#he really is doing everything in Legacy of Vader

[thevalleyisjolly]

So I just rewatched Rogue One after finishing Andor Season 2. And it really has made me see the movie in a different way. This past season, I've read many critiques that Cassian in Season 2 seems to be a different character from the Cassian we see in Rogue One. The two primary concerns are commitment and obedience; Cassian wavers in his commitment to the Rebellion, and Cassian disobeys orders much more frequently which appears to undermine his decision not to kill Galen in the movie.

I've delved into the issue of commitment before, the TL;DR being that Cassian expresses these doubts and despair after surviving a horrifically traumatic event and that he never actually follows through with quitting even though there is little to functionally stop him. What I want to look at now is the issue of disobedience, and in order to do that, I think we have to start by understanding that Rogue One is, fundamentally, Jyn's story.

Yes, Rogue One is an ensemble cast movie about the many unnamed soldiers who give everything for a sunrise they'll never see. But the driving force in the narrative is Jyn. We start the movie with Jyn's childhood, and apart from occasional scenes necessary to advance the wider plot, we're following her perspective for much of the film. She's our viewpoint character for understanding the narrative as well as the other characters. It's a Star Wars story told through the story of Jyn Erso.

I want to point this out because it means that nearly every major character we meet, apart from legacy characters like Vader or Bail or Tarkin, exist in the film's story primarily through their relationship to Jyn's story. We don't get extensive Chirrut or Baze or Bodhi backstories because they are not in the story to provide different viewpoints. Bodhi reconnects Jyn to her father both through his official message and his personal memories of Galen; Chirrut and Baze provide faith and guidance through the doubt and darkness.

And then there's Cassian. Rewatching Rogue One through the lens of it being Jyn's story, I'm struck by how his role in the narrative is to Call Jyn, not to a grand adventure but to a home, to be the person and the leader she has the potential within to be. He challenges the self-interested worldview she's adopted out of necessity and trauma, he makes her look at herself and her decisions, he inspires her to hope and to fight and he's the first to welcome her home when she commits to the cause.

On the other hand, we're not told or shown very much about him (I'm deliberately not going into the novelization because the novelization, while incredibly written, top tier movie novelization, was written as a companion novel after the film was made and is there to enhance the film rather than be part of it structurally). Yes, Cassian has the biggest presence in the film and the story other than Jyn...but we aren't following Cassian's story. The things he tells us and shows us about himself -being in the fight since childhood, struggling with his orders to kill Galen- are things which exist in the context of his role in Jyn's story, to challenge and parallel her. He, like Jyn, has been in affected by the Empire since childhood but where he had to fight, Jyn chose to run. He cites his orders (and his disobedience) as Jyn is confronting him for trying to kill her father, and Jyn even directly calls him out for trying to "talk [his] way around this."

Yes, I agree it's a hugely significant moment in the film for Cassian to disobey the order to kill Galen, but I think the "why" is just as significant in the film as the act of disobedience itself. Cassian uses his orders as a justification when he's being confronted by Jyn, and a last resort justification too. He first dismisses her accusations as shock ("You're in shock. You don't know what you're talking about. ...You're in shock and looking for somewhere to put it."), then when Jyn continues, he defends himself by saying that he never actually did the deed ("I had every chance to pull the trigger. But did I? Did I?"). When Jyn counters with the evidence of the Alliance bombing raid, at last Cassian falls back on, "I had orders! Orders that I disobeyed!"

This isn't to say at all that it wasn't a huge struggle and a huge moment for Cassian to not kill Galen. He did disobey his orders in that moment and you can see the weight of the conflict on him. It's a turning moment in his journey within the movie; the moment he looks in on himself, at what he's about to do, and doesn't like what sees. The point I want to bring out is that everything he says and does afterwards is in the context of Jyn's story.

Jyn herself is at a crisis point in the narrative; her long-lost father has just died in her arms, thanks to the actions of the Alliance, and her father's dying wish is for the Death Star to be destroyed, something she cannot accomplish by herself. By the time she gets back to Yavin, she's standing up in front of the Alliance demanding that they take action. She's already made her decision. What happens now, in the stolen Imperial shuttle with Cassian, is the moment where she has to choose. Cassian, representing the Alliance who killed her father but also the billions, trillions of unnamed people who've had no choice but to fight the Empire since they were born, calls her out for her self-interest even as she challenges his culpability in her father's death. Yes, he admits, he had orders, but he didn't go through with them. You [Jyn] though, you wouldn't understand because you've chosen inaction. Jyn has not had to make the difficult decisions about whether to follow orders and do something she knows is wrong; she's only just decided to start caring.

Later, in Cassian's speech in the hangar, he says, "Everything I did, I did for the Rebellion. And every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause I believed in. A cause that was worth it. Without that we're lost. Everything we've done would be for nothing." In that moment, he admits to Jyn and the audience that he's been holding onto the Rebellion and the cause as a reason for his actions. Every good or bad thing he's done, he's been able to justify it to himself as part of a fight that he's been forced into since childhood. In admitting this out loud, he both acknowledges that Jyn was right when she pushed back against his excuses ("Orders? When you knew they were wrong? You may as well be a stormtrooper.") and signals to Jyn and the audience that this mission now, this cause is worth it. He was lost but has found a purpose once more; just as Jyn was lost but is now home, in the right place at the right time as the leader she has inside her. This is Cassian's role in Jyn's story, the story through which we understand this Star Wars story. He challenges her and us to think about commitment and privilege and the unheroic side of rebellion; he inspires her and us to action and to hope.

Andor, on the other hand, is a Star Wars story through the story of Cassian. For that reason alone, the Cassian we meet is already going to be different because we're not seeing him through Jyn's eyes now. We are seeing Cassian the character through Cassian's perspective and for a much more longer period of time - five years where he is the main vessel for the narrative as opposed a few days where he is a character in someone else's story. We watch Cassian succeed and fail many times, we hear him doubt everything and inspire others, we see some of the events which shaped him and we come to understand his role in the events which we've come to know.

When Andor was first announced and throughout since, it was marketed as the story of how Cassian becomes the rebel we meet in Rogue One. And I think given that pitch, it's fair to criticize the apparent dissimilarities in character between Cassian in the show and Cassian in Rogue One. At the same time, I don't think Cassian in the show is an entirely different person from Cassian in the movie. Many of the same building blocks are there (charismatic, capable, deceptive, clever, manipulative, determined), but we're seeing the development of these traits now through Cassian's experiences rather than viewing them through Jyn's perspective. It definitely feels different, sometimes radically so, and it's not wrong by any means to prefer the more streamlined character we meet in Rogue One. Nor does this mean that ten years' worth of fan discussion and insight into the character is wrong! It just means that unless they remake Rogue One from Cassian's perspective, everything the character does in the film is structured and interpreted through the lens of Jyn's story and not his own.

So having said that, let's return to the issue of disobedience. In Andor Season 2, Cassian disobeys direct orders several times, each time in relation to information from Luthen (which goes a ways towards showing why everyone the Council except Mon is so mistrusting of him). So what orders is he disobeying? Both times he leaves Yavin, he does not have permission to go - although the first time, when he leaves for Ghorman, the rebels on Yavin are very loosely organized, Draven only makes a token effort to rein in Cassian, and they have no issue coming back. And...that's it. The second time, when he goes to Coruscant, he's ordered to stand down and he does not. Then, when they come back hot without a flight plan filed, they're confronted by an X-wing escort and afterwards, Cassian complies with what he's told (even though he vehemently disagrees with the Council about it).

When we look at Cassian's disobedience in Season 2, we see that the orders he disobeys are primarily related to permission. He has not been given permission to undertake these unsanctioned missions but he refuses to stand down and he leaves Yavin under false pretenses that everyone can see through. The charge is insubordination, and post facto, potentially exposing the rebel base and thus endangering the Alliance. Contrast this with the order he's given in Rogue One - do not extract the target but rather kill him. This is not an order related to his position within the Rebel Alliance; this is a mission directive to eliminate a perceived threat. And while I think there's a definite criticism to be made of the "lone agent" elements of his insubordination in Season 2, I don't think it fundamentally undermines his moral and personal struggle in Rogue One about refusing to kill Galen.

There's a difference between not listening to your boss' orders because you want to pursue a personal matter, and choosing to disobey an order to kill someone because it would be wrong. One is a decision that anyone can be faced with at any time, the other is a fundamentally moral issue and one that is complicated into a struggle for Cassian because of the nature of the situation. When you've been fighting a fascist regime your whole life, living through atrocities and doing some terrible things in the name of the cause, and you now have the opportunity to take out an important engineer in the regime's weapons program, is it a greater crime to kill them or let them live? At this point, they don't know what else Galen Erso has been working on, if he hasn't been developing other devastating weapons for the Empire. And what if you had to look their daughter in the eye afterwards, the daughter who believed that you were going to save him, whom you lied to about his safety?

This is getting long, so the last thing I'll say is that it's absolutely valid (and important!) to critique Andor over how well it executed its goal of showing Cassian's journey. There are elements that I personally agree were a little rougher and inconsistent, such as the hints that he's some kind of "destined" chosen one or the development of his relationship with K-2SO which could have done with more time. What I really want to say though is that Cassian is a complex character, whom we now have multiple hours of story and screen time through which to examine (and re-examine!) him. And this opens up so much room for discussion and textual criticism, and I hope that we're able to keep talking about and enjoying Cassian Andor long after his story ends.

[artist-issues]

I accidentally came across this while I was scrolling through the Star Wars tag

And I just thought how the hell you miss the point of the film so badly?!

Like I really hope this is some really unfunny joke or something. I saved loads of drafts trying to find ways to argue this point but in the end I just couldn’t be bothered wasting my time and deleted them. Chances are I’d be arguing with a brick wall and I don’t have the energy for that. So here I’m giving it to you to get your teeth into if you want

Well. I can/t see who posted it so they can’t defend their position, which I generally frown upon. But just to argue with the idea, not the person:

It sounds like this is the kind of post that’s made from the perspective of somebody who believes just punishment is the highest form of Good that can undo the effects of Bad. When actually, redemption is the highest form of Good that can undo the effects of Bad. Just punishment is just the next-best thing when redemption and forgiveness is impossible.

