#like the whole skywalker saga

[david-talks-sw]

Finished Star Wars on Trial and Matthew Stover manages to perfectly encapsulate how I think everyone should approach watching Star Wars material they don't like.

"The plot holes are essential. Because inside every single hole in the entire Star Wars saga - in every flaw in the franchise - you can find a Cheshire grin floating above a flannel shirt, and a fading echo of... "Ha-ha - made you look!" When I was at Skywalker Ranch to meet with George Lucas, I brought up the sliding-around-the-turboshaft business in Revenge of the Sith. I said, "They're in orbit -- gravity just doesn't work like that-" The answer I got, verbatim, was: "That's the point." Each of you on this jury - each of you reading this book - is here because you have one of two fundamental reactions to this. One is to frown. "Quit it! Quit or I'm telling! And I won't be your friend anymore!" The other is to grin right back. "Okay, you got me. What's next? Let's go!" Because your reaction is a choice: You can take that made you look as an insult. Or you can take it in the spirit it is intended. As an invitation to play. George says: "Let's pretend!" What do you say? Me? I grin. I always have, ever since a hot summer afternoon in 1977, when I was fifteen years old and a kid knocked on my door and told me about this goofy movie he wanted to see."

The whole point of Star Wars is to help you be creative and think outside the box. It's a fun make-believe story.

If there's something you don't like about a Star Wars movie, or any movie, you can either rage about it or get creative and come up with a headcanon that makes it work better for you.

Instead of saying "TLJ Luke wouldn't do that!" I try to ask myself "what would make Luke do that?"

Instead of disliking the Dooku episodes in Tales of the Jedi, I just tell myself that they're all seen through Dooku's own unreliable lens and immediately it all makes sense.

It's a lot more fun when you choose to grin instead just going "Quit it!" and I'm making an effort to do the former more than the latter, especially when The Acolyte will come out.

[thecleverqueer]

I love it how Anakin and Ahsoka stans will sit and call the Jedi the villains in the narrative when Anakin went on to aid in the genocide and systemic oppression of countless Star systems in the pursuit of power, and Ahsoka WANTED to be a Jedi with all of her heart but couldn’t embrace it because she had crippling imposter syndrome and felt herself unworthy of the moniker.

Like…. Y’all missed the whole ass point.

From a kid that grew up before the prequels and the Clone Wars, I can confidently say that Vader WAS framed as THE ENEMY. Vader was THE BIG BAD IN TWO FILMS. Was his story tragic? Yeah, but that’s Anakin’s story. The Jedi saved the galaxy by freeing it from the oppression of the Sith, not once but twice in the Skywalker saga alone. THE JEDI ARE NOT THE ENEMY IN THE NARRATIVE… unless, of course, your loyalties were with the Sith and/or the Imperials / First Order. At which point, yeah, good on you, but those were not SUPPOSED to be the guys you root for.

[antianakin]

So, for people who don't have basic reading skills, when I say Ahsoka is entirely irrelevant to Anakin's story, this does not mean that I think Ahsoka is a bad character, that I think Ahsoka should never have existed, that Ahsoka is uninteresting, or that I don't think Ahsoka can be important to fans who enjoyed her. When I say Ahsoka is irrelevant to Anakin's story, it really does truly mean JUST THAT.

Anakin's motivations for everything that he does already existed prior to Ahsoka. They're built into his story long before she ever even existed. The message of his story existed before Ahsoka was even a glimmer in Filoni's eye. So nothing about Anakin's story truly changes in any meaningful way because of Ahsoka's inclusion in it. He still falls because of his attachments, because of his fear, because he cannot live without Padme and is traumatized by the loss of his mother. He chooses to come back because of his selfless love for his son, because he'd rather die than allow Luke to be killed. None of the most important choices in Anakin's story have anything at all to do with Ahsoka and, quite honestly, I feel like it takes away from the whole theme of his story to try to shoehorn Ahsoka into those choices.

The story existed before Ahsoka and it has not, does not, and never will need her in order to make sense or be compelling.

NONE OF WHICH means Ahsoka cannot be significant IN HER OWN RIGHT. Ahsoka was the first female character to truly be the main character of a high canon Star Wars story (if we consider her the main character of TCW, which you can make a solid argument for). Ahsoka was the first female Jedi character to even be allowed to speak in a high canon Star Wars story let alone be the main character of that story. And that's significant, obviously. It was a major milestone in Star Wars and it meant a lot to a lot of fans growing up, especially young girls.

I have never and will never dispute what Ahsoka meant to the franchise and to the fandom.

She's still totally irrelevant to Anakin's story. The two things are not mutually exclusive. They can both be true at once.

And honestly, I think Ahsoka would be doing a lot BETTER as a character if people were able to recognize that more. Ahsoka IS NOT RELEVANT to Anakin's story. Anakin is relevant to HER story, but she truly is not that relevant to his in return. Ahsoka cannot remain anchored to Anakin forever, it's quite literally dragging her down. Trying to make her more significant to the Skywalker Saga is making it impossible for Ahsoka to be significant in her own right, separate from her relationship to Anakin.

So I'm going to keep saying that Ahsoka is irrelevant to the Skywalker Saga, to Anakin's story, because it's true and I find it a really important part of any discussion about Ahsoka as a character and her place within the narrative and the franchise.

[thehollowprince]

A good Screenrant article? Color me surprised.

"Most viewers assume Qui-Gon was right to believe Anakin needed to be trained - but surprisingly, George Lucas seems to think it was a mistake.

"George Lucas believed Qui-Gon was wrong to decide to train Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Many viewers see Qui-Gon Jinn as the perfect Jedi, the embodiment of everything the Order was supposed to represent. He is a rebel against the Council, alone and uncorrupted, a champion of the underdog who recognizes Anakin Skywalker's potential. The reality, of course, is that Qui-Gon is a lot more nuanced; he's as flawed as any other Jedi, and in fact, George Lucas considered him even more flawed.

"Lucas expressed his own view in an interview with Cut Magazine in 1999 (via David Talks SW). In his view, Qui-Gon shares the same faults as Anakin; he is spontaneous and reckless, with Obi-Wan Kenobi providing him a sense of balance. What's more, Lucas surprisingly suggested Qui-Gon made a mistake in insisting the Jedi should train Anakin.

"I think it is obvious that he [Qui-Gon] was wrong in Episode I and made a dangerous decision, but ultimately, this decision may be correct. The 'phantom menace' refers to the force of the dark side of the universe. Anakin will be taken over by dark forces, which in turn destroy the balance of the Galaxy, but the individual who kills the Emperor is Darth Vader - also Anakin."

"It is certainly ironic that Lucas believes it "obvious" Qui-Gon shouldn't have trained Anakin. The modern consensus is that Qui-Gon was the one Jedi who could have saved Anakin, the only one who truly understood the prophecy of the Chosen One.

"The general view is that the Jedi Council was wrong to initially reject Anakin. Lucas takes a different view, though, suggesting Anakin's training was, in fact, the mistake that doomed the order. It's fascinating to imagine how the Star Wars saga would have played out if Anakin didn't join the Jedi; the most likely scenario is that he'd have been taken in by the people of Naboo as a hero, and no doubt he and Padmé would have gotten together anyway. Padmé wouldn't have held Anakin back when he began dreaming of his mother's death, so this Anakin would never have built up the fear of loss to the cataclysmic degree seen in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Amazingly, this is probably the happiest path Anakin could have taken - and he was denied it because of Qui-Gon Jinn's choice.

Personal Note: I don't like the insinuation that the Jedi "held Anakin back" from pursuing his visions to save his mother because by his own admissions, they were just dreams. By the time he himself finally decided to do something about it, it was too late. But aside from that, I agree with everything else.

"It's significant that the will of the Force had Anakin brought up on Tatooine, a world outside the Republic, where he wouldn't be found by the Jedi. In his impetuousness, Qui-Gon insisted the Chosen One should be trained by the Jedi - but there's nothing to indicate the prophecy of the Chosen One suggested any such thing. Unsurprisingly, Lucas' perspective on the Star Wars saga is entirely convincing, even if it does run against the general view. Things worked out in the end, of course, but only after a whole lot of chaos on a galactic scale."

[bearw-me]

Sense it's may the 4th can I request the hazbin crew reacting to teen reader celebrating star wars and explaining to them what star wars is sense I think most of them wouldn't know about it.

yess i can! and sorry if these don't live up to expectations! i've watched the movies but im not totally involved in the fandom!

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮 — 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬!

𐐒 ft : gender neutral! teen! reader, charlie morningstar, vaggie, alastor, nifty, angel dust, sir pentious, husk 𐐒 cw : fluff 𐐒 summary : you are showing the hazbin crew what star wars is no matter the cost + and their reactions 𐐒 note : ITS STILL may the 4th where i am! this counts!

Charlie Morningstar! Loves your enthusiasm so much she decides to watch the movies with you until she falls asleep. Makes popcorn for the two of you! I think she'd be pretty clueless though, as the princess of hell who's never been exposed to that kind of pop culture.

"Oh my goshh! Star wars!"

. . .

"What is that?"

She's got a good attitude about learning through you

Vaggie! Sits with you and Charlie, and although she has no idea what you are talking about (her being an angel and all and having no contact with Earth), everything you say to her just kind of floats through one ear and out the other.

GETS HEATED and physically mad when the storm troopers miss. every. shot. they. take.

likes she's cursing in spanish type of mad

likes bloopers (like when that one storm trooper hits his head on the door)

Alastor! Hates the television, so you'll have to explain everything to him through other means, even if that means him listening to you tell him the whole thing.

honestly, i think he'd be the most uninterested in the plot if it couldn't be explained well.

i think he'd actually like looking at the comics if you showed them to him "Well look at this fellow! Aren't they all charmingly misshapen!" when you show him aliens like Jabba, or Jar Jar.

likes the 'epic saga; between armadas and armies, jedi and sith. . . like he's smiling with his eyes narrowed and nodding as you point out everything that's happening.

Nifty! Retains NOTHING you are saying, she is just kind of staring through your soul. So when you put the movies on in the lobby she actually moves and watches while she dusts.

subconsciously retains the information and names some of her roaches after the characters.

she stops cleaning to just sit front and center in front of the tv.

LOVES the violence and fight scenes, especially when people get cut by a light saber.

asks you for pictures of the characters that she keeps crumbled into her apron (she adores darth vader)

always plops down onto a pillow in front of the tv whenever boba fett + anakin skywalker are on screen

WOULD LOVE to kill a storm trooper herself

Angel Dust! Like Charlie, I think Angel would be the best person to hear you out about star wars. I think he'd be a major geek with you, even acting out a few scenes and letting you win. He see's you like his sibling, so he enjoys your company. Why wouldn't he love doing something that you love?

loves the clothing in the movies, especially the queen of naboo's makeup. "And the hairr!"

loves the romances and sci-fi fantasy part of it

expect him to have ideas

Sir Pentious! I think out of all the people in the hotel he'd LOVE star wars. From watching the movies with you in the hotel's lobby to asking you a TON of questions! Like everything you know about star wars, he has to know too!

