#Ahsoka gets a solo about finding her own way in the galaxy

[better-call-mau1]

Been listening to the Hamilton soundtrack again, and I can’t get over how perfect the tone of “That Would Be Enough” is for Sabine comforting Ezra after he finds out how long he’s been gone and how much he’s missed:

Look around, look around

At how lucky we are to be alive right now

Look around, look around

[…]

Look at where you are

Look at where you started

The fact that you're alive is a miracle

Just stay alive, that would be enough

[…]

Let this moment be the first chapter

Where you decide to stay

And I could be enough

And we could be enough

That would be enough

[ahsokathegray]

I Bleed the Same || Twenty-Seven

Pairing: Rexsoka

Summary: Ahsoka and Rex try and make sense of who and what they are after Order 66 occurs. Figuring out what to do with themselves, they remain together for a period of time before parting in their own directions.

Warnings: slow burn, mentions of Order 66, ptsd, injury, death, and future nsfw situations

Word Count: 6,461

A/N: Ahsoka's solo chapter! It will take place simultaneously with next week's chapter (Rex's Bad Batch episode). So you will see a few conversations repeated from from two perspectives. Also, trigger warning for Lux Bonteri and thank ya'll for waiting an extra week 💕

read on ao3! / series masterlist

It was the worst night of sleep she’d had in a long time, arguably the worst sleep she’d had in her life. Ahsoka tried telling herself that she’d done this a million times, that it was no different than before.

The glaring truth was that it was different in almost every way imaginable.

The galaxy was a different place, the dangers had heightened insurmountably, and the roles she and Rex played in each other’s lives were forever altered. He was her final constant, the most important person in the universe to her now… and he was currently traveling systems away from her. That sinking feeling was relentless, bringing to light the fact that this was the farthest they’d been apart since the crash. 

Rolling away from the viewport, knowing she wouldn’t find him sleeping on the ledge, Ahsoka got out of bed. She wanted to be useful while not on the mission, an old habit she’d formed while being Anakin’s student. Staying behind had never suited her and was one of the things she’d struggled with most as a Padawan. Even Rex knew that. She could tell just by his voice as he was leaving that he hated having to be the one to make that call.

The thought of that brought her some solace at least. 

Her bedroom door slid open and she entered the hallway, preparing to join the Martez sisters in the common area before stopping in her tracks. Trace had just spoken her name in hushed conversation. Ahsoka quietly pressed herself up against the wall, listening intently to what the girls had to say. 

“She didn’t go?” Rafa asked. It was somewhat muffled, but Ahsoka’s montrals served her well. 

“Nope,” Trace replied, making a popping sound with her mouth, “He went to Ord Mantell without her. I saw him leave alone.”

Rafa sounded intrigued, “Huh. And to think I thought they were finally banging it out in here last night.”

Her sister laughed, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. They were in the kitchen when I came in to check, but you should’ve seen it, Rafa. Those eyes he gives her? She was looking at him the exact same way last night!”

Ahsoka was fighting to continue listening to the girls over the sound of her quickened pulse and spiraling thoughts. Establishing contact with Bail the previous night and watching Rex leave in the ship, had overtaken what had happened in the kitchen. With so much going on all at once, it had been pushed back. The moment hurdled back to her at full force, nearly knocking the breath from her lungs.

Rex’s eyes held emotion similarly to the way that Kamino’s clouds held rain. Even the sisters, who’d only known Rex for just a short while, had found this to be true. 

Ahsoka racked her memory for the details. Getting past his intoxicating proximity, his warm breath fanning over her lekku, and what had tightened within her as his arms were placed on the counter was a task easier said than done. Drowning out the conversation on the other side of the wall, Ahsoka was enveloped completely in scrutinizing the interaction. 

Had it been the low lighting conditions manipulating her vision? Could she have just read his body language wrong? Her own reaction to the situation was the only thing coming to mind and, just like it had last night, her heart began to pound furiously. 

Ahsoka slipped from behind the wall, fleeing from her own mind. Trace and Rafa were lounging on the squashy armchairs when she emerged from the hallway and R7 beeped happily at the sight of her. She smiled, watching as Trace lazily patted him. Neither one of the girls were decent liars, appearing as if they’d obviously been talking about her and Rex. Now that she had joined the room, the pair seemingly had nothing to talk about.

Rafa switched on the Holonet and began listening to something at a low volume. “Sleep well?” She directed the question at Ahsoka as she took a seat beside Trace. A mischievous glint was sparkling in her eye. 

“You’re still going on about this? Ahsoka returned, acting as though she were annoyed. Truthfully, it wasn’t as annoying as it had been from the start. With Rex not being present, it was tolerable. 

Trace looked between them and Rafa continued, “Just wondering if he has good genes… but I’m guessing that wasn’t the case or else you’d be with him right now.”

Imagining him in that way was something she’d never done on her own volition. Rafa’s suggestive comments caused her already traitorous imagination to run wild. It was imperative she keep it at bay. “No, it just wasn’t safe for us both to go. We don’t know if the clones you met still have their chips or not,” she explained, directing the topic away from Rex’s genes. 

A smirk broke out on the eldest Martez’s face, “You know, Trace, I don’t think messing with her will ever get old.” The darkening of Ahsoka’s lekku hadn’t gone unnoticed to either of them. 

“Don’t listen to her, Ahsoka. She hasn’t stopped talking about the one with the long hair since we woke up this morning,” Trace teased, a huge smile plastered from ear to ear. The way Rafa paled was enough to incite laughter between the younger girls. Rafa could’ve broken a record with how quickly her smirk dropped. 

The sisters began to casually bicker, prompting Ahsoka and R7 to leave the scene. Snagging breakfast from the bar, while a mindless action, brought back the image of Rex standing between her legs as she sat on that very counter the night before. Heat swarmed into her cheeks and she made a beeline for the garage, notifying the sisters she’d be taking a look at the Angel. 

Her astromech sped up to match her pace and chirped contentedly. The ramp emerged and her old friend continued to follow her inside. Confiding in the droid wouldn’t actually be the worst idea she’d ever had. R7 did have more emotion than the average astromech, and might be able to provide some insight on her inner turmoil. If he were here, R2 would’ve been highly opinionated, and probably less helpful. Ahsoka sighed, wishing she knew what became of her other favorite droid. 

“Run a diagnostic will you, buddy?” she asked, planting herself in the pilot’s seat and propping her legs up on the console. 

R7 extended his scomp link and began doing as she asked. She was ready to allow her thoughts to whisk her away once more when her droid piped up again. Ahsoka scrunched her nose in thought and the droid turned its head to look at her, awaiting a response. 

“I think I could’ve handled it, too. But Rex was right to go alone. Just because I could handle it, doesn’t necessarily mean that I needed to try. It’ll be easier for him to lay low without me,” she replied. That response earned her a satisfied beep. When the diagnostic report was finished, Ahsoka crossed her ankles and reviewed it. By some miracle, the girls had managed to get away with zero damage. Trace’s piloting skills were improving. 

Another beep resounded through the cockpit and Ahsoka lifted a brow marking at the astromech’s sudden sass, “Well I was the only one who had faith in them apparently.” She laughed, but her mood shifted drastically at R7’s next inquiry. Oh. He’d heard the rest of the Martez’s conversation that she hadn’t.

“I forget that you’ve known Rex and I both for quite a while… But, no. I’ve told the sisters the same thing countless times. Nothing is going on between us. And nothing ever will.”

R7 was unconvinced, however, offering her a short chirp and asking her to fill him in on the gaps.

Sighing, she continued, “I don’t know. Something… changed when I came back, even before all of this.” Ahsoka gestured around her, referencing the aftermath of the war. “He was a good friend before, one of my closest actually. Returning to all of it — seeing him again — there was this inexplicable shift. The friendship I expected to return to felt different… a good different. And then there was the helmets…”

Ahsoka drifted, and for good reason, but R7 urged her to push through the tainted memory. He’d not been online to see the helmets that now served as grave markers. Before tears could prick her eyes, she pressed forward. “You weren’t there, but even throughout the Siege, the energy between us had changed. It was him and I… without Anakin. And when we were on the bridge heading back to Coruscant, before the order was given, there was this moment…”

Again, Ahsoka drifted mid-sentence, but her droid’s beeps were no longer heard. She remembered that day so vividly still, every moment etched into the backs of her eyelids. The details of it all had been pushed back in the wake of so much loss, only now being pulled down from the high shelves she’d hidden them on. Back on the bridge with Rex, that interaction stood out even while it was happening. It wasn’t just because it was now the final normal moment of her previous life, or because they’d successfully captured Maul and helped Bo reclaim Mandalore. 

It was something else.

Rex’s eyes had been different there, as well. They weren’t different now because of what Order 66 had done. They weren’t different because of the time and levels of vicinity they’d grown accustomed to. Just like her, Rex had felt the shift in their dynamic. His fondness of her had expanded even before they started down this unmarked path together, navigating their way completely in the dark.

Every second spent with him had started to flow back to her. Working chronologically, they all began to make the others make sense. That look had been there when the blast doors opened and she saw him for the first time again. It had been there while they were catching up en route to Mandalore. It had been there in the gunship, in the meetings, during the transfer of Maul onto the Tribunal. It was unmistakably there on the bridge and then again in the control room when she’d removed his helmet. 

It had been there from the second she returned, and it had yet to disappear. It was there on Jabiim, Naboo, and on Saleucami. And just last night, it made an appearance in the kitchen as he stood impossibly close to her. Finally, she saw Rex’s eyes as plain as day, not just the color but the emotions storming behind them. The image was so vivid that he could’ve been standing right in front of her at that very minute. 

The Martez sisters hadn’t been exaggerating. 

Ahsoka placed a hand to the base of one montral and found that she was out of breath. At last, she could hear the beeps from her very concerned astromech. R7 trilled and shook from side to side in a small panic until she hushed him. 

“Sorry, buddy,” she apologized, “I’m fine. I should be thanking you, actually.” If he wasn’t already confused enough, the little guy definitely was now. Ahsoka laughed at herself and provided him with clarity, “I think… Rex might feel the same way.”

R7 wheeled closer to her and did the equivalent of a hushed squeal. He was overjoyed with her admission of affection and the possibility it might be requited. Ahsoka had to quiet him yet again, “Not a peep out of you, you hear? I don’t fully understand it myself yet. Things haven’t stopped changing since I’ve been back. I expected to find some sort of comfort in the existing relationship that Rex and I had, but the only thing I’ve been comfortable with so far is how he and I haven’t fallen back into our old rapport. It’s deeper than it used to be.”

It was then that Trace appeared in the doorway, holding Ahsoka’s holoprojector. She was out of breath as she reached the cockpit, “He’s calling. Rex is calling you. I got this out of your room.” The small device was handed to Ahsoka and Trace left the ship, walking at a much slower pace back inside the apartment. 

Ahsoka pressed the button to answer and placed it on the console, watching Rex’s figure materialize. He, too, sounded breathless, “Ahsoka. It was them. It was Echo.” She didn’t know what to be overjoyed about first, that he’d survived or that Echo truly was alive. Was Rex alright? Her head was still spinning from what she’d just uncovered. He continued, “They’re alright. They… need their chips removed, but I’m on my way to Senator Organa as we speak.”

His news came as a huge relief. She closed her eyes and allowed her worry to diminish. The tricky part had gone off without a hitch. “That’s good to hear, Rex. You have no idea how good that is to hear,” she said finally. It was all good news, yes, but nothing was more cathartic than knowing he was still with her. “Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t tag along on this one after all.”

Rex’s smile faded and she wished she hadn’t said the words, not wanting to add any more insult to injury. “My thoughts exactly,” he agreed. There was a beat before he spoke again, a moment she took to scan him for any sign of wounds or abrasions in his armor. “Ahsoka, I apologize. Bringing you around Cut was too great a risk and I shouldn’t have taken it.”

What? She’d not thought about it like that at all. It had never once even been a consideration. Effective chip or not, she wouldn’t have opted to leave his side. She wouldn’t let him face that potential pain alone. “Rex, it’s alright,” Ahsoka said, nearing the edge of her seat before redirecting him. “I take it everything went smoothly, then.”

He laughed at her obvious attempt to save his feelings. “Yeah, well, you’re not gonna believe who the girl was,” Rex went on. Her eyes widened. Could it have been a Padawan? A youngling that managed to escape the Temple? Her muscles stiffened and he opened his mouth to speak again. “The kid they’re traveling with is a clone,” he revealed finally. Something dwindled inside of her, but her interest was piqued nonetheless. “Don’t know why or even how, but she’s like the Fett kid. Unaltered aging.”

Ahsoka had occasionally wondered what a female version of Jango Fett would look like. In fact, all the clones were known to make jokes about it from time to time. But she actually existed. It had to be for a purpose. The Kaminoans didn’t have the humor just to make a female clone because they, too, were curious what she’d look like. “You’re sure?” Ahsoka asked, trying to work out how this all made sense. 

“Positive. It’s why I can’t let them keep their chips. She’s young and it’s not like she’s got a pair of lightsabers to protect herself if things go sideways. I don’t doubt that they’d protect her, but if it’s them she has to fear, well…” Rex trailed, “You were already deadly at her age and you’d had the practice against a squad of my best men. She wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”

His concern for the girl was admirable. It was yet another reason she cared so deeply for him. Rex had already decided that this kid’s safety was his responsibility. He wouldn’t let her spend another second with troopers who still had chips in their heads. Ahsoka was actually surprised that the girl wasn’t currently occupying the seat behind him. She sat up a little straighter, “So how exactly are you going to extract their chips?”

“Hunter asked the same thing. When I deliver the Separatist intel over to Bail, I’ll see if he has any suggestions.”

She almost didn’t ask her next question, but chose to for her own sanity. “When will you be back?”

“I’ll keep you posted, shouldn’t be too long. Once I’ve removed their chips, I’ll contact you with an estimated rendezvous time. Any news on your end?”

“Nothing yet. Rafa’s been listening to the Holonet in your absence. I was about to do the same when you called — trying to figure out our next steps,” she replied. A pause slid between them, a kind of weighted tension that they’d grown accustomed to. Everything she’d just spoken about with R7 was still fresh on her mind, mingled with the emotions Rex had displayed about the girl clone. Convincing herself he still saw her as a kid, Ahsoka was unsure all over again. 

Rex seemed to be feeling the same tenseness that she was. “Ahsoka…” he spoke her name for the third time. Each one made her chest tighten that much more. She leaned forward again, lekku brushing her thighs as she waited for the rest of his thoughts to tumble free. “I’ll contact you again shortly. I’m almost to Bail’s coordinates,” he closed. 

It wasn’t what she’d wanted him to say. “Good luck, Rex. Hurry back,” she responded. They weren’t the words she wanted to say either. Rex gave her a nod and the connection ended. 

R7 gave a soft chirp.

