#like. the Whole Point of star wars was anakin skywalker bringing balance to the force

[plusultraetc]

423 spoilers in the tags <3

[david-talks-sw]

I'm reading through the book Star Wars on Trial and it's interesting. I completely disagree with almost everything I've read in it so far, but at least it's well-argued and written light-heartedly, it doesn't take itself that seriously.

The book is framed as a court hearing in which the prosecutor and defense attorney - both hilariously pompous and petty - debate their points and hear from witnesses. David Brin speaks for the prosecution, and Matthew Stover (author of the Revenge of the Sith novelization) speaks for the defense...

... and the thing is, I find myself disagreeing with both of them.

Example: Brin doesn't like or get the Jedi's rule of non-attachment, sees it as cutting off any and all relationships or emotions.

"In order to be a skilled and good and worthy warrior, you must cut yourself off from the very attachments that make a decent coworker, lover, spouse, parent and citizen. [...] One can understand demanding that a young adept avoid undue distraction while focusing hard on his training. But to cut off all thought of loved ones, even when they are suffering? Where is the "wisdom" in that?"

But when you look at his whole argument, at least it's clear that his real issue is with the narrative itself, he's disagreeing with (what he thinks is) Lucas' message regarding attachments.

What really surprises me, however, is Stover's response:

"One can hardly hold the Saga accountable for teaching that the "skilled and worthy warrior must cut off all attachments, etc." because this is explicitly defined in the Saga as the primary error of the Prequel-Era Jedi. With apologies to Opposing Counsel, he simply missed the boat here. That's all there is to it. Not only is that "cutting off all attachment" business defined as exactly what drives Anakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader, but it's precisely the error that Yoda is determined to correct by allowing Luke and Leia to be raised by real families."

His argument is "you misunderstood the narrative, the 'no attachment' rule is intentionally framed as bad."

I mean... no? It's not.

And, like... you know this @Matthew Stover. I know for a fact that you get what the whole "no attachments" deal is about and what the intended narrative is (not just because you spent an afternoon talking to George Lucas), because I've seen you explain it:

What he says in the above video perfectly aligns with the many comments Lucas made on the subject of attachment.

So what's with the 180° in Star Wars on Trial?

And, btw, that's how the whole book goes, so far.

First, the prosecution will nitpick by ignoring or misinterpreting the intended narrative, and point out something they don't like about the Prequels, eg: the Jedi as retroactively reframed by the Prequels, heartless, detached and callous.

The defense (who should know the narrative) will counter with "you're missing the point, it's supposed to be perceived badly because:

the Prequels are actually this subversive commentary about how the good guys are actually not that good,

Anakin was destined to wipe the Jedi out and the Sith to bring Balance to the Force

the Jedi's rules are dogmatic and Luke triumphs because he rejects them."

Instead of defending the message of the movies and standing up for it, he clearly implicitly agrees with the prosecution's argument and thus reframes the message by stating that the films actually agree with what the prosecution is saying.

Again, the arguments are interesting and well-researched in some cases, and I get that the whole book is playful in tone (the judge is a friggin' droid for crying out loud 😆) but I feel like if you're gonna defend your client, defend the damn client, right?

[orionangeline]

Ok that's it I'm fixing star wars: fix it HCs underneath

It's basically just my Shinobi retirement farm post but in space but idc

Most of ep 2 happens but Anakin doesn't kill Dooku

Since Dooku gets a fair trial the Jedi order realizes he kinda has a point about Yoda needing to retire

Yoda becomes the Jedi version of crazy grandpa like he should

Anakin still has Dooku's lightsaber after taking it from him in the fight and he dual wields it and his normal blue saber, signifying the balance in the force he is to bring about

Dooku obviously rats out Palpatine in exchange for a nicer jail

Anakin never turns so wholly to the dark side and instead makes the selection process for becoming a Jedi more stringent and also starts a policy of being brutally truthful of what a young Jedi might expect from the order, causing applications to plummet

He does it so less children will go through the emotional struggles he had to bc he was not a great fit for the order as it had been

He's definitely working on reforms with Obi-wan also though

Anakin and Padme realize that they are very different people from very different backgrounds and even though they love each other they divorce

Luke and Leia were already born by then but the whole family is still very tight knit, Anakin loves his kids soooo much it's cute

Obi-wan also loves them

Anakin and Obi-wan go on crazy adventures and are sarcastic Jedi Bros together

R2d2 as a crazy uncle who should probably not have been allowed to babysit but it worked out we Stan

The whole Jedi order captures Palpatine and "somehow" "in the commotion" he dies (tbh it was probably r2d2)

The clones are recognized as people and some retire to be, idk star wars farmers, and they all have their chips removed and fight freely for whatever cause they choose

Fast forward until Luke is training to be a Jedi

Leia keeps kicking his ass in training she's crazy it's hilarious but Luke now struggles with his pride

He almost goes to the dark side and runs away and meets a crazy smuggler team and tags along with them for a while

Han and Chewie are glad to have such a useful and mechanically inclined passenger (and Chewie thinks he's good luck) so when Padme has put out a reward for his return they don't turn him in

Luke realizes that he doesn't have to be either dark or light or a Jedi or politician at all he can just be a dude (an option he hadn't previously considered bc he grew up surrounded by Jedi and political powerhouses)

Eventually Luke has Han and Chewie take him home to have a serious discussion with his family about his wanting to be a pilot and just a pilot. A race pilot actually

Han and Leia of course hate each other at first sight but eventually warm up to each other. Eventually

Anakin has flashbacks to every time he's nearly crashed as he flew something and Padme has flashbacks to every time he DID crash

Ghost Qui Gon who just hangs out sometimes to tease Obi-wan has to step in and convince everyone to chill out bc there's like three separate arguments going on not including whatever Chewie's talking about and he doesn't have enough space ghost popcorn

Luke and Han become rival best friend racers and have so many near miss crashes Padme goes grey (serves her right considering her and Anakin made Obi-wan go grey forever ago)

Some time after Ben is born they all go on family vacation/paying Han's debts and meet Rey and they kidnap adopt her (She's secretly Han's favorite Skywalker) (bc Ben is a Solo so it's not a conflict of interest)

Also idk how but bb8 and d-0 are there too

Finn and Poe are also there and are not five feet apart. They race Rey a lot after she takes over for Luke. Ben is her manager and Han refuses to retire and also will not be forgetting this betrayal Ben

Yes Ahsoka is their favorite aunt always

Grogu still gets picked up by Din

Din and co (ex bounty hunter nanny bot included) get hired for race security/bodyguards for the drivers when bounties are slim

Yeah there have been a few attempts at race fixing but it usually ends up alright

Tbh Anakin is still the best driver but after having freaked out about Luke driving his pride keeps him from doing it semi professionally as a side gig

Jedi business has been slow ok and he's a Lil old now so he keeps getting assigned the easy stuff and he hates it

Sometimes he races under a pseudonym just for a lil rush

Everyone knows it's him but they don't mention it

Speaking of mentioning, did I say that they all live in one large compound? Bc they do and it's funny af

Which one of you brats ate Han's old man cereal this time?! (It was Luke)

Chewie did not expect to have so many human pets but they're pretty cute and funny so he's happy

Ngl Chewie is probably the only one who really knows what self care is and actually urges anyone else to do so

Like yeah Padme knows how to take care of herself but anyone with Skywalker or Solo lineage has no chill and no self preservation instincts. Han says he does but he is wrong

One winter they went on like a ski trip to hoth and got stuck for months. To pass the time Chewie taught everyone how to knit and also chess. Somewhere they have a knitted/crocheted chess set as a result. They all almost went even more crazy

Rey is no longer allowed to cook after she gave everyone including the robots somehow food poisoning with a birthday cake she tried to make

Ben can cook but only sad bachelor meals and very plain stuff

Luke has a short attention span so mostly if he says he "cooked" he actually microwaved it

Han can cook really well but only like three Fancy things he learned to seduce people

They rely on Obi-wan to cook but he can only make variations of oatmeal or soup

Can any of them cook?!? No. They have to hire a chef with Padme and Leia's girlboss earnings

The chef is jar jar binks

[dalekofchaos]

The complete lack of Anakin Skywalker in the Sequel Trilogy is an insult to the story of Star Wars, Anakin’s story and in the end they destroyed Anakin’s fall and redemption

The fact that Anakin is never mentioned by name, let alone shows up as a force ghost. Just shows how much Disney, JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy were so afraid of the Prequels and couldn’t even bother to have the man who is the main focus of Star Wars to be featured in the sequel trilogy period. The Star Wars Saga was about Anakin and his family. I will forever be bitter and disgusted that Disney went out of their way to erase his presence.

