohooha. It's also sort of a companion piece to the Nile&Joe fic Even Death May Die, where Nile and Joe go to Nile's funeral and Joe tells her about the time he went home, and how he realised he actually couldn't go home.

So yeah, read those two, anyway. I think they're emblematic, at least at the moment.

Fanfiction Writing Asks!

[jayaorgana]

Everytime an attempt is made at family vacation, Leia goes: We'll go somewhere quiet, less people and the kids will have somewhere to run around :) and everyone agrees and they go to Naboo or something and Jaina and Jacen go: we're going to go explore :3 :3 and Leia goes: be careful and Luke goes: have fun and Mara goes: Don’t do anything I wouldn't do and Han goes: DONT. FIND. AN. ANCIENT. TEMPLE. we are on vacation

And Jaina and Jacen find an ancient temple.

And they take a vote. And Han loses the vote 2 to 5 (Anakin also doesn't want to explore the temple) (Anakin just wants to sit on the cabin porch and do a puzzle)

So they explore the temple and it's a sith temple. And Han almost dies again. But other than that the vacation is great and then they do it again next year.

[tragedy-for-sale]

Anywhere I Want

I can go anywhere I want, do anything I want, be anything I want, but all I want, is to go home. Rex and Ahsoka start their lives after Order 66, but the road to recover is still unpaved. TW: Order 66 + clone wars finale angst

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"All we have to do is get to Naboo, Padme will be there." Ahsoka explained, "She has a beautiful house, it's not far from a lake," looking over to Rex she really hope she'd given him some hope. Rex nodded slowly, wiping his eyes. He didn't care where they went as long as he never came back here.

The galaxy seemed darker, for the last few days they'd been iving in darkness. Rex was finally talking to her again, she needed that. They would never talk about this again. Pulling out body after body, finding Jesse, Rex's singing. She shook her head. They were going to Naboo, they were going to find Padme. "We're not gonna find her-"

"What?" Ahsoka turned to Rex, "W-what do you mean? Of course we are." She tried to laugh, Rex had been so silly like that lately. Trying to scare her. He was always trying to make her laugh.

Rex turned and looked at her slow, a steady frown on his face, "If she was alive, Anakin would be too, they're both dead."

"Rex don't say that-"

"They're dead, Ahsoka!" Rex screamed, "Anakin is dead which means Padme is too!"

"How do you know that?!" Ahsoka screamed back, shoving him away from her. She missed Rex. She missed her brother. All they did was yell at each other, all they did was fight, all they did was hurt each other as if this was all their fault.

"Because they would've come for us! They would've told us to come to Naboo!" Rex was shaking, legging thumping anxiously. But then he stopped, he didn't yell anymore. His eyes teared up, he didn't want to be like this. "If Padme was alive, everything would be okay because she would have given birth-" He started to tear up, "Her due date was the day..." He trailed off.

Ahsoka shook her head. No. Padme wasn't pregnant- "Anakin would've told me-" Ahsoka looked away, trying to piece it together. Trying to make sense of this. But nothing made sense anymore. She'd never fought with Rex in her life, but they fought everyday now. He never scared her, now he was scared of her. They always laughed and joked, but now, their survival was the only joke, and one of poor taste. "She was pregnant?"

Rex nodded, "Twins-" He cried, "The babies died with her, they were all Anakin could talk about all week and they're dead. That entire family- our entire family." Rex shook his head as he cried, this was so unfair. He was supposed to die on the battlefield. "They're all dead." It wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to be alive.

The war was supposed to end, Anakin leaving the order and retiring to Naboo to raise his kids. Rex was supposed to find Ahsoka and bring her home. He was never supposed to hate her. But everything was different now and he wasn't the soldier he was supposed to be. He wasn't the brother he was supposed to be. Ahsoka held herself, looking over to Rex. He'd been so lost in his grief, she didn't recognize him anymore. "We are going to Naboo." Ahsoka snapped, Rex hadn't been able to make one worthwhile choice since it happened, so Ahsoka would make all the decisions.

The two sat in the fighter, there was nothing they wanted to say to each other so they sat in silence. Rex sat behind Ahsoka, holding himself as tears silently streamed down his face. He knew Ahsoka was tired of him crying, tired of him singing, tired of him not being her brother. But as he sat there, his head pounded and he couldn't think, there was nothing behind his eyes. There was no hate, no peace, nothing, just a cold empty stare that haunted Ahsoka. He couldn't do anything, Ahsoka had been making all the decisions lately, and regardless of how guilty he felt, he was relieved Ahsoka was deciding what to do, he'd never been able to do anything he wanted before.

It was night when they landed on a cliffside. Ahsoka turned around after the ship was shut off, "I'm going to go scope out the area, Padme's home isn't far. I'm going to go see what I can find out." She spoke slowly, hoping to get a reaction out of Rex. Or anything, really. A sniffle, him looking at her, hell, even him blinking. Anything that would let Ahsoka know her brother was still in there, but he didn't move, he didn't blink, he didn't breath. He was paralyzed, with the faces of all his brothers screaming at him in his head. "Okay, well, I'll be back, okay?" She whispered softly, putting he'd hand on his shoulder, "Just stay here and I'll come back with food."

Rex turned his head slowly, looking at Ahsoka, he wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak for he'd hear Jesse crying for him, and Rex wouldn't survive that. Ahsoka bowed her head in resignation as she climbed out, "I'll be back, Rex." She sighed as the jumped onto the ground and headed into the night alone.

She held herself close, regret holding her heart tightly. Did he blame her? That question rang in her head all day everyday. Did he blame her for Jesse? Did he blame her for taking out his chip? Did he hate her for keeping him alive? Ahsoka wiped a tear, he'd been like this ever since it happened. He wasn't a captain anymore, he wasn't a soldier, he wasn't even her brother; He didn't laugh, he didn't smile, he didn't even yell, he didn't do anything except sit and stare. Rex had died with his brothers, and now, he was nothing but a beating heart,

Nothing but a broken heart

◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skys are grey, you'll never know-

[lunarspiral1127]

Work is a pain again, so here's my thoughts on The Mandalorian episode 20 *SPOILERS*

Mandalorian training for Grogu. Din is such a proud dad for him winning. Good for him, btw. But, I couldn't take Grogu seriously with the force jumping. It's because of how it looked, which is odd cause I'm used to the little guy force jumping. He did it 3 times in this season so far.

Apparently, foundlings on this planet get snatched up by space pterodactyls and get fed to their babies....and it happens many times....yeah, maybe that plus the giant crocodile from episode 17 should've been a sign to go to another planet that's safer.

Also, the youngling that got snatched after he lost to Grogu was the same pale kid who went through the Creed ceremony. And he's also Paz's son....okay, didn't know that.

The majority of this episode is a rescue mission led by Bo-Katan, which okay I guess. At least the main character still gets his moments.

So, that's how Mandalorians eat together...by going off to an isolated corner to take their helmets off to eat....okay.

Seeing Grogu's sad face makes me sad and I hate seeing Grogu sad. Poor sweet 50-something year old child.