But here’s the thing—the only way a person can be redeemed is through the forgiveness of the party that has been wronged. And the only person who has a right to demand justice for wrongdoing is the person who, innocent themselves, was wronged.

Luke was uniquely situated to refuse to execute justice on Vader—because he’s his son. If anyone left alive by the end of Episode VI has suffered because of everything Anakin’s done as Vader, it’s Luke.

Orphaned not once, not even twice, but three times if you count the death of Obi Wan.

Homeless.

Separated from his only remaining family for their entire childhood.

His only friends and family have been tormented and endangered since the moment he met them.

He has been tormented and maimed.

The entire legacy he should have inherited, with all the advantages of teachers and learning in safety, are gone.

The whole world he’s growing up in has been shaped by fear from the literal moment of his own birth onward.

…And because of his heritage, he’s got the weight of the responsibility for the fate of the already-basically-ruined galaxy on his shoulders.

So if anyone’s got the right to judge Anakin for his choices, if anyone has the authority morally and legally to “press charges,” it’s Luke. The only person with more claim to that right would be Leia.

The fact that he chooses not to “press charges,” not to avenge, is the whole point of the series, like you said. Luke had the ability and the right to take control of the situation and choose how it ended. That would’ve given him total certainty about the end result. An illusion of “safety-at-last.”

But that’s the whole point of his character. To have the farm boy who’s always rushing off to the horizon and reaching to do more Do More DO MORE—STOP? And put his faith in something other than his own abilities? Give up his control of the situation, with a line that literally references who his father was?

And who was his father? Anakin Skywalker, a young hero who could never stop trying to control outcomes and bring about “certainty” through his own power!

To have Luke Skywalker extend mercy by throwing away control…to the same father who never could make the same choice when it was his time to be the hero?

Master-stroke of storytelling. But even more than that, it’s true. The person who made this comment needs to read A Tale of Two Cities. Or Genesis.

Punishing someone who has done so much wrong that they can never make it right again is justice, and it is good. But having the authority to make that call because you’re the one injured, and choosing to extend forgiveness and open the road to a clean slate for the offender, instead? That’s better.

It’s better because to make that decision heals. Luke can move on from the limb he’ll never grow back and the mom he never met and the aunt, uncle, and masters he’ll never see again. He can do that—it doesn’t have to be a scar on the tissue of his life. Because the way the “case file” of his “wrongs” ended was “I choose not to hold onto that hurt or press charges. I choose to let it go.” And therefore it can no longer hurt him.

Unlike the ravening packs in the French Revolution who wound up killing rich women and children who’d never personally hurt them because once you start deciding that vengeance or not even vengeance but “retributive justice” is the only thing that end your pain, the more the idea of “retributive justice” gets addictive. It promises to heal the hurt but all it really does is narrow your focus onto the hurt until you can’t even see the humans you’re hurting.

Anyway.

Besides, justice was still served. The Emperor was still defeated. The Empire was toppled. And Anakin, whose wrongdoings had already been manifesting punishment in his body and mind and spirit for years, also paid the ultimate price for everything he’d ever done. The truth is, (and Star Wars supports this) Anakin created his own punishment.

Padme died because he chose power over her, and his punishment was to live without her in the knowledge that he killed her. Can you imagine worse punishment for him?

Obi-Wan was Anakin’s longest and oldest friend, who loved and stood by him for most of his life, and he lost not only that friendship, but the trust and camaraderie and even respect of that relationship. And what did it get replaced with? Nothing. Emptiness.

The Jedi Council are gone, and in their place in Anakin’s life going forward? A sadistic old crone who is actively trying to get Vader’s son to kill him despite all his years of loyalty, and flunkies Vader can choke to death. No community.

Plus, he’s in a living nightmare prison of machinery and deformity for twenty years. What exactly could Luke do to him that would’ve been a more satisfying punishment?

This person seems to be making the comment out of a misguided sense of loss of characters like Padme, and suffering to characters like Obi Wan. I don’t think they’re taking the story as a whole. I think they really liked the world of the Prequels and really felt the tragedy of losing that version of the world. That’s my take.

[gffa]

Was it really Anakin? Was it Seatos being heavy in the Force to give her a vision? Was it just Ahsoka's oxygen-deprived brain giving her hallucinations? I love that it doesn't matter, that whatever the source behind all of that, the result is the same, that it was about Ahsoka still not having put her feelings to rest about what happened to her. If it was the Force, trying again to get her to face her feelings, like it did on Lothal, it hurts like hell. If it was just her own brain giving her hallucinations because she hasn't faced her feelings yet, it hurts like hell. If it was really Anakin, using her half-dead state to come through and poke and prod at her through the Force, to really make her finally take a step forward instead of staying frozen in place, it hurts like hell. Ultimately, it was about Ahsoka feeling like she didn't have anything more to give to a Padawan than fighting, that even all these years later, she feels like she never moved on from the war and never had a chance to grow. We know she wanted to go back to the Jedi Order after the war, she was so hopeful after the Siege of Mandalore, when she heard the war was over, her face slowly dawning with hope that she could rejoin the Order and be something other than a soldier. And then Sidious and Anakin stole that chance from her--Vader stole that chance from her--and she could never go back. She was forever stuck feeling guilty about whether she could have helped Anakin, wondering what she could have been if the Jedi hadn't been genocided nearly out of existence. This doesn't solve everything, but it forced her to accept that sometimes you do have to fight or die. That she's not just a soldier, that's never been all of who she is--because that's not who all of Anakin was, either. If that had been all he was, she wouldn't still be stuck on him. She's part of a legacy, she is everything that Anakin was, just as Anakin was everything Obi-Wan was, just as Obi-Wan was everything Qui-Gon was, and back and back and back. That's who the Jedi are, they are everything their Master was and more. Ahsoka is everything they were and more, too. And she has to fight to accept it, she has to fight to find her balance again, she has to fight to survive. Whether it was Anakin or her own brain kicking her Jedi philosophy back into gear, it doesn't matter, the point remains the same--she's more than what happened in the war and what happened with Anakin, and sometime that means she has to get up and fight to keep moving forward.

[classicanalyzer]

Legacy of Vader - Issue 4 Thoughts

"It was not the love that gave Vader power. It was the loss. He was not afraid to grow attached, to allow one thing to become the center of his universe. There is strength in that. Focus. Vader's fear of losing Padmé made it possible for him to do anything--anything--to keep her safe. Do you not see how powerful that is? It meant he did not limit himself as other Jedi did. There were no rules for Darth Vader. If you find something similar which to center yourself, then you, too, would know no limits." Vaneé

"I have no limits now." Kylo Ren

"Is that true? You have everything you need, everything you desire? If that were so, I suspect you might not have come to me. But if I am wrong, take your saber and strike me down, and our travels together will cease." Vaneé

Issue 4 of Legacy of Vader is amazing, and the start of Kylo Ren's journey into learning how Naboo plays a major role in his grandfather's backstory. What I really like about this issue is that we get to see how while Vaneé has yet another good point about what made Vader strong in the Dark Side, we also get to see how Kylo Ren's "kill the past" beliefs have a point based on what he saw of Naboo's present day.

The opening wastes no time establishing a sense of dread when Kylo Ren asks Hux about their capabilities of destroying worlds without Starkiller Base and the Supremacy. After Hux confirms they can decimate a world through their navy rather than blowing them up, we're taken back to Naboo two days ago. Kylo Ren's potential target becomes clear.

I really love Naboo's fate post-GCW. It makes sense for the world to sharply decline with the accusation of Naboo's perceived collaboration with the Empire, and conflict arose over how some believe certain Naboo citizens who had profited from helping the Empire and being associated with the Emperor should be punished. It also explains why we don't see Naboo in the ST Era, given the state of the world.

The nod to Marlowe and Vellis San Tekka is a nice callback, especially since Soule created those characters.

I find it hilarious how Kylo Ren dismisses Palpatine as irrelevant because in one year in-universe, he'll become very relevant to him.

I really love how Vaneé summed up Anakin and Padme's love story and how it fueled Anakin's Dark Side, especially at the end of his recap. It was chilling when Vaneé mentioned how Anakin never let go of Padmé, with the image showing him choking her on Mustafar. Anakin never let her go indeed...

It's funny to see Kylo misinterpret Vaneé's words that he needs to fall in love to gain power. It continues to show how much he jumps to conclusions. But then Vaneé went back to haunting when he pretty much summarizes why Vader's attachment to Padmé gave him no limits to what he would do to protect her. The imagery of Vader standing over the skeletons and corpses is incredibly haunting.

I like Kylo flashing back to Rey and him fighting the Praetorian Guards. It really shows how much he desires companionship, a meaningful connection with someone who truly understands who he is. I'm no Reylo fan, but I like the platonic connection between the two.

"I suppose this was Palpatine's mansion? Destroyed by rioters after his death or plundered or wrecked in some pedestrian, fruitless attempt at symbolic revenge?" Kylo Ren

"Actually, my Prince, this home belongs to--" Vaneé

"I don't care. Palpatine is irrelevant to me. He's dead. I am interested in the one who killed him, Darth Vader. You told me this place was important to my grandfather's rise to power. I do not see it. You have wasted my time, Vaneé." Kylo Ren

"I have not, my Prince. Naboo was tangential to the Emperor's path. But for Vader's path, it was central. You saw his path on Tatooine...You felt it. But the pain and power that came from this place was so much greater. You see...Naboo is where Vader fell in love. Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo and then a Galactic Senator in her own right. Your grandmother. A powerful, brilliant woman, a worthy match for your grandfather. From a young age, Vader set his sights on her. He did not rest until they were joined forever--wedded on this very world. And if there is anything to be said about Darth Vader, it is this. Once he had Padmé...He never let go." Vaneé

It's a great idea to have Vader come to Naboo shortly after the Empire rises, essentially unleashing his grief on the planet and the people.

