#yes I did give owen berus name fight me

[littlemodernbabe]

Nurture not nature:

Leia Organa is like her parents before her. She is cunning, intelligent, and rebellious at heart. Just like Breha and Bail Organa raised her to be.

Luke Skywalker is like his parents before him. He believes he can solve conflict by being kind. He believes in helping people who can’t help themselves. He believes there is still good in the world but he is not blind to the corruption of it. Like his parents Owen and Beru Whitesun before him.

[devondeal]

6, 12, 14, and 21 for the Star Wars Violence Ask Game!

Thank you wifey! 💙💚 I'm gonna enjoy these

6. Opinion on canon and/or fanon use of the secret child trope? Discuss

I don't mind it. The secret child can be a good trope if the context is right for it. I mean Star Wars is centered on secret child trope pretty much. Where I'm not so into it is the Korkie headcanon that he is Obi Wan and Satine's son. It's a bit too crackhead for me and also it's not my ship so I'm biased against it.

12. Name a common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing.

Anything about Rey tbh. I may not be a big sequels person but anytime the fandom tries reduce her to an overpowered female Luke and say she's unoriginal I roll my eyes.

Like they are nothing alike. Luke got to live comfortably taken care of by his aunt and uncle. He never had to scavage scraps just to be able to eat. And before anyone comes for me, I'm NOT ripping on Luke. He had what anyone should have.

What I'm saying is Rey didn't get to have guardians or a comfortable house or regularly even be able eat. She was abandoned and did what she had to to survive. As for the overpowered thing like she's able to fly ships or fight back, like come on. I repeat, she. was. a. scavanger. She got to know ship parts and as for fighting, she's had to fight dickheads like Teedo and probably worse to keep food, homes, etc. After rewatching TFA, i notice she learns from OBSERVATION. She mimics what others do around. This is a survival skill she had her whole life.

Of course Luke is going to take a little more time to learn things. He was never put in that situation where it was do or die (as any child shouldn't). Rey was and however fast she was at learning a skill is a result of basic survival instincts.

She and Luke ENTIRELY different characters and to say she's a female version of him cuz she's from a desert????? Reductive and a big lack in media literacy tbh.

14. What's the most egregious example of fridging in canon?

God which one? 😅 Fridging is probably one of Star Wars biggest crimes. Leia is the first that comes to mind because she died to redeem her piece of shit son that she did not deserve.

But then again, Anakin's turn to the dark side is also due to fridging with his mother and his wife. Especially with Padme since there's an old version where she actually gets to live a little bit longer with the Rebellion and tried to kill Anakin.

I may not be a big Satine person, but that's fridging too to give Obi Wan angst and more Maul animosity.

I'm still going to say Leia in the sequels though as the most egregious. Because it was so out of nowhere (yes I'm aware that Carrie's death was probably the reason but I don't care. There are better ways to kill off/write out a character than fridging). Her death served no purpose other than Kyle Ron no accountability. Like what in "Jesus died for our sins" is this bullshit? Why must Star Wars' most iconic woman have to go out for a man that did nothing but hurt and betray her? It's insulting tbh.

Edit: Luminara's death was fucking awful too. Like ain't no reason to have it be so horrific. Sigh... can Star Wars like not hate women for once.

21. Best canon example of a healthy relationship in Star Wars

Romantically that is a tough one. Honestly I'm coming up short with this one. Can't say Han and Leia cuz we only see their rocky start and end and nothing in between.

Maybe Kanan and Hera but their relationship kinda got ruined for me when suddenly at the end, he wasnt aware if Hera felt the same about him??? I just thought they were basically married and I'm supposed to be believe they haven't even had that conversation by THAT point in time??? Plus the ghost baby thing creeped me the fuck out. Can Star Wars please stop with the out of nowhere pregnancies please?

So yeah canon romances, nothing comes to mind. In fact Star Wars is kind of built on toxic romance.

The crackhead in me wants to say Owen and Beru 🤣

Ooo! Wait I found my answer! Cal and Merrin from the Jedi games! They are perfect 🥺 Idk what the next game will have in store for them but so far, the way they empower and comfort each other. They accept and love each other's differences. And just adorable all around. Sweet ginger boy with spicy witch lady 👌

[dalekofchaos]

If Vader raised Luke and Obi-Wan trained Leia

Let’s say sometime after Mustafar. Darth Vader in his meditation in his castle, Vader felt a presence he hasn’t felt since.....Padme. Since he felt his unborn child through the force. His child is alive. Sidious lied. The Jedi took his son from him. They will all pay. So here is what would happen if Vader sensed, found and raised Luke. 

Darth Vader would’ve killed Owen and Beru instantly and burned the Lars homestead

Obi-Wan would rush to face Vader. Vader would overpower Obi-Wan, mortally wound him and throw him into the burning homestead and use the force to crush the roof onto an unconscious Obi-Wan 

Darth Vader would hold a baby Luke in his hands and  for some reason Luke is not afraid, but drawn to this dark figure. 

Vader would simply say “Luke. Son...”

Vader takes Luke to his castle on Mustafar

Obi-Wan would crawl out of the remains of the Lars Homestead. Injured, but alive. Obi-Wan failed. He contacted Yoda and told him Vader found and took Luke. Yoda will simply tell him “There is another.” All he can do is call Bail for transport to Alderaan. He failed Luke, but he will not fail Leia. 

Bail and Breha would teach Leia about politics and Obi-Wan would train Leia to become a Jedi

Luke would spend his entire childhood to adulthood in the depths of Fortress Vader. Training and submerging himself in the dark side of the force. 

Vader would indoctrinate his son into hating the Jedi. Hating The Emperor and instructing his son that only together could they destroy The Emperor and the last of the Jedi.

By the events of Rogue One/A New Hope. Luke’s training would be complete. “You were weak when I found you. Now your hatred has become your strength. At last the dark side is your ally. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Zhoun. Rise, my son.”  Source 1. Source 2

Luke would be Vader’s assassin. Carrying out assassinations in the name of the Empire. Killing the last of the Jedi. Enemies of The Empire. His identity is unknown to the Emperor and Rebellion, but his reputation would strike fear in the Rebel Alliance. He is simply known as “Vader’s Shadow.”

Palpatine feels a disturbance in the force, but for some reason, he cannot detect Luke. All he can sense is “a shadow”

Luke fully embraced the dark side and is consumed by it. When Master Shaak Ti tries to turn him away from his path, before killing her(What is this her 5th death????) Luke will say “My father’s fate is my own.”

Vader’s final test for his son would be to pit him against his old Padawan. Luke kills Maul with ease as he decapitates him. Luke uses Ahsoka’s need to save her friends against her and when she attempts to save them, Luke cuts Ahsoka down. 

Thrawn would request the aid of Vader, in his stead, Vader once again sends his son. Luke would kill Ezra and save Thrawn. “Lord Vader has need of you, Grand Admiral. Set up the TIE Defenders program in the Unknown Regions and return with a fleet of them.” Thrawn would call off the fleet and let Lord Zhoun deal with the Rebels. Luke would then slaughter the Rebels on Lothal

Sometime after securing Thrawn’s victory on Lothal, as a gift. Thrawn has given Vader and Luke their own personal TIE Defenders. 

Vader and Zhoun would slaughter Cal and Cere. The Holocron is theirs. 

The existence of Darth Zhoun would only be known to Vader, Admiral Piett and General Veers.(you’ll see why)

Leia had a decade of training. On Alderaan and on Dagobah. Yoda and Obi-Wan together completed Leia’s training. Leia is now a fully fledged Jedi Knight and is ready to lead the Rebellion and confront her father and brother.  art source

Yoda and Obi-Wan would tell Leia the truth. Darth Vader is her father and his secret assassin is her brother, Luke. Due to a decade of training, Leia would prove strong and wise enough to learn the truth of her family.