“I don’t think I’m ready to unpack all of that just yet, little guy,” she sighed.

~~~

She spent the majority of the day inside the ship, lost in a deep dive of channels both public and private. R7 assisted her in decrypting the more difficult ones and accessing their contents. They’d not found much else besides what they already knew. There was, however, more information available on chain codes and which planets had a strong Imperial occupation already. 

Rex had contacted her only once more with the update that he’d be going to Bracca to carry out the chip removals, so she and R7 worked quickly to get him as much information on the planet as they could. All they could offer of any real importance was that the planet was controlled by the Scrapper’s Guild and that they were one of the first to wave the Empire’s flag. 

R7 began to work at a slower pace as the hours went by and let her know that he’d be powering down soon. Ahsoka patted him gently, told him to go ahead, and that she’d be fine in her own company. As he powered down, she took that as her cue to take a break and stretch her legs. 

On her way out of the Silver Angel, Ahsoka stopped by the ramp. There was a sleeper to her right that had been used recently, and the girls hadn’t been gone long enough to warrant any shut eye. She did suppose that Rafa could’ve slept there on the return trip from Corellia, but something told her otherwise. 

After the two short nights that Rex had shared her bed, Ahsoka would know his scent anywhere. It was Rex that lingered on the threads of the sheets, not Rafa’s obnoxious perfume, solving the mystery as to where he’d been crashing when she woke up alone in the guest room. 

She continued walking past and began cleaning up her mess of tools from the past few days, seeing as the ship hadn’t needed any new repairs. 

In gathering up the smaller items, Ahsoka found some unusual parts. A favorite pastime of hers as a Padawan was guessing what those small parts might make up. They were tiny but mighty — something Master Yoda said often about her when she was still a youngling. Each small part had a big role to play within something else. 

Two white pieces of durasteel caught her eye and she held onto them, wanting to see if the sisters were alright in parting with them. Standing, Ahsoka wiped her hands on the knees of her jumpsuit and returned inside the apartment. Trace was listening to the Holonet in place of Rafa. 

“Where’s Rafa?” she asked. 

The younger girl turned around, “Oh. She went up to the middle ring after you left. Something for R7. Said she probably wouldn’t be back until later. What did Rex say?”

Ahsoka sat beside her favorite Martez and pulled a leg under herself, “He was able to pass along the intel you guys got over to our contact. And the clones you met on Corellia are meeting him to get their chips removed.”

“That’s good! I hope it goes well. If not for the sake of the kid, then for me.” She laughed, “That one clone’s hair being in danger of getting chopped off is all I’ve been hearing about since you told us Rex was getting them taken out.”

They laughed together, but something about not knowing someone that Rex and the Martez sisters knew bothered her slightly. She changed the topic and dug the parts out of her pocket. “Hey Trace, I found these while I was cleaning up in the garage. Do you mind if I keep them?”

Trace inspected the small pieces in Ahsoka’s palm. “Honestly, I have no idea where these even came from. Knock yourself out.”

She thanked her and pocketed the parts once more, listening in silence to a transmission. It was difficult to concentrate though, as her friend was having a hard time maintaining any interest. She huffed and shifted endlessly on the sofa. It would’ve been amusing to watch if Ahsoka hadn’t been avidly trying to pay attention. “Trace?”

With half-closed eyes the girl hummed in response. “Yeah?”

“I got it from here. It’s getting late anyway. Let’s make a deal. I’ll finish listening to this one if you make us dinner. Sound good?”

The girl perked up at that, ready to seize any opportunity not to sit and endure the words of the speaker. She jumped up from her spot with new energy and was excited to make better use of her time in preparing a meal. Rafa would probably have something to say about her sister’s cooking, but Ahsoka didn’t mind it.

Anyway, she was more keen on focusing on something that could help Rex rather than having a spectacular meal. And she couldn’t blame Trace for her impatience with the speaker. The broadcaster was very monotone and droned on, feigning loyalty to the Empire. Rafa put up with it because of the valuable and reliable information that was dropped from time to time, slipping past unnoticed to casual listeners.

This channel was how they’d figured out about both Daro and the decommissioning factories. Advertising Imperial propaganda was the perfect cover. 

Devoid of any new intel, the broadcast ended and the girls ate their dinner. It was fairly decent, but Ahsoka could already hear Rafa’s complaints upon her return. After their dishes were rinsed, Trace turned in early for the night and so Ahsoka retired as well. 

It wasn’t until she was alone again that her worry returned. Trace had evidently been trying and succeeding at getting her mind off of the unknown status of Rex’s well-being. 

She took one glance at the unmade bed and opted to sit on the ledge of the viewport. With Rafa being out, the ring’s activity became that much more fascinating. It would also serve well as a distraction from wondering about the safety of a certain clone Captain.  

A single blind was pulled down with the weight of her finger and she watched people carry on about their lives. Something she found so captivating was the varying sleep cycles on The Wheel. It was just a rotating space station, not a planet. And while there was a nearby sun, the residents still elected to ignore it. Everyone was stuck in the rotation cycle of whichever planet they’d last visited, therefore, the rings always had people awake and busy at all hours. 

Ahsoka drew her knees under her chin as she watched residents walk down the large, curved hallway. Among those awake with her were the usual families, business owners, high-spirited children, and a variety of others. 

Her gaze settled on a young couple. They were smiling as they stopped by a stall selling Jogan fruits. Ahsoka looked on as the human woman nuzzled into the lekku of her Twi’lek partner. The green Twi chuckled and pulled her closer. As a private onlooker, Ahsoka couldn’t help but smile along with them. Lifting her head, the woman kept her attention on her male companion’s lekku. With a nimble finger, she began tracing circles into the lek closest to her, causing the man to shiver and laugh. 

The Jogan fruit vendor counted credits and packaged their purchase, but Ahsoka’s eyes remained on the couple. His bottom lip was tucked under his teeth and he whispered something into the ear of the woman, causing her to blush crimson. 

The blinds were abandoned as Ahsoka felt she’d seen something she shouldn’t have. That display had clearly been an intimate moment between two lovers. She swallowed and blinked a few times to center herself. However, the curiosity had already taken root. 

Lekku sensitivity was something she’d always known about, but had never given much thought to. She indulged in her wandering mind, imagining what Rex’s buzzed hairs would feel like against the skin. He sported a close shave with a bit of stubble, but not nearly as much as he used to keep, and she couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel at its different stages. Ahsoka could practically feel the coarse hairs mingled with the hot breath she’d already felt on the responsive skin. 

Mindlessly, she moved a hand to her own lek, lightly brushing the skin down from the middle. She reached the end and the sensation sparked throughout her body, the effects present in some very specific nerve endings. Ahsoka gasped and quickly returned her hand to wrap around her legs. 

She felt ridiculous, embarrassed by her own actions. Something coiled behind her stomach again and she rolled her eyes. Her attraction to Rex was more than just the harmless crush that it used to be. At some point within the last few weeks, it had become a… physical desire. 

Scoffing at herself, Ahsoka gave in to temptation and peeked between the blinds again, searching for the couple. But they had already made their way out of view. Ahsoka’s eyes landed once more on the neighboring unit and its dusty entrance. It was easy to picture living there, being neighbors with the sisters, her and Rex laying low to evade the Empire for as long as time would allow. 

With her slicing skills, entry would come easily. If there were any alarms, she was equipped to disarm those as well. Although it was just a dream, the idea was appealing. 

A group of children ran past and her attention moved towards them. They were taking turns kicking a purple ball, giggling as they engaged in some sort of game. It reminded her of life at the Temple. These children were no different. They played just the same as she had with the other younglings. 

It took a great deal of strength not to think of what had happened to the younglings that were inside the Temple during the fall. 

She returned to reality when she heard a sudden, shrill yelp. The kids were now gathered around a gash in the floor that had been closed off, watching as one of their own bent over the railing. Immediately, Ahsoka noticed that their ball had fallen and that they were attempting to retrieve it from the area in need of maintenance. There were a few spots on the lower ring like that, as it was the oldest and most adorable level on the space station. 

Her first instinct was to use the Force to lift the ball, but knew that was the last possible option. Her eyes darted around the ring. No one was paying attention to them! Not a single adult was concerned about the shrieking that had just occurred, as they were all making conversation or partaking in transactions. 

Ahsoka’s adrenaline began to rise. She had to do something. The kid slipped further, leaning dangerously over the rail, fingers still wiggling trying to reach the ball. His two friends weren’t strong enough to pull him back up. He was going to fall. 

In an instant, Ahsoka yanked the blinds up and lifted the glass pane, slipping out from the bedroom and into the lower ring. Her eyes took a second to adjust to the bright environment and she darted towards the children. In and out. Get the ball, get the kid, and get back inside the apartment.

“Let me help,” she said hurriedly as she approached the three children. The two with their feet still on the ground saw her and graciously made room. She grabbed the ankles of the third child and effortlessly pulled him to safety. There was a mix of confusion and relief plastered across his face. He’d clearly had no idea until then that he was in any danger. Once his feet were back on the ground, she leaned over the railing herself and snagged the ball, her lekku nearly grazing sharp, broken pipes in the process. 

Ahsoka pulled herself away and remained on her knees, presenting the purple ball to the kids. Each one of them looked as though they’d been scolded, unwilling to reach for their toy.

“Hey now,” she said, smiling, “What’s with all the long faces?” She quirked a brow marking, causing the young girl in the group to smile shyly. 

The boy who she’d rescued rubbed his arm, “Sorry, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am for getting our ball back.” A mixed mumble of ‘thank yous’ and ‘sorrys’ came from the other two children. 

She was just thankful they’d learned their lesson and that they could resume play. “Of course, I just saw how much fun you were having and wanted to help. Go on, now. Stay out of trouble and away from areas needing repair.”

Bigger grins had donned their faces as their shyness faded away. The girl took the ball from Ahsoka and led the group away, kicking the ball once more. Ahsoka crossed her arms and laughed as they rounded the ring and she could no longer see them. Although, their giggles could still be heard from around the corner. She then remembered herself and glanced towards the door of the empty unit. Still, no one was paying her any mind, instead consumed with their own lives. If she wanted to, she could get inside. The effort would be child’s play. She laughed at the irony. 

Taking one final look at the door, Ahsoka made her decision. That wasn’t the path she’d be taking. It was a comforting concept, but if her own actions had just told her anything, it’s that she couldn’t refuse help to those in need. She couldn’t sit by when she knew that Rex needed her. 

Helping the kids was something so small, but something that reminded her of who she was at the core. In the aftermath of so much devastation, she’d lost herself. It was this, paired with repair work and assisting Rex, that Ahsoka was regaining a sense of who she was without the Jedi. Turning her back on the door, Ahsoka strode with new confidence back towards the viewport she’d left ajar. 

Before she could slip back inside, however, she saw Rafa standing outside the front door. The girl crossed her arms, “I was wondering how long it would take you.”

Ahsoka almost froze but stood up and held her ground, not sure how this was about to pan out. Rafa flipped her hair and gestured for Ahsoka to follow, “Come on. In through the door. If you were going to leave the apartment, you couldn’t just done it like a normal person.”

Once inside, Ahsoka went to the bedroom to shut the glass and lower the blinds. She returned to the dark living room to apologize. “Rafa…”

The girl held a hand up, “Save it. I saw what you did to help those kids. You don’t have to explain. But, you’re not supposed to leave the unit. That was the deal.”

“I know. It won’t happen again,” she promised, feeling guilty. Still, if given the chance to do it over again, she’d make the same decision.

Rafa shot her a knowing look, “Right. Like I believe that for a second.” Ahsoka was ready to retaliate when a genuine smile replaced the scowl on Rafa’s face. “You know, Trace and I actually had a bet going.” Ahsoka raised a brow marking. “She said it would take you two weeks to leave the apartment,” the girl laughed, then smugly added, “I said it would only take a few days.”

Ahsoka was not amused, but thankful that her host wasn’t upset with her and asking her to leave. 

“You may not be a Jedi, but I stand by what I said before. You still act like one,” she commented, placing a small bag on the bar. “Just promise me if you leave again, you’ll wear a cowl or cloak or something.”

She approached the girl and agreed, “Of course. So what have you got in the bag?”

Rafa appeared proud of the answer, whatever it was. “R7 asked for a part this morning. Trace was going to get it, but things of that sort are only available on the other rings, so I went instead.” She opened the bag and showed off a device Ahsoka had no trouble recognizing. With the way Rafa had worded it, she assumed R7 had asked for a part for himself, but rather it was a part for their Holonet transceiver.

“Rafa these are hard to come by,” Ahsoka said breathlessly, her eyes widening, “Not to mention illegal.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it. Took me all day and I now owe a few favors, but this will help us tremendously. Being able to track the locations of these broadcasters will show us where our allies are. And this one has allegedly been modified to unscramble voice modulations back to the originals. We could find out exactly who all is helping leak intel the Empire���s trying to keep under wraps.”

Ahsoka took the device from Rafa's open palm. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

The older girl smirked, “I always knew I’d warm up to you.” With a roll of her eyes, Ahsoka padded over to the transceiver and attached the device, powering it up and waiting for the working indicators to turn green.

When they finally did, the girls held their breath as they turned on the same broadcaster from earlier. The familiar droning of the disguised voice filled the room once more, the noise prompting Trace to emerge from her room. “Guys, can you keep it down? I’m—”

Rafa aggressively shushed her sister, beckoning her to come sit with them on the couches. Trace sat down beside Ahsoka as the voice began to warble and shift. Each of the girls sat with bated breath, suddenly very absorbed with the normally monotonous voice.

Static overlapped the speaker before it cut out completely, leaving the room in silence. Three sets of shoulders dropped in defeat, the hope of something so promising now lost. Rafa ground her teeth and made a move to stand up before the transmission resumed. 

“… promoted along with Governor Wilhuff Tarkin who were each awarded at the ceremony on Coruscant this past Centaxday.” 

The Martez sisters squealed with joy, listening to the clear voice of the male speaker and copying down the coordinates that had appeared in small red numbers on the device. Rafa looked over at Ahsoka, who, even in the dark, had paled in color. “Ahsoka? What’s wrong?” 

She swallowed, a mixture of shock, confusion, and disgust running through her system all at once. How? It didn’t make sense. Ahsoka wasn’t able to properly gag at Tarkin’s promotions due to the voice that had announced it. “I know that voice,” she revealed at last. The sisters shared a look, not knowing if Ahsoka’s recognition of the man was good news or bad. Trace opened her mouth to speak before Ahsoka cut her off, “I have to contact Rex.”

Back in the privacy of her room, Ahsoka reached for her comm, finding that it was already flashing. Rex was calling her. Ahsoka pressed the button to answer and the light stilled, her comm crackling along with it. The static reminded her to scramble her own voice.

“Rex?” she asked, waiting impatiently for his distinct voice to come through. 

“It’s me,” Rex answered back. “Are you alright? Tell me how you’re doing.”

There was so much to tell him, but she knew the call had to be kept short. “Everything’s fine over here, Rex. What about you? Were you able to remove their chips?”

“I’m fine. And yes. Their chips have all been removed. Ran into a few complications, but nothing we couldn’t handle. I’ll fill you in on the rest when I get back. Anything new?” he asked, repeating the question from earlier. 

“We found something,” she said, “It's a bit of a long story, but I think you’ll want to get back here. I’ve got our next mission.”

