#Obi-Wan lives his best life with his husband and adoptive daughter

[mikeluciraphgabe]

AU where Rex and Cody get thrown into their past bodies, early days of the Clone Wars, and have the chance to fix everything.

They immediately kill Palpatine (leaving no trace of who did it, making it look like an accident/suicide actually.) Then they yell at the Jedi council because what the fuck. After that, they tell everyone about the chips and all the clones are saved from them.

Obviously the war isn’t over just because Palpatine is dead. They do manage to help Obi-Wan and Anakin capture Maul, Dooku, Grievous etc (Cody has to physically restrain Rex from murdering them because “IT’S ON SIGHT- LET ME AT HIM-“)

With most of the major leaders gone, the war only lasts a year or so more because of people who wanted them to win and tried to take over etc etc

Rex and Cody throwing hands with anyone who comes too close to hurting their brothers, Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi-Wan

Eventually everyone gets a little suspicious about their knowledge and shit but don’t care because of the fact they won the war.

They help their brothers find jobs outside of the military for the ones who don’t want to continue to be in it. For the ones who do stay, they make sure they are treated well with the help of Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka.

Ahsoka still leaves the order but, with the war gone, Anakin goes with her. (No more Darth Vader, yay!) Obi-Wan is conflicted with a lot of things until Cody kicks him in the ass and Obi-Wan leaves the order, finding his favorite people (Rex and Cody in tow bc their job is basically done now) and they all live as a happy family on some random planet.

They even find some force sensitive clones/kids/young adults/etc (yes Fives, Echo, Hardcase, etc are here) and teach them a new way.

Not the Jedi way

Not the Sith way

Their way

[astudyinimagination]

So, I’ve had this in my head for a little while now. It’s a continuation to the Mara-joins-the-Rebellion AU. Back in October, when I wrapped up Inktober, I did it with a drawing of Luke and Mara as new parents, specifically in this ‘verse. So, since I’ve already given away how this story “ends,” more or less, it’s time to go a little further!

•••

Luke chooses to honor his grandmother by naming, with Mara’s blessing, their firstborn Shmi. The honor is double-faceted: not only is there yet again a Shmi Skywalker in the galaxy, but she is also the first of her generation. It seems more than fitting to give the future matriarch of the family the name of the woman who would have been its first matriarch, had she lived. And, indeed, Shmi bears her great-grandmother’s dark hair (and her mother’s green eyes). Sometimes, Anakin could swear that his mom has returned in his granddaughter. Much like her (and also, much like his son), Shmi is quiet but strong, resilient, and kind.

•••

Two years later, Leia and Han have twins. It’s Han’s suggestion to name them after Leia’s parents, and thus there is once again a Breha and Bail Organa in the galaxy, as well as a Shmi Skywalker. The twins share their parents’ brown hair and Leia’s brown eyes. Bail turns out to be good with wildlife—too good, always wanting to adopt whatever new creature crosses his path—while Breha, the future Queen of the Alderaanian Remnant, can often be found tinkering in the Falcon with her dad or with her grandfather’s many speederbikes.

•••

When Shmi is four and the twins are two, something happens that is either wonderful or crazy, depending on who you ask. Mara and Leia conceive within weeks of each other (and, indeed, deliver on the same night). Han complains that Leia and Luke take “this twin thing” too far.

“Don’t name him after me,” Anakin tells Luke regarding his unborn son. “No child needs the burden of being an Anakin Skywalker Junior.”

It’s Mara’s idea to name her boy Ben, and she announces it with Obi-Wan in the room. Luke and Mara are treated to the spectacle of a ghost being shocked speechless.

Leia and Han can’t seem to come up with a name for their son. Lando suggests himself as a namesake, only half serious, and Han tells him that he can have his own kid and call him Lando Junior. ...but an idea is growing on Leia, and when she holds her baby for the first time, she knows it’s the right one. She has seen her biological father change and grow as a person over the past five years. She’s seen the way he dotes on Shmi—and the twins, as well, when she’ll let him. He is by no means perfect, but he is trying, all the time, to be a good man, rather than do one good act and rest on his laurels, and that’s important to her.

He weeps when she tells him that the baby’s name is Anakin Organa.

Ben inherits his mother’s red-gold hair and his father’s blue eyes, and, unlike his sister, the tempers of both parents, which Mara handles better than Luke. Anakin’s coloring is eerily similar to his grandfather’s, and he is also quiet and kind and an excellent mechanic and pilot—but he lacks the burdens of his grandfather’s upbringing, and so lacks his resentment and anger. Anakin Skywalker is relieved to see his namesake growing up with all the best of him and none of his serious flaws. (Recklessness, on the other hand, seems to be inescapable in this family.)

•••

Shmi is ten and Ben is six, and Luke and Mara are busy running the first Jedi Academy while Mara also does some side work for Talon Karrde. And in the busyness of their lives, Mara keeps being reminded of memories of her children as babies. Luke sees her wistfulness and deduces that she wants to have a baby again; Mara is startled to realize he’s right. Neither are old, both only in their early thirties, and they decide to try for a baby one more time.

Their new daughter is golden-haired like her father, and they name her Beru.

•••

There are now six Skywalker-descended children roaming the galaxy, and their grandfather’s heart is full. He hadn’t even dared to dream of such a thing when Padmé was still alive, and after his fall and her death… Even hoping for a future with Luke before Palpatine’s death had not gone as far as hoping for a future with grandchildren.

And they all adore him. One by one, they all learn the truth of what he had done to the galaxy, and eventually learn what he had done to his family. But they love him, and even this terrible knowledge cannot erode their love.

•••

Luke, Leia, Mara, and Han are no longer what any human would call “young,” but also neither is Anakin Skywalker terribly old, which is good, because fate has one more surprise in store for the Skywalker-Organa clan.

Leia, almost forty, conceives.

Han complains that they were so close to being finished raising kids and now they’re back at the starting line, but he doesn’t mean it, not really. True, the thought makes him feel very tired sometimes, but he can’t deny that, however difficult, his kids’ infancies were some of the best years of his life. He’s not old yet; he can do this, and he’ll never hear the end of it from Chewie if he can’t.

Anakin is shocked, but couldn’t be more pleased, helping his daughter in her day-to-day life so much that she has to tell him to take it easy, sometimes.

And Jobal Naberrie, whom Anakin had helped to reconnect with his children early on, is grateful that she has lived to see one last great-grandchild, her one regret being that her husband has not lived also to share her joy.

And her joy is too great for words when she meets the baby girl, dark-haired and dark-eyed, and is told that her name is Padmé.

[ariainstars]

Love and War: Politics and Spirituality in Star Wars

As I followed the Star Wars saga closely last year, I couldn’t help noticing that its central theme is not Good against Evil, but Love against War.

More precisely, it seems like a long parable about a mind at war: the galaxy far, far away keeps struggling with different powers which, until now, never were balanced by a common ideology. 

  The Jedi: We Have No Personal Agenda (…do we?)

As we get to know the Jedi in the prequels, we can’t be but disappointed. The supposed keepers of peace, guardians of the Force, seem a bunch of elderly, stuck-up guys who are wary of anything coming from the outside. Their meetings take place in a place which even looks like an ivory tower.

We witness the first conflict in the saga in The Phantom Menace, which absurdly is kicked off by two weird-looking guys who seem interested in nothing but their economic power.

The irony is that in their own way, the Jedi do not seem more open-minded than them; though not interested in wealth, they do only think of themselves - of the status their rank as Jedi gives them. They are so convinced of being the “good guys” that they will not lift a finger to end a raging conflict, and they don’t care what will become of a weirdly powerful nine-year-old boy who just lost his only living relative, his past and the only home he ever knew. 

It is Padmé, who is not a Jedi and has no power in the Force, who takes matters in their own hands, to the point where she falls on her knees before the Gungans asking them for their assistance..

I have repeatedly heard the Star Wars prequels being criticized due to the seeming lack of agenda of the protagonists. Which is right - they basically haven’t. The only agenda everybody seems to have is to keep things the way they are so that their personal, comfortable situation won’t change. 

But the truth is that they are not aware of the power pulling at them: there is someone who is the mastermind behind all that happens during Anakin’s youth, and we can assume that he was at work even before the boy stepped onto the stage. 

It is Senator Palpatine who convinces the Queen of Naboo to plead for a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum, which in the end leaves Palpatine himself in charge. It is he, again, who makes JarJar convince the Senate to give him emergency powers due to the surge of the Separatists.

Palpatine is repeatedly shown as being Evil incarnate. Absolute power is his ultimate goal. For him, it is all or nothing. There is nothing human about him, ever, as good as he is as posing as a mellifluous politician who only has the best ends in mind.

And on top of it, Palpatine makes it appear as if he only has the purest motives, leaving the dirty work to others: Anakin marches into the Jedi temple killing everyone…

…Obi-Wan cripples Anakin mercilessly, which gives Palpatine the chance to strap him into the armor and mask that he will hence need in order to survive at all.

  The End of Everything We Loved

The name “Devil” means “separator”. Palpatine’s influence leads to separate all people who ought to belong together: friends…

 …husband and wife… 

…brothers and sisters. When they first meet, Luke and Leia don’t realize for a long time that they are, actually, siblings.

Vader doesn’t recognize his own daughter…

…nor his son: during the trench run we hear him say “The Force is strong with that one.”

  The Jedi’s failure

Enter Anakin, someone with huge personal agendas. Anakin has known slavery, the pain of separation from his mother, the helplessness having to watch her die, the fear of losing wife and unborn child in a similar way.

Does that make him an evil person? We see Anakin struggle against his fears and his violence for years. His deepest impulse is to use his enormous strength in order to protect others, but he isn’t allowed to. He can only be active if the Jedi order him to, which leads among other things to the absurd situation of having to save Palpatine, i.e. evil incarnate, risking his own and his master Obi-Wan’s life; while he was supposed to toughen it out when his own mother, a woman who probably never harmed anyone in her life, was tortured to death. 

Instinctively, Anakin’s heart always told him who needed his help. But this generosity and protectiveness never was appreciated by the Jedi, to whom “the Code” came first of all.

But what is the Jedi code, looking at it, if not a strategy to detach themselves from the world?

No families of their own.

No possessions.

No close attachments.

How is anyone supposed to still see if someone is in pain, when he was trained from early childhood on to live in a metaphorical ivory tower? 

Though not actually evil-minded (they assuredly do not want power or promote terror), the Jedi are in constant denial of the truth around them. They witness Palpatine’s ascent over and over and never realize that the most powerful Sith Lord of all is sitting a few meters away from them. 

Because to the Jedi, “what can’t be doesn’t exist”. Palpatine may be a Sith, but officially, belongs to the Jedi. Count Dooku even warns Obi-Wan; the Jedi proves his denial again with his words “Impossible. The Jedi would have sensed it.” 

So, not wanting it but also not knowing what they were doing, the Jedi enhance the conflict. And the Skywalker family, whose founder had been fathered by the Force itself, is torn and kept apart from both Jedi and Sith. 