This is the second time he's gotten visions of Order 66, which has me concerned that these are more like PTSD flashbacks. I'm just concerned overall of Grogu's mental health and the trauma he went through.

Speaking of flashbacks, this was honestly the best part of the episode for me, cause we got to see how Grogu survived. Was rescued by a jedi named Kelleran Beq. At first, I didn't know who that is, but I was happy to see another black jedi who's bad@$$. Turns out the actor playing him is Ahmed Best who played Jar-Jar in the prequels. That's cool, I'm glad he's doing okay. Also, Kelleran is a host of a childrens' game show, so is that canon to Disney Star Wars too?

Also, it's cool to see the Naboo soldiers helping Kelleran and Grogu.

Grogu with his rondel. It's covering his whole front, I can't! 😆🥰

Okay, you mean to tell me that the kid spent at least a day in that space pterodactyl's insides and didn't come out slimy or looked injured or hurt? I don't know how it works with these creatures, but Ragnar should've also been traumatized from getting snatched up, eaten, and about to be eaten again.

Am I the only one that kinda felt sorry for the space pterodactyl? All she was trying to do was feed her babies. But she ended up being food for the space croc. Well, at least the group took the babies in and will take care of them.

So, I guess the Armorer doesn't believe that the Mythosaur still exists? I don't know if it means that Bo-Katan will go bring proof, but okay.

Yeah, this episode was shorter and a bit simpler compared to the previous one. I still have no idea what the main plot is, cause there's usually one in The Mandalorian. And, we're like halfway through this season. Bo seems to be okay(?) with staying with The Children of the Watch even when she called them a cult. At least, I think she is? I guess she doesn't have any other options left since her home is gone and the rest of her team left.

I do have concerns about this season. It seems like Bo-Katan is getting more of a focus than Din and Grogu, like how Din got more of a focus in The Book of Boba Fett than Boba Fett. It was worse in The Book of Boba Fett, I think, cause Din and Grogu still have their moments. But, we'll have to wait and see with the rest of the episodes.

[poedjarinwrites]

.0, mother

Star Girl, prologue Din Djarin x fem!OC

Masterlist

(gif not mine!)

MANDALORE, OUTER RIM

Besides the distant sounds of blaster bolts meeting Beskar armour all the five year old can hear is the laboured breathing of her mother as she holds her tightly to her body. Hidden beneath a dull purple cloak her small hands grip around her mother's fragile neck.

'Mama.'

'Hush.' A hand is placed on her head, pushing her into the crook of her neck as she pauses at a stairway. It's silent, the blasters have stopped. But then a loud boom rings out and her mother begins her quick paced journey again.

'Mama...'

She grips her tighter, shoving her head into her neck to try and silence her impatience whines. 'We're almost there, star. Just a few more moments.'

'I'm tired.'

'As am I.'

Her words are accompanied with a tired sigh. The doors burst open with her harsh push, she surveys the roof of the building before setting her daughter down. Never once removing her touch form her as she keeps her close with one hand clutched in her own.

'You weren't followed?'

'No, ma'am.'

'You are sure.'

The man before her nods once. The young girl just tilts her head at him, he has dark hair, and armour not quite like the ones of other Mandalorians. He flashes a quick smile in acknowledgment when his eyes lands on her, but his gaze is set when he faces the Duchess again. The face of a soldier.

'Duchess, we don't have much time.' The man tells her.

Satine kneels, her hands cup her daughter's chubby cheeks and forces her gaze away from the stranger. 'You must be brave, star.'

'Mother-'

'No, listen to me,' She tells her and forces her gaze away once more, 'Once this is over you will be the last of pure Mandalorian blood. The heir to the troubled throne. No matter how you may be tempted to come back, do not. Never come back here. Escape, build a life somewhere,, do not come back to Mandalore.'

Her small brows furrow, 'But you're here, mother.'

'I will not be.'

'Mother?'

'You have a gift, Saviin. Your dreams, they may come true-' The girl's eyes fill with tears the moment she hears it. Her dreams and visions of her mother falling dead at her father's feet, skin a few shades paler but robes darkened by blood flash before her eyes.

'I thought if I kept you from your father you would not inherit it, but it seems you still have.'

'If I stay you will die?'

'No.' Satine shakes her head, 'It's been my destiny since you saw it. A path I can no longer run from. Yours is yet to be paved, survive, hide and survive and then-' She moves some hair out of her face to hold her cheeks better, she wants to see her better, wants to see those eyes that belong to her husband, 'Then, you may choose your own fate.'

She leans back and takes the long silver chain from around her neck hanging it around her smaller frame. 'I'll always be with you. As will the Force.'

'Mother.'

'I love you, ad'ika.'

Satine kisses her forehead then stands and retreats back to the stairs. Saviin leaps forward yet the strong arm of the soldier prevents her from moving. 'No!'

'Let's get moving, kid.'

'No! No, mother!'

He hauls her over his shoulder and onto the ship, strapping her down in the chair besides his as he and another man who looks identical to him pilot's them away from the destruction below.

'Where are you taking me?'

'Ever heard of Ithor?'

'I do not want to go.'

'There's a lovely family waiting on a child of their own.'

'They're not my family.'

He sighs and glances at her over his shoulder. 'When the war is over I'll come and find you. I'll take you back to Coruscant, to Naboo, wherever you want to go.'

'I want to go home. To Mandalore.'

'Mandalore is no more. None of us can go home.'

He doesn't say anything else. And the girl is forced to sit in silence for the rest of the flight to their destination.

When they arrive as promised a man and woman stand as they await the promise of their first child. They stand with identical smiles, one with hair so blonde it mirrors the planet's sun, another his hair so dark it looks like the night sky. Their arms are linked, they're in their best robes, which to the daughter of a duchess looks like nothing.

She doesn't let go of the man's hand when he stops in front of them. He sighs, 'Saviin, you must let go.'

'No. Take me with you. I can help.'

He glances to the few paces away where her adoptive parents wait for her. Then he kneels to the ground and pulls off his helmet to set it beside himself on the grass.

'These people will take care of you.'

'No they will not.'

'They will. You're their foundling now.'

She shakes her head, 'By the Mandalorian way one who is orphaned-'

'Just like your mother,' The man says with a smile, and then after a long pause he adds, 'And your father. Both devoted to their ways. You get your stubbornness from them.'

'Take me home.' The final request is desperate. She knows he will not go against his promise to her mother. She is just a child. No one listens to her. Her aunt didn't when she asked her to stay, her mother didn't when she revealed her troubling dreams. This soldier who is devoted to the cause won't either.

Her adoptive father steps forward, 'Saviin-'

His hand, gentle yet not as loving as her mother's, clasps over her shoulder. 'Saviin, you must let him go.'

'No.'

He looks up at the man, then back at her. 'When the war is over I shall return. I'll live here.'

'I want you to take me with you. Not stay here.'

He unclips the small badge that is attached to his armour and hands it over to her, she squeezes it in her palm. It's a small yellow jewel with his rank and CT number beside it. 'Your father gave me that. It's my most prized possession. I shall return for you to get that back from you in a few years.'