"I like thiss 'Sstar Warss'"

has to know everything and has his own fan theories

probably cried while he watched padme + anakin's love story. right up to the end

(he tries hard to identify with anakin)

he'll probably celebrate may 4th right along with you, t-shirt, movie cup, all his wrecked up merch in his hands just to watch the movies with you

tries to recreate all the gadgets and light saber's he see's without success. . . YET

Husk! Doesn't get it. He listens to you sure, while your sat at his bar counter and explaining everything to him about the plot and the characters. He asks a ton of questions, but it is sort of like explaining it to your dad.

He'll lean over the bar and ask you about plot holes, and when you answer back excitedly he kind of sighs to himself "Why is he getting so worked up on the plot anyway?"

like why is he forming an opinion now?

likes when you talk about it though, your enthusiasm is a little contagious

is 'subtly' watching the movies from behind you, turning away to wash some glasses when you stare over at him

[vibrantbirdy]

Hiii. Firstly, I just want to say how much I LOVE your work. I think you’re fantastic!

I was hoping to request an Obi-Wan Kenobi x Senator or Princess female reader (always a sucker for this). Maybe Clone wars or pre- ending of Revenge of the Sith. Peppered with Obi-Wan denying his feelings for the sake of the Jedi code, and then confessing true emotions in the Kenobi series era. (gotta love angst with some feels after a whole lot of yearning).

Thank you so much 💙

Thank you so much for your kind words and this wonderful request. I was so excited to write for Obi-Wan as it's been years since I have, and it's really cool to write for him in the wake of the Kenobi series. So thank you for this lovely prompt and I hope this is the sort of thing you were looking for.

(Requests for Character x Reader fics are currently open in my Asks. Please read the guidelines first.)

(Masterlist of my fics can be found here.)

Title: Relics Fandom: Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Setting: Pre the Phantom Menace to post the Kenobi Series. Genres: Sci-fi; Romance; Minor Angst Warnings: mild/moderate sexuality; mild references to Reader family losses due to old age; mild references to the Empire being baddies and doing baddie things Pairing: Obi-Wan Kenobi x Princess Female Reader Chapters: 1/1 (Complete) Word Count: c.5k Author's Note: It's late and I need to proofread this properly, sorry for any mistakes in the mean time!

Summary: You and Obi-Wan Kenobi have a connection that spans decades as your lives intersect throughout the years. Will you find each other again in the most unlikely of places?

Now

Inevitably, the Empire discovered that you have been siphoning off funds to various Rebel factions across the Galaxy for years. As Queen of Vitis, you planned to stay on your home world and face the consequences of defying the Imperial tyrants with your people.

But your Bodyguard, loyal to a fault, had other ideas. The night before an Imperial delegation was set to arrive, your Captain of the Guard, Old Paltrum, hired a bounty hunter to abduct you from your chambers in the middle of the night and drop you off somewhere "safe." This apparently meant any random, obscure world in the Outer Rim of the mercenary's choosing.

Seemingly, the desert planet of Tatooine was the farthest flung rock in the Galaxy that the brute could think of.

At night, you dream of home. Of Vitis. A beautiful planet, full of lush forests and green meadows where wildflowers gleam through the grass like little jewels.

Too often, these dreams turn to nightmares and you watch, helpless, as the rivers run red with the blood of your people and the Imperial flag flies like Death's victory banner above the royal citadel.

You fear you'll forever be known as the Vitisian Queen who abandoned her subjects in their most desperate hour of need.

Tatooine is not like home. The heat during the day is a constant, inescapable blanket of oppression. No matter what you do, the sand works its way into your eyes, between your teeth, into your clothes and tracks its way all the way through the small one room home you managed to purchase with the few credits Paltrum obviously appropriated for you from the palace treasury. And you are always so thirsty, no matter how much water you consume.

Still, you have been on the desert planet for almost three months now, and despite your belligerent determination not to, you are beginning to settle and acclimatise. Slowly.

You like Tatooine best in the evening, just as dusk falls. It's cooler and there is a rare, strange beauty to be found as the twin suns set in the sky which turns from blood red to pink to purple and finally to a deep, midnight blue.

You make your living selling the clothing you make at the stall you have acquired in the market in Mos Eisley. It is mid-afternoon when you catch sight of a man you know walking across the far side of the square. You jump up from your stool, knocking it over in your haste and sending your weaving unravelling to the floor.

Ducking and weaving and apologising to the people you bump into, you track the man making his way across the market through the obstructions of clothing and clutter and trinkets hanging from the stalls of your neighbours' and your own.

Your heart leaps. It is him. Obi-Wan Kenobi.

What is he doing here? Of all places.

You want to run to him, to call out his name but something stops you.

He looks older. Of course he does, it's been over a decade since you last saw him. But that's not it.

The Obi-Wan you remember carried himself with a charismatic air of confidence which, on other men, could easily have been perceived as arrogance. But Kenobi was always able to temper this with his good humour and dignified manner.

Now, he looks downtrodden, smaller, as if he's been on Tatooine so long that the years have started to grind him into the sand. His once well kempt hair and beard are scruffy and his dirty, torn clothes are little more than rags.

You are suddenly struck by the idea that he might not want you to see him like this. Then, you think about what happened to the Jedi Order and the rumoured purge said to have been commanded by the Emperor himself.

Obi-Wan must be in exile or in hiding. Just like you.

With this revelation, you are paralysed by indecision. By the time you come to the realisation that you can't let this chance to reunite with him slip away, he is already gone.

***************************************************

30 years ago

The Republic have sent a diplomatic envoy to Vitis to discuss with leading politicians from the surrounding worlds the increasing Separatist pressure on the system's trade routes. The delegation of two Jedi, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his young apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, arrive at the Vitisian royal citadel early in the morning.

Although you really think you should be sitting at the table with the other delegates, you've reluctantly agreed with the wishes of your parents, the King and Queen, to show Obi-Wan the palace grounds and some of the countryside beyond.

He's a young man about your age, probably eighteen or nineteen. Upon first introduction, you get the distinct impression that he feels like he should be present at the discussions too. But, following a brief period of stilted conversation as you lead him through the palace and out into the lush gardens, it quickly becomes apparent that you and Obi-Wan just click. Any interest in trade or commerce is soon forgotten by both of you.

When he speaks, his pronunciation is clipped and proper, but his voice is full of a charming vitality. He has a graceful, purposeful physicality and moves his body with a self-assuredness many young men his age don't seem to possess quite yet. And he's handsome. He has an open, honest face with well-proportioned features, adored with two impossibly bright blue eyes. He has sandy coloured hair which, apart from a small pony tail at the back of his head and a long, thin braid that runs down behind his ear and to his chest, is cropped short.

As you walk through Vitis's lush, green surroundings together, the conversations flows easily. You notice that he has a perpetual, good-natured smirk on his face, as if he constantly has an amusing quip on the tip of his tongue. Sometimes he speaks these out loud and his blue eyes twinkle with mischief.

His little barbs are never unkind. In fact, you find it refreshing, the way he makes you think on your feet in an effort to fire out your own witty retorts.

One time, you're too slow to think of anything clever to say, so all you can think to do is to pull, gently, at the strange braid affixed to the side of his head.

"What's this?"

What's what?" He asks with mock ignorance, and you shove him playfully.

"It's my Padawan braid," he explains, "It signifies that I'm not yet a Jedi. Once I've completed the trials, I'll cut it off as part of the ceremony when I become a Knight."

"Oh," you say, faltering.

It all sounds rather meaningful and symbolic.

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have..."

He smiles reassuringly.

"It's ok, I have a bad habit of tugging at it myself when I'm nervous."

Hours have passed and you've wandered all the way through the grounds as far as the great lake before either of you notice the time. You take the short cut back through the woods and past the gargantuan Whispering Tree, which stands sentinel like a great, leafy guardian on the border of the royal forest.

Obi-Wan stops to admire the tree, his eyes following its massive trunk and he cranes his neck in a futile attempt to try and get a glimpse of the top as it disappears into the canopy. The tree is putting on a magnificent show today. Its peculiar white leaves are dazzling in the sunlight and the pale silver bark shines like precious metal.

"What is it?" he asks, his voice filled with awe, "I've never seen a tree like it."

"It's called the Whispering Tree because of the noise it makes in the wind. It sounds like someone speaking. It's the only one left of its kind - a white Vitisian Birch. Traditionally, first born royal daughters are charged with its care," you run a hand against the smooth bark fondly," and that happens to be me."

Obi-Wan smiles almost absent-mindedly as he presses his palm against the tree and closes his eyes.

"Are you talking to it? Using the Force?" You ask, excitedly, "What's it saying?"

"That's not how it works," he chuckles, but he stops immediately as he sees your cheeks redden and realises that you're embarrassed.

"Uh, but if it could talk," he continues, earnestly, "It would say that it feels very lucky to have someone like you to care for it."

You beam widely at him and, unable to stop yourself, you lean in and plant an impulsive kiss on his lips. At first, he stiffens, his eyes wide in surprise, but then he seems to melt into you and you feel a thrill of excitement course through you as his lips start to move against yours.

"Obi-Wan!" A stern voice makes you both jump and you leap away from each other as if you've been electrocuted.

The tall figure of Obi-Wan's mentor is striding towards where you are standing at the tree line, his Jedi robes and long silver hair billowing in the breeze together making him seem even bigger and more imposing.

"Master Qui-Gon..."

"You were supposed to escort the Princess to dinner an hour ago!"

"I know, Master, I'm sorry..."

Obi-Wan starts to explain, but Qui-Gon Jinn cuts him off abruptly.

"I don't want to hear it."

Side by side, you and Obi-Wan traipse silently back to the palace behind Master Jinn. You find yourself having to scurry to keep up with his long strides, but Obi-Wan appears to be used to it.

He looks rather crestfallen following Qui-Gon's admonishment, and you reach out to touch the back of his hand lightly with your own. At first, he doesn't look at you, instead just allowing the corners of his mouth to lift slightly as he runs his knuckles back and forth against your own.

Then, you exchange a sheepish, secret smile, behind Master Jinn's back, before breaking the touch and you both return your gaze to the ground with suitably chastised expressions.

--------------------------------------------------------

It becomes apparent over dinner that Master Jinn, mercifully, has not informed your parents of your little indiscretion with Obi-Wan. You don't know what story he has concocted to explain your tardiness, but you are grateful for it.

Over the course of the evening, as you observe him, you realise that Qui-Gon Jinn is a kind man. Although he appears slightly terse with Obi-Wan to begin with, his manner softens as time goes on and to you, the relationship between the two Jedi seems almost akin to that of father and son.

Although you still feel a guilty, watching the two Jedi helps soothe your worries that Obi-Wan might face some severe reprimand on account of your actions.

Soon, it is time to see the guests off and the Jedi delegation is last to leave. You take advantage of the long conversation Master Jinn and your father apparently couldn't possibly have finished over dinner to say goodbye to Obi-Wan.