Now we could argue: who would want to cooperate with the Sith, to have them as part of a balance, if they are evil and never do any good? 

Do they, and do the Jedi only do good and virtuous deeds? 

Obi-Wan told Luke an outright lie pretending that Vader had been Anakin’s killer; convinced that it could end only if the son killed the father.

The supposedly evil Lord Vader is the one who finally tells the truth: he proclaims to be Luke’s father, which also unveils his old master’s lie. Luke is traumatized because the truth is the opposite of what he believed. Until this very moment he was in denial, convinced that he was dealing with his father’s killer; Vader had literally to cut off his son’s hand in order to create a dramatic pause which finally allowed him to say what he wanted to: the truth.

To believe that a deed like patricide could be a positive thing only enhances the absurdity of the situation and the depth of the Jedi’s denial. As Luke confronts Obi-Wan with his manipulation, the Jedi still does not take responsibility, beyond his grave.

The Mistake: Making Things About Oneself

So, we have seen that Evil is not always wrong and Good not always right. They are strangely connected by one common, capital fault: making things about themselves.

But we repeatedly meet people who are mature enough not to make things about themselves: Padmé, Shmi, Senator Organa, (dare I say it? even JarJar), Owen and Beru.

Luke’s meeting with Vader on Bespine is pivotal because confronted with the words “You are not a Jedi yet” Luke draws his weapon first, proving Vader right. He hates the man in whom he still sees his father’s killer. It is this hatred which could have pushed him to the Dark Side. Though unknowingly and acting out of possessiveness, Vader pushed his son away from the Dark Side by saying the truth and thus crushing Luke’s hatred for him.

Much later, as he tries to save his friends, we see that Luke has learned his lesson: he tries to convince Jabba diplomatically and draws his weapon only at the last moment.

Terrified that Vader and Palpatine might be after his sister, Luke lashes out one last time. Only when he sees his father’s robotic hand he realizes the trap he was about to fall into.

Forgiveness and love bring Vader down. Compassion has won. Peace ensues, the family is united.

But many years later, we see Luke fail making things about himself again: he fears the danger his nephew could become for everything he loves.

His moment of panic pushes his nephew to the dark side. As a long-term consequence, the young man will be the murderer of the man who used to be Luke’s best friend.

Ben adopts another name and joins Snoke; war flares up and pushes itself between the members of the Skywalker family again.

Han and Leia meet after a period of separation, each bemoaning the loss of their son.

Luke, guilt-stricken, has retired to a lonely island, away from everybody.

Only shortly before his death, Luke tries to reconnect: with his sister, his brother-in-law (symbolically through the dice), the droids, his nephew. The Skywalker family is getting closer again, hinting at a future peace.

  Conclusions

The absurd situation of this generation is that at the opposite ends of the conflict are two persons who despite their outward differences couldn’t be more alike. Kylo and Rey both are lost children, desperately searching for belonging and purpose. In the brief moment of their alliance against Snoke we can see that working together, Dark and Light side are indeed invincible.

So, must the Light Side win again in order to ensure peace? 

The Dark Side is the human Id, which is all about oneself. Its advantage is that being straightforward, the Id can’t lie. Anakin / Vader always told the truth, as painful as it was.

The Id is aware of the fact that it needs its other half to be balanced. Hence, the “bad guys” always struggle to dominate, possess and at worst kill the “good guys”. We constantly see a powerful Dark Side user (Vader, Kylo) being at his strongest while he is chasing his Light Side counterpart (Luke, Rey). 

The Light Side is the Super-Ego, the conscience, which at its extreme might push a person to give up his life for someone else. The disadvantage is its tendency to deny that it needs its other half also; to believe to be solely in the right. The Jedi (including Luke, the last and the strongest of them) often overlook vital truths: none are so blind as those who will not see.

Both Luke and Rey needed their Dark Side counterparts to confront them with the truth (“I am your father”, “Your parents are dead… filthy junk traders who sold you for drinking money”). As much as it hurts them, both need to know these truths because their false pretensions held them back from being who they truly were. 

That is why “balance” is so vitally important and the only thing that can save the day and make lasting peace. Because no one can pretend that he lives solely for others (the Jedi), and no one can exist long living only by himself and for himself (the Sith). Only acknowledging one another’s positive sides and learning to cooperate, the Force users can make lasting peace in the galaxy possible. Only when a common ground is found at last, the galaxy can finally be free of the Old Republic’s stagnation, the Empire’s tyranny and the turmoil of the Rebellion. 

Peace, at last, to people of good will.

[herguardianvampire]

‘The Ways of the Jedis’ part 1

Living on Earth was a blessing for Anakin and Padmé. They had moved here 12 years ago, in search for a new beginning and a much better life. They had bought a huge house in a nice Californian neighborhood, adopted two puppies, made a lot of friends, and eventually welcome two babies into their lives 11 years ago. The couple had never been happier than when they found out they would live the basic life of a typical earth inhabitant. It was a dream come true to leave behind them the problems of the senate, and the jedis, and their secret marriage. Everything had been sorted, they had ran away together, letting Obi Wan know. Anakin's master ended up coming to earth too, close to his grown up padawan. Life was great. simple. Maybe too simple for Luke, 11 years old.

Luke had dark blond hair, and an angelic face. He looked a lot like his father. And he wanted to be like him. He was usually very calm, but lately things had changed. It all started a few months earlier when Luke and Leia's teacher had asked their parents to come over to talk about Leia's skills in class. She was remarkable. really advanced for her age, and the teacher was requesting them to apply for a scholarship to a gifted school. Leia was gifted. She was the smartest around and her parents were really proud. Anakin and Padmé spent a lot of time trying to figure out which school to apply for. Luke started to feel out of place, not enough, especially to his father who was always so close to Leia.

It's true that Anakin had always told his wife he wanted a little girl, that she would have her daddy wrapped around her finger. And it had been right for the last eleven years. But lately, Anakin was the one taking care of driving his daughter around to get schools stuffs ready. She was going to sleep away during the week and come back home on week ends. Luke started to act differently around his parents and especially his dad to get his attention. It's true that with everything going on, Anakin might have forgotten to take time for his son. His grades went down, he started to act up at school and get himself into all sorts of trouble. And he would spend the majority of his time with Obi Wan. When he was around his parents, he would be quiet, almost secretive. Padmé understood pretty quickly. Their son needed his father. But when she would bring the subject in the conversations with Anakin, her husband would rarely talk about it. For him, all tween boys were like this, he was just growing up. He wouldn't admit that maybe he was doing something wrong.

On a morning, as Anakin was driving Luke to school, Luke started to mention his past discussions with his father's old master.

"Did you know Obi' is going back to Tatooine for some business? He's going to go for like weeks, to be a jedi like you two used to be." he said. Anakin was surprised his son started the conversation. The rides to school were always pretty quiet. He was driving, he looked in the mirror of the car to see Luke and shook his head "no, I did not know that." he replied. He was also surprised his master was having more conversations with Luke than with him.

"Yeah, it's so cool. Maybe I could go with him. He would teach me to be a Jedi too, like he did with you." Luke said as he was looking by the window of the car.

Anakin didn't give much reaction to that. He kept driving.

"Dad? do you even listen?"

"Mhm? Yes, yeah I listened. You're not going."

Luke's eyes started to show some anger. "Why not ?? it sucks here! Earth is boring!" he was shouting at his dad.

Anakin sighed. He hated confrontation, especially with his kids. When they were little, Padmé was the one to ground them, Anakin just didn't have the courage to say no to their cute faces. It was still hard now, but this was a serious matter.

"well excuse us for wanting to find a place where we would be able to give you the best chances at a good life. Maybe you'd like to try and be a slave on Tatooine or get your life plans ruined by having to live a secret life to stay alive ?" Anakin hated how Obi Wan kept telling his son all these old Jedi stories without mentioning the most important part: danger. They had left Naboo to live a better life and had promised themselves that they would never leave, to protect the children.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Jedis can go through anything and do whatever they want. I want to be one." he said.

Anakin was still driving and trying to avoid a massive fight with his 11 year old son. "Too bad Earth does not have Jedis". he wanted to pull this idea out of his son's head while he still could.

"well then let me go !! Obi Wan said-"

"I don't care what Obi Wan said, Luke! I'm your father and I say you're not going to TatOoine!" he was shouting back. He knew he needed to control himself, he took a breath and kept driving.

Luke's eyes started to tear up a bit and as he looked at his father from the back seat he shouted again "I hate you!!"

I hope you like that first part! You’ll have Anakin’s reaction in a few days!

For the edit, I use Jacob Tremblay as Luke since Mark Hamill said Jacob would be a perfect young Luke. And Jacob wants to be a young Luke so now, they got it! 🙊

[wcrworn]

𝑠𝘩𝑒’𝑠  𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙  ,  he  thought  ...  but  there  was  something  more  than   a  little  unsettling  about  𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖊𝖞𝖊𝖘 .

𝓲.  𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝚂

full name.  wanda django maximoff kenobi

nicknames.  scarlet witch , ana , queen of chaos , little witch , fine sorceress

age.  thirty-two

gender & pronouns.  cis female  &  she/her

sexual & romantic orientation.  pansexual  &  panromantic

species.  mutant

family.  erik lehnsherr , magda eisenhardt , pietro maximoff , lorna dane , billy kaplan , tommy shepherd  (  canon  ) , ben kenobi , jacqueline kenobi , richie kenobi  (  aurora  )

godly alignment & temperament.  hecate  (  witchcraft  &  ghosts  )  &  melancholic  (  detail-oriented , introverted , thoughtful  )

distinguishing features.  glowing red eyes when using her chaos magic abilities , various scars from her previous life

𝓲𝓲.  𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙴

𝘩𝘰𝘸  𝘸𝘢𝘴  𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳  𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴  𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦  𝘴𝘰  𝘧𝘢𝘳  ?

in a word  ;  peaceful . wanda maximoff was adopted into a loving family  -  the maximoffs . she has one sister  ,  they’re not very close but wanda cares deeply about her . she’s never questioned her birth parents and instead embraced her adopted family ever since she was adopted as a toddler . she’s known very little about loss and true pain . her life has been ... blissfully happy aside from a few ups and downs , but she’s taken all of them with stride . 

her family moved to aurora during her senior year of high school , which was actually the most difficult years of her life  (  she sees it worse than the months following her divorce with her now ex husband  ) . she was always a weird kid . goth . introverted . unsure of herself and her abilities as a student . struggling with mental illness . questioning her sexuality . so pretty much any kid in high school . 

wanda started college with a major in english  &  a minor in psychology . again , she was a loner . she’s never been much of a  “  social  “  person . she kept a lot to herself and focused too hard on her studies  -  which ended in her graduating a few semesters early  (  doubling up on courses  ...  taking winter  &  summer courses  ) . she had always been an overly ambitious student and eager to do everything with perfection .