When she's distracted reading over his number, cmd. CT-2224, he takes his leave. She knows he's gone, she feels the warmth of his presence leave. Yet she still fights to break from her new father's grip to chase through the jungle after their ship in the sky.

Somewhere along the way she drops his badge, his reason to return lost. She briefly glances over her shoulder, the small farm house no longer visible, nor the town she could see as they landed.

'Cody!' With a strangled yell of his name, one last attempt to reach him, she falls to her knees. Watching a twinkle appear in the sky as the ship disappears.

Her head hangs low, hair covering her face, not noticing the shadow of the ship that looms over her above.

'Saviin.'

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

Neutral is actually a pretty flexible term. Neutrality can mean not taking a side and not getting involved, but it's not limited to that. To use an example: a juror is meant to be impartial and not connected to the case, but the juror is expected to pass a judgement. I think I was pretty clear in my original post.

I enjoy playing with worldbuilding as much as the next person, but in this case, I want to base my analysis of the jedi and how they operate on the primary source material: the movies.

You have a very odd approach. "it just so happens that the good choice lines up with the pragmatic choice" - no, it doesn't "just so happen". Of course that's on purpose. If the films wanted to present things differently, they could have done. Everything we're shown is what the writer decided it's important to show. Sometimes that's Jar Jar Binks. Sometimes that's a Senate scene.

Fundamentally, the worldbuilding is created BY those movies. It's not incidental. Aside from contradicting EACH OTHER, they are incapable of being 'wrong' compared to fanon or EU. This doesn't mean you have to be a purist about it, fanon is fine, and playing with the worldbuilding is one of my favorite things- but bringing it to the table to say that the movies just don't depict things as they really are is silly.

The Phantom Menace is THE movie where we see the republic and the jedi 13 years before the purges began and it formally transitioned into an empire. It's not intended to depict the republic at it's best, and that point is made often, but it's as close to business as usual as we ever see it. It shows where the points of breakdown are, and what is still holding it up- people like Padme, who are determined to fight for justice and their people's rights, people with nothing like Shmi and Anakin, who are generous and helpful, and people like Qui Gon and Obi Wan, who will put themselves in the middle of a conflict.

Of course impartiality has it's limits. Naboo is a very good example of a conflict where they do not have any conflict of interest, and yes I will say that it's not an accident that that is the conflict of that particular movie, I think it's very relevant. The next two movies SHOW the limits of that form of neutrality.

Of course they have a stake in the Republic itself: that's where they live, have their safe haven, and when they go out into the galaxy to do the things that jedi are supposed to do, they are visibly more empowered within the republic then without. The Chancellor sends them to negotiate in a ship, but on Tatooine, they're gambling for parts. The subsequent movies show that very clearly! When the republic is gone and the sith win the war there are only a few scattered jedi left, most of them focused on protecting a few kids. They go from helping settle interplanetary wars to living on the margins during the empire. We know that!

You bring up Mace vs Palpatine (and a shitty description of it at that) as if that's an indicator of how things WERE when that's very much the point of collapse, which is again a strange choice. At that point, of course they have a stake in not being systematically exterminated and the system THEY live in becoming a fascist dictatorship. No, they are not neutral either in the way a jury is meant to be impartial or in the way a country stays neutral in a war going on outside. They are not neutral in the clone wars after Dooku kills over a hundred of them. They are not neutral in the ongoing destruction of the government they are subjects too. Apart from anything else, their own survival is at stake. Mace has been fully radicalized by the end of RotS. And he states his reasons for radical action pretty clearly. "I sense a plot to destroy the jedi" "he has control of the senate and the courts"

Everything that happens in RotS happens AFTER the status quo has broken down. Not sure how you missed that.

Anyway, the kids stuff. @cosmicmordecai points out, maintaining a pipeline of children is never stated or hinted as a motive in any single movie. You are giving your speculation too high of an importance. Also as @short-wooloo pointed out here , children come from people, not governments. "No, just no, it has always been very clear that the only people whose consent is required when Jedi adopt a child is that of the child in question's parents

But moreover, Anakin is from Tatooine, a world the Jedi have no jurisdiction over or relations with, if what the idiot above implies was true, then Anakin being taken in by the Jedi should have never happened, or not happened without the say so of the Hutts

Butt because that's not how that works, and Jedi adopt children from any and all planets with the consent of the parents/caretakers, the only person who's opinion mattered was Shmi, and she said ok"

Anakin is the only child adopted by the jedi in the movies, so that's our main source of information. (after that there's just Obi Wan waiting for Luke to ask for training as an adult, since his guardians had previously said no.)

If you want to take the clone wars cartoons into account, there are a couple of relevant arcs. there is one where a bounty hunter steals a list of force sensitive children and kidnaps them, and the jedi return the children to their parents. One of the parents talks about being undecided about whether to send her child to the jedi, and is told that she doesn't have to make up her mind yet, no pressure. The other episode references the fact that people on a planet had grown suspicious of the jedi with rumors of child theft, so they had stopped going there. (no mention of it being a legal issue either, or them being forced to stay away).

The jedi being preoccupied with having access to children is just not a plot point outside of maybe the acolyte, a recent tv show. (and even in the acolyte, that ends up being one jedi getting over-invested. the council tells him to chill out.)

I'm clearly bored out my skull if I wrote all that.

Jedi neutrality in TPM comes not at all from not taking sides. They get there and pick a side in under five minutes. They are 100% team Naboo. No, their neutrality, and their cultural moral authority, comes from not having a stake in this fight. They're not mixed up in the trade federation. They don't have personal ties with the Naboo. They don't stand to benefit or to lose from the success of either party. They can just show up and say, hey, just decided you guys suck. And no one can accuse them of being secretly married to the Naboo queen or having offshore investments in the Lake country, or whatever completely hypothetical thing a person might have going on that would hypothetically compromise that neutrality

[alich2]

(I'm back mfs)

------

Omega: Idk, but I think Tatooine is a great place! I mean, I was born on a rainy planet, and all I saw were white walls. I have never gotten the chance to see or touch sand..

Tech: Ok, we're going on Naboo. Idc, I was Omega to be happy for once.

Hunter: But I heard that Crosshair's there-

Echo: I kinda want to see Amidala's throne tho-

Wrecker: Who's Amidala?

Omega: *turns to Tech* Soooooo....?

Tech:

Hunter: Tech, Crosshair's there. I think he would recognize us.

Tech: That shabuir can go fuck himself. We're going to Naboo.

Echo: Naboo it is.

------

(Btw, sorry for the bad english)

------

Crosshair: Is that Hunter..?! Well, they're with the kid. They're having a great time. It's a canon event, I can't interfere.

Trooper1: What, sir?

Crosshair: Nothing.

Trooper2: The parade is boring... Can we eat smth? Sir?

Crosshair: Sure, Ig. Let's go.

Trooper3: Yey!

------

Tech (on comlink): Erm- guys?

Hunter: What?

Tech (comlink): Crosshair adopted some Imps... pft-

Hunter:

Hunter: Keep following them. We need to know where they are.

Tech (on comlink): Ok, I'll try.