Disney did everything to show what Anakin trained for, struggled for, went to the dark side for and sacrificed everything for was pointless. They introduced force healing, force resurrection, Rey taking the prophecy for herself, his family was tormented by Palpatine until his bloodline became extinct and now we know people can communicate with Tusken raiders. If all of this existed in the prequels, Anakin would’ve never even become Darth Vader. They made Anakin’s entire fall and redemption completely pointless.

I don’t know what it is with Disney, but apparently they get off with backhandedly disrespecting Anakin at every opportunity they get.

I do love Rey, but I agree with this YouTube comment I found a year ago “Rey single handedly destroyed Anakin's entire legacy, and made his whole life a joke. - you don't need to train to be stupidly powerful with the lightsaber or the force. Training isn't necessary anymore, as Rey proves in TFA and TLJ, and in some ways in TROS since I doubt Leia taught her force heal, force skype or force lightning. Thus, Anakin's tough decision to leave his mother in slavery while training to be a Jedi powerful enough to one day save her is made pointless. - you don't need to be in control of your powers. Hell, fits of unexplained anger are encouraged and other characters love you for it. Rey can be rude, destructive and irrational all she wants, and everyone supports her, while Anakin was always taught to obey orders and not think for himself, furthering his feeling of being enslaved and controlled. But nah, he was just wrong I guess. - the path to the dark side is no longer the easy and fast one. Everyone can just decide freely, flip flop between allegiances and do whatever the fuck they want to. I don't know what Anakin was tempted by, Rey is angry all the time, uses force lightning, a power only the most powerful sith can do, and is never tempted in the slightest, always making the morally perfect decisions and never giving in to any temptations. Just be incorruptible, Anakin! - You can force heal easily at no cost. Anakin's mother died for nothing, as did Padme. Anakin's whole turn to the dark side was made utterly ridiculous by this movie. Anakin trained for years, mastering everything he could, striving for more knowledge and wisdom to be powerful enough to save and protect those around him, when he could have just done everything he wanted by closing his eyes. Fucking hell Rey, is there anything you aren't perfect at. - He didn't even kill Palpatine. He didn't redeem himself. He didn't bring peace to the galaxy. He did bring order though, the First Order. Fucking hell, did he actually do anything right or did Rey seriously outclass him in every _single thing he ever did This trilogy just shits on everything that came before. Everyone in Star Wars sucks because Rey is just perfect at everything she does, and all the other characters, with their flaws, struggles and problems they have to overcome just look stupid compared to her and her god powers. I hate this trilogy so much omg words can't describe it”

Let’s look at how much damage was done by not showing Anakin and how much the Sequels destroyed Anakin’s story and legacy

Anakin never warns his children about Snokeatine preying over his grandson, just think if Anakin told them a powerful and ancient dark side user was targeting Ben, Han, Lando, Chewie, Luke and Leia all would’ve gotten together and killed Snoke and by doing that, killing the First/Final Order in the crib.

Anakin never tells his children Palpatine himself is alive. If Anakin told them the truth, he could’ve directed Luke and Leia to his wayfinder, then Orchi’s ship and the stupid knife map. They would find both wayfinders and Luke and Leia would’ve killed Palpatine on Exegol. 

Anakin doesn't warn Leia that visions are not all they seem or how he lost himself because of a vision and tells her not to fall for the same trap he did. 

Anakin never once visits his grandson during his Jedi training or his time as Kylo Ren and tell him his story, Anakin appearing before his grandson and telling him HIS SIDE of HIS STORY could’ve prevented Ben’s fall

Anakin by name is never mentioned

Rey, someone who believed Luke was only a myth. Suddenly knows that Luke redeemed Darth Vader(again, Anakin is never mentioned by name)

Anakin does not appear before his son in his time of need. Instead Yoda does. Anakin knew all there is about failure and what happens when you fall to the dark side.  “failure, the greatest teacher is,” is bullshit. Yoda never learned this lesson to begin with. Yoda is the last person who should be saying anything like this to Luke. Anakin should have went to Luke, not Yoda. You know who would have been the perfect person to tell Luke that failure is the greatest teacher? His father, Anakin Skywalker. If anyone deserved that moment, it was Anakin Skywalker. Both because this should have been his chance to speak with his son AND because when someone is the embodiment of the failures of the Jedi Order, they’re really the one best qualified to call out the bullshit of that organization. Anakin would’ve been the best person to tell Luke to confront Kylo, his grandson. He knows failure more than anyone. Failing to save his mother, failing to save Padme, his failure into giving into the dark side and his fall. Anakin would’ve told him. “It wasn’t your fault what happened to Ben, I’m asking you to come back and save your sister, my daughter. Leia needs you. You never gave up on me. Don’t give up on your friends, your sister or even yourself. You saved me when I thought all was lost, there is still time to make things right. Remember you are a Jedi, like me. Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new.“

Anakin died to save his son. He does not attempt to save him.

The fact that Anakin didn’t even show up to speak to his son when he was at his lowest or when his son was literally dying , was just proof that Disney Lucasfilm didn’t care about him as a character or his story. Anakin’s redemption was saving his son, yet for some reason he just didn’t give a shit about him. There is not even a reason given as to why he didn’t show up.  

Anakin does not appear before his grandson in his turning point. It should have been Anakin who met with Ben, not Han. No one knows more about Palpatine and the dark side than Anakin and revealing the truth could have destroyed the dark side’s hold over his grandson and brought him back to the light and unlike Harrison, Hayden actually wanted to be there. We needed the one moment between Anakin and his grandson. All they did with Han was make little to no sense and just repeat lines from TFA. Harrison is clearly there to collect that sweet Disney money lol he doesn’t like Star Wars or Han Solo, he returned to have Han killed off. Hayden Christensen, however loved Star Wars despite the hate that was directed towards him. He wanted to return to play Anakin one last time. and the perfect way for him to return and to guide his grandson back to the light was Anakin. Anakin knows more than anyone what the dark side can do and what Palpatine is capable of and how much pain he has inflicted. Kylo has always admired Vader, and Anakin can show the truth of how he was manipulated into betraying everything he loved and why the dark side is not the path he should be taking.  I really hate to toot my own horn, but I wrote out a scene where Anakin’s force ghost visits his grandson and helped along his redemption.  “I never wanted you to repeat my mistakes. That pull to the light you were feeling was always me. I wanted you to be better than I was, who I could have been” and showing Ben his memories and what he had to go through. His life as a slave, meeting Padme, meeting Obi-Wan, becoming a Jedi, losing his mother, Order 66, losing Padme and being saved by Luke and finally destroying Palpatine(lol but not really). And telling Ben “Let the light in. You still have a chance, no one is ever really gone“  Ben would then tell his grandfather “I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.” Anakin puts his hand on his grandson and says “this time we’ll do it together.”

Anakin does not play a role in the defeat of the monster who destroyed his life. Anakin’s redemption, victory and the fulfillment of the Chosen One Prophecy  is now meaningless. He doesn’t even return to face Palpatine or to even power up Ben and Rey.  When Rey says "be with me" in the final fight. What should've happened is the force hears her pleas for help and sends Anakin to confront Sidious. Just imagine Palpatine:It cannot be....Lord Vader? Anakin:That name no longer has any meaning for me No, I am Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master and the chosen one. Palpatine:So be it, "Jedi" Anakin with the help of Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Yoda help Ben rise and empower Ben and Rey. Rey and Ben rise. Ben with his Grandfather’s lightsaber and Rey with Leia’s lightsaber deflecting Palpatine’s Lightning Palpatine"I AM ALL THE SITH! Rey and Ben:And we are the Skywalkers And together they deflect it back at Sidious. Once and for all, Anakin fulfills the prophecy, while not doing it directly, he guided his grandson and Rey and together they destroy the SIth and brings balance to the force. Then Anakin brings back Rey, and bids farewell to his grandson and fades in peace knowing that balance has been brought back and the force is in the safe hands of Rey and Ben.

The entire Skywalker Family goes extinct and everything Anakin fought and sacrificed for is completely meaningless

Anakin's Lightsaber is not recognized as his lightsaber, it is recognized as Luke's Lightsaber and Rey's Lightsaber. Luke has a Lightsaber of his own. He even used it for most of his life after the war as a Jedi master, yet it never makes it into the Sequel Trilogy outside of flashbacks. Where is it????? NO SERIOUSLY WHERE THE FUCK IS IT??????? Rey has a lightsaber of her own as well, but for SOME REASON, they needed Rey to have the Skywalker lightsaber and Leia’s Lightsaber throughout the whole movie. Rey cannot be defined on her own. She needs the Skywalker Lightsaber, she needs the falcon, she needs to be related to be Palpatine and she needed to take the Skywalker name in the end. Anakin doesn’t even get to be acknowledged as the master of his own lightsaber.