after graduating , she got a job as a high school english teacher . it was an intense year filled with parent - teacher meetings , everyone telling her she was doing her job wrong , parents who acted like they knew more than her despite wanda being the teacher . a lot of ups and downs . 

during her first few years as a teacher she fell in love with ben kenobi . and fast . wanda has always felt emotions so passionately and falling in love was no different . soon enough they welcomed a beautiful  &  healthy baby girl , who they named jacqueline . jackie for short . she is truly the light of wanda’s life  -  wanda would die for jackie and kill anyone who tries to hurt her . wanda and ben’s love burned brightly for awhile  -  but they eventually divorced , despite their love for each other . they blamed it on not having enough time to spend together and their lives going in two different directions . they were once a binary star  ;  one star system consisting of two bodies . but those days were long gone . 

nowadays , wanda still considers ben as one of her closest friends . and still that person who knows her more than she knows herself . she’ll always love him  &  care about him . it’s just who she is as a person . she cares too much and can’t let people go . they’re not that divorced couple who can’t get along and end up hurting their child in the process  -  they’re the opposite of that .

wanda can usually be found at the local high school , grading papers and setting up classes until it gets dark . she pours her entire being into her job and wants to be the kind of teacher that leaves a good impression on their students . and if some of them end up english majors ? or as teachers ? or learning about their love for books because of her ? then she’s done her job right . she’s an extremely kind and empathic woman who watches out for the 

𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵  𝘸𝘢𝘴  𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳  𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴  𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵  𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦  𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵  ?

pain . loss . grief . her first recurring nightmare was about the events leading up to house of m . she hasn’t quite grasped the events that were taking place , it’ll take a few more nightmares till she can process the whole thing  -  what she remembers is feeling negative emotions so intensely that she became catatonic . she remembers losing herself to her feelings  &  the pain associated with the children that she lost . she remembers doing something drastic  -  manipulated into it , maybe , but it was her spell that did the damage . it was wanda that altered the fabric of reality to suit her family and save herself from being put down like a dog .

𝘩𝘰𝘸  𝘢𝘳𝘦  𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺  𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨  𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩  𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳  𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵  𝘧𝘦𝘸  𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴  ?

wanda wants to ignore them ... but she doesn’t . she can’t help but question her nightmares and what they mean for her and her future . for her daughter . she’s so comfortable with the life she’s living now that she doesn’t want anything to change let alone the pain that will come with all of these nightmares . she’s been doing yoga a lot lately and more often than usual . when she did it in her previous life it was because life was stressful and she needed a way to calm her mind . she’s started meditating a lot too  -  which she hasn’t done since she was a teen .

𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨  𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦  ?

wanda is moreso comic based with mcu influences . instead of being an enhanced human by hydra experiments she’s a mutant who’s abilities were augmented by hydra  (  which she didn’t willingly volunteer for  -  hydra sought out her and her brother and kidnapped them to take part in the experiments  ) .

she’s the daughter of erik lehnsherr  &  magda eisenhardt . 

childhood is more based off of the comics  -  mcu comes in after her and pietro leave the brotherhood of evil mutants and join the avengers . it’s a weird timeline that i’ll write out ... eventually !

everything up to uncanny avengers is canon for wanda , including house of m , m-day and finding the reincarnated versions of her twin sons  !

she still wears a lot of red clothing  &  is weirdly interested in witchcraft .

regularly deals with mental illness and sees a therapist . she hardly drinks alcohol due to the medication she’s on .

she’s also a vegetarian  !  and was raised jewish by her adopted family  !  (  unlike in the comics where her father is jewish but she wasn’t raised that way due to being adopted by the maximoff’s  )

experiences weird feelings of shivers and chills at random moments  -  which is associated with when she was turned to dust by thanos . 

wanda always wanted children but only truly had that for a small amount of time . the moments before chthon absorbed the twins  &  the time during house of m . she has a weird relationship with tommy  &  billy since they were raised by different families . she isn’t even sure how they came to be her reincarnated sons . she has a feeling that the original twins replaced tommy  &  billy at some point and if that’s true  -  she has so much guilt already , she isn’t sure if she could handle more . 

𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠  𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡  !

obi wan  “  ben  “  kenobi  -  ex husband , father of their daughter

richie kenobi  -  surrogate son uwu

daenerys targaryn  -  ex gf , close friend

luke skywalker  -  ex fling

lucifer morningstar  -  hookup

anakin skywalker  -  fwb

ahsoka tano  -  co worker

grace burgess  -  close friend

yennefer  -  close friend , girl squad with dany

qui gon jinn  -  remained friends after her divorce w/ his best friend

bella swan  -  past student , motherly towards

chloe price  -  past student , motherly towards

james  macguire -  past student , motherly towards

poe dameron  -  frenemies  ?  enemies  ?

[nefariouscryptid]

Hello there (that was Obi Wan voice). Your gallery is a recent find of mine. Ohohoho, I hope you are willing to talk about relationships of fictional characters 'cause yours have poked my gears! So... What kind of relatioships Peter has with his subordinates/close pals? Type, likes/hates about them and vica versa, stories of them, why they are a team etc,etc. Not just shallow stuff, hit me with the deets! Apologies if I'm being invasive, oblige as much as you feel comfortable (if at all LOL).

Peter isn’t really close with anyone. But anyone he has a past connection to he consideres an associate, and not a employee.

Peter and Anahii: Peter and Anahii met during highschool when she was a freshman and Peter was a sophomore. They had immediately hit it off after seeing Anahii nearly kill a girl in a school fight. At the time Peter had great respect for her. This bitch is crazy! I love her! But as time went on that began to fade, and he became more and more drained and annoyed being around her. While they were still dating, he proposed to her because in the end he’s never going to get with who he actually does, and he needs to get married. She felt the same way, although she actually liked him a lot longer then he did. As adults, married for however long they were, they both constantly fought and hit each other, Anahii using him for his money and Peter using her for sex only. He just saw her as an object, something that gave him title of a husband and made him look better and more capable of people liking him. She was a trophy wife to him. Anahii was miserable in the relationship but at least she was rich, and at least she had protections. Well she thought so. There was still a part of her that wishes he’d just love her.

Peter and Jason: Peter and Jason met either in elementary or middle school, they couldn’t tell you. But they didn’t become friends until late 8th grade- freshman year of highschool. Much like Anahii, Peter instantly hit it off with Jason. They quickly became best friends. They were each other’s ride or die, if someone got into trouble, the other was “shit guess I’m going down too”. Peter hasn’t met anyone in his life that had been willing to put themselves on the line for him. He became obsessed and infatuated with Jason. He was everything he could ever want. It was at this point Peter realized he was bi, but he didn’t even care at this point. He could defend himself, people ain’t got shit on him. Both he and Jason did football together, Jason being quarterback and Perer wide receiver. Peter got kicked off the team after foul play and was took it as he was shit at playing, but Jason was just as good as he was! How fucking dare they?! He became somewhat jealous of Jason, that he could keep his cool and get people to bow for him easily. So he observed, and by the next school year he had adopted the same charm as Jason. As adults they’re still each other’s ride or dies, Peter being tired and finally trying to make moves on Jason, and one thing led to another and now they’re dating, and are now an affair. The relationship wasn’t healthy, Peter being extremely possessive, but it’s better then what he and Anahii had. He truly loved him and was happy. Couldn’t wait to raise his son with this man.

Peter and Cooper: the only type of past connections they could of had was they went to the same highschool, but even then Peter had already graduated by the time Cooper got in. During a failed encounter with some potential buyers of weapons, Cooper had found Peter half dead on the ground. His face was sliced open, blood pooling out of his cheek and eye, and with quick thinking Cooper picked him up and raced him out of the building, defending the both of them, throwing him into the back of the military truck they had, and zipped off. At the time he didn’t even know that was his boss, he just saw someone who most likely worked with him half dead. Peter, grateful, ended up giving Cooper multiple promotions, healthcare benefits, loads of loans and money, and benefits for his family. It was also the last time Peter ever showed up to a deal or a confrontation. Cooper became his main guy to send if Jason was out.

Peter and Plethora: after the incident with Cooper, he began to look more into his family. An odd one at that. While Cooper was married to Cassandra, it appeared they had a shared pseudo husband as well. And this guy can shoot! He has never seen a man able to snipe 20 men all in one shot, not even Jason. He called him down to his office one day and promoted him, giving him the opportunity to assassinate higher ups, like government officials. While a great idea at the time, this led to Peters greatest mistake and his downfall.

Peter and Cassandra: Like Cooper and Plethora, she had gone to his old highschool. However also unlike her husbands, she didn’t seem to have a job. Looking more into her profiling he saw that she was great with numbers, stocks, and even hacking. So he called her down, proposed her a job, to which she took instantly, and had monitored her progress over time. Her working in the stock market had opened up a new branch to the organization, while they were already dealing with stocks he had never seen anyone change numbers so quickly and so drastically, and when she stroad into his office one day with files on their threats, background information no one knew, he knew he had made the right choice.

Peter and Michelle: highschool flings. He had promised her money, promised her everything she could ever want, healthcare, the best education at the greatest university, anything she could have ever wanted. She was desperate. And now she’s trapped. He sees her as the perfect soldier. So easily manipulated and now stone cold, yet still easily controlled. He has no further opinion on her, she means little to him, but she hates him with a passion. He lied to her, and now she’s stuck doing something so horrific. She’s betraying everyone she knows, the people she grew up around. And she’s going to get him back.

Peter and Gwen: Gwen was... an experiment. Bother her and her sister Aj. They wanted to see how manipulated young kids from the lowest of income families could be, if they could take them from their families, cover up the crime scene or label them as runaways or the media’s favorite excuse, a suicide, and turn them into their workers, like their soldiers. The experiment was proven to be a semi success, it turns out the younger they are the harder it is. The older they are the easier, because they have a concept of morality, and are forced to comply in fears of dying. Gwen was an acception however, her being 3 when kidnapped. She shows extreme potential and loyalty. She’s ruthless, while also charming and showing a youthful aura. Peter had felt fond over her, while seeing her as mainly a weapon, he enjoyed aiding in her teaching and saw her almost as a daughter. She was eager to comply in what he wanted, although began to question everything as time went on. Began to rebel. What ever happened to her mom and dad? Why is Aj so angry at the association all the time? ...why am I here?

Peter and Aj: constant gaslighting. Peter plays himself as the good guy and that Aj is just the angry teenage girl. Aj knows what they did, at least she has an idea. She doesn’t like being a soldier and she doesn’t like being forced to kill people. She hates her life, she hates Peter, and she just wants her sister to live normally. But Aj doesn’t even know what normal is. At least she has food, constant shelter, access to the best technology... this is normal. This is normal.

Peter and Ivan: were at a constant truce until Peter had sent Plethora to assassinate someone very important to Ivan, later on revealed to be his wife. Then their relationship turned into a dangerous rivalry where everything would soon fall apart.