"I'm sorry, did you get in trouble?" You say quickly and quietly into his ear as you give him a formal, chaste kiss farewell on the cheek. "Yes, but it was worth it," he whispers back and a wide, boyish grin spreads across his face as he pulls away.

You can't do anything other than return it, and you look at each other for just a moment longer before he gives you a courteous nod of his head.

"Goodbye, Princess."

"Goodbye, Obi-Wan."

********************************************************

Now

You next see Obi-Wan a few weeks after your first glimpse of him at the market.

You almost approach him this time, but again, something holds you back.

He is heading towards Mos Eisley's space port and he has a more purposeful stride to his walk than when you last saw him.

Yet it's still not the walk of the composed, dignified man you once knew. In fact, his sense of urgency seems alarmingly close to panic.

Presumably, he is going off-world for some reason. He's not carrying much with him.

You hope he'll be back.

******************************************************** 12 years ago You are arriving on Coruscant, the sprawling city covered planet at the heart of the Galaxy, the seat of the Republic's power. Your father has sent you to make a representation to the Senate to officially declare an end to Vitis's neutrality.

It's not what you or your people want. But the Separatists have been pushing in on Vitisian interests on all sides in the past several months, disrupting trade routes, placing droid garrisons on nearby worlds, even muscling in on mineral mining operations on several moons within the Vitisian system. There is now really is very little choice. Vitis needs the protection of the Republic.

As you step off your ship, Obi-Wan Kenobi, now a Jedi Master, strides across the landing platform to greet you. You are so high up it gives the impression that the Coruscant sun which hangs large and low and golden in the sky behind you is about to swallow you whole. There is a strong breeze, which catches your hair and sends the flowing train of your green travelling dress snaking into the air like an emerald river.

Obi-Wan has grown into a fine looking man, tall and broad shouldered. He is clothed in traditional Jedi attire, a long brown robe draped elegantly over a cream tunic, fawn pants, and knee length, brown leather boots. His sandy hair is neatly cropped at the back and sides, with more length on the top and he had grown a distinguished golden beard since you last saw him.

"Princess," he says with a warm smile, those piercing blue eyes of his just as full of life as you remember.

"Master Kenobi," you respond, beaming, as he stoops to kiss you on both cheeks.

You'd been concerned that, in the almost two decades since you last saw him, his long years at war in service to the Jedi might have dulled that bright spark you so admired in the young man you once knew.

But you needn't have worried. As he escorts you to your chambers within the accommodation wing of the grand Senate building, you find yourself falling back into easy, cheerful conversation with him, as if no time has passed at all.

Obi-Wan's youthful spirit is still present but it has evolved into a sort of refined, contained exuberance that sits elegantly on him. He is as quick to laughter as ever and the eloquent wit he possessed even as a boy is just as sharp.

----------------------------------------------------------

You are sitting in the lavish parlour of the rooms you've been assigned. It is a fine suite, decorated in bright colours with a beautiful view out across Coruscant's endless cityscape. The arching floor to ceiling windows let in as much natural light at the metropolis' towering spires will allow.

Suddenly, you wonder what it would feel like to kiss Obi-Wan again, now that he has that dashing beard.

"Princess?"

Obi-Wan is standing at the sideboard, holding a steaming teapot and a glass mug out towards you. From the amused, questioning look on his face, you get the distinct impression that he has proffered the beverage more than once.

"I apologise, Master Jedi, I was parsecs away, yes please."

"Oh really?" he asks, conversationally as he drops into the lounge chair opposite you, and hands you the glass vessel across the low, marble table, "Where were you?"

"Well, I was actually thinking about when we first met, do you remember?"

It's not quite a lie.

"How could I forget?" He laughs, "Master Qui-Gon was furious with me."

A shadow of uncharacteristic sadness suddenly passes over his face.

Remembering the rumours you have heard of the violence of Qui-Gon Jinn's death at the hands of a mysterious, fearsome warrior, you put down your tea and reach across the table to take Obi-Wan's hands in yours.

"I was so very sorry to hear about Master Jinn, Obi-Wan," you say kindly.

"Thank you, it was a long time ago now."

He smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He squeezes your hands gently before he stands up.

"I'll let you get settled."

Obi-Wan makes for the door and as he reaches for the handle, he turns and grins at you disarmingly.

"It really is very good to see you again, Princess."

----------------------------------------------------

You had only planned to stay on Coruscant for a week. However, politics being as they are, you have ended up staying for much longer.

One day, during a gap in the Senate proceedings, Obi-Wan takes you to visit the magnificent Jedi Temple. He wants to show you the terraced garden, knowing that you are missing the greenery of Vitis.

It is a paradise. You can't believe that at the centre of this endless cityscape is this bubble of serenity. The variety of plants that are grown here, the vibrancy of the colours, the wonderful aroma of a hundred different blossoms all intermingled - it makes you giddy.

You and Obi-Wan stay in the gardens for hours strolling and conversing and sitting together, then strolling some more.

"Strange how so many years have gone by yet I feel as if no time at all has passed between us," you say plainly as soon as the thought pops into your head.

You don't mean it to sound quite so romantic, but then you realise you really don't mind if that's how Obi-Wan choses to interpret it.

"I feel the same," he agrees and you are surprised to see a hint of bashfulness in the smile he offers.

You allow the back of your hand to graze against his. He turns his head and raises his eyebrows at you, an amused smirk of recognition on his face. He runs his knuckles along yours as he once did so many years ago.

Unlike then, Obi-Wan allows his hand to stay resting against yours this time and you walk like that, not quite hand in hand, through the vast gardens of the Temple long after the sun starts to set and the descent of the cool, evening air releases the sweet, heady scent of Coruscanti night blossoms all around you.

-----------------------------------------------------

The month you have spent on Coruscant has been stressful, busy, and filled with difficult negotiations and decisions which weigh heavily upon on you. Your father is in ailing health, ever since the death of your mother, and you know that soon you will be Queen. It is not a thought you relish, but now, at least, you know that when you take the oath to serve your people for the rest of your life as sovereign, you will be able to do so knowing you can hold your own on their behalf in the Rancor's den of the Republic Senate.

Yet, aside from all the worry, this has also been one of the happiest times of your life. When you are not working, and when he is not galivanting off-world on some Jedi business or another, you have spent every moment you can spare with Obi-Wan.

When the time finally comes to leave Coruscant, Obi-Wan volunteers to escort you back to Vitis. You'd sent Paltrum home weeks ago, poor old sod. City air has never agreed with him and you just knew his wife, Ina, would be worried sick about him.

As you finally land back on your home world, it is amid thunder and lightning. It is perhaps the most violent storm you've seen on Vitis in a decade.

You almost can't believe it when you and Obi-Wan step off the ship and see Old Paltrum soaked through, standing sentry at the palace doors.

"Paltrum, get inside, for the love of the Maker!" You scold the ancient Captain as you approach.

Obi-Wan is holding his cloak over your head in a valiant effort to keep you dry, but it is making not one bit of difference and you can feel the water seeping through your travelling clothes and into your bones.

"It's always been my job to watch for you, your Highness, I'm not about to stop now," Paltrum responds indignantly and you feel a pang of guilt for your rather patronising tone.

"I know, thank you, Captain," and you have to shout over the roar of the wind and the lashing rain, "It's late. I'll see my father in the morning, don't disturb him."

"As you wish, my lady," Paltrum says with a gracious nod, and you stifle a laugh as a deluge of water floods off the peak of his cap with the motion.

The Captain turns to Obi-Wan as he opens the huge, ornate doors to let you through.

"Master Kenobi, there are guest quarters ready for you in the east wing."

------------------------------------------------------------

Obi-Wan does not go to the east wing. Instead, you lead him towards your own chambers. Someone, thankfully, has lit a fire in your sitting room and you both sit cross-legged on the rug on the floor as close as is possible next to the roaring flames.

You've each taken off your sodden outerwear. If possible, Obi-Wan looks even more dashing wet through, his light undershirt clinging to his muscled torso underneath.

Neither of you have spoken since you sat down and as you both watch the flames from the fire reflect in the other's eyes, a tension-filled silence fills the room and sets your heart racing until you think it might burst.

When you can bear it no longer and you see no point in prolonging further pretence, you grab Obi-Wan by the front of his shirt and pull him into a kiss. It is not like your first, so many years ago. This is a deep and passionate embrace, full of desire. He responds immediately to your touch this time, his lips crashing almost roughly against yours.

The Jedi's hands are round your waist, at the nape of your neck, the small of your back, tangled up in your hair, seemingly all at once. You start to unbutton the fastenings on his shirt, tearing at them with one hand, while the other travels urgently down his chest towards his abdomen.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan leaps to his feet and turns his back to you, his broad shoulders rising and falling rapidly. As you've seen him do so often in recent weeks, he brings a hand to his face and rubs his beard. You think this new habit has probably replaced the old one of tugging on his Padawan braid.

"Have I upset you?" you ask quietly, the sting of confusion and rejection, worrying its way under your skin.

"No, Princess," his voice is an earnest whisper as he sits back down in front of you, grasping your hands in his, "Never."

"I still dream of that kiss we shared all those years ago," he admits suddenly, his voice low and full of longing.

Obi-Wan cups your face gently in his hands and looks at you, brows furrowed with emotion, his gaze penetrating right through your soul and setting it aflame.

"Now, seeing you again after all these years, I dream of what it would be like to hold you, to share your life, to....share your bed. These past weeks, I have yearned for you, you must know that."

Your foreheads are touching now, your nose presses into his face, and your fingers are suddenly entwined in his wet, golden hair. You can feel his heart raging against his chest as if it is fighting to escape, just as your own is.

"Obi-Wan..." you say, open-mouthed against his cheek, breathless with need for him.

He closes his eyes and brushes his lips against yours, but he doesn't quite allow himself to kiss you. Instead, after a moment of breathing each other in and out, he pulls away gently.

"But that's all they are," his voice has returned to it's usual refined timbre, "I'm sorry, but they are just dreams. It's all I can allow them to be."

His words are like a thousand tiny knives to your heart and you can't help feeling how cruel it was of him to give you hope and then tear it away like that. You stand up sharply and walk to the window, gazing out onto the storm raging across Vitis, a mere spring shower compared to the tumult now roiling within you.

"You must understand, I have pledged my life to the Jedi Order..."

"You were a child when you made that pledge..." you scoff and you despise the bitterness in your own voice.

He walks across the room to join you and puts his hand on your shoulder.

"All the same. It is made. And now we are at war. I have obligations, I have responsibilities to the Order and to the Republic"

You turn to him and place your hands on his broad chest. His heartbeat has slowed and you know you are losing him. It's like he's flicked some internal switch and raised a barrier between you.

"Then let us have each other, just this once," you whisper urgently, emboldened by desire and the fear that this chance to love him as you've always wanted is slipping away forever.

Obi-Wan touches your face and smiles sadly.

"If we did, I would never be able to leave you again, not for a single moment. I would be your prisoner forever."

"Then stay," you plead through tears, even though you already know his answer, "Stay with me."

"I can't."