“Copy that,” he said, sounding more like a soldier. She supposed the sudden change in tone meant that one of the troopers had joined him. “I’ll meet you at the rendezvous by the next rotation.”

She could still hear him breathing on the other end, as if he might say something else, but then she heard a second voice begin to speak. Ahsoka immediately severed the connection. The other voice definitely belonged to a clone, but sounded different than the ones she was used to. Still, it was chilling to hear it after not knowing if she’d hear another one besides Rex’s ever again. 

Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka returned to the common area to update the girls on Rex’s success and that she was turning in for the night. Trace elbowed Rafa at the news and they, too, headed to bed. 

Try as she might, Ahsoka still couldn’t sleep. She hadn’t expected much to happen in Rex’s absence. He’d be back at The Wheel at some point tomorrow and she didn’t know how she was going to last much longer with all this new information swirling in her head. The only things she knew for sure was that she could no longer easily define her feelings for him, that the prospect of returning to the fight wasn’t as nauseating as it had once been, and that Lux Bonteri was acting against the Empire.

[burnwater13]

Illustration of Luke Skywalker on Moff Gideon's starship, in The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 8, The Rescue

“Cut! That’s not how it happened! I was there. I would know. Luke never held his lightsaber like that. I know you’re new here kid, but can you get it right next time?”

Grogu giggled and had to hide his face because he didn’t want anyone to catch it on a handheld vid-recorder, which were all over the set. 

“Ah, Han, is there a reason you’re calling, ‘Cut’? I’m the director. You are a guest. And technically he’s going to hold the lightsaber to his left, which is the viewer’s right.”

“Hey, don’t blame me. Luke’s the one who asked me to stop by and check on the kid. Well, the two kids. I’ll just leave and you can deal with the entire fandom second guessing you. You can’t blame Han Solo for that.”

“Okay. Take five everyone! We’ll pick it up on the entrance. Mark, can we talk for a moment?”

Grogu watched as the actor and the director went one way, the rest of the cast and crew went the other way and Han Solo walked onto the set proper. 

“Does Jon know he’s here?” 

“Probably not, but hey, we have five minutes and I need to adjust this armor. It’s a real pain in the…”

“Hey kid! How ya’ doin’?”

Grogu smiled at Han as he dropped down onto one knee to talk to him. 

“Good. You? Family?” 

“Oh, they’re all good. Ben says ‘Hi’, by the way. He wanted me to find out when you were coming home. You know, back to our little galaxy, far, far away. I’m surprised your dad isn’t itching to get back there already.”

Grogu laughed at that. His dad had been nagging him everyday for a month about when the shooting for the season would be over and they could head back to their galaxy and get back to their day to day lives.

“Missing.” 

“Missing? Missing what? Sand?” 

Grogu laughed louder.

“Mom.”

The older man smiled and nodded his head. 

“I’m surprised that she’s not here already. Did he really expect her to manage the twins and everything else on her own while he’s here with you?”

“He did not. She insisted. That’s why I’ve been hoping this whole thing would be finished up sooner rather than later. How are you doing, Solo?” 

Grogu’s dad had joined them on the set and he was glad to see him.  The other actors were all staring at them while hanging around the craft services table in the farthest back area of cavernous room and trying to seem uninterested. Grogu was used to seeing this happen when his dad came onto the set. But Han wasn’t.

“What’s that all about? Do they think you’re going to bring them all in cold?”

Han teased his dad. 

“They just like to give me space when I’m with Grogu.” 

Grogu laughed at that. His dad sounded annoyed. Cold didn’t really mean cold and Han knew that. 

“I think Grogu’s calling you out on that Mando.”

“Pedro’s twin.” 

Grogu giggled at the look his dad gave them both, as Han Solo laughed out loud. 

“I get it. They want to see if he really looks like that. You didn’t give away his secret, did you kid?”

“Nope. Safe. Dad better.”

“Thanks buddy, but your mom’s to blame for this. Last season she was here for a set visit. They asked her all sorts of questions. After that, well, they keep their distance. Honestly, I kinda like that.”

“She probably told them about that time you fell off the table at the Cin Vhetin during karaoke night. Now that’s something we’ll never forget, right kid?”

Grogu laughed harder. 

“How’s Luke doing? Still using ants to build things?” 

Grogu’s dad decided to change the topic. 

“Oh, he’s fine. The school is finally getting off the ground. Ezra’s helping him while Ahsoka is busy with New Republic stuff. That’s been a big help. Ezra’s just a big kid himself so the younglings really like him. Ben’s having a good time with it all now, which is great. But they all want to see you two when you get back. Luke thinks Grogu could teach them all a thing or two about hiding in plain sight.” 

“Good. Hey, let’s go to his trailer. I see Peyton heading back over this way. He doesn’t like it when I’m on set for stuff like this. He says I’m too distracting. Grogu, you know where we’ll be. Do your best and remember, this isn’t Luke.  Mark said things got a little rowdy on the other set, when you were using the Force and they didn’t know how to handle it.”

Grogu nodded his head and then sighed to himself as the two men walked away together. It was true. He thought that he could just throw the frogs to him and ‘Luke’ would be able to catch them with the Force. Nope. That was embarrassing. They had to re-do his make up and he had to change into a clean costume. Uff. He got quite the lecture from Robert over it, although Mark and the other actors had a good laugh.

Grogu watched his dad and Han walk through the set and leave through the back door, while the rest of the cast and crew seemed to unfreeze and go back to which ever task they had been doing when they were given the break. Peyton was calling ‘places’ and Grogu had to try not to giggle. He hadn’t gone anywhere. He was still in the right place at the right time. 

“Hey, Grogu? Has anyone ever mentioned that your friend ‘Han’ looks a lot like Harrison? It’s been a while since anyone called me ‘kid’ like that.”

Grogu nodded as he smiled at Mark. 

“Me too.”

The two of them laughed and then really took their ‘places’. Grogu couldn’t help but think to himself that ‘This is the Way’ and giggle. It’s great when you can spend time with your heroes no matter which galaxy they were in.

Luke Skywalker entering the access hall to the bridge on Moff Gideon's ship and fighting the Death Troopers. From The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 8, The Rescue

[tljisthegoat]

Lightsaber twirls are just sooo satisfying. Such good eye candy. Can you imagine dual lightsaber Rey with her new lightsaber & Kylo Ren's lightsaber 🥵

She could have her old TLJ hairstyle back (which NEVER should've changed!!!)

Have a mix of her old TLJ outfit & Kylo Ren's outfit because that would look perfect on sooo many levels. Have her go to everywhere Ben has been because of their DYAD connection being so powerful. Have her mourn in solitude but keep putting on a brave face for The Rebellion & The New Republic until she decides it'd be better to abandon a cause she doesn't believe in.

She'll make enemies out of even the most loyal of her friends like Finn, who wouldn't think bringing back Ben at all is a good idea despite him wanting Rey to be okay.

She'll make unexpected allies, like Rose (who'd be her biggest cheerleader), Ahsoka Tano (you know Dave Filoni will find a way to have them meet), and Kreia. Who would be more questionable in terms of morality. Like The Illusive Man in Mass Effect 2.

I'd love to see her make Vader's castle on Mustafar, her secret hideout when she turns to the dark side. I'd also love to see her make Naboo, her permanent home to get away from everything with Ben when all the fighting is over.

She'd take very good care of The Millennium Falcon & make sure to keep Kylo Ren's saber in the best condition possible with her scavenger knowledge. She'd make sure Ben has a beautiful home to come back to.

I'd love to see her be playful & vicious when she's using the dark side. She'd love overpowering her enemies like Kylo Ren. Stabbing them in the chest & hitting them with lightning if she's feeling like making a statement.

Her fighting style would be a mix of Kylo & her own. She'd also use her blaster alot more.

She'd replace her staff with another blaster so she can dual wield both her blasters & lightsabers for the best weapon coverage.

She'd definitely become more interested in learning about The Force & Kreia would be the best Force user that I could believe still lives on in The Sequel Trilogy.

Thrawn definitely seems like he could be a good endgame villain especially if we get to see Reylo vs Thrawn.

Imagine if we got Dark Rey & Ben Solo vs The Rebellion & Thrawn?

Like Dark Rey is fighting The Rebellion while trying to get to Ben Solo who's escaping Thrawn's new empire?

What if Mara Jade comes back into canon to help Rey because she hears that Rey is Luke's padawan?

I'd definitely have Rey assemble a new crew for the sole purpose of bringing back Ben & protecting the galaxy. Like Mass Effect 2 but Star Wars. Now I'm just thinking of a game that would let you play as Dark Rey lol

Anyways, Rey has unlimited potential going forward as long as she's handled correctly.

Rian Johnson should definitely get a chance to make a Reylo show on Disney+

[phoenixyfriend]

Rey Gives No F*cks About the Grandfather Paradox

Okay so since nobody’s suggested a fic under these terms, I ended up expanding on this post on discord and things snowballed. We kept to the basics of the entire plot revolving around Rey really hating her grandad and leveraging her blood relation to not be unalived about it.

With contributions by @atagotiak​, @dracothulhu​, @thepallaspalace​, and several others. The title comes from @gelpenss​.

The basic thing I absolutely need is this: Rey gets thrown back to the middle of the clone wars, and the subsequent plot leans in really heavily on her being, genetically-via-clone-dad, the daughter of the guy running the entire galaxy.

Nobody knows what to do with her.

The timing is mid-TCW for the past (because I want Ahsoka there) and vaguely between Episodes 8 and 9 because I... never watched E9 and don’t want to worry about the timeline. The only things that matter is that Luke is dead (he can die as he did in canon) and that Rey knows she’s Palp’s granddaughter (not the way she does in canon).

We'll say Luke found out from Anakin's panicked force-ghost and just went "well, fuck, okay, I should tell her this before she ends up in a situation like mine and finds out mid-battle or something."

Luke, prior to time-travel: Okay, so, now that I'm dead I know some things I didn't before. Like who your parents were. In the interest of full disclosure because I was in a very similar situation and I don't want you learning the way I did, I'm just going to come right out and say that your father was a clone was Sheev Palpatine. Rey: ... Luke: Are you okay? Rey: I don't know who that is.

(She grew up on Jakku, the history education was a little subpar.)

Setting The Scene

Imagine Rey showing up during or immediately before the clone wars. There’s this phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater who tells you that if you ran a paternity test, it would probably pop up the Chancellor. She may or may not bring up cloning. She accuses said Chancellor of being a Sith Lord.

Your other phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater, who may not be a teenager anymore but only barely, is very offended by this because Palpatine’s a Very Nice Old Grandfather Figure, but also he’s a little full of side-eye because if the blood test comes back as proof, then Palpatine had a kid and didn’t even know about them, or lied to Anakin, and that’s! Bad! Family’s important!!!

Palpatine hears about this daughter he apparently? Has? And is very confused because the timing doesn’t match up with ANYTHING he was doing, so the kid isn’t natural, and he says as much. (There is an explanation! It’s not a correct explanation, but he does come up with one.)

Finn and Poe and BB-8 all get dragged along because why not have the gang there? Nobody that’s already born, because [handwave] conservation of souls or something, IDK, point is the only person dragged along that’s even remotely close to already existing is Luke’s Force Ghost, who mostly hangs around begging Rey to be less impulsive. Finn is good because he is a nice polite boy, but for actual useful information they need Poe. The unfortunate situation is that the three do not land together. They land at the same time, in completely different corners of the galaxy. This means that nobody is there to curb Rey being her most impulsive self.

Time travel Rey knows two things. Luke’s dad ends up evil. Palpatine has always been evil.

She can solve one of these problems by killing the other, yes?

Rey: Ready to Rumble

See, the initial idea was this: Rey tried to break into the senate to kill Palpatine, got arrested, and then used the "he's biologically my father" card to get out of jail free. (Force Ghost Luke follows her like “please take five seconds to think this through.”)

But.

But.

It would be very, very, very funny if The Force just dumps her in a flash of light in the senate building and she just attacks Gramps on sight. Just a shouted "YOU!" and no-hesitation attempted murder.

Palpatine has no idea what's going on.

Rey took maybe two seconds to get identity confirmation and then started swinging.

[Image Description: An individual in a green metal helmet with an eye slit, holding a pistol. In the upper left, upper right, and lower middle are the phrases “I do not know who I am...” “I don’t know why I’m here” and “All I know is that I must kill.” End description.]

Of course, she gets arrested. There are Master Jedi in the Senate. There are Clone Troopers. Palpatine isn’t the weak old man he pretends to be. Of course she’s stopped.

But she isn’t executed in time for Palpatine to stop her from ruining his entire reputation.

Immediately after Rey fails to kill her Shitty Granddad, Luke's ghost shows up and begs her to not talk about the Sith thing because it will completely undermine everything she's trying to do. Pass off the attempted murder as something else!

Rey, panicking: "that fucker left me on a desert planet for 10 years!" "You owe me 19 years of child support you son of a Hutt!"

The Jedi have to do the investigation, because the girl showed up with a laser sword, and the conversation is, uh... interesting. (“Where did you get that lightsaber?” “I got it from a mysterious old pirate lady I never met before. I don't know, I was being shown around by a smuggler and a Wookie.”)

Interviewer: Why did you try to assassinate the Chancellor? Luke: Say it wasn't assassination. Rey: It wasn't assassination. Int: You weren't trying to kill him? Luke: Assassination has to be politically motivated. Rey: This was, um... not political. Assassination is political, right? Int: You mean this was personally motivated? Rey: Yes. Int: I see. What personal motivation? Luke: Jakku! Rey: He's my grandfather. Int: ... Rey: Possibly father. Nobody was very clear on that. Int: ... Luke: Tell them to run a paternity test. Rey: Oh hey, a blood test would tell us which, right? Int: ............ Rey: I spent ten years as an orphaned scrapdealer on Jakku. He's my father. I'm kind of a little angry. Int: ........... Luke: Good job, kid. You bought yourself some time. Int: I'm going to get a medic to see about that parternity test.

Obviously, it comes back positive. Congratulations, Sheev, you’re the father.

Rey comes with a ready-made built-in excuse for hating Palpatine that nobody can question or fault her for!

Rey, pouring Truth into the Force: I didn't even know I was related to the Chancellor until a few months ago, but it's his fault I grew up the way I did, and he should take some responsibility!

The entire thing is mostly kept hush hush but someone leaks it to the press and Palpatine's ratings tank.

"Chancellor, I think we'll need to waive family visitation until she wants you a little less dead." "I would like to find out why she wants me dead, and indeed, where she came from." "...sir, for your own safety--"

Who would win? A master plan years in the making spanning decades of manipulating and work? or One (1) paternity test

"Okay, so, Rey Palpat--" "Ew, no, I don't want his name." "You--okay. Sure, we can understand that. Is there a name you would prefer to put on the paperwork?" Rey, who would have gone by Skywalker in honor of Luke but can't do that when Anakin is right there and all: "Can I think about it?"

Rey: I don't know what I want my last name to be but I know I don't want his, and most of the people I’d want a name from have famous families like you... Luke's ghost, pointing out the Literal Nobody that she cares about a lot: How about Solo? Rey: ...Solo, then.

(A few months later she runs into Poe again and he offers for Finn and Rey to both take his name because honestly they need SOMETHING but at that point she’s already decided on Smuggler Dad.)

Backtrack a bit. We’ve got a bigger cast.

They all arrive separately. Poe, for one, does better than Rey, who is aiming for a murder, but not quite as well as Finn, who is currently being adopted and hidden like a secret cat by a bunch of Alpha Clones on Kamino. He vibes with the names-or-numbers thing. He doesn’t necessarily tell them where and when he’s from, but he’s very sweet and a great liar and they adopt him wholesale anyway.

The Finn situation is just... "Buir Ti, we need you to hide this man, we've decided he's our little brother but if Nala Se finds out she'll make him leave."

Of course, this leads into Shaak Ti teaching Finn how to Jedi.

Maybe consider Finn needing to almost be tricked into learning Jedi things because he willfully forgets it could apply to him. Finn does not like to think of himself as special, which is super valid, but frustrating for Shaak Ti when it comes to, you know, getting him to acquire knowledge. Finn's training at some point is "here, levitate objects with the Force to entertain the tubies." It’s a lot easier to convince him to practice when it involves the babies.

(Everyone on Kamino looked at Finn and went “oh I love him I’m keeping him and teaching him things.”)