[maskedheroics]

DO NOT REBLOG / PERSONALS DO NOT INTERACT*

Padmé Amidala was dead. At least, that was what they told the world. The best kept secret of The House of Organa, the Skywalker family, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The fallen Jedi had watched as his friend suffered with agony during her emergency labor after the events on Mustafar.

Agreeing to give up her children, knowing the danger they would be in if the Empire suspected them to be alive — Padmé trusted them in the hands of the two people she had left in the world: her dearest friend, Bail Organa who promised to raise her daughter as his own; and Obi-Wan Kenobi, a close friend and ally who promised her son would be kept under careful watch. Padmé herself was weak, and the medicine at the way-station was limited. The best they could do to keep her alive was put her in a form of stasis. It was meant to be temporary until they could get her back to Naboo — she was kept in her stasis long enough to play a role in her “funeral” (watching it back later was surreal to her).

She couldn’t return to her life, she couldn’t go back to Naboo or reach out to any friends or family. For the first time in her life, Padmé was alone. The aid of a former handmaiden equipped her as she assumed a new identity and was smuggled out onto the reaches of the outer rim. She found home in a small system, taking the persona of a free slave who had been displaced in the Clone Wars. She adopted the name Miona Dara and took on a simple and uninteresting life. She spent a long time in deep sadness, grief over her husband and children. Isolating herself for awhile, wondering if she could have stopped it. Feeling useless hiding out, but continuing to do so for her children’s sake.

Or at least, she had intended to before she was visited by her handmaiden sixteen years later, in the company of none other than Bail Organa. He claimed to be on a humanitarian mission for the empire, but in truth he had come because trouble was brewing, and they needed all the help he could get.

Rebellion was in the air, and Padmé was given a choice: she could remain here and live out her life, or she could join the fray and finally try to set right the galaxy as she had always wanted to do. The choice was clear.

Of course, she had to keep her guise. Age helped, as did the clothing she wore. Items that would help conceal her identity. It had only been sixteen years, the chance of familiarity remained. Only a select few knew the truth, Bail Organa, his wife Breha and her former handmaiden. It’s too dangerous to reveal the truth --- so instead, she serves the rebellion as Miona. Watches her son and daughter from afar, and does her best to support the cause.

Important Information

If Padmé reveals herself, it wouldn’t be until after Return of the Jedi

After the war, she continues to go by her cover name unless she crosses paths with those who knew her as Padmé. She let’s Padmé Amidala rest in peace, and doesn’t reclaim her true identity publicly. It becomes a bit of an open secret among some circles.

If alive still, she would join the Resistance or if too old, support it and be an informant when possible.

She mourns the loss of Obi-Wan greatly, but has to do so in private as Miona didn’t know him. I personally headcanon that she offers Luke Skywalker a bit of comfort, but this is open for plotting.

[rotschild]

Kenobi’s story pt. 1

In the picture: the Kenobi family on Stewjon with baby Obi-Wan.

Stewjon was a planet of opportunities, liberties, nobility and contradiction.

Green pastures and lush hills characterized much of the planet’s surface, and Stewjon was widely known in the galaxy for its valiant and hardworking inhabitants.

In the rural village of Celsor, a little religious community of people who worked with their hands peacefully coexisted with a small yet generous ruling class.

Ilse Galdor, baron Galdor’s daughter, was just barely a woman when she married her first and only crush, Olly Kenobi. Olly was a simple peasant boy, a vigorous guy who worked two to three jobs at a time. Both had completed their compulsory education, but had decided to go no further after that, opting to remain in the countryside instead of relocating to the city.

Ilse’s father did not approve of his daughter’s decision. He knew she had potential with the languages, as well as with the sword, and sought for his daughter a political career, but the girl desired nothing more than to become a wife and farmer.

Olly followed his religious congregation’s every tenet, and Ilse adapted rather smoothly to the stricture of the community’s lifestyle, perhaps hoping to find refuge in their highly structured formula for a happy life, not wanting to end up divorced like her own parents. The baron her father was a sad, lonely ruler who carried many burdens on his prematurely aged shoulders; her mother had cloistered herself in a monastery after the divorce, abandoning her only daughter Ilse in order to pursue a mystical path.

As a result, Ilse dreaded loneliness, and wished nothing of the sort for her own future.

As her mother had thought wise abandoning her child to pursue spirituality, Ilse chose to direct her own spirituality towards raising children. She happily wore large skirts, frumpy dresses and braided her hair hoping to please Olly and his congregation. On top of being the keeper of her home, she grew the vegetable garden, bred rabbits, doves and chicken, sheared woolly cattle, sewed and knitted clothes for the family, made butter and cheese and baked bread for her neighbors. Twice a week, she attended religious functions with the rest of the congregation, where she was constantly reminded of her womanly role. She had accepted not wearing pants and not working outside the house, and always consulted with Olly before buying anything (not that there was much to buy in the countryside surrounding Celsor, besides groceries and farming equipment).

On her first wedding anniversary, at just 19 years of age, Ilse gave birth to her first child, a son named Olos like his father. On that occasion, her estranged father visited her, bringing the gift of a crown for the baby, a reminder of their legacy and the duty he still hoped his daughter would decide to take up.

Sixteen months later another son joined the Kenobi family, Eti-Twu. Followed by Noe-Kal, Ace-Tri and finally a girl, Beckre, in the next six years. The larger the little family grew, the more Ilse and Olly struggled financially, the more fanatical Olly became. He became obsessed with controlling his children’s education, not wishing them to be exposed to “things of the world” that may corrupt their souls, thus falling out even further with Ilse’s father, from whom he refused to accept any help, for fear of “tainting” his family’s purity.

Although it would take long to admit openly, Ilse began to suffer from this tightening of marital leash. However, while this happened, she was too busy managing the farm, raising and homeschooling a growing number of small children with no outside help and running a number of small home businesses to make ends meet. Despite being modest about her many talents and introverted, the industrious and witty Ilse was well-liked by the community for her lively mind and for her ability to innovate. As the years went by, she really didn’t believe Olly to be the best of partners, as he was a man of few words, few interests and few ideas, but kept these thoughts to herself, praying about her issues.

At age 33, Ilse had 11 children and was pregnant again, when a terrible blight hit Stewjon’s crops, resulting in the greatest famine the planet had seen in centuries.

Olos, Eti-Twu, Noe-Kal, Ace-Tri, Beckre, Givi-Sieb, Boise-Ivy, Erald, Ilde, Tor-Tau and Baroald struggled greatly due to hunger and the resulting illnesses. Ilse could barely put food on their table, and couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly as she saw Tor-Tau legs be crippled by rickets, Beckre catch typhoid fever after eating contaminated food, Baroald, Ilde and Erald’s stomachs swell up from hunger and emaciated teens Olos and Eti-Twu steal grains from the chicken coop to feed themselves. Livestock died, and Olly, the one who had initially insisted on a large family, lamented that they couldn’t possibly afford a 12th child, so he suggested that Ilse put him up for adoption.

Ilse really didn’t want Obi-Wan, her 12th child and 8th son, to feel like she felt when her mother abandoned her, but she didn’t want him to starve either, so, when he turned 6 months, she temporarily put him and second-youngest Baroald in the care of a “reputable” congregation lady who lived in a nearby town and whose husband was a trader who could score some imported food every now and then.

This lady turned out to be greedy and not as spiritual as she let on. Her husband wasn’t earning as much as he used to, and she really missed her lavish lifestyle and fancy nights out.

One day, a handful of Jedi from Coruscant ended up visiting that side of Stewjon, seeking to bring relief to the victims of the famine. As soon as they sensed him, the Jedi showed great interest in Obi-Wan.

Once realized that the infant was, indeed, a Force-sensitive, the congregation lady whom Ilse had trusted to keep her sons safe, didn’t hesitate selling Obi-Wan to the Jedi, demanding money in return. Without asking many questions despite visible corrupted intentions, the Jedi agreed to the woman’s terms, handing her money in exchange for the Force-sensitive tot.

The lady subsequently lied, telling Ilse that her baby had died, faking a mock funeral to support her claim. Ilse was so torn by pain and regret that she divorced Olly, forsook skirts and took back the reins of her baronial properties, making amends with her father and moving in her large childhood mansion with her remaining 11 children.

Ilse became a powerful woman after her 33rd year, however she didn’t find out about the kidnapping of her youngest son until the congregation lady whom she had trusted years before confessed her sins on her deathbed. By then, Ilse was 69 years old, and as she turned the Holo-news on right in the beginning of the Clone Wars she finally saw her son, General Kenobi. Contacting him was in her plans, as she had never wished such a life of sacrifice for him. Her late father, however, would’ve been proud. She reasoned that, at least, the Jedi way had taught him what she wished somebody would have taught her, when her mother abandoned her.

[starwars-babey]

Consider: an Obianidala AU where Obi-Wan knows about the pregnancy the second he sees Padmé, can easily sense it, and it take every ounce of self control to keep from running to her and falling to his knees right then and there.

Obi-Wan is so incredibly excited to be a father with Anakin, who shares in the excitement once he fights out. They can feel the presence of these two small lifeforms in the Force, already so strong and vibrant.

But then, Anakin falls, and it takes all of Obi-Wan’s strength not to strike him down when he dares to choke Padmé. He holds himself back, because maybe he can be reasoned with, maybe it’s not too late.

Anakin is the Chosen One, though, meant to bring balance to the Force, and he does. He brings down the Jedi Order, who, for so long, overshadowed the Sith vastly in numbers, in power. Obi-Wan, through tears, strikes down his love, searing his own heart as he does so.

He doesn’t dwell, doesn’t stay to watch the life fade from Anakin’s eyes; he has to get back to Padmé, has to bring her to a medical center, and quickly. He carries her into the ship, comforting her as best he can while she cries out in pain.

Obi-Wan is by her side throughout the entire childbirth, holding her hand through hours of labor, to hell with the others watching. The Jedi Code is meaningless now, all that matters is Padmé, their children, their safety.

In spite of the horrors they’ve been through, they smile when they see their baby boy, tears in their eyes. “Luke,” she whispers, and Obi-Wan nods.

“Luke.”

Their daughter follows quickly, and this time Obi-Wan asks, “Leia?”

And Padmé smiles, she smiles so brightly despite the pain and sadness within her, “Luke and Leia.”

Padmé lives through the traumatic childbirth, she lives for her children, for their father, her love. They build a home in the mountains of Naboo, secluded from the Empire, and adopt new identities.

Ben and Dania Kenobi raise their children on the far outskirts of a village; the names Obi-Wan and Padmé are only heard in the night, within the safety of their home. They mourn the loss of their husband, make sure to tell the twins tales of the hero Anakin was, refusing to let his fall overcast the light and good he once brought to the universe, to them.

Luke and Leia are fraternal twins, of course, and as they grow older, Leia’s wavy locks are in every way Anakin’s, and Obi-Wan’s eyes are unmistakable in Luke. They both carry their mother’s kind smile, something Obi-Wan mentions at every chance he gets. That’s the smile he fell in love with, the smile that pulled him through hell. He does everything he can to see it again.