Rey steals Anakin's legacy as the chosen one. A PALPATINE STEALS THE SKYWALKER PROPHECY

Anakin’s Lightsaber was buried on Tatooine. Make all the “I don’t like sand” jokes you want. But this is like burying a possession of a freed slave in the remains of a slave plantation. Anakin and Shmi were slaves on this planet, his mother was brutally tortured and murdered, his step-brother and sister and Luke’s aunt and uncle were brutally murdered and his daughter was a Hutt’s sex slave. This is the absolute last place he’d ever want his Lightsaber to be buried. Every Skywalker and Solo hated Tatooine. Anakin wanted to escape a life of slavery and see the stars. Luke looks at that double sunset, longing to escape his mundane life, wanting to travel the galaxy to fight the good fight. Rey looks at the double sunset because it's supposed to pander to the OT fans. Bury Anakin’s Lightsaber in his wife’s mausoleum and his spirit would be at peace. But oh no, we can’t have that, the money needs it’s OT nostalgia and we can’t legitimize the prequels because this movie was made by a prequel hating asshole.  I don’t understand why Luke’s Green Lightsaber was never used again. Could’ve been given to Finn and when he’s done, Rey helps him build a Lightsaber of his own. Then Rey can bury Luke, Leia, and Anakin’s Lightsabers in Padme’s mausoleum with Rey, Finn and Ben looking on as the force ghosts of Anakin, Luke and Leia looks on them in peace and it would be a fitting way to end the Skywalker Saga.

Anakin does not appear as a force ghost. He doesn’t see his grandson. He doesn’t see Rey. He doesn’t appear with Luke and Leia at the end of the movie. It’s like JJ Abrams has some sort of vendetta against the Prequels. This is what happens when an OT purist is given power.

Ben Solo dies and is not given a chance to earn his redemption and thus the Skywalker family dies out. He did terrible things as Kylo Ren, but if you want him to redeem himself, actually give him a redemption arc. When he feels his mother die, let him truly feel remorse for his actions Let him see the force ghosts of Luke and Anakin. They set him on the path to make things right. Ben and Rey stop Palpatine together, they kiss and Ben goes on a path of atonement. Ben gets in the falcon and takes Leia’s lightsaber and goes to every known First Order base with the intention of righting his wrongs and making things right. When he returns to Rey, they go to Naboo to place Anakin, Luke and Leia’s Lightsaber’s in Padme’s mausoleum and it ends with Rey and Ben holding hands as the Skywalker family looks on proud and happily that the future is in good hands. Like....Anakin, Leia and Luke would’ve wanted their family to live on and wanted Ben to live. It isn’t rocket science, Anakin would’ve wanted Ben to be given the chance he wasn’t given to redeem himself and live to tell the tale.

Bringing back Palpatine back destroyed Anakin’s entire arc. I don’t care if it happened in Legends. It was fucking stupid then and it was stupid now. The impact of Order 66? The Sequel Trilogy ruined it. I hate how the Sequel Trilogy really shat on this moment. Order 66 was a tragedy for the Clones, Jedi, Separatists, Mandalorians, Night Sisiters and even Maul. Everyone lost except Sidious. When Darth Vader threw him over the railing he was avenging basically everyone. But the Sequel Trilogy rewrites that moment and makes it redundant. In my book, the series timeline ends at the Mandalorian. The Prophecy of The Chosen One? It’s no longer about Anakin. He is no longer the one to destroy The Sith and to bring Balance to the Force. His fall and redemption? It’s now pointless, Palpatine’s clone body was the one that got destroyed, not Palpatine himself and he returned and built up the Empire stronger than ever. Anakin saving Luke and finally killing Palpatine was beautiful. Something that really makes Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker saving Luke beautiful in my mind is actually Anakin/Vader’s perspective.  Qui-Gon was killed, his mother died a senseless death that he couldn't prevent, the Jedi Council was always wary of him and  never took him seriously, Padme spurned him after he became Vader -- which he only did to protect her from dying -- and died anyway, his best friend hacked off all his limbs and left him to burn to death and Sidious manipulated and lied to him from the time he was a kid, only wanted him for his force powers to use as a glorified hitman and openly contemplated replacing him constantly after he lost his duel to Kenobi on Mustafar and was maimed. The dude either lost or was (in his mind) betrayed by basically everyone he ever knew and cared about, except his son, who even to the end never lost faith in him. He was beaten and helpless and Luke had just severed his hand. Sidious then goaded Luke to finish Vader off and become his new apprentice, but Luke refused to turn on his father. The minute he realized Luke was the only person who hadn't betrayed, used, abandoned or left him was the minute Vader died and Anakin returned. This, in a nut shell, is the story of Star Wars. It is the story of a child from Tattooine who was finally able to save someone he loved.  Anakin has been manipulated by Palpatine since the moment he became a Jedi. Palpatine put visions of Padme’s death in his head until it was a reality. He went to the dark side to save his wife and children. He manipulated him into destroying the Jedi. He turned Anakin into Darth Vader and used Darth Vader as his enforcer. Until a moment of hope. His children lived. He thought all was lost until his son believed in him. In his final moments, his life, he saved his son and fulfilled the prophecy. Darth Vader is the ultimate villain deconstruction. He started out as a faceless monster to be defeated, a demon to be slain so peace would be restored. But Luke managed to look beneath the mask of intimidation and saw his father for what he truly was; a broken man who had been a slave his whole life and had lost all hope of redeeming himself. In the end Luke brought Anakin Skywalker back not because he convinced Vader to love him, because Anakin loved Luke since the moment he knew he would be born and never stopped loving him. And the decision to reveal that Palpatine didn’t really die and manipulated his grandson to kill Luke, that honestly cheapens Anakin’s arc. Just think with how he was brought back. They didn’t have an explanation. He is just there in the opening crawl. We didn’t hear his message in the movie, we heard it in fucking fortnite. And Poe’s line. “Somehow, Palpatine has returned” plays like a line from some kind of parody to Hollywood franchises. It’s actually... insulting. Like they are basically slapping us with “this is happening, we don’t have an explanation, just watch the damn movie and get us paid” without even the decency of trying to hide it. That line didn’t have to be in there. It revealed nothing, it provided no character development... it was literally just there to admit that the film really is as bad as you think. And of course, it’s something we HAVE to read in a book to figure out. If it’s not in your fucking movie, don’t fucking bother having it. Bringing back Palpatine made the first 6 movies entirely pointless. Palpatine outliving Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, Han Luke and Leia is the ultimate desecration of Star Wars. “it was always the plan to bring Palpatine back” and that is the problem. Its actually amazing how little the folks at Lucasfilm, Bad Reboot and Disney “get” Star Wars. Having the ultimate bad guy of the first 6 films live to see Episode 9 when the heroes who supposedly defeated him are long dead. It literally destroys the core mythology of the Star Wars universe and makes the selfless choices our characters made unrewarding. That’s just depressing. Their sacrifices and triumphs are ultimately undermined, devalued and utterly pointless. Moral of the story, nothing you did mattered, let the new generation clean up your mess because the money says so. And making Rey Palpatine’s granddaughter, killing EVERY LIVING Skywalker and having a Palpatine steal the legacy of the Skywalkers is desecration of Star Wars. Rey isn’t related to the Skywalkers it’s so creepy that she stole everything from them. She stole the falcon, she stole Luke’s lightsaber, she stole their family name. She stole Anakin and Luke’s ultimate victory over Palpatine. Their legacy. Palpatine won…..This is disgusting. The Skywalkers all dying and Rey taking the name is an exact summation of this trilogy. Tearing down all the old heroes and everything they did just for the new ones to do the same exact thing. Just to prop Rey up? You CAN build up new characters without tearing down the old characters and their legacy. Everything in this trilogy was done to break down and humiliate the characters we cared about and imitate something that was done in the past and has no substance. 