"A Spirit of Death came here. It did everything it could to destroy all memory of the beautiful Queen. It wrecked this place. It brought the waters in, flooded the whole building. But it didn't stop there. For a time, the spirit haunted Naboo, and it became clear that to speak of the Queen, to acknowledge that she ever lived at all...would mean death. Ever since then, good people avoid this spot, for fear they might bring back the demon." The story of the "Spirit of Death"

Kylo Ren's comment as he's absolutely destroying Storg Veruna and his guards really showcases how he got both his grandfather's and father's snark.

"Well, look at that. This place is cursed. But not for me." Kylo Ren

The return of the Verunas is a great touch. It signals how those citizens who collaborated with the Empire continued their corrupt ways through protection rackets and bought everything in the world. Naboo's obsession with lineage parallels Kylo Ren's obsession with Vader, and I definitely think it's not lost on him.

It's fascinating how Kylo Ren's opinion about killing the past is validated in his mind. As he sees Naboo, they're so obsessed with lineages and nobility, including events that took place decades ago, and as a result, they're unable to move on. He's definitely projecting his insecurities about his lineage onto them.

"You're wrong about Vader and Padmé, Vaneé. The story those insects just told us made it clear. Darth Vader realized that his past was not a strength...it was a weakness. Unworthy of the legacy he was trying to build. So he returned here and destroyed any memory of it. He understood what the people of this world do not. These fools are obsessed with their past. Maintaining it. Letting it control them. 'Lineage matters...' Pathetic. But I can help them." Kylo Ren.

I have a strong feeling Kylo Ren will destroy the throne Hux built just to troll him. I like the idea that the act would push Hux to be a spy.

Overall, this issue does a great job of exploring Vader's past with Padmé, and Kylo Ren took away that if anything, Naboo's current state validates his beliefs. Both Vaneé and Kylo Ren have a point regarding how Vader got his power. Vader's obsession and attachment to his wife made him do anything to protect her, and yet at the same time, he wanted to erase any trace of her from the people other than him. Except for himself, Vader wants to erase the past with Padmé from the galaxy. It represents how his obsession and attachment remain, especially as we see Vader's attempts to revive his wife. I cannot wait for what Issue 5 of Kylo Ren's journey holds and if he'll learn more during his assault on Naboo.

"People of Naboo. This is the Supreme Leader of the First Order. I have commandeered your communications network. I am unimpressed with you. Your focus on events that happened decades ago, your obsession with lineage and superstition…have caused your society to fester. Because you cannot let go…you hold yourself back. Now that will change. All that was will be swept away. Naboo will embrace the future. You have been ruled by Queens. You have been ruled by an Emperor. Now…I am your King." Kylo Ren

[ddesertmoon]

Star Wars Fic Recs Feat. Time Travel

I think this is my favorite Star Wars trope… maybe just because sw is a tragedy and i want the characters to be happy.. maybe because I’m a sucker for the “reveal moment”… i don’t know.

Hopefully you all enjoy these as well!

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(All fics are Gen unless otherwise specified!)

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Back From the Future: Episode VI The Clone Wars by Ariel_Sojourner

“In which Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader travel back in time together to the Clone Wars era, have amazing adventures, and save the galaxy.”

Basically, Luke and Vader time travel and take over a clone battalion to change the major battles of the war. This is. A masterpiece. It’s insane. It feels like an actual, published story when you read it. It is told in a nonlinear way, so if you’re not into that, you probably won’t enjoy this. But I promise it’s one of the greatest fanfictions I’ve ever read, and there’s a reason it’s first on this list.

(Padme/Anakin and Obi-Wan/Satine, though neither ship is a focal point of the story)

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there but for the grace of god by wanderlove

“There’s nothing particularly remarkable about Sullust.

Well, except for Obi-Wan’s time-traveling son. But, you know. Apart from that.”

I LOVE this fic. Young Luke is sent into the clone wars, and since he’s been raised by Obi-Wan on Tatooine, everyone assumes that he’s Obi’s kid. His appearance changes everything by causing the people around him to reveal deep secrets that would otherwise have led to the fall of the Jedi.

(Padme/Anakin and referenced Obi-Wan/Satine)

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Old Masters, New Tricks by soft_but_gremlin

“Sixteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi finds himself on Lothal in the middle of the Imperial Era. He has no idea why he's here or what all these white-clad troopers are for, but after a rocky start with a little Mandalorian, he finds out that his friend Luminara is in trouble and vows to rescue her.

Sabine Wren has no idea what this other Mandalorian is doing on Lothal, but he looks just like former rebel Korkie Kryze and he's got lightsabers on his belt. He's either going to be a fierce but foolish ally, or the Empire's paying bounty hunters to track down Jedi.”

One of the few SW fics I’ve read where characters are sent FORWARD in time! This one is really great, and I reread it all the time. The heartache Obi-Wan feels when he remembers that all his friends are dead and the heartache KANAN feels when Obi-Wan does something that reminds him of the Jedi…. Amazing.

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Free Jedi to Good Home by soft_but_gremlin

“Jango Fett expected several things from this hunt on Galidraan. Three hypothermic Jedi children stumbling into his camp was not one of those things.”

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka (and maybe a few others, later on 👀) are sent back in time to change the outcome of the massacre at Galidraan. This one is REALLY great and I especially love the sequel (which is currently unfinished but very suspenseful and exciting)

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The Making of Mavericks by AppoApples

“Master Obi-Wan Kenobi couldn't let her just walk out into the galaxy without a lifeline. With Commander Cody and Captain Rex at his side, Obi-Wan tries to give Ahsoka some well meant advice. But the Force was listening and decided these four souls needed to blaze a better path. With all that has happened to them, waking up twenty-five years in the past shouldn't be a big deal, right?”

Time travel with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Rex, AND Cody! FOUR people. Crazy. The classic “Obi-Wan is sent back to his childhood to change things before Anakin ever enters the picture” fic. It greatly surpassed my expectations for a time travel fic though! One of the best for sure.

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Legacy by myrlendi (thehistorygeek)

“Three months after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker goes in search of a rumoured Jedi temple in a secluded part of the Mid Rim. He finds within the temple nothing but a strange artifact, which unexpectedly brings him much closer to the Jedi of old than he ever thought he would be.

When Luke fails to return from his mission, Leia goes after him, retracing his steps to the ancient temple — and to the past, to the time of the Clone Wars and the waning years of the Old Republic. Under suspicion by the Jedi Order, the twins struggle to find a way back to their own time while trying to keep their knowledge of the future from affecting the past.”

Okay, time travel with Luke Skywalker is great (one of my favorite things!), but time travel with Luke AND Leia??? Perfect. I love when she’s included.. it usually leads to some very interesting interactions between her and Anakin.

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Luminous We Are by AppoApples

“Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is filled with regrets when the Padawan he chooses is assigned to Anakin. When he discovers that it was Yoda's meddling that had prevented him from being a Padawan in his own youth, the betrayal runs deep. Wondering what could have been, a trick of the Force throws him back in time, where he learns to put his trust in the Force, not the High Council.

Redemption of Qui-Gon Jinn had he not been forced to take a Padawan before he was ready, and where the Order learns to take another course that put quite a wrench in the Sith plans. Start of the Clone Wars to 44BBY AU of the Apprentice books. Cheeky Obi-Wan and Mandalorian shenanigans.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi being adopted by Mandalorians is QUITE a popular trope in this fandom for some reason… I think it’s actually a tag on Ao3 now (don’t quote me on that). Anyway, this fic is one of the few where the time traveler is unable to rely on (very much of) their knowledge from the future.

(Obi-Wan/Quinlan)

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The Kenobi Scandal by AppoApples

“One moment they are speeding on their way to Mos Eisley, only to be hit by a Force instigated sandstorm, and the next thing Ben Kenobi knows is he wearing his old armour with the Jedi insignia and Luke can't find the droids. What's a Jedi to do when he finds himself back before the fall of the Republic? Come up with a cover story more scandalous than time travel: ‘Luke, this is Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, this is my son, Luke Kenobi.’”

Amazing! I really like when we see the potential Luke has with some formal Jedi training. And although there is a cover story for Luke’s (and Obi-Wan’s, technically) time travel, there are still some lovely emotional outbursts :)

(Obi-Wan/Satine and Luke/Ahsoka)

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Gone Are The Days by theycallmesuperboy

“While investigating an ancient Jedi distress signal in the Outer Rim, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles are mysteriously sent back in time to the last days of the Republic, and stranded on Naboo, meeting two people Luke could only have ever dreamed of meeting: his parents.

Only, due to Luke's "quick thinking," the two are lead to believe that Luke and Wedge are just like them: a secretly married couple, due to Luke's status as a Jedi.”

Luke gets an opportunity to really get to know his dead parents, and Wedge gets to kiss Luke. I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope lmao, and combined with time travel? Zoo wee mama!

(Luke/Wedge and Padme/Anakin)

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Significant Brain Damage by AppoApples

“Luke Skywalker finds himself in the past as Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan finds himself retraining his old apprentice who has permanent amnesia while also taking on Anakin's Padawan, being a General, a Council member -during a Galactic Civil War, and fighting for a Republic he's beginning to lose faith in. Clone Wars, no paradox, no easy fix it.”

I love this one so much. Luke has to kind of pretend to be Anakin.. but everyone around him just thinks he’s had some amnesia and a major personality change. I LIVE for the “why is Anakin so much nicer now” moments.

(Padme/Sabe and Obi-Wan/Satine)

Also you may notice that this is the FOURTH fic by AppoApples on this list… I love their ideas so much.

-

May Death Find You Alive by Must_Be_Thursday

“Anakin finds himself trapped in a nightmare, reliving the same day. He tries. He tries to change things, but it always ends the same.

With a broken bond and a dead best friend.

He's not sure how many times he'll be able to watch the life leave Obi-Wan before he loses his mind.”

Let’s switch it up! Groundhog Day style time loops are always fun, and this one saves the universe! So yay! Fr though, Anakin learns to trust Obi-Wan and it changes everything.