They find happiness together, their small family, not broken, but not quite whole. Obi-Wan trains the twins in the art of the Force, helping them construct their own sabers with the kyber crystals they’d found. Leia has a special affinity for dueling, loves to show off her skills, asking “Mom! Mom, did you see that?” when she pins Obi-Wan to the ground.

Padmé laughs and claps for her daughter, pulling a chuckle from Obi-Wan as well. “You might prove to be a better Jedi than me, little one.”

Luke finds more interest in his use of the Force, spends hours upon hours learning and practicing different skills. He excels at a rate that makes his parents incredibly proud, if not a bit surprised.

Both twins love to sit and listen as their mother teaches them the foundations of language, history, and art. They look at her paintings and sculptures in awe, as does their father.

They live happily, but eventually the twins grow bored of their safe, small corner of the galaxy. When they’re young, they look at the stars and dream of traveling to every one of them; as they age, they dream of bringing down the emperor, restoring peace to the entire galaxy.

Though it pains Padmé and Obi-Wan to watch them go, they know their children are grown, more than ready to face the challenges ahead of them. They wave them off with a smile, and return to their small home, so much quieter without the sound of the twins.

Years pass, until one day, they receive a visitor. In their doorway stands a translucent figure, emanating a soft glow. Anakin, their Anakin.

“I’m so sorry.”

[inkognito97]

Vampire tahl and vampire quigon making sure their adopted vampire son obiwan doesn't do anything stupid. Like drain the village maidens dry.

I guess this prompt goes with the Dracula Au, so I just wanted to say that Obi-Wan isn’t adopted, he is the actual son of Qui-Gon and Tahl.

Enough of that, on with the story!

“Qui-Gon?” the male vampire in question hummed in acknowledgement, even though he did not look up from the book he was reading. It was about a land of mystery and a time of magic, with a young prince and a young sorceress. The story was gripping. “Where is Obi-Wan?”

The long haired male blinked a few times, his mind working to separate story from reality. “Excuse me?” he finally looked up at his standing wife, who had her hands on her hips and was looking down at him.

“Where is Obi-Wan?” she repeated, fully knowing that her husband was a passionate man, who easily got engrossed in the smallest of things.

“Oh,” the man cleared his throat. “I don’t actually know… I haven’t seen him since breakfast.” Realisation dawned upon him and he shut the book, not before marking the spot he currently was, and laid it on the small table nearby.

It was never a good sign, when there son had not been seen in quite a while. Obi-Wan was still very young and he had much to learn. Curious by nature, was the ginger haired boy and he usually came running to either his father or his mother to ask a million and one questions. 

“Do you think he is in trouble?” Tahl already feared the worst. They were relatively new parents. Obi-Wan had the appearance of a six year old, when in truth, he was much older. It was different with vampire children, their bodies took longer to age.

“As I know him…” it was not like his little boy searched for trouble - even though he WAS quite adventurous - it was more like trouble was searching for him.

“Qui,” Tahl was worried and it showed. The older vampire acted out of instinct and pulled his honey skinned wife close towards him. It always astonished him that such a beautiful and wise person had actually agreed to become his wife, especially if you considered the start of their relationship.

“Let us keep calm. Where have you looked already?”

“I searched the whole castle and I sent a raven to your father, he has not taken Obi-Wan with him.”

Qui-Gon made a humming sound. His father was not one, who simply took Obi-Wan without asking, but that didn’t stop the ginger haired boy to sneak onto his carriage. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Perhaps he went to the village?” he suggested. He did not know why he even suggested the village, it was just a feeling that he had gotten all of a sudden.

“Oh no,” Thal let her forehead drop onto Qui-Gon’s chest. 

“What is it?” he was genuinely confused right now.

A pair of green-gold striped eyes locked with midnight blue ones. “He is after the village maidens.”

“Pardon? Isn’t he a little… young?”

Tahl grimaced. “After their blood you oaf,” she pulled away from her sometimes stupid husband and hurried out of the library. “He made a comment about how sweet their blood smelled.”

“Oh dear,” Qui-Gon hurried to keep up with the smaller female. It was clear that his son was referring to all the young virgins. Virgin blood was addicting to a vampire, like alcohol was for humans. “We have to hurry,” he said.

Once in the village - they had forgone taking a carriage because with vampire speed, they were much faster - the couple looked frantically around. The villagers were giving them strange and calculating looks, as if they would jump into actions any time. This thought was ridiculous. Both Qui-Gon AND Tahl, had never before drunk from someone, who was not willing. The same could not be said for Yan though-

“Where could he be?” Qui-Gon, who was towering over the crowd, had yet to see a hint of copper hair.

“Near the fountain perhaps, it is where the unwed women tend to meet, at least they did, when I was still one of them.”

Despite the dire situation - innocent women were in danger after all - Qui-Gon had to smile. His wedding day, was the best day of his life. “Then we shall head there.”

The bearded vampire was not as calm as he pretended to be. It was unusual for Obi-Wan to simply vanish. The boy usually was obedient, a little reckless every now and then, but obedient, when it truly mattered. Also, the boy had yet to actually drink from a living human being, let alone hunt one. Qui-Gon had no doubt that his son’s appearance would be enough to catch the attention of a village maiden, a six year old WAS sweet and cute after all, but what would happen then, made him worry. His son did not know when to stop yet, there was a high risk that he would either bite too deep, or suck too much blood from his victim. They had to hurry.

The worried parents were halfway to the market place, where also the fountain of the village was located, when Tahl suddenly stopped walking. It took Qui-Gon’s quick reaction to make him stop, otherwise he would have run right into his wife, undoubtedly they would have both landed on the muddy ground then. 

“Qui-Gon, over there,” she pointed with her hand to another direction.

Blue eyes followed the pointing hand and it did not take long for him to spot the ginger haired brat, he called son. Red was a rather unusual color and that Obi-Wan had red hair was probably only due to the fact that his human grandfather had red hair too. 

“Is that…?”

“My mother, yes.” Tahl answered calmly. All the fear and worry had all but evaporated from the female vampire and instead, she walked slowly forward, until she reached the bench, where her mother and her son were seated.

“Hi Mom,” Obi-Wan grinned and he literally flung himself into the honey skinned female’s arms.

“Obi-Wan,” a smile appeared on Tahl’s features and she pressed a kiss to her boy’s forehead, wight before a pair of strong arms engulfed them both in a tight hug.

“Dad,” the young vampire greeted his father.

“You have such a lovely boy, dearheart, I am glad you allowed him to come.” Tahl’s mother, an elderly woman, with skin just as dark as her daughter’s, stood up. 

Tahl’s cheeks colored. “Oh yes,” she turned to her husband and under the pretense of kissing him, she whispered for only him to hear, “I forgot. Mother and father wrote a letter, asking if they could see their grandson… It must have slipped my mind.”

“No harm done,” Qui-Gon replied just as silent and he did lean in the rest of the way to share a real kiss with his wife. 

“Eww,” Obi-Wan made a gagging sound and struggled until he was set down. Instead, he went to his grandmother’s side and eagerly grabbed her outstretched hand.

“Say, would you like to come for a cup of tea? I am sure your father would like to see you both as well.” Tendra, Tahl’s mother, asked before either of the vampires could say anything.

“Yes, please,” Tahl smiled brightly. Qui-Gon was left to blink. He still did not understand the ‘common folk’. They had not even exchanged greetings yet. But he shrugged it off and let himself be lead down the road they had just come from. 

Obi-Wan was happily bouncing at the elder woman’s arm, telling her everything that sprung to his young mind. It was refreshing to watch him so open with anyone. 

Qui-Gon silently scoffed and shook his head. And they had feared he would run around and drain all the village maidens dry… Well, perhaps they SHOULD have that talk in the near future, but for now, he should be left to bond with his grandparents.

[ariainstars]

Boys Don’t Cry or Star Wars and Coolness

Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” (Obi-Wan Kenobi) 

Soooo… Time for another of my lengthy ruminations. Be warned - this meta does not entirely consist of sarcasm but it contains some. 

  Masculinity Clichés

  Of course, anyone is entitled to his own opinion and impression when it comes to the Star Wars saga, or anything else for that matter. But let me break down a few impressions I got over the last years, watching youtube videos and reading articles and essays about the saga.

Reason for this meta is that the attitude of the so-called “hardcore” Star Wars fans one comes across so often makes me want to climb walls.

“Star Wars is only the classics, and the classics mean Darth Vader.”

“Star Wars is Han Solo’s story.” (I wasn’t surprised when I learned how fans used to argue about who was “the other one” before Return of the Jedi came out).

Another favorite is Darth Maul, a guy who says about one and a half sentences and of whom we don’t even learn whether his looks are natural or whether he’s actually painted. Until we see him again The Clone Wars tv show we hardly know who he is, where he comes from and what he wants (except killing Qui-Gon for obscure reasons), but countless “hardcore fans” are in raptures about him.

In Attack of the Clones, a whole arch is dedicated to Jango Fett, Boba’s father. Maybe it was a matter of keeping in tune since there never is a Star Wars movie without a father-son relationship (with the rare exception of Rogue One with the father-daughter issue), but I couldn’t rid myself of the impression that this whole side dish was mostly fan service: the classic movie’s booty hunter Boba Fett is a huge favorite despite the fact that he hardly ever speaks and that we never see him without his helmet.

So what’s the bottom line here? My impression is that the saga is expected to be about a character’s coolness, not his personality or development.

 Side note: I have heard that despite not being all that thrilling or funny, The Big Lebowski is a huge favorite, in particular with many male fans.

Why?

Because the protagonist shows off that life is all about attitude. You can be selfish, stupid, useless as can be, just don’t be aware of it and carry your weaknesses about like a torch, and everything will fall into your lap without effort. Sounds cool, right?

~ more under the cut ~

The Skywalker Family

  No Skywalker man is cool.

Ever.

That’s both their tragedy and what makes them so special. They are deeply emotional hotheads, and family men, which is why the whole saga is called the Skywalker saga in the first place.

Anakin had started his family although as a Jedi, he was not supposed to have a family of his own. Luke brought the family together again, and added to it by befriending Han. The desire to belong and to protect is deeply ingrained in their nature.

Skywalkers never do well on their own. Anakin and Ben were taken away from their homes before their personalities were fully formed and that was in both cases when their downfall began. Skywalkers are not the type of the “lonesome cowboy”, on the contrary: if they are away for too long from the ones they care about, they begin to lose themselves.

Anakin lost himself when he was separated from his mother and later his wife and children. Luke was at his best when he shared himself with others and at his worst when his friends were separate from him - first on Dagobah, later on the unnamed planet where he founded his own Jedi Temple. Ben grew up with huge insecurities because he knew that his own parents were afraid of him, and he lost the ground under his feet when he saw his own uncle debating to kill him.