Rey didn’t need to be a Palpatine or take the Skywalker name. This isn’t me hating on Rey. Rey can be a great character by standing on her own. Rey being related to NO ONE was powerful and shows us that even someone who came from Jakku can be a powerful Jedi. She doesn’t earn anything on her own. She downloaded all of Kylo’s abilities. She took the Falcon, she made Chewbacca her personal uber, she took BB-8 from Poe and buried Anakin and Leia’s lightsaber on the literal symbolic oppression of the Skywalker family instead of something peaceful like Naboo or Ach-To. She has her own Lightsaber, but never uses it. Rey being a Palpatine and taking the Skywalker name undoes the beautiful story the revelation TLJ had does. She didn’t need to be a Palpatine and she didn’t need to take the Skywalker name or even their relics.  Rey Nobody works. Here’s why. Rey’s story is her own, it is not her parents, it is not about where she came from, it’s about where she is going, and who she decides to become. Maz Kanata said “The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is in front of you.” Rey in the TFA trailers said “I’m no one” Rey never thought or wanted her parents to be important in TFA, she was literally going to pass up adventure and being important to stay on Jakku because what she wanted was her family to finally come home. She didn't want to be important or wanted her parents to be important. The audience wanted that. Any more lingering discussion of the possibility of Rey’s parents being ‘somebody’ only is distracting you from the actually beautiful story that is being told. Rey is a story of a girl who raised herself, who held onto hope for people who didn’t deserve it, she is a story of how light can be born from darkness, and Rey is story of someone who was scared of her own truth—but then finally faced it. Rey being a Nobody is the story I was skeptical of at first, but grew to love, the story that gives me more hope than any Rey Skywalker or Rey Solo story ever would. Rey calling herself "Rey Skywalker" was so forced and unnecessary because all the whiny pissants did not like that a girl was skilled and powerful in her own right and because Rey did not have a good relationship with Luke in the first place. JJ was so set in just making Rey a Luke clone that it just undoes character development. If Rey had to take a name, Solo or Organa would make the most sense since she actually had a relationship with Han, Leia and Ben. Say what you want about how RIan Johnson handled Rey in TLJ. At least he treated Rey like her own person, with her own journey, and her own desires and fears, rather than consigning her to be a vessel for OT nostalgia. And at least he allowed her to actually have a new outfit and new hair style. At least he let her change. Like him or not, Rian Johnson treated Rey with more respect and identity than JJ Abrams ever did. It means more than making her related to anyone because Rey was every lonely girl who wanted to be a part of something but didn't feel like they belonged. Every woman who learned to make her way in the world alone. Every person who clung to hope when they had nothing left. She is so many things to so many people. Rey Nobody can be fierce, angry and powerful without it connecting to a man or evil bloodline. She can love, be curious and emotional without being weak. She is a scavenger, a Jedi, and one half of a powerful Dyad. She is Rey of Jakku and that's all we needed. Rey calling herself a Skywalker denied her every last inch of who she was. Her character arc was ruined to please men that thought her power needed to be connected to a man for it to make sense. All we needed her arc to be was Rey accepting that she needs to be her own hero and loving herself for who she is, rather than who she wanted her hypothetical parents to be. And honestly Rey in TROS was a huge disappointment. Her entire character arc was regressed, she's back to wearing the buns and dressed all in white and sticks to the glorification of the Jedi. It's like everything she learned in the last movie never happened. And honestly her character in TROS  is what men think a "strong female character" is She fights, but they don’t have to deal with her processing internal pain. She loves, but they don’t have to deal with her fully exploring her desires. She’s a “badass,” & for them that is enough. When I say "A Palpatine is left and steals the legacy of the Skywalkers" I am not suggesting she doesn't deserve the title. I am saying that essentially, Palpatine won. Anakin, Padme, Luke, Han, Leia and Ben are all dead. Leia died for nothing. Leia deserved to see her son come home, and to see the end of the monster who ruined her family. She didn’t deserve to feel her child die. The entire line of the family is now extinct. The wiki even says "the extinction of the family name" what kind of depressing garbage is this? JJ Abrams ended the entire Skywalker saga on Palpatine successfully using love to manipulate, corrupt, hurt or kill every single Skywalker across three generations, ultimately resulting in the total eradication of the Skywalker, Solo and Amidala bloodlines, whilst Palpatine's heir lives on and claims the Skywalker name and legacy. Rey calling herself "Rey Skywalker" was patronizing and insulting and demeans what Rey's journey meant in the first two movies to everyone who loved her. Rey coming from Jakku and nothing but rising up as a heroic Jedi means more than "you have his power...you are a Palpatine" or "Rey Rey Skywalker" ever will. Women Of The Galaxy author Amy Ratcliffe says it best. “Even beyond the trappings of the Star Wars saga — the First Order, the Resistance, the Force — Rey’s story is inspiring, familiar, and timeless. Just because you come from nothing doesn’t mean you’re not part of the story. You’re not no one, because anybody can save the galaxy. Anybody.“

If anyone still cannot understand my problem with bringing back Palpatine and why I find it narratively offensive. Just imagine this. What if Harry discovered that Dumbledore was wrong and Voldemort had far more than 7 horcruxes? Ashamed and afraid, he hides Ginny and the Potter children among the muggles. A defeated Ron returns to the burrow, while Hermione spends her days searching for Horcruxes. Years later, a 17 year old, Rachel Marvela Riddle, begins discovering her new powers, despite never receiving her Hogwart’s letter. Her magic is incredibly strong, but she is everything Tom was not. With the help of some friends, she tracks down the remaining Horcruxes and finally destroys the true Voldemort, for good and realsies this time! Also she starts calling herself the Girl Who Lived. This is the plot of Disney’s Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.. What if Harry didn’t actually destroy Voldemort? What if The One Ring survived Mt. Doom? Interesting concepts, but they would devalue everything that came before. The entire point of the Sequel Trilogy is disregarding generations of storytelling because no one behind this trilogy had any original or creative stories to tell. This is how Star Wars dies, with uncreativity and greed.

Anakin Skywalker’s story and family was destroyed, belittled, insulted and stolen by a Palpatine. Hell, even from a certain point of view PALPATINE WON! AGAIN!

[ariainstars]

Congratulations, We Fell for Another Love Bombing or Thank You, Disney, You Did It Again

Sigh. Luke Skywalker is back. And Din Djarin and his child had to say goodbye. I never thought I would curse and say “Oh no!” when Luke appeared in that fateful corridor. 

I wonder why the Disney studios are doing this - trying to "make up” for the oh-so criticized sequels, I suppose?

The Jedi have made their time. It was shown and proven over and over again that their attitude is wrong and needs to change, and Luke was the last of the old school Jedi. Again, a Force-sensitive child is all but kidnapped by a Jedi: he obviously did not like to go. Mando is no longer the hero of the story, he was stripped of his agency and all of his personal choices were questioned and valued for null and void. But the Dark Saber is in his hands now, so he’s the heir to the throne of Mandalore I guess. Like he ever wanted that.