Also Leia would ask about her mother. “Tell me, what was my mother like, my real mother.” “Your mother was Padme Amidala, a senator, queen and a kind and beautiful..” “Strong, was your mother. Believed in peace and diplomacy did she.” “And my father? Was he always Vader?” “Your mother loved your father. Anakin Skywalker was a good man. But he was consumed to stop the people he loved from dying. His mother was killed by the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine and the Emperor seized the opportunity to turn your father to the dark side. One day, your father was plagued by nightmares of Padme dying in childbirth, The Emperor promised him the power to save your mother, but in doing so Anakin became twisted by the dark side and became Darth Vader.” 

Leia believes her family could be turned. Obi-Wan would object. He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.” When insisting that Luke could be saved. Obi-Wan would be remorseful. “I failed my duty to save Luke, I should have followed Vader and staged a rescue, but you needed to be trained, you were our only hope.” 

Leia would be contacted by Bail requesting aid on Scarif. Yoda gives his blessing for Leia to go. Saying Ready to reveal herself to the galaxy, she is. Obi-Wan would join her as he must confront Vader one last time.

Leia and Obi-Wan get there just in time and they save the Rogue One Crew. Jyn personally gives Leia the plans. Obi-Wan tells her. “What is it?” All Leia can tell her master is “Hope.”

Leia would transmit the plans to the Tantive IV where her father would be there to receive the plans.

Vader and Luke board the ship to slaughter the rebels. Before they can get the Death Star plans back. They are confronted by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Leia. 

Darth Vader and Obi-Wan would duel similar to how they did in ANH aboard the ship. Leia and Obi-Wan are in desperate need to escape

Leia is able to defensively take down her brother, Obi-Wan momentarily stuns Vader and they escape with the plans.

As The Tantive IV is boarded, Leia and Obi-Wan are able to evade detection and hide in the escape pods with C-3PO and R2-D2

In place of Leia captured by the Empire, it is Bail Organa. Bail gives the plans to his daughter and pleads with Leia to leave with Master Kenobi. 

Leia and the droids wander Tatooine for a long walk. All Leia can think is “so much sand. so much fucking sand.”

Leia would store the plans in R2. Just in case something happens.

Leia is guided by Obi-Wan. “We must find passage to save Bail.”

Leia and Obi-Wan finds Mos Eisley Cantina and there they meet Han and Chewie. Leia asks for passage to Alderaan for herself and her droids no questions asked. “Is it a fast ship?” “Fast ship? You’ve never heard of The Millennium Falcon? It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs! I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you.” All Leia can do is roll her eyes and takes Han’s word for it. Leia tells her “Once we get to Alderaan, my father Senator Organa will pay you handsomely. Say 15,000 credits?” Han just smiles that cocky Solo smile and says “you got yourself a deal princess”

Once Leia sees the Falcon. “You fly in that thing? You’re braver than I thought.” Han retorts “She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, Princess. I've made a lot of special modifications myself.”

Leia and Han bicker like an old married couple and Chewie just decided “that’s it I ship it” Obi-Wan would see the writing on the walls. “Oh, this is like watching me and Satine” 

Bail watches the destruction of Alderaan

Leia would convince Han to help her free her father. Han is hesitant, but Leia will insist “my father will be very grateful, I’m sure we can triple the rewar-” Han would say so quickly “DONE!”

Han and Leia are pretty much battle couple goals while taking down Stormtroopers and Imperial Officers in the detention center.

Leia saves her father and embraces him in a hug.

Vader and Obi-Wan duels and Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to save Leia and Bail

Bail is forever in Han’s debt. He saved his life and his daughter’s life. He will pay Han anything. Being indebted to a Hutt is no way to live a life. He pays Han what he’s owed, but asks if he can join the Rebellion after clearing the debt as the Rebellion is in dire need of good pilots. Chewie is all for it, but Han is having none of it, but looks at Leia and says “I’m not saying yes, Senator, but...maybe.” Bail sees that he’s looking at Leia and says “I see” and knows he fancies his daughter.

Leia would fly in her personal Jedi X-wing Starfighter(Just imagine a mix between Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter and an X-Wing) during the Battle Of Yavin IV Leia’s hypothetical ship would look like this(source) but realistically it would be colored blue and white

Han would make the save and Leia would destroy the Death Star(btw Han now will not shut up that he saved Leia, ya know in a way, princess I helped destroyed the Death Star. I saved you from Vader and gave you the confidence you needed to destroy the Death Star. Sometimes I amaze even myself. Leia rolls her eyes and smiles...and blushes. Bail notices this and is happy his daughter is in love but knows she will never admit it) 

Leia would be knocked out and captured by a Wampa. Leia defeats it.

Han would save Leia. “Don’t worry, your worship I’ll save you.” Leia now wishes for death, he would not stop bringing up saving her during the Death Star, but now she owes him twice. Is the force punishing her?

Darth Vader and Darth Zhoun are on the hunt for the Jedi Princess. 

Bail requests Leia and Han to bring Master Yoda back into the fight. 

When Han and Leia escape. Bail stays behind. Darth Vader kills him and Leia feels the loss of Bail and breaks down. 

Instead of bickering and bantering, Han comforts Leia. Leia embraces Han in a hug and a kiss. Leia lets him in.

Leia and Han make it to Dagobah. Leia is very patient with her old master, but Han thinks he should be bigger. “This is Yoda?” Leia confirms and Chewie says so as well an goes “and how would you know that???” “I fought in the Clone Wars, Han” “Well, what do you want, a medal???”

Chewie would embrace Yoda in a hug. Yoda would warmly greet his old friend. “Chewbacca, missed you I did.”

Leia and Han asks Yoda to return to aid the Rebel Alliance. He doesn't have to fight but advise the leaders as what they must do. Yoda is willing, but first he must complete Leia’s training. With this, Leia tells Han to go and pay off Jabba’s debt. and kisses Han goodbye. Han says “When you’re done, meet me on Bespin, I’m going to see an old friend.”

Meanwhile aboard the Executer, Vader and Luke set in motion the plan to destroy The Emperor. Everyone aboard The Executer, especially Admiral Piett and General Veers are loyal to Vader and his son. The Emperor lies in his throne in the safety of the Imperial city, while Lord Vader is a man of action who fights on the front lines with his soldiers. They will stand by Lord Vader and his son, soon more will follow. 

Vader’s call with The Emperor happens as same, but Palpatine says “We have a new enemy. There is a great disturbance in the force. The Rebel Princess who destroyed the Death Star.” “She is just a girl, Obi-Wan and her father can no longer help her. “I have a feeling she is the daughter of Anakin Skywalker.” “How is this possible?” “Search your feelings Lord Vader, you know it to be true.” “If she can be turned, she can be a powerful ally.” “Yes...can it be done Lord Vader? “She will join us or die.”

Vader internally is pissed, but also pleased. Vader tells his son. “A Twin Sister, you have a twin sister. If she can be turned, we will destroy The Emperor and rule the galaxy as a family.” “What if my sister doesn’t join us?” “Then she will die. 

Leia’s training is complete. Yoda dubs Leia the rank of Jedi Master. Leia senses Han is in danger. Yoda tells her to go. “Be here, I shall be. May the force be with you, Master Leia.”

Despite paying off his debt to Jabba, Vader still intends to test Han Solo into carbonite freezing him. And Jabba would be overjoyed to have Han as a decoration. 

Vader orders Luke to bring his sister in the fold or kill her. “As you wish, father.”

Leia is too late. She sees Han frozen in carbonite. 