(He’s just very lovable.)

Poe, meanwhile, buys the trust of Anakin Skywalker via R2D2 declaring BB-8 the absolute most baby of droids. R2D2 met BB-8 three hours ago but.

"Hey Obi-Wan this is Poe I met him like five days ago but R2D2 says he checks out because his droid is a baby." "That's nice, Anakin, did you know the Chancellor has a daughter who tried to assassinate him in broad daylight yesterday? Because guess who had to stop the Chancellor from getting assassinated by his daughter in broad daylight yesterday."

A summary so far:

Finn, on Kamino: Hey, um, I don't know where this is, but it's not where I was a few minutes ago. Do you think you could get me a comm? What's your name? Poe, on [dice roll] Denon: Oh, hey, you're General Skywalker? Nice to meet you, I'm so sorry about my droid, she's a little excitable and thought your R2 unit looked like a friend of hers-- Rey, on Coruscant: DIE, GRANDFATHER

Finn: [Peacefully vibing on Kamino, unaware of the chaos and bonding with the clones] Poe: [Trying to explain how he knows someone who tried to kill the chancellor and defend Rey] Rey: [Arrested for trying to kill the chancellor]

Just... just...

Anakin: Some guy ended up lost on base yesterday with his droid, how’s your day going? Obi-Wan: I had to stop someone who claims to be the chancellors daughter from murdering the chancellor after she seemingly blinked into existence in the Senate building. Poe: 😐

(Poe: Oh, so that's where Chaos^2 went.)

Poe: In her defense, she is his... well we don't know if she's his daughter or granddaughter, but she's definitely related to him, and she definitely grew up in a shitty situation that was his fault, so...

(Poe is trying very hard to explain this and not get arrested on the military base.)

As you’ve probably guessed, what's especially funny about all of this for me is the fact that Palpatine is fully aware that this girl shouldn't exist, but can't find a single piece of evidence about where she came from. He didn't start any experiments that could result in a female child, and he didn't have sex in that period of time, so where the hell--

Rey spends so much time in jail... BUT they do eventually assign her a Jedi Master. Possibly before she actually proves her evil grandfather is in fact evil. Most votes went to either Plo Koon or Obi-Wan. Plo, because he’s dad-shaped, and Obi...

"Obi-Wan, you already raised one feral desert child with implausible amounts of power, you handle this." Rey in return is very "Sweet, you vaguely remind me of Master Luke," and nobody knows who the hell she's talking about. Obi-Wan is NOT on board with this plan, she'd really be better off with Plo or like........ Mace.

Reunion Tour

What I need out of this is the eventual Finn and Rey reunion scene that is just excited screaming while someone in the background explains to Shaak Ti that yes this is apparently Palpatine's terrifyingly force-sensitive daughter who hates him.

(Finn senses Rey’s approach and just. Gathers the everyone to wait. He’s just :D REY MY FRIEND REY GUYS MY FRIEND REY IS COMING.)

Anakin shows up with Poe--just a guy who signed on to the military, no big deal--and then Poe and Rey are EXCITED and everyone's just like "Cool, how do you know this literal terrorist child?" And Poe has to scramble and "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh she saved my droid from a scrapheap once and BB-8 is basically my child so I owe her one."

Rey knows that Anakin ends up evil so she’s maybe not actively hostile but definitely very “I’m watching you.” That said, she vibes with him on a lot of things that he maybe doesn’t actively notice.

Rey picks up a snake, snaps off the head for venom avoidance, and starts biting off chunks. Obi-Wan's reaction: [undisguised horror] Anakin and Ahsoka: Ooh, where'd you find that? (Obi-Wan: And now I’m up to three feral children.)

What Does Palpatine Even Do?

OBVIOUSLY at a certain point, Palpatine is just phoning up every ally he has to figure out who broke protocol to synthesize a daughter for him.

So of course, Palpatine blame Plagueis.

She'd have been born five or so years before Naboo, just a few years younger than Anakin. It's such an EASY theory to build a conspiracy around. It is ENTIRELY WRONG, but it’s plausible! And anyone who might have been involved to say otherwise is probably dead!

A random bio-kid shows up you can’t possibly have contributed genes to? Maybe it’s the evil bio spark that did it.

Palpatine tries to placate her with the ‘my genes were stolen for an experiment and I didn’t know’ thing. It doesn’t work because her actual main complaint is he’s evil in her future but he tries.

It'd be a struggle to even get access to her, because of the aforementioned “maybe don’t try to talk to the daughter(?) that hates you” thing, but you know who Palpatine does have access to? The Chosen One.

Rey kind of decides on her favorites early on (she gravitates to Dad Energy and Sad Old Men so Plo and Obi-Wan are on her list, and that means decent time around Anakin and Ahsoka). It's really easy to talk Anakin into helping to some degree because "he'd like to connect to a daughter he never knew" and "a child of her power on a planet like that, you'd know her struggle, my dear boy" and so on. Anakin tries to connect! He tries to play up Sheev’s kind political work and how it can’t have really been his fault! It doesn’t work. Rey does not believe a word of it. Mostly she doesn’t even seem to hear him.

Rey's just like "...oh right, you're the melted mask that Kylo Ren was always ranting about," which means absolutely NOTHING to Anakin, but he mentions it to Palps, who loses his goddamn mind trying to figure out what she's talking about, because it also means absolutely nothing to him.

Here’s the thing: Rey’s already decided that Obi-Wan is cool, because Luke said so, and Plo Koon is dad-shaped, and she also gravitates towards earnest kindness in general, like she made friends with Finn real quick, so Ahsoka? Already getting along great.

She doesn’t dislike Anakin, really, he isn’t evil yet, he’s just... meh. She’s a little suspicious and she likes him less than the others but... Anakin.

Rey, to Anakin: You are my least favorite. Anakin, to Palpatine: YOUR DAUGHTER HATES ME???

And he goes from “she’s a lil standoffish” to “she doesn’t like me” to “she hates me” as is normal for Anakin.

It’s just an escalation of this one time Palpatine wants Anakin to not have rifts and trust issues with a person, at least not until later, because he needs information.

Meanwhile, that very moment, Rey is just like "huh, nobody here is listening to me about how make a sixth-hand carburetor work, where's Luke's dad?"

Anakin is venting to Palpatine about how hard it is to talk to Rey, and she's over in the Temple just like "Hey, that guy was useful last time, I should ask him," but also she only ever thinks of him as Luke's Dad.

(At one point, Obi-Wan is having a bit of a break down, and then Anakin starts having a breakdown about that, meanwhile the clones are (badly) trying to hide Finn behind their backs, Rey is watching Ahsoka practice and being like "I want two lightsabers," and Poe is trying to keep R2 from stealing BB-8 and Force Ghost Luke is just face palming in the background.)

(Rey deserved a saber staff, maybe one that can detach and turn into a jar’kai set. Possibly a pike. Mostly I just wish she got more chances to whack things with a big stick.)

[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.”

[ariainstars]

Will Din Djarin and Grogu Have to Part?

Since this question has been discussed quite controversially in the fandom since the second season of The Mandalorian, here are my two cents about it. 

Luke and Anakin

A subject my husband and I can’t agree upon 😉 is the character of Luke Skywalker. I always liked him, while my husband finds him annoying. But consider: Luke’s hotheadedness, his naivety, his obstinacy, are perfectly normal for a young man of nineteen or twenty. Given A New Hope’s roots in classic Western, Luke is the typical greenhorn, who tries to man it up but doesn’t know how to do it yet. Luke is a normal adolescent with dreams and ambitions. Remember how we see him playing with a toy skyhopper at his uncle’s homestead? He obviously feels safe there. His aunt and uncle later even sacrifice their lives rather than revealing to the Imperial stormtroopers where R2D2 is, because they know that Luke went in search of the droid, and they don’t want them to find him. Luke is a good boy though raw and green. In the end, his story is a success because he chooses to use his powers to save the ones he cares about, even when it’s a father who, except for saving his life at the last moment, never did anything good for him.

Now compare him to Anakin Skywalker, his father, at the same age: many fans define young Anakin as a whiny, arrogant brat and they’re not so wrong with that. Anakin comes over as an irritating person, much more so than his son, because he is emotionally stunted, having spent the last ten years being told to stifle his emotions and not to allow any personal attachment. Which blatantly failed: we see right away that his bond with Padmé is still intact although they didn’t meet in the meantime, and we witness him getting mad with fury and hatred when his mother has to die in that cruel, meaningless way when he could have saved her had he arrived just a little sooner. Young Anakin is unbalanced and frustrated because by now he knows his enormous powers but is not allowed to use them in a way that actually makes sense to him. Anakin is a family man: his instinct is to protect. But at age nineteen, thanks to the uncompassionate mindset of the oh-so wise Jedi, he already is a ticking bomb.

Now to Our New Heroes…

While the first season was about Mando’s redemption and hero’s journey, the second one thematizes the development of the child. Until now he hardly wielded the Force and most of the time he’s just being cute and getting into trouble, but that’s not simply bothersome, nor is it unfitting for the narrative: it’s normal. Grogu is being a child at last, because he can, and he can because someone is looking after him and genuinely caring for him.

Look at him: the little cookie monster is having a blast. He’s meeting people and making friends. He’s enjoying life (including food). He can let go, because he knows that “daddy” has his back. Literally!

Which is why I don’t believe that Grogu will choose to join some Jedi or other: it would be pointless for his story. Grogu has the chance to be the child he could not be until now, and since he thankfully ages slowly, he’s taking that chance. Like with his predecessor Yoda, there is more to Grogu than meets the eye: he understands more than he lets on. He’s making experiences, and he’s learning from these experiences. Instinctively, he wants Mando because he wants belonging. My take is that he will learn how to have healthy attachments, and that if he is to be the future Yoda in some distant new tv show or new trilogy, he will be very different from this one in that he won’t discourage Force-sensitive children from learning how to love other people in a proper way. Also, Yoda lived mostly at the Jedi temple, which from the outside reminded of an ivory tower and indeed did shield the Jedi from seeing many of the ugly things happening outside. Grogu is travelling: he witnesses the injustices in the galaxy with his own eyes. 

One of the crucial messages of the Star Wars saga always was how wrong it is to separate families. Palpatine’s greatest villainy was making people who belonged together mistrust one another until they resorted to violence. What’s worse, he enjoyed it.

To remain in balance, children need to grow up serene and protected. Anakin, the Dark Father, was the most blatant example for this: his mere existence was a living proof for the Jedi’s failure. Terrified of his former padawan’s turn to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan set the seal on his fate right when Padmé was succeeding into making him go away with her. The Jedi was aware that Anakin was a husband and future father at this point, but the convictions of the Jedi had been so deeply ingrained into his mind since he was small that he believed them to be more important than Anakin’s role not as a Jedi, but as a human being. Still twenty years later, he tried to trick Anakin’s own son into killing him. Anakin’s soul was saved, though only by a hair’s breadth, due to his son’s stubborn compassion. Anakin had been willing to sacrifice everything to save his wife; Luke chose to rather give up his life than his integrity, which is why the moment when he throws his light sabre away before Palpatine is so significant, setting him apart from Anakin.

None of the surviving Jedi would have lifted a finger for Anakin: to them, he was a damned man. Which he was, but that was largely also due to the Jedi’s sins and not only his own. They never showed regret or assumed that they might have wronged him. The aim of both the prequel and sequel trilogy was not to excuse Darth Vader’s / Anakin Skywalker’s or Kylo Ren’s / Ben Solo’s terrible deeds, but to demonstrate that their fate could have been avoided; that they were not alone with their guilt but had been for a large part pushed into their role by their environment, instead of being, as the cliché runs, “mad guys who choose to be evil because they want power”, like e.g. in a James Bond movie. (Except of course for Palpatine, but even he got a second chance through Rey, equally powerful but much more well-meaning than him.)

Conclusions

The message of Star Wars is not about the all-powerful Jedi and the significance of their order: they are not some kind of superheroes who will return and save the galaxy. I daresay that who hopes to see Luke Skywalker, e.g. instructing Grogu, will be bitterly disappointed. If Luke would enter the narrative, the story would become about him, making the show’s set-up and title pointless. His story, the Hero’s Journey, was accomplished with Return of the Jedi, which is why George Lucas never wrote a continuation. Luke himself developed his capacities instinctively, both Obi-Wan and Yoda had little time to train him. (So much also for Rey being “a Mary Sue who knows how to wield her power without training”.) It obviously does not take years and years of learning at a Jedi temple to learn to wield one’s Force powers: it appears that what padawans are taught there, more than anything else, is how to control their feelings. Which is unrealistic on the long run, because every living being wishes for personal fulfilment and even the greatest Jedi can’t live solely for others.

Will the child’s Force abilities fade in time without training, the way Ahsoka said? They won’t. The show is set some 25 years after the fall of the Jedi Temple, and yet Grogu managed to make a mudhorn float in the air with his power. He was exhausted afterwards, but he managed. In another episode he healed Greef Karga from a mortal wound and he is the first Force-sensitive whom we ever saw with this capacity. In the next episode he rejected a fireball with his bare hands. The Force is strong with this one. He does not need a Jedi master to train him. What he needs is to develop a good judgement about what he should use his powers for, and when he should not. 

The saga as a whole always showed a clear structure where the puzzle pieces fit together, adding up to one final picture: life is not about power but about love and belonging. Power can win, but that victory is always short-lived. Who chooses power over compassion in the end will always lose and have to look back on a destroyed world where there are only losses and bitter memories.

Ever from the first episode, The Mandalorian lived from the dynamics between the gruff but kind bounty-hunter and the innocent yet powerful child. At its core, it is a father-son relationship: tear them apart and the whole story ceases to make sense. By the beginning of season 2 Din Djarin and Grogu have grown so close that you could hardly fit a sheet of paper between them. Their story is not about rebuilding the Jedi order, it is about healing together, overcoming loneliness and trauma, starting a new life together. 

Maybe they will be separated at the end of the second season, e.g. by Moff Gideon who wants the child for his despicable experiments: but if that happens, I can foretell what the next season will be about: 

Mando will move heaven and hell to get “his” child back under his protection. Because contrarily to both Luke and Anakin, he is a father, and a good and devoted one at that.

[thevibraniumveterans]

YOU’RE INVITED TO HAN AND LEIA’S WEDDING IN STAR WARS: THE PRINCESS AND THE SCOUNDREL – EXCLUSIVE REVEAL

WE HOPE YOU CAN ATTEND WHEN THE NEW BOOK BY BETH REVIS ARRIVES THIS SUMMER.

By Kristin Baver, Feb 14, 2022

We’ve seen the courtship of Princess Leia unfold on screen. Now, a new book cordially invites fans to attend the wedding of Leia Organa and Han Solo.

This Valentine’s Day, StarWars.com is thrilled to reveal Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel, a new novel from author Beth Revis arriving this summer. Set just after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the story begins on the forest moon of Endor, where Han proposes in the elation of the rebel victory against the Empire. After a ceremony at the site of the victory celebration at the end of the film, the newlyweds depart for a honeymoon aboard the Halcyon starcruiser, the luxury vessel at the heart of the new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience at Disney World Resort. In their most desperate hour, with the war still raging but the Empire nearing its last gasp, the couple must outwit the Imperial remnants clinging to power.

StarWars.com recently sat down with Revis to talk about her love for Leia, how her husband helped refine the dialogue for Han Solo, and the power of love amid the chaos of a galaxy at war.

StarWars.com: First things first: congratulations on your new book! You’ve written some amazing Star Wars heroines including Padmé, Ahsoka, and Jyn. What was your reaction to learning you would get to write Leia — and fresh off the rebel victory at Endor no less?

Beth Revis: I have often said that my two favorite Star Wars movies are Return of the Jedi and Rogue One. Getting to write Jyn Erso was a dream come true, and my first journey into writing for Star Wars. But Leia has been my hero for as long as I remember — I grew my hair long to be like her, and I even had a brother named Luke! She was my princess when I was a child, and she became my general when I became an adult. I can only hope that I’ve done her justice in this story.