This show, which grew to be so well-beloved in only a few episodes, now is not “The Mandalorian” any more. Its new title is “Luke’s Skywalker’s Comeback”. Hardcore fans may be out of their minds with joy, but for us, who admired Mando both as a badass hero and as a father figure and loved the dynamics between him and Grogu, the whole purpose of the show is destroyed. And here I naively had thought The Rise of Skywalker was bad enough to teach the studios not to repeat its mistakes.

~~~ more under the cut ~~~

Star Wars ought to be a fairy tale. It is and always was one. I can understand that the prequels had to end in a tragedy, we all knew that from the start, but why the sequels? And now, why must this generally acclaimed and beloved tv show again appease hardcore fans of old with Luke coming to save the day, cancelling in a matter of minutes what the story had built up within two entire seasons - the relationship of the two protagonists, heart and core of the narrative, as it had been with Rey and Ben Solo? And when both of them had their relationship just getting started - Rey and Ben kissing, Din calling Grogu by his name and the latter seeing him and touching his face? Why make Rey a queen without her king, and Din a father without a son? 

Again, a Force-user is denied having a home: „Jedi training” matters more. By Luke of all people, the guy who never was trained in the first place (only very briefly), who except for a few lessons with Obi-Wan and Yoda was self-taught in the Force, and never understood that his strength lay with his compassion and his connection with other people, not with his alleged „superpowers”.

Think back to how Anakin, Luke and Rey were before they met the Jedi: unaware of their powers, compassionate, idealistic, brave. The Jedi mindset tainted their characters and lives, making them believing that they are (or have to be) untouchable and invincible, compelling them to live for duty instead of love, condemning them to a lifetime of loneliness. Will the Jedi never learn?

Though I practically grew up with the classic movies, I loved The Last Jedi; I can accept that Luke failed, and also that Han and Leia did. Nobody is perfect, and the Jedi mindset as well as the universally accepted idea that „Jedi” is a synonym for infallible saint-like hero was wrong in the first place, else the Empire never would have risen. Making Luke not the cavalry who came to save the day - until the battle on Crait, that is - but a man who failed and picked himself up again was much more meaningful, and I know not a few fans who felt inspired by this. Luke had saved his father choosing love over power, not the contrary. Some fans just never get it. To appease them, why not simply give him a new storyline of his own, instead of making him intrude in other Star Wars related shows? Why stop the new stories in their tracks just to bring him back?

Instead of seeing Luke as the grand kickass hero in a tv show that never had anything to do with him until now, it would have been more to the purpose to finally shed light on the thirty years between his father’s and his nephew’s death, to explain us where the Jedi and the Skywalker-Organa-Solo family failed to make such an outcome possible - the granddaughter of Palpatine taking over with their own blessing. There must have been a huge build-up between the end of the original saga and the fateful night at the temple when Luke briefly panicked looking into his nephew’s mind. Many fans still are convinced that „Kylo Ren just chose to be bad” because we hardly know how the relationship between these two was in the first place. (A very easy plot twist would e.g. have been Snoke warning Ben that his uncle sooner or later would turn on him, frightened by his power. The fulfilment of that prophecy would have made the night at the temple much more impactful.) 

I understand that the studios want to tease us, to make us watch the other shows, too. But honestly, I’m getting tired of feeling duped. Tired of getting attached to new heroes to have their purpose smashed just so the Star Wars dudebro fans can sleep quietly at night because „some Jedi will take care of it”. First the characters from the sequels, now the ones from The Mandalorian. You get to love the new characters, you root for them to find happiness or at least some closure, and then, at the last moment, poof!, the hero of old comes back and the story development stops right there. 

It is not right and it never was for the Jedi to take Force-sensitive children away from home, to enforce „you have to become a Jedi, like it or not” on them, to teach them not to have attachments, to make them focus on the Light Side thereby bringing the Force out of its much-needed balance. While Ahsoka saw that Grogu has formed a strong attachment to Din Djarin, Luke obviously did not, or he did not care. The irony is that he always wanted a father, and knows the pain of losing a father you’ve just found.

The Mandalorian felt like a consolation after Episode IX, a blessing for the fans for whom heart and soul are more interesting than nostalgia and „Jedi superheroes”. Now it’s just another kick in the guts. It’s painful and embarrassing to get to love characters so much, to get invested in their story so deeply, and then to realize again that they seem to mean nothing in the shade of the heroes of old. Ben Solo died young and miserable and Din Djarin and Grogu can now, I suppose, be miserable too. Can someone please explain to me why after the classics, no Star Wars film or show had an uplifting ending any more? With the possible exception of Solo, which was a nice filler but not a really important storyline. (I do not count Episodes I and II, they officially had a happy ending but it was tainted by the knowledge of what was to come.) 

Fans are not blind. We saw the parallels between Darth Vader and Din Djarin as well as the differences - both being cool and tough but the latter not disdaining to be a caring father at the same time. The entire show lived from the dynamics between the gruff but kind bounty hunter and the innocent-looking powerful child, ever from the first episode. Two years of build-up for nothing, as it was with the four years of the sequels. Mando has to relinquish Grogu, Rey loses Ben. What was all that for? Both Mando and Rey are fighters, they have done nothing else their entire lives. What is to become of them now that they have nothing to fight for any more, nor anyone to live for? Except staying on a planet that is foreign to them and, for all they know, inhabitable or at least inhospitable? 

With Rey and Ben Solo, the situation was different: she had proven good intentions but bad attitude (arrogance, violence, judgement) over and over, unable to deny her heritage, and even impaled her „antagonist” once while he was only defending himself. He had been the head of a criminal organization for years, and had committed patricide. Of course there are nuances to these characters and I still believe that they would have deserved another chance; I understand however that would have been unfitting to let the sequels end giving them a happy ending.

But in the case of Din Djarin, a man of honor, who has made friends and brought peace wherever he went throughout the galaxy? Grogu, the last surviving padawan of the old Jedi temple, who saved both his and Greef Karga’s life despite the danger for himself? What did they do to deserve being ripped apart like that? 

So, all I can say: thank you, you did it again. And, once more, just before Christmas. I wish at least these depressing endings would be released at some other time. 

I would dearly want to see a galaxy that finally learned from its faults, where family and attachments and Balance and free choice are not contrary to being a Jedi. I am in my late forties and I’m beginning to give up hope that I will live to see it. By now I am wondering whether George Lucas himself will live to see it. 

I always loved Luke. He is one of my favorite heroes. But now he’s become an insensitive know-it-all who suffered from his own daddy issues to the point that he almost died crying out to his father for help, yet did not learn not to separate fathers from children and vice versa and, on the contrary, is doing it over and over again. He did not even tell Mando his name, or where he could reach him. We don’t have a clue as to if, when and how the Clan of Two will meet again. 

I get it that since this show is set five years Return of the Jedi, it would have been difficult to ignore Luke’s existence altogether. And of course, we can rest assured that Luke will do his best for Grogu. But still: he has made his time. I wanted to see the new heroes going their own way, not hanging on the sleeves of the former generation. Mando is a man of honor, he had promised to bring Grogu to his own kind and he relinquished him despite his own wishes. (Not to mention that technically, since he identifies as a Mandalorian, by being a Jedi Luke is his enemy.) Why did Luke have to take the child away? His greatest strength always was that he was first and foremost himself and only in the second place a Jedi. What became of his trademark compassion? 

Before The Mandalorian, we have never seen a healthy and working father-son relationship in the saga. It was incredibly refreshing and heart-warming to see these two traveling through the galaxy and living through adventures together; also, contrarily to Yoda, Grogu saw a lot of the bad things happening in the galaxy with his own eyes, which certainly was good for his character development.

But in the end, both he and his „father” did not go anywhere. Like Rey in Episode IX, they found a) power and b) a surrogate place, but neither got what was actually his heart’s wish - a home. I can’t understand why. Deliberate cruelty? We never knew whether Han and Leia and Ben felt how painful it was to break up their little family for the sake of „Jedi training”. You bet Din and Grogu did feel that pain and loss.

Both as a person with a heart and a brain and an almost lifelong Star Wars fan I am sickened by the readiness of the studios to end all that this well-made show had built up, for the appeasement of Jedi worshippers who just don’t want to see that the Jedi mindset needs urgently to change. It can’t be that difficult to renew them for the better; there is no necessity to erase the Jedi completely and there is nothing bad with making them grow wiser and stronger by finally understanding and accepting the importance of attachments and family ties. Yes, I realize that being a father also means learning how to let go; but here we are speaking of a literal child, not of a young adult who chose his own way in life.

I thought that George Lucas knew why he sold his franchise to the Disney studios, given their tradition in telling stories about family and friendship. This development is not a triumph, it is unworthy both of the studios and of the entire Star Wars saga. I’m tired of producers bowing down before fans who see every shred of the saga through „Jedi are always right”-tinted glasses respectively who value coolness over compassion even though it always was the saga’s central message. 

Whatever happens in Season 3, countless fans will only be watching it asking, „Where’s Luke?” If Grogu should choose to join Mando again, everybody will be like, „But how can he want to leave Luke Skywalker of all people?” Some already see Grogu die prematurely, killed by the oh-so-bad guy Kylo Ren, for no other reason than to just to further prove how evil he is. In which case both Ben Solo and Grogu will have lived and died for nothing except for leaving a lot of heartbreak behind. 