Leia feels the presence of her brother. They duel and they evenly matched. One wrong move and the fight is over. Luke cuts Leia’s hand off and asks his sister to join him and his father. Leia defiantly refuses. “Vader killed my master and my true father, I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU!” “The Jedi betrayed our father. turned our mother against him and had us separated, luckily he found me and rescued me. With our combined strength, we can destroy the Emperor and bring order to the galaxy as a family.” Leia refuses and falls..

Thanks to Yoda guiding Lando and Chewie, they find her just in time.

Despite not having Leia, Vader and Luke has everything they need to pull a coup on The Emperor

Vader has his son. Admiral Piett. Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Death Squadron. Death Troopers. A legion of TIE Defenders and more and more are drawn to Vader. Vader and Zhoun make their attack on Coruscant. 

Darth Vader and Darth Zhoun face Palpatine. The Throne room is lit up with force lightning and crimson blades. The battle is powerful and raw, but ultimately Luke and Vader overpower The Emperor. There is nowhere where Palpatine can escape to. Not Exegol or anywhere. Vader decapitates his old master. 

Vader broadcasts to the galaxy. “The Emperor is dead. I am now your Emperor. Those who serve me and my son, you will achieve greatness as we bring order to the galaxy. Those who stay loyal to The Emperor, die.” There would be a small civil war, but eventually all those who stayed loyal to Palpatine would be rounded up and killed.

Leia rescues Han. Leia does not resort to allowing herself to be captured. Nor does Leia need to be forced to wear that slave outfit. Leia gives Jabba one chance to free Han. Jabba refuses and since a Jedi would be impossible to be enslaved, he plans to feed Leia to his pet Rancor. That would be Jabba’s undoing. Leia would use animal bond/beast control on the Rancor and successfully tames the beast. After Leia convinces the Rancor to help her, Leia unleashes the beast on Jabba and his men Source

Leia unfreezes Han, rescues Chewie, Lando and the droids. 

In addition to rescuing Han, Leia also rescues Oola and all the slaves in Jabba’s palace.

Leia and Han would fight Boba Fett. With Boba Fett at their mercy, Leia decides to save him. Leia thinking “he could be so much more.” Han makes the decision to save him.  Han and Boba Fett finally bury their rivalry and leave it in the past and shake hands. Boba would declare that Han’s bounty will no longer exists and he won’t chased by him and exits the story. This would work because it would show that Han has grown from the rogue who would shot a man dead without question in ANH to someone who is willing to find an alternate solution to his problems. It’d also give some layers to Boba Fett of being a man of honor.

Yoda dies, but tells her that she is the only hope in saving her brother and stopping Vader. 

With Vader as Emperor, he has no intentions with building a second Death Star. Instead he intends to wipe out the Rebellion from the face of the galaxy. 

Luke feels a pull to the light. After a life of darkness and evil, Luke feels remorse. He sees what his father as Emperor is doing is wrong and if he feels these feelings, it’s all over. 

The Rebellion plans to make one last ditch effort to end the Empire once and for all. A Coup. The battle on the ground would now take place in the Imperial City and the area surrounding the Imperial Palace. The dogfights between X-Wings and TIE Fighters would take place in the skies above instead of in space. The confrontation between Leia,  Luke and Vader and would take place in the Imperial Palace in The Emperor's Throne Room.

Leia would contact Luke in order to get close to the palace.

Leia feels the conflict within her brother. Luke is trying to keep her out. Eventually Leia gets in and pleads with her brother to help him destroy Vader. But Luke takes her before Vader

Vader taunts Leia that the Rebellion will die today, but they can all be saved if she gives in to the dark side and joins her family

Vader forces Luke and Leia to fight to the death. Only one can serve him. Leia refuses to join him, but Vader and Luke are not giving her a choice. 

Leia and Luke’s duel is a mix between Anakin/Obi-Wan and Vader/Luke in terms of how the fight would go. In the end. Neither Luke nor Leia can kill the other. They both deactivate their lightsabers and embrace in a hug. For the first time in a long time, Luke’s yellow eyes turn blue. This ignites the wrath of their father. 

Vader force chokes both his children with full intentions of killing them. The only thing that can save them? Leia remembers on what Obi-Wan spoke about her mother. “Our mother was Padme Amidala.” Vader is stunned and enraged by the mere mention of her name. All Vader can say is “Do. Not. Say. Her. Name.” 

Vader ignites his lightsaber preparing to kill. While Luke and Leia are ready to defend themselves. Luke lands a strike that is similar to Ahsoka’s where Vader’s face is visibly seen

With Vader down. Leia continues to speak about her mother. “She was kind and beautiful. You were deceived and betrayed by The Emperor. He turned you from the most compassionate Jedi Knight to ever live into a dark lord. You do not have to be this way. You are free. You and Luke are free. Padme loved you. Obi-Wan loved you. You are Anakin Skywalker, our father. Call off the fleet and let us bring peace to the galaxy as a family.”

Anakin concedes to his children. 

The war is over. The Empire has ended. Vader agrees to whatever punishment the Rebellion has for him. 

Leia is in charge of Luke. Leia helps Luke on his path of atonement. 

Vader is sentenced for execution. His final request. “Let me see my children one last time.” Leia and Luke are saddened, but Anakin assures his children he has made peace with his fate. His final request from his children is to take his mask off. “ Just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes.”

[25centsoda]

An Unintended Side Effect 7/?

Before we get to the story, a note: This will be going on hiatus until January 9th when I’m done with the Winter Exchange Fic event, but I’ll be posting chapters up to this one on my AO3 account until then! Next Monday I’ll post a link to this story on AO3. Thanks for reading, and thanks to sorayume for reading over this before I published it!

Luke was determined to wrest more time off the drugs for himself. Vader wasn’t always able to sit with him while he ate in the mornings, and after several days without an escape attempt of any sort his father wasn’t watching him all that closely. How much trouble, after all, could he get into while he could barely focus on anything?

This mission, however, was simple enough to hold onto.

He was determined not to take anything Vader gave him, or ordered given to him, just to be safe. He’d get one of the officers or 501st to get him water if he really needed it. Try as Owen and Beru had, there’d been hard times a few seasons on the moisture farm. Luke knew what hunger and thirst were like; he’d be fine.

Rather than eat the breakfast that was delivered to him by a Stormtrooper, Luke waited until they left and flushed it down the ‘fresher, pouring the water down the sink. Then he went back to the couch in the main part of his rooms to wait for his father to retrieve him for the day, if he came. He was glad not to be falling asleep mid-morning again, but now that he didn’t have a fresh dose to pull him under again he was realizing there wasn’t much - or really anything - for him to do, unless he wanted to run through katas or other exercises, which would just make him miss food and water all the more.

It was going to be a long day.

-------

Unfortunately, his hunger strike didn’t make it that far. He was able to pull off a pretty convincing act, or at least he thought so, but Vader was not so easily fooled. It didn’t take the Dark Lord long to realize his son suddenly had a normal reaction time when an officer walked up to them on the bridge and Luke turned to look at the woman immediately.

Vader sighed. “Luke.”

“What?” Luke said, obstinate and refusing to look at his father.

“I know you have done something, my son. What did you do this time?”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything.”

It wasn’t technically a lie. Inaction, after all, wasn’t doing something.

“Luke.”

He caved. Over half a day without food or water (and the resultant headache) after weeks of being drugged made him ill prepared to fight, particularly if his father was going to resort to pressing on him with the Force like that.

But it was worth the try.

“Fine, I haven’t eaten or drank anything all day, happy?”

Addressing a nearby Stormtrooper, Vader said, “Get this boy water and a meal, immediately.” To his son, softer, “Sit down, I know you must be fatigued.”

