#like when we'd get new obi-wan content in canon

[pandora15]

i really miss obi-wan right now

[charmwasjess]

Hi, for the fandom asks: 1 and 16 xx

1) list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

1- Saying "the people" is a vast understatement. My current community fills me with so much happiness - what kind, funny, incredibly clever people you all are! And if I go back in time, I sometimes feel like the people in the SW fandom half raised me at a time when I was a lonely, unhappy child stuck in a fucking terrible IRL community, and I'll always be grateful for that.

For example - I still remember in grade school, sneaking off during gym class to buy international phone cards at the gas station so I could call my Australian bestie (who I met when she EMAILED ME A FIC COMMENT because that was how we did it on some fic sites back then). I'd get up at 3 am (3pm her time, when she got out of school) and we'd talk on the phone about our crazy crack self-inserts and our love of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, respectively. DOOKU DIDN'T EVEN EXIST AT THIS POINT. We grew up, but she's still in my life - the suncatchers her mom made me are still hanging on my back window. She even came to visit me a few years back. She's a successful YA fiction writer and activist now. Sometimes I'm so proud of her that it makes me want to cry.

2- ahem, okay, I got kind of emotional on 1… this is controversial, and I'm sure I'll live to eat my words when they make rochenn's cursed stitched-back-together Dooku and somehow-survived Mace Windu live action buddy cop drama, but I actually like that Star Wars is continuing to get content. Okay, some of it is dogshit, and I wish there was some… changes at the top… looking at you, cowboy hat man… but overall, I feel lucky. Those Yoda comics were good and a couple of them were written by an actual guy who actually likes the character I love and cares about continuity? The last five years have had some really fascinating Star Wars content. Barriss is a healer again. Rael Averross is part of the family. We're about to get live action Acolyte. I don't know, I'm excited.

3- Ant said this a little bit in her reply to my ask, but I have to agree, I love how BIG Star Wars is. With my little pre-prequel Dooku fics, I'm writing in such a tiny corner of it, but the vastness around me is just wonderful and actually, very welcoming. It feels like there's always something new and interesting to read or see.

16) a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

It blows my mind that Cavan Scott made Dooku an animal guy.

The scene where he's simultaneously flying a (stolen, iirc) speeder and mindmelded with his fucking pet bird and Qui-Gon is like "MASTER, beast control combined with weaving in and out of Coruscant traffic, ARE YOU FUCKING GOOD TO DRIVE RIGHT NOW?" and Dooku just replies ":D It's ✨ animal kinship ✨not 'beast control' Qui-Gon!' Unhinged. Beautiful.

I just love it when canon does something fresh and surprising with Dooku instead of recycling the "stuffy stuck up rich guy" tropes, especially in his Jedi era, when he's a fucking penniless chaos monk raised by a goblin. Fanon loves to make Qui-Gon the guy sneaking weird animals into the Temple (and I love that) but you know Dooku would have smuggled that Tirra'taka home with him if he could have fit it in his bed. Dooku is the REASON Qui-Gon is like that!

[typewriteringalaxy]

if dathan and miramir are godparents of ben?

I can't put into words how much I love this idea! Let's see how it would fit in with the lore established in previous asks (and expanding upon it bc you know I won't miss this opportunity to ramble!)

1- Peaceful AU, Padmé and Satine don't die:

It's 19 BBY and Maul has imprisoned Satine after she's been deposed by the Death Watch—along with her young son, Dathan, whose existence and the identity of his father she's kept secret for obvious political reasons, but the latter of which Maul would probably find through the Force and maximise his revenge. Let's say that with Korkie, Bo-Katan and the rest of Kryze's clan help, Obi-Wan manages to save Satine and his son. Satine could not reclaim the throne under those turbulent circumstances, and her saviours would all advise her to seek safety away from New Mandalore. Given her personal understanding with Padmé and also Obi-Wan's friendship with her, I like to think she'd be the first they'd think to trust—and that trust would beget trust so we'd have the two couples of badass and pregnant politicians with their Jedi Masters illicit lovers fighting the galaxy's corruption and hiding their secret children. I also like to think in that context that Anakin would be surrounded with enough assurance by Obi Wan etc so as to not fall to the Dark Side. Dathan Kryze (-Kenobi) and Luke & Leia Amidala (-Skywalker) and Miramir grow up together with the dynamics already analysed.

