#and honestly. no luke without leia

[knightofthebluearms]

honestly my favorite thing about andor was how important the women were to the rebellion. you don’t have luthen without kleya. their main agents are vel and cinta. you don’t have aldhani without them. you don’t have cassian without bix and maarva. you don’t even have the alliance without mon. none of this exists without the women and that’s so so important.

[the-bar-sinister]

There's lots of gay subtext in Ace Attorney. 

But when looking specifically at subtext that might be intentionally put in the narrative by the creators with the intention that the character in question is actually gay, I think the main character with the most evidence behind this is actually Apollo Justice.

Our other main characters, Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes both have obvious subtextually heteronormative romantic partners. To an adult, straight, culturally normative audience, Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey read normatively as an obvious romantic pairing. This is also the case for Athena Cykes and Simon Blackquill. In Great Ace Attorney the same can be said for Ryuunosuke and Susato. 

I repeat– to an adult, straight culturally normative audience, the romantic subtext between these characters is clear. If you showed these games to an American movie going public, that would be the obvious read by the audience.

Yes, each of these characters, Phoenix, Athena, and Ryuunosuke also have strong queer romantic subtext with another character. (Miles, Juniper, and Kazuma respectively).

However, that's not my point. It's not significant that each of the other three characters has homosexual relationship subtext.

It is significant that Apollo Justice does not have a character with whom he has heteronormative romantic subtext.

The closest thing Apollo Justice has to a "heteronormative romantic subtext" is Trucy Wright– whom we, the audience know is his sister.

And yes, you can make the argument that there is deliberate incestuous subtext between them– a kind of Luke/Leia style relationship with which the audience is teased by the narrative. Dhurke brings it up directly in Spirit of Justice.

However, this is still not a heterenormative subtext, because of its taboo nature. More taboo, culturally at this point, than homosexuality.

On top of the lack of heteronormative romantic subtext, Apollo also is on the receiving end some of the strongest and most overt of the homosexual subtext in the series.

There is of course the famous "meet cute" introduction between Apollo and Klavier– 

“I must say, I'm used to being inspected by the ladies... but this is the first time I've felt this way with another man.”

This is without question overt homosexual subtext.

However, there is another, even more subtextually clearly defined moment in Dual Destinies. Honestly, the subtext is all over Dual Destinies in the way Apollo reacts to Clay Terran's death (basically completely losing it) but there's one particular moment that deliberately draws your attention to the relationship in a queer way.

In one of the last cases of the game, everyone is delicately trying to explain to the judge that Aura Blackquill was in love with Metis Cykes (who was murdered) in a queer way. It's a big “they’re lesbians, harold” moment.

And then the conversation immediately turns to Apollo Justice and how he’s just had someone who was “important to him” murdered, too.

The narrative specifically draws you attention to the relationship that Aura and Metis had, and compares it to the relationship between Apollo and Clay.

You are specifically invited to speculate about what kind of important relationship Clay and Apollo had, and why Apollo has been affected so incredibly deeply.

So yeah. Between Clay, Klavier, and the lack of anything resembling a heteronormative romantic relationship for Apollo in the games, I think he has the strongest narrative evidence that he's actually being written deliberately as gay.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hello bucket. I am thinking about multiple pov and whether it works for my first draft. I find that the secondary characters are more engaging to be with, but less central to the overall theme/plot. How can I improve my main character to be actually interesting and not just a flat outline? they feel like a generic isekai protagonist that the viewer can self-insert on. How do I add flavour without it being some gimmick?

When Your Main Character Feels Boring

Great question! It’s super common for side characters to be more engaging than protagonists, and honestly? That’s not always a bad thing. Heroes often have the “straight man” role in a story—they’re the steady center while the zany, chaotic, or ultra-dramatic side characters swirl around them. Think of Frodo surrounded by Sam, Gollum, and Merry & Pippin. Or Luke Skywalker next to Han Solo and Leia. The protagonist’s job is often to move the plot forward, while side characters get to steal the show in smaller bursts.

That said, if your main character feels like a generic self-insert, there are ways to make them more compelling without relying on gimmicks. A few things to consider:

• What’s their perspective? A strong POV can make even a “bland” protagonist interesting. Do they see the world through a hyper-logical lens? A poetic one? A deeply cynical or absurd one? If your story is in their POV, let their voice shine through in the narration.

• What do they struggle with? No one is interesting without internal conflict. What contradictions exist within them? What do they want vs. what do they fear? Even a relatively passive protagonist can be compelling if they’re actively grappling with something.

• What do others see in them? Why are the more engaging side characters drawn to this person? What do they argue about? What do they love/hate about each other?

• Give them choices. A lot of self-insert-style protagonists feel bland because things happen to them instead of them making things happen. Put them in tough situations where they have to make active, often flawed, choices.

And remember, not every character needs to be flashy to be compelling! Sometimes, the best protagonists are the ones who hold the emotional core of the story while the side characters get to be the comic relief, the drama, or the wildcards. The trick is making sure your protagonist has something driving them, something personal at stake, and a perspective on the world that’s worth following.

Hope this helps!

/ / / / / / / / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[stormyskieswalker]

I know that we’re all used to the idea because it’s been canon since 1983, but can we talk about how weird of a writing choice it was to make Leia Luke’s sister?

Like, throughout all of a new hope he acted like he had a crush on her. In the second movie she kisses him on the mouth(yes, to try and prove a point, but still) and he looks quite pleased.

You could interpret it as Luke having a faint force connection with her because they were separated at birth, but that doesn’t really seem like the intention, especially for the first movie.

It also doesn’t have that big of a bearing on the plot??? It’s used to make Luke upset when Vader threatens to kill him and train her, but honestly the scene could have worked fine without it. They had all of rotj to introduce a new sister character for that, but they went with Leia, the only female main character in the entire fucking trilogy.

Not to mention we never even see her reaction to having DARTH VADER as her bio dad. Like that man tortured her for information and forced her to look at her entire planet being blown up, even if he thought destroying Alderaan was a bad idea. He was going to have her EXECUTED. The most reaction we get out of her is quiet acceptance(“somehow I’ve always known”). I don’t feel like this lines up with the character we know from the last two movies.

Leia Organa is angry, she’s passionate, kind, and is not afraid to tell others her opinion, but it seems like Vader being her dad doesn’t give her one.

Her being Luke’s sister has NO bearing on her character. They could have made the realization of her family have as much of an effect on her as Luke(as many a fandom likes to do), but they didn’t.

It seems to me like glucas didn’t know what to do with her besides having her kill Jabba and being present on Endor. It’s also possible he wanted to have a reason for people not to get angry that Luke didn’t ‘get the girl’. I love the original trilogy, I think it’s the best thing to come out of Star Wars, but it makes me give people the side eye when they say it was perfect. Don’t act like really bizarre decisions like this weren’t made.

[antianakin]

I saw something that made me laugh (sort of) on what I’d consider an anti-jedi post. okay I’m not gonna get really into it, the op said it was a pro Jedi take but it really wasn’t, and the people in their comments were even more blatantly anti-Jedi. I’m not getting into it because the post pissed me off, but the op did receive a lot of hate for it and I didn’t want to pile on, but one of the comments (who was complaining about pro-Jedi people and got horrible they are) said that one of the reasons they’re so “insufferable” is because “they think the Jedi are the main characters or something.” Someone replied to this comment and was basically like “yeah! Luke, Leia, and Han are the main characters!” And I started laughing because. Luke is a Jedi last I checked. And honestly Leia’s a force user too and seemed to be headed the Jedi path from what we saw in the sequels (it’s been a minute since I watched them, so if I have details wrong I’m sorry) (although maybe that’s just people liking to take away Luke’s Jedi connections, because I’ve seen that before, although to be honest I’m not sure why that happens?)