StarWars.com: How did you approach this story?

Beth Revis: The first thing I did was watch all three of the original movies again (how am I lucky enough that this is my job?!). My initial instinct was to focus on Return of the Jedi since this book picks up right after it, but as I dug into the story, I found myself watching The Empire Strikes Back on repeat. The emotional beats of Han and Leia’s relationship start to spin out in Empire — it’s not just the famous “I know,” line, but it’s the way Leia relates how she doesn’t trust Lando and Han responds with seriousness, the way their trust builds, all the moments that lead up to their confession of love. By the time Return of the Jedi picks up the story, Leia’s been left with that confession long enough to get comfortable with the idea of it. It’s one reason why the relationship between the two works — Leia was always going to be someone who had to think about something like love, and Han was always going to be someone who just followed his gut. The time lapse between those two movies helped them both evolve so that they’re on the same page by the time Han is unfrozen.

I took pages and pages of notes on their dialogue, their mannerisms, the subtle ways they interacted. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are simply brilliant actors, and they gave me a lot to work with! I wanted this to be a story where the past was still present, but they were moving forward into new territory. It’s an emotional journey — the aftermath of war always is, but so is the new foundling steps of love.

StarWars.com: Of course, there’s plenty of time to explore my favorite scruffy-looking nerf herder. What did you find most challenging about writing Han and Leia as individuals and as a couple?

Beth Revis: I tested every single line of banter out loud as I wrote it! Thankfully, I married my own scruffy-looking nerf herder, so I’d corner him while I was writing and we’d go back and forth with the dialogue to make sure it sounded correct. Bickering is Han and Leia’s love language, after all! I can happily blow up ships in space, but finding the right balance between funny and romantic in their dialogue was perhaps the most difficult thing of the whole book.

For Han, I wanted to make sure the emotion was still true behind his bravado. No one has ever accused Han of being in touch with his feelings, but he’s a smart guy with strong instincts, and he knows what he’s doing, whether that’s kissing a girl or shooting a blaster. So he is aware that his relationship with Leia can never truly be uncomplicated, but he still has enough confidence to think that it’s worth the try.

On the flip side, I needed to ensure that Leia’s leap of faith in her personal life rang true. I’ve always seen her as someone who can lead troops better than her own heart, someone who’s compartmentalized herself for her own survival. Unwinding that became crucial, and I found the most helpful resources for those feelings in the comics, particularly the Star Wars comics that bridged The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but also in [Marvel’s comic book series] Shattered Empire.

Han had to learn how to build some walls, and Leia had to learn how to tear some down.

StarWars.com: Hope was an important undercurrent in your book Rebel Rising, which explored Jyn Erso’s life before the main events in Rogue One. What are some of the recurring themes readers can expect in this tale?

Beth Revis: One thing that I love about the new movies is that Leia and Han don’t actually end up in the idyllic perfect family life that we like to think of as a “happily ever after.” Instead, they have to work — for decades — to remain in love, and they consistently choose to make that happen. Even if they’re apart, they’re still in love, not because of fate, but because they choose to be. And that’s stunning. That was what I wanted to show about them as a couple — that they had a choice to make, and they chose each other.

It’s a variation of hope, in a way, which is the founding principle of all things Star Wars. The idea that every day, we have a choice. And we just have to continue to choose love and hope. At any point, we can walk away when things get hard. But choosing not to — that’s what real love is about.

StarWars.com: We’ve already seen Han and Leia cleaned up for the Medal of Yavin ceremony. What can you tell us about their wedding as you’ve envisioned it?

Beth Revis: I don’t want to spoil anything as the wedding is possibly my favorite scene of the whole book, but I will say that when Ewoks are involved, nothing ever goes to plan!

In all seriousness, though, what makes the wedding scene my favorite is the ring ceremony. The rings become an important symbol throughout the book — I’m being vague on purpose so I don’t spoil anything, but I think it’s true of all societies, whether they be on Earth or in a galaxy far, far away, that ceremonies become a necessary component of culture. We ascribe value to specific moments, and we bring up importance to symbols from those moments, including wedding rings. A wedding is like a bright star in a person’s life — a fixed point of light. And that’s true for Han and Leia as well.

Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel arrives August 16 and is available for pre-order now.

[twilightofthe]

Songbird! 🎵

Oooh thanks so much, Rynae!!!

(Playlist AU ask game found here)

“Raised By Wolves” by U2

Oooooh this one is an interesting one, and the nice thing is that it’s incredibly versatile. Raised By Wolves is very much a song about conflict and war within a state and trying to live and survive through events that keep on scarring you, but you have to go on. That’s one of the most common things about like, all Star Wars media

* * *

This is a story that spans generations. This is a story that can’t exactly be told in one piece because it’s a story that is everywhere. Because as long as there’s people in power, there will also be dissent, there will be conflict, there will be those who will be moving, there will be a war somewhere.

This will be a story about children, because everywhere there is someone who has to live through this, and as Yoda says, there is much to be considered from the viewpoint of a child.

The story will be about Anakin Skywalker, keeping his head down as he hurries back through the crowded markets with the parts he was supposed to bring back to his slave master. He avoids the crowd and the gang thugs grouping around a regular anybody whose luck just ran out.

It will be about Padawans in the Jedi Temple growing up being told by their teachers to listen to politics going on, don’t let them see you but make sure you see them, conflict is arising and you must understand, must be ready, because the world is a dangerous place and it needs people like you to help.

It will be about street urchins in Coruscant’s underbelly, watching the glitter at the top drip down into grime in their world that everyone forgot. It will be about clone cadets 9XXX and 9XXX, never seen war before but being told that that is their purpose, that the highest honor for one to have is to die.

Young Nightbrothers will be told that it is their purpose to serve their masters too— though they get the additional hushed whisperings telling them that this is how they survive.

It will be Padawans again during the Clone War, having to grow up far too fast and get an education on the battlefield their own Masters never had. It will be about Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee, both having to learn to make impossible decisions and deciding on their own how to live with them and what their futures will be.

It will be about Lux Bonteri whose mother holds him tight and tells him this fight is hard, but necessary. It will be about Korkie Kryze whose mother holds him tighter and tells him she will never let this cursed fight touch any of them. It will be about Steela Gerrera whose mother hasn’t been there for her for a while, but she holds her brother tight while she can because he’s flying fast and hard with a purpose and he doesn’t have the time to hold on to anything, so she has to.

It will be about Caleb Dume and Cal Kestis, eyewitnesses to seeing their world torn apart and their guardians with their wings torn from them, having to survive on their own which this blasted old war they were born into taught them, but now they are alone and the world is full of wolves who want to eat them alive.

It will be about a young child 20 years older and far far smaller than the rest of his crechemates, whose last kin has disappeared; he will never meet him again in their lifetime which can be over nine hundred more years for him. He will be fated to sit, and wait, and wait, and wait, and try not to be scared, try not to think much of anything at all

It will be about Jyn Erso, who lost her family too and has been running alone until she’s used to it. She had someone else to cling tight to for a while, but Saw Gerrera hasn’t had a young girl to hold on to him for far longer than that, so she slips away too. She’s not lost, but she can’t quite find her way.

It will be about Han Solo, grasping Qi’ra’s sweaty hand as they duck down and away from trouble, sharing the tiniest of scraps of food with each other because life isn’t fair to them, has never been, and survival has always been for the fittest as he watches the sky and imagines getting far, far away

It will be about Sabine Wren, whose world knew war far longer and more intimately than anywhere else in the galaxy— and maybe that proud understanding, that underestimation was its downfall. Her pride was hers and now she is far too young to understand her mother’s situation of having something you gave life to betray and fail you so very completely.

It will be about Ezra Bridger, another boy running through the marketplace, no chains tying him down but no anything else either. Being too light on his feet is lonely, but it lets him run from the voices only he seems to hear.

It will be about Leia Organa, head held high and daggers hidden within her silken skirts. She was raised into this life, of knowing how wrong the galaxy is, and she still laughs at her parents’ audacity to presume they can give her a choice to stay out of it, like this is something she isn’t fated to do.

It will be about Luke Skywalker, staring at the horizon. He’s always known trouble is around, but he’s quick and nimble at staying out of it. The galaxy has problems, yeah, but what can he do about it? It’s the way things have always been.

[giggles-and-freckles]

define ‘attachment’

read on ao3

while the dads esteemed Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker--wait for Ahsoka to wake up, they talk about attachment, worry, and that time Ani caused an accidental security breech at the Temple.

“Pacing circles is not going to wake her any sooner,” mused Obi-Wan, quietly closing the door behind him.

He continued walking up and down the length of the bed, as if he did not hear Obi-Wan at all.

“Anakin.”

His head snapped up. “What?”

Obi-Wan offered a small, knowing smile. “You’re worrying too much. As usual.”

“I’m not worrying.” he said quickly, defensively, his shoulders wrought with tension.

“Sit,” instructed Obi-Wan, motioning to the small chairs in the corner.

Anakin sighed in frustration, but obeyed none-the-less.

“You should get some sleep,” suggested Obi-Wan, studying his former Padawan as he dropped into the seat across from him. “She’ll still be here when you wake up.”

Anakin snorted derisively. “I know that you of all people didn’t just try and tell me to get some sleep.” He shook his head incredulously. “Do you even do that anymore, old man?”

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. “I sleep.”

“Going to your room and working on mission reports all night long doesn’t count.”

Obi-Wan waved him off, ignoring the dangling bait for yet another argument about how, truly, neither of them got the rest they needed anymore.

“She looks dead,” Anakin said simply. It had never stopped being jarring to Obi-Wan how straightforward Anakin could be without noticing his own lack of social prowess. Ever since he was a boy, Anakin had a particular way of saying the blunt things with no regard for the intake from others.

“Well, thanks to you, she isn’t,” Obi-Wan pointed out evenly.

Anakin frowned. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You told her how to beat them. She only knew about rupturing the coolant system because of you.”

Talking with Anakin was so often like this, these days. Obi-Wan would speak, but it was more like coaxing Anakin to say the things that Obi-Wan had already said.

If he were being honest with himself, he should have been asking Anakin exactly how he had managed to get the information about the coolant system from Poggle the Lesser. He and Luminara had spent hours with the Geonosian, but he’d never uttered a helpful word. Then, Anakin walked in and came out of the room ten minutes later with valuable intel.

But if he were being even more honest with himself, there was a reason Obi-Wan avoided this question.

“I should have been there,” said Anakin through gritted teeth.

“You had no way of foreseeing the situation. It should have been a run-of-the-mill supply run. Your Padawan is more than capable of handling that.” Obi-Wan glanced over at the small bed holding Ahsoka’s unconscious body in it, his lips twitching to a small smile.

He hadn’t had a chance to spend any significant time with the girl, but he had already made up his mind to change that as soon as they all got back to the Temple. She had something burning and illuminating about her.

Obi-Wan had plenty of experience handling volatile objects, but if Anakin was fire itself, Ahsoka was a sun. She had that same intensity and kinetic danger as her Master, but Obi-Wan saw a deep desire in her to use it for the good of the galaxy around her, to help grow and guide it.

“I couldn’t do anything,” Anakin said, helplessly, watching his clasped hands in his lap.

“I know it’s not what you want to hear,” began Obi-Wan gently, “but as your Padawan grows, you’re going to be able to do less and less.” He withheld the sad smile that played at his mouth, unwilling to make this moment about him. “You must teach her as much as you can while you can. Ahsoka was prepared for this trial because of the lessons you have already instilled in her.”

Anakin pulled the glove off his artificial arm and began fiddling with the metal at his thumb, as he so often did. Obi-Wan looked away, pushing away the forced reminder of the time he had learned how powerless he truly was to protect his own Padawan.

“I want her to be safe,” said Anakin quietly.

“I know.”

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. “How did you deal with me for ten years? ”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “It’s amusing that you think it ends when the Padawan gets Knighted.”

Anakin offered an appreciative smile and returned to fiddling with his hand. “I’m not like you, Master. You know me...I’m not good at the...attachment thing.”

Obi-Wan bit his tongue from snarking back about the real issue concerning Anakin being too good at the ‘attachment thing.’

How many times had the Council requested Obi-Wan specifically talk to Anakin about his disregard for the Code when it came to attachment? And how many times had Obi-Wan balked, wondering if it was actually Anakin’s greatest weakness or greatest strength?

Of course Mace Windu and Yoda could ask Obi-Wan to have those conversations with his Padawan; they’d never experienced the euphoria of Anakin Skywalker choosing them over a tight principle or expectation.

Raising Anakin had made Obi-Wan doubt his own competency with the Code’s edict on attachment.

“You’re not expected to abandon your Padawan or cease caring,” Obi-Wan fell back on the words he had told Anakin so many times already in the few months since Ahsoka had joined their lineage. “You have to find the balance in between it all.”

“You make it sound easy.”

Obi-Wan heard the tinge of resentment in his former Padawan’s tone and tried to ignore the way it made his stomach twist. He wasn’t exactly sure when his existence had started to irritate Anakin, but he’d sensed the tension growing in small doses between them since the beginning of the Clone Wars.

“Then you misunderstand me, my friend,” Obi-Wan shook his head in an attempt to make Anakin see that he struggled, too. “It is incredibly difficult. But the freedom of your emotions being disconnected from your personal relationships is a rewarding one.”

Or so Obi-Wan had been told.

“But how can you have personal relationships without emotions?” Anakin was growing frustrated, rounding back on this same argument they had had so many times before. Obi-Wan became more tired every time.

“Not without emotions,” Obi-Wan corrected for the hundredth time. “You are simply responsible for being mindful of them.”

“Well, that’s stupid,” Anakin snapped, slumping in his seat.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, resisting the urge to chastise Anakin’s blatant disrespect for the Jedi Code. He had to choose his battles these days and this wasn’t one he wanted to engage in. Not when there were two unconscious Padawans in the same room.

“Our next orders came in,” said Obi-Wan, trying out a new thread of discussion.

“Oh. Is that what you came in here to tell me?” asked Anakin, looking apologetic. “Sorry I burdened you w--”

“Never a burden, Anakin,” Obi-Wan held up a hand to stop his former Padawan’s ramble, offering an earnest smile. “I came in here to check on you.”

“If you have things to do, you should go do them. I’m fine.”

“Someone can be fine and still enjoy company, yes?”

“Yes,” Anakin nodded gratefully. “Thank you.”

“You know,” Obi-Wan began, settling deeper into his chair, “your first solo mission wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, either.”

“Nope, no way,” Anakin shook his head fervently, smiling none-the-less, “this is not an invitation for storytime.”

Obi-Wan grinned, unclipping his lightsaber from where it was poking him in the side and laying it on his lap. He was just getting started ; may as well be comfortable. “Ah, my former Padawan, how much you still have to learn. I don’t need an invitation to humiliate you.”

“Don’t I know it,” grumbled Anakin, rolling his eyes.

“Let’s see,” the older Jedi sighed wistfully. “It was slightly cloudy, no... very cloudy--”

“ Obi-Wan .”