Luke sighed, but sank gratefully onto the stool some technician scurried over with. “Thanks,” he murmured to the man, embarrassed. What the crew outside of the Stormtroopers that babysat him thought of his near-constant presence on the ship and his tendency to faint if he walked around for too long, Luke didn’t even want to know.

“Father,” he said, looking up at the Dark Lord, “can I at least eat somewhere else, that’s not in front of the entire bridge?”

Vader seemed for a moment like he would deny this request, but he caved pretty easily too, when Luke asked for things that weren’t release.

“Yes, but someone will have to watch you.”

When the Stormtrooper came back with a tray, Vader directed him to take it and Luke to the officer’s lounge and to ensure that he actually ate the food and drank the water, then to report back. Luke would be able to rejoin him or return to his rooms afterwards, if he wished.

Luke sulked as he picked at his food, electing mostly to drink the water in the hopes that he wouldn’t fall asleep immediately. The ‘trooper didn’t say anything, even though Luke recognized his Force signature as a guard he’d had often, and for that he was grateful. It’d be a week at least before his father even started to let down his guard again, if he ever did. Maybe Luke would let the next couple opportunities slide by, get Vader to think he was giving up.

Having eaten just enough to stave off the nausea of an empty stomach, he pushed the tray across the table. “Finished. Can I go back to my room now?”

“Are you sure, your highness? There’s still quite a lot left.”

Sighing, he took one more bite, then pushed the tray away again. “Yes. I’ll eat at dinner later, anyway.”

“Very well, sir.”

------

Unknown days later, Luke laid across the couch in his father’s office, head in Vader’s lap, eyes closed as he listened. Vader’s fingers carded through his hair. He hadn’t been let out of his sight unless necessary since the attempted hunger strike, and Luke didn’t bother to look for opportunities to try anything else. Information, however, was easier to come by, as his father took him to nearly every meeting. The main issue was paying attention when every distraction shattered his focus like glass.

“Supplies are good, sir, we shouldn’t even need to refuel for several cycles yet. Prisoners are scheduled to be transferred tomorrow.”

Prisoners? Transferred?

Luke fought to keep the frown off his face so his father wouldn’t know he was listening. Either he’d be sent out of the room or all the way to sleep if Vader found out.

“Good, Admiral. Dismissed.”

He felt the dark sun of his father’s attention turn to him as the hand stilled in his hair, but didn’t react.

“Luke,” the Dark Lord rumbled. “I know you are awake.”

“Mm, barely,” he lied, blinking his eyes open. “Was that Piett?”

“It was nothing of your concern, my son. Sleep.” Vader said, pushing the Force into the last word.

Luke fell into darkness.

-----

Midmorning, after Piett left with the empty breakfast tray to attend to something on the ship, Luke paced the main room of his suite, trying to hold onto the Force as long as he could before the drugs stole it away from him. Reaching out, he felt something odd; there was someone familiar on the ship, possibly multiple someones. He stopped dead in his tracks and gathered the tatters of his focus, trying to find the source of that feeling again. He felt the dark mass that was his father, but turned away; that wasn’t what had caught his attention.

Suddenly, he remembered what he’d overheard in Vader’s office the previous day.

Prisoner transfer.

It could be rebels!

Quickly, before the thought could slip away from him, Luke retrieved the bottle of antidote the Emperor gave him. It had been a while since he had last had it, although he couldn’t quite figure out the exact number of days, so it should be fine. He downed it, grimacing at the bitterness, then went back to the door out of his rooms.

Now how to get the door open…

Just as he thought that, mind still slow from weeks on the tranquilizer despite Palpatine’s antidote, the door slid open to reveal R2D2.

“Artoo?” Luke said, baffled.

R2 beeped excitedly and began rolling down the hallway, presumably expecting Luke to follow. Shaking himself again, he ran after the droid.

“How did you find me? What are you doing here? Who else is here?” he asked, catching up.

The astromech trilled and beeped, but he couldn’t quite parse out the binary. Something about the Princess and being glad to see him.

“Is Leia here?”

R2D2 didn’t answer, instead rolling up to the wall and connecting to the interface, doing something that closed off the hallway behind them. On the small screen next to him, words began scrolling.

“I SAW YOUR NAME IN THE DATABASE WHEN I RELEASED PRINCESS LEIA. WE WILL MEET HER AND LANDO CALRISSIAN IN THE HANGAR, CHEWBACCA IS WAITING IN THE FALCON.”

“Lando? Were you not able to go ahead with the plan to rescue Han?”

“I WILL EXPLAIN LATER. NOW WE MUST GO.”

With that, R2 disconnected from the wall and rolled away, continuing down the hallway. Luke followed.

Somehow, they didn’t run into any Stormtroopers. He had a bad feeling about that, but he forgot all about it when they reached the hangar and he saw his friend.

“Luke, is that you?” Leia cried, running to hug him. He caught her with an oof, laughing.

“Leia! Oh, I started to think I’d never see you again!”

“What happened to you, you’ve been missing for weeks!”

They separated from their hug but continued to hold hands. He glanced at the hallway behind them, still thankfully empty, but he could feel a bunch of ‘troopers headed their way.

“What are you waiting for, come on! Chewie’s gonna take off without you if you don’t hurry up!” Lando shouted, hanging out of the Falcon.

“Not now, we have to go. I’ll catch you up on the way.” Luke said, letting go of Leia’s hand.

As soon as they climbed up the ramp into the Falcon, rows of ‘troopers stormed into the hangar, the static of stun shots buzzing around them as the ramp closed. Within moments, however, they were off, without so much as a tractor beam holding them back.

Luke collapsed to the shouts of his friends the moment they entered hyperspace.

[gffa]

I DEFINITELY DO. While I get why in canon (both in terms of “because that was the set-up we had to work with” and “Obi-Wan had just had his whole world burned down by the person he loved most, he wasn’t in the right place for a kid” terms), my heart still cries out for any AU where Obi-Wan raises Luke (or Leia!) and fandom does provide! And, yes, there’s going to be a lot of crying. STAR WARS FIC RECS - OBI-WAN RAISES LUKE: → Island in a Sea of Sand by mybluerose, obi-wan & luke, 42.5k    Obi-Wan Kenobi never intended to be a father. He never intended to be a moisture farmer, either. But when he arrives on the Lars homestead to find Owen and Beru slain by Sand people, he finds himself raising Luke, the galaxy’s best hope of defeating the Empire, on a desert planet thousands of light years from his friends and allies. → Names by Erisette, obi-wan & luke & leia, 3.8k    He has held these children in his arms for five minutes, Padme’s body is still warm on the medical table, and he rejects the Jedi’s delusions and any denial of his attachment. (Obi-Wan raising the twins) → To Live Among Wolves by FireflyFish, obi-wan & luke & cast, 33.1k wip    A father and his son are on the run from bounty hunters, five years after the creation of the Galactic Empire. → Beneath the Sand by LurkingCrow, obi-wan & beru & luke, 2.9k    A change in Imperial policy leads to a small but significant change to matters on Tatooine. A short exploration of how a sad hermit may have ended up a little less lonely. → Master and Padawan by Katharos, obi-wan & luke & cast, 15.5k wip    What if Luke was raised by Obi-Wan as his Padawan? → Tatooine AU by Nisa, obi-wan/anakin & luke, 6.2k    In a world where Obi-Wan doesn’t know how lucky he is the worst has never happened, he still finds it hard to go on. → Path of Choice by UnknownFigment, obi-wan & mara & luke & owen/beru & cast, 45k wip    Five years after RotS, Obi-Wan agrees to protect a young girl rescued from the Empire. Then protection becomes training, one student becomes two, and the galaxy is set on a different course. → turn my sorrow into treasured gold by cosmicocean, obi-wan/padme & luke & leia, 15.6k    Padmé survives childbirth, dies as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, takes her children with Obi-Wan, and runs. → World Come Undone by crazyundeadfairy, obi-wan/anakin & luke + background anakin/padme, 68.3k wip    Unexpected things happen when ObiWan takes Luke to Tatooine. + BONUS RECS UNDER THE CUT 