I mean what's funny is that I'd honestly make the same argument for the anti Jedi people. One of the most popular takes on the Prequels is that they are ABOUT "the Jedi's corruption" or "how the Jedi failed Anakin" or whatever. At best, you can say that the Prequels are about the "fall of the Jedi" but more accurately the Prequels are about the fall of the REPUBLIC and how good people can go bad and the fall of the Jedi just happens to be a CONSEQUENCE of that. So, sure, it's about the fall of the Jedi but that's not really the story being told. But I feel like anti Jedi people are so hyperfocused on the Jedi's seeming failure towards Anakin and the Republic that they've managed to twist the entire story around into being all about the Jedi's fall from grace instead of ANAKIN'S fall from grace and the REPUBLIC'S fall from grace. It's THEIR choices that truly move the story forward and cause all of the bad things to happen.

The reason a lot of people who defend the Jedi tend to focus on it is only because other people are so insistent that the story IS about the Jedi and about how they failed and did everything wrong. I'd be HAPPY to focus on how Anakin failed at everything and how the Senate did everything wrong more. I'd be DELIGHTED to talk about Padme's failures as a politician and as a person who believes herself to be moral and righteous. But I talk about the Jedi because it is almost physically impossible to bring up liking the Jedi without someone coming in to tell you how they failed. People will say something positive about the Jedi and then add in the caveat of "but they're not perfect" nearly every time just to fend off the fans who won't leave you alone if you have something positive to say about the Jedi. If people who disliked the Jedi or were more critical of the Jedi would just stop butting in where they weren't wanted, we'd honestly probably focus on them less. Or, at least, we'd focus less on discussing why the Jedi DIDN'T fail.

Because, as much as Jedi characters are obviously central to the story, I don't think that Star Wars is a story ABOUT THE JEDI so to speak. It's the Skywalker Saga for a reason, it's not the Jedi Saga. It's a story about how one man's fear brings an entire galaxy to its knees and how his son's love is able to save both him and the galaxy he nearly destroyed. It is ANAKIN'S STORY, not the Jedi's. Luke is a Jedi, yes, and it's his Jedi values that ultimately save him, but I don't know that I'd ever claim that the Original Trilogy is a story about the Jedi AS A WHOLE or as an organization. It's far far more about the REBELLION than it is about the Jedi. The same holds true for the Sequels. Rey is a Jedi, sure, but it's not really a story ABOUT the Jedi (except for TLJ in some respects where Luke's story is hyperfocused on criticizing the Jedi for like two hours straight; shocking that the one movie that has a storyline that can be argued to be "about the Jedi" is CRITICAL of them).

Because, to me, part of the point of the story of the Jedi in the Prequels specifically is that they AREN'T moving the story forward. They can't. They're trying everything they can to change things, sure, they're definitely doing stuff to try to change what's happening, but they're constantly being stopped and hindered and pulled back. They're forced to make one step forward and two steps back every time, and then they're betrayed. The WHOLE POINT is that the Jedi aren't in control of their own narrative anymore. The WHOLE POINT is that they're shoved onto the back foot and playing defense as best they can while being blinded in the dark. The WHOLE POINT is that the system they were supposed to be able to rely on for support falls apart around them, and everyone loses as a result. The WHOLE POINT is that the galaxy lost itself to fear and selfishness and abandoned the Jedi and the Jedi were not enough on their own to combat the oncoming darkness. The Prequels start at the END of the Jedi's story and the beginning of everyone else's. If you think the Prequels or Star Wars as a whole is about the Jedi, you've wildly misunderstood the story probably. And if you think the Prequels are about how the Jedi failed, then you still think the Jedi are the main characters and that the story is about them far more than anyone who defends the Jedi from those accusations probably does.

[marvelstars]

I don´t know if this is an unpopular oppnion, I just have not seen this take often outside of fics but I honestly believe Anakin would not have fallen to the darkside if he stayed on Tatooine.

If he stayed with his mother he would not have been exposed to Palpatine in exchange of getting political good points, he would have been adopted by Cliegg Lars after he married Shmi, became Owen´s brother and Beru brother in law, he could have keep Shmi safe from the Tusken Raiders without resorting to violence because even as a child he had a more nuanced understanding of them enough to talk with them with Threepio´s help, in fact it was precisely this fact the thing that broke him when he found out about them kidnapping his mother, he thought they were simply misunderstood and his mind could not deal with this image and in his childhood they were vs his mother being slowly tortured to death in the space of 1 month, he would not have developed his Jedi skills but would have learned to use his force powers in an intuitive manner, just like Luke did in the OT.

While this happens, Palpatine probably would have taken over the galaxy with the Empire, be it because the invasion of Naboo got extended because Anakin wasn´t there to destroy the main control starship of the droid army or Anakin stayed enough to help Padme on Naboo and then came back to Tatooine to stay with his mother.

In this case, ten years later the clone wars would have started and the Jedi Order has the same trouble dealing with war without the training to do so which later would lead to them still be surrounded by an slaved clone army who would open fire the moment it was convenient. Palpatine didnt have an interest in another Jedi besides Anakin so this would lead to him taking on Count Dooku as his official apprentice.

Meanwhile Anakin at this point would have managed to fight off the Hutts over Tatooine and would just enter in conflict with the begginings of the Empire, just this time he would not have any kind of relationship to the Emperor and would just see them as slavers under another name given the chips used in the clone army and either obi-Wan or another Jedi survivor could have teached him about his force powers without having to sacrifice his mother relationship to him or being isolated from the Jedi order for most of his youth.

I also see Padme and Anakin falling in love here as well, I don´t see either of them staying away from fighting Palpatine´s Empire but this time their relationship would not have the added stress of being hidden or forbidden, Luke and Leia could have been born earlier this time.

I have only seen a few fics that tackle this scenario and most of them are about time travel in which an older Vader version of Anakin takes over young Anakin or personally gets to the past to raise himself as a father figure and fight the Emperor from the beggining of TPM but I believe this perfectly would have happened in canon if Anakin had stayed on Tatooine.

[starsandmargsabls]

Semi-Togruta related: what kinda fics are you working on?

Fics I'm drafting when I have the motivation:

1 A crack fic starring Commander Fox putting the fear of due process into the hearts of all Jedi Knights and Masters while simultaneously befriending padawan commanders and adopting a certain Togruta and Mirialan.

2 A fic where I explore Ahsoka's sexual trauma along with her and Barriss's PTSD, branching off The Wrong Jedi and intersecting with the Inhibitor Chip Arc. To go alongside the heaviness of the topics, I'm also exploring found family between the clones, Ahsoka, and Barriss, and Ahsoka with Padme, Anakin, and Luke and Leia. There is also romance: Ahsoka/Riyo Chuchi and Ahsoka/Barriss.

3 A fic about a “fate worse than death” for Ahsoka if she'd been declared guilty during her trial. I've never agreed with the notion that “everything would have been fine if Ahsoka just stayed in her cell”, so I wanted to explore the ways things could've gone wrong if she did.

4 A fic where Ahsoka joins the Coruscant Guard after spending three years failing to acclimate to civilian life in the underworld. I wanted to explore how the Guard may function differently from any other clone unit and get into the war's politics and propaganda. There is also “Accidental Baby Acquisition” involved.

5 A “What if?” fic where Anakin repudiates Ahsoka after Mortis in a bid to keep her safe, but she ends up leaving the Order after the Council won't let her stay in the temple without a master, only giving her the option of the Agricorps. Our young heroine returns to Shili under the wing of its Senator/Ambassador, getting embroiled in the politics of her homeworld and the problems of the Royal Family.

6 Rewrites – There are certain arcs in The Clone Wars that I feel didn't get the depth/episode length they deserved- four episodes for some of these arcs is ridiculous honestly- or I feel like could have another character in it for relationship development.

There are other fics on my mind, but they need some more thought put into them before I feel like I'm definitely going to write them.

Thank you for the ask! Also, if anyone wants to use these ideas as prompts, be my guest!

[frumfrumfroo]

I mean, I’m still glad it was flat out stated that Ben fell in love with Rey because there were people still insisting he only wanted her power or that there was never anything romantic between them, but I get what you’re saying. We have more evidence, I think, of his feelings for her than of her feelings for him. I think it would change things up a bit to have actual concrete canon evidence of those feelings being mutual.