Luke and Leia both lived at home until they were grown, and they’re two healthy Skywalkers, firm in their self-esteem, idealistic and altruistic.

In the classics, Leia loses her adoptive family and home planet, in the sequels she has lost both her husband and son, and she is abandoned by her brother. But she never gets tempted to do evil, either through the Force or in other ways. Her compassion is what makes her strong. She is never alone, because she dedicates her life to others. 

No Skywalker is born to be a Jedi, as strange as that may sound. Their name already says it: they are pilots, all of them. None had the ambition to become a Jedi and to be burdened with so much responsibility. Anakin, Luke and Ben all were pushed into it because it seemed to be their “fate”, and they accepted it believing it was their duty. But being a Jedi made none of them happy, it only meant a lot of sacrifices for all of them. Seeing Luke again in The Last Jedi, we learn among other things that being a hero is everything but gratifying. It only seems “cool” from the outside, not when you actually have to pay the price. Adult Anakin had to keep what little happiness he knew a secret.

Qui-Gon had warned Shmi that the apprenticeship for becoming a Jedi is hard, and that even after that a life made of sacrifice awaits. Obi-Wan never warned Luke. He told him about the past, gave him his father’s light saber, said to him “You have to become familiar with the Force”. In The Empire Strikes Back he shortly appears as a ghost vision to tell Luke “You will go to Dagobah to seek out Jedi Master Yoda.” Note the imperative here: Luke is not asked to make a choice.

    Kylo Ren - The Disappointing Villain

  “Hardcore fans” of course wanted Ben Solo / Kylo Ren dead, and they see him as the ultimate villain, denying his inner conflict the way they also did with Anakin, the other “whiny sissy”.

Why?

Because he’s not cool. He has feelings (other than wrath and hatred, that is), and they are clearly to be seen. That’s not “masculine”. It’s not what blockbuster and action movie fans want to see. They want to see the badass hero killing the badass villain. (Even if the so-called “hero” is a cold-blooded killer and wily seducer like James Bond, a character I never could stand to begin with. But I digress.)

And: Kylo killed his father.

Don’t get me wrong, patricide is a terrible deed and no kind of murder is ever justifiable. But the crux of the matter is that the person killed was the over-the-top cool Han Solo, for f***’s sake.

Kylo Ren, that ridiculous wannabe Darth Vader, killing the coolest hero of all??! Of course he deserves the worst punishment, deepest pain and humiliation, death and despise. Because from the point of view of “hardcore fans”, he deserves it. He does not deserve redemption. (Not that anyone does, but an uncool villain least of all.)

When Kylo destroyed the console on Starkiller Base, that was already the moment when many fans decided that he was unbearable. What kind of villain is that, lashing out because he lost track of the droid?! What a baby. Can’t he be more dignified, keep his cool?

Even on second view, few consider that Mitaka had said the droid was seen aboard a Corellian freighter marked YT 1300.

Han Solo’s ship. The man who is Kylo’s father. The man whom, we see it in the dialogue on the bridge, he still loves but was ordered by Snoke to kill.

Snoke, that grotesque figure, was his last resort, the only person he could turn to when he felt let down by everyone whom he trusted; he offered Kylo protection and a chance to use his potential in the Force, but only if the latter agreed to sacrifice everything he had and was to him.

Kylo already has lost everything: his home, his family, his identity, his name - and now this ultimate sacrifice is asked from him, and the moment is imminent. No wonder he’s lashing out. But to the “hardcore fans” he’s someone who has no self-control, not a human being driven to the limits of endurance over and over for years. Until now Kylo Ren was shown off as a cold-blooded villain much like Darth Vader, but in this scene we get a first glimpse of his inner conflict. Oh dear, that’s so uncool.

Han was always the wisest of the trio. He knew that his son was about to kill him and that Snoke had ordered him to do it, it’s clearly to be seen in their interaction on the Starkiller bridge. And he knew what was the only ultimate deed that could save his son’s soul. He was not killed senselessly; he sacrificed himself out of love for his only child, forcing him to look into his eyes the whole time. (We had never seen Kylo kill or torture anyone without his mask until now, like he didn’t really want to see what he was doing.) When we first see Ben’s face in The Last Jedi he is deeply traumatized, another explicit hint at his future redemption. When Snoke makes fun of him because he didn’t enjoy the terrible thing he did, it’s only the last drop for Kylo: he destroys his mask and never looks at Snoke or speaks to him again.

  Ben Solo was redeemed but not rehabilitated. If he is not brought back for the next trilogy, the whole saga which took 42 years, 9 movies and three generations to tell will end in a tragedy. The Skywalker family will drown in the sea of Vader’s and Kylo’s blood and sins. All that the heroes from both generations endured and suffered will have been in vain. Han and Luke will both have sacrificed themselves for nothing. Rey has little to do with both of them (they care much more about saving Ben than about her), but she’s seen as the heroine and expected to win by the “hardcore fans” because she’s cool.

  After The Force Awakens, most fans thought Kylo Ren was Vader 2.0, with Rey as Luke 2.0. Then The Last Jedi came out, and surprise: they’re not. They’re their own persons with their conflicts, characters and developments. Their story tells among other things how wrong it is not to go one’s own way: Ben tries to imitate Vader and fails, Rey tries to go Luke’s way and fails, too. A much wiser and more original choice, from the point of view of storytelling, than a simple rehash. But it subverted expectations. So “hardcore fans” claim that The Last Jedi sucks and the franchise is ruined.

    Rey - Contemporary Heroine or Mary Sue?

  Rey did not beat Kylo at their duel. He had plenty of opportunity to strike - instead he offered to be her teacher, and while she concentrated on the Force he stared at her in fascination. He let her go on purpose; he made it amply clear from the start that he didn’t want her to get hurt. But he’s uncool, so it’s better to call Rey a Mary Sue who won without ever having trained, than to consider that her victory might have been enabled on purpose by the so-called villain. Snoke said that “he was bested by a girl”, but Snoke was not there to watch them; besides, he’s the archvillain, so there is no reason for taking his words as the gospel truth.

Same for when he says that Kylo has “too much of his father’s heart”: Snoke was only saying that to mortify him with his father’s “inferior blood”. Maybe Snoke really did believe that: but it was what brought him down, because it was shrewdness that helped Kylo kill him, a trait he has from his father, unlike his heart. Ben has his mother’s compassionate heart, like all Skywalkers.

  Some fans may shake their heads about Rey, call her a Mary Sue, pretend that Star Wars was “ruined by feminism”, but these are only male prejudices speaking all over again.

Rey has some parallels with Luke in The Force Awakens, so there were naïve viewers who believed she would turn out to be his daughter until the end. Because she’s a badass. All right, the badass hero ought to be a guy, but the idea of Rey the Superwoman as the heroine who will save the day still sounds more acceptable than the actual truth: that this is Ben Solo’s story and not hers.

It was often believed that Rey must be the Skywalker of the sequel trilogy, as in stories like “the daughter of the Black Corsair”, “the son of the Wolf Man” etc., where a hero’s child magically appeared from out of nowhere to do almost exactly what his progenitor had done, so that the story could go on - i.e. so that the fans could be instantly gratified by watered down and warmed up reruns of the same story.

  Rey is the central figure in the first movie of the trilogy because the heroine is always the central figure in the first instalment: Padmé, Leia, Rey. In the second movie, it’s the Jedi: Obi-Wan, Yoda, Luke.

Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo as the protagonist becomes the central figure only in Episode IX because that, too, is in the narrative technique: it wasn’t until Episode III that Anakin chose his fate and became a Sith, and only in Episode VI we saw Luke ultimately choosing to be a Jedi like his father before him.

As important as Rey is, she is not the protagonist of the sequel trilogy and she never was meant to be.

    Darth Vader - The Coolest Villain Ever

  Vader did not deserve or need redemption according to the “hardcore fans”. Had he simply exploded at the end, it would have looked better than the broken and worn-out man we get to see under the mask. Because that’s not cool. Luke ending the conflict by throwing away his light saber is not cool. “Love” being the last word we hear in the classic saga is not cool, which is why it’s so often overheard. (For who didn’t notice: he last words the background chorus sings are “Celebrate to Love”).

  Consider this: for all of his coolness, Darth Vader is a failed experiment. We never see him succeed at anything.

In A New Hope, he kidnaps and tortures Leia to no avail. He finally gets to kill Obi-Wan in revenge but the deed lingers with him forever: he speaks about him on every occasion. He lets the rebels escape with the plans in order to hunt them down, resulting in the destruction of the first Death Star.

In The Empire Strikes Back he leads the battle of Hoth: the rebels escape again. He hunts them down to Bespine: same as above. He orders Han Solo to be frozen in carbonite, a man he never had any interest to begin with. He isolates, cripples and blackmails his son, who leaves him anyway.

In Return of the Jedi he leads the battle against the rebels on Endor and tries another time to bring his son to the Dark Side, unsuccessfully. Only when he takes Palpatine by surprise he manages to kill him as was his intention.

In Rogue One he has a dramatic entry, only to see the rebels escaping from him again with the Death Star plans.

But he looks so cool with his cape fluttering in the wind. His breath is creepy, his voice deep, his sentences curt and sardonic. Who cares about whether he ever has any success with what he does?

That’s the point. Coolness makes everything else forgivable and forgettable. Despite all that was said and shown about Anakin Skywalker in the meantime, his alter ego remains the most popular Star Wars character and one of the most iconic villains of all times. A myth doesn’t die. Nor does it change with time.

    The Star Wars Prequels

  Are the prequels bad, in the eyes of the “hardcore fans”?

Yes. Of course. Because “the coolest villain of all times is reduced to a simpering brat”. That’s what riles them, not the darkness of the themes, the ultimate tragedy of the end, the reduced importance of the Force, the stagnation in the Jedi Order and the decadence of the Old Republic.

When he still was a slave, Anakin had his mother, his friends, later he met Qui-Gon who was a father figure to him. None of them feared him, all of them believed in him and his potential. Child Anakin is skilled, brave and generous. The Jedi allegedly free him, but they place him into another kind of prison, an emotional one. When we see Anakin again as a young grown-up he is rebellious, frustrated, full of pent-up anger: not surprisingly, because he spent these years that are so important for personal development being taught to suppress his emotions. He never got to free his mother, his only relative, and never saw her again except a few minutes before her death, and he wasn’t even in contact with her: it came as a complete surprise to him when he learned that Lars had freed and married her. Qui-Gon at least had negotiated with Watto to free his mother, too; the other Jedi obviously had never considered it for a moment, on the contrary, they saw his attachment to her as a weakness.