***********************************************

Now

Obi-Wan Kenobi is sitting on a wall in Mos Eisley's market place. You are pleased to see that he looks much more like his old self. His head is held high and there is a look of calm on his handsome face. The clothes he is wearing are much neater than before, almost reminiscent of his old Jedi robes, and he has tidied up his hair and beard.

You walk towards him, but he doesn't notice you. You don't say his name. Instead, you quietly sit down next to him and let the back of your hand rest against his. You feel the strong tendons there tense.

He doesn't look at you. His head drops, and his eyes close as if he couldn't stand for it not to be you. Lightly, he moves his hand so that his knuckles rub gently against yours.

"Hello old friend," you say.

"Princess."

The use of your old title sounds natural and right on his tongue and you hope he never stops using it.

Obi-Wan finally looks up at you and his eyes, still dazzling shards of icy blue, gleam with tears. You reach out and touch his face, his stubble pleasantly rough under your hand. You take in the lines around his eyes, deeper now, and the distinguished flecks of silver in his beard and hair. The sight of him is more beautiful, more familiar to you than you can bear.

"You still look the same," you say, your voice shaking slightly.

He smiles and turns his face to gently kiss the heel of your palm that is resting against his cheek.

"And you are more radiant than ever."

He helps you take down your market stall early for the day and you take him into your home where you speak for hours in hushed tones and tell each other everything of your lives in the years since you were last together.

Then, as the twin suns of Tatooine set behind your little domed house in the sand, you lead him to your bed.

----------------------------------------------------

You are curled up on your side against Obi-Wan's solid, warm chest. For the first time in years you feel safe, entwined in his strong arms, listening to the steady, sonorous rhythm of his heartbeat.

"I have always loved you," he whispers tenderly in your ear, tucking away a stray lock of hair back from your cheek.

"And I you," you say and you mean it.

Still, you can't help but smile sadly as you think of the last time you saw him that fateful night of the storm of Vitis before everything fell apart.

"But of course, you already knew that," you add.

"I am sorry, truly."

"Obi-Wan..." you start to interrupt, worried that your words sounded resentful.

"For all the wasted years," he continues.

He needs to say this, you realise. So you let him.

"If I'd known how the Republic would fall, how the Jedi Order would fail, how the Empire... Well, I never would have denied us this."

He brings his lips to your shoulder and traces a trail of kisses down your arm. His beard tickles.

"No one could have known, Obi-Wan. You did what you thought was right at the time. We all did. And now here we are together again. We made it back to each other. Two old relics of a past age."

"Oh come now, we're not that old," he quips, and you are happy to hear that his tone has lightened again.

You grin mischievously and wriggle out of his arms to push him down onto his back and roll on top of him.

"Prove it," you whisper, as you come to rest on his abdomen and lean down to kiss him on the nose.

His eyes widen in surprise and then in boyish delight as he grasps you firmly by your hips. "Again?!" he laughs and he throws his head back in mirth at his own joke, his eyes squeezing shut so that they crinkle beautifully at the corners.

It is a joyful, youthful, transcendental sound and suddenly, you are back under the Whispering Tree in the green meadows of Vitis with a young Jedi, an unwritten future together stretching out endlessly in front of you.

[din-miller]

Aay'han

Pairing: Tech x Jedi!Reader (gn)

Word count: 312

Summary: Comfortember day thirteen: baking

Warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort, Jedi reader, post order 66, all of us being sentimental over two droids, gender neutral reader

“What is that?”

You looked back, spotting Tech leaning against the countertop, dressed in his armour from the waste below, his blacks framing his chest. You smiled and waved him over, “Cookies!”

Tech inspected the treats, “They are shaped like droids.”

You hummed, hip checking him so you could reach the blue icing bag, “R2D2. Master Skywalker’s astromech droid. The little tin can was certainly a charmer but he had a nasty eye for trouble.”

Tech frowned, brows pinched in the way he does whenever he can’t fully comprehend certain emotions and attachments, especially to nonhuman life forms, “You speak highly of this droid.”

“He was family.” You stated plainly like the nonchalantly manner of speech could chase away the whirlwind of emotions.

“You miss him.”

“I miss all of them,” You admitted quietly, a lump forming in the back of your throat. You don’t often talk about your life before Order 66, “I wasn’t with the 501st very long but they were my people.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Spray the pan for me?” You asked, gesturing to the empty pan on your left, “I want to make another batch for Rex, he’d get a kick out of them. Rex ‘hated’ that droid.”

Tech grabbed the spray and did as directed, then slid behind you to press himself against your back, arms looping under yours to interlock over your stomach, “I want to know more about this R2D2.”

“Of course,” You leaned back into his warmth and comfort, “Full warning, it’s a whole saga...”

Tech hugged you even closer, lips pressing a kiss to your temple, “I am excited to hear it, cyar’ika.”

You melted into his embrace, comfortable and content as you continued speaking knowing Tech is latching onto every word you spoke, “So R2 had this companion, a protocol droid named C3PO who was annoyingly fussy and worry-prone–,”

[kiss-me-muchoo]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 || 𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐧 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

part one: the albatross

part two: little old her

part three: no name yet

Summary_ As the force awakens, what you know as the truth starts to crumble and the sudden change of emotions for Kylo Ren also interfere with your destiny.

Warnings_ age gap? lol (reader 20, Kylo 28), slowburn, ? to almost lovers to enemies to lovers xd, eventual angst, fluff and dramaaa

A/N_ this is exactly how I imagine myself in the Skywalker Saga bye. song recs: the albatross (Taylor Swift) and psycho (EMM).

♪ ♫ my Adam playlist (awful) ✰ index (masterlist/ other works there)

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺ ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺ ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺ ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺ ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺

There was a crack in the glass. A straight line was visible in the glass separating you from the stars. Was it dangerous enough to break the whole thing with pressure? Not your business. You had been part of the First Order long enough to know that by the next days over, that crack was going to be gone. They cared a lot about their surroundings. No wonder why their floors were always shiny and squeaky.

A pair of boots can be heard. You remain looking at the glass. The pair of boots do not sound squeaky against the black floors. These are angry steps, confident and threatening.

“You were expected to lead a division of stormtroopers along Phasma. I was clear enough about meeting you in Jakku” Kylo Ren says through his well-known modulated voice. You can hear his breathing, he’s angry.

In four years of knowing him, you got used to his terrible anger control. So you remained calm. Or at least tried to do so.

“And you knew that I had an important dinner in Canto Bight. Supreme Leader Snoke said you were notified of my departure.” You respect him, a lot. But ever since you were saved by The First Order at eleven years old, Snoke told you to cover your face until you were old enough to show your face to the galaxy. Whatever that meant, you obeyed him. And refused to turn around and face the masked man. On rare occasions, you had seen his face, as well for him. It was a weird dynamic.

“Supreme Leader Snoke might have the last word, but you always come and report to me first, not him.” You sigh, tired of never being able to get a compliment from him. Four years, and you feel like time has slowly passed. You have so much to give, but nothing to rely on that thought.

“This is the last time I want to hear about you not following my command. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Master Ren.”

There’s more. You already know that little pause he tends to make before adding more.

“Dinner is over, get changed and ready. The map to Skywalker is in a droid, it should be back with us soon.”

He leaves and you finally turn, looking at his tall and imposing figure walking away. Then you look down, checking at your dress, all black and covering you. You liked feeling dressed up, wearing heels, using exotic makeup, and letting your hair free. But you weren’t a fancy woman of Canto Bight, you were a force user with a military ranking in The First Order. You were a young woman who knew nothing other than lies, which remained unknown to you. But not for so long…

…

You look at General Hux and your master arguing once again. The BB unit droid being unable to be found was transforming into a big issue for everyone. You hadn’t had time to train, you just looked at your superiors sending daggers through each other’s eyes. When Ren left, you walked towards Hux. You notice how tense and tired he is, holding his serious and professional facade as long as he can.

“How can you stand him after all this time? I’ve been here longer than him, but I haven’t known him long enough like you” The red-haired man makes a face of disgust at your words.

“I’ve learned to not care enough, I just care about Snoke preferring my techniques rather than his. After all, he is just the Supreme Leader’s puppet” You frown, but you then remember. Snoke took Ben Solo under his wing, there was no Kylo Ren before. You were still eleven when he joined, he had killed the original leader of the knights of Ren and everyone started fearing him. Except for Hux who was just starting to lead his father’s legacy at the time.

“Do you think I’m a puppet as well?” Hux shrugs, then looks at you. He has known you since you were a teenager and he was a young adult. For some reason, he knows you very well.

“I cannot tell what you are to Snoke. But you are Ren’s albatross” he says, making you smile. You avoided causing trouble, but it was evident that all you did was annoy your master, instead of bonding with him like you wanted. Because Phasma was not mean to you, Hux was something like a friend, but you wanted to not feel alone. You wanted to feel the warmth of a bond.

“All I want is from him is to not make me feel like a burden”

“Stop caring about what he thinks. Your goal should be to prove yourself to Snoke”

Maybe he’s right.

…

Hux's advice keeps coming back to your thoughts. You shut your thoughts to your master, who is sitting beside you, piloting a ship.

“Was the next step in my training necessary to be outside of the Starkiller base?” Later that day, Ren and you met with Snoke. His hologram assured you were ready to take another step in your training. Then your master literally dragged you to a ship and quietly started a route unknown to you.

“Yes.” He says uninterested, mask fixated on the control of the ship.

“Oh.”

He takes a small glimpse of you. Your black attire partially covers your face with a delicate transparent fabric, it was difficult to see if he had given you bruises over the years of training. You have sad eyes, and he can’t help but feel a little like the cause of it. He doesn’t hate you like you believe. It just was so fucking difficult to have someone under his mentorship when Kylo Ren himself still felt like his training wasn’t over.

“Can you still see your surroundings if you cover your eyes with that thing?” He suddenly asks, making you frown in confusion.

“Uhh… yes. Why?”

“It’ll be better if you cover your whole face when we get to our destination?” He made you believe it was to be in disguise but actually, it was because he was taking you to a place that was used by ancient Jedis. Snoke couldn’t know where the mission happened, just that it was completed. He was taken there by his father when he was a kid. Ren knew he shouldn't be there, but something from the place was calling him.

“Oh, okay.” You limit yourself to say. He nods and you know you are in Dantooine once he enters the planet. There is an orange sunset covering the empty land. It was only a field that you saw after your master carefully and perfectly landed the ship.

“Master Ren, this is beautiful.” You say as soon as your boots touch the yellow grass, breathing the fresh and almost pure air.

“This isn’t the reason why I brought you here”

He can see some strands of your hair flying around the edges of the fabric covering your face. He can sense you are in a state of pure relaxation. It surprises him to see you like this. Even he feels… peace?

“Aren’t we gonna train here?” He sighs under his helmet.

“Follow me.” He guides you towards the little mountain. It’s a simple hike. At the top, there’s a curve and the entrance of a cave. He gestures for you to walk inside. It confuses you enough to frown and stop moving.

“You want me to go in?” You just know he is rolling his eyes inside the helmet.