Sure, of course people are happy to hear it. I don't think it's new information at all, and it's honestly weird to me that some people act like it is, but it's nice to actually get recognition of your canon pairing after all the bullshit we've been through. It's the rock bottom bare minimum, but DLF hasn't been clearing that bar for a long time, so it feels like a win.

I think it's 100% clear that Rey, the actual character, loves Ben and desperately wants to be with him, but Rey the actual character was taken out back and shot so DLF could have their SWCU brand avatar. I don't hold tros against the Rey of the first two films or her potential, just like I don't allow tros to ruin Luke and Leia for me. I'm not taking that shit on board because it was a bunch of incoherent nonsense which fundamentally destroyed the entire narrative and thematic heart of SW.

We don't have a declaration from Rey, but she showed us where her heart was by leaping into the lion's den with zero back up or exit strategy. She threw her life down at Ben's feet knowing that her life represented one of the last hopes for the galaxy. She believed in him that strongly. She wanted him that badly.

And, you know, despite the absolute shit show of tros, the actors managed to deliver us a perfect moment based solely on the emotional continuity from TLJ without any scripted dialogue to fuck it up. Her face when she wakes up in his arms. Her kiss. He is the home she's yearned for all her life.

If people can't understand that means she loves him, that's a them problem.

And yeah, it would be great if DLF would acknowledge this incredibly obvious and well-established fact of the ST in words, it'd be nice to have more ammunition because at this point we've earned being petty, but I don't think it would change anything. They literally kissed on the mouth for longer than any other couple in all of SW and antis were blind suddenly, they couldn't see. We get 'kiss of gratitude' and 'but isn't that incest tho' ludicrous copes to this day.

No amount of validation from DLF is going to move the needle for the entrenched doofus brigade in this fandom. Ep IX was the crucial moment which would have vindicated the story and brought the audience together (not that it would ever have won over some people, but you know) and they whiffed that. Even in the shitty, nonsensical execution of tros, we saw the microcosm of what the ST's RotJ would have done. So many people finally 'got' Ben just from two minutes without dialogue, imagine if the movie had been coherent and had had the ending the narrative needed and promised.

But yeah, anyway. I expect nothing from DLF and I don't think anything they could do will ever make much difference now. The canon is already broken and can't be fixed without just redoing ep IX, which would never happen. The audience and the GFFA are both fractured beyond repair.

[dailydragon08]

OT Gang Reacts: Halloween Edition

I'm halfway through writing Darkness Calls part 3, but here's a little something in the meantime for Halloween!

As a princess who has traveled all over the galaxy, I think Leia would be very familiar with traditions from other cultures, even if she’s only read about them—including Halloween. Although she’s proud of who she is and the role she had in bringing the empire down, dressing up and pretending to be someone else does sometimes appeal to her. It gives her a much-needed break from the weight on her shoulders where she can just let loose, have fun, and not be instantly recognizable. As an avid fashion lover (you can pry this headcanon from my cold, dead hands; she was just busy during the rebellion, okay?), she also loves to really get into all facets of the costume—putting together all the different pieces, buying different accessories, and I can honestly see her really enjoying thrifting for a costume at locally owned places. Although her costume might not be super flashy or extravagant, she’s one of the best dressed ones at the party and again, gets a huge thrill from mingling without the threat of other politicians, leaders, and rich people chasing her down the entire time. She tends to dress as people or professions she admires, but isn’t above matching group costumes with her friends—and the further away the costume is from an intergalactic princess, the better.

With Reader/an OC, she loves matching costumes, but isn’t dead set on it either. Either way, she loves helping you put your own costume together and helping you with hair, makeup, and doesn’t stray far from you during a Halloween party. She loves the chance to just relax and enjoy without others constantly pulling her away from you as if you were just two normal people on a little date, and an afterparty at her place with just the two of you, a scary movie (I could honestly see her being a big horror fan and loving things like Fear Street and American Horror Story), and some of your favorite fall-themed snacks is a must (I firmly believe she’s a bit caramel popcorn fan). I can see her really enjoying haunted houses too, and doing them frequently enough that she usually knows what to expect and isn’t too scared by them. She’s usually the one everyone’s holding on to as she bravely takes her position in front of the pack and immediately bursts into laughter after something scares her.

Luke, on the other hand, doesn’t have as many experiences with other cultures like his sister. Although he did travel a lot while in the rebellion, he was busy focusing on defeating evil emperors and trying not to die. But he loves learning and is an information sponge, researching different holidays and traditions himself and/or listening to others talk about it. Coming from a desert planet, I think he’d be especially interested and in awe of autumn in general—especially all the colors, cooler weather (even though Mr. Perpetually Cold Desert Boy might need more layers than most), and apple-flavored things. Although he tries to fully embrace Halloween, he’s a little overwhelmed at first and just follows his friends’ lead. Leia in particular is so excited to teach him all about it and he also gets into the aspect of pretending to be someone else with less weight on their shoulders for a night. He’s a big fan of matching costumes because it makes him fade in the crowd even more—which of course means, like Leia, he doesn’t have as many people chasing him down. He always gets a kick out of someone realizing who he is with a start once they get close enough. But I also believe he’s very introverted, so I could see him really enjoying a night in or a smaller gathering with the OT Gang & Co. versus some huge party.

With Reader/an OC, he’s 100% going out of his way to match his costume to yours. Usually, he even lets you pick it out and will sit there with the utmost patience, happy to humor any makeup, hairstyle, or accessories you want to put on him. If you go to a bigger party, like Leia, he’s ecstatic to just be able to stick by your side without other important people competing for his attention. But he loves having much smaller gatherings or even just a night in with you the best. He lives for the cozy sweaters (and excuse to drink hot chocolate) and while he doesn’t mind watching scarier movies with you, he likes the ones that have more of a cozy vibe to them better (think Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.). He loves decorating and doing things like carving pumpkins because after all the chaos and loneliness he’s been through, I firmly believe he really cherishes the little domestic moments with you most. Depending on where he is in his jedi training, he tends to be able to sense things in haunted houses and hayrides coming through the Force and can be a bit hard to scare, but goes anyway because he loves the way you grab and lean into him and see him as a protector (even if the threat isn’t actually real).

If any sort of partying is involved—especially if there’s alcohol—Han 100% knows about it, so is no stranger to Halloween. Good luck getting him in a costume though. You’d have to pay him a lot to get him to even consider one. He’s pretty much there for the free food and drinks. He tries to act all tough in things like haunted houses, but is actually pretty easy to scare and has had rare occasions his friends won’t let go where he screamed like a little girl—which he of course denies. Although he says he’ll only watch scary movies to humor his friends, he’s surprisingly reactive as the film goes along, yelling at the characters onscreen whenever they act dumb or go somewhere without a weapon. He also tries to pretend he’s above fall drinks, but sometimes sneaks sips of his friends’ beverages when they aren’t looking. In short, he tries to act like he couldn’t give two shits about Halloween, but does tend to secretly enjoy it.

With Reader/an OC, with enough nagging, you might be able to get him into a very low-effort matching costume—but do not even think about putting makeup on him or messing with his hair. He’ll do all the fall/Halloween things with you to make you happy and grumbles the whole time, but you know he’s secretly enjoying it via the excuses he makes. “Well, listen, pumpkin carving requires a sharp knife and I just don’t want ya to lose any of your klutzy fingers,” “hey, there’s some real creeps out there, so I’m just trying to make sure they leave you alone so you can enjoy the party,” “nah, I’m just watching this movie ’cause I’ve got nothing else to do.” The longer you’re with him, the more he softens up and stops grumbling—although you don’t think you’ll ever get him to admit out loud he is having a good time.

Lando is of course hosting the best Halloween party you’ve ever seen in your life. His place ends up looking like Halloween threw up on it by the time he’s done and every room is covered in props, fake spiderwebs, smoke machines, projectors in the windows, and he’s got every type of fall treat and drink you could think of. His costume is equally extravagant, and his parties are always ones for the books that go into the wee hours of the morning. He loves a good horror movie as well as the cozier ones, and somehow his pumpkin carvings always rival the most acclaimed artists of the decade. Lando does not half-ass anything, holidays and parties included.