Hunter: Good luck.

Tech (on comlink): .... thank you ....

------

(Lmao, I feel like I'm on Wattpad)

[absolxguardian]

"So until we see a character who was identified by the Jedi, but didn't join the order because their parents didn't want them to, I'm under the belief that the Republic let's the Jedi "take" kids."

Roo-Roo Page, the Gungan baby from the Clone Wars, is implied to not become a Jedi. They have information on her in the holocron, but when she is returned to her mother, the Jedi don't say anything about adopting her in the future. I interpreted that as "we know your child is Force-sensitive, we're going to keep an eye on her because of [stuff that happened in that episode], but you have the right to say no to her becoming a Jedi."

That's a fair point. In fact, Roo-Roo Page would be the perfect character to follow up on to provide evidence in canon that makes me go "whelp, guess the Jedi don't have the power to take children". The content is lost due to flash obsolescence, but her Legends Behind the Scenes section on Wookiepedia even says "While series director Dave Filoni indicates in the "Children of the Force" episode commentary that the two other featured infants, Wee Dunn and Zinn Toa, are taken into the Jedi Order in the aftermath of the episode, Filoni specifically states that Page remains with her mother for some time".

But I don't think that's enough to say that the Jedi Order don't have the power to take Roo-Roo eventually. All the kids could be under the cut off age, and the parents were given the choice if they wanted to keep their kid a bit longer (addendum: It's actually worse for the Jedi to let force sensitive kids stay with their bio parents longer, according to real human psychology. Separating a toddler from their primary caretaker will fuck them up while it won't a newborn. The only person working on Star Wars who seems to know this is Timothy Zahn. In the Legends novel Outbound Flight that predates this episode, Jorus C'baoth is shown as evil for wanting to train toddlers as Jedi. In his canon lore for the Chiss Ascendancy, the Ascendancy has to mind wipe new sky-walkers so they're not traumatized by being surrendered by their bio-family as toddlers).

There also might be some legal ambiguity with Gungans specfically. It seems like the Gungans and Naboo remain as two separate governments even after TPM (Queen's Shadow has no reference to the changes in domestic Naboo goverment that this would require), but the Republic only let planets join if they have a single domestic goverment (Jedi Fallen Order Dark Temple). Previously the Gungans were an unrecognized indigenous people. The Gungans might not clearly be citizens of the Republic, as there's this complex legal situation that's still being worked out.

Like I said, if the new eu introduces a character who could have been a Jedi but their parents wouldn't let them, I'd completely buy it. I don't think we have enough info one way or another to say definitively what powers the Jedi have in this situation. If we got a story following a Jedi Seeker and they a. couldn't force parents to give up their children. B. Could only do so with an additional reason other than force-sensetivity or C. Could take any child, expect for those with their own force-religion, either by Jedi or Republic law; I'd find all of these fitting with existing contuinity.

[wild-karrde]

The Quarry - Part 13

Master List | Previous Part | Next Part

Author's Note: mention of serious injury in this chapter

“DIN!” Versa’s voice was hoarse as smoke and dust filled the narrow alleyway before being tamped down by the drizzle. Without thinking, she reholstered her weapon and dove, wrapping her arms around his body and rolling him to the opposite side of the alley, tucking their muddy forms down between two stacks of crates. He grunted in her arms as she pushed his body up against the wall, frantically digging her fingers under his shirt to find where he’d been hit. He groaned as she found the blaster hole in his side, quickly inspecting it. “Vers,” he gasped.

“Stay still,” she commanded. Karking hells it’s bad. The bolt had hit him right between the ribs, luckily cauterizing most of the flesh around it, but the way he was struggling to breathe was scaring her. “Are you gasping because of the pain or because you’re short of breath, Din? This is important.”

He tilted his visor up to look at her. “Pain…I think.” The air smelled electric. She glanced at his leg. Not pretty, but he’ll live. Din was grasping at her, trying to pull himself up, but she pressed him back against the wall.

“Stay down,” she ordered.

Versa ripped her blaster back out of its holster with one hand as she assessed the situation. Breathe. Think. Which way is the blaster fire coming from? Her cloak was heavy with mud and water, and she wrenched it from her shoulders, tossing it aside as her hair stuck to her forehead and neck in the rain.

“Alright, you stay here. I’ll handle this. Ok, Din?” She was met with silence. “Din?” Fear strangled her as her fingers dug under his cowl, desperately searching for a pulse. He was unconscious, but she found a heartbeat. Must have passed out from the pain. Kriff. Ok, I’m on my own.

As the bolts whizzed by, she figured out they were coming from the direction she and Din had been heading, towards the market. Good. We can get back to the ship. At least, so far. She allowed herself to peer around the corner. A troop of masked hunters were making their way down the alley towards them, about twenty meters away and closing quickly. Her peek around the corner earned her another volley of blasterfire. She blindly fired back without hitting anything before withdrawing.

Versa felt her heart rising in her throat. She hadn’t brought any spare munitions with her from the ship, thinking that this would be quick and at most, they’d run into one or two hunters. Now with at least half a dozen advancing on them, she cursed her lack of planning. She began patting down Din’s body, searching for anything that could help them. Her eyes landed on the whistling birds on Din’s wrist. She whispered a prayer as she scraped the mud away that it would be loaded, and for once, luck was on her side. She quickly studied the mechanism on his vambrace, finding the switch he engaged with his thumb and the mechanism that clicked on when he snapped his wrist downwards. The heavy footfalls of boots were growing closer as she wrenched his arm out from behind the crate, bending his wrist downwards and depressing the button on his gauntlet. The salvo whistled out of his armor, and she counted six satisfying thuds as their attackers hit the ground. A second passed before a few more blaster bolts whizzed past. Damn. Didn’t get them all.

Tucking Din back behind the crates, Versa began digging through his pouches and pockets. She found a vibroblade and smoke grenade. These’ll do. Cautiously, she peeked again. Another four hunters were advancing. They really brought the whole gang. She inhaled deeply, concentrating on the sound of approaching boots as her training from her youth took over.

Versa tossed the grenade, and the alley erupted in smoke and blaster fire. Gotta move quickly before the rain clears it. Ducking low, Versa dashed forward, drawing the vibroblade and her blaster. The first form came out of the smoke and she kicked his leg out from under him. He landed with a dull thud before she smashed her elbow into his throat and fired two rounds into his chest. Blasterfire slammed into the wall inches from her face as another nearby attacker shot blindly at the noise. A piece of the stone hit her in the mouth, splitting her lip open, but Versa barely noticed it. She dove forward towards the source of the fire, landing in a crouch at the hunter’s feet. She stood quickly, driving her shoulder upwards into the arm he was holding his blaster in, and his next round of fire flew wildly skyward. He swung his other arm and landed a blow to her ribs, driving a grunt from her lungs. She embedded the blade in between his chest plate and back plate on his blaster side, twisting the knife as he screamed and slumped onto her.