→ Island in a Sea of Sand by mybluerose, obi-wan & luke, 42.5k    Obi-Wan Kenobi never intended to be a father. He never intended to be a moisture farmer, either. But when he arrives on the Lars homestead to find Owen and Beru slain by Sand people, he finds himself raising Luke, the galaxy’s best hope of defeating the Empire, on a desert planet thousands of light years from his friends and allies.    The first fic is up on AO3 and I’ve linked to that one (its sequel is here) but it’s much further along on FFNET, here and here, hence the word count discrepency! I haven’t finished reading this one, but I’ve really enjoyed what I have of it so far (and possibly am hoarding it for a rainy day, just a little bit!) and I believe A Delicate Fury enjoyed it as well, so I feel comfortable recommending it already! It’s pretty much exactly what one wants out of “Obi-Wan raises Luke in an AU” and just has this really charismatic, warm feeling to it! → Names by Erisette, obi-wan & luke & leia, 3.8k    He has held these children in his arms for five minutes, Padme’s body is still warm on the medical table, and he rejects the Jedi’s delusions and any denial of his attachment. (Obi-Wan raising the twins)    Holy shit, I did not know I needed Obi-Wan raising Luke and Leia as badly as I did until I read this and it was just a straight goddamned shot to my heart. The differences, yet echoes of canon, the way so much changes and yet some things stay the same, the way Obi-Wan loves these last pieces of Anakin, but also loves them for themselves, the beautiful writing of the scenes as they grow up and begin to fight in this war, all of it. All of it. I loved all of it. I’d have read 100k of this and come back for more, even as satisfying as it is in just under 4k. There’s a brief bit of attachment = love that goes against canon, but it’s mostly just in the beginning and I don’t remember it much beyond that (though, my memory is fuzzy) and Obi-Wan’s not in a good headspace! → To Live Among Wolves by FireflyFish, obi-wan & luke & cast, 33.1k wip    A father and his son are on the run from bounty hunters, five years after the creation of the Galactic Empire.    While I understand why canon went the way it did, because who knows if there was enough left of Obi-Wan to raise a kid, I love love love AU fics where Obi-Wan is instead the one who raises Luke, who loves him because this is the last piece of Anakin he has, but then comes to love him for himself. And I love that he well and truly is Luke’s father here, that as much as Luke is Anakin’s biological son and that’s important, the fic is about Obi-Wan being there in Luke’s life, truly being the one who raises him, who is his father here. And it’s balanced with a plot, where they’re constantly on the run and that’s such a hard life, but it’s not a bad one, there’s such joy in the small things, Luke is so bright in personality and in the Force, and the fic does a really lovely job with showing that to the reader. There’s a mix of something that feels like slice-of-life with the greater, more frantic running from the Empire, something that feels very true to Star Wars and the characters, something that really kept me engaged with the fic the entire time.    And, indeed, I pretty much read the whole thing in about two sittings, because it sailed along so smoothly, and I would have easily read another 100k of this, had it already been written. I also don’t mind that it’s a wip (aside from that, of course I want more!) because it’s not really about the end, it’s about the journey there. The point of it is seeing the daily moments where Luke is this little ball of sunshine that’s so bright in the Force, the point is seeing Obi-Wan find something that makes him live again, not just survive, the point is showing life under the Empire, especially for a Jedi and the child of Anakin Skywalker. All of which this story does a lovely job with and was a great read to pick up! → Beneath the Sand by LurkingCrow, obi-wan & beru & luke, 2.9k    A change in Imperial policy leads to a small but significant change to matters on Tatooine. A short exploration of how a sad hermit may have ended up a little less lonely.    Oh, I didn’t know how much I needed this fic until I had it–where things are mostly the same post-ROTS, except Beru takes one look at Obi-Wan and says, okay, he’s coming with us. I love this because it doesn’t diminish how important Owen and Beru are to Luke’s future, especially because Obi-Wan’s not really in a place to raise a kid, but it also makes things better for Obi-Wan, gives him something more to live for, rather than just a distant sort of promise and affection. This is a slightly kinder to Obi-Wan Kenobi universe and I love it, I love the gentleness of Beru here that’s layered over steel, I love how warm it is here, it’s bittersweet but in a really good way, and just soothed something in me that always needs soothing. It was a beautiful fic. → Master and Padawan by Katharos, obi-wan & luke & cast, 15.5k wip    What if Luke was raised by Obi-Wan as his Padawan?    This was a fic written post-TPM, but pre-AOTC or ROTS, so a lot of stuff is going to be different here, but it doesn’t really matter that much, because it’s a story about Obi-Wan raising Luke, halfway as his son and halfway as his apprentice, in a story that’s just CUTENESS ALL THE WAY AROUND. I really loved tearing through it and I don’t mind that it’s a wip that hasn’t been updated in ~15 years because it’s not one that’s about resolution, it’s about the slice of life dynamic between these characters as Luke (who is a ball of sunshine, of course, even as he’s also a little shit sometimes) grows up and Obi-Wan adores him and loves him. That it’s a heartwarming fic set on Tatooine, with Luke making friends with Biggs and they go to see a podrace with Obi-Wan as the exasperated dad chasing after energetic kids, with teaching Luke to be patient and let go of his anger and frustration, all of it was just really sweet and a nice read. → Tatooine AU by Nisa, obi-wan/anakin & luke, 6.2k    In a world where Obi-Wan doesn’t know how lucky he is the worst has never happened, he still finds it hard to go on.    This is a pretty fluffy AU, where Anakin didn’t turn and went with Obi-Wan and Luke to Tatooine. It’s a combination of a happier universe for the two of them with a lot of focus on Luke growing up, which was nicely adorable. It’s one of those fics that I read everything together and it was just… nice to read, even when bad things started happening in the final fic, it just… was a better, softer universe and sometimes I really need that. → Path of Choice by UnknownFigment, obi-wan & mara & luke & owen/beru & cast, 45k wip    Five years after RotS, Obi-Wan agrees to protect a young girl rescued from the Empire. Then protection becomes training, one student becomes two, and the galaxy is set on a different course.    