“Correct. You go alone and pick a crystal. Remember… you’ll know once it’s calling you” You can’t hide your surprise. But knowing who your master is, you just nod, entering the cave. The day you would build your lightsaber was coming, but it shocked you to know it was already happening.

As soon as you start venturing inside the cave, some crystals start sparkling in blue, yellow, dark green, purple, and indigo. The force feels incredibly strong inside the cave. And you know that isn’t how the dark side feels. It was peace, balance, order. Some blue crystals shine brighter than others. But finally, one starts pulling you towards it. It’s a bright green, like lime and mint mixed. It was beautiful, it transmitted a feeling of wisdom. Your hand touched it, and a shiver ran through your spine. The voice of a man clearly echoed suddenly.

The light is closer than you know, y/n.

You pulled the crystal quickly and looked around, the cave became dark, as all the crystals stopped shining, except for the one in your hands.

That wasn’t the voice of Ren. Perhaps it was just the cave. But it felt very personal. Almost like the voice knew you.

When you get out of the cave, it’s almost dark. What you thought it was a couple of minutes had actually been almost an hour. And Ren is there, holding his helmet in his hand. His face takes you aback. Sometimes you forget he is also a human like you.

He glares at you and starts looking, probably for the crystal. So you show it to him.

You know what's next, and honestly, you weren’t ready.

“This is where I suppose I have to make it bleed” Kylo almost wants you to keep the crystal-like it is, it was certainly beautiful. And your happiness was resulting infectious.

“Do it when you’re alone. It’s not easy to do so, you need to concentrate…”

“And let the pain take over me, I know, master,” you say, almost angry at him suddenly. You just hated the process. It was enough to feel alone already.

“I can help you… If you want.” The fabric in your face had been brushed aside, showing most of your features. Ren sees each mole, the dryness in your lips, the hope in your eyes. And he understood you just wanted someone to bond with. He felt it a while ago, a little after you two officially met and started working together, but he wasn’t just ready to share anything of himself. Yet, when you stare at his full lips, sad eyes, and non-expressive face, he knows he can have a potential ally staring at him in that empty valley.

“I would like that…” he nods, starting to go down the little mountain once again.

“Wait, master Ren” he turns to face you.

“When I touched the crystal, I heard a voice, it was a man. I thought it was the cave, but it just felt weird, like it was meant to be for me”

“What did the voice say?” He asks you to stay quiet. He senses you are unsure whether to tell him or not. He walks back again, staying just inches away from you.

“You can tell me…” he meant it, staring through your lashes, he expects your answer.

“That…that the light was closer than I know” you admit looking at the hem of his black robes.

“I’ve felt it too, a pull towards the light” his words leave you shocked. You gulp, blinking a few times before staring at his brown eyes again.

“We can’t fail…” the way you said, it made him feel like… he wasn’t alone.

…

The room is cold, and dark and has a peculiar smell of humid rocks. Snoke appears in a hologram form, sitting on a throne that makes him look impossibly taller.

“Dear child, What is it that has your thoughts running unstable?” His raspy voice echoes everywhere, you focus on his face, trying to see anything, but Snoke has never shown signs of emotion.

“We haven’t received any news from the ambush in Takodana…” Your voice trembles a little bit, and Snoke notices it.

“You are quickly caring too much for your master suddenly”

Busted.

“I want to care for him… and as much as I hate to admit it, I want him to care for me” you accept, looking down, embarrassed.

“But of course, you need to build a connection with your master. Is there anything conflicting with you?” You certainly don’t want to tell him about the incident in the cave. But you know the supreme leader must’ve already sensed it.

“When I was searching for the crystal for my lightsaber, a voice called me, saying that light was closer than I knew. Supreme leader… What could that possibly mean?”

“When I found you, my dear child, your home was already a living hell. But the lands where you came from were once filled with so much light. Your roots will always call you, it is in yourself to keep being on the right path” It might have been a comment, but it felt like a threat. A warning that you had to remain faithful to the dark side.

“Go and find your master. Gain his trust and guide each other towards your mutual goal; finding Skywalker and destroying the hope of the Jedi.” You nod, lowering your head as his hologram disappears.

In the silence of that empty room, you meditate on what just happened.

Your inner voice was clear; Snoke was keeping some details to himself. You never thought of your past. You lounged a family because you knew you had one, but… it didn’t matter anymore. Only that the curiosity was inevitably growing.

Quietly you leave the room. The hallways of the base are filled with troopers walking and moving in different directions.

They came back from Takodana.

You start walking faster, pacing till you stumble upon a dark tall known figure. Kylo Ren looked incredibly intimidating with the mask and hood together. He gestures to you to go inside an empty planning room and you open the door. He was looking for you too.

He follows quietly, closing the same door. His hands remove his helmet and place it on a table. You are just analyzing each movement he does.

“Did you get the map?” you ask straight to the point. Ren actually wanted to ask if you had finished building your saber. But you had other questions.

“In a certain way, yes.” You cross your arms, confused at him.

“Can you be more specific?”

“The scavenger, she has seen the map.” you huff in disbelief.

“What? You brought a dirty scavenger instead of the droid?” his face covered in moles sighs, quickly losing patience, you can tell.

“I’ll take the map from her”

“Don’t underestimate that girl. She has been able to get away so far, she might be more dangerous than we thought” he rolls his eyes.

“Stop it.”

“This is nonsense. We were supposed to have the actual map with us and-“

“ENOUGH!” He yells, his hand rises and you are quick to suppress his use of the force, making him bend half of a chair that was near.

Shocked, you realize he was going to choke you. Anger quickly builds up, and Hux’s advice rings into your head; Stop caring about what he thinks. Your goal should be to prove yourself to Snoke.

“You are my master but I will never be tired to remind everyone I’ve been here long enough to know what is convenient for us and what isn’t. You just might have invited the whole Resistance to the base and it won’t be my fault, Master Ren.” You push past him and you leave the room slamming the door. You take off the fabric in your face out of anger.

Some minutes pass and you are still mad. He was such an asshole. Always giving you the cold shoulder instead of listening to you. You were younger, but you had almost the same training from Snoke as him. Ren was difficult and very stubborn. Whoever was the famous scavenger, you could feel she was going to be a problem.

Out of nowhere Phasma appears, holding a blaster and looking down at you.

“Lieutenant y/n, your command is required by General Hux” You nod, calming yourself as you start walking with the woman. You pass near the throne room and you are able to hear Snoke and Kylo’s voices. You stop Phasma and she seems taken aback, but soon you tell her to hear and she relaxes.

“We’re going to get caught” she whispers. The woman was known to be on her business and on no one else’s.

“I’ll be quick” you whisper back.

Then Snoke starts saying Kylo is going weak. He reminds your master about his father; the infamous Han Solo. That the scavenger resisted him and that he isn’t putting your training on his priorities.

You hear Kylo say he always thinks back on you. And you know you shouldn’t have blushed or felt your heart racing, but you did. He made it sound like he cared for you.

“There are many mysteries surrounding us that she must not know,” Snoke says and it triggers you. Thankfully Phasma pulls you away and forces you to keep walking. Probably just in time so Kylo wouldn’t see you overhearing.

Snoke isn’t telling you everything. Ren knows something too.

“Everyone heard your argument with Commander Ren,” Phasma says teasing, but also commenting to warn you. It didn’t surprise you that the argument was loud. Any argument with Kylo ends up being in the news of the First Order. Also, Phasma doesn’t say anything about the conversation you two just overheard.

“I’m getting tired of being his apprentice. I want to succeed by myself, not by being his shadow.”

“Your time will come. A little treason wouldn’t hurt. Everyone here is dying to escalate in ranking” she admits. You look at her chrome helmet with curiosity.

“You seem happy with your position forever”

“I am.” Phasma must’ve been smiling under the helmet.

She disappears as soon as you both reach the command center.

Hux is there, along with other officials who monitor the aftermath of the weapon that had just attacked the Republic.

“The girl escaped and Ren must be angrier than ever,” the red-haired man says looking straight at you, with his hands behind his back.

“She is force sensitive…” Hux nods.

“I knew this was bad. I told Master Ren, but he didn’t listen…” An anxious feeling starts creeping into your stomach.

“Yes. And thanks to his little outburst and obsession with the girl, we are closely monitoring if we have a sudden attack from the Rebels” Once again, you sigh.

The feeling in your stomach grows, making you frown. Hux also frowns, caressing your shoulder.

“Are you alright?” You feel a sudden pain in your chest and you describe it. It was Kylo, someone he loved who died. It had to be his father or mother.

“Something's off, I can feel it” you manage to say. At the same time, a loud explosion is heard, the floor is assaulted by a little tremor and alarms start sounding.

You exchange worried looks with Hux and both run to see what just happened.

The chaos quickly envelops the Starkiller base, there are troopers moving everywhere, officers getting in and out to report things to you and Hux. And still, you are only thinking about your master. Was he safe?

Your guts were telling you he wasn’t safe.

With the invasion of the Rebels, everything was getting trickier.

“We need to evacuate. The base is about to collapse, lava is going to consume the surroundings at any time” Hux says hurriedly.

“I won’t leave without Ren. I will go for him!” before you can leave, the man grabs your forearm.

“Be quick, a boarding ship will be waiting for you both… but not for long” You nod, offering a serious smile before leaving.

The base was enormous, you had no idea where could Ren be. Each step feels unsure because you don’t know where you’re going, you try to concentrate but the constant explosions and screams from people entering in panic don’t help at all.

Master Ren, please, guide me towards you, you repeat in your head, hoping he’d hear.

Through the wide crystals, you can see TIEs and X-Wings flying around, and you grow impatient.

You stop when another tremor comes. Holding onto a wall, you close your eyes, trying to reach for Ren one last time.

You call him. Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t want your help, or if he’s mad at you for yelling, you just know you don’t want to leave the base without him.

Snow, droplets of blood in the white snow. The scream of a woman and the sound of sabers colliding.

He answered.

…

The lava makes you hurry, time is running out. The snow is fresh, it makes your boots sink and turn your steps slower. The beating of your heart grows as you distantly see a purple light, created by a blue and a red lightsaber.

They don’t notice you yet, but you are able to see a man unconscious near the woman fighting your master; the scavenger.

She’s skilled, fearless and you have to admit it impressed you. But the thought is quickly gone when you arrive, witnessing how the woman sliced your master’s face.

“KYLO!” You scream in horror when he falls, dropping his saber. The woman turns to look at you and you send her flying, making her skull collide against a rock. You run towards the man and kneel beside him.

His face was covered in blood, it was a deep wound, part of his attire was ripped, and you could see his shoulder bleeding.

“I’m here… I’m here.” Your desperate attempts to make him gain stability fail. But he slowly blinks, holding onto your hip to clear his vision and stop feeling like everything is spinning. His face hurts, his head pulses and he feels on the verge of fainting. But he’s able to clearly see your face. You came to help him.

“I’m not leaving without you.” You say touching his chin, trying to calm him.

A lightsaber ignites and you know the scavenger was still there. Your little moment of vulnerability was enough to make her recover.

You stand, turning to face her. She looks pissed, desperate to run, but so you are.