The final two assailants were becoming more visible as the smoke cleared, and they charged forward firing at her. Versa used the body she was holding up as a shield as they ran towards her. She fired from behind the body, managing to hit one of her attackers in the knee, and he went down. She quickly spun on her knees, yanking the blade out of the man she was holding and throwing it as hard as she could at the hunter closest to her. Her aim was true and the vibroblade embedded into the man’s throat. He collapsed with a sickening gurgle.

Pushing herself to her feet and yanking the knife out of the hunter’s neck, Versa advanced on the final assailant, a human man tucked back against the wall, holding the knee she’d obliterated with her blaster bolt. He scrambled for his weapon as she approached, but she kicked it out of reach, leveling her blaster at his head.

“Who sent you?” she demanded through gritted teeth. “Are you with Farr or someone else?”

“F-F-Farr,” he stammered. “Please don’t kill me. This was my first job. I don’t even know who you are.”

She crouched down in front of him, pointing the bloodied vibroblade at him menacingly. “My pity is more than you deserve. You may have killed my friend back there. I’m going to take him, and we’re leaving on our ship, but if he dies, you had better believe I will come back here and hunt you and everyone Farr has out for me to avenge him, is that clear?” The man nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

“Good. And if I ever see you again, I will kill you on sight. Understand?”

He nodded again. She stood, gazing down at him as he trembled before she raised her blaster and pistol-whipped him across the face. He slumped to the ground unconscious.

What a kriffing mess. She raced back down the alley to where Din was hidden. Gently, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “Din. Din I need you to wake up. Those kilos you have on me are going to make getting you back to the ship a lot harder.” He groaned, hissing as he pressed a gloved hand to his side. “Can you stand?” she whispered frantically. The helmet nodded. “Good. Lean on me. We’ve got to go.”

As gently as she could, she pulled him up, tucking his arm across her shoulder so that he could take some of the weight off his injured leg. They limped along slowly, Versa keeping her eyes open for any additional threats. “The supplies,” he wheezed.

“Forget ‘em. We’ve got enough to get us to Naboo. We’ll definitely have to restock there though.”

“You…you’re still…buying.”

She smirked and her concern abated slightly. “Yeah, yeah, smartass,” she muttered.

“Vers…your lip.”

“Worry about it later. We gotta get you back to the ship.” The ground was becoming slippery with mud as the drizzle slowly became a downpour. Din felt more heavy as her feet squelched in her boots, but Versa tightened her grip on him. Finally, the ship came into view. Versa hauled Din up the ramp before gingerly setting him on one of the bunks. “Stay still. I’m going to get us out of here, and then I’ll come back and take care of you. Ok?”

He just nodded, holding his side and grunting as he leaned back against the wall. Versa whirled, slamming the hatch panel to close it before jogging to the cockpit. She piloted the ship out of the port and into orbit before running the hyperspace calculations and punching in the coordinates for Naboo. Once the ship was cruising, she searched one of the supply cabinets until she found a med kit, striding back to Din. His breathing had evened out, but she could tell he was still in a lot of pain. Gently, she helped him remove his sopping wet cloak and armor, carefully setting the beskar to the side piece by piece.

“Alright, lay on your side,” she said quietly.

“I can…” he said weakly, reaching for the med kit.

She swatted him away again. “Stop being an idiot. I’m taking care of you this time. Now lay down.” Gently, she guided him onto his side without any further protest. She could hear him sucking in through his teeth, and she tried her best to sooth him with quiet words and soft touches. Once he was laid out, she began peeling up the wet layers of his shirt and flight suit to get to his ribs. When she got to the final layer, she took a deep breath. This is going to be ugly. Gingerly, she lifted the fabric and still grimaced as she saw the wound in his side.

“That...bad huh?” Din gasped.

“Well, it’s certainly not good. Here, let me take some of the edge off.” Digging around in the med kit, she found a painkiller injection. Pulling the neck of shirt down, she pressed the syringe against the skin at his throat before depressing the end of it. He hissed slightly at the prick, and she whispered an apology, but it only took a few seconds for her to see some of the tension leak out of his body as the medicine did its job and he relaxed.

Versa applied a numbing agent around the edges of Din’s burned skin, trying not to let her eyes wander over his body too much. There was light scarring across his back and ribs and one rather large one that tore across his hip bone and disappeared below the waistline of his pants. That one can’t have felt good.

“Come a little closer if you can. I wanna get a good look at it and make sure I get it clean.”

With her help, Din scooted closer to the edge of the bunk. Versa leaned over his body, flushing the mud and grit out of the wound as best she could with some saline from the kit. Din shivered a bit at the cold liquid as it hit the burns around it. Versa stroked her thumb down his back as he tried not to jerk beneath her. Once it was cleaned, she pulled her light from its place on her hip and shone the light into the hole in Din’s side. Her stomach flipped, but she was relieved to see it hadn’t torn into him as deep as she thought.

“Didn’t hit anything critical, but your ribs are probably slightly bruised from the plasma impact. I’m going to put some bacta gel in there now and then patch you up, ok?”

He managed another small nod. She worked as carefully as she could trying to not press at the damage around the wound. Din was silent, and the only way she could tell he felt anything was when his body would occasionally tense beneath her. His breathing was somewhat less labored because of the painkiller, and after a few moments, she smoothed the patch over his injury. Her fingers lingered a little bit on his skin before he shifted underneath her again.

“All done?” he asked quietly.

“With that one. Time to look at your thigh. Can you sit back up for me?” She quickly smoothed his shirt back down, silently chiding herself for the thoughts she’d had at the sight of just a fraction of his bare body. She helped him to a sitting position before taking a look at where the other bolt had torn through his pantleg.

“I’m going to need you to take your pants off, Din,” she finally sighed.

“You normally have that little enthusiasm when you say that?” he teased through gritted teeth as she prodded the wound.

“It’s that or I cut them off, Mando, and I don’t see a spare pair lying around anywhere, so unless you want to walk around Naboo with your ass hanging out, take ‘em off.”

“You’re so bossy,” he muttered as he undid his belt, shimmying his pants down his thighs to his knees, leaving his undershorts in place. Versa tried not to have any sort of reaction to seeing Din in his undergarments, crouching down by this exposed thigh. It was another direct hit, but not quite as deep as the one in his ribs. She wondered if it had somehow glanced off of the thigh armor he wore. Yeah, focus on that. Repeating the same process she had completed with the shot to his ribs, Versa found her mouth more dry as she kept her eyes focused on his leg, not allowing them to wander upwards at all. Even then, she still found herself thinking about how muscular his thighs were and counting the other scars she could see along his knee and running up his leg. He’s been through a lot. As she pressed the bandage to his leg, he hissed.

“Sorry. That hurt?”

“Yeah, somehow, that one hurts more than the ribs right now. Might have just hit the right nerves or something.”

Without thinking, Versa leaned down and placed a kiss on his bare skin near the bandage. She felt him stiffen underneath her slightly and she stood quickly. Why the kriff did I do that? What is actually wrong with me? “There, that help?” she asked, her voice at least an octave higher than normal. He just looked at her as she quickly turned away to dispose of the spent medical supplies, her face on fire. She heard him shuffle his pants back up, his belt buckle clinking as he refastened it.