There must be another and better way to honor the legacy of both Luke Skywalker and the original trilogy than to think up new heroes and then destroy their purpose for the sake of old times’ glory. Lucas himself had said that Star Wars is basically for twelve-year-olds. It seems not: it’s for the fans who were twelve years old forty years ago, when the first movies hit theatres. 

There are enough voices crying out for the sequels to be erased from canon. Who knows? This may be the next step into the past instead of the future. The sequels were hinting at a better future (Balance), Grogu was, too (family). But the grand past is so reassuring. The sequels tried to tell the audience to grow up and learn to do without their heroes, to see that even they were flawed and that the new heroes could grow beyond them. Fie on them, said the hardcore fans. Now it’s the turn of the younger generation, who got to know and love the saga with the sequels or The Mandalorian, to be like „WTF”. 

Rogue One also had been a huge disappointment to me. Not that I found it badly made, but I went into a depressive mood for three days for the same reason: I did not like that I had grown so attached to all of these characters only to see all of them die. The infamous Darth Vader scenes and the design with the huge hints at the classic movies were no consolation. Nostalgia does not make me happy. Heart does. Rogue One, the sequels and The Mandalorian were all, in the end, deprived of all human feeling except loss and regret and many, many thoughts about what might have been. 

The Mandalorian was an excellent story on its own. It did not need Luke Skywalker. It is and ought to be Din Djarin’s story, who lost or gave up everything because he was afraid to lose the child: and now he did. It’s not comforting that he lost him to the alleged Good Guy. Luke of course won’t turn a hair on Grogu’s head, but he can’t offer him a home, we already know that. Ahsoka saw the attachment between the two and she knows the dangers of it; Luke does not know what drove his father to his terrible fate. If the sequels remain canon, then we already know that Luke will not allow his pupils having and keeping healthy attachments. And that does not promise well for the child’s future.

Unless the studios commit the madness of officially erasing the sequels and starting the saga anew, we can only hope that the child will not stay with Luke for long since it’s a good five years before he will start his own Jedi temple. Maybe he will die of a broken heart, poor little guy. And Din Djarin might become the new ruler of Mandalore, though sad and alone. But who cares: Luke is back. Please: I did not subscribe to Disney+ wanting to see Schwarzenegger movies. The lonesome hero can ride into the sunset for all I care, out of sight and of mind. Star Wars’ greatest strength always was its heart. 

My own take was that Grogu is meant to be a healer, and since Luke is not, there is no way he can teach him this particular skill in the Force. Anakin was a pilot and a mechanic, Luke and Ben also were pilots. None of them were Jedi by choice. Grogu is older than Luke and he was already trained at the old Jedi temple: he’s more likely to be a teacher to Luke than the other way around. Grogu as the first Force-user who values attachment and family over power and Jedi training, that would indeed have been a new hope. This backpedaling is shallow and useless. Even if Luke sends Grogu back to Din Djarin, this won’t teach him not to take a child away from its home, since only a few years later he will do the same thing to his nephew. (Although it would admittedly be an interesting plot point to see a small Ben Solo interacting with Grogu for a while.) 

Please give us back The Mandalorian the way it was, with its characters and dynamics. The themes and messages of The Last Jedi already were almost all aborted in The Rise of Skywalker; we didn’t sign up on Disney+ to see the exact same thing happen with The Mandalorian. I for my part am fed up with this kind of love bombing followed by a quick and coldblooded let-down. Star Wars may be a cult, but it need not be the kind of cult where you get hooked and then unwittingly follow a carrot hanging before your eyes. I thought the exaggerated Jedi cult was mostly made by the fans: the studios did not need to jump on this ship. This is not the Way. 

Now everything I feared is flaring up again - fans jubilating because “the Jedi are taking matters in hand” instead of accepting the failure of the Jedi mindset at last; and even insisting that since things are going so well, all Disney needs to do is to cancel the sequels from canon and everybody can be happy again. 

Please, please, give this tormented galaxy a chance to heal at last. We don’t need Luke Skywalker to save the day by killing all the bad guys. We don’t need the oh-so-powerful and perfect Jedi. We need faith in the Force. We need a home. Don’t take it away from us again. Thank you.

 P.S. If we see Luke again in Season 3, at least give the role to a live actor. That digital “rejuvenation” made him look wooden. Luke’s best trait, apart from his compassion, always was his smile.

P.P.S. What’s with Boba Fett claiming Jabba’s throne? I thought Jabba had a son. What in the galaxy happened to him?

P.P.P.S. I don’t mind kickass women, but honestly, I’m getting somehow tired of them. What became of the ladies of Star Wars, the diplomats, the good queens, the loving mothers, the accurate librarians, who contribute to the galaxy without killing (or hurting) anyone? I’m feeling kind of underrepresented here...

[seasidewriter1-writes]

Answering Asks from @fadingclamalmondrascal : “Hi! I hope you're still doing asks, but I understand if you're not, it sounds like you've got a lot going on. I've got 3 questions for you:

1: What made you want to adopt this story and write an "Anakin's big sister who falls in love with obi" au? What about it appealed to you initially, and what about it keeps you coming back?

2: I love Elara's Sith name! Carus is so cool. What kind of thought did you put into that name and her sith design?

3: What does your writing process for each chapter look like?”

Hi!! My asks are always open, and even if my life his completely hectic, I’ll always get around to answering them! But, thankfully, my life has started to calm down in the last week. I’ve gotten a lot of writing done in the last day, so I’m in a very “Balance” mood, so I’m super stoked to answer these!! (I also wrote a lot again, so buckle up!!)

1. So fun backstory on my finding the story: I was living in England for my first year at University, and I was on a big ol’ Star Wars kick because The Force Awakens had just come out in December. It was January. It was cold, the evenings were getting rainy, so one night after dinner and scrolled through FFN to find something fun to read. And when I first found and read the original story, pre-adoption (which I believe is still up and called “Another Skywalker”), I remember being like ‘wow, this is an interesting concept.’ And as I read it, in my head, all of these ideas were coming to my head; and I remember being kinda sad about that. I didn’t want to write my own story, then have it seem like I’d ripped off the concept from the author. Because this was the first fic with the “Anakin’s older sister falling for Obi” concept that I’d ever seen. I didn’t know if it was something of a trope for an Obi x OC pairing, or if this one was an odd one out. So I finished reading the 11 chapters, and the author had posted a note saying that the story was, effectively, up for adoption. I have never jumped on something so fast. I drafted out two scenes (a now obsolete scene where Elara sees Obi-Wan off to Kamino, and a chunk of the final battle RotS) and sent it to the author. When she told me that the story and concept were all mine to do with as I pleased, I was so excited. Because I realized that all the ideas that had been tentatively brewing in my head, I could now fully bring to fruition.

What initially drew me to the concept was the idea of being able to explore a story and a romance that is, in a way, a foil to Anakin’s. Almost a way to show that maybe, if things had gone differently, Anakin and Padmé’s romance didn’t have to be doomed. Because I have always believed that there had to be some way that it didn’t have to end in disaster. Presenting a Jedi OC x Obi-Wan can explore similar issues (and there’s a lot of fun to be had with that concept, too). But then you have two people who were raised with/to follow the same ideals. Though they are both unique individuals, they will come up to very similar blockages––struggling with breaking the Code, with sloughing off ideals and a way of life they’ve followed all their lives. But with a Skywalker OC… that changes. You get someone who wasn’t raised to keep her emotions in ultra-check. Someone who, like Anakin, is family oriented, passionate about protecting those they love, and innately wishes to express their emotions in a more open manner. Those characteristics present unique conflict (particularly in conjunction with Obi-Wan’s characteristics), and I just… I wanted to, and continue to want to, play with that. Because Elara is dedicated to the Jedi Code. She’s a good Jedi. But put her want to be a good Jedi (for herself, for her brother, for the good of the galaxy) right up against an undeniable, innate need and want to love (because, at her core, Elara is just a purely loving person)––you get whole other obstacles to overcome. It’s a lot of fun to figure out how her overcoming her obstacles helps Obi-Wan overcomes his, and vice-versa. How we can see, in recent chapters, that Obi-Wan realizing he can’t hold Elara at arm’s length anymore affects her; how she starts being more gentle towards him again, tentatively letting him back in. I just love playing with stuff like that!!

And there are a whole lot of things that keep me coming back to this story. One of the biggest things, I think, has to be the idea that ‘love prevails.’ I love myself a complex romance. Maybe that’s why I love Regency/Period Dramas so much; because there are so many ups and downs––and that’s what makes it feel so good! Because while there’s hope and love and happiness, there’s also drama and frustration and confrontation. But through all of that, at the end… love prevails. I’m a hopeless romantic, I’ll own up to that any time of the day. So seeing a couple, so hopelessly in love, go through trials and tribulations and come out on the other end completely alright? That’s my jam! And when you’ve got someone who stands so steadfastly by their ideals as Obi-Wan, but who very clearly is… so passionate and loving… That just feels like the way a love story with him would go. And ‘love prevails’ doesn’t just apply to the Obi-Lara stuff either. It’s about the familial love between Anakin and Elara, and how that love for each other may thrive or suffer in events to come… it’s the platonic love of Elara and the men of the 442nd. Star Wars is a story of many things––family, adventure, coming into your own… but it’s also about love. And getting to add to that aspect of the story in any given way, for people who enjoy reading it, to have fun conceptualizing and writing everything… it keeps bringing me back for more.