You grab your freshly made lightsaber. It’s dark chrome and with tiny details that resemble constellations and stars. And it’s cold, but soon turns warm when you ignite it, revealing a red double-sided saber.

The scavenger runs, confident that she will attack and target you. But you’re quick, you remember Kylo saying you had the ability to use your reflects too quickly.

The double sides of your weapon trigger the young woman, who is already tired. You can see how she huffs annoyed. But you take that to your advantage. You keep hitting her blue saber until she starts giving up. She is conflicted, she is a nobody, and you can feel how alone she has been.

Her weaknesses are your strength, and in the blink of an eye, you have burned her leg, making her scream and fall. And before you can do anything, a trail of lava appears, and the whole base is about to disappear. The scavenger gives one last curious look before running away. And finally giving you time to run back to Kylo, who is still breathing and wants to fall unconscious.

“Stay awake, hold onto me. We need to get to the boarding ship to leave” he seems to have nodded, his strong arms feel heavy and weak. It’s difficult to walk with his massive weight relying most of it on you.

With each step, he keeps leaving a little trail of blood. You need to hurry, the snow is slowly melting, drenching your boots.

Kylo is in shock, he tries to process everything but he can’t, because it isn’t over, he needs to get to that ship. But somehow, he holds onto you. He feels slightly better knowing that you came for him. That you are guiding him through the woods.

To him, the sudden change of getting closer to you was abrupt. He wasn’t used to talking much or looking out for someone. Not even with his knights.

He succeeded for a long time having no issues with you. But now, you dragged his body into the ship, his body lying and a droid immediately checking him. He hears distant voices and through blurred vision, he sees you talking with Hux.

He overheard the annoying General saying how much of a trouble you were for him. You started twisting his thoughts, the need to feel closer to you, the attraction towards the light. Hux was right.

You were Kylo Ren’s albatross.

_______________________________________________

To keep going with this mini series or not lol

[dalekofchaos]

I think if I had any issues with GOW:Ragnarok is 5 things.

No mention that Thor killed his mother. In GOW 2018, Mimir tells the tale of Fjörgyn, Thor's mother and one of Odin's great loves. It is implied that Thor killed her. It would give depth to why Odin is abusive towards Thor, his hatred of Atreus, self-loathing(aside from failing his sons) and explain why Faye went nuclear against Thor. Also? This would give context to why Thor is the way he is.

Odin doesn't use Kratos actions of murdering his family in turning Atreus against Kratos. I'm sure Kratos tells Atreus off screen, but does he? You'd think he would've told Atreus in the last game's ending or somewhere in Ragnarok. As far as we know all he told Atreus is killing Zeus and "I've killed many who were deserving and many who were not" implied, but never said. Kratos telling Freya was an important moment for them to understand each other. I don't think Kratos told him and considering how much of an abusive manipulative gaslighting prick that Odin is, it just felt like a missed opportunity not to have Odin use that to turn Atreus against his father and also a missed opportunity to have Kratos struggle to tell Atreus from his perspective on what he did.

Atreus darker personality never returned. I had this theory that Atreus "We're gods, we can do anything we want" phase would return as his Loki personality. Atreus quest to prevent Kratos' death would lead him down a dark path and lead his Loki personality to return. He would play both sides only to let Asgard burn in Ragnarok. There would be a boss battle between Atreus and his Loki side and Atreus personality would win and remain dominant. What we got was great, but I feel like Atreus' darker personality returning was a missed opportunity.

Kratos and Thor's final fight seemed tame. When I envisioned Kratos and Thor's final battle. I imagined this bombastic battle that would realm shift throughout the Nine Realms and would be the climax of Ragnarok. What we got was great. but I strongly feel like their final fight was underwhelming and it could've been more. I get the game was trying to show Thor is more than what the lore of the Norse saga and Ragnarok as a whole is showing us, but Kratos and Thor's final fight SHOULD HAVE been more.

Killing off Thor and Odin too soon. To me it's unsatisfying that Odin and Thor are killed off so soon. Thor has this great character arc and Odin was built up as this master manipulator and schemer and they die in the second game in this trilogy. Imagine how unsatisfying it would be if Luke Skywalker killed Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back and the Rebels killed the Emperor in the second act of the trilogy. Yeah that would've been so disappointing, wouldn't it? The story they told was great and I trust SMS. But it still feels like to me that they should have done a sort of cliffhanger ending. After Brok is killed, Kratos follows Odin, Thor and Odin kills Kratos. Kratos is sent into the realm into the tear, basically the realm where the dead gods go who cannot come back. He'd see Magni and Modi and Baulder and finally Faye and Faye sends Kratos back. Then it ends with Kratos pledging to lead Ragnarok and burn Asgard. For more in depth to this idea, watch the video down below. Point is I strongly feel like it was a mistake to kill off Odin and Thor in the second act of the Norse trilogy.

Bonus 1:Atreus not even looking into the tear with the mask was just bad. All they had to do was Atreus sees into the void, one minute later he takes the mask off, breaks it and tosses it into the void

Bonus 2. Odin's design. Thor's design is perfect, but part of me feels like he should have had armor

Compared to the stories Mimir told, I imagined Odin looking something like this down below. The story for Odin is great, but imo the final fight should have been more. Like, King of the Aesir should have been more. The contrast between him and Zeus is he is the master manipulator, but Odin in Norse Mythology is the strongest of the gods and this game didn't show it. He had powerful magic to display but it didn't feel like this grand final boss of the Norse saga, like Thor it could have been more.

Bonus 3. The Ragnarok itself is disappointing. Ragnarok was so built up to, but it honestly felt like the mission to actually get Surtr on-side was longer than the mission for Ragnarok. We saw nothing of the actual battle, Fenrir wasn’t there, and we didn’t even see the Army of the Dead! We could've gotten the Elves, army of the dead, the Dwarves lead by Sindri & Durlin, Vanir and even an army of Vikings/Raiders to represent Midgard. But we didn't. Plus in myth, Ragnarok was largely a battle between the Gods and the Jotnar - and yet the latter weren’t even present. I was fully expecting after heading to Muspel that Atreus would tell Kratos about the secret giants with Angrboda; that would have been an element of surprise that Odin didn’t know about! I’d been hoping to fight Thor on the back of Jormungandr or something, and for Fenrir to be involved in fighting Odin. So yeah. The Ragnarok in the game called God Of War:Ragnarok is disappointing.

[the-far-bright-center]

The Prequels completed the saga

"The original idea for Star Wars was one movie about the tragedy of Darth Vader. But as the story grew, it ended up being three movies and the backstory was never explained. I decided it would be important to finish it off and do the backstory because things that I thought would be self-evident about the story, the audience didn't get. Over the 10 years after Return of the Jedi, I realized people misunderstood a lot—such as where Anakin came from. So it was a way of finishing the whole thing off." —George Lucas

Lucas repeatedly says here that the Prequels were his way of 'finishing off' the story that he began telling in the Original Trilogy. This is pretty crucial information, but it is yet another element of Lucas' saga that is continually misunderstood. Even after the Prequels were released, not only did many fans STILL completely miss the point of Anakin/Vader as a character (and the fact that his rise, fall, and redemption was the main plotline of the story), but they also failed to appreciate the various ways in which the Prequels mirrored, complemented, and, most importantly, FINISHED the saga. Nowhere is this completion made more explicit than in the RotS novelization (which was written in consultation with Lucas), which states: "it is already over. Nothing can be done to change it". The novelization was released alongside the film in 2005, and it was specifically intended to refer to the events of the Original Trilogy and the Prequels. Far too many fans these days like to apply that famous line to whatever part of 'Star Wars' they want, and in doing so, treat the Disney-canon and Lucas-canon as though they were interchangeable. They are absolutely not. Lucas' saga—aka, the Skywalker saga—is a complete story constructed as two trilogies that perfectly balance one another, both visually and thematically. Disney's canon, by contrast, is inconsistent, incoherent, and open-ended, not to mention inherently destructive to the integrity of the (original) Skywalker saga. It's disingenuous to try to apply that quote to the current Disney canon, which didn't even exist in 2005 and was not factored into that statement at all. The whole point of the Prequels, and particularly the tragic climax of Revenge of the Sith, was to retroactively conclude the story of the Skywalker saga that began with the Original Trilogy. And what story is that? In Lucas' own words, "it’s a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that’s...the end of the story."

[morganas-pendragons]

Obi-Wan Kenobi in his robes is hot, change my mind

it literally always blows my mind when people tell me they don't like Kenobi. Kenobi, which I have watched the whole way through at least five times since it released and remains to date the best among the Star Wars media besides The Clone Wars and Rebels.

Kenobi, which has Vivian Lyra Blair.

Kenobi, which has Ewan McGregor, who came back to the role after years of being away from it. Plus... have we seen the man?

Kenobi, which jumpstarted Hayden's career again, and gained him the love of the public he deserved to begin with.

And speaking of Hayden.... Kenobi, which gave us literally the most terrifying version of Vader EVER, AND gave us one of the best fight scenes between Obi-Wan and Vader EVER.

Kenobi, which gave us Alderaan and THE ORGANAS. LIKE... COME ON. WHO DOESN'T LOVE JIMMY SMITS.

Kenobi, which gave us Child!Luke. He's so cute. Come on. I love the Skywalker twins, don't get me wrong, but being able to see young Luke was so satisfying.

Kenobi, which gave us the first Live Action Clone appearance since Revenge of the Sith. A live action clone who, by the way, just HAPPENED to COINCIDENTALLY be from the 501st.

Kenobi, which showed us the Inquisitors and the Fortress Inquisitorious we'd only ever seen in Jedi Fallen Order.

Kenobi, which gave us emotionally tortured Obi-Wan dealing with the effects of his PTSD and the choices of his past that haunt him throughout the entire series.

** BONUS: Kenobi, which was the first time I can recall seeing disassociation and recognizing it for the first time in TV... ever,

Kenobi, which is the only piece of Skywalker Saga media not focused on Luke or Anakin, but on Leia.

I could literally keep going. I am ALWAYS baffled when people tell me they didn't like this show. Did we ever watch the same thing????

[david-talks-sw]

An allergy to the Prequels

While I'm putting together a post about the evolution Lucasfilm's transmedia strategies, this part kinda turned into its own thing!

So I'm not sure if anyone else noticed, but, uh... there hasn't been that much Prequel content since the Disney sale, right?

'Couple novels and comics, some episodes... but nothing meaningful.

The more I look into it, the more it feels like a deliberate avoidance to touch on anything Prequel-related - beyond the required quota, that is - to a point where they'd rather tell stories set during periods that are Prequel-adjacent (Dark Times, High Republic) than something set around Episodes I, II and III.

On-screen policy: "pretend they never happened"

I mean, this one's no secret. When The Force Awakens had been announced, with J.J. Abrams at the helm, everyone sighed in relief. "Finally, George Lucas won't keep ruining the franchise."

When Abrams had been announced as the director of Episode VII, I remember this cringey animated video started circulating online, titled "4 Rules To Make Star Wars Great Again" or "Dear JJ Abrams":

“Star Wars isn’t shiny and clean... Star Wars is a western.”