“Vers.” His voice was soft. She turned back to look at him, leaning heavily on the bunk on his uninjured side. He patted the spot next to him. “Your turn.”

“Huh?”

“Your lip.”

“Oh. It’s fine. I don’t-“

“C’mere.”

Her entire body was on fire as she stepped towards him, slowly sitting down on the bunk next to him. He turned to face her more, pulling his gloves off. Gently, he took her face in his hand, running his thumb along her lower lip to inspect the damage. Every nerve of her body was screaming as he tilted his head to look at her closer. “Just a split. A little swelling. Not too bad,” he said quietly. “You do have blood running down your chin though, so you look a bit…well I wouldn’t mess with you if I saw you in a cantina,” he chuckled.

Great. I just kissed him on his thigh with blood dribbling down my chin. Very attractive. Well done, Versa.

He dug through the med kit until he found a disinfectant wipe. Taking her jaw in one hand, he wiped the blood away with the other, gently cleaning the cut as well. She inhaled sharply at the slight sting, and he quietly apologized.

“It’s not too deep. Just needs some ointment and time to heal.” He took a small tin out of the med kit, opening the lid and running his middle finger through the salve inside. With his other hand, he gently grasped her chin again. “Open your mouth a bit,” he said, and it took everything within Versa to not shudder as she obliged, parting her lips for him. Din slowly ran his middle finger over her the cut on her lip, and she felt a cooling, numbing sensation that was counter to what she was experiencing in every other cell of her body. She didn’t know where to look, so she focused on the wall over his shoulder, not daring to peer into the visor that was studying her so carefully now. After what felt like an eternity, he released her jaw, and she sat back.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah. Much. Thanks.” She stood quickly, eager to put distance between them. Grabbing the med kit, she replaced it in the storage cabinet, shutting it quietly before turning around. Din was sitting on the edge of the bed watching her and her cheeks burned again. She stood there for what felt like a sufficiently awkward amount of time before pushing a lock of hair behind her ear nervously. “Alright, well…um…I’m going to go check on…where we are and how much longer we’ve got. You should uh…get some rest. Yell if you need anything.”

With that, she strode to the cockpit, shutting the door behind her and slumping into the pilot seat as she began to fight internally with herself about what had just happened. And what hadn’t.

[jaydude1992]

I've got a long post of my own!

On Obi-Wan Deceiving Luke

Like I indicated, I would assume that Obi-Wan planned to explain the fact that Vader and Anakin were the same person. And not just for the pragmatic reason that Luke could've ended up becoming another darksider if he killed Vader out of anger over the man supposedly killing his father, but because he genuinely hoped that Luke could save Anakin.

I Only Use Qui-Gon Jinn as an Example Jedi

Yeah, even if we take into account the fact that Qui-Gon's not meant to be a 100% "proper" Jedi, his behavior alone only paints so good a picture of them.

That said, as I alluded to earlier, in Lucas's own words, the Prequels aren't exactly meant to be seen as a complete picture of the Jedi, and they're definitely not meant to portray the Jedi as being responsible for their getting genocided. Their focus was always intended to be the Republic becoming the Galactic Empire, and Anakin becoming Darth Vader. Based on that, I would personally be hesitant to consider Qui-Gon's attitudes as intended to be representative of the Jedi.

This is probably my biggest problem with your arguments as a whole. In my eyes, you seem to be arguing under the assumption that the intended narrative of the Prequels is one that's very different from the actual intended narrative as stated by Lucas. Could one argue that Lucas could've/should've done a better job conveying his intended narrative? Probably. But I'd personally frame that as a critique of Lucas's writing ability, rather than one of the Jedi.

Watto's Dice Were Loaded

I didn't comment on Qui-Gon's attempt to use the mind trick, because yeah, regardless of his reasons and how much his victim's behavior might've justified it, he was essentially trying to scam Watto there. The most I'll say is that he was doing so in order to allow him and the others to get the parts needed to repair their ship, get to Coruscant, inform the Chancellor about the Trade Federation's invasion/occupation of Naboo and thus solve the crisis there as soon as possible. Preferably before the Trade Federation could cause any more of Naboo's presumably massive population killed.

Anakin Participated in the Pod Race Instead of Someone Else

As far as I'm aware, the vast, vast majority of podracers are designed to be piloted by species smaller than the average adult human (I say "vast, vast majority" because Mawhonic - the three-eyed alien who served as Sebulba's first victim in the race - belongs to a species that apparently has human-esque proportions). I'd assume Anakin's would've been built for his kid self; I can't see anyone managing to cram Obi-Wan into it.

The Jedi Set the Dominoes...

I'm going to split this up into two separate headers.

Jedi War Crimes

If Qui-Gon isn't entirely meant to be seen as a typical Jedi, Anakin definitely isn't, given that a big part of his character in the Prequels is him struggling to fit the mold of the typical Jedi (i.e. not letting his emotions rule him, employing patience when necessary, not being possessive and accepting that nothing lasts forever). As for what happens with Cad Bane, leaving aside that Anakin, Obi-Wan and Mace are trying to rescue kidnapped children (protecting the innocent, which last I recalled was a key tenet of being a Jedi), a key point of Lucas's narrative as I understand it is that the Jedi are being corrupted/having to compromise on their morals as a result of the Clone Wars; what happened to Bane isn't exactly the norm for them. And in any event, I don't see such unethical actions as what doomed the Jedi, for reasons I'll get into further down.

Killing retreating combatants is definitely a dick move, but as far as I'm aware, it's not actually a war crime. Apparently the logic is that a retreating combatant might attempt to reengage from a (figurative and/or literal) position later on, whereas a surrendering combatant is considered to have no intentions of resuming the fight.

If we're discussing whether the depiction of the Jedi in The Acolyte is consistent with how they're depicted in the Prequels/Lucas's work, leaving aside that Maul forcibly usurped control of a Republic world - because Mandalore was a member of the Republic even if Satine kept them uninvolved in the Clone Wars - and Bo-Katan apparently requested backup from the Republic, is the Mandalore Invasion arc or whatever it's called really relevant here? In contrast to the Prequels and the first six seasons of TCW, Lucas was never involved in the production of that.

Onderon's government aligned itself with the Separatists, and as far as I'm aware, there was no way of telling what kind of man Saw would become later on.

Krell, like Anakin, is definitely not meant to be a typical Jedi. He's a traitor who wanted to become a Sith; I really wouldn't say his actions were intended to be representative of the Jedi as a whole at all.

All the above said, the fake surrendering is definitely a problem move on the parts of the Jedi.

All this stuff aside, I really wouldn't say that Lucas having the Jedi do the above is him deliberately presenting a less than positive image of them. I think he's really just taking a bit of artistic license regarding wartime morals and such. Case in point, Ahsoka. By our standards, employing a fourteen-year old girl as a combatant in a battle would definitely be a war crime. Indeed, Dave Filoni wanted to portray it as a problematic element, but Lucas basically told him that there was no in-universe issue, that Ahsoka would be able to handle herself in a combat situation thanks to her Jedi training, and that there was no need for Dave and the other writers to be so serious when it came to their storytelling.