With Reader/an OC, he’s so psyched if you’re super into Halloween like he is and he’s ready to do everything: pumpkin patches, mazes, haunted houses, scary movies, etc. He especially loves decorating for Halloween with you and you two frequently go on dates to the Halloween decoration store, coming home with almost all their inventory in tow. He’s always happy to match your costume, but is completely fine if you want to do your own thing as well and insists on buying you the most expensive, high-quality material the holonet has to offer. If you opt for a smaller gathering with just the OT Gang, he’s still decorating to the nines and bringing enough food to feed 100 people, and never hesitates to tell you how amazing of a time he had with you at the end of the night.

Chewie (platonic) is mainly just along for the ride and down for whatever, but he does not like being spooked. He’s actually been banned from most haunted houses because of the way he roars at the poor actors popping out at him. He’s equally fine with a larger party or a smaller one, but either way, you’re pretty sure he’s responsible for half the snack consumption and he’s not afraid to admit he loves the fall drinks. He’s not really big into wearing costumes (which ones would he even fit into?), but loves looking at everyone else’s and always appreciates the decorations. He’s not the best at carving pumpkins, but he tries and the only design he’s really nailed is the simple, classic one.

C-3PO and R2-D2 both enjoy the festivities for different reasons. Threepio is soaking in all the information like a sponge, but not the biggest fan of the scarier side of Halloween (“oh, my!”). He loves to marvel at the cozier aspects and is amazed by all the colors—and isn’t afraid to constantly say it, much to the annoyance or amusement of the rest of the gang. Artoo loves all of it, especially the dancing at parties and can regularly be seen in the middle of the dance floor bobbing back and forth on his little legs, but is unfortunately very easily spooked and will speed away with a high-pitched squeal.

~~ Taglist: @kaleidoscope1967eyes @masterlukessaber @coffeeorsomething-irl @lxstfathier @rogue-kenobi @sonofthedunes @pomplalamoose @lex-the-flex @myevilmouse @ilovemarkhamill @goddessesofeverything @acupnoodle

[hux-and-gay]

I used to do this thing where I would take a list of characters that I liked (such as Star Wars characters) and then I would take a list of roles from a musical. Then I would get a random generator and use that generator to randomly select the characters I had chosen and cast them as random roles in the musical. As if they were being forced to play those characters and I had no control over who they were cast as.

Things could get pretty hilarious. you could have something like Han gets cast as the spouse of Vader and C3PO gets cast as their child.

So I thought I had never really done it with the sequels characters so I decided why not? I did it With Hamilton because that’s a musical most people know but I could do other ones in the future. It turned out even funnier then I could possibly have imagined.

Now without further ado

HAMILTON BUT PURE CHAOS

Our Star of the show is none other the Snoke

And who is his rival that will eventually best him in a duel sending him to his death?

Princess Leia Organa! And honesty? Good for her. (All the extras are storm troopers)

Now who is the famous, Faboulous, Marquis De Lafayette…. it’s Pryde… ugh

Suddenly Lafayette is no longer cool

Now who are Snoke and Pryde’s Besties? Phasma is now Laurence (so she dies 😔) and Kylo is Mulligan, honestly I can see him as mulligan

So this friend group is just the first order? Good to know

Now who is the responsible, put together, and not reckless at all, general to lead them all?

It’s Han Solo playing George Washington! So in character right? Now he’s Snoke’s mentor and president of the United States… interesting

But there’s always a loyalist so who gets to be my beloved Samuel Seabury?

Armitage Hux! I was actually very happy with this paring I literally a wrote a parody to farmer refuted from Hux’s POV a few weeks ago, it’s just so funny

Now who is the King that Hux is so graciously supporting, the antagonist of the whole story? Well it’s none other then Poe Dameron, everyone’s favorite imperialist

And of course Snoke still needs more enemies, so who is the incompetent general that sucks so bad he gets left behind?

Charles Lee is now Luke Skywalker! “I’m a general WEEEEEE” But I mean hey man not everyone can say they got shot by Phasma in a duel.

and of course we can’t forget Snoke’s big act 2 rival Thomas Jefferson who is being played by none other then C3PO!

and Jefferson is nothing without his best friend James Madison played by Dopheld Mitaka!

Honestly this one is a pretty good casting

Now here’s where it gets interesting… if it hasn’t already…

The Schuyler Sisters

Yeah you saw that right, forget Angelica Eliza and Peggy, Now we have Palpatine Rey and Finn! So that not only makes them sisters but it also means that Snoke and Rey are married and have children which is a terrifying thought

And not only that but it also means that Snoke and Palpatine were in love but Palpatine let him marry his sister instead but they still continue their emotional affair through the letters they send to eachother

Aren’t snoke and Palpatine basically the same person technically???? I guess they have a type

but of course, we can’t forget the Schuyler sisters wonderful father Philip, oops sorry I meant Thanisson

so yes somehow Thanisson is the father of Palpatine Rey and Finn. Makes sense? No? Perfect, moving on

Speaking of Philip, Snoke and Rey’s Aforementioned child of the same name, is now being played by Rose Tico

Which means, as you can see in this photo here, she dies in her duel with George Eacker. But who might you ask is George Eacker?

It’s BB-8 of course!

Because BB-8 decided to shit talk snoke he got in a duel with Rose, and won. BB-8 kills rose.

Now there’s something missing, we all know the story, Snoke can’t stay faithful to his wife. so who is the poor soul that has to play Mariah Reynolds? A woman being used by her husband to extort snoke by having her keep up an affair with him?

It’s Cardinal, I’m so sorry. He isn’t prepared for this 😭 this image is so cursed. Funny enough though Maria is known for wearing red.

Anyway who is Cardinal’s manipulative husband who is blackmailing snoke?

It’s Brendol Hux, James Reynolds is Brendol Hux. I’m so sorry Cardinal but this is perfect casting. Truly and ass hole in every universe

and of course who is the doctor that is just trying to keep shit together through this whole play? BEHOLD THE MIGHTY GONK!

(I couldn’t find any pictures on Google of the doctor)

If you got this far, I hope you enjoyed it and are severely disturbed!!! Let me know if you’re interested in me doing more.

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@fives-ren

@not-so-allegiant-general

@jaynesilver

@thegeneralorder

@diabollicallyangelic

@existing-sadly

@tomatette

@dragonflies-draw-flame

@lessdenied

@fridayincarnate

@huxkisser

@rommonoch

@bostarsky

@transmasc-vampire-is-tired

@misbon-god-of-mischief

@kira-mortham

@piecesofeden11

@vanta-nev00

@threewinterssnow

@theosb0rnway

@sh1r3

@blackberry-command-cap

@iphridian

@irrationalgame

@darthnostra

@threewinterssnow

@vanta-nev00

@eggsodaz

@sluttycaseyjones

@lavendergarnet

[spell-cleaver]

One thing I've always wondered is how Vader didn't sense either Luke (or Leia's for that matter) force presence on the first death star. I guess he was super caught up in with the whole "I sense the old coot who cut off my limbs amd left me to burn" thing, but I like to think obi-wan was masking the pair by just being obnoxiously loud with the force (the force equivalent of him walking into a room with multiple air horns and a boom box blasting away)

Wow, I had THOUGHTS about this one.

Honestly? I'm not a fan of the assumption in a lot of fic and by fans that it's super easy to passively sense someone in the Force. I have used it myself, of course, but I say from experience it restricts writing a lot while... not actually having a ton of backing in the films? (I'm referring to the films here, not to any other media, just because when I want to analyse lore, I only take them as canon; when I'm just looking for cool worldbuilding for a fic, though, anything goes.)

It's not just Leia that Vader doesn't sense on the Death Star. He doesn't sense Luke either, even though Luke is right there screaming when Vader kills Obi-Wan. It's more of an issue with Leia ofc because he literally used the mind probe on her but only finds that "her resistance... is considerable". An easy answer is that I headcanon Leia is a naturally good shielder, which is why she was never found on the Death Star and also why all of the Jedi in ROTS were surprised there were two babies - Leia had been naturally shielding herself, so they just sensed Luke.