If you ask me, those two things are not mutually exclusive.

'Cause Star Wars has always been both, for many Prequel kids. Both clean and dusty, Coruscant and Tatooine. There was never a disconnect between the Original Trilogy (OT) and the Prequel Trilogy.

Even the documentary The People vs George Lucas shows Prequel-hating fans begrudgingly admit their kids felt all six episodes tied seamlessly.

Abrams, on the other hand, said: "I think [the "Dear JJ" video] was right on." Later on, he also said:

he considered "putting Jar Jar Binks's bones in the desert" on Jakku, somewhere, and

he intentionally made the lightsaber fights "rougher", "primitive" and "more powerful" unlike the fast-paced ones in the Prequels.

Later, we found out he wanted to blow up Coruscant.

It's clear he wasn't a big fan of the Prequels.

But y'know what? Not many fans over 20 were, at the time. And when The Force Awakens came out, most them celebrated it as a wonderful love letter to the OT.

Star Wars is cool again. Mission accomplished 🙌 !

However movies keep coming out, and references to the Prequels - if there are any - are literally just that... references.

Sometimes in the shape of a cameo ("hey look, Genevieve O'Reilly from the Ep. III deleted scenes is playing Mon Mothma again!")

Sometimes in a name (Luke name-dropped "Darth Sidious"!)

But nothing set during the Prequel era, and nothing treating the events that happened in that period as relevant or impactful, beyond subtextual nods.

In fact, the trend of avoiding anything Prequel-related continues as the final film in the Skywalker Saga comes out:

The Rise of Skywalker has a secret Sith society that chants the name "Palpatine" instead of his Sith name "Darth Sidious",

the film pretends the Kaminoans never existed,

and neither TROS nor Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates script even try to bring Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker back on screen. Let that sink in, we're talking about the Chosen One, Skywalker Senior, whose sins caused this whole mess... and his name isn't even uttered once in the final chapter of what Disney dubbed the *Skywalker* Saga (or the entire Sequel trilogy, for that matter).

But hey, The Clone Wars got renewed for one last Season! That's cool right? So many stories had gone unfinished and somehow the animation looks even better than befo--

-- oh. It's not 22 episodes? Only 12?

Four of which had already been shown to us, but hey! We need to set-up the Bad Batch series, so let's shoehorn those episodes in there, and forget Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple or Crystal Crisis.

*sigh* Better than nothing, I guess.

In other mediums: "just not a priority"

Now this is something that I'll explore more in the transmedia post (and purely my interpretation), but the noticeable change between Lucasfilm's transmedia strategy *post-ROTS* and the one post-Disney sale is that:

Before, the games, comics and novels were the main content. After all, Revenge of the Sith had been released, so that was it, for the movies. Thus, a variety of other content was being cranked out to keep the Star Wars franchise relevant. There were comics set 100 years after Episode 6, comics set 25,000 years prior, games set in the Old Republic era, other stories in the New Republic era, novels galore, a couple of parody films and an animated show, The Clone Wars, which sometimes received its own tie-in comics, novels and games.

After the sale and ever since, most of the transmedia products have had only one goal: promoting the films & streaming shows.

So while in 2015 you won't see an abundance of Prequel content... you'll see an avalanche of OT books and comics come out.

Why? Because the heroes of that era will be in the Sequel Trilogy movies. It provided context to the kids who hadn't seen the OT yet, and reintroduced those films to a new generation of fans, while priming them for the Sequels.

A multimedia marketing strategy that ultimately proved successful.

However, it continued even after The Force Awakens came out.

Don't believe me? Compare how many comics there have been set during the Prequel era vs the OT era.

If they make comics about the Prequels, they're limited runs.

Case in point: before the current Yoda series, the best any Disney Prequel-set comic series ever got was 6 issues.

Note: it's worth pointing out that the frequency of mini-series aren't just a Star Wars-specific thing, it's a comic book industry thing. The readership for comics is dwindling, many people are reading scans online, and so no publisher wants to commit to a story that lasts more than 4-6 issues. My problem is: there absolutely would be readership for a Prequel comic series to warrant an extended run instead of a mini-series.

Let's talk books. There have been give or 64 canon novels published since the Disney sale.

Only 11 of them are set during the Prequel era. And even those stories only came out when the planets were aligned.

Almost half of them were released while being a part of some bigger multimedia push.

Example:

Before the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was being released on Disney Plus, we'd had one novel and like two comic stories about him during the Prequels... released between 2012 and end 2021. That's about three pieces of content in almost ten years.

Clearly a low frequency.

Then, when the series is around the corner, two books and a comic story comes out in the space of months, plus an anthology book with an alt cover with his face on it and a comic with a story of him and Anakin in the first issue, all in 2022.

My takeaway: short of there being a film or series that needs to be promoted, you'll rarely get any Prequel comics or books.

And this is OBI-WAN we're talking about. The character who even the Prequel haters love. Imagine how little attention the other ones get.

Gaming-wise, Battlefront had no Prequel content at all (again, 2015 was the year where OT content was shoved down the consumer's throats to prep them for Episode VII), and Battlefront 2 only released Prequel content a full year later.

All that being said, we did seen some Prequel elements here and there. After all, some actors got to reprise their roles, books and comics came out featuring Prequel characters... but there's a catch.

The stories they appear in are set in-between Episodes III and IV, a time-period known as "the Dark Times" or the "Imperial era".

"Dark Times" being used instead of the Prequel era

It's easy to see the appeal of this era. You keep the same threat from the Original Trilogy - the Empire - but redress it with Prequel elements... while also cherry-picking the best characters of both the OT and the Prequels and giving them a chance to shine again.

The situation is more clear cut, as opposed to the complex one in the Prequels. Bad guys are stormtroopers, good guys are anyone else. And the stories no longer take place in the shiny capital, you're back on the frontier.

But at this point... it feels like a cop-out.

When you consider how much content has been set during the Dark Times, it's nothing to sneeze at. Since the sale, we've had:

2 movies (Solo, Rogue One)

4 series set in that time-period (namely The Bad Batch, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Star Wars: Rebels).

2 video-games (Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor).

17 novels (such as Ahsoka, Lords of the Sith, the new Thrawn books, etc)

And just a whole bunch of comic book series & mini-series (like Kanan, Princess Leia, various Vader-centric comics including Darth Vader: Lord of the Sith, many tie-in mini-series promoting Rogue One, Jedi: Fallen Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi, etc).

There's been so much content made for this time-period that it feels like an unwillingness to do the work and create something set something during the Prequel era, let alone something that follows its Jedi.

After all, why make a story set in the Prequels (disliked by vocal fans) when you can just take the characters in that story and put them in an OT setting (which will appease the Prequel-haters)?

Maybe these stories get relegated to the Dark Times because:

there seems to be a perception that anything set in the Prequel era won't sell?

or maybe the current SW writers weren't fond of Episodes I, II and III, and don't find those Jedi characters likable, thinking they're too righteous and dogmatic which makes it hard to craft a story around them.

Or maybe it's because they're under the impression that the Prequel Jedi are bad. Like, canonically, in the narrative. Not just in a "I don't like them" sense, but also in a "the story is all about them becoming corrupted" sense.

Let's expand on that last point.

Retconning the Prequels as the "Fall of the Jedi" era

Somehow the rare stories set during the Prequels that we do get seem to automatically be about how "the Jedi lost their way/failed".

The series Tales of the Jedi is explicit about it...

... and I already explained why it contradicts what George Lucas established here and here.

You also see it in Rebels and the new season of The Clone Wars...

... in comics...

... in games...

It gets to a point where the Prequels era has now been redubbed the "Fall of the Jedi" era by Lucasfilm.

You wanna know what that period was referred to before the Disney sale? The "Rise of the Empire" Era.

Because - and I'll never get tired of saying this cuz it's factual - the Prequels aren't about the fall of the Jedi, they're about the fall of the Republic and Anakin, and rise of the Empire and Vader.

So in addition to being overdone, the "Jedi lost their way" is not even the intended narrative of the Prequels (if one puts any stock in Lucas' words). It's a minor subplot at best, hardly the focus of the films, let alone a whole time period.

But dubbing it "Fall of the Jedi" implies that there's another era in which the Jedi were in their heyday.

Because Star Wars authors are in luck! Yet another alternative has presented itself in the shape of a new transmedia initiative, and it's even better than the "let's set it during the Dark Times" solution:

A new transmedia initiative: The High Republic

You wanna deal with the Jedi before the Empire, but for some reason you wanna avoid dealing with the ones seen in the Prequels?

Look no further. Meet the Jedi of the High Republic.

Noble, adventurous, inspired by the Knights of the Round Table, they're everything the OT kids dreamed about when they heard ol' Ben Kenobi talk about the Knights of the Old Republic.

That's more like it!

Note: the High Republic was created for other reasons and has many more upsides than the ones mentioned above. Namely, a fresh new spot in the timeline that allows for creative freedom and a beautifully-coordinated transmedia storytelling effort where retcons are non-existent. However it does seem evident that not having to deal with the 'unlikable' Prequel Jedi and their "fall" is one of those upsides.

Another perk that the High Republic era offers is more freedom in terms of storytelling compared to the Prequels.

In 2016, Pablo Hidalgo tweeted he still quotes to authors the following excerpt of West End Games' guide for aspiring Star Wars writers, from 1994.

You can't write "this was the best day in Luke Skywalker's life", for example, because another author may want to write a better day than the one you just wrote.

My guess is that a similar approach applies to how all characters from the movies are treated. They're massively iconic. So you can't write a book that drastically changes how Mace or Yoda or Obi-Wan are perceived overall.

The stories need to be self-contained, disregardable if necessary, because you'll have dozens of writers coming up with new stories for those same characters, and you need to leave them some room.

Examples:

Notice how in the book Dooku: Jedi Lost we never see how Dooku turns to the Dark Side and joins the Sith.

Same goes for crossover comic book arcs of the Star Wars issues, like Vader Down or Crimson Reign... the characters don't really change by much in those comics. You could stick to just watching the movies and you wouldn't really miss anything.

But with The High Republic, you indeed can develop these characters as much as you want.

All stories featuring Avar Kriss leave an impact on her, you can nail down who she is perfectly in one book or one comic arc, both being just as meaningful to her character.

The fact that she's not as iconic/famous a character as Mace Windu means that authors can go to town on crafting an interesting and nuanced character arc for her that'll have a beginning, middle and end... something Mace will never really get.

CONCLUSION:

Back in 2015... let's not kid ourselves. The Prequels were unpopular and Disney is a multi-billion dollar corporation. Opting to make as much money as possible is what they do.

It's the same reason they decided not to go with George Lucas' original plans for the Sequels, in 2012.

I mean, imagine you're Disney. You just dropped 4 billion dollars, with a B, on this franchise. Your next Star Wars movie needs to be worth the price tag. Now, you can pick between two options:

Option #1 is uncharted territory and it explores the midi-chlorians (the cursed word…!) and the guy who presented you with this option also openly admits that a big chunk of customers won’t like it, but he wants this to be done because it’s his vision.