Could you argue that that and all the above still makes the Jedi look bad? Yeah, probably. But in my mind, there's a world of difference between "Lucas does a bad job of writing the Jedi as heroic figures" and "Lucas was intentionally writing the Jedi as problematic figures". The former is an opinion, but the latter is a falsehood in my eyes, based on everything Lucas has said over the years.

What Happened to Zam

I think you're wrong on multiple counts here.

First, unless Clawdites have vital organs located within their hands, Obi-Wan did not "fatally injure" Zam.

Second, I feel like you're leaving out the key context that Zam tried to assassinate Padmé not too long ago, was in the act of trying to kill Obi-Wan when he lopped her hand off, and there had been another attempt on Padmé's life in which members of her entourage/security detail were killed earlier. I'd say that at least somewhat justifies more lethal measures being taken against her.

As for why no-one in the cantina/nightclub raised a fuss, as I understand it, a significant number of the place's patrons were criminals/other unsavory types - heck, Obi-Wan gets approached by the Star Wars equivalent of a drug dealer, who just so happens to have a surname that literally includes the word "sleazebag" - so hardly just average joes. In any case, I doubt the reason was an attitude of "don't question the Jedi", since as far as I'm aware, depicting the Jedi as a problematic, Gestapo or KGB-esque institution was never Lucas's intention.

...and Darth Sidious Topples Them

I'll split this one up into multiple headings as well.

The Jedi Fell Because of Internal Issues

This was never Lucas's intended narrative. And as far as I recall, alongside the more unethical wartime actions discussed a couple of sections earlier, none of the points you put forward here are actually bought up as reasons for the fall of the Jedi in his works. Heck, I'd say your bit about the Jedi being "too concerned with the opinions and processes of the government instead of the needs of the everyday people" is outright contradicted by the fact that Phantom Menace revolves around two Jedi helping to try and stop an invasion of a planet home to billions of "everyday people" that's being carried out by a corporation with influence over the government.

As per the content of the Prequels - and as I alluded to in my previous post - the actual reasons the Jedi fell are as follows:

Palpatine took advantage of the dark side's prevalence within the galaxy to infiltrate the Republic's government without the Jedi noticing, before masterminding multiple successive crises - the Invasion of Naboo, the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars - to give himself increasingly authoritarian levels of power and convince the Senate to accept his fascism for the sake of "safe secure society", as well as have an excuse to lead the Jedi into a scenario where he could scatter them across the galaxy (the Clone Wars) before annihilating them in two fell swoops (Order 66 and the massacre at the Jedi Temple).

Anakin Skywalker struggled with paranoia and the idea he could lose people he cared about, to the point that after having a vision of his secret wife dying in childbirth, he convinced himself that the best/only way to save her was to join up with a Sith Lord, and subsequently prevented Mace from killing Palpatine before he could carry out his genocide of the Jedi.

Yes, Anakin had issues with the Jedi Council and some of the Jedi Order's ways. But a key point here is that at the moment of truth, when Anakin gets to determine the fate of the galaxy for the next few decades, none of that actually gets brought up. In spite of his grievances, Anakin rats Palpatine out to Mace and the other Jedi. When he decides to interfere in their attempt to put an end to Palpatine's schemes, he does so solely because he hears Palpatine's voice claiming that any chance of saving Padmé will be lost if he (Palpatine) dies. When he tries to talk Mace out of killing Palpatine, his reasoning ultimately boils down to him believing he needs the guy alive. And after he betrays Mace and decides to join the Sith, he cites not wanting to lose Padmé as his only reason for doing so.

And yeah, he claims the Jedi turned against him and so on later, but he's pretty much lying his butt off.

Yoda Not Wanting to Reveal the Jedi Order's Dimishing Power

Regarding Windu's suggestion about being transparent in regards to the Jedi Order's diminished Force abilities and Yoda's response to it, I do think you're again leaving out a key bit of context. The Republic was threatening to split in two, and for whatever reason, there was genuine concern that both sides could end up going to war in such a scenario, in which case the Jedi on their own would not be able to protect the Republic with their limited numbers. To me, it's not hard to imagine that those eager to fight the Republic could multipy/become emboldened - and thus make war more likely - if they learned the Republic's Jedi protectors had grown weak.

Was Yoda keeping quiet a sketchy move regardless? Arguably, yes. But as far as I'm aware, that at least is part of Lucas's intended narrative; that the Clone Wars were forcing the Jedi to compromise their morals more and more in order to protect the people of the Republic. Cases in point, them forsaking their role as peacekeepers to serve in the war, them faking Obi-Wan's murder in front of an unknowing Anakin to allow the older Jedi to infiltrate a conspiracy to kidnap Palpatine, and finally them tasking Anakin with spying on Palpatine out of concern he wasn't to be trusted. But again, that's the Clone Wars, taking place roughly a century after the events of The Acolyte, and none of it really plays a part in the Jedi Order's destruction.

The Jedi Joined the Clone Wars out of Convenience

It probably goes without saying at this point, but as far as I'm concerned, you're incorrect on all counts as to why the Jedi got involved in the war. Being able to use the Force freely and getting brownie points with the public/Senate have never been cited as reasons behind it in Lucas's works as far as I'm aware; he's only ever framed it as the Jedi wanting to stop the Sith and protect the Republic. Also, Attack of the Clones has Yoda outright state that the conclusion of the events on Geonosis can't be considered a victory for the Jedi/Republic by virtue of the fact that it's led to the Clone Wars.

You're right in that Lucas said the Jedi were never meant to be generals and soldiers, and that getting involved in the war didn't exactly do them any favors. But what would've happened if the Jedi hadn't become generals and such? My best guess is that Palpatine has his manufactured war play out to whip up support for his authoritarianism just like in canon - likely with more deaths of civilians and soldiers due to the Jedi not being around to help - but this time he frames the Jedi as selfish detached d-bags refusing to uphold their oaths to protect the Republic. Then, once he's amassed enough political power and popularity to be able to get away with it, he has the clones massacre the Jedi in their temple, and spins it to the public as a Jedi rebellion that had to be put down.

Back to the Acolyte

My problem with this argument is that as far as I'm aware, based on everything Lucas has presented and said over the years, the only real vulnerabilities in the Jedi as an "institution" we see in the Prequels are that they've gotten complacent due to mistakenly believing the Sith extinct for a millennia, and they don't have much in the way of political power. The real problems lie with the increasingly corrupt and self-centered Senate (and really, what's to stop us focusing on that if we want something that ties the High Republic and the Prequels together? Give us something like how the Star Wars equivalent of Citizens United came about!).

Obviously you've come to a radically different understanding of the Prequels than me, which is fair enough; I can't exactly stop you from doing that. At the end of the day, we're probably going to end up agreeing to disagree; I'm just here to point out the number of ways in which I think you and Headland were mistaken about both what happens in the Prequels, as well as the story Lucas wanted to tell with them.

The Guardians of Peace and Justice

(spoilers for The Acolyte)

In A New Hope, Obi-Wan describes the Jedi as the "guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic"...