Anakin is a bad flirt, yes; but that’s no reason to grind one’s teeth over and over due to silly remarks about sand. Of course he doesn’t know how to talk to women: he is not your classic seducer, he is a Jedi and thus supposed to live chastely. Padmé doesn’t fall for his artfulness or beauty or power, nor does Fate make her love Anakin in mysterious ways: she always sees the good-hearted and idealistic boy he was in him, she says so right away on meeting him again. Anakin makes a fool of himself believing that he has to conquer Padmé, when he already owned her heart all along; but he realizes that as little as the “hardcore fans” do. He becomes Palpatine’s follower because he believes he has to protect his family at any cost, which blinds him to the Sith’s manipulation. His twisted idea of masculinity is his tragedy. And the Jedi Order is composed mostly by men, who live by a Code which dictates strict detachment.

In Attack of the Clones, we get a first glimpse of Anakin’s extreme strength and skill: he takes down the entire Tusken village on his own, where twenty men had failed (only four had come back, and Lars had lost his leg in the battle).

But why does Anakin lash out? Out of pain and hatred because they killed his defenseless mother, a good woman who probably never hurt anyone in her life. And that’s not ok, because a “true hero” is supposed to kill his “enemies” in cold blood, not because his emotions get the better of him. When a guy kills James Bond or Indiana Jones style, with his hand at his hip, it’s seen as acceptable, even as funny. 

But like this, “hardcore fans” shake their heads wondering how stupid Padmé can be to marry this guy. Not because he killed the Tusken together with their wives and children, but because he was not cool about it, and because he admitted his hurt and despair before his woman.

Padmé married Anakin, although she had not desired a secret marriage, because she realized that he was going down a dark path and thought she could save him through her love. An understandable mistake that females often make.

Understandable?

No. Getting laid by someone who kills in cold blood is sexy. Marrying a man you have known and loved for years out of compassion is lame.

Anakin agreed to become a Jedi because he wanted freedom and the chance to help others, e.g. free the slaves on his home planet. He gives up his home, his mother and his dream of becoming a pilot and does his best to stifle his human emotions to be finally accepted by the Jedi, but they never do. They ask him to leave his mother and the woman he loves to their fate, to spy on Palpatine who seems to be his only friend and confidante, they deny him the title of Master. They never trust him; while the Jedi follow their own aims, Anakin is left behind, conflicted and shedding tears of humiliation. No wonder he says to his wife that he feels lost, and that he ends with the opinion that the Jedi are evil. Bit by bit, he completely forgets why he joined them in the first place .

In the prequels we see both politicians and Jedi masters having no other agenda than preserving their social status and power. They don’t care about the suffering of people who were not born and raised privileged like them. Anakin is told over and over not to make things about himself; but his strong sense of self, the fact that he is not cold and detached like he’s expected to be, is precisely what makes Anakin compassionate.

  He knows pain.

He knows loneliness.

He knows what it means to feel helpless and trapped instead of appreciated and understood.

Had he ever been encouraged to employ these experiences in order to help others, he would have become the good person he had the potential to be. Anakin was the disturbing element who was supposed to bring new life to the rigid Jedi Order, that’s why he was “the Chosen One”.

Anakin’s compassionate nature is deliberately violated by the Jedi Order: he is constantly expected to assume an attitude that is contrary to his nature. On his mother’s grave, he doesn’t shed a tear but instead promises her to be “stronger” in future. He blames himself although his alleged lack of strength had nothing to do with her death, merely the fact that because he was held back by the Jedi Obi-Wan, he was too late to save her. And how much stronger did he mean to become, the man who had obliterated the entire Tusken on his own?

But the Jedi deliberately denied him their trust, despite the prophecy’s warning about the lack of balance in the Force, which they, interestingly, never questioned in the first place. They preferred to stay, aloof, in their (literal) ivory tower and to believe that they were untouchable. Their philosophy of self-defense, their role as the protectors of peace and justice in the galaxy were turned upside down by the war against the Separatists, which they carried on and on for years leaving nothing but losses on both ends, until Palpatine picked the ripe fruit and became the triumphant third in the quarrel.

But to the “hardcore fans”, when Anakin finds his terrible end on Mustafar, it’s because he deserves it, since he is not proud of being a Jedi and always was the one who saw and spoke about the disagreeable truths they didn’t want to see. But the burning scene looks cool. Or hot, depending on how you see it. (Not sorry about the sarcasm.)

For the same reasons, JarJar Bings is hated. And child Anakin. Because they have feelings.

JarJar means well, but he’s aware of his shortcomings. Child Anakin has nothing whatsoever in common with the terrible creature he will become later, and that is exactly the point: he was shown like that to make the contrast all the more unsettling.

Why were cute Jake Lloyd and handsome Hayden Christensen chosen to portray them in the first place? Exactly: for the contrast. We are supposed to feel with Anakin, to identify with him and his troubles, to be shocked by his downfall. But for the “hardcore fans”, the prequels become interesting only the moment the mask is placed over his face.

    Jedi Teachers

  I don’t know how many times I have read and heard fans complaining that Luke Skywalker’s character was assassinated in The Last Jedi.

Seriously?

Let’s make a comparison.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is largely responsible for Anakin’s downfall. Yes, he is, even if most people don’t want to accept it.

Obi-Wan is too young for his task and the other Jedi, even grand Master Yoda, wash their hands of it, leaving him alone with it. Unfortunately he has no understanding for his pupil’s passionate heart and questioning mind, so he keeps him down all of the time instead of encouraging him to develop his potential. He belittles his fears when they manifest themselves through nightmares, and hasn’t the slightest bit of compassion for either the boy or the mother. It never occurs to him that if his powerful student has nightmares announcing disaster, they might very well be true. Anakin once says to Padmé that Obi-Wan holds him back because he envies him: it’s the first time that we hear Anakin say a bitter truth, and it won’t be the last.

Anakin passes the Jedi’s tests but these deny him the title of Master, with the excuse of him being too young. Mace Windu openly says to him that he doesn’t trust him but that maybe he will if he finds out that Anakin had the nerve to betray Palpatine as the Sith Lord. Anakin feels isolated because he knows that only Padmé believes in him, so he obsesses about his fear of losing her; enhanced by his nightmares, which already proved to be right once. But this time he already knows that he can’t talk to Obi-Wan about them. Instead he talks to Yoda, who also belittles his fears and tries to tell him not to care about others. The only person left for Anakin to trust in his despair is Palpatine.

On Mustafar, Padmé talks one last time with her husband and she is about to convince him to just forget about everything, come with her to Naboo and help her raise their child. In that moment, Obi-Wan believes he has to play the hero and interject between husband and wife, believing that the woman is in danger. Anakin, who never would have hurt her before this, feels betrayed and chokes her until she faints. Note: he never wanted to hurt or kill her, only to make sure that she wouldn’t run away from him.

The two men, who were supposed to have a long-standing friendship, fight a terrible duel which ends with the “wise Jedi master” cutting Anakin’s legs and his good arm off and simply leaving him to burn in the lava. He doesn’t even have the mercy to kill him off because “that’s not what a Jedi does”; instead he accuses the agonizing, burning man additionally with sharp words, loading all of the guilt on him.

  Having somehow found out that Anakin is not dead but that Palpatine had turned his miserable remainders into Darth Vader, Obi-Wan doesn’t lift a finger against the Empire but waits for Anakin’s son to grow up, convinced that the boy will be the only one strong enough to kill his own father. He outright lies to him saying that Darth Vader was Anakin’s killer, manipulating Luke because he expects him to become a patricide, never imagining the internal horror the young man who trusted him has to go through on finding out what he almost had done. And, surprise: the one who tells him the actual truth is no other than the supposed villain. Whatever evil Darth Vader did, lying never was in his nature.

On the Death Star, Obi-Wan lets Vader kill him on purpose to increase Luke’s desire for revenge. Han lets Ben kill him on purpose, too, but there is no second thought in him, only the love for his son and the desperate wish to make him stop doing evil.

Obi-Wan never questions himself, his choices and actions. He never takes his responsibilities: even when he’s dead, he justifies his blatant lie to Luke saying that the truth is only a point of view. He never loses his cool. So I guess that whatever he does, it’s ok. Obi-Wan Kenobi is another Star Wars myth that no facts can dismantle.

Luke makes only one unfortunate mistake with his nephew: he succumbs to panic, finally making the young man realize just how much he fears his power. Disaster happens. Another Jedi Temple burns.

Luke goes into exile, too, but all he waits for is his death. He doesn’t spend his time dreaming of a better past, on the contrary: when Rey comes to be taught by him, he outright tells her about the sins of the Jedi, the hubris and hypocrisy which led to the destruction of their order and of the Old Republic.

As he opens up to the Force again, the first person he mentally reaches out to is his sister, who promptly wakes up from her coma. When he comes back to see her, he apologizes for the mistakes he made with her son, and tells her not to give up hope.

Luke ends the battle on Crait without shedding one drop of blood, by confronting his furious nephew. He does not want him dead, on the contrary: he wants him to have a future. He apologizes. He communicates to Ben that he still believes in him, and promises that he will still be around. The effort of projecting himself from Ahch-To kills him, asking the ultimate sacrifice from him. And Ben is or will be aware of it, since he knows how the Force works.

  Much has been said and written about the forgiveness Ben must earn or receive undeservedly. We like to forget that he has much to forgive himself, for the things that were done to him. And I don’t only mean Luke’s moment of weakness, but mostly his parent’s fear of him which led them to send him to be trained to be a Jedi, far away from home, at an age when his personality was assuredly not yet formed. A far too heavy responsibility for an impressionable young man, not to mention that Ben had wanted to become a pilot like his dad and had no ambition of becoming a Jedi.

Honestly: how many of us have been let down by our families, teachers, doctors, spiritual leaders? I daresay there’s not one of us who hasn’t made the experience.

But do they ever take their responsibilities? Apologize? Try to make up? In my experience, never. Most people want to keep their cool as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Luke Skywalker proves maturity, wisdom and human greatness to the extreme in his last appearance. Ben at least got an apology, something - as I already said - most of us don’t.

  Is this character assassination? I have never admired Luke Skywalker more than in The Last Jedi. He is the last Jedi and also the strongest, because contrarily to the others he is compassionate.

That is what the saga is about: compassion, or lack thereof. A society that lacks compassion, that discourages compassion is doomed. Yoda himself said that compassion is essential to a Jedi, but we never saw any of them pay more than lip service to the word.

But the “hardcore fans” don’t ever want to get that message. Or any message at all for that matter. They think they know the saga, but they don’t listen to it.

Because.

Because.

Because…

    We Don’t Want to See Balance - We Want Endless War

  …Because these are only action movies, folks!! It’s supposed to be about duels and explosions and chases and special effects, not about family and love and philosophical issues! We don’t want to see teamwork, we want to see Big Dick Energy. Badass Hero killing the Bad Guy, saving the world and getting the girl.

Nooo, the Jedi are not flawed and they had nothing to do with their own demise and the failure of the old Republic. They are some kind of superheroes with the Force as their superpower and light sabers as the ultimate weapon. Because that’s cool. That Jedi theoretically are supposed to fight only for defense and to protect others is uninteresting. They’re supposed to win, for f***’s sake. Even if they fight two men against one (Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan against Darth Maul) or attack from behind and kill without provocation (Obi-Wan against General Grievous). In the cantina scene in A New Hope Obi-Wan is molested by a guy and simply cuts off his arm although neither he nor anyone else was in danger.