“--and this young sprite of a Jedi came bustling into my room telling me he had received his first solo mission.” Obi-Wan sighed dramatically. “Now, imagine my surprise at this news considering I was the boy’s Master, yet had received absolutely zero communication about this.”

“It was a misunderstanding,” groaned Anakin.

“Hmm, so was the misunderstanding with the forged paper signed by Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Yoda ...or the Padawan delivering it to me?”

“I wish I was the one unconscious right now instead of Snips.”

“Because you wish Ahsoka to hear this story? Oh, no worries, Anakin. I have every intention of telling her this later.”

Anakin shot his former Master a rude hand gesture.

“The paper said that Anakin Skywalker was to report to hangar seven at ten hundred, misspelled by the way...that was my favourite part,” Obi-Wan smirked.

“ I had just started learning how to read Basic! ”

“Anakin Skywalker was to report to hangar seven at ten hundred to embark on an off-world mission with no company other than the astromech known as R2-D2,” quoted Obi-Wan. “So, of course, I rolled out of bed and packed your bag for you because who was I to disobey such legitimate orders from the Council?”

“You were cruel.”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I was bored.” he corrected. “Now this part of the story always trips me up. Was it you or your droid that set off the hangar alarms?”

“Neither. It was you when--”

“No,” Obi-Wan shook his head. “I only checked the flight reports and saw that there were no departures scheduled for hangar seven. Since you had orders directly from Master Yoda, I knew that it must be the flight reports that were wrong, so I simply did a manual override--”

“Yeah, setting off the alarms.”

“Oops,” Obi-Wan smiled, closing his eyes as he put his arms behind his head and reclined back.

“I don’t know how you have everyone except for me convinced that you’re some sort of Jedi golden boy. You’re a menace.”

“Master Kenobi?” a new voice interrupted the two men’s vocal spar.

Anakin and Obi-Wan stood up, quickly, bowing their heads toward Luminara.

“Obi-Wan,” Luminara nodded respectfully, “I was wondering if I might speak with you for a moment?”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan re-clipped his saber, following her out the door. He sent a last glance over his shoulder toward Anakin.

“I’m fine,” chuckled Anakin, motioning for his former Master to continue to the hall. “Kix said she should wake up in a few hours. I’ll be here.”

Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow.

“Sitting down. Not worrying,” he continued.

Obi-Wan smiled, closing the door behind him.

…

After Luminara had gone over the plans from the bridge to jettison and caught him up on Master Fisto’s inventory, he made his way back to the medical room holding Ahsoka and Barris. He gently pushed open the door, hoping to catch Anakin pacing again and preparing to poke fun at him for his worried antics over the Padawan he didn’t even want a couple of months ago.

Instead, Obi-Wan paused in the doorway, finding that, for once in his kriffing life, Anakin had followed not one, but two of Obi-Wan’s orders. He was seated in the chair as promised and asleep.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Anakin Skywalker without a liberal interpretation of orders and Obi-Wan couldn’t do anything but smile at the fact that Anakin had physically dragged his chair across the room to set it directly next to Ahsoka’s bed.

He appeared to have made an effort at maintaining sentry duty, but had ultimately been defeated, his body slumped forward onto the bed in front of him. One of his arms lay across Ahsoka’s waist and his head was completely buried into the bedding. Whether or not she had been conscious of it, one of Ahsoka’s hands rested on Anakin’s head, her tiny fingers woven into his curls.

Obi-Wan stood in the doorway for another moment, trying his best to commit the details of this picture to his memory, before he slipped back into the hall, a content smile on his face.

[gffa]

The Skywalker Legacy documentary | The Rise of Skywalker novelization I have struggled with Ben Solo’s character a lot and, through The Rise of Kylo Ren comic, I finally came to a place of understanding the character as someone who never really had any idea what he was supposed to do or what path he was supposed to be on, that everything else, even when important elements that factored into his motivations, was window dressing for the real underlying thing about him:  He’s just never known what he was supposed to do and he’s careened from one bad choice to the next to try to find it. What I mean by that is, in the comics, Ben cites that the weight of legacy drove him to many of his decisions, but even within the comic itself, he contradicts that and, when listening to Driver talk about the character, it’s not mentioned at all.  Oh, I have no doubt it was a factor of Ben’s choices, but it wasn’t the actual problem--the problem was that he never knew what he was supposed to do, what path he was supposed to be on, and he never really did the hard look into himself to figure that out. So I actually really loved what the novelization presents as his reasons for wanting to turn Rey, why he wants to bring her to the dark side.  That it’s justification for his latest careening choice, that he’s still see-sawing at that point, it’s ambiguous what he’s supposed to do, and even during the fight on Pasaana, he has no idea what that is. He’s trying to justify it, trying to think that if he kills the light in her, then he’ll be killing the light in himself and he’s SO ANGRY that she’s resisting this pull to the dark, because it makes him question what some part of him already knows is a bullshit choice and the bullshit actions that have led him to where he is. I think that’s what makes him somewhat different from Anakin--who knew the right choices, he just buried them so far in himself that they were little more than embers that no one could reach, not until Luke (or Leia), who didn’t know the good person that had been murdered to become Vader, that he could tolerate their affection in ways he couldn’t with Obi-Wan or Ahsoka.  Anakin absolutely had the wisdom to make better choices (the “Bad Batch” arc of TCW shows that with startling clarity), but didn’t.  I’m not so sure that Ben Solo ever managed to get that wisdom. Because, in contrast, Ben seems to genuinely just not have any flipping idea what he’s supposed to be doing.  He’s never had the answer. Whether that’s because he refused to acknowledge the answer or because he just could never parse any of this stuff in his head or it’s some murky combination of the two (which is what it usually is, especially when he’s had Palpatine’s voice in his ear for so long, but we also saw Tai directly telling him that he wasn’t doing the hard work of really understanding himself, which is essential for who a Jedi is, showing that Ben was ignoring the training on some level), this is someone who genuinely seems to just have no clue and is desperately trying to commit to any path that he thinks might be the answer. So he see-saws back and forth, there’s nothing but ambiguity for him.  He does terrible, monstrous things as Kylo Ren, he’s angry that his mother still loves him and that he can feel it in The Last Jedi, he’s been fighting his father’s memory since The Force Awakens, he thinks he can’t go back to his mother, but Leia dies trying to reach him one last time, even Rey knows that he’s wrong about how he can go back to her.

Ben Solo makes sense to me as someone who has no internal sense of what the right path for him is and he’s so tortured by this that he’s willing to do terrible things or listen to terrible voices in his head (voices that preyed on him, voices that deliberately attacked a vulnerable young man, that is absolutely a factor, but that cannot take away all of Ben’s agency in his own choices, especially given the people he’s gone on to hurt or kill and at least some deep down part of him knows that his family loved him, that’s part of why he’s so angry at them) that he keeps trying to justify all of this in an attempt to finally feel things have clicked into place inside him. Only by letting go of all of it, the desperately trying to force one path or another, trying to impose his will on the galaxy around him, of trying to force Rey to the dark side because he’s angry that she’s trying to stay true to the light, that she’s resisting the dark, that it makes him question himself, especially given their connection, only then can he find the sense of internal rightness he’s been searching for his whole life. And, honestly.  As Anakin’s grandson, “careening from one bad decision to the next because he has no goddamned idea what he’s actually supposed to be doing and he’s desperately trying to make this path the right one for him, until he finally lets go of all of that internal bullshit and does something for someone else even at the cost to himself” is pretty fitting.

[tagandtaylor]

The Rebellion’s Grandma

Okay so

What if there was this one rebel

She’s an old, old lady

And sweet, but also mega badass

And she’s like... everyone’s friend

No one knows her name, and she doesn’t tell anyone, so people just call her the Grandma

She makes people sweaters for Christmas, and she’s basically the Molly Weasley of the Rebel Alliance

She also organizes parties for Halloween, lights a menorah for Hanukkah, and basically caters to any and all religions/belief systems/cultures of the rebels she knows

She’s incredibly old, but believes that everyone is equal—aliens, Wookiee’s, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community

So everyone likes her, because she’s known for being inclusive and kind

When the rebels are on Hoth, she gets a ton of wool from the tauntauns and just makes a million pairs of socks, because all the rebels value socks more than anything else

When you’re in the trenches, or if you get snow in your shoes, or anything like that

You could legit get frostbite and lose limbs

This happened to many rebels in the first few weeks of their inhabitance of Hoth, so Grandma went All In on the sock knitting

Everyone in the rebellion knows that she’s the reason moral is so high

Once an imperial tried to capture her

It did not go well

Now everyone in the Empire knows to Not Mess (TM) with the Grandma (even ‘Iron Max’, aka, General Veers, is terrified of her [but also hopeful that she’s there for his son, too, because Zevulon Veers is a rebel and Veers Sr. doesn’t even know if he’s alive, so if the Grandma is how everyone says she is, Veers hopes she’s helping his child too)

But everyone’s scared of her because she somehow beat the Imperial that attacked within an inch of his life with her cane, even though she’s older than Yoda

The Imperial was shaking afterwards, and reported that the woman was “vehemently reprimanding him for interrupting her cookie-baking” as she defended herself

A lot of rebels (Zevulon Veers, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker) who don’t have parental figures in their lives go to her

Because she always supports them, even when they’re wrong

And she knows EVERYTHING about EVERYONE because people always go to her to talk because she’s also like... the rebel therapist

She’s super zen and knits and bakes to keep herself calm and collected

She has infamous fruit filled cookies

Sometimes she puts booze in her snacks because she knows what Her Grandchildren need

And because she knows everything

She’s the first person Luke Skywalker turns to when he finds out about Vader

And so she makes him a blue sweater and a pair of gloves that year for his birthday

The sweater has the words “You Are Enough” stitched brightly on the outside

On the inner lining (she made it with double layers, because she knows Luke gets cold in space) it’s written ‘Sithspawn? So what?’

Luke wears it all the time and takes the gloves everywhere with him

Because even if his father is a Sith, even if he might never love Luke the way he deserves to be loved, even if he might have to kill his own father

He has a bomb ass Grandma in his corner

And the thing is

This is true for literally every rebel

The rebels with imperial parents

The rebels who were orphaned because of the Empire

The rebels who have supportive families, but can’t see them because of they’re half a galaxy apart

Every single rebel loves the Grandma

And eventually, Rogue Squadron wonders if there’s a Grandma for the Imperials

So they do some digging

And then they figure out that the Imperials don’t have a Grandma

So

In true rebel fashion

They gossip the hell out of that information and start ANOTHER movement

The Give Imps a Grandma Association. Aka, G.I.G.A.

(Wes Janson was the founder)

The associations catchphrase was “Because even Imperials deserve Grandma.”

And then, the interviews start

Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, Han Solo, Wes Janson, and Hobbie Klivian interview each candidate vigorously, and take samples of their sewing skills and fruit filled cookies

High Command funds it, because who are they to tell Luke Skywalker (the kid that just got his HAND CHOPPED OFF for their cause) no

And so the interviews continue

And eventually they give up

Because no one is more grandma than the Grandma

So eventually they decide that they can send Imperials gifts from the Grandma, since they can’t give her up themselves

Admiral Piett gets an olive green sweater that says “Stressed but Blessed” in white cursive letters, and a matching green tea cozy

Vader gets a black knitted cape (and a small blue, left-hand glove that didn’t make sense to him at first, but when he finds a holopic of Luke in a blue sweater and glove over his right hand, it makes sense and makes him wonder at the same time)

General Veers also gets a sweater, but it’s a deep purple color with grey designs along the cuffs (grey and purple and Denons national colors [in my brain, at least])

Every single stormtrooper gets a blanket in their favorite colors, and a personalized note bundled up inside

The Imperials were in turmoil

They didn’t know who had made everything, just that they showed up in front of everyone’s quarters two days ago

Admiral Piett was worried they were contaminated

Oddly enough, it was General Veers who made everyone keep their gifts

It had made his troops happy, had boosted morale, and General Veers would never hesitate to be an advocate for his soldiers’ needs

So everyone kept the gifts

Every now and then, officers would catch a glimpse of blue fabric poking out of Vader’s belt compartment

if you went to fetch General Veers from his quarters, you would find the man resting in his purple sweater

Piett would frequently sip tea from a cup shrouded in a green knit tea cozy

They loved their gifts

But still, no one knew how they had gotten onto the Executor

Not even the Rebels knew

‘It had to have been the powers of the Grandma,’ they would decode years later

Because there was no power in the universe, not even the Force, that outweighed the power of the Grandma

[kavinskhhy]

My director’s cut on TROS

(AKA how I fix TRoS reusing its own plot. If you want to write an actual fan fiction with this just message me).

Prologue

We discover Snoke was amassing a fleet and projecting ships equipped with Star Killer cannons.

He could achieve this goal because he accessed Palpatine’s old “secret fortess” on Exegol, the planet of the Sith

Kylo Ren gets this informations shortly after becoming Supreme Leader. Hux (now first general) knows this too and gets worried about what this could mean for the whole galaxy

Meanwhile the Knights of Ren have come back from the unknown regions (they were destoying all the Jedi temples and killing every possible Jedi still alive such as Ahsoka)

Kylo goes to Exegol to investigate with the Knights of Ren but the spirits of the Siths (the voices in his head) force him to obey them and convince him to bring to Exegol the last Jedi, Rey, to have the order finally destroyed for good and start a new line of Siths through the Knights of Ren

Kylo, being the Supreme Leader, accepts and tells the Sith he will bring Rey to Exegol. Deep down he wants to turn her and make her supreme leader along with him. He plans to get rid of the Sith Arena too.

The Knights of Ren want desperately to be full Sith so tha will do anything to reach their goal

Act I

The resistance gets a message from a spy that the First Order has found (somehow) an additional fleet to its already vast attack forces. They get to now this fleet is kept on Exegol and will depart in a matter of days

Rey, thanks to the Jedi texts, knows a way to reach Exegol: use a Sith wayfinder. She descovers it may be on Pasaana

Pasaana is the last known planet where a wayfider was forged. The forging (happened thousands of years before) made Pasaana a desert but did not erase life.

Rey + Finn + Poe + 3PO + Chewie travel to Pasaana while Leia and Rose try to assemble an attack fleet with the help of Lando Carlissian

They make it to an old hidden sith temple and retrive the wayfinder

Kylo connects with Rey, understands where she is. He is going alone to try to turn her but the Knights of Ren stops him. Helped by the voices of the Sith they extort Kylo the Rey’s position.

Chewie gets cought, Rey and Kylo fight over the convoy and destroy it, Knights of Ren gets the wayfinder

Rey, Poe and Finn flee from Pasaana. C3-PO was damaged in the process. To save him they need to visit Babu Frick and Zorri Bliss

Act II

C3-PO is restored but the Knights of Ren followed them

Rey, Poe and Finn enters the First Order ship. While searching for the wayfinder, they overhear that Chewie is alive. They split to save Chewie and retrieve the wayfinder

Poe, Finn and Chewie get caught but are saved by a bunch of Stormtropper deserters. One of them is JN-2109, one of Finn’s former friend

They escape. But a ploton of loyalists to the first order blocks them. They call Zorri for help

Rey fights with Kylo and isn’t able to retrieve the wayfinder; he asks her to join him another time but she tells him to revert to the light instead. He has almost answered but Zorri and Babu Frick get the MF in the landing strip and save the day

They rescue Finn, Poe, Chewie and the rogue StormTroopers

Rey has no choice but to flee leaving Kylo behind

The Knights of Ren take this all in and doubt Kylo’s true motives (they thought he wanted to kill Rey alone to take all the glory)

Act III

Rey searches on the texts again but can’t find nothing about other wayfinders

Rey calls Leia to have a confrontation on what to do

Finn hears a voice (Obi-Wan) that tells him they need to go to the relict of the Death Star