But if we go more in-depth into the films' representations of the Force, Vader only senses Luke when he's actively chasing him as a pilot; he comments that "The Force is strong with this one" only when Luke is using the Force to aim and fire his shot. For me, this implies that you can only sense other Force users powerfully or distinctly when they're actively using the Force. I know why fic prefers not to go that way - I for one have used the "Vader senses Luke immediately" plot to get Luke captured many a time - but it's a fun thing to consider. Also, the Force is a soft magic system. It does functionally whatever the story needs it to.* Which is why Vader can sense Luke approaching Endor in ROTJ when Palpatine couldn't, but he had to be told by an officer when Luke's ship was approaching Cloud City in ESB.** There are many examples where a Force user just didn't sense someone else. Luke not sensing Yoda in ESB, Obi-Wan not sensing Dooku's presence on Geonosis, the Jedi non sensing Maul in TPM, the Jedi not sensing Palpatine for the whole prequel trilogy.

You could argue that those examples are of trained Force wielders shielding themselves, but I would argue that Qui-Gon can't sense Anakin in TPM. He doesn't show interest in Anakin until after they've left Watto's shop and Anakin starts talking to him. Anakin is the literal son of the Force and the most powerful Force wielder ever, but Qui-Gon was talking to Watto for a while without batting an eyelash at the small supernova in his shop. He didn't start to suspect until he heard about his racing, his instincts, spoke to him to notice his insights. Then still he spoke to Shmi about him to confirm his suspicions that "he can see things before they happen", watched him while he flew, and took a midichlorian count. I think the Force might well have been nudging Qui-Gon to look at Anakin, to suspect something, but I don't think he sensed Anakin himself as Force sensitive - at least, not immediately. Which is how I think you can explain all the instances of people going "I felt his presence." They were either using the Force, or familiar as Force sensitives to the person sensing them, or the Force wielder in general had an instinct that there was something special about this person, I should pay attention...

This has been a long ramble, but the short answer is: I headcanon Leia as naturally good at shielding. I think it fills multiple Star Wars plot holes.***

But I think it's also worth interrogating the fact that fandom seems to approach and conceptualise of the Force as a hard magic system, with clearly defined rules, rather than the soft magic system it is.**** Anything goes in Star Wars! It can be annoying if the writing doesn't sell it well enough, but I really love that aspect of the worldbuilding. And considering that the Force is a big fat plot device as well as giving people magical instincts for things that are Plot Relevant and things that aren't, I think it's a lot more interesting to consider that the Force isn't a superpower that lets you sense everything. Vader didn't detect Leia simply because he didn't. Sometimes they fail to do that. And it allows you to show growth in character and situation when that fact changes. Vader doesn't sense Luke in ANH until he's Plot Relevant to Vader's personal story. He doesn't sense Luke until he's fighting him in ESB. But in ROTJ, once they're both invested in their relationship and fated to meet, they're drawn together like stars caught in a mutual orbit.

That's the explanation I prefer. Because although it's less consistent, it's not unbelievable. It leaves uncertainty, mysticism, the chance for exploration in the galaxy. And most importantly, it tells a damn good story. Which, while this may not be true of people who love collecting lore and figuring the galaxy out, is ultimately what I'm here for.

*This is why so many random new powers can get added and explored in later movies and such, and also why I don't really get het up about it when they do add them. It just depends how you incorporate that new power. Usually, if a villain suddenly has a new power no one knew about (like Palpatine's lightning in ROTJ) it just ups the stakes, while if a hero suddenly has a new power it can feel like it cheapens their victory, like they haven't earned it; a deus ex machina. So messing about with Force powers is fine, it just depends how you incorporate them in the story.

**Admittedly this can be explained by the bond being formed when Luke learned the truth, but you know what I mean.

***I was only talking about the movies here, but there's also that moment in the Kenobi series where she's captured by Inquisitors and still no one notices she's Force sensitive??? There's just a lot of moments like this littered all over Star Wars, so this headcanon covers a lot of them.

****I kept using the terms hard/soft magic system without really explaining it here, but here's some good videos to dig into it: Soft Magic Systems | Hard Magic Systems

[darkcrowprincess]

AU in which Darth Vader learns about his children and, of course, brings them up himself.

— When Darth Vader came to pick up his son and daughter... It was ugly, but by an incredible miracle everyone was alive - King Bail Organa got a scar stretching all over his face and, according to rumors, all the way to his stomach. Darth Vader, If believe the same rumors, wanted to kill him for claiming the paternity of his child, Queen Breha Organa was so traumatized by this sight that after that, she refused to leave her chambers at all. Leia cried the whole time, but she was quickly comforted when her blood father picked her up and she buried her face in the folds of his cloak.

— The Lars really tried to protect Luke to the last. When Darth Vader's entourage landed on the cold sand near their house, Owen fearlessly came out to them and stated that they did not have a child, Obi-Wan brought the baby, but they refused to accept him into their house. Darth Vader, of course, did not believe a word, forcibly throwing him away, he went into a tiny house and found Beru, who was covering an empty crib with her, she was trying to lie, and Darth Vader was ready to give money to find out about his son, but... Baby cried, giving away his location, Lars literally made a small hollow open space on the floor of his house and got a baby oxygen mask from somewhere to try to hide the boy. Darth Vader went to his son's call, Beru, showing desperation, clung to his cloak and even tore it, but Darth Vader, without even looking at her, kicked her away. Finding his son, he gently lifted him in his arms, the boy fell silent, but tears continued to flow from his eyes, then Darth Vader began to hum softly, it sounded terrible, but Luke really calmed down, plunged into a sweet sleep. Darth Vader left the house holding his son in one hand. Beru shouted after him that he would not be able to raise his son and he would turn into a monster. Owen, who had recovered a little, ran into the house and hugged his wife, who was now crying hysterically, as if crying for her own child.

— Just a few weeks after that, Leia Vader Padmia was declared her father's heir, and her brother Luke Vader Padmia received the title of "Pearl of the Empire".

Going to give them both a crown. It's honestly very fiting of Vader. Controversial opinion but I never liked that the Jedi and Obi Wan gave Luke to Owen and Beru Lars. Mainly for fact Owen's father bought Shmi and made her be his wife and Owen and Beru were just ok with that. I know it's because the originals happened before the prequels and they had to make everything fit. But God it adds to the messed up ness for me. Luke ending up back on the planet his grandmother Shmi and father were slaves on and with the family that bought and forced Shmi to be someone's wife. At least Leia was with people who genuinely wanted children and to change things. She grew up in privilege and was happy. That's why I like fics where Anakin takes Luke away and just Luke grows up with his father. I love star wars but the whole secret twins things was really bad writing. Everything would make more sense if it was just Luke. Or if Luke had a sister, have more movies to go find her. Not make it Leia and have it be weird. If you don't know the spoilers from star wars, they didn't plan the secret twin thing till the end. And you can tell because the movies have Luke and Leia flirting and even kissing.

I'm really messed up but I find it cute how much Vader is willing to do for the people he loves. Padme and the twins. They want a crown and to rule the world he will give it to you no questions ask. He really is loyal. I just hate that the loyalty had to be given to someone undeserving like Palpatine. Yes Anakin killed tons of people and he did it for his family, and he automatically hated himself for doing it but he'd still did it. The galaxy is lucky that Padme and Luke are so good.

[bonaxie]

Peaceful galaxy, but crazy beach (Comfy-vember day 27)

Finally, the war was over.

It had been about two weeks since Palpatine's death and the end of the war, and yet Anakin still didn't quite realize what was happening.

And yet, a lot of things had happened in the last few weeks. Palpatine had died, after trying to make Anakin Fall. And worst of all, Anakin had come so close to giving in. He had come so close to turning against the Order and siding with Palpatine against Master Windu.

But fortunately, Obi-Wan had arrived just in time. While he was still supposed to be on Utapau, a very bad feeling in the Force had forced him to turn around and get back to Coruscant as quickly as possible. And he had done the right thing, for without him, Anakin was fairly certain he would have Fallen.