-

The More I Live The More I See This Life is Not About Me by K_R_Closson

“After touching a mysterious artifact, Cody's general is suddenly a child with the memories to match. Cody has to coax a suspicious adolescent back to base without alerting the nearby Separatists of their presence.

Reversing his general's age an easier fix than Cody thought it would be, but he didn't factor in the possibility that Obi-Wan might not want to give up his self in order to become General Kenobi again. It'd be easier to think if he didn't have an insidious voice in his head, whispering to him to distrust the Jedi.”

This one is technically just de-aging, with Obi-Wan becoming his thirteen year old self, but I consider it similar enough to time travel to be included, and it has a lot of the same tropes. It’s very well written, and the dialogue flows excellently with the descriptions.

-

what is necessary (for love and war) by hellowkatey

“His fingers reach for the hilt that has become as familiar as his own after that three-day journey back from Melida/Daan. He couldn’t stand to put the boy's saber down until he reached his quarters and reality finally set in.

Obi-Wan didn’t come back with him. Once again, he is without a Padawan.

The moment cool durasteel meets his fingertips, the overwhelming presence of Obi-Wan slams into him so hard the room begins to spin. Qui-Gon sinks to the floor, saber clutched in both hands and pressed tight against his chest as though it’s actually Obi-Wan he’s hugging.

‘You have to go back.’”

This time it’s Qui-Gon who is sent forward through time, into the clone wars. The time travel in this fic doesn’t really change anything (as in, it’s not a fix-it), but it gives some great insight into Qui-Gon’s character.

-

Chosen One (derogatory) by annathecrow

“Asajj Ventress, the chosen savior of the galaxy. Force help us all.”

VENTRESS is the one to go back in time. Isn’t that crazy??? Isn’t that an insane premise?????? It was SO fun to read.

(Ventress/Shmi)

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back by K_R_Closson

“Ahsoka Tano told Din to bring Grogu to the Seeing Stone on Tython, and Grogu would be able to call out to other Jedi. Ahsoka Tano did not say that other Jedi might call out to him or that the pillar of blue light was actually a type of planetary transportation.

Din ends up on a planet he's never heard of with nothing but his armor and his child. A lot has changed but his mandate hasn't. He must reunite Grogu with one of his kind. But first, he has to help these ade win a civil war against the dar'buir who abandoned them.”

Din travels back to the war on Melida/Daan, where one of our favorite padawans was struggling to lead the Young to victory (hint: he’s a fan favorite who almost always ends up being adopted by Mandalorians). I really like this one! It’s less about changing the past, and more about character growth and relationships.

-

Bonus: Incomplete Fics

I wanted to separate these from the fics above, which are all complete.

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from this moment hangs eternity by EvanHart

“If Luke – Force, his son – was talking about slave chips, something must have gone wrong in the future.

Or, a six-year-old Luke ends up in the middle of the Clone Wars, meets his father, and changes the fate of the galaxy on the way.”

I’m a real sucker for child Luke. Gotta say. He’s ADORABLE. and moments of gut-wrenching sadness interrupted by his little sunshine smiles?? Oh my god?

Chapters: 10/15

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Oya Manda’lor! by Cloud__Chaser

“After giving up his child to Luke Skywalker, Din Djarin has found himself without a purpose. Filling in the gaps by completing bounties for Boba Fett, Din comes across a strange artifact that leaves him stranded in time.

Who knows, maybe Din's complete lack of knowledge of the world outside of the outer rim will lead to the fall of the empire before it even begins...”

Din basically becomes the most admired person on Mandalore in the span of like. A week. after he travels back in time. It’s really funny, and something I like to read when I’m in a good mood!

Chapters: 38/?

(Din/Jaster)

Also, it’s been over a year since this updated (as of the date I’m posting this), so beware, it may or may not be abandoned.

-

Sith Lord Swell by AMournfulHowlInTheNight

“‘Well, looks like we're all Sith Lords, now. I hope you've all been practicing your most menacing laughter for our first run in with the Jedi Council.’

Ben could only sigh and raise a distasteful eyebrow at the cross shaped, red lightsaber he was given. Down the line other students were also handling their new weapons and robes with a raised eyebrow here and quizzical expression there.

‘Really, uncle?’

‘Really. I don't want to compete with the local Jedi population.’

Why did Jedi politics and time travel have to be so difficult?”

Like most Star Wars fans, I’m not a big fan of the sequels (‘somehow, Palpatine returned’ my ass), BUT! This fic, involving a young Ben Solo and old Luke Skywalker, was a lot of fun to read.

Chapters: 13/?

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There is another Skywalker by WabiSabi

“‘They couldn't narrow down the precise relationship due to some strange contamination in the sample. But when they launched a search in the DNA databank they found a match. Reliability of 50%, which only happens between parent-child and—’

‘Siblings,’ Master Kenobi completes, voice faint. ‘Full-blood siblings.’

The clone nods. ‘She was estimated to be around 30-years-old, so by process of exclusion, Leia Solo would be General Skywalker’s older sister by 9 years.’”

This time, it’s just Leia who’s sent to the past! Technically Luke lives as a voice in her head, but it’s pretty much just Leia. Also, I really like the premise that the temple runs a DNA test and assumes that she’s Anakin’s sibling. It’s a lot of fun!

Chapters: 10/?

Also, it’s been over a year since this updated (as of the date I’m posting this), so beware, it may or may not be abandoned.

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Companion of the Ancestors by Omegarose

“Ahsoka finds herself in a strange place, out of contact with Obi-Wan and alone with the twins. The Force feels like it hasn't in years, and she runs into a man who has to be an idiot for the way he's acting like a Jedi two years after Order 66.

((Dooku, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka all meet each other when they're 19 years old. With the addition of the Skywalker twins and a slightly-younger (than Ahsoka remembers him) Yoda.))”

I love Ahsoka, I love Luke and Leia, I love Obi-Wan… I love this fic. All of the secrets and reveals and drama! So much fun!

Chapters: 10/?

You’re not able to read this fic unless you have an Ao3 account, but those are easy to make. If anyone doesn’t know how to make one, I’m happy to make a post explaining the process!

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That’s all, folks! 20 fics is… a lot. And there are A LOT of characters in all that… So, sorry for the exorbitant amount of tags I’ll be using here. Happy reading!

[year2000electronics]

Absolutely obsessed with toti I want to know like all the lore and head canons you have for him lol

I LOVE TO RAMBLE ABOUT TOTI I'LL DO IT ALL DAY. ive done it before i'll do it again!

ok so for context the wider story is about a world being manipulated by this otherworldly demon who wants everyone to become villains so they all destroy each other and take each other out in a blaze of glory. except for One Guy who has suddenly decided to be a hero

BUT THATS NOT RELEVANT RIGHT NOW. it just explains why everyone in canvandro is a huge asshole. and that brings us to GAUSS CITY. the capital of canvandro. bustling. full of cutthroat opportunistic businesspeople. the mayor of gauss city is an Asshole. but there's a couple in their 40s who wanna change the city... help it... make it better... and theyre gonna RUN FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

toti and pollyanna! their greatest strength as a duo is also what ends up driving them apart in the end- they're opposites! pollyanna is a pessimist who's more grounded and down-to-earth, she prioritizes Survival and not biting off more than you can chew, but that also means she spends a lot of time living miserably because she hates taking risks and thinks everyone is always out to protect their own backs. toti, meanwhile, is an optimist, a wild dreamer and a fanatic, who thinks he can change the world and is obsessed with the idea of people loving him and leaving a legacy.

they were in love! until toti started loving his dreams more than pollyanna. they had originally teamed up to stop corruption in the city but toti kept focusing more and more on fame and fortune and ghosting her and stuff, meanwhile pollyanna immediately accuses him of being out to get her the entire time and never really loving her, jumping to conclusions and stuff, so they break things off and toti goes solo, until eventually he meets this lady. this trickster goddess lady.

(this is the lady.) lady arcana is a shadowy "sponsor" for the mayor of gauss city. she grants peoples' wishes, and the more people rely on her wishes, the more powerful she gets. so, say, if someone wished for the entire city to love them, like toti does... lady arcana ends up taking him under her wing and encouraging him to be more corrupt and evil until he absolutely loses his mind and becomes the mayor of gauss by CHEATING and USING HER WISHES and eventually gets ahold of the most popular tv network in the city and starts using television to brainwash people into absolutely ADOOOORING him which is how we get to the present toti- this greedy self-serving schmuck of a man. he's like darth vader and lady arcana is his palpatine.

and of course, pollyanna HATES this. toti ended up leaving her in the dust and becoming the literal thing she and him promised to destroy that long time ago. so she remains the one clear-headed person in gauss city because her resolve to not even see his face is THAT strong.

but toti's fatal flaw is that he is VERY much still in love. and he doesn't see this as a betrayal at all! in his view, he just needed to pour his all into his work, and then pollyanna would come rule by his side, and they could be together again and everything would be just like it's always been and he HASN'T CHANGED AT ALL WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT. he doesn't really seem to understand that it's either he can have the mayorship or he can be someone pollyanna could actually stand to love. he wants to have his cake and eat it too.

but this obsession with getting his girl back is what ends up screwing him over because it's constantly DISTRACTING him from being the evil mayor. BUT BEING THE EVIL MAYOR IS WHAT GIVES LADY ARCANA HER POWER! HE DIDN'T WISH FOR A POLLYANNA COURTING RITUAL!

and eventually it comes to a head when he kidnaps jacques (the guy in question from way earlier, the protag, remember him?) and vows to humiliate him on live tv, and pollyanna comes charging in to rescue him. he drops his plans immediately to try and win her back and when he gets beaten lady arcana has ENOUGH. she KICKS him out of his own lair- but pollyanna gets stuck inside. a few hours later, he notices that all his mayoral stuff is turning red, from the blue it once was...