2. I had so much fun thinking up all the Darth Carus stuff!! It was prompted by a question in a review, asking what I thought Elara would be like as a Sith/what her name would be. So I started looking at all the other Sith names, and realized a lot of them were words that stood for descriptors of the Sith Lord. “Maul” for (the literal usage of) “maul,” “Tyrannus” for “tyrant” (derived, likely, from Latin tyrannia or tyrannos), “Vader” for “invader” (or “father”). So I decided I would use a Latin word for her Sith name, and decided I needed to think of what she would be like as a Sith. Tyrannical? Violent? Rampaging? And none of those seemed… right. It felt, to me, that if she were to become a Sith, it would be out of heartbreak. And it wouldn’t be a denial of love kind of heartbreak; it would be losing someone she truly loved (Anakin or Obi-Wan) forever. Their death, perhaps by a mistake that she made. So I went, ‘okay, the birth of her being a Sith is related to love.’ I searched up some Latin words and found “Carus” which means heart. And because Elara, Jedi or Sith, is so involved with her emotions and with love, with her heart… it just seemed to fit.

Now, the outfit––ohh, I had so much fun with the outfit. I’ve got a BFA in Theatrical Arts, so I’m big on costumes and costume details, so creating Elara’s Sith outfit was absolutely delightful. Again, I started with what I thought Darth Carus would be like. There’s a mournful aspect to her, so black as part of her color palette works, but I didn’t want her to be dressed in all black. I thought that, in the wake of her heartbreak, there would be a dangerous passion about her. An angry passion. So ‘anger’ and ‘passion’ are typically associated with burning colors like red, so I through red (and orange) into the mix. And I wanted them to be bright––Darth Carus is no longer hiding in the neutrals of Tatooine or the Jedi Order. She’s letting the galaxy know her pain. I did, however, want to stick with clothing articles that were more robe-like. It’s what Elara’s known her whole life. But instead of multiple layers, I stripped it down to singular, more form fitting articles. In a way, the fewer layers is displaying the vulnerability that turned her towards the Darkness. Red is the predominant color (the tunic) because it draws attention. You have to look at her, you have to see her pain. It’s almost like staring into a fire, or gaping at an open wound. And because all good Sith Lords need a dramatic cape, I thought I’d do a fun take on it and do one of the ones that attaches at the shoulders instead of drapes over them. Maximum drama for sweeping down staircases or jumping off of tall platforms. Now, like I said, I’m a sucker for small details… hence why I added the embroidery on the tunic collar. It’s floral. It denotes her love of life. Now, if this were all real life, real costume design in an actual movie… the embroidered flowers would be Gleannish Snow Blossoms. And, of course, amidst all the bright reds, vivid oranges, and swaths of black… against all this intensity… you have the delicate, cool softness of the real Snow Blossom pinned to the spot over her heart. The very same Snow Blossom that Obi-Wan gave her on Gleann. A gentle reminder of better days… of the reason she became the ways she is… of the man she loved so wholly and deeply that, in losing him… she’d much have rather killed her own heart instead. (Also, a friend of mine and I had a wonderful conversation discussing how much of a terrifying, badass power couple Sith!Elara and Sith!Obi-Wan would be. It’s delightful.)

3. So, if I’m writing a chapter that deals with a chunk of movie or episode, what I’ll do first is sit down and watch what I perceive I’ll be writing. I’ll take down notes on things that I’ll want to add in/describe. I’ve also got a whole document of ideas I’ve already written down, and a document of bullet-pointed ideas, so I’ll give that I skim/edit, too. I always have to pick what scenes to leave in or take out, decide if they can be summarized or should be left in. Sometimes this’ll happen the same day I start writing, but sometimes I take a day to really think things over, sleep on it, then start the next. Then I’ll start to write, and I’ll have the movie/episode open for reference. When I write canon dialogue, it’s a lot of: watch, listen, pause, transcribe; rewind, read subtitles, listen, pause, transcribe. I also usually have, like… five safari tabs open with different research pages open––one for the movie/episode, probably one for a character of some kind, a google image search of a costume or something, and another one that’s got, like, different kinds of starships or droids (because there are so, so many). A lot of the time I’ll just transcribe/describe a chunk of canon stuff, then go back and add in extra details, weave Elara into it, or change up the dialogue to fit. An example being Obi-Wan and Sugi’s conversation in the barn. I beefed that up a little bit, added in references, and used it to benefit the overall storyline.

With chapters that are more original content based, those take a little longer to plan. Even if I have an idea of what’s going to happen, it takes a bit of time to figure out how to order it all, how to get a proper lead in, how to make transitions. And I also contemplate whether or not what I want to write is really going to be beneficial to the story, or if it’s going to end up being meaningless filling. There are a lot of ideas that I have had or do have that would be fun to write, but don’t really… work into the story well enough (like, god, do I want a girls’ day chapter 😂). And it’s in writing these chapters in particular that I do a lot of my music listening. Star Wars soundtracks, the story playlists I’ve made… the right music can help me find the mood or setting of a scene, inspire a moment. Like, I cannot tell you how much of the bunker scene on Ryloth was inspired by Sebastian Böhm’s rendition of “Blue Monday.” Music plays a huge role in writing for me. I’ll have music playing when I’m driving or doing dishes or cooking, and I’ll start to formulate ideas while listening. There are times, too, when I feel stuck when writing that I’ll swap on over to YouTube and I’ll watch some Star Wars edits. There’s an amazing edit of “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath over battle sequences from the films, and it’s just… it feeds my soul when I get stuck writing battle sequences. I’ve got, like… a go-to list of edits I watch when I feel a little stuck, and they’re all phenomenal. And when all is said and done and I’ve finished the chapter, I usually take a break and sit on it for a bit. Then go back, read over it, do grammar edits, change things if I see fit too. Then it’s on to review replies and I get it uploaded and posted!!

[cocastyle]

Fighting For You

Pairing - Ben Solo x reader (post ROS)

Word Count - 5,180

Warning - none :))

A/N - so this is an idea I actually got after watching a tik tok lol. it’s not entirely the same, but the whole concept of bringing Ben back after Rise of Skywalker through him having to make a choice is. I added Ahsoka for myself and the setting so that was my idea and this was just so much fun to write! I love Star Wars so much and I know I haven’t written much but I hope to soon! I hope you all like this and that this gives you the closure you may have needed after Rise of Skywalker’s ending. let me know what you think and if you have any Star Wars requests, please let me know! :))

She had felt what was happening before it did. She had felt the life force leaving him as her own began to consume her body with a blistering pain that nothing and no one could soothe. Only he could, but he was gone.

Ben Solo was gone.

The days after the death of Ben Solo had gone by faster than she expected, but Y/N L/N could still feel his death like it had happened only moments before. She was numb to the outside world, her own pain being the only thing reminding her that she was human. She was a shell of the person she used to be, succumbing to the sadness and hurt that swirled within her no matter how hard she tried not to.

Everyone was worried, Y/N knew that. But how was she supposed to explain to them how she felt? How could she explain that she was spiraling down further and further into her own darkness where only pain and sadness awaited her? How could she explain how every second she was without Ben felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest?

The answer to all of that was that she couldn’t. They would never understand. No one would. The only one who would’ve was dead.

Poe would tell her jokes constantly, always making a point to sit next to her with BB-8 during meals and talk her ear off hoping that maybe this would be the time she smiled. And Finn would be right there with him, playfully rolling his eyes at the man and giving Y/N a look as if to say ‘can you believe him?’ but all she could do was stare at them blankly.

Rey tried to get her to smile as she trained her in the ways of the Jedi, but not even the dazzling sight of sparks flying off their lightsabers as they fought could crack the wall Y/N had put up.

After all, Y/N felt like there was no reason to smile. No reason the live in fact. Ben had been her everything. They had been best friends since a young age and even after he was consumed by the dark side, Y/N never lost hope. She knew one day he would return to her and then he did, but she had only felt it. Y/N hadn’t even been there to see it for herself.

Only Rey had gotten to see the man Ben Solo had become. Only Rey had gotten to be there for his last breath. Rey was the one Ben had saved and Rey was the one who held him in her arms as he died.

It angered Y/N that she hadn’t been there. For if she had been there, she was sure she would’ve stopped his death. But she knew why Ben had done what he did. She knew that he had done it for her, knowing that Rey was like a sister to her and that she would know this was his last gift to her.

Y/N was beyond thankful for what he had done, but she would never be the same because Ben had died believing she didn’t need him. He had thought she needed Rey more. He had died thinking she didn’t love him. And that, that, was what ate away at the girl every day.

But then Y/N had found a way. Months spent diving deep into the countless books she managed to get ahold of and talking to numerous people had lead her to finding the one thing that could get her what she wanted. The one thing that could possibly bring him back. And if there was even the slightest chance to get Ben back, Y/N would take it without a beat of hesitation.

Rey had been the most understanding as to why Y/N needed to leave, even packing her bags and teaching her a few more tricks with the Force in case the need came up. Finn was apprehensive, not entirely liking the idea but knowing that if it were going to make the girl happy then he couldn’t stop her.

But Poe was an entirely different story. Having trained together since they first joined the Rebellion, the two had developed a pretty unique friendship that made it hard for things like goodbyes. Poe had been angry at first, not believing Y/N would ‘be so reckless’ as he had put it, to throw her life away for someone who was dead. That argument hadn’t ended well and the two didn’t talk to each other for a week before Poe apologized and explained that she was his best friend and that he was just worried about her. The two made up after that and Poe had hugged her the longest before helping the girl into her X-wing after she had hugged Rey, Finn, BB-8, and Chewie goodbye.