But Obi-Wan had arrived. He had arrived and managed to convince Anakin that Palpatine was only manipulating him and that following him would only bring him pain and desolation.

And as always, Anakin had listened to his brother and, with Obi-Wan's help, had brought down Palpatine, or rather Darth Sidious, because Palpatine had been the Sith Lord they’ve been looking for.

That alone was hard enough to realize, but Anakin hadn't had a moment to rest, because just a few hours after the announcement of Sidious's death, and the reveal of his true identity, and thus the end of the war, Padmé had gone into labor.

The birth had been long and complicated, and several times the Jedi Temple's Healers had thought they'd lost either the mother or one of the two children.

Yes, because they were twins!

Suffice to say, Anakin had been more than a little panicked. But once again, Obi-Wan had been at his side to calm him down and keep his head on his shoulders.

And everything had worked out in the end. Padmé was fine. Luke and Leia were fine. Everything was fine.

Well, Anakin was still under threat of expulsion from the Order, but honestly, it didn't bother him that much. Unlike just a few months ago, he was no longer that attached to his place in the Order.

Without Palpatine whispering in his ear that he couldn't trust the Council and that the whole order was against him, he realized that he was less attached to a place on the Council or the title of Master than he would have thought.

While waiting for the Council to rule on his fate, his lightsaber had been confiscated, he had to be reachable and traceable at all times, and he had to obtain direct authorization from a Council member if he wanted to leave Coruscant. But luckily for him, he knew a Council member very well, and so far Obi-Wan hadn't refused him much. It had to be said that Anakin didn't feel much like playing with the rules anymore, so he wasn't trying to mess things up.

His excursions outside Coruscant had always been to Naboo, and Obi-Wan didn't even need to ask why Anakin was going there. Indeed, about a week after the twins were born, Luke, Leia and Padmé had returned to Naboo. Anakin unfortunately hadn't been able to go with them full-time, being officially under house arrest on Coruscant, but Obi-Wan hadn't refused any of his requests to go to Naboo to see his wife and children, even when Anakin asked to go every day or so. And although Naboo was over 6 hours away by hyperspace, that didn't discourage Anakin.

But usually, when Obi-Wan received Anakin's travel requests, it was just him and R2-D2, using Anakin's favorite fighter. Except this time, when Obi-Wan opened the notification, he saw that the request concerned several hundred people and asked permission to use an entire flagship. This time, Anakin was asking to leave with the entire 501st , using the Resolute to do so.

More than a little puzzled, and unable to accept this request without knowing more, Obi-Wan told Anakin to come and have tea with him at the end of the day, and that they could discuss the matter further.

Obi-Wan then tried to get on with his day as if nothing had happened, but he couldn't quite get it out of his head. What was Anakin thinking? His former Padawan had been surprisingly reasonable and quiet these past two weeks, doing nothing extravagant and abiding by the rules that had been imposed on him, so Obi-Wan really wondered what he wanted to do with the 501st

Finally, 6 p.m. arrived, the time Obi-Wan had invited Anakin to come, and the younger arrived right on time, with a big smile on his face.

If the end of the war and the death of the Dark Lord had been good for everyone, Obi-Wan felt that Anakin was one of those who had benefited most. Indeed, the redhead couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his former Padawan so happy, free and rested. It must have been during Anakin's early years at the Temple, when he was still discovering what it felt like to be free, to be his own person, and learning how to be a Jedi.

And frankly, it did Obi-Wan a world of good to see Anakin so at peace. The young man had suffered terribly during the war, and to see this burden lifted from his shoulders was liberating for everyone around him, including Obi-Wan.

"Hello Obi-Wan!" Anakin exclaimed happily as he entered the redhead's quarters as if he still lived here.

"Hello, Anakin." The older Jedi replied in a more composed voice but smiling all the same. "How are you? And how are Padmé and the twins?"

"Everyone's just fine." Anakin said as he dropped into Obi-Wan's couch. "Padmé's in great shape and Luke made his first smile! Wait a minute, Padmé sent me a holo." Anakin added as he pulled out his comm, searching for a moment before displaying a holo and giving his comm to Obi-Wan.

The latter grabbed it and saw a smiling baby Luke Skywalker with his toothless mouth wide open.

"Leia's still glaring though." Anakin said, switching to another image with a much less smiling baby.

"Your children are beautiful, Anakin." Obi-Wan said honestly, returning his comm to his former Padawan.

Anakin almost blushed at the compliment, but his pride echoed in the Force around them.

"When do you think you'll be able to come and see them? They need to meet their grandfather after all."

"I'm not their grandfather, Anakin. If anything, I'm more your brother than your father."

"Debatable but fine, you're their uncle, then." The younger shrugged. "No matter how you look at them or the words you put on your relationship with them, I'd really, really like you to be part of their lives. If... if you want to, that is." On the last sentence, Anakin had lowered his head and almost curled in on himself, looking even younger than he was, and Obi-Wan almost felt his heart clench.

"I want to be in their lives too. And I'll be thrilled to see them again now that they're a little bigger, especially if Luke smiles so adorably. But you also know I can't leave Coruscant just like that."

"Yes, of course I know that. Just... think about it ? Please ?"

"I'll consider it.” Obi-Wan assured. "Now, I hear you want to take the 501st somewhere."

At this, Anakin brightened and a big smile returned to his face. "Yes, I wanted to do it straight after the war, but there was a lot to do and the vode weren't really up to it. But now Rex told me they're all more or less settled, so I figure now's as good a time as any."

"And what is this plan? You didn't even put on the form where you wanted to go."

"I didn't? Ah sorry, I must have forgotten." Anakin apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

"Since we're discussing it verbally it's not a problem but I confess I'm curious. So, where do you want to take the 501st and what's your plan?"

"Well, I don't know if you've had similar conversations with the 212th, probably in fact, but you know that the vode have never been able to do what they wanted and it came up in a conversation with Jesse and Kix that the majority of them had never been to the beach. So you know, I promised them that when the war was over and they were free, I'd take them on a tour of the galaxy in peacetime, and I'd take them to the beach. I don't know if they remember that, but I do. And I think they might enjoy it. And I happen to know a place on a planet that has a vast meadow big enough to land an entire flagship. And this meadow is near a lake that has a very big beach, so it's all good."

"And, by chance, isn't there a house on this lake where the former queen of this planet and her two children currently reside?" Obi-Wan asked, understanding Anakin's point.

"Uh... maybe so?" Anakin said. "Come on Master, it's the perfect place. I know the Queen won't object and this way they can meet Luke and Leia too, I know they want to. But the twins are still a bit young to be traveling like this, so it's easier if the 501st comes to them. Especially now that the war is over, the vode are going to be scattered all over the galaxy and it's going to be more and more complicated to find a time when they're all available. This is one of those times, and I'd like to take advantage of it. Do one last thing just like their General. I know I haven't always been the best General, but I want to make things right."

Obi-Wan didn't answer immediately. Anakin had some very good arguments, but this was a rather peculiar request.

But he didn't have to think much about it when he saw the pleading look on his former Padawan's face. And just as he was about to give his consent, he thought of something else.

"Would this meadow be big enough to accommodate two flagships?" he asked.

And so, around a week later, the Resolute and the Negociator entered the airspace of the planet Naboo after receiving clearance to land.

Neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan had really explained to their troops what they were doing here, so all the vode had no idea what to expect, even if they trusted their generals completely.

Once the two flagships were on the ground, the two Jedi brought out all the vode, so they could talk to them all at once.

“I know you're all probably wondering what we're doing here." Obi-Wan began. "The war is over, you're all free to explore the galaxy as you please. However, as your Generals, Anakin and I would like to introduce you to a new place. Consider it a gift from us and your first step toward discovering the Galaxy."

After that, the two Jedi led the vode until they reached the edge of the lake, a little higher up than the latter, with a huge beach stretching out in front of them.

"General, is this-" Kix began.

"A beach!" Jesse and Fives exclaimed in unison, before starting to run towards the water, quickly followed by others of their vode, both 501st and 212th.

In less than 10 minutes, the beach was full and most of the clones were in the water, splashing and spraying each other and simply laughing, enjoying the idyllic setting.