ENTER MAYOR DIAMANO. lady arcana has FIRED toti and replaced him with HIS OWN EX!! but pollyanna isn't getting wooed with the promise of fame and fortune, it's the promise of REVENGE. the world hurt her so she's gonna hurt it back! she becomes cruel and callous in the quest to make everyone feel as terrible as she did. (except she's doing it to a degree that's overkill and is really just bullying the weak and defenseless because it feels good to have power...) so now toti has to help jacques get through to pollyanna in a reversal of the roles.

their story ends with BOTH of them agreeing to be co-mayors, in order to keep each other in check- they can't have lady arcana whispering in their ear if they've got each other by their side! after all, toti lifts pollyanna up from the depths, and pollyanna keeps toti grounded. they both acknowledge they did some weird bad stuff and stuff got messy, especially thanks to the Evil Woman influencing both of them, and they try to start over with their relationship and Do Things Right This Time.

they also have a group of wacky and colourful minions. which is fun

[inafieldofstarflowers]

I finally caught up on watching the Ahsoka show, and I’m so glad, because episode five was so good. I think that it did a great job of addressing the fact that Ahsoka never got to really sit back and fact the trauma of being thrust into a war as a child (which is why I think it’s important to me that we saw two battles, one before and one after she left the Jedi Order—we’re reminded that she never escaped the fighting, even back then).

I’ve seen a few posts now that reference Anakin asking “is that what this is about?” when Vader comes up, and I was surprised to see how differently I had interpreted the scene from what they all were saying. The posts mainly depict this line as Anakjn brushing off Vader like it’s not a big deal, and Ahsoka shouldn’t think about it. In my eyes, though, Anakin sees Vader as his mistake, his demon, something haunting him. He’s not brushing off the fact that it mattered to Ahsoka, he’s denying the idea that the things he did wrong are somehow her mistakes, too. And it fits perfectly into that surrounding dialogue: Anakin is telling her she’s part of a legacy, thinking that, by holding onto that, she can know she’s something more than the violence and fighting she took part in. He tells her that she is more than that, and that he knows because he, too, is more than that. But Ahsoka can’t look at herself and not see the violence which was her mark on the legacy, and when she looks at Anakin, she sees only the evil he did or the master he was.

And then we come to the line “Is that what this is about?” It’s not asked in a way of ‘Oh, is that all?’ The followup exchange clarifies this:

“If I am everything you are…”

“You’ve learned nothing.”

Anakin has been telling her that the choices she had to make during the war weren’t her fault, nor were the mistakes, that she’s MORE than that. And what she’s gotten out of that is that his mistakes are hers, too. And I don’t think he realizes she’s doing that until this point, which is when he takes them back to the beginning, changing tactics and becoming Vader, so that Ahsoka can address this supposed part of herself she’s afraid of.

I don’t know if any of that makes sense, but it’s just SUCH a great scene, and Hayden Christensen did so well as Anakin in the episode as a whole, and I loved this line and had feelings about it

[serendipity-by-chance]

because of that one post i wanna talk about things in sw fics that instantly make me click out lol. im not naming any but yeah. like okay i may not always click out cause some of them are cool so yeah

1. when they make anakin too pathetic lol. like not the funny kind but weird pathetic💀💀 anakin was a smart guy lol. like dumb in a funny way but anakin was good with strategy. he was open and honest too. when those qualities of him are taken is that even anakin?

2. when the jedi council know about anidala. like guys that’s not possible. please. the thousands of years of rules wont change cause of 1 guy. be so serious. anakin isnt that important to the jedi council. just make him leave the order😭😭 he’d be happier without being there.

3. undermining padme. need some people to read her novels to know how determined padme was to create a better world. she was a fighter till the end. her dying is more than just anakin. everything she ever believed in was shattered. some of u dont get her the way i do.

4. okay this might be funnily weird but when satine isnt mentioned!! lol. like it can have other obi wan ships but when obi was centric thing happens and he talks about love and all but doesnt mention satine? mind u thats the woman he was willing to leave the order for😭😭 stop acting like disney who like to pretend padme never existed. yall do the same with satine.

5. i love time travel fics but some of them having characters that instantly blurt out the truth instead of pausing and thinking what will happen if i do this.

6. LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT. when yall take one side with the parents. istg. leia is breha and bail’s kid and she is also anakin and padme’s. anakin and padme were created based off of luke and leia😭😭 you can’t change the similarities between them because it EXISTS FOR A REASON. but also you dont get to ignore bail and breha’s hand in raising leia. if leia was left to be raised by vader she’d be twisted into sth evil. leia’s goodness and righteousness and sense of justice, all of which she inherited from padme and anakin, was ALSO taught by bail and breha. they taught her to be a good person. someone who fights for justice and freedom. leia is all of their legacy. please stop picking sides it’s gross. anakin and padme didnt have a choice when it came to parenting leia because one was dead and the other thought leia was dead but they loved her from the moment they knew they would have a child. anakin was even convinced it would be a girl and he was so excited. to not acknowledge that is insulting really. and also, it was bail and breha who raised her and loved her. she was their child. their pride. to not acknowledge everything leia is BECAUSE of them is also insulting. i need fic writers to do better

[growingstrong30]

Anakin’s Final Lesson

Episode 5 was… so intense.

For me Ani’s last lesson to Ahsoka goes beyond ‘Fight or die’ and it’s more about Ahsoka letting go the great burden that was being the former apprentice of a fallen Jedi.

Like he said, they’re part of a legacy. The good and the bad. But if her master, one of the greatest Jedi to ever exist, fell to that extent, what legacy is the one she should be carrying on?

There’s also the fact that she left him first. She still carries the guilt of what could’ve been if she had stayed. Perhaps she could’ve prevented Anakin’s turn to the dark side and the whole galaxy wouldn’t have gone through everything that happened.

Ahsoka was the failed student to a failed master. How could she even think to have a padawan in that condition? Of course she was also going to fail.

Young Ahsoka asks Ani “What if I wanna stop fighting?” A part of her want to leave all this horror behind for good but their lineage is such a fundamental part of everything that has been going on that there’s really no escape, only death.

So it is really accepting her legacy and learn to live with it or die.

Her guilt, her sadness and even her resentment slowed her down and tainted her relationship with Sabine.

She had to face both sides of her master and Anakin/Vader’s duality shows he is balance itself even as a force ghost. He could never be entirely good nor entirely evil, he’s more than that. At the end she has a small glimpse of tapping into the dark side and the angry sight of a student who was deceived by her master but slowly lets go of those negative (dark side) feelings and gathers the good ones (light side): knowledge, acceptance, forgiveness and even the brotherly love she had for him. And she chooses to live.

Vader turns back into Anakin, the master that uses harsh lessons in order to teach her once again how to survive.

Ahsoka seems a lot more lightweighted after that compared to the other episodes. She focuses on getting Sabine back now because as her master that’s what she has to do and is determined not to fail this time.

[class-a-fanatic]

THIS👏IS👏NOT👏ANAKIN

Hear me out, why would Ahsoka even see him in the world between worlds? We know that Anakin can appear as a force ghost in the real world, so why would it be hear that he magically decided to see her for the first time in FIVE YEARS?

With his appearance, again, why would he feel the need to appear in his full clone wars era robes? We know he appears in the standard jedi robes to others, so why would he opt for his old ones now? And the LIGHTSABER?! That’s VADERS LIGHTSABER. Why would Anakin feel the need to dress how he did as a Jedi, but then hold his sith lightsaber?

The odd de-aging thing they did could play into this too. Why would he choose to look like a 20 year old when Ahsoka and everyone else knows that he’s died in his fourties? And before people go after how he looked young in the return of the jedi remake, that’s because he was IN HIS TWENTIES when they filmed that. They would do the same if they filmed hayden in his fourties’, as we saw in the kenobi series. So why do they now care that he looks a certain age for perhaps a certain era?

Jacen does the “I have a bad feeling” shtick, but this time it feels more sinister. And while this can absolutely apply to morgan and crew going to thrawn and ezra, I feel that it applies to everything going on in the episode. Sabine is being tempted by attachment for ezra and is risking the new republic. Ahsoka being tempted by the same thing, but she can’t change anything about hers, or can she? Perhaps if anakin wasn’t REALLY Anakin and just a decoy to lure her into a false sense of safety and use her to change something drastically in the past.

Also, VADERS THEME JUST PLAYING AT THE END?! After everything, you can’t tell me that it’s just a simple reminder of the past. Baylan directly told ahsoka that like her master, her legacy is one of death and destruction right before she fell off the cliff. The fact that those two are referenced in the same episode tells me that ahsoka will be faced with a challenge, one that could lead her on a path like anakins if she gives in to the temptation.

I truly think that there’s foul play involved. Some dark entity is trying to use anakin as a weak spot, trying to alter him to pull ahsoka into that false sense of security to make her more susceptible to dark influence. Or maybe not and felony has no vision and will try to once again put full blame on jedi for their genocide and show ahsoka as forgiving him for all of his crimes because “oooo the jedi failed US so they’re responsible for our actions🥰”

[gh0st-c0mpany]

Legacy of the force says that Jacen is more of a threat to the Galaxy then Palpatine and I just do not believe that. Jacen is a threat but I don't feel like he's as cunning and as evil as Palpatine or even Vader. I appreciate how much more nuanced Jacen is in comparison but because of that nuance he really doesn't seem as bad Palpatine.

Palpatine is a cartoon villain in a sense that everything he does is for his plans for evil, control, and power times 10. Which also makes him the funniest guy ever. Jacen is definitely a more grounded villain. With some more neutral feelings and actions that makes Jacen feel like a real person. Jacen can be more comparable to Vader and I still think thats a stretch with how murderous Vader is in comparison.

Jacen has murder but its almost always done for an advantage or protecting himself; really never out of pure anger alone. I'm not saying Jacen is a Good guy. Far from it, I just feel like he's just very lucky and has only gotten this far purely because he can use the force and not for his strategic or political prowess. He still has to be smart though and he is. But not 'faking a war just to come into power' smart.

[thegingerwrites]

"Really, Anakin?"

Anakin turns to Obi-Wan, unable to keep the grin from his face. "What?"

"That is not how I taught you."