Option #2 is very simple: a soft reboot, that plays on nostalgia that the same chunk of customers (aka the 'boomer and Gen-X fans who grew up with the Original Trilogy and now have kids, grandkids and MONEY) will like.

It's a no-brainer. They gave the customers what they wanted.

But time has passed, the fans who were children when the Prequels first came out have grown up, and grew up with characters like Yoda, Mace, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and other Jedi as their heroes, aside from main characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Can we maybe expand on them, flesh them out more?

No, let's either ignoring the storytelling potential of these characters or reducing it to them being "righteous, arrogant and dogmatic".

God forbid we get a story showing the Prequel Jedi in a *gasp* more positive light? One where their POV is more understandable, instead of the same old "we brought this on ourselves" storyline.

There's a whole decade between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones... you're telling me there's no space to show us Anakin's training and how he formed bonds with the Jedi we later see in The Clone Wars? I tried my hand at it here:

Interesting or fun Prequel-set ideas from other pro-Jedi fans on Tumblr can be found here, here and here.

And y'know, part of the Star Wars intent is for fans to take the ideas in the movies and come up with their own stories. You're supposed to create headcanons.

What I'm saying is fans of the Prequels are being given less "imagination food" than the rest, and many of us who like the Jedi in particular are forced to rely on headcanons only. "Better than nothing" is no longer an acceptable standard.

There's a range of recognizable Jedi characters that have already been established in films and TCW, can we maybe expand on them, flesh them out more, instead of whole new ones?

[kanansdume]

I feel like the whole ending of Din taking Grogu as his apprentice just has exactly no emotional impact for me because it's not the ending we were supposed to get and it sort-of starts to feel like a smack in the face.

The entire story was set up as getting Grogu back to his people, back to where he belonged and would be happiest. Grogu was never going to be a Mandalorian, even if he learned to love Din.

I've compared this show's initial concept to Ice Age before, but I'll do it again. It doesn't matter that the baby cared for the animals, he'd never BE an animal himself and is always going to be happiest when reunited with his father and his people. That connection the baby had to the three animals who worked so hard to save him and return him to his family is no less meaningful for how temporary it was always going to be.

In this case, it shouldn't have ever mattered whether Din and Grogu cared for each other because Grogu was always going to be happiest once he was reunited with the Jedi, with his true people who could communicate with him and help him learn to control his abilities and give him the tools needed to overcome the trauma of his past.

None of which means that connection that Din and Grogu had wasn't important or meaningful, particularly to Din himself, but just that it shouldn't have changed where Grogu ultimately would end up and the people he belonged to.

Grogu should've become a Jedi apprentice, he was always meant to be a Jedi apprentice, this was the choice he made decades ago when he was found and brought to the Jedi in the first place, it was the choice he made when he reached out to Luke at the Seeing Stone. Having him become a Mandalorian apprentice (since when have Mandalorians had APPRENTICES???) instead of a Jedi apprentice just seems like such a major fuck you to that prior storyline.

It also just feels like such a major fuck you to the Jedi themselves. That it's BETTER for Grogu to have specifically a parent and a house with a white picket fence rather than a group of Masters and a Temple. This entire season felt like it was trying to equate the Mandalorians to the Jedi, in how big of a threat they are to the Empire, and in how important they are to the narrative. But Star Wars just isn't about Mandalorians and it never will be. There's no way to re-insert Mandalorians into any of the three trilogies, so they are always going to remain irrelevant to the Skywalker Saga. And I feel like Favroni take this as a personal insult and just don't care for the Jedi as much and Grogu's fate feels like it reflects those feelings.

And so the only emotion I can feel at Grogu becoming Din's son and apprentice is bitterness. And a yearning for what we could've/should've had.

[antianakin]

What’s your opinion of the Mortis arc?

It's one of the ones I actually like more. It's obviously very meta and complicated enough that it can be interpreted a few different ways, including ways that are more Jedi critical and lean into the whole "gray Jedi" bullshit, but I don't think it's impossible to see it in a more Jedi positive way with balance and light being the same thing the way Lucas intended it to be.

I personally tend to view Mortis as a massive metaphor for how internal balance is intended to work. The daughter and son represents the light and dark that both exist within everybody. That's why they keep saying it isn't the son's fault that he's selfish and greedy and aggressive, he represents those things that exist in all of us and can never truly be anything else. But it is simultaneously the daughter's job to keep pushing him back, to keep the son in control in order to maintain balance. He is selfish, yes, and that isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but it does need to be controlled still.

The father I think, much like Anakin himself, is losing his control of his darker impulses. The daughter as the representation of his kindness and discipline is still THERE and still fighting back the darkness, but she starts to lose more and more as time goes on, much like Anakin's own battle with his darker impulses.

I also think that the Mortis arc works as a metaphor for the state of the galaxy, with the daughter representing the Jedi and the son representing the galaxy's growing tendency towards selfishness and greed. Again, the Jedi are still there and still fighting, but they are ultimately fighting a losing battle because the galaxy isn't controlling its darkness on its own very well and the Jedi can only do so much.

There's also just tons of interesting little homages to the Skywalker Saga as a whole tossed into the Mortis arc, references left and right, several cameos from the Prequels actors for Qui-Gon and Shmi, visions of the future, etc.

I don't love taking this sort-of... meta arc that primarily exists in a vacuum within TCW and the way Rebels and now the Ahsoka show and even the Cal Kestis games a little are starting to try to expand the Mortis characters into some sort of gods that actually existed in the real world and making them into something they aren't which muddies the message that I feel like this arc was sending in the first place. This is one of the few places where I feel like TCW's really episodic structure with stories that are almost entirely disconnected from the greater Skywalker Saga really works and works BETTER as a story in a vacuum rather than as something that exists within the greater canon worldbuilding.

[marvelstars]

Personally I love Star Wars as one movie from EPI to EPVI as the Skywalker family saga.

Anakin is the chosen one of the force to bring balance to the force and end the sith grand plan of ruling for 10,000 years, he gets groomed by his "father" the sith master, to fall to the darkside by twisting everything in which Anakin believed, he becomes a monster whose main objective after losing every loved one is to "keep order in the galaxy" Vader believes he is doing the right thing, he believes the empire is less corrupt than the republic and while it´s means may be harsh those are better than what happened in the past, the chaos of the clone wars and the greed of the different ruling powers. Maybe there is no place for justice or freedom but there is order and that was enough for Vader.

Luke as his Son gets to save him from the darkside by making him remember that there was a time he wasn´t just Vader, there was a time where he wanted to free all the slaves in the galaxy, where he believed in justice and unconditional love, Luke made him remember that in a way he could not deny that his acomplishments as Vader, his end justify the means pov paled in comparision to what he once wanted to do and the person he used to be "I am a Jedi like my father before me" when he could not deny anymore this truth, Vader decided to punish himself as well as his father/master, bringing down their empire built on violence and darkness, to save his Son´s life and give the side Luke fought for an opportunity to tell their own story. So Vader stops the horror and gives way for something else to grow out of it.

I love this story as it´s but I would be lying if I didn´t think there was a place for Vader to tell his own story because his mere survival post ROTJ brings a lot of opportunities but also conflict. We have Vader who knows intimately Jedi and Sith teachings and a different take to what the Rebels and Imperials believe the Old Republic or the Empire was.

Sucedenly a portion of the imperial army loyal to Vader would want to stay at his side and join the New Republic while another portion loyal to Palpatine would try to stop that and the Empire itself would get divided between those who believed enough is enough and those who wanted to keep bussines as usual and grand admirals like Thrawn who would wish to fix the Empire in their own image. The result is that this would give an opportunity for the empire to truly merge with the new republic and not just for appareances sake as it happened in canon.

To tell this story it would be needed another trilogy at least and I can´t blame Lucas for being burnout after the original trilogy, a whole and awesome story on it´s own and I am quite happy for what we got but that story would be nice to know as a what if. The story of how Vader got his humanity back.

[nevermindirah]

Booker vibes hard with scifi. he has so many visceral sense-memories of reading early scifi novels as the genre developed in his first decades of immortality. all the dystopia speaks to him for obvious being God's chew toy reasons, but there are times over the years when hopeful scifi stories boost him emotionally in a way no amount of good deeds or warm hugs seem to manage.

so by the time he gets stoned and goes to the movies in 1977, he's ready.

he falls hard for Han/Leia. he too was a scoundrel who fell in love with the coolest and smartest girl around who somehow found his scruffiness charming. he too came of age and put down roots amid galaxy-shaking political and social upheaval. but Star Wars was so safely cartoony in its far-away galaxy that he found he could earnestly enjoy how hopeful it was.

over the years he tore through the novels, he picked up fan magazines here and there, stopped by the occasional con. when he discovered fanfiction, hoo boy. he wrote over 100k of Han and Leia's snarky, sappy, smutty, blaster-heavy post-RotJ adventures in like the first month alone.

decades later, he very nearly had to leave the theater when Kylo Ren killed his father.

some of those same decades later, Nile. she's only 5 years old when Episode I comes out and by the time she's old enough to sit through all-ages blockbusters the prequels have been so ragged on that she doesn't bother. maybe she catches some of the original trilogy on cable at some point but she doesn't particularly connect to it.

Star Wars becomes relevant to Nile when she's in her figuring things out after high school era and she hears the guy from Attack the Block is gonna be in the new trilogy.

rip Finn's character arc and everything else that could've been so good about the sequel trilogy, but there's still some stuff to treasure there, and Nile — well.

a few months into immortality she does a marathon of the whole Skywalker saga. it's fun and silly and a way to spend a few days. the others pop in sometimes to watch with her but for the most part she's enjoying her own private screening. then she sees Rey all alone in that AT-AT carcass and suddenly she can't stop crying. Finn's storyline is just as wonderful and frustrating as she remembered, but the way he and Rey keep finding each other, keep fighting for each other — yeah.

suddenly she's WRITING. she's usually been drawn to visual arts when she has the time and interest to create, but here she is now, writing tens of thousands of words at a time, pouring her heart out through these two space orphans who have living family they just can't get back to and through a lot of galactic bullshit manage to build a new home in each other.

she starts getting regular comments from an ao3 account with a hilarious mishmash of works in a bunch of different fandoms going back years. there's some original trilogy fic on this person's account all dated the same day in 2009, and when she reads one, an intricately plotted and super romantic Han/Leia mission fic, she notices details that make it seem like it was written before the prequels came out.

the comments get longer. she and her commenter start chatting on discord, about their blorbos and fandom drama and increasingly just life. to the extent that Nile can tell anyone about her life, that is. it's nice, having an online friend.

then one day Booker fucks up. he lets a too-specific detail slip. Nile laughs in disbelief, types into discord "hey uh if I'm right about something, pick up your phone," and then she calls him.

years later, Booker will finally admit he did a little hacking to double-check it was her before dropping that purposeful slip. then he'll write Nile a lightning-hot fic where Finn introduces Rey to holonet cybersex.