Finn tells Rey (in private) he is Force sensitive and they travel to the Death Star

Meanwhile the Knights of Ren are not please with Kylo. They tell him he let Rey go on purpose and send him to kill her to show his true fealty to the first order. They do so because general Pryde found a damaged footage of the day Snoke was killed and, even if it is not clear, it seems Kylo was the one who killed their master, not Rey

The Knights sends him away to make sure he won’t ruin the their plan to become full fledged Sith. They now fly back to Exegol and wait for Kylo

Rey&Co travels to the sea moon of Endor. After some searching they find what could be a secret Sith “room” in the throne room of the Death Star. Only Rey is permitted to enter though, cause only Force users can enter there

Kylo, thanks to the Force bond, can sense where Rey is and flies there

Rey actually discovers another wayfinder but has to face the “ghost” (in reality it is only a security sistem) of the dead emperor. She is lead to believe she is his secret granddaughter and that is destined to be the ruler of the Siths. She faces a Dark version of herself but is able to snatch the wayfinder away

Kylo, after knocking Poe, Finn and Jannah (she was renamed by Poe) off, talks with Rey and explains her his true plan: get rid of the Knights of Ren and be Supreme Leader next to her

Rey is shaken because of the vision she had. She attacks Kylo multiple times to get the wayfinder back.

They fight (Rey is trying to kill him while Kylo defends himself). Kylo has the high ground, he has almost vanquished Rey but he stops: he has gone too far and does not won’t to hurt her

Leia connects with him through the force. He sense her and lets his saber go.

Rey snatches the red saber and hurts him. She senses Leia’s death and the light in Kylo Ren.

She is shocked about her actions. She heals him and takes the wayfinder; using Kylo’s ship, she flies to Exegol

She doesn’t know that the Knight of Ren are waiting Kylo there and are going to slian her

Kylo finally redeemes himself, sees Han, and goes by Ben Solo again

Ben calls for another ship, but not before telling Jannah (that stood up to confront him to save Rey) that the Knights of Ren went to Exegol to launch the new fleet and try to achieve full Sith powers.

Act IV

Poe Finn and Jannah flies back to where the resistance is to inform them of the new plan.

Leia is dead and practically everyone has lost hope

Rose gives an inspiring speech with the help of Poe

Lando comes to them saying he has gathered a modest number of ships

They think about a strategy to block the fleet on Exegol

Meanwhile Rey has gone to Ach-To to have some answers from Luke

Luke appears as force ghost

She asks him why she and Ben are connected

We get a satisfying explanation of the heck a Dyad is

Rey now knows she can truly redeem Kylo and uses Luke old ship to fly to Exegol. She gives the route to the resistance

The Knights of Ren meanwhile have managed to rise the fleet. They ordered Pryde and Hux to come and bring the full armada on Exegol to unite the two and assemble the Star Killer cannons on the old ships

Rey goes inside the cube because she senses a dark presence there. Here the spirits of the Siths try to enter in her head

Rey is found by the Knight of Ren. Sensing she is hanging in the balance between light and dark, they try to revert her to the Dark Side.

She has almost given in when Ben arrives

The Resistence has come to Exegol to stop the First Order Fleet

Pryde tries to destroy them with a Dtar Killer cannon. Hux fights with him to stop him. It is reveled Hux is the spy.

After the resistence successfully enters Exegol’s atmo Hux contacts them and tells them how to destroy the first order ships

Pryde regain consciousness and fires him. Hux dies in a satisfying and not ridicoulus way

Lando comes with others ships from all over the galaxy

Ben and Rey fights the Knight of Ren. The Sith spirits try to overcome them.

The jedis speak to both Rey and Ben and give them the strength they need to kill the Knight of Ren and destroy what remains of the Siths spirits

Rey dies, Ben brings hat back. He is almost dying to but we see Leia’s corpse fade away. Ben hears his mother voice one last time: she gave him enough living force to not stop breathing

The resistence wins and destroys the whole first order fleet

Rey carries Ben to the ship and they reach the base of the resistence

Epilogue

Poe-Finn-Rey reunites and hug each other

Rose gives Chewie his medal. Maz Kanata tells her she will surely be a great general, as Organa and Holdo were.

Ben gets out of the ship

Everyone wants to kill Ben. He says the first word as Ben solo:”I am a monster. Do as it is right.”

Rey explains them that he was manipulated by the Siths all along, since he was a child

There is trial. Ben is exiled on Tatooine & is forbidden to use the force ever again

Rey goes with him. They bury Leia’s and Luke’s lightsabers.

Anakin ghosts shows up and tells them they are the true legacy of the Skywalkers

Poe and Finn gets medals, they officially becomes leading generals.

They ententes the Falcon and before the door closes they share a kiss. Here’s the lgbt kiss we were all waiting for and, if someone has issues with it, they can cut it out in their country but it is still canon.

Senator Rose and senator Janna watch as the Falcon departs through the sky

Zorri and Babu frick giggles as they load a ship to go back home

Rey and Ben watch the double sunset on Tatooine (no yellow light saber because both the Jedi and the Sith orders are now unexisting).

End of the Skywalker saga

Here. I fixed it.

[lilylilie001]

“Old Friends Not Forgotten” Review and Analysis

Spoilers for Star Wars: The Clone Wars S07E09

If you are interested in my reactions while watching the episode click here

If you want to read my rant about the thing that made my cry the most in this episode click here (disclaimer: I was still crying while writing this and that may have clouded my opinion about the scene. In this review I will go into more detail about that)

So then let’s get started! I have calmed down and feel now emotionally ready to actually interpret and analyse the scenes and not just bring across my emotions. But this still is only my personal opinion! So if you disagree that is fine, just please don’t be mean about it.

So the first scene we get is a parallel to the movie (aka the first arc of TCW) which I think is a pretty amazing idea. It shows how Anakin and Obi-Wans relationship has changed and how it has stayed the same. Anakin is as cocky and arrogant as ever. But this time he is not Obi-Wans student anymore. He leads his own men with his own plan and is just coming from his own solo-mission. Yes he wasn’t Obi-Wans Padawan in the movie and Rex was under his command back the too but their dynamic was still different. He still sees Obi-Wan as his former Teacher and as a Jedi Master and part of the counsel he is technically still above Anakin, but they act more on an eye-to-eye dynamic. More like brothers than father and son.

Anakin uses a smiliar trick as Obi-Wan did back in the movie. (I don’t know how the Republic and the Separatists handle that but it is considered a war crime in our world... Since Obi-Wan did it and never got called out for it I guess it is okay in their world...) But of course Anakin puts his own spin on it. That is I think a pretty good way to show how Anakin learned from his master. He did watch and listen but he is not like Obi-Wan. He likes to do things his way. And as long as it works he won’t stop.

Their friendly banter in this scene is also really in tune with the way they act with each other in the beginning of ROTS (especially in the deleted scenes). So it is not hard to believe that this takes place only days before. 

Before Anakin does his own thing Obi-Wan says: “I know better than to try and stop you.” I really liked this line. Not only because it was funny but also because for me it had a bit of an bitter aftertaste. He does not approve of Anakin’s actions (or methods to be exact) but he doesn’t do anything about them. Anakin is an adult and Obi-Wan is done with his education but his former padawan is far away from being a Jedi Master.

Then we have the first moment with Rex. Again a beautiful example of their dynamic. The other clones do what Anakin say (they have to) but they also are a bit annoyed by their general and his plan. Rex on the other had has Anakin’s back, as usual. And he motivates his men to follow Anakin. The trust these two have in each other is just beautiful! Rex trust that Anakin knows what he is doing and Anakin trust that Rex is taking care that everything works. I am pretty sure Rex wasn’t given more than a few instructions haha 

Anakins plan works and he learns nothing except that he was right. Again. I am not gonna go into to much detail about Obi-Wan and Cody but I will say this. As usual they care about and trust each other. Cody is like a friend and not just some clone to Obi-Wan and knowing that makes Cody picking up Obi-Wans lightsaber in a few weeks so logical. Also it makes Order 66 as usual even sadder.

I can’t help but feel that is episode feels like part of a movie. The opening battle. Very Star Wars. That would also explain the new intro and outro. A very nice ending to the show. Staring with a bad movie, finishing with good one. All in all this episode really played on nostalgia about the TCW Movie and I love it!  

Okay back to the episode.

Ahsoka used the name Fulcrum for her transmission. It is a nice callback to Rebels and to the Ahsoka Novel. But with the republic (for example Yularen who becomes a impirial officer) knowing that she uses that name it feels like a bit risky to me to use it in the rebelion as a code name... Maybe I am thinking to much about that but yeah I had to write that thought down. Also Anakin first thinks it is Saw Gerrera, so that means he came up with that name? This just confused me... 

So now I going to try to fangirl not to much about Anakins reaction to Ahsoka, which is hard. But I am going to talk about it because it is very important for his character. I personally don’t remember the last time I saw Anakin this happy. Ahsoka coming back into his life is for him obviously a thing he had wanted and hoped for for a long time. But at the same time he is so surprised that it happened.

The next feeling he goes through is concern. He is just immediately concerned about her and the reason she is contacting him. Perfect Anakin moment. He loves his adoptive daughter and of course he is scared about her wellbeing. He is Anakin! He always scared about the women in his life. So having this poking out under his happiness was a good call.

Obi-Wan on the other hand is just surprised. And Ahsoka herself is very distant. (gonna go into detail about that in a second)

The talk Obi-Wan and Anakin have while walking to Ahsoka’s ship is also very interesting. You can see Anakin trying to find a reason for her leaving. Like it is the will of the force. Meanwhile Obi-Wan has a mixture of quilt and anger. He was partly responsible for Ahsoka being kicked out of the order and therefor also for her not returning. But it also feels like he is mad at her for not retuning. Maybe (that thought had just crossed my mind) he is angry at her for breaking Anakin’s heart. After all Obi-Wan had to piece him together again. (There is an unfinished scene form the original 7th season were they talk about Ahsoka.) And now he feels like she should not be let off the hook just like that. 

Or he really just angry that she left the order that he believes in.

Again we have a nice callback to the movie. I really love those. They feel fitting.

R2D2 is just amazing as usual and greets his masters daughter like a good boy. 

Ahsokas face goes through so much in a matter of seconds. She looks at R2: happy. She looks up at her former masters: scared and unsure. She takes a step: confident. That is genius! I especially love that little moment of fear in her eyes. It makes so much sense when you look at her in the rest of the episode! And I personally think that it is Obi-Wan that she is cold towards. I think she has not forgiven him at all for his part in her trial. And she is not at all ready to face him. But she puts on a brave face because she has a mission bigger than her. 

At first when she stopped Anakin I was a bit upset but i get it now. She does not want to have this in front of Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan. Anakin staying behind for a second and putting himself together again is also really fitting I think. He was so excited to see her and she is cold towards him. He either does not see that it is not about him or he feels the tension between her and Obi-Wan.

Anakin again becomes worried dad when she mentions Oba Diah. And it feels like she would want to tell Anakin but she has Bo-Katan next to her and Obi-Wan in front of her so she doesn’t. She also seems surprised that he still cares so much about her. I think she expected him to be a upset with her and not as open and happy as he is. (Maybe that was why she looked scared in the scene before...) 

“What is one more?” This sentence is big. I mean yes Bo-Katan is not a friend of the Jedi and not a friend of Obi-Wan. But it also kinda shows the overall frustration with the Republic and the Jedi in the galaxy. 

Anakin lighting the mood with a joke...that is just pre-Vader Ani at his finest!

Bo-Katan is not wrong in this scene but after everything she had done to sabotage Satine she should really get down form her high horse here! 

You can just feel the tension leaving the room when Anakin and Ahsoka are alone. They start to banter and she immediately smiles. These two have still so much love for each other and truly enjoy each others company. But after that there is this small moment of silence. Again perfect moment. It just shows that regardless of that there is baggage here.

While walking down that corridor Anakin acts like a worried dad again. “It doesn’t matter to them. It is a sign of respect. They know what you went trough for them day after day. Battle after battle.” I choose to believe that he is also talking about him self when saying that. It is his way of telling her that he is proud of her. I don’t think she picks it up but the way he talks about it...that is his opinion of her for sure!

The Helmets...I just love them. I am not going to talk about them much. Their meaning is obvious and this is getting really long. I will also skip Rex for now (don’t worry he will get his paragraphs) same with the lightsabers.

Ahsokas face...she just feels proven right about the Jedi...

So I am not sure if Anakin’s worry is about Padme or the Chancelor. I mean they talk about the chancelor and he is close to him. But he looks really worried so maybe Padme? 

Ahsokas and Obi-Wan argument. The scene is amazing! I have to say that. It showed their morals pretty perfectly and both are kinda right. Again the tension between them makes sense. It still hurts to watch it.

But also Anakin standing between them awkwardly is kinda fitting with his arc. He is so happy this whole episode that it is hard to see ROTS Ani but I think it still ads up. He knows they are both right. The war has to be won but also Mandalore needs help.

“Unfortunately Ahsoka is no longer a part of the grand army of the republic.” That one sentence made so mad at Obi-Wan. Yeah, he is technically just saying a fact but his attitude. He is partly responsible for that he takes no blame! Even Ahsokas reaction is just like: Are you kidding me right now? She just looks at him for a second and she looks so disappointed and hurt. 

And Obi-Wan, he continues to look at her after she looked away and I don’t know but I see a bit of regret in eyes.

So apparently Anakin can promote Rex just like that. Don’t know why he never did it before. I mean we all know Rex would deserve it. But better later than never, right?

Interestingly enough the tension between Ahsoka and Obi-Wan is gone so quickly. It is fare away from their friendship in previous seasons but still. There is respect there again.

Of course Obi-Wan has to make a Kenobi joke before leaving. That really made me forgive him, at least a bit.

“Thanks for the support, as always.” I have not nothing to add to this sentence. Ahsoka’s words nailed the point I want to make about Anakin in this scene.

Okay now on to the lightsabers. Two things. First, he must have had them with him on the whole siege! So that means that Anakin Skywalker kept her lightsabers with him at all time to either remind him of her or just in case she came back to him! Yeah, attachment is problem with this boy...

Secondly...they are blue. All of Ahsokas lightsabers are green up to this point. So he either got her knew crystals or he played with them so much that the took on his lightsaber color. I don’t know what to say about that. 

Ahsoka rolling her eyes at his braging is just wholesome. Nothing more to add there.

I really love their dynamic when they are alone. It is so pure and happy and loving...

“Good thing I taught you otherwise.” So again a sentence with so much meaning. Filoni just loves throwing these in there, right? Let’s analyse it (bc that is the purpose of the post after all). With this sentence he basically tells her that it is okay to disagree with Obi-Wan and that he is not holding it against her in any way. He himself does it. Especially with the scene from before in mind that is so powerful. 

We have heard a multiple of Jedis saying that luck doesn’t exist so Anakin saying that shows he does not care about what the order thinks is right. He has his own right and wrong. For now that is not problematic but we all know who that ends...

And that means he tells her he raised a good person and not necessarily a good Jedi in her. (it is really late, my english is no longer working properly) Hopefully I got my point across.

The way Ahsokas stands in this shot... She is not a little girl anymore. She is a fighter. A warrior. 

“Anakin! Good luck.” 

I really have to take all my strength to stay calm while writing this. I don’t want this to be too emotional. 

So. Okay. *takes a deep breath* Ahsokas last words she ever says to Anakin Skywalker. The next time she talks to him he is Vader. Good words. Less than I personally wanted but good words. 

After what he told her before it is just so poetic. She wants the best for him. She wants him to be lucky. To succeed. But after what he said it is more. So much more. It is a rejection of the Jedi and an embrace of the light force. And... Damn with everything that is going to happen in ROTS having Ahsoka telling him words that the Jedi reject is just... 