Anakin laughs, still buzzing with the thrill of the fight. He feels more alive than he has since he died. "That's not not how you taught me."

Obi-Wan is referring to the violence of his conversation with Ahsoka, chiding him for resorting to the language of weapons before words. He and Obi-Wan had one chance for this conversation, whereas Ahsoka it seems will have two. Anakin opened his eyes in death to see Obi-Wan's face. The first thing he heard was his voice.

The last lesson of Anakin's life, learning to become one with the Force, was also one of violence. A flood of emotions passed through the two of them like a storm. They didn't come to blows as Anakin did with Ahsoka, but they wielded grief and rage and love like swords. Anakin fell into Obi-Wan's arms wrung out and empty, both of their faces streaked with tears, and at last, he was ready.

"There was a different lesson she needed to learn," Anakin says.

When Anakin died, he needed to understand the balance he had achieved. The dark and the light, Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker, not separate but two parts of a whole. His legacy would be one of death and war but not those alone. His legacy would also be one of love.

Ahsoka needed something else. True, she needed to recognize her place in their lineage, the one stretching back through him and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and Dooku. True, she needed to grieve her place in the war and the terrible lessons it taught her. But what Anakin hoped to teach her most of all was that she needed to move forward, to continue on the path set before her. That for all the pain and anguish entwined in their story there is also good. Teachings that deserve to live on. 

And hasn’t that always been the most important thing Anakin tried to teach her? How to keep moving when things are hard. How to live in a galaxy that seems to care very little for peace and still do all the good that one can. How to fight, always, for what one believes in. 

“It seems you were effective.” Obi-Wan studies both him and, in his mind's eye, Ahsoka as she moves forward in the living world. "Sometimes I forget that despite your unorthodox methods, you are in fact, a good teacher."

Anakin ducks his head but smiles. “Thank you.”

“It will take time certainly and there’s no telling how things will turn out but I am glad you’ve both gotten to this point.”  

In life, Obi-Wan was rarely this open with him. His approval was something Anakin strived for constantly, even at times despite himself, but was rarely certain he achieved. To know now that Obi-Wan is proud of him, that he has done well and learned everything that Obi-Wan had to teach him, makes him feel lighter than he has ever known. 

Accepting himself and his legacy as more than the twenty-five years of fear and darkness he knew for the latter half of his life was difficult. Allowing himself to believe that choosing the light at the end of his life might be enough for him to deserve this, to deserve peace, seemed impossible at first. 

But that is something he has learned about teaching: sometimes explaining oneself to others means better understanding the lesson oneself. 

“She seems happier, doesn’t she?” Anakin asks. 

He too can see Ahsoka as she sets out to do what should be impossible. Traveling beyond the known limits of the galaxy to do her duty, to do what is right, and managing it in ways that beggar belief. When they met, he told her she looked old. He meant it mostly as a joke but somehow, despite the intervening years, he can’t help but picture her permanently as his teenage padawan. Seeing her as the strong woman she has become, how much of her journey he missed, makes his heart ache. Since their talk, since he has had the chance to look at her life more closely, he thinks that she looks younger now. That some of the grief she has worn like a cloak for decades has been cast aside. 

Obi-Wan offers him a fond look. “She does.”

There is no telling what Ahsoka will do with the knowledge Anakin has imparted. If she will succeed in her mission, protect the galaxy, and defend the fragile balance of the Force. Anakin isn’t worried though. She has the Force to guide her and now she’s ready to listen.

“I used to think she was more than I deserved as a legacy,” Anakin admits.

“And now?”

A test, to make sure Anakin too has learned his lesson. “What we deserve has no bearing on the way our destinies play out. Our actions are what matter. The decisions we make, all of them, determine the impression we leave behind. How others interpret our lives is beyond our control, something we leave to the Force.”

Obi-Wan clasps his shoulder tightly. “Exactly so.”

He’ll see her again someday. The choice he offered her, to live or die, was a sincere one. She could have chosen to give up, to give in, and that would have been alright too. Ahsoka has spent her entire life fighting. 

Whenever she decides that the end has come, whenever that decision is made for her, she will have more than earned her rest. This was not the end of the lesson and Anakin looks forward to their next meeting.

[retconsatlightspeed]

The Saber & The Last Jedi

Continuing my post about Luke on the Island, I think I want to focus in on how I would have handled that weighty piece of symbolism.

It's a common talking point among the chuds that Luke tossing the saber was "disrespectful" to starwars fans, and while I think most of them are idiots, I think I'd change how that note was played.

Like a lot of fans of the 1.5 good movies in the sequel trilogy, I was really disappointed that Rey didn't get her own saber (or any actual jedi training but that's for another post) until post the resolution.

Fallen Order is by far my favourite piece of starwars media ever, so I'm infinity biased towards meaningful character growth as expressed through laser sword construction.

So here's my Pitch:

Have Luke drop the saber after Rey hands it to him. Holding it with reverence for but a moment before it slips from his hands. Play the following moment for laughs, sure, as a shocked Rey races after the priceless heirloom down all those stone steps she just spent an hour walking up before it tumbles into the sea (have her make that adorable panic/confounded scrunchy face) but then we turn the camera back to Luke and we see our lost hero is awash in utmost sorrow. For Rey the saber symbolizes hope, heroism, king arthur style YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE shit. Her job was to get it back to him, a nobody playing errand girl for a legend. For Luke, that sword is a representation of all his failures. His failure to live up to the legacy of the Jedi, his initial failure to defeat Vader, his later failure to stop Kylo, his failure to protect the galaxy since. That saber is HEAVY, and he cannot carry that weight.

The Saber is going to be the central motif around which this mentor student relationship is going to be formed. It's a passing of the torch, but not in the heavy handed IP servicing manner of Rey taking on the skywalker name. We're going to go back to the roots of Starwars as a Samurai story, As a martial arts story, and we're going to do it using the themes that episode 7 established god damn it.

Quick recap of my headcanons and a few things you need to know:

Forces awakens is centrally ABOUT the legacy of Starwars. There's nostalgia and fan service, yes, but it also has a lot to say ABOUT nostalgia. That's why our main villain is a Darth Vader fanboy who's at the head of an army of Neonazis, none of which are happy that all these... other people hold any power in the galaxy

In my own telling of events, Luke went to the island not to give up, but in an attempt to reconnect with the force after Kylo defeated him and severed his connection. His isolation started as an attempt to become the hero the galaxy needed him to be again, and he's all but lost hope.

Rey asks Luke to come back and join the fight, Luke says he can't, he's not ready. Delightful bickering ensues with Rey being flabbergasted that the hero she's been inspired by since childhood would sit by let things in the galaxy get worse (hey there new fans, this remind you of anything?). Luke, now a crabby old man, gets to use all of Mark Hamil's genius comedic delivery.

Eventually we're led to a scenic overlook/meditation circle and Luke Challenges Rey to reach out and feel the island. It's a holy place, suffused with the force, and here we get to see a bit of what Luke must have been like as a teacher, calmly guiding her through the opening of her force-sense the way that Obi-wan taught him.

Luke, serious: "Can you feel it... can you FEEL it? Racing through everything, Binding everything together? " Rey, awed: " Yes... I think...I Yes I.." Luke, deadpan " .....because I can't"

More Shocked Rey, more bickering, Luke's getting more resentful, it's like the galaxy threw this girl in his face to remind him of everything he failed at (it did, he just hasn't realized what that MEANS yet). Luke puts his foot down and tells her to go home, he'll come back when the force has spoken to him and told him how to fix all this.

Rey almost considers it... she takes a step down the trail while Luke moves to return to his hermitage, there's a pause.

R, hesitant, turning something over in her mind, knows Luke is carrying so many burdens and she's about to add more: "You really can't feel the force anymore?" L, irritated, barely paying her any more attention: no R, turning to face him: Then you wouldn't know.... Han Solo, he's dead.

Luke, looks at her, all his sourness melting away but it's different than when he held the sword. This isn't the old Jedi master feeling the weight of his burden, this is Luke Skywalker, the boy who risked everything to save his best friends, learning that one of those friends has died and he didn't even know. Twenty years on a rock trying to find an answer to save his friends and he's STILL failing them. He crumples, Rey rushes to pick him up she's all apologies she barely understands. She was there she saw it happen, she let it happen, she FELT it happen

L, talking over her, grabbing onto her robes and arms to PULL himself up and look at her face to face, there is a FIRE in his eyes now, This is Anakin's son. : "Come inside, Tell me Everything"

There's a few more beats I want to hit but I'm not sure about the exact order.

Luke Reunite with Chewie and R2

Evening's fallen and Luke comes to share Rey's fire as she looks out over the sea. A shared sorrow has bridged the gap between them a little. Luke insists that he can't come back, Rey protests, but he interjects that he can still do good. He's willing to teach her. She felt the island so she must have some talent. Rey is blindsided, she honoured by the prospect but she thought she was just bringing Luke back, she doesn't have time to train, she has to get back to her friends, the resistance, the fight against the first order. Can't he come back with her? Luke clues her in that the force brought them both here, to this place, it's special, it's their chance to rebuild the Jedi the right way.

Something something subspace beacon signalling back to their friends that they're alright. Gives us a chance to cut away to the B story for a while.

Rey's training is going spottily. she's got an instinctive connection with the force, bolstered by the island, but she's chafing against the Jedi temple approved curriculum that Luke salvaged from his first school/the empire's archives. She already KNOWS how to fight, but she's trained with a staff, so when they're using training swords she keeps attacking form a further reach or grabbing what would be the lightsaber's blade. Luke chides her about burning off her hand (he's got a metal one)

After a particular frustrating lesson they get into Rey's preconceived notions of what the Jedi were like ( more accurately, what LUKE was like, because that's her one touch stone) and how when she was left alone on Jakku she would imagine all these things. T, and then a pause about Rey being left alone, a comedic and decisive " I'm NOT your father" from Luke, followed up with " One thing I've learned, you don't need to be from somewhere to be special. The force doesn't care, and its better that way" . This leads them to commiserating about how AWFUL their respective desert planets were. We see that they're growing closer.