I’ll warn ahead of time that this is a WIP, but it’s really more of a slice of life kind of fic, where Obi-Wan takes on a young Mara Jade to raise, which affects the events of the story so that Luke comes into proper orbit sooner, and you get a ton of the good stuff in what’s already here! Plus, it was recently-ish updated, so it’s entirely likely that we’ll still get more to come. But, honestly, I could have kissed this fic for doing what my heart was braced against: So often when I go into AU fics like this, unless I’m going for fic specifically geared towards it, the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin gets entirely downplayed and it hurts my heart to think of any universe where they weren’t best friends/brothers who loved each other. While the fic is absolutely not about that, it’s about Obi-Wan raising Mara and training both her and Luke, you can feel in the background how deeply Obi-Wan’s feeling about Anakin go. How much he loved (and probably still loves, underneath everything) that boy he trained. It’s a perfect amount, it’s never directly said, you just feel it, in the way he moves and talks and interacts with Luke and Mara. But the heart of the fic is really on his relationships with them, as well as their relationship with each other, and I love love love that Luke/Mara feels like it’s kind of there, but it’s also kind of not because they have other shit going on and this universe is so much better for Mara, who will always be bruised around the edges, will always have sharp corners, but has learned to love and care and be loved in turn here. It’s sort of fluffy, it’s slice of life as the kids grow up, they have play dates together, they train together, they go on “missions” together, they learn the way of the Jedi, but also it’s not really the same, they’re a new generation that’s their own thing. There’s greater plot machinations happening in the background, they’re being trained to take on the Emperor and Vader, but the heart is firmly on their growing up on Tattoine and it was such a delightful read, mixed in with just enough revelations (the scenes were Obi-Wan told Luke about Anakin!) and history of the galaxy to make it feel suitably Star Wars. → turn my sorrow into treasured gold by cosmicocean, obi-wan/padme & luke & leia, 15.6k    Padmé survives childbirth, dies as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, takes her children with Obi-Wan, and runs.    Oh, I was just utterly engrossed by this fic, it’s such a lovely story about Obi-Wan and Padme post-ROTS and how they slowly develop a relationship, how Obi-Wan is absolutely Luke and Leia’s father even if they’re not his by blood, how Padme is their mother, how so many things are the same and yet so many things are different, how the fic can still break my heart and yet provide something a little better for these characters. The only way Obi-Wan/Padme usually works for me is when Anakin’s ghost both is and isn’t there, which this fic does perfectly, they both loved (love) him but he’s gone and they’re building something for the twins, they’re building something between the two of them as well, which all these little details and moments in the fic builds up towards. I love how much presence all four of them have here, that none of them are left out or forgotten by the story, I love that the fic is just so solidly good and I would have read another 100k of it, both for how much it pleased my id and just how well-told it was all the way around. This is a terrible rec, but this fic was an absolutely wonderful addition to the Padme Lives fic in the fandom, as well as for Obi-Wan raising the twins. → World Come Undone by crazyundeadfairy, obi-wan/anakin (?) & luke + background anakin/padme, 68.3k wip    Unexpected things happen when ObiWan takes Luke to Tatooine.    [Note: This is one of the fics that I read most early on in my time in SW fandom, when I wasn’t that familiar with canon, so caveat that I don’t know how it holds up over time! It may go against the Jedi of canon or my better understanding of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s characters, I can’t say without a reread! But I have SUCH fond memories of this fic and it definitely fits the bill!] Oh, lord, this fic. I cannot tell you how hard this fic grabbed me and would not let go until I finished it! There are a couple of caveats: The first two chapters are fairly slow, a lot of monologuing over things actually happening, but once Luke starts talking, it kicks into gear and doesn’t let go. It’s also a WIP and hasn’t been updated in a few years, but the author has gone years between updates before, so you never know, but more importantly! You get so much of the good stuff in what’s already here! So, while I would have loved to have had the rest of the fic, I’m genuinely content with what we had here as well, because let me tell you about my feelings on Obi-Wan raising Luke, who is this amazingly sweet little moppet that I was instantly in love with, as well as Anakin eventually finds out and tries to steal Luke away but gets in his own way too much and finds himself trapped in a situation that he’s not sure how to get out of. I was initially skimming ahead to just read the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Anakin when they saw each other again, just to see if the fic picked up, and found myself getting sucked in because the fic does a great job with each scene making me want to read the next and the next and the next, so I had to go back to my original place and then I just hungrily read the entire thing because Anakin wants to take Luke and kill Obi-Wan, but he can’t because he wants Luke to lovehim and that won’t happen if Luke knows he killed the only father he’s ever known, yet Anakin still burns that Obi-Wan has taken Luke, despite that Obi-Wan has always talked about Anakin to Luke, always told him stories, and Luke can already feel that there’s still love there, no matter how much anger and hate is held onto, sometimes on both sides, after all that’s happened. It’s one of those fics where they’re forced to be semi-civil to each other again, but underneath is all this emotional tension and hurt that made my fannish heart absolutely ache while reading it, yet was delicious candy at the same time because it hit my id perfectly. Getting well-written fic that does justice to the iddy concept it has is such a rare treat in fandom and I love this fic for doing that for me! It’s one of those situations that I would dream up without trying to properly justify it in my head just because I wanted it, but the fic actually sold me on it and doesn’t shortchance that Anakin is full of rage and hates Obi-Wan, even as you feel how much of it is borne out of still loving him. Obi-Wan is fantastic, he’s so steady and solid, but that doesn’t mean he’s passive or without his own anger on Anakin’s actions, even as he’s still willing to try to help him again. And Anakin feels so right to me, that he’s not there yet, he’s not doing any of this for the right reasons, his love for Luke is still selfish and obsessive, but there’s hope in him and you can see the sparks of maybe something still good in there. And I’m labeling this as Obi-Wan/Anakin because the author has written slash fic for them before and the relationship is very central to the story, even if there’s no kissing, and Anakin’s relationship with Padme is very important and I just really, really was hit spot on by this fic, okay. So good. BONUS - PADME LIVES: These are more Padme-centric fics, but have Obi-Wan as the twins’ father as a sub-plot, so if you want to read more, these might help scratch that itch! → Keep Breathing by Yesac, obi-wan/padme + some anakin/padme + luke & leia & oc, 45.8k    Padme doesn’t die at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Instead, she decides to take the twins and join Obi-Wan in exile. → the family amidala by dirgewithoutmusic, padme & obi-wan & luke & leia, 6.8k    Padme lives. She runs. → Circles by ambiguously, obi-wan/padme & luke & leia & anakin + past anakin/padme, 4.2k    Padmé and Obi-Wan raise the twins together while hiding from the Empire. BONUS - UNREAD: These are ones I haven’t read yet (but are tucked away on my reader to do so!) but either they look promising or I like the author, so I’m reasonably confident recommending them! But if there’s something in them that would have me turning away (you all know my general tastes!) I can’t say for certain about them yet, either. → The Hermit’s Son by landsail0r, obi-wan & luke, 1.2k    AU where Obi-Wan raises Luke. → we were born for better days by FireflysLove, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke & cast, 3.6k wip    Obi-Wan attempts to save Vader from the Dark Side, but the Rebellion, especially Bail Organa and Ahsoka Tano, are not going to believe that after a decade of terrorizing the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker can possibly be saved. → Hope is a Four Letter Word by laniew1, obi-wan & luke, 3.2k wip    Obi-Wan’s life is simple; he wakes, he eats, he meditates and on some mornings he watches Luke (or the Obi-Wan raises Luke instead AU).