So, going full peace, say one day princess Leia meets galaxy-renowned scroundel Han Solo after a diplomatic mission goes awry. Miramir, perhaps her handmaiden/bodyguard in following their mothers's footsteps, initially tries to discourage Leia from getting involved with an untrustworthy man the likes of Han Solo, as she prioritises the young Amidala's safety—and she's content bc she mistakes their antagonism for real dislike. Dathan, however—let's say he was with Leia in that mission—sees their aggressive flirting for what it is and backs his childhood friend up. When 19yo Leia speed-marries Han and gets pregnant, he and Luke support them. Miramir just swallows her objections for the most part, an I-told-you-so ready on her tongue every time Han and Leia quarrel.

Given all that, it'd make perfect sense for Leia to choose Dathan as her son's "godfather"—and Ben's name makes all the more sense if Dathan picked it, as the nickname his mom calls his dad. Dathan would dote on Ben—but in this scenario, Ben would already have plenty of people doting on him and teaching him things, from the Force to piloting to diplomacy. Perhaps Dathan would press Han a little into being more present for Ben, or facilitate some father-son bonding on the Falcon when Leia and her side of the family are at odds with Han. Dathan's an enabler all around lol.

Miramir, however, would become Ben's "godmother" later by marrying Dathan. In this scenario, where the previous generation has triumphed over evil and receives hero worship, Sabé's faith in Amidala(s) would only be stronger, and in peace she might even have more time to raise and shape her daughter. It'd take a while for Miramir to even realise that she's suffocating in the path set out for her and even longer to break free and find herself. Dathan might've had a crush on her since their childhood—and their disagreements over Han and Leia's romance could've made some sparks fly between them too—but they'd officially get together in their early thirties and then have Rey. Therefore, the canon age difference between Ben and Rey would still apply.

2- Satine dies, Padmé lives AU

Following the positive scenario of this ask more closely, a Dathan Organa (-Kenobi) would perhaps be more sober as a character, shaped of the loss of his mother and raised in a foster family. He'd still support Leia (Amidala), though perhaps less fervently, and naming Ben could hold much more emotional weight. Especially if Alderaan is destroyed in this AU, the Amidalas would be his last family, and Ben in particular. So he'd treasure his "godson" and be less forgiving of Han's negligence as a parent in favour of his smuggling career—perhaps even to Leia's, even if her duties were more noble. On the downside, Dathan might inadvertently drive any existing wedge between Ben and his parents further.

He and Miramir might even be matchmade by Leia or Padmé as Ben's "godparents" (given the distance between the planets they'd grown up in, the Amidalas and by extension Sabé and Miramir on Naboo vs Dathan on Alderaan, and the fact that Miramir might not always accompany the twins and meet with Dathan: different schedules, different ages etc.) Miramir, sent by the Amidalas (the Amidala family, not to be confused with the Amidalans) as Dathan's bodyguard right before Alderaan's destruction, starts developing feelings for him, which, despite her stoic exterior, get noticed by the women around her. But Dathan's closed off after his monumental loss, and after reuniting with his biological father (perhaps knowing him for the first time as such), he might seek consolation in training in the Jedi ways (emphasis on the detachment of their dogma). Leia would make him "godfather" of her son in an attempt to keep him involved in the world of personal attachments and bring him closer to Miramir—two birds with one stone.