Also a chance for Luke to hint about his personal life, he was close to a few people over the years ( Wiggle room for every shipper in the galaxy), but between dismantling the empire and founding the new Jedi he never had time to start a family, there was always something else ( here we see how much being "the hero" has taken from him.)

End of the movie's coming up, it's been something like a month or two. Rey's weathered and calloused but she's in the best fighting shape she's ever been. She's got pretty good with the lightsaber but it's slow going. Luke's really gotten back into teaching, Rey help inspired hope in him, but now he's putting the weight of heroism onto her shoulders, hoping that she can correct HIS failures, the way Obi-wan did with him. R2 has been waging war against the porgs infesting the falcon, Chewie has himself a cozy little fishing hut by the shoreline and is fully on vacation by this point.

Rey fails yet another Jedi test, both she and Luke are frustrated. Our friends have recovered important information in the B plot and Rey knows that if she doesn't rejoin them soon she's effectively going to miss out on the next movie. A forboding storm thunders on the horizon, Luke catches Rey looking at it and cautions " You're not ready for that" , idly rubbing the place where he lost his hand. Rey questions whether she'll ever be ready. She's not him, she's not a Jedi, she's Rey from knowhere and however lucky she's been up to this point she was never MEANT to be here. It SHOULD be him. Luke feels shame again, and ends the lesson, tells her to get ready for supper. Rey eyes a nearby boat.

Cut ahead, Chewie's got a weird but delicious alien fish ready to eat and the rain is baring down outside. Asks where Rey is and we have a bit of fun with the puppets, before he looks outside the window and centers our view of a section of jagged rock barely cresting out of the waves, far from the island.

Rey's paddled out to this crumbling stone edifice and is doing saber katas on the stones in the middle of the storm. It's clear that she's done this before but never in such harsh weather. She slips, makes mistakes, but keeps on with it. Her form is approaching the super elaborate flourishes of the prequel era. The thunder rumbles and lighting strikes one of the rocks nearby her, causing it to crumble. She refocuses on the storm. The rumble reminds her of the earth splitting open back at starkiller base, jumping between rocks reminds her of her fight with Kylo. She goes through it again, harder, trying to make up for inexperience with effort. The wind howls worse and thunder rumbles again, Rey leaps in the air and DEFLECTS LIGHTING WITH HER SWORD, causing the bolt to streak off and cause an explosion in the water. Then another, then another, She HAS THIS, mostly.

Out of the depths comes a giant predatory eel monster, drawn by the explosions and looking for a snack. She could probably take it if they were on a level playing field, but she's on a very un-level series of rock pillars and is going to have to fight both the monster AND the weather.

The fight is tense, jumping between rocks, dodging waves and lighting bolts and razor teeth, slipping and falling into the water, barely managing to scramble out. Just when she's ready to land a killing blow the beast thrashes, getting hold of her leg in its jaw and CRUNCHES, shredding muscle and bone before throwing her aside to brutally impact a stone pillar and sending the saber out into the ocean. Ray, desperate, knowing the creature is closing in reaches out for her weapon with the force just like she did at the end of the last film.. and just like last time it comes ripping through the air, only to be struck by lightning in the middle of its arc. Shock sets in, she tries to get up and it becomes very evident that she's both badly injured and has broken atleast one of her legs. Disbelief surges through her, shame, failure. Getting the shit kicked out of her might not be worse that DESTROYING LUKE SKYWALKER'S LIGHTSABER.

The beast rises, ready to devour her. Rey's hurt it and there's more malice than hunger in its eyes at this point. The thunder rumbles again, and there's a flash... and the familiar sound of the Millennium Falcon's guns firing cuts through the sound of the storm as it lands a direct hit on the monster.

Cut to Luke Skywalker in the GUNNER SEAT . He's left the island and in a moment of desperation he's remembered that he was still a hero LONG before he became a Jedi Master. Force or no force he's still that idiot farmboy who heard the call of someone in trouble and left everything behind to save them. With Chewie at the helm The Falcon does a strafing run through the storm to scare the eel away before lowering down its platform to get Rey back up. Cut to a shot of Luke on the platform bathed in light which is shining down on Rey, his hand outstretched to her this time, the hero she heard about as a kid. The Force has delivered the answer he sought.

It's the next day, the storm has parted and the clouds are picking up the colours of sunrise. Rey's bandaged as best they can, wrapped in a blanket, Luke's changed out of his hermit robes and into something nice... ish. They look out over the water and once the niceties are out of the way, Luke Mentions that they're getting ready to leave.

Rey is shocked, she's not ready, she wasn't ready for the lighting stones so she won't ever be ready, she's never going to be a Jedi.

Luke agrees, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. Like him the Jedi lost sight of the people for the sake of an ideal, and trying to stick to that ideal is what kept him on this island while the galaxy descended into war yet again. It was the same dogmatism that let his father sip down the darkside and doomed the old republic. Doomed them. In trying to recreate their ways he was losing sight of the people again, lost sight of his nephew.

He will be the last Jedi, but she's going to be something else, something better, and he's going to Be there for her the way he wishes his mentors could have been there for him.

The sun's risen while they were talking, Chewie roars, R2 beeps, It's time to get going. Luke says he's all packed and pats the holster containing the Jedi texts he collected, but asks her if there's anything she's forgetting.

Rey's puzzled, before Luke nods to the sea.

R: " But It's... I lost it, it's gone" L: "Nothing's ever gone, It just... changes, and everything has to change sometime."

Rey holds her hand out to the ocean, tentatively, she pulls, but her force falters, her faith wavers. Luke's hand settles over hers. He still hasn't gotten his powers back, but together they pull and the broken pieces of his lightsaber come up from the water, glistening, dawn playing in the kyber crystal.

The Gang takes off in the Falcon, off into what we realize is a binary sunrise, it's a long hyperspace Journey back to the Resistance. Interspersed we see Rey tinkering on something, putting that scavenger knowhow to use. The Falcon Lands, we have a wordness reunion between our friends. Luke and Leia, Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose (looking a little worse for wear after their adventures). Everyone is crowding around Luke, but we see Rey being helped into a high tech cast, which allows her to stand on her injured leg Without needing to use her staff, like she has been since disembarking. Standing proudly as she can, and mostly to show off to her friends, flips a newly installed switch midway down the haft, causing the upper end to ignite in a flickering blade, the Pieces of Luke's old saber incorperated into its design. It's not like any lightsaber that's come before it, but it's hers. The shot pans out as she realizes that more and more eyes are turning to her, Luke having silently directed all the attention that was on him to her, his apprentice.

The torch has been passed, and we have a new hero.

[gffa]

I know you’ve said before that you view prequels!Anakin and clone wars!Anakin as separate characters, so I’m curious what your thoughts are on Ahsoka series!Anakin are? (This ask was sent by someone who has not watched any of the Ahsoka series, so if he hasn’t shown up enough for you to form an opinion feel free to save this for later)

Hm, I don't recall having said I saw prequels!Anakin and clone wars!Anakin as separate characters befoe, you might be thinking of someone else, or maybe you meant that I have struggled with reconciling the different properties with each other--though ultimately I usually manage to do so fairly well, as I do consider them the same character and each part of the bigger whole. The Ahsoka series!Anakin is hard to figure out how to blend in there, because I go back and forth on whether or not it really was Anakin or not, if it was a Force vision or Ahsoka projecting or truly Anakin himself, because each idea has such interesting and deliciously heartwrenching implications. But for the sake of this post specifically, let's say it's truly Anakin in the series--he fits perfectly well with how I see the character, even after his death, because the whole point of him showing up is that he was there for Ahsoka and her issues. This version of him isn't really about Anakin's story, it's about Ahsoka's story, and right then she needed him to represent both Anakin and Vader to her, to force her to confront her fears about what he became, her loss and fear that she could be responsible for more darkness in the galaxy, and her hurt that she wasn't sure she had anything to offer other than being a soldier. In the episode, Anakin says that she's more than just being a soldier, she's more than a legacy of death and war, because he's more than that. If this is truly Anakin, I love that for him, because being a Force Ghost is about truly letting go of all the shit you're holding onto in life, that you find balance within yourself again, that just by dint of how the Force and Force Ghosts work, Anakin has to have come to peace within himself about how he was more than just Vader, he was more than just death and destruction. He may wear his ROTS era clothing because that's what Ahsoka needed from him, he may not be glowing blue because this is in her mind not in the real world, he may be flickering back and forth with Vader because she needed that from him, but I have no problem seeing this version of Anakin as the same as this one:

Because the most selfless thing Anakin could do for Ahsoka was show up and help her confront her fears and deal with her issues. The most selfless thing he could say to her was: you're more than just this because, if I can be more than the monstrous things I did, you can be more than the mistakes you've made that are far less, because that's what she needed to hear. The most selfless thing he could do was dig into his own horrible past and say, yes, this happened, it's part of me and thus part of you, but you can heal from this, because I know you loved me and you weren't wrong to do so, you're not wrong to love someone even though they did so much wrong. She comes out of her vision with a new peace beginning to settle inside her and, given how much Anakin worked to drag himself out of the dark and let his attachments go, let his fears go, and embrace compassion for others again--it's a beautiful continuation of everything with Luke, with being willing to embrace compassion for the children who come after you, the ones you're meant to protect and teach and guide. Maybe it wasn't perfect, maybe there was still some sadness in him or fear of how she saw him, some crankiness that she wasn't learning the lessons he was trying to each, but ultimately I see him as being there entirely for her, not for his own closure, but for hers, because she needed him, so he was there for her.