[arielsojourner]

I love Luke goes back in time and saves everyone and leading a Jedi reform. I love Darth Vader going back and redoing his life. But what if they went back in time TOGETHER? I know it is implausible. Time travel always is but I just cannot get this plot bunny to leave me alone till I write out an outline at least.

So this is what I have so far: Luke and Vader in the Original Trilogy decide they are going to team up to kill the Emperor/free Vader and because of SOMETHING they end up being back in time together. After a few minutes of “WTF? Where are we?” Luke adapts faster than his father and decides, they will just have to do this now and save everything before it goes to hell. Yes he has “lost” his friends but he has his father and he can make a better life for everyone if Vader works with him. Imperial education *cough propaganda cough* being what it is on Tatooine (to the extent Luke even went through his Imperial home school courses), it is up to Vader to tell them where to go and what to do. They are on the Outer Rim during the Clone War sieges and they end up joining up with the 501st while Pong Krell is leading them.

I see: - Vader ending Krell with extreme prejudice and Luke allowing it.

- Luke focusing on the difference between Clone vs. Storm troopers and being disgusted with Krell and bonding with the 501st by just being the deadly ball of sunshine, sweet cinnamon roll he is. The clones pretty much adopt him and he adopts them.

-Vader wants to just vent his fury on everyone and kill Krell and then kill Palpatine. He could care less about the Order (he won't purge them, he won't be tricked into that again, but there is little love there, there is just enough for those precious few), he just wants Padme and Ahsoka  and Luke safe. (He doesn't know about Leia, neither does Luke; they went back in time before Luke went to Dagobah but after Jabba is dead and Han is rescued).

-Vader is so happy to have competent troops. Imperial troops are really hit and miss and so few clones remained after a few years in the ranks. He does miss the Executor and his Admiral though.

-Luke wants to get to know what the Order was like in its heyday but after seeing Krell and with Vader disclosing some of the campaigns of the Clone Wars and how the Order operates, Luke has decided that the Order is not for him, thank you very much. No attachment? Marriage and kids forbidden? To say nothing of only taking toddlers and the fact that the Republic is not the shining beacon that Leia always claims it was (Luke already had his doubts, he grew up in Hutt occupied space after all). He figures the Order is hardly likely to embrace him as a Jedi so he will be a Jedi on his own. He will help his father and defeat Palpatine.

-They will end this puppet war, free the clones, kill Palpatine, and ensure Anakin and Padme live happily ever after. Vader is satisfied in knowing that Padme is happy and alive (he cannot bear to even think of facing her, just knowing his Angel is alive and with Anakin Skywalker is fine by him). He has Luke who will not leave him now or ever. They will make a life together somehow.

-The clones while thankful are also a bit conflicted. Krell is dead, yay! There is a Force user, a red lightsaber, a Sith?! But he is hanging around someone who clearly is a Jedi (such a nice Jedi!) and they are working together. Is this our new Jedi general? But then, Krell was a Jedi and got them killed. Wait, did the Jedi just call the Sith father?!

-The Separatists are routed. Vader and Luke work seamlessly together. They are not the same as Obi-Wan and Anakin, how could they be? Luke's training is minimal (lightsaber forms, what are those? and by Order standards Luke in thought, deed, and existence is heretical to say the least) but his instincts and strength are astounding and as for Vader, just think "Vader Down" but times 100 because Vader is fighting with his son and Padme is still alive and there is still hope. Vader is no longer a slave to any man. He can make things right.

-Luke and Vader get to work on the clone control chips. Vader slices the program and Luke uses field surgery (learned in the hidden rooms on Tatooine doing emergency surgery on escaped slaves) along with Kix and others to deal with the physical reality of the chips.

-Perhaps  throw some EU Force use in there and have Luke just experimenting with the Force and figuring out how to use it to help the clones with their accelerated aging or like in the “Darksaber” novel, Luke asking Vader to work with him to literally pick up entire Separatist ships and throw them out of they star system. Vader is a bit stunned by Luke's innovation, but decides he is not going to tell Luke what the Force can or cannot do or be used for and just encourage his son to use it however he wants. With Luke having seen Vader in action and Yoda on Dagobah, he doesn't have any concept of what should be beyond him and working with the "Chosen One" makes them nearly unstoppable.

-Vader has Luke with him, having Luke Fall is irrelevant so long as he has his family with him. Plus Luke is what Vader always imagined a Jedi should be back when he was just a boy on Tatooine. Sometimes Vader thinks of the dreams he had of Jedi freeing everyone and wonders if it was Luke he was really foreseeing.

-Luke decides that with him being a Jedi and Vader nominally a Sith they will just have to command both sides of the war to stop fighting. Fake it till you make it, kind of thing. War is what Palpatine wants so they are just going to decide to stop. Sith love to play games where they win regardless of the outcome. The only way to fight a Sith is not to play the game. The clones can find new vocations (hunting slavers perhaps?) and the droids can be reprogrammed. Vader and Luke have 20 years of technological war time improvements they have lived through and they plan to bring that to bear on both sides of the puppet war.

-The Order starts getting bizarre reports from the front lines. Peace is breaking out, being enforced by Vader and Luke. Jedi teams show up to what they think are war zones and find peace. (details escape me, but just go with it!) Vader knows what will happen next and Luke is so unpredictable Palpatine is caught off guard. All his plans are falling apart.

-I want some Force sensitive clones. Perhaps if the chips are out and the aging fixed, one or two in each division or so has the potential to be Force sensitive. Luke is all for training them. Vader balks for a moment and then just decides to go with it. I see Fives as a Force user and Luke trains them enough to help free their brothers.

-Vader and Luke only use those names. They give no last names and no titles They frequently refer to themselves as father and son to the bewilderment of all.

-They run into some Jedi on a few of their missions. The Jedi are a bit confused by Luke and grow more and more suspicious but when Vader shows up behind him, a black sun of icy cold fire more than a few lightsabers are lit but Luke just stands between them and tells them that "Oh, him? Yes, he is a Sith, no you cannot kill him. Why? Because he will kill you and we don't need that, we are all on the same side here." Vader makes a sound that without his mask would definitely by a snort of derision "No, really father, we are nominally on the same side." "If we are on the same side son, tell the Jedi to put their blades down. I won't have them accidentally hurting you or I will tear them apart and paint the walls with their blood."  And Plo  or Aayala or Kit or whoever they are meeting is just  like "WTF? Are we, are we going to fight? Father, did you say father? Your father is a Sith lord and you are a Jedi? Jedi don't have fathers, well Jedi have fathers but they don't have fathers if you know what I mean." And Luke is all "Jedi have fathers. I have a father. Being a Sith or a Jedi doesn’t mean people don’t have fathers. Now we have more important things to talk about. The war is over because we say it is over so put down your weapons and let us just go about our business."

-And since Jedi don't attack unarmed people (not that Vader is ever unarmed; even without his lightsaber drawn he could kill them all), they just put down their weapons and Luke quietly, inexorably bulldozes them into following his lead, Vader looming over his shoulder, daring anyone to disagree with his smol but mighty son. "My son says we are now at peace and the clone troopers are free. Argue and I will choke you."

-They are not at peace yet, but Luke takes a page out Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's book of proverbs that used to have him rolling his eyes as a kid and one of them was if you keep insisting something is true, it becomes true. Granted his aunt and uncle were talking about having fun while doing his chores, but Luke is nothing if not adaptable. War is over because Luke says it is and Vader agrees with him, so there.

-Ventress joins their little band. Luke figures Yoda was wrong about the "dark side dominating your destiny" with regards to his father so he can just be wrong about every other dark side user.  Luke insists Vader can teach Ventress or they can all three of them learn awesome Force things together, just Luke will avoid the dark side, no dark side for him, thank you. 

-Luke and Vader take down Savage before Satine can be killed. I think Luke and Satine would get along well and Vader of course would inform Luke about Obi-Wan’s connection with her and I see Luke wanting to match-make, Order rules of attachment be damned. He wants Obi-Wan to be happy. Vader gets a vicious thrill out of how this will torture his old master. Luke plans to rehabilitate Maul too (think Maul from Star Wars Rebels) into his growing band of Force misfits - Vader, clone force sensitives, Ventress, maybe even Dooku, it is all good.

-Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ashoka keep missing Luke and Vader but Palpatine sends Padme into the mix, desperate to figure out what is going on with his carefully constructed Sith master plan. Vader gets one inkling that Padme is on her way and goes into stealth mode (he does have stealth mode, no shut up, he does. Just because he is 7 feet tall and has distinctive breathing doesn’t mean he cannot do stealth). He is still hovering near Luke, he is not leaving Luke alone but he cannot bear to see her see her, to have her see him: her plans to never ever EVER tell her who he is, just watch her from afar. Sigh.