That’s not unnecessary cruelty. It’s cool. Not to mention the infamous “Han shot first” scene, which also took place in the cantina. In Return of the Jedi, Han is much calmer and more self-controlled: one of the things “hardcore fans” dislike about the movie. Han has lost a lot of his swashbuckling cool, but who wouldn’t, after the terrible experience he had to go through? I guess a “real guy” would tough it out, however that is accomplished.

Why does Luke throw his light saber away before the Emperor? Why do he and his friends enter Jabba’s lair one by one instead of together? Why does Luke come last, and why does he try to find a diplomatic solution first, instead of attacking right away?

  Because that’s what we were told a real Jedi does: he fights only to defend. Throwing his weapon away before the two most dangerous men in the galaxy requires an enormous amount of moral courage.

Luke has learned his lesson. The “hardcore fans” haven’t. The reason is simple: it’s uncool. The hero is supposed to “win” by killing the ultimate villain, not to forgive and reach out for his father to help him when he’s in agony.

Because human feelings are not cool. A real man doesn’t have feelings and even if he does, he doesn’t show them. Who cares about nuanced, realistic characters? They are supposed to be cardboard cutouts so you can either identify with them (cool guy) or despise them (uncool guy). A “hardcore fan” doesn’t want to think about them in more depth than a quarter of an inch. Or, worse, admit that he might understand what Anakin, Luke or Ben are going through. The horror.

  Like his grandfather, Kylo Ren chose the path of evil because he had struggled with the darkness inside of him over and over, only to come across fear and rejection from the ones who were responsible for him. Yet the “hardcore fans” see him as an unredeemable villain solely by his own choice; not because of the burden his family placed on his shoulders, not because of his uncle’s betrayal, not because he was coerced and manipulated by Snoke.

“Hardcore fans” hate Kylo because he still has a visible spark of hope, of goodness in him. In Vader, this was not discernible (due to his mask and his haughty attitude) almost until the very end, so, though with a sigh, they might accept his ultimate redemption though more or less secretly judging it as being superfluous and mushy. Because that’s what they think of feelings like hope, forgiveness and compassion: they’re ridiculous. Coolness is the ticket to being popular with “hardcore” Star Wars fans. Not humanness. 

“Hardcore fans” hated the idea of a romantic future between Ben and Rey for the same reason. They pretended it would immoral to hope for the villain to get a happy ending of some sort, but the truth is that it’s not about morals.

It’s about coolness.

Kylo aka Ben is oversensitive and doubtful, so he doesn’t deserve to get laid. Rey is cool so she would deserve it, but not with that stupid “child in a mask”. (Leia was a badass woman too, but she was seduced by Han, so that made things “right”.)

  Anakin was the strongest Jedi of his time because, not despite being strong in both sides of the Force. What kept him in Balance? Loving and being loved. Feeling that he belonged, that he was needed and appreciated as a person, not only as a warrior and space wizard.

And that’s not ok. A true hero does not need affection and belonging. He may have short-lived connections because being human, he can’t forego them completely, but in the end, he always rides into the sunset on his own, content and at peace with himself.

  Feelings are scary. Human relationships can be complicated. They can lead to personal development. Isn’t the idea of a guy who always stands for the same things much more reassuring?

No wonder Anakin, Luke and Ben are not particularly loved by the fans. They are family men. They want to help and protect, to feel needed on a personal level, not to stand, untouchable and detached, above mundane matters.

A man who feels, who gives and takes tenderness, who wants to have a home. Who says openly to a girl he knew from childhood that he’s in love with her, who calls the child she is carrying a blessing! The absolute worst.

  “The fear of loss is the way to the Dark Side.” Yoda in Revenge of the Sith

  Fear alone is not the way to the Dark Side. You go down the Dark Side only if you come to a point where you’re willing to do anything to prevent your fears from coming true. That the warm-hearted, generous Anakin was pushed to this point only shows the depth of his despair. He did not choose the Dark Side because he wanted power for himself alone, he chose it because he thought that the end (protecting whom he loved most) would justify the means. And where did he learn that the end justifies the means no matter what? From Palpatine, half an hour after having pledged himself to him? No. he had lived with and fought, during the clone wars, by the side of the oh-so-perfect and all-wise Jedi for years. More or less unconsciously, the Jedi knew that in order to be the good ones, they needed villains to fight against. They took children from their families and indoctrinated them leaving them no choice; their antagonists usually joined the Sith as adults, when they were frustrated and let down by the Jedi. The Force was at war between both of its extremes, and Anakin, the strongest Force user, got crushed between them.

  Oh, but hey, they have shiny light sabers, they make things float with their minds and speak in wise-sounding sentences. Who cares about what they actually do when they shouldn’t, about what they ought to do but omit? Jedi are cool. It’s that easy.

  If by the end of The Last Jedi Good and Evil allegedly are firmly separated, why did Anakin’s / Luke’s light saber stay suspended between Rey and Ben, instead of flying directly into Rey’s hand the way it did at the end of The Force Awakens? That silly thing probably had some kind of whim. The reason was not that Dark and Light are equally strong in both antagonists. Oh no. That simply can’t be.

Why is the fight against the Praetorian Guards so impressive, and at times even in slow motion to ensure that what is happening here is something really epic, groundbreaking? Oh no, it’s assuredly not meant to tell us that if they cooperate, Dark Side and Light Side are invincible.

Parallel to this, who was the hero of the Resistance? Poe, of course. Because he’s good-looking and swashbuckling and reckless and that makes a true hero. Admiral Holdo was by far braver and wiser than he, but she doesn’t look cool with her purple hair.

Sigh.

It’s all so badly made.

What are these producers thinking of?

When the prequels came out “hardcore fans” expected the classics warmed up and served all over again and they were hugely disappointed. Then Episode VII came out as a homage to Episode IV and everybody was like “How boring, it’s just a rehash.” I wish they would at least know what they want.

Videos are made and articles written by the thousands about how only the classics are really good movies (ok, apart from that dumb plot twist with the redemption) and how everything else compared to them is rubbish.

It’s easy to make comparisons. To have some respect for the author who thought up and created two different worlds from scratch (prequels and classics) is something else. If you’re so dissatisfied, make up your own saga and do it better. Good luck with that.

  Honestly?

Must I go on?

I’m sick and tired of stumbling upon so-called “hardcore fans” ranting and raving about the sequels and the prequels and also partly about Return of the Jedi simply because, if you boil it all down, their complaints are about one thing: human feelings.

Blowing entire planets up, crippling and killing people is ok. Regretting and forgiving, not giving up hope to make peace - that is unacceptable.

  The line “saving what you love” instead of “killing what you hate” is judged as incredibly dumb.

Seriously?

The classic movies live from nothing if not from people running to the rescue of the ones they care for: Luke wanting to rescue Leia on the Death Star, Han arriving at the last minute to save Luke from Vader and then again from freezing on Hoth, Luke leaving Yoda to save his friends on Bespine, Leia returning to Bespine to save Luke, Luke and his friends entering Jabba’s lair to get Han out of there, Luke surrendering to the Emperor to save his father, Vader sacrificing himself to save his son.

  Don’t get me wrong, I like Han Solo. I was devastated that Kylo killed him.

I wholeheartedly agree that Darth Vader is one the most iconic movie villains of all times.

Anyone is entitled to like Darth Maul and Boba Fett.

And I’m not saying that the Jedi, including Obi-Wan, were evil: they were misguided but they had no bad intentions.

But in the end, it’s not about them. It’s called the Skywalker saga for some reason. It’s the story of three generations: Anakin, Luke, Ben. It’s about the Light Side of the Force against the Dark Side, with this powerful family at the center of the conflict.

  Classic Trilogy = the Light Side wins. How do you end a war? Compassion.

Prequel Trilogy = The Dark Side wins. How does war start to begin with? Lack of compassion.

  It doesn’t take particular genius to understand the narrative. All it takes is listening to what the author wants to tell, instead of making it about one’s expectations - aka good guys versus bad guys, ka-boom, the end. Star Wars is so beloved because it’s a profound and wise story, not because of its action scenes or clichés. The fact that it often subverts expectations, digs deeper and offers plot twists is what makes it compelling.

It’s not that I don’t like action movies, as long as they are made well. And I’m not following the Star Wars saga hoping for a happy ending with sunshine and roses. But in order to feel suspense, I need characters that feel real. I can’t bring myself to care about characters who might as well be brain dead because they hardly ever doubt, fail, care, let alone change in any way. I don’t mind coolness, I like style in a person no less than anybody else. What I do mind is when said style is accepted as an excuse for anything a person does, respectively the good things he ought to do but omits.

  If you love action movies and watch them mainly for the duels, the chases, the battles, fine. It’s not as if the prequels or sequels are lacking those. What I’m saying is that it’s no reason for being deliberately deaf and blind and turning your heart to stone.

Who can’t deal with human feelings is bound for disappointment right from the outset, sorry. I suggest these so called “hardcore fans” to stop watching these movies, or at least complaining about them. The Star Wars saga is intrinsically about Love winning over War. Believing in love, faith and hope is neither immoral nor stupid. The saga drives home over and over how disastrous it is when people believe they have to pick a side and to fight the other to the bitter end - and beyond, if you count in the Force ghosts.

  But then, if you believe in love, faith and hope and show some compassion and you’re a guy, you will be called a stupid softy and you’ll never get laid.

  A real man has no feelings. At least, he doesn’t show them. Because that might mean - shocking - that he might know fear, instead of being brave and tough. Someone who doesn’t know fear at all, or any other kind of feeling, is allegedly a “hero”.

So are psychopaths.

Vader was not cool because he was fearless by nature, he simply knew that he had nothing left to lose.

A true hero is someone who can control his fears; that’s why Luke is the hero of his story. Anakin is, too, for a long time. A hero is not someone who has no fear at all. Someone who is totally fearless is either emotionally stunted or, at best, stupid.

There is no reason to admire people who seem “fearless” and to believe that their emotional detachment equals courage and strength. Nor is there reason to think that someone who has and shows emotion is weak.

  If you believe that, please stick with stuff like Mission Impossible, Dirty Harry and James Bond, and identify with those guys. But please stop infesting the Star Wars fandom with of your idea of justice and your stuck-up conviction of what a “real man” is supposed to be like. Enjoy your daddy issues and wait for someone who has no good character trait at all but looks imperturbable to come and solve all of the world’s problems without batting an eyelash.

  But but, girls want to get laid by the cool guys? Ok, if that’s what you believe. I’ve lived on this planet for more than half a century and from my experience I can tell you that’s only what silly girls want.

The intelligent ones sometimes are taken in too, yes. But they don’t stay by the side of “cool” but heartless assholes for long.

  Thank you for reading. Be respectful in your comments.

Have a nice day.