...okay, but what does that mean, exactly? On its surface, Star Wars positions the Jedi as agents of pure goodness (at least if we're to take Obi-Wan's description at face value).

But The Acolyte asks us to wrestle with that question on a practical, everyday level for the galaxy's citizens. After all, a religious order whose charge is to be "guardians of peace and justice", coupled with the fact that its members are armed, implies that militarisation is part of their mandate.

Faith-based police, in other words.

Orthodox Star Wars fans seem to hate this portrayal of the Jedi as cops; Jedi in The Acolyte tend to throw their weight around the citizens of the galaxy, routinely using intimidation to get what they want, and when they make mistakes they have an institution that provides them with cover and support.

With all these traits in mind, The Acolyte positions the Jedi not as agents of pure goodness, but as imperfect members of an institution that prioritises its own protection at least as much as its duty to the Republic's citizens.

So... not just faith-based police, but corrupt faith-based police!

But if you look at the story George Lucas told in the prequels, the Jedi's portrayal in The Acolyte keeps faith with how they were portrayed, and what they will eventually become.

Jedi as Superheroes

So if not cops, how do orthodox Star Wars fans want the Jedi portrayed?

I've been watching Star Wars since the 80s, and to my surprise, the Jedi we've seen in the (canon) movies, and TV shows have surprisingly few scenes with everyday citizens. Usually, the Jedi in these stories are involved in larger-than-life struggles, like blowing up the Death Star, commanding Clone Troopers, or talking in the Jedi Council chambers about politics and Force stuff.

When Jedi do encounter citizens, they are positioned as superhero archetypes: they hear a call for help from beleaguered citizens, rush in to resolve the dispute -- usually through talk and diplomacy, but also with violence and lightsabers -- and then fly off into hyperspace.

Two recent examples come from Tales of the Jedi and Jedi Survivor, both of which feature Jedi acting on their own volition in places where there is no formalised local security.

In the Tales of the Jedi episode "Justice", Count Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn defend villagers who are holding a Senator's son hostage, and act against the tyrannical Senator who's starving the villagers. Toward the climax of the episode, Dooku reveals that he never informed the Senate that he was undertaking this rescue operation, and thus he and Qui-Gon Jinn were acting without oversight (which is not something Jedi are supposed to do, especially if they're trying to rescue a Senator's son!).

In Jedi Survivor, Cal Kestis saves a villager from being killed by the Bedlam Raiders. This story takes place during the Reign of the Empire era, when the Jedi are almost all dead, so Cal is taking decisions without Senate oversight.

In essence, Dooku, Jinn, and Kestis are free to act as superheroes because no one else is able to do anything. By acting, these Jedi "restore peace and justice".

The Jedi's Hubris

The Original Trilogy portrays three Jedi: Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Luke, and each is a paragon of goodness. Well... Obi-Wan deliberately misleads Luke about his father, and both Yoda and Obi-Wan conceal Leia's true parentage and her relationship to Luke...

... small potatoes stuff.

But when the Prequel Trilogy came out, the Jedi were portrayed very differently. These Jedi:

...attempted to defraud a merchant of his livelihood...

... cheated at games of chance...

... and were happy to risk the life of a child on a dangerous race.

But it was for the greater good, right? There were more pressing concerns at play than one junk trader's livelihood, and besides the kid was Force-sensitive, so he'd be fine in a high-octane contest.

The prequel Jedi had good intentions, after all.

But that's exactly the kind of permissiveness that led to the Jedi's downfall. And it is this attitude that The Acolyte showcases the most in its Jedi characters.

In episode 1, "Lost/Found", Jedi Knight Yord Fandar boards a Trade Federation ship to find, question, and arrest Osha. He comes aboard without permission, and when the captain doesn't immediately give him the answers he seeks, Yord outstretches his hand as if to use the Force against him.

The captain and first mate are terrified, and immediately reveal what Yord wants to know.

In episode 3, "Destiny", the Jedi tresspass into the witches' compound, in order to rescue the children they believe are being mistreated.

The scene is very tense, with the witches being very apprehensive of these Jedi and their intentions.

These actions, and many more, were taken because the Jedi had "noble intentions", as Sol puts it. And if the intentions are what matters most, the way they fulfil those intentions are of secondary concern.

Because the Jedi cannot be perceived as having done wrong, less their political enemies use that to undermine them.

That's hubris. And that was George Lucas' intent, which Leslye Headland fulfilled to a tee.

Because Headland absolutely knows her stuff when it comes to Star Wars.

The Jedi's overarching story says that the Order was destroyed because of their own hubris. Darth Sidious was just an instigator, and he only had to topple a few dominoes, which the Jedi Order had already set up by themselves.

But at the same time, we can't accept the overarching story that the Jedi fell from hubris, and then get upset when the Jedi are portrayed as acting hubristically.

The Jedi on The Acolyte had good intentions but they acted badly. That's the whole point: to sow the story seeds for what comes later.

In short, The Acolyte nailed it.

[phoenixyfriend]

SW Suddenly Omegaverse: Padme/Palo

Context: SW Suddenly Omegaverse AU (Original Post), Anakin finding out Padme's already married here, Chrono

Last night I found myself fantasizing about the specific way Padme ended up marrying her artist boo in the Suddenly Omegaverse AU.

Padme's initial crush was just a crush. They had a first kiss, but they were TWELVE, and so it never really went past that. They exchanged numbers and stayed in touch, but their lives diverged.

Padme presented as omega at thirteen, instead of the expected beta. (Her family tended towards beta designations overall, and there's no external difference between OF and BF until presentation.)

Naboo practices early engagements as a preventative measure for omega children in the upper classes. It's a safety thing for nobility, an easy out for turning down new suitors. "I can't date you, I'm Engaged For Political Reasons." About two thirds of those engagements get broken off as the people involved find love elsewhere, but some of them work out.

Padme's preventative engagement is Rush Clovis, an alpha.

She... tries to make it work? He's charming and all, there's potential.

Nope, nope, he's a dick. Ugh. She's a queen now, can she just ditch him? Please?

She cannot break off the engagement this early without a really solid reason based in his misbehavior, which hasn't happened yet.

She bitches about it to her handmaidens, and also to her middle school ex, who has also presented as omega (expected, he has the dualsex setup) at fifteen, and is similarly engaged. He's less upset about his partner (an alpha female who is very nice but also very gay, and is going to leave him for another girl as soon as she meets The One), but sympathizes with Padme's plight.

Padme's teen years as queen involve a lot of messaging her omega ex-bf about how much a dick her temporary fiance is. Like. A lot of messaging. Artists are 'sensitive' or whatever, but he's so much nicer than Rush, okay?

Palo: Hey, what if we get married? Nobody will be able to say anything about you dumping Rush then. Padme: We're seventeen. Palo: Yeah but you're a queen. If you can run a planet at fourteen, you can get married at eighteen. Padme: ...shit, you're right.

Padme's now married and mated, and it's not necessarily ROMANTIC but it's very friendly and they have plans for kids that they'll definitely be co-parenting.

Naboo just really has 'child engagement' vibes.