-Luke is all earnestness and light when meeting her. He doesn't know ahead of time that she’s "mom" -Vader still cannot bear to give details other than to say she was his whole world --but he is intuitive and very powerful in the Force so he puts two and two together and is at his dotting farm boy best with her and Padme seeing peace is really happening, throws her full support behind this strange Jedi. Vader stalks them both and not so secretly foils whatever nonsense Palpatine had cooked up for their meet and greet event with large explosions. "Master Jedi, that explosion, don't we need to investigate?" "No, Senator, everything is fine. My companion is keeping up with all the security while we talk. Now what can Naboo do to ensure the sentient rights of the clones are honored now that the war is over? Do you think you could arrange a meeting with me and the Chancellor?" 

It is all just piecemeal and I don't think it could ever be coherent enough to be a full story (too many plot holes and character crack) but it is such a wonderfully tasty idea with all the substance of cotton candy I just had to share.

[cometladyicarus-blog]

Goodnight, Darth Vader, Don’t Let the Wampas Bite Chapter 5

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Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5

Ch. 6

Ch. 7

Ch. 8

He frowned as attacks on Imperial bases diminished after he ordered the strike on Dantooine two weeks ago. This was not how things were supposed to go. They were supposed to increase their attacks to avenge the loss of their Dantooine base.

“Dad! It’s bedtime!”

He sighed. Galactic peacekeeping and Imperial political manipulations would have to wait for later tonight.

Luke and Leia sat in their beds, whisper-chanting, “Sto-ry! Sto-ry! Sto-ry!”

He used the Force to pull down a new book, as the night before saw the end of Revan’s story. Opening it, he took his seat between the beds and turned off the lights, using the red light filters of his helmet to see.

“Aww, Dad! Use your lightsaber too!”

Smiling, he indulged the small whim, lighting the room with the red blade in a sharp contrast to the soft green stars and planets that decorated the ceiling and the hallway outside the room. He cleared his throat and began to read.

“A long, long time ago, on a planet far away, a mining colony in a zone between the Sith Empire and the Elder Galactic Republic to be specific, there was a young man who was very good at pazzaak. He was called Bane by his father…”

The children had fallen asleep and didn’t seem to suffer from poor dreams, or possible prophetic dreams. He envied them their peaceful sleep, his own has been tormented with memories and possible nightmare futures. But they deserve their peaceful dreams, childhood was not a time to be haunted by the concerns of adults.

He left the room as quietly as he could, returning to his chambers to sort through the dwindling reports of rebel activities.

He needed the rebels now. No, he needed the rebels as they were before, rebellious bands of seemingly disorganized … rebels. He pulled up a report of a hit on the scrapyard world of Raxus Prime. Apparently the only things taken were Separatist ships from the war.

The Separatist ships.

Of course. He laughed to himself. Of course the rebels would be backed by the former Confederacy of Independent Systems worlds. Those worlds wanted to leave the Republic, now they want to leave the Empire. They would still be wealthy enough worlds to back a network of cells that the rebels seemed to be set up in by design or opportunity.

If the rebels were using Separatist ships, then the Empire already knew the main weaknesses of each model, and he could slice into their communications network and get ears into a cell. Maybe enough to work out who was in command, eventually.

The next report he touched was of yet another prisoner riot Moff Tarkin had to deal with. Thirty-five troopers, four officers, and the Moff’s executive officer, dead. Four thousand dead prisoners slaves of varying races, mostly Wookiee. He shook his head. Slaves and prisoners may not need to be paid, but they knew every weakness of where they worked. And Wookiees made terrible slaves with their strength.

Construction droids would be faster to work, and very unlikely to build hidey holes for tools, weapons, food, or whatever else. Memory wipes were much faster with droids than organics as well.

“Used to be, I put droids together. Now I cut them apart.”

The memory of words he said to Padme made him smile. He turned off the speakers of his suit. “And now, I am putting droids back together again. And I am a slave to the Emperor’s whims, bound to him by technology more deadly to me than an explosive chip.”

He wrote a short message to the Moff, recommending construction droids as being a more viable option, considering they could survive in the vacuum of space better than slaves and prisoners. As he hit send, the comms lit up.

He turned on his speakers and picked up the signal. And Imperial General saluted when the connection was confirmed.

“My Lord Vader, you wanted the Lars homestead watched?”

The Dark Lord of the Sith frowned at the mention of his mother’s husband’s family.

“It was attacked by the uh…” The Imperial leaned back, presumably to hear someone out of side. “Tusken Sand People?”

“Sand People or Tusken Raiders.”

“Ah, yes, my lord. I’m sorry to report, our troops didn’t arrive in time. Owen Lars is in life-support, but he isn’t going to make it. Beru Lars is dead. Among the marks of the Raiders, were dead raiders that were cut. With a blade that cauterized.” The General paused again, as if unsure what the reaction of the helmeted man would be.

He made a motion to continue.

“Before Owen Lars was put into an induced coma, he said something about a ‘Kin-Oh-bee.’ We have been searching our records for any droid with those-”

“Not a droid, General. Thank you for the report. Give Lars a peaceful death, but you do not need to investigate further.”

“Yes, my lord. If you do not mind my asking, why watch this farm?”

He paused for a moment, thinking of all the possible reasons that would still conceal his past enough, but still seem plausible. He found the one he wanted.

“The Lars family was related to General Anakin Skywalker, who saved the Emperor from the Jedi assassins. I was seeing if the Lars would be made a target by the rebels for being related to someone who clearly supported the Empire.”

“Sky-- those children of yours, sir? Then they are in your care for the same reason?”

“That is classified.” He held up a hand and made a small motion with it, reinforcing his words through the Force, lightyears away from the General. “And none of this needs to be repeated. Resume your standard duties.”

“No, none of this needs to be repeated. We will be resuming our standard duties, my lord. Thank you for indulging my curiosity.” The call ended with Vader steepling his fingers before his helmet.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi. You chose to live on Tatooine to hide from me. I should have paid the rumors of a maybe-Jedi in the desert, then, and not have been distracted by the other mad old men.”

He could use his former master. Drive him from Tatooine and to take refuge somewhere else. Somewhere more likely, maybe, to get him in contact with the rebels. Obi-Wan always did have a bit of a soft spot for people fighting impossible odds in the name of Jedi Justice. The rebels would jump at the chance to have a real Jedi Master, and not some half-trained stranded and abandoned Padawan, or green Knight who got lucky.

He sent in new orders to send pilots over the skies of the desert world in search patterns. Officially to practice search tactics. Orders to keep an eye on anyone looking to leave the planet, discreetly being smuggled, or by purchasing a ticket.

Sitting back from sending orders, he frowned. He never was close with Owen and Beru Lars. He tried to distance himself from them during the war, hoping that his tie to them - or rather the farm that housed his mother’s remains- would be buried enough to keep them safe. After the war, he looked at his left hand and closed it with a frown as one finger stuttered in its motion.

He did hope to introduce Luke and Leia to them, once the kids were old enough to not call him Dad. Owen and Beru would know who he used to be in an instant, where the rest of galaxy assumed he had just adopted the war hero’s children and they just called him Dad because he raised them.

And now they lost their step-aunt and step-uncle. And he lost a step-brother he barely knew. He leaned forward and issued orders to hit the Sand People camps by ‘accidentally’ marking them as training targets. They should have learned to avoid that farm almost a decade ago.

He started up the sanitation process and brought a toolkit out to where he sat. The glove was easily removed to showcase the mechanical nature of his left arm that matched his right arm and legs. Pulling off the other glove, he twitched the droid-like fingers to check their functionality. The left hand joints looked clear of obstructions, but he opened up the casing to look it over anyway.

And found a sequin had worked its way deep into the wiring and equipment.

He smiled as he counted his worries of the day.

Rebels, the Emperor, the safety of his children, stupid Imperials, sand raiders, not-dead-yet Jedi Masters, and sequins in his hand.

He spared the brave sequin.