They both love Ben, and that love brings them closer, or at least gives them opportunities to interact. Miramir initially would care for Ben as just another Amidala—and leave him behind along with the rest of them when she goes to find herself, be it by joining the enemy or adventuring solo. But Dathan, who's lost so many family members, wouldn't stand for it, and he'd demand of her to be a good "godmother". And he'd be convincing—not only bc of her feelings for him, but also her memory of being somewhat (or very) neglected by Sabé growing up in the stead of her duties. (Though her feelings for Dathan would be a catalyst in her returning to the "good side", if she had gone "evil" in her finding-herself arc). That would be a point in common with teen Ben grappling with a similar situation. They'd help him—and when they'd get married, he'd be their star wars equivalent of their ring bearer.

3- "Canon" AU: Satine and Padmé are dead, the twins are seperated, Obi-Wan is on Tattoine etc.

Now onto the least positive scenario, in which after Padmé's death and Anakin's fall to the Dark Side, the twins are seperated at birth: Luke on Tattoine and Leia adopted by the Organas, where Obi-Wan had already entrusted his son. (Obi-Wan has done an extra child delivery in this AU). Assuming Sabé knew where Padmé's children ended up, she might send Miramir to Alderaan and have her be raised as Leia's bodyguard while Sabé herself would join the Anidalans.

Ben as mirathan's "godson" would combine elements of both the above AUs—Miramir being vehemently against hanleia initially bc she's raised with the purpose (ordered by her mother) to keep Leia safe, but Leia still makes her "godmother" to Ben bc she and Dathan are the closest people to her and to matchmake them. The one who had a crush first would be Dathan, who might just gradually pull Miramir back from her rebelling against Sabé's wishes by joining the enemy (helping the First Order come into existence?) in the name of caring for their "godson" and the strength of his feelings. Or, Miramir joins the Empire before Ben's birth, Dathan would be the sole "godfather" etc.

One difference that I consider major in this AU, however, is that Padmé, Anakin, Obi-Wan etc would be dead by the time Ben was growing up. It'd be just Leia, Luke, Han and mirathan. So I think mirathan could be instrumental in keeping Ben from the Dark Side—providing him a Force-sensitive role model that cares more about him than the principles of the Jedi/the adherence to the Light + someone with understanding what it's like to have parents that care more about their duties than you personally and maybe also the lure of the enemy. So Ben might spend a lot more time with them and grow up close to them—and Rey by extension.

4- Mandalorian Dathan AU?

If Bo-Katan had raised Dathan out of spite or love to Satine (or both), it's doubtful that he'd have a connection to Luke and Leia, or that he'd even know he's a Kenobi. Only if Miramir was Ben's "godmother" would Dathan become his "godfather", and the chances of that grow slimmer. Still a fun AU though!

Oops I wrote another essay. Hope you enjoy the mirathan theories, dearest anon, and I'll wait for your thoughts on them or on anything else you'd like💕

[bettsfic]

betts your obiwan posting makes me want to watch it, as a prequel fan. i havent looked at star wars in ages and dont have disney+ is this worth pursuing??????

i was certain, CERTAIN, i would be immune to Obi-Wan Kenobi (dir. Deborah Chow, 2022). for 17 miserable years i've been adamant that should disney exhume hayden christensen's acting career for the sake of new darth vader content, i would not be among its audience.

i've been angry most of my life about the prequels--not just that i loved them while recognizing they didn't live up to their potential and that the success of the franchise was largely because a mediocre dude had the right idea at the right time 45 years ago. but also what i loved about the prequels went totally unseen by many fans and made me feel very alone and like i was just making things up (i've since found a lot of people who love the prequels in the same way i do).

what made me angriest though was the unfair and wildly offbase criticism of hayden's acting. i can agree the dialogue is weak. the direction is weak. but hayden christiensen chews the scenery and spits it out. he's phenomenal. so i just couldn't bear the thought of even more of that in the year of our porg 2022, after the hatred for the prequels had finally died down in the wake of rise of skywalker which i think many of us can agree sunk star wars to a new low. not to mention the disneyfication of the franchise which pushes out new shiny happy content nonstop so that star wars is no longer an eagerly anticipated event, just another show on tv, fighting for attention against all the other content out there.