Moving on before I lose my mind. We still have Rex to cover. 

Anakin and Ahsoka think they will see each other again. They think that they will win and be together again and then they can figure out what to do about everything. About them. About the Jedi. About Obi-Wan.They have no idea what the future has in store for them. And it is perfect. I aligns perfectly with other star wars media. ROTS, Rebels, Ahsoka Novel. They don’t hug. They don’t say goodbye. I hate it but it is perfect.

I love that Rex got promoted but he is gonna be Captain Rex for me forever. Captain or Sir. But he really does deserve his promotion!

Because this is really long already I will not talk about Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians but focus on Ahsoka and the Clones. 

We get an amazing banter between Rex and Ahsoka were Ahsoka proves that she is Anakins Padawan after all and that she has Skywalker energy. It is really amazing to see her in her element again. She can use the force whenever she wants and kicks ass! This really was her childhood.

And then she saves a Clones because that is what Ahsoka Tano does. She knows casualties are a part of war but she saves who she can.

Rex is so happy to have her back! He smiles and smiles just like Anakin. And just like with Anakin Ahsoka is so relaxed with Rex. They are her home! 

I just love the cinematography of her fighting. It really is just watching a Star Wars movie. I can’t wait to watch the whole arc in one go!

“Beat you.” “Some things never change.” Wholesome. This is just wholesome.

Okay so that is it for me. I know there is still Maul and Bo-Katan to cover but I will talk about them after next episode!

But I will say this in conclusion: This is episode was stunning! Like everything was beautiful and meaningfull and thought out and detailed! I truly love this episode! I already watched it three times today. And I am so amazed by the animations! The characters facial expressions were on point! I had so much fun analysing them!

I hope that was interesting to read and honestly I am surprised if anyone got this far. Anyway I really loved watching the episode again frame by frame and note my thoughts (this took me 6h btw)

[cross-d-a]

Why Anakin is still the Chosen One

Here are some tired thoughts before I go to sleep:

Anakin literally tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. He defeated Palpatine in episode VI and brought balance then. Yeah, Palpatine apparently lived but that doesn't mean Anakin didn't bring balance.

Ever since Force Awakens I can't help but think that this whole sequel trilogy is an allegory for our current political state, specifically: Neo-nazism. The Empire is modeled after Nazis. There's no question. Fascist totalitarianism wrapped up in a genocidal Empire?? Yeah, no thanks.

But then we've got the First Order. They're trying to revive past ideals, trying to revive the Empire. They're a whole mix of people: born into a fascist family like Hux, original Empire loyalists like Pryde, children stolen and brainwashed into it like the stormtroopers-- racism and hate comes from a lot of different backgrounds (it can be taught, it can be learned), but they all tend to latch onto certain beliefs and political structures. It helps the First Order that (from what I can tell) the New Republic was a copy of the first. From the prequels it's easy to tell that it's a broken system. The Empire didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Palpatine was a crafty son of a bitch but even he couldn't sway billions upon billions of people to his side. Those feelings of hate and prejudice and greed had to already exist- Palpatine just took advantage of it and stoked the flames (not even gonna go into real world parallels here).

There is a reason why I'm talking about this. I'm talking about Anakin, who was raised a slave. Who was already a victim of hate and all the evils in the galaxy because he was a SLAVE. A little boy who only wanted to help people, who wanted to break the system that allowed him and the rest of his people to suffer. Then he was freed and thrust into a position of privilege within the system that made it possible for Anakin to be born a slave. And there he was, told over and over that he was the Chosen one. That he must bring balance. But it wasn't the kind of balance he sought since he was a little boy. I think Anakin just wanted everyone to be equal, and the kind of balance the Jedi believed in didn't necessarily mirror that since they were an integral part of the Republic.

But I digress.

I'm bringing up Anakin's childhood in slavery (and arguably, his whole life of slavery) because Anakin is was folded into this Nazi-like Empire which went against everything that he believed in as a child. Everything his mother believed in. Palpatine and the Empire twisted him and yes I love Anakin to death and he is such a victim of circumstance (and he is such a nuanced, interesting character), but he did some pretty terrible things as Darth Vader. He became everything that he ever wanted to fight against.

And then he said no.

He watched Palpatine torture his son. He watched Palpatine try it use his son. And we all know how much Anakin values family. Anakin chose to end fhat circle of hate and suffering. He was the first one to stand his ground and save the person he loved and actually succeed- and with that action he became the catalyst for defeating the Empire.

The thing about Anakin is that he has always been the catalyst. His birth was a seemingly impossible thing. The Jedi discovering him set in motion both Palpatine's plan and the Jedi's defeat. And then Palpatine's eventual destruction.

I'm not discounting every single other person in the Star Wars universe who has suffered or fought for what is right (shout out to Ezra 'spark of the rebellion' Bridger). But there is no doubt that without Anakin we would not have a Star Wars series. Everything revolves around him, whether it's believing he's the chosen one, believing he is the villain we must defeat, or knowing he is someone we must live up to and emulate.

Without Anakin's sacrifice, without him remembering what's truly important (family, love, freedom), the Empire would not have been defeated. Luke would have died. Leia probably, too. Palpatine would have utterly destroyed the galaxy (maybe we'd see some actual Dark!Rey way down the line). Anakin stood up, stood his ground and said No.

The real reason why Anakin is the Chosen One is because he IS that catalyst. Because he did rise from oppression and servitude and had the strength to say No.

I'm going to bring up the Neo-Nazism again: the New Republic rose up to replace the Republic. The First Order rose up to emulate the Empire. I would argue that the First Order became so powerful because the structures that allowed the Empire to rise in the first place still existed.

Yoda says in the original trilogy: There is another. (Yeah you know what like I'm talking about) You could argue that it's Leia (it certainly meant to be at the time). You could argue that it's baby Yoda (my boy!!). But I would argue that it is the next generation.

You see, you can't just defeat evil once and be done with it. We certainly hoped we would when WWII ended, but the fight is never done. Neo-Nazis still exist. Terrible, terrible people still exist. And maybe it's learned, maybe it's passed down through the family-- you can learn to hate in a lot of different ways. The structures that allowed Nazis to rise up like they did still exist today. We still face racism and homophobia and anti-Semitism. The battle is not over.

That's why I think these sequel movies are important (despite my problems with it, but I won't go into that here). I would love to think that after episode VI everyone lived a happily ever after. There was no more evil, no more suffering and slavery and thoughtless killing. But it doesn't work like that. Even though that's the ending I want, even though that's the ending I sometimes need-- every generation faces its own threat. Its own call to the past.

I have my own confused reservations about Rey parentage, but I adore that she rejects the legacy of hate. We see what she is capable of. We see that (just like Anakin) she could give in to what she thinks is the lesser of two evils. (It's okay as long as the people I love get to live, right?') We see that she is fully capabale of it even. She struggles with it, much more (I would argue) than either of the other two movies. She struggles to reject that part of herself and she struggles to acknowledge that she is born from that legacy (as so many would). Who would be proud to know they came from a family of Nazis? Not many people I hope.

And maybe it's because her parents chose to "be no one" that she is able to find the strength to think "maybe I don't have to go down this path." I would love to know more about her parents and how they chose to completely defy expectations, but I'll content myself for now with this:

Rey chose to reject the legacy of hate, and instead followed Anakin's own defiance. She's choosing her own legacy: combatting of hate and violence. Embracing love and hope. Learning from the mistakes of the past.

In a way, Ben Solo is right: let the past die. We must destroy the hatred and intolerance of our past. We must tear down the structures our forefathers put in place that allowed this hatred to arise and take over the galaxy. But he's also wrong. We have no way to know how to be better than our forefathers if we don't remember their mistakes. If we don't remember what they fought for and believed in. That's why "a thousand generations live within [Rey] now." She chose to follow the legacy of love and hope that the Jedi embody. And yes, the Jedi have their own problems, but that doesn't change the fact that they did their best to fight for what they thought was right. And, this is something to remember:

Yoda said: We are what they grow beyond.

Luke and Leia continued on that legacy of hope where Anakin and Padmé and Obi-Wan were unable to continue. They succeeded where those three failed. And, I hope, Rey (and Finn and Poe) will be able to succeed where Luke and Leia and Han couldn't. Where the Jedi couldn't.

It's up to everyone that comes after us to remember where they came from and discover how to grow beyond where we failed.

And now I'm back to where I began: Anakin. He tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. We hear many other voices (Luke's, Yoda's, Ahsoka's, even Kanan's and Ayala Secura's), but to me Anakin's was by far the most prominent. I love that we hear Obi-Wan's voice first ("These are your final steps"), and perhaps this is a parallel to Obi-Wan trying to call Anakin back to the light so many years ago. But Anakin's is so prominent. Ben and Rey are extremely important each other (and there is so much to unpack there), but Anakin's final push is what gives Rey strength and hope.

Anakin reminds Rey of the past. He reminds Rey that He broke free from that cycle of hate and that she can, too. Anakin is so, so important. He's the prime example that you can end the hate. End the violence. You don't have to be a Nazi like your shitty grandfather.

"Be with me. Be with me," she repeats over and over and over again. She trying to connect with the past. She's trying to understand her position in the universe. And she does, once she accepts her heritage. Once she accepts where she came from. And Anakin is there to help her take those final steps.

This whole sequel trilogy is about legacy. It's about repeating the mistakes of the past. It's about desperately trying to live up to expectations and failing them. It's about desperately trying to forget where you come from and trying to find yourself amidst the echoes of a chaotic past.

And, as always with Star Wars, it's about finding hope in the darkest of places. It's about love and family and saving the people who can't save themselves. This is the legacy that Anakin Skywalker left behind when he saved Luke from Palpatine, and this is the legacy that will continue to be remembered for every generation to come after that.

So Anakin Skywalker is still the Chosen One. He's that bright little slave boy who grew up twisted and lonely and got beaten into submission, yet still found the strength to claw his way back to the light. We all have that strength within ourselves to be better people, and now Rey can carry on that lesson and pass it down from generation to generation.

[e-louise-bates]

I’ve said for a while that Star Wars needs to embrace the idea of a multiverse--ever since changing the Expanded Universe to “Legends,” they’ve ignored this wonderful opportunity to tell a thousand different stories about the SW universe. Or universes.

Even if they don’t embrace it, I have. I’ve already decided that there is one Alternate Universe out there where the Rogue One crew didn’t die, but lived and went on to run a dozen more secret operations for Mon Mothma and then retired to live happily as a family together.

I also insist that there’s an AU out there where the prequels make sense--at the very least, where Padmé doesn’t die and lives long enough hidden on Alderaan for Leia to remember her (this is the least of my complaints about the prequel trilogy, but yet, it still annoys me).

And while I think, in general, the sequel trilogy did a good job with storytelling, it still makes me sad to think of the miserable lives my favorites from the original trilogy ended up having. So I am coming up with my own idea for sequels, and chief among them is that the Han-Leia-Luke-etc generation sees freedom won and peace achieved in their generation; their children’s generation enjoys that peace; in the third generation people have gotten slack and THAT’S when evil rises again.

In this AU, Han and Leia marry and stay together and have five kids. Yes, five. Their eldest is a daughter, named Breha, after Leia’s adoptive mother. As the oldest child of Alderaan’s princess, Breha is named heir to rule the Alderaanian Remnant, and when Leia steps away from her role as princess to lead the New Republic instead, Princess Breha becomes Queen Breha Organa Solo. Except since she is so young, she needs a Regent to act for her, and that’s how Han becomes responsible for finding a new planet for the Alderaanians and stands as their representative in the new Senate, and eventually has to set up a new government for them. (Lando finds all this HILARIOUS.)

Breha has some Force ability, but not enough to become a Jedi; as she grows she develops her skills enough to give her an edge in diplomacy and politics, but that’s it.

The next three children (still haven’t come up with names for them) are all force-users and train with Uncle Luke. At least one of them is a hotshot pilot as well. One probably becomes Leia’s right-hand person in her role as Chancellor. The other is an adventurer and explorer, always out looking for new Jedi for Uncle Luke.

The fifth child, also a girl, is strong in the Force but has no interest in being a Jedi; she inherits the Millenium Falcon and is Han’s right-hand person, being even better at fixing mechanical problems and keeping the hunk of junk flying than Han and Chewie are. Luke tries his hardest to lure her to training, but she learns just enough to safeguard against falling prey to the Dark Side, and calls it good. She’s remarkably stubborn--Leia says she gets it from Han, and can’t figure out why everyone laughs when she says that.

Leia also chooses not to become a full Jedi, because she feels her abilities and talents are better employed serving the galaxy through politics, and being a Jedi would only limit her. She does train with Luke, and she develops remarkable control over the Force, but she is not a Jedi. By choice.

Luke initially starts off wanting to rebuild the Jedi Academy and recreate the Jedi Order exactly as it had been, Mr. Idealistic that he is. He ends up encountering Ahsoka Tano and her apprentice, and Ahsoka rather sarcastically points out that the Jedi Order allowed Palpatine to rise to power and through their arrogance and blindness doomed the entire galaxy, so maybe he might not want to emulate them so exactly? Luke thinks about it, and decides she’s right: it’s time for a different, better Jedi order to rise. Ahsoka agrees, but tells him she’s too old to get involved with this, and suggests to her apprentice that she work with him instead. Her apprentice--a woman with fiery red hair and green eyes named Mara Jade [there is NO WAY I’m building a SW AU that doesn’t have Mara in it] is Not Impressed, but decides to give it a try.

Mara’s backstory is that she was found as a child by the warlord of a planet in the Outer Rim, who raised her to be his personal assassin and to use her Force abilities to harm others. Ahsoka rescued her and re-trained her, but she’s still all sharp edges and sarcasm with a boatload of guilt she’s trying to unload. She Does Not Like Luke. Until they fall in love and get married, of course.

Luke and Mara have three children: Owen, Padmé, and Beru (Luke wanted a fourth so they could name him Anakin; Mara didn’t think it fair to saddle any child with that burden) [I like the idea of them naming one of their children Ben, but first the Legends and then the sequel trilogy took that name, so I’m staying as far away from that as possible. Maybe Obi-Wan visited Luke in a vision and said under no circumstances were any of them to use that name; he had a bad feeling about what might happen if they did.] All three are strong Jedi, though they all take on different roles within the new order Luke and Mara form.

Lando never marries but ends up sort-of accidentally adopting a bunch of different kids, mostly as a result of them adopting him first (something Han takes great glee in teasing him about), and continues to be a loyal friend to the New Republic. Wedge is leader of Rogue Squadron, of course, and eventually ends up marrying Iella Wessiri [as with Mara, she gets to travel over from the Legends universe], and of course there are Ewok jokes.

So they build a strong New Republic, they establish peace, they enjoy peace, and not until their grandchildren’s generation does a new evil start to rise ...

(Have I figured out how the grandchildren’s story will go? Not yet. It will involve Rey and Finn and Poe and Rose, and possibly even a Kylo, though a grandson, not a son, but it wouldn’t follow the exact storyline of the sequels. I still don’t know what the storyline would be, though. But as you can tell, I’m having lots of fun imagining the filler for in between.)