On the mound, only Obi-Wan, Cody, Helix, Anakin, Rex and Kix remained. Anakin had a big smile on his face, Obi-Wan smiled softly, Helix and Kix seemed as excited as their siblings but held back a little, as did Cody and Rex.

"Is this what you had in mind when you asked me to round up the others?" Cody asked, looking at Obi-Wan.

"It was actually Anakin's idea. Originally, all I had to do was give the Council permission for him to leave Coruscant with the 501st. But I thought it would do you good too." The older Jedi replied, smiling softly as he watched the vode being so happy to be free and to have nothing to do but enjoy themselves.

"It was your idea?" Kix repeated as he turned to Anakin, seeming almost surprised.

"Of course. I promised you I'd take you to the beach, and I like to keep my promises. I promised you the beach, so here's the beach." Anakin replied, still smiling.

It took a moment before Kix seemed to remember the conversation he'd had with his General nearly 2 years ago.

"You remembered." He whispered, genuinely touched.

"Of course I remembered." Anakin confirmed, placing a hand on the medic's shoulder. "Go on, have fun with the others before Jesse comes looking for you and throws you in the lake."

Kix nodded, started towards the lake, then turned around, came to embrace Anakin in a quick hug, whispered a quick "Thank you, General.", and took off running towards the lake.

Helix then got moving. "I'd better get closer. With any luck, one of these idiots will manage to get hurt when there isn't even a fight." He said simply, moving closer to the lake.

Only the Jedi, Rex and Cody remained, and sensing that Anakin had something to say to Obi-Wan, Rex gave Cody a little nudge on the shoulder, and the older turned his head towards his brother.

"What is it?"

Rex replied with a mischievous smirk, and Cody knew what was coming next, so he took his brother by surprise. "Last one in the water is a womp rat!" Cody shouted, pushing Rex back a little, taking off running towards the lake.

"Hey that's not fair, you left before me!" Rex replied as he began to chase his brother, both of them laughing at the top of their lungs.

Anakin watched them both leave and his smile widened, watching all these people who had been created to die and never exist outside their role as soldiers discover the free life. It reminded him a little of when he himself had discovered what it felt like to be free after living his whole life as a slave.

Without really being able to stop it, a tear rolled down his cheek. Obi-Wan obviously noticed immediately.

"Anakin, are you okay, dear one?" He asked, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"I-I'm fine. It's just... Thank you Obi-Wan, for everything. And sorry."

Anakin couldn't really express everything he was feeling, but fortunately, he and Obi-Wan had always been able to communicate with more than just words, and Obi-Wan understood what his former Padawan was trying to say. And rather than answering, he came and took Anakin in his arms.

The latter didn't resist at all and buried his head in his Master's neck, even if he had to bend down for it, being a good 10 centimeters taller than him.

The two Jedi stayed like that for a few minutes before Anakin stepped back and Obi-Wan smiled at him. " Well, why don't you introduce me to your children? I was lured here with the promise of meeting Luke and Leia."

Anakin's face lit up at the mention of his children and he went to guide him towards the Lake House, which was visible from here when he found himself in the air.

"Sorry Sir, it'll have to wait!" exclaimed Fives, who had just lifted Anakin with Jesse's help, both soaking wet.

"We're all very keen to meet the little Commanders, but there are more important things first." Waxer added, he and Boil having caught Obi-Wan in the same way their brothers had caught Anakin.

"There's no way you're not coming to enjoy the beach with us!" Boil exclaimed.

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged glances and burst out laughing. Both of them could easily have gotten rid of the vode holding them, but neither of them wanted to, so they let themselves be carried along and even let the boys throw them into the water.

The two Jedi joined in the celebrations of their troops, Anakin using the force to throw the vode who wanted it further into the lake.

The whole valley was filled with bursts of laughter, and it was at this sound that Padmé stepped out onto the balcony, Luke and Leia in her arms. And she smiled softly to see them all so happy.

When he saw her coming out, Anakin swam towards her, stopping just below the balcony, the same balcony where he had married the woman who was now the mother of his children, almost three years ago.

"Hello my loves!" He nearly shouted with a big smile on his face.

Padmé laughed softly, bending down a little. "Did the trip go well?" She asked.

"Wonderful! I'll come out and say hello." Anakin replied, swimming towards the pontoon.

But he never made it, as Tup and Wooley came to grab him, dragging him in the other direction. "Sorry Senator, we'll borrow him a little longer!" Needle shouted, having come to pick up the Jedi with two of her brothers.

Anakin protested a little rhetorically, but froze almost completely when he saw someone else appear on the balcony next to his wife.

"Ahsoka..." He whispered as he saw his Padawan overlooking the lake.

When the youngest had left the Order, Padmé had refused to let her vanish into the galaxy like that, and had kept in touch with her. So when Anakin told her he'd be taking the 501st to Naboo, Padmé contacted the Togruta and suggested she meet them at the lake house to surprise the others.

Ahsoka had arrived on Naboo the day before, and when she heard the Resolute and the Negociator arrive, she went into hiding in the huge mansion. She had watched from afar as the 501st and the 212th frolicked in the water, and when Anakin approached to speak with Padmé, she thought it was a good time to show her face.

And seeing her Master's stunned face, she told herself that coming to Naboo had been a good idea.

"Commander!" Tup exclaimed when he saw her in turn.

"What? Is the Commandant here?" Echo called from a little further away.

"That's what Tup said!" Dogma replied, from even further away.

A clamor went up from the vode as the news spread, but Anakin and Ahsoka only had eyes for each other.

Then, after almost a minute like that, Padmé gently nudged Ahsoka. "Go ahead." She smiled softly.

Ahsoka nodded and didn't hesitate after that, leaping over the balcony railing and jumping into the lake. And no sooner had she surfaced than Anakin came to take her in his arms.

"I'm sorry Ahsoka, so sorry." The taller one murmured.

"It's okay Skyguy, I know." Ahsoka said. "It's okay and I'm here now."

After that, Anakin and Ahsoka were quickly whisked off to the beach, where the rest of the vode were, and the good mood was further enhanced by Ahsoka's presence.

Watching all this from her balcony, her children firmly in her arms, Padmé told herself that everything would be all right. Not everything would be easy, but everything would be fine. And that was the most important thing.

@comfy-vember

[fanfic-lover-girl]

I watched the Star Wars OT finally

So I finally watched the Star Wars OT. It was fine, I wouldn't watch it again though. I didn't realize how simple the movies would feel.

I mean I watched ROTJ and Luke's sudden faith in his dad came out of nowhere.

Plus, it's hard for me to stay engaged with battle scenes so I didn't care too much for the space ship fights and other battles.

Surprisingly, R2 ended up being my favourite character lol. He's a sassy jack of all trades and I loved him from start to finish. I just loved how important the droids were to the plot. It reminded me of Appa and Momo in ATLA. They almost felt the MCs in New Hope.

I really enjoyed seeing Luke evolve as he grew older. Also enjoyed Leia's strength. Leia killing Jabba with her own chain was even more badass compared to watching the clip on Youtube. Lando and Han's friendship was fun to watch.

I liked seeing more of the Imperial army in the second and third film. I understand now why Piett is such a gem in SW fanfics now lol. RIP Captain Needa.

The DVD I borrowed had Vader shouting "No!" when he saved Luke and I understand now why people find it cringy. It's wasn't awful but I think silence would have been better. Also, I liked seeing Hayden as the force ghost of Anakin. It makes sense to me. Symbolic of Vader's return to who he was before he fell to the dark side. Vader being an old man honestly doesn't vibe with me.

The love triangle conflict felt shoehorned to give Hanleia more conflict. There is little reason for Han to believe Leia wants Luke over him. The scene was cute as a standalone thing but it made no sense to me. Leia has only kissed Luke once - and that was to spite Han. So gross by the way, Leia. You don't kiss someone without consent (Luke dug the kiss but that's beyond the point) to aid in your argument.