i can't tell you what exactly changed my mind. it wasn't like i saw any positive reviews or a ton of gifsets or anything. in fact it might have been the total absence of hype that sparked my interest. four of six episodes had aired and my feeds were still mostly ofmd and tgcf. so i gave the first episode a shot.

as expected, i was not wholly impressed. the first episode is a lot of plot setup. a little boring. i didn't end up watching the second episode that night. but for days after i kept thinking--isn't this what i've always wanted from star wars? a well-crafted character study that takes its time? a thoughtful story about the aftermath of revenge of the sith, the more intricate economic and social consequences of the clone war and the rise of the empire? ewan mcgregor being a dilf???

i guess until now i didn't believe i'd ever see live action prequel-related star wars content made by someone with more respect for the source material than shock value or high tech explosions. and that was silly of me--i loved rogue one and solo. i wasn't super into the mandalorian but i watched it and recognized it was trying to do something new. those were all different to me though. i wasn't emotionally attached to the original trilogy and its adjacent stories the way i'm attached to the prequels.

[some spoilers after this but nothing you couldn't piece together from the fact hayden has been on the press tour]

i finally watched the second episode. darth vader was there. i thought, did they really bring hayden back just to be the dude in the suit? and they did. they did bring hayden back just to be the dude in the suit. and the bacta tank. and a heartbreaking mirage in the desert. i was expecting just random high-stakes plot content until the very end of the series when we'd finally get an ominous peek at vader. but no. he's like. a main character. obi-wan's love for him and his regret at the events of RotS is overt. his love for padme is there too. like Deborah Chow really said "padobikin is canon lol." it's emotionally devastating in a way i didn't think any new live action prequel content could be.

[spoilers for episode 5 here but i've also reblogged about a thousand gifsets of what i'm talking about so if you've seen those you've already been spoiled]

then in episode five we get a flashback. pre-AotC. and i don't know why this was the thing that really sealed the deal for me but it just meant a lot to me that they didn't fully de-age hayden back to 19. maybe they couldn't or maybe it was a Choice. they might have done a little polishing but but for the most part you look at him and know you're looking at a 41 year old man. it's a flashback, yeah, but i can't help but think "this is what he would have looked like."

and so there i was imprinting onto darth vader again the way i did when i was 15. but whereas back then i related to his eternal struggle to have agency in a society that only wanted to exploit his gifts while denying him any real personhood, now i relate to the abysmal feeling of regret, the long-term consequences of a million wrong choices. and i guess i'm just impressed that despite the disney backing, the show leans into the real tragedy of the whole thing and doesn't let up. it assumes that the thing we care about most isn't the fate of the galaxy but the fate of one man in it, and we already know how his story ends.

the finale airs tomorrow and i'm not nervous. it follows the canon so closely that you can easily deduce where the story is going, and even though many dudebros would have you believe predictability is bad, personally i find it exciting to see the cause and effect sequence of a story told over many generations totally out of chronological order.

and what's more, i've been watching interviews with ewan and hayden and getting the sense that they enjoyed filming the show, and that it wasn't filmed on green screen but on something called The Volume and that seemed to make a big difference. i think it was moses (reva) who said, "you get on set and you're in star wars."

on a personal note though, what i'm most excited about is that after nearly a year struggling with the motivation to write and a total lack of inspiration, somehow i managed to pound out 12k words in 3 days of a longform RotS fix-it fic i've been wanting to write for 17 years.

tl;dr Kenobi isn't a perfect show and it does fall prey to the overbloated nature of the undying big budget franchise disease, but it's thoughtfully made, entertaining for casual fans, and cathartic for diehard prequels fans.

ps i can't stop thinking about middle-aged wifeguy anakin skywalker and that will be my undoing.