[classicanalyzer]

Legacy of Vader - Issue 2 Thoughts

"Tatooine is a remote planet. That is true. But to suggest that it did not matter to Anakin Skywalker is incorrect. It is where he first met the woman who would become his wife. It is where he was recruited into the Jedi Order. It is where he lost his mother. It is where he took the pain of that loss and first used it to access the Dark Side of the Force. Where he felt its true power. Darth Vader was not forged solely in the fires of Mustafar. The scorched sands of Tatooine played their role as well. Your grandfather was an inferno. His past was the fuel. Do not dismiss this place, Kylo Ren. Tatooine is important. Without this backwater...you would not exist." Vaneé

Issue 2 does a great job of continuing to explore Kylo Ren's journey from TLJ to TROS. This issue does a great job of exploring how Kylo Ren has a lot to go, matching Vader's angst, and how, despite being one of the most skilled Force-users of his generation, he is far from being the most skilled of his generation.

I find it absolutely hilarious how Vaneé basically used Vader's passwords to binge Vader's entire life story. And, of course, Palpatine used everything Anakin told him to later shape him into Vader and use him as a weapon. Another hilarious thing was how every news source took the preview of what was definitely Kylo Ren's imagination of Vader killing Watto as literal when it turns out that, obviously, it was indeed Kylo Ren's imagination with Watto not killed by Vader's hands. I also love the history lessons regarding the Skywalkers' history with Tatooine and how, despite how Tatooine is a deadwater world, it is absolutely important to the story of the Skywalkers. It also references how we learn from the past rather than by simply destroying it and pretending it never existed.

It's also really interesting to see how Ben didn't know his grandfather and grandmother were once slaves. It goes to show the extent of his parents, and Luke tried to hide away the dark, tragic story of his grandfather. It feels really fitting that Ben confronts Gardulla the Hutt, who originally enslaved and owned Anakin and Shmi before Watto owned them. The way Kylo Ren acted when he decided to get justice for his grandfather really reminds me of Anakin rather than Vader.

What I appreciate about the issue the most is that it shows how Ben's childhood is actually a very happy one. It's hilarious seeing Kylo Ren trying to gaslight himself that he had an equally traumatizing childhood like Vader. It's also so satisfying to see a reunion dinner scene with the OT heroes in the Sequel Era.

"From the very beginning, Vader's life was a crucible. Unending toil, an existence in chains. It was what he rose above. The blade in his soul, slicing away all that held him back so he might rise to greatness." Vaneé

The Kylo Ren action sequences not only showcase why he's a terrifying Force user, from casually using the Force to make two muggers kill each other while leaving one alive to absolutely destroying two Rancors, but it also serves to set up how shocking his defeat is at the end of the issue.

Also that shot with him riding in a speeder during the sunset of the twin suns is just perfect. It totally parallels Anakin's speeder scene in Attack of the Clones. Also, I wonder if Vaneé is working with the Sith Eternal to monitor Kylo Ren's progress.

I will always find the fact that Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order, was absolutely destroyed and humiliated by a Force-sensitive rock creature. Considering how Kylo Ren was never fully beaten in a fight after TFA, it helps ground Kylo Ren that he still has a long way to go even after his successes. It's dark how Kylo Ren ends up in the same situation his grandfather once was: enslaved by the Hutts. We do know Kylo Ren will get out of the situation, but it'll be interesting to see how Kylo Ren takes away from this lesson.

This was a really good follow-up to Issue 1 and expands on how Kylo Ren is on the path to consider that his policy of killing the past might be a determinant of his growth in the Dark Side rather than enhancing his growth.

"Did you really think, after what happened to Jabba, I would not take my own precautions against those who use the Force? You came here because you didn't like your grandfather's story. Thought you could kill the past. It's not that easy, my young friend. The truth is...your grandfather's story...it's now your story too." Gardulla

[deepwaterdreams]

Running from the face in the mirror will not keep you from facing yourself

I'm writing a fic set in an alternate universe, where Cal doesn't destroy the holocron and become an Inquisitor on ao3, here's a snippet of the 8th chapter.

Summary : The Order has fallen. The Jedi are hunted. The survivors are nothing but remnants. But some refuse to vanish.

In the aftermath of Order 66, an unlikely group tries to come together: Neera, broken but defiant, Jarek, a young almost Jedi haunted by fear, Greez, an old pilot with a broken heart; and BD-1, an uncommon bearer of hope. Fleeing a relentless Empire, they uncover a harrowing truth: their pursuer is none other than Cal Kestis, once a friend, now an Inquisitor. Together, they must face the ruins of a fallen Jedi legacy and the scattered pieces of a forgotten hope.

Perhaps, sometimes, the remnants are stronger than what tried to destroy them.

Or what happens if Cal doesn't destroy the holocron ?

______________________________________________________________

The waves of Nur crashed loudly against the fortress rising, menacing, from the ocean. It was as if the moon itself was in a constant state of fury. With a grimace, he moved his right arm: his shoulder still ached, and though his elbow had been patched up by bacta and the droids on base, the pain lingered. Not to mention his ribs. But he’d survived worse. Pain, like fear, had become a daily companion. You could get used to anything, after all.

What he still didn’t understand was why that girl had helped him survive. She could’ve killed him once they’d escaped that cursed temple. She was a Jedi hunter, a Purge Trooper. She had solid combat skills, and he’d been weakened. She could’ve killed him, she had her chance. So why didn’t she take it? He would have. Without hesitation. That way, she’d never get in his way again.

“You know, that brooding, mysterious look while watching the landscape doesn’t suit you.”

He rolled his eyes and immediately tensed at the sound of his Inquisitor sister’s voice. A little younger than him, the Third Sister had risen through the ranks at a pace that gave her far too much confidence and arrogance. Not that love ever really bloomed between Inquisitors, but she was probably one of the most hated among them.

“What do you want?” he hissed.

“To understand how two Inquisitors got their asses handed to them by a kid.”

He clenched his fists and his jaw so tightly it hurt. He wasn’t weak. He wasn’t incapable. He refused to be seen that way. And the Third Sister had no right to make him feel like that, now or ever. He felt her step to his left, pretending to observe the violent waves crashing on the moon’s surface.

“And how we’re supposed to meet Lord Vader’s expectations if we fail like this.”

He let out a joyless laugh. We. He hated that word in her mouth. He hated them. He hated everything and everyone, himself included. But at least he knew his place, understood it, which didn’t seem to be the case for his sister.

“You haven’t been here long, sister,” he remarked.

“That’s true,” she replied. “And yet, I…”

Cal savoured her panicked expression when he started choking her and lifting her off the ground with the Force. Slowly, he turned and pivoted her mid-air to face him, his hand slightly extended toward his dangling victim.

“Then perhaps you need a lesson from one of your elders,” he went on, his voice only calm on the surface, fooling no one anymore.

The cold rage pulsing through him made him want to clench his fist. That would snap her neck in an instant. So easy. So satisfying. For now, he just relished the terror in her eyes as she began to understand her mistake.

“When you face a Force user, you’re always in for a surprise. Arrogance is the downfall of many. Do you understand?”

The Third Sister clawed at her throat, gasping, the colours rapidly draining from her face as oxygen ran out. She nodded frantically, and with a sneer of disgust, Cal let her go anyway. She crashed back onto her feet awkwardly, nearly losing her balance, coughing violently. Bent over, hands on her knees, she struggled to catch her breath, not daring to look at him. Cal stepped closer, leaned toward her ear, and felt her tense at the proximity. Good.

“Never act arrogant with me again.”

With that, he straightened up and walked away, leaving her behind. He needed to be alone. He made his way to his quarters. The fortress was cold, lit by harsh, sterile white neon strips. The air was always damp, not surprising, considering most of the base was underwater. Officers and soldiers lowered their heads when he passed. A sign of respect. Or fear. Mostly fear.

Cal didn’t lower his head. On the contrary, he held it high, glaring down at everyone. He walked fast, forcing others to get out of his way. When he reached his quarters, he slipped inside without a word, without another glance at the vermin around him.

His quarters were silent, empty, freezing. Empty and soulless. Just the low, constant hum of the base buried deep within the moon. He slowly knelt, back straight, hands resting on his thighs. But it wasn’t an act of peace. It was control. He closed his eyes.

He didn’t push his thoughts away. He pulled them in. Cere. Her face. Her screams. Her eyes. That exact moment when she realized what he had become. The younglings. Their pleas, their pain, their deaths. He relived it. Again. And again. Every detail. Every shiver. Every drop of blood.

Then came the others. Merrin. Greez. All those faces, all those looks, judging, begging, condemning him without a word. He resented them. Resented them for not following him. For letting him fall alone.

His breathing quickened. He didn’t slow it. He let it turn to fire. He felt the anger boiling in his chest. Hatred. Pure. Acidic. And with it, the Force. Thick. Electric. Around him, the room reacted. A panel vibrated. A crack split through the wall.

Cal inhaled deeper. He sank into his darkness like one slips into freezing water. He forced himself to think of the Third Sister. Her arrogance. Her smugness. He saw her terrified eyes again as she dangled in the air, choking. He’d almost snapped her neck. Almost. Maybe he should have.

The Force fed him. Every angry thought, every memory twisted by pain strengthened his connection to the Dark Side. He didn’t need the light anymore, it had never won. Doing good had never been enough. He’d learned that too late. But he had learned. The light always died out, and only darkness remained. He didn’t need teachings. He needed them: fear, anger, hate.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. People didn’t help each other anymore since the Empire’s rise. They only thought about their own wants, their own desires, their own safety, their pathetic scraps of comfort.

Through passion, I gain strength. If everyone lived like that, why shouldn’t he? It was the best way to survive, following his own needs, his own desires, his own wants. Only then had he avoided death. Only then had he become stronger, far stronger than before. He’d forged an armour, an impenetrable shell around his heart and soul. He’d once been a scared little Padawan pretending to be a Master. Now, others lowered their eyes before him.

Through strength, I gain power. No one could touch him anymore. The Jedi were right about one thing: attachment was weakness. Abandonment was a wound.

Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. Selfishness was salvation. They had taught him to care, to help. Never again. He wouldn’t trust. That was his vow. He would trust only the Force. The Force shall set him free.

He opened his eyes. Cold. Incandescent. He didn’t float, he weighed down. He crushed. He didn’t try to understand the Force. He bent it to his will. And in the heavy silence that followed, a single thought rose, sharp and clear.

Let them all fear him.