To end for now, I will say that the worldbuilding was amazing. I hate Tatooine! The creatures are disgusting, especially Jabba. Every time he was on screen, I felt like puking. So revolting. The Sarlaac ate well in that movie lol. Too bad Jabba wasn't thrown overboard and eaten too. Bobba Fett was a cool character in ESB and his appearance in ROTJ was so lame and lacklustre. Oh well.

I can't wait to watch the prequels this weekend! So excited!

[loopy777]

In the empire strikes back, do you also feel like there is some line missing between "if only you knew the power of the dark side" but before "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father"?

It feels to me like there needed to be some retort from Luke about his father's defiance and awesomeness to make it sound natural.

As it is, it kinda just coasts on the follow up reveal to make up for a weak set up, where he just jumps to tell the big twist withouth some way to make the transition from the fight into the big reveal seem natural.

Maybe it's because the actors didnt really get to give their imput on the dialogue due to how Lucas wanted it to be 100% secret and not spoiled. And so we see the classic wooden lucas dialogue on full display.

Honestly, ESB is the least likely of all the movies to have any Lucas dialogue left. The classic trilogy all had actual scriptwriters work on them to make them sound vaguely human, but ESB was the only movie filmed without Lucas on the set all the time, so the crew was free to do as much rewriting as they could without getting caught.

I've read accounts from Harrison Ford that he rewrote all his ANH dialogue simply by asking the night before for script changes from the typist distributing the daily shooting scripts. And he claims Lucas never noticed the changes, so if that's true, I doubt he would have noticed the changes in the ESB script if Kershner, the actors, and anyone else hanging around (I don't recall if Kasdan was on set) didn't make a big deal out of it. And we know for a fact that they did make changes, because I've see actual photos of Carrie Fisher's rewrites for her own scenes, and it's rather famous how the scripted line for Han's reply to Leia's "I love you" in the carbon-freezing chamber was originally supposed to be either "I love you, too" or "Just remember that, ‘cause I’ll be back" rather than the semi-improvised "I know."

Granted, Lucas would be more likely to remember the most important dialogue in the movie, so I'm sure there's a limit to what could be rewritten. And we all know how dichotomous he can be about Star Wars history, claiming he figured out a 6-movie saga entirely beforehand while also publishing "Making Of" books that show pretty clearly he was improvising heavily as he went and had no idea how many movies he was making or what they would be about.

Anyway, no, it never struck me as particularly awkward, but I first saw ESB back when I seven or eight, so my first impression wasn't exactly sophisticated. Looking at it now, it seems to flow well enough. Luke is defiantly saying that he'll never join Vader, obviously seeing life in terms of black & white and good & evil. Vader's "If only you knew the power of the dark side," strikes me less of a temptation and more of a musing- if only Luke knew what was really going on here, what life was really like, and the true nature of the forces they're playing with, then he might not be so defiant and sure of himself. He then goes on to start the reveal of his true identity, thinking that Luke needs to understand that Vader is a real person who was once just like him and eventually chose what Luke himself is thinking to be an unconscionable choice.

Sure, there could be another line in there to make it explicit and connect the dots, and perhaps the original script had one. The only version of the ESB script I've seen has "Insert Dialog B" over the entire reveal scene. It might have even been recorded. (I hesitate to say 'shot and recorded' since the scene as shot had completely different dialogue about Obi-Wan murdering Luke's father that was over-dubbed later in order to avoid leaks, and I think even some of Mark Hamill's reaction shots were assembled later and perhaps re-dubbed.) And perhaps that extra line or two was removed later to pick up the pacing of the scene. If so, I think that was a good choice, as the pacing of a scene like that in a movie is really more important than the nuances of the dialogue, and the idea mostly carries through anyway.

If I had to blame anything for any awkwardness, I would probably credit the weirdness of how the scene was shot. Mark Hamill was only told what he was really reacting to just before filming, and he's said that he would have done it differently if he'd had time to process it. And David Prowse in the Vader suit wasn't told at all, although he later found out and spoiled it anyway at some public appearances. If everyone had been given the time to figure out the scene as it was supposed to be, perhaps we'd have something a bit smoother.

Good thing they had John Williams doing the music. That guy can make anything go down smooth.

[antianakin]

Rewatching Andor and I think it's one of the most interesting breakdowns of all the types of rebels, mainly Mon Moth trying to do things slow, quiet, and "right". Luthen building a network of more independent actors and spies, Andor and most of the thief team being basically mercenaries, the true believers etc. and honestly I think the best show of it is Kreegyr. We never see him or his people except a brief image.

Luthen finds out about the trap and his spy wants out but can't, Luthen's morality is purely gray, he can either warn the attack force and risk his spy or he can keep his network intact and let it happen. He chooses to let them die, and we see the horror at the choice and Saw, who is given the choice to interfere and doesn't.

Honestly I think that Andor does a better job with "Axis" then Rebels does with "Fulcrum" we never really get to see Ahsoka do anything spy/black ops and we never see Kallus have to make a hard decision by sharing Intel.

I really hope we get more of these different driving forces for the rebels esp since the ending of S1 implies Cassian is operating off "nothing left to lose"

Yeah, one of the things I like about Andor is the way it emphasizes that there are different ways of rebellion and running a revolution and that all of them can be right and even necessary even if they serve very different purposes. Luthen has the entire speech he makes to Lonni about how he's sacrificed all sense of kindness and calm in order to be the person who does the dirty work, but that the rebellion needs its heroes that it can look up to and be the face of the movement, too.

It's the difference between most of the characters of Andor/Rogue One and the characters in the Original Trilogy. This is the in-universe justification for why Cassian, Jyn, Bodhi, Chirrut, and Baze get no acknowledgement for what they did, while Luke and Han get an entire medal ceremony. The Rogue One crew aren't heroes, as per Luthen's description of it. Jyn maybe could be counted as one, but in many ways her narrative purpose is to get down in the dirt and make the sacrifices that need to be made so that the heroes like Luke can have a victory. No one will remember the name Jyn Erso or Cassian Andor or Bodhi Rook the way they will remember Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. But Luke Skywalker wouldn't be able to BE Luke Skywalker, he wouldn't be able to do the things he does, without people like Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor. And that's the whole point. You NEED both, but the requirements for them are radically different.

And I love the way that it does introduce more moral ambiguity to the rebellion without taking away the importance of people like Luke and Leia who are less morally ambiguous and without painting the entire rebellion as nothing more than a corrupt organization that is no better than the Empire it's trying to topple. It's such a careful balance that Andor and Rogue One have to keep and I personally feel like they do it masterfully. At no point do you really question whether the Rogue One crew or even the characters in Andor are still the good guys because it's made SO SO CLEAR that the Empire are still unequivocally the bad guys and anyone willing to stand against them and work to take them down are the good guys.

While I haven't been able to get access to this book at the library yet, my understanding is that the Reign of the Empire series is doing something similar by looking at Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Saw Gerrera and the different ways they approach fighting against the new Empire. Each of them has different knowledge and resources, but they ultimately do share the same end goal. So even though they all have different approaches, it doesn't necessarily make any of them wrong.

As for Rebels, what I will say is that comparing Rebels and Andor is almost like comparing apples and oranges, so it's kind-of an unfair basis of comparison. Rebels is not and was never trying to be a spy thriller, so of course it doesn't handle those topics as well as Andor, which IS trying to be a spy thriller and has been from the start. Rebels is also much more of a show for kids while Andor is aiming at a more adult audience which gives it more freedom to tackle some of these more complex topics.

HOWEVER, that being said, I do think that the concept of Ahsoka being a spy is really ridiculous given what we'd known of her, and it feels like they took the easy way out by just never showing her while she was doing more spy-related things and then once we knew who it was, she really didn't do anything spy-related at all, and what little she seemingly still does is all off-screen. So it just kind-of feels like they took a cheap cop-out on actually making Ahsoka into a spy. I'm willing to believe Ahsoka COULD'VE potentially grown into someone who could be a good spy, but since there's absolutely no real exploration of that period of time for her showcasing some of the work she would've had to put in to learn those skills, it just feels like they made her a spy so they could do a big reveal of her identity rather than because it made any sense or because it was a direction they wanted to explore with her character.

And the less said about Kallus the better.