Just when Y/N was about to close the hatch, she had locked eyes with Chewie. Chewie may have been mad at Kylo Ren for the things he did, but Ben Solo would always be the little boy who used to climb on his arms and try to speak Wookie. He knew Ben Solo in a way that only Y/N could say she knew him as well and that connection was something the two cherished more than anything on the nights where they mourned their loved ones the most.

She had given the Wookie a small nod as she said with tear filled eyes, “I’m going to bring him home, Chewie. We’ll have our Ben Solo back before you know it.” Chewie had roared at that and that was the last time Y/N saw her friends.

It had been three months since she left her family behind, eight months since Ben Solo’s death. Y/N hadn’t wanted it to take her so long to save him, but this was the timeframe she was given and she knew it would all be worth it in the end.

Standing before the ruins in front of her, Y/N knew she should’ve felt scared, but all she felt was a buzzing confidence. The building, or what used to be a building, looked like a burnt-out husk of the pictures and drawings from books. Over the years the building had crumbled more than it had after the Empire’s raid, but the fact that it was still there was what gave Y/N hope.

“The Jedi Temple,” Y/N whispered in slight disbelief, having never thought she would see the building with her own eyes. It was a legend by now, but here it stood before her. Even in ruins, it was still magnificent.

Y/N was cautious as she crept inside, avoiding the fallen pillars until she had entered the building. The interior was pock marked and burned with blasterfire. The ceiling had collapsed in many areas and the marble floors were cracked. Floors were caved in and in what used to be the Jedi Archives were burnt or torn books. Some of the entrances were blocked off with old blastdoors that were rusty and beginning to fall off, but other than that, the place was still intact.

Y/N couldn’t help but keep her hand atop the lightsaber hanging at her waist. She had an odd feeling that someone was watching her, but every time she looked there was no one there. The only two things keeping her calm were the fact that Ben could soon be there with her and the presence of past Jedi’s watching over her.

It took time but she eventually found what used to be the hidden room of the temple, a room most Jedi’s didn’t know about. Inside was a simple painting, a mural to the past of the Force. There was supposed to be a portrait of three beings—the Father, the Son, and the Daughter. The Daughter had been a paradigm of the light side and the Son the paradigm of the dark while the Father had kept the balance.

All three had died a long time ago, but Y/N had read about their connections to the Force especially that of the Daughter. She knew of what the Daughter did for Anakin Skywalker’s padawan and, knowing that no one truly left the Force once they were gone, had come in hopes of reaching the Daughter and gaining her trust in order to help bring back Ben Solo.

Y/N knew it was a long shot, but it was all she had. She couldn’t give up on Ben. She needed him.

Making her way across the room was the lightest Y/N had felt in the past eight months. This was it. She was going to connect with the Daughter and get Ben back.

The painting was destroyed by now, but that did not bother Y/N. She searched until she found the crumbled pieces of the Daughter’s portrait and used the Force in order to lift the heavier rocks over until she had reassembled the portrait the best she could. Falling down to her knees in front of the portrait, Y/N closed her eyes and let herself go, fully giving into the Force and clearing her mind.

It was only one she was the most calm she had ever been in her life that Y/N whispered out, “Please be with me. Hear my voice and show yourself to me.”

She knew she was speaking into the Force by the feeling that washed over her, but the response she had hoped for didn’t come. After a moment of nothing but silence, Y/N felt her mind waver a bit as she took in a shaky breath.

“Daughter of Mortis, please hear my call,” Y/N whispered, her voice a little shaky as she was met with yet another haunting silence. The silence dragged on and Y/N was beginning to lose her composure as she continued to call out to the one person she thought could help her.

Her thoughts flickered over to Ben as they usual did and a small sob escaped her lips as she lowered her head and slammed her hands against the ground in anger. Tears were rolling down her face by now and Y/N’s whole body shook as she clenched her hands into fists before she whispered out in a heartbroken voice.

“Please.”

Once again there was no response and the presence of the Jedi had gone totally silent. Y/N’s face fell into her hands and she began to cry, utter sadness washing over her body as she realized she had done all of this for nothing. Ben was gone. Ben Solo was dead.

She didn’t know why, but a memory suddenly popped into her head and Y/N got lost in thought as she remembered a conversation she had with Ben when he was still Kylo Ren.

“You don’t have to do this. I feel the conflict in you,” Y/N said, her voice as steady as it could be despite Kylo’s presence behind her. She could feel his eyes flickering over to look at her, his stare making her skin burn and her heart flutter.

How he still managed to make her feel like this despite the fact that he had her handcuffed and had forced her on an elevator that was leading straight up to Snoke himself was beyond Y/N, but he had always had this effect on her and she knew he always would.

“Ben,” Y/N whispered, her voice making the man still but her suddenly turning around to look at him making his gaze instantly fall upon her.

“I’m not Ben. Not anymore,” Kylo insisted, a frown appearing on his face despite the fact that his eyes were giving him away. He had softened, let his guard down just enough to give Y/N enough hope to continue.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Y/N told him. “I know you. I don’t know how your connection to Rey in the Force came to be, but she will never know the person you used to be. They don’t know how you used to sneak out in the middle of the night with me just so we could look at the stars.”

“Stop,” Kylo said, his fist clenching tighter as he glared at the girl, but Y/N didn’t let up and instead took a bold step towards the boy.

“They don’t know how you used to hold my hand when you were nervous or how you used to help everyone in need even if it was as simple as helping them carry a few things or holding the door open for them,” Y/N continued, ignoring the anger that was growing in Kylo’s eyes.

“Y/N,” he warned, but she only took another step towards him.

“They don’t know the type of person you are deep down even if you try desperately to hide it,” she said, continuing to walk towards him until they were so close their toes were touching. “They don’t know who Ben Solo is and you can try and hide your past as much as you want, but that will never change the fact that you will always be that little boy who patched up my knee when I scraped it running.”

Kylo was quick to grab her arms and spin her so that she was pinned against the wall. His eyes were blazing with a fury Y/N had never seen before, but not once did he hold her too tight or harm her in any way. “I told you to stop,” Kylo practically growled, his frustration clear but that was enough to make the girl keep going.

Y/N’s voice was clear and steady as she spoke, her eyes focusing on nothing other than the boy’s as she said, “You will not bow before Snoke. You’ll turn and I’ll help you. I’ll always help you.”

Kylo hesitated at that, his already gentle grip on her loosening even more until Y/N was able to drop her hands back down to her side. Kylo looked at the ground, obviously lost in his thoughts and Y/N took that moment to reach out and gently cup the boy’s face in her hands. To her surprise, he leaned into her touch and let out a shaky breath as he closed his eyes.

“Ben, I’m here and I always will be,” Y/N whispered.

“Why?” Kylo whispered, not daring to open his eyes. He voice was soft and almost scared. Y/N knew she was talking to Ben now, not Kylo, and the fact made her heart skip a beat.

“Why what?” Y/N questioned, her eyes flickering over the boy’s face as she kept her voice as gentle and soft as his own.

“Why do you still believe in me? Why do you continue to fight for me?” Kylo asked, genuinely confused but still refusing to open his eyes.

Y/N was silent for a moment and Kylo began to pull away, but Y/N had leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. She pulled away almost as quick as she had kissed him, but even that fraction of a second was enough to make Kylo still, his breath catching in his throat.

Y/N pulled away, but kept her hands on his face as Kylo dared to open his eyes. She had never seen him look so broken in her life and she once again saw it—the fight between the light and dark within his eyes.

“I have hope,” Y/N whispered, her eyes flickering over his face in a gentle way as she smiled almost sadly. “I will always have hope because one day, I will have you back. I believe in you more than I have believed in any one else and I will fight for you for as long as I live.”

“I will never stop fighting for you, Ben Solo.”

Kylo shook under her touch and for a moment Y/N swore he might kiss her again, but just when he had started to lean in, the two both heard the elevator come to a stop and Kylo had pulled away from her faster than she had ever seen him move. His back was turned to her and Y/N opened her mouth to speak, but Kylo shook his head.

“No more talking,” he muttered and the moment he turned around, his wall was back up. Ben was gone and Kylo had returned. “He is waiting.”

Another sob left Y/N’s mouth as she thought back to that moment, how vulnerable Ben had been under her touch and the feeling of his lips against hers. That was the one and only time they had ever kissed, but Y/N knew that memory had only resurfaced in her head because of what she had told him.

I will never stop fighting for you, Ben Solo.

Y/N squeezed her eyes shut, her head throbbing due from all of the crying as she realized she had failed him. She had failed Ben. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to do now. How could she return to her friends? How could she return to a life that was anything but normal? How could she live a life without Ben?

Suddenly Y/N was on her feet, her lightsaber in hand as she spun around and pointed her weapon at the neck of who stood behind her—a female with blue eyes, dark orange skin, brownish-lips, white facial markings, a white leaky and montrals with blue stripes.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Y/N hissed, her eyes practically burning with a fire while she ignored the tears rolling down her face. The woman looked at her in slight amusement before glancing behind her at the portrait of the Daughter on the floor.

“I,” the woman began as she stood back up and looked to Y/N with a small smile, “am Ahsoka Tano. I have come because I heard your call.”

“Ahsoka—“ Y/N trailed off, wondering why the name sounded so familiar to her. Her eyes widened in realization and she hesitantly lowered the lightsaber as she said, “You’re the Ahsoka Tano who trained under Anakin Skywalker?”

A flicker of pain flashed through Ahsoka’s eyes, but she nodded. Y/N’s eyes widened more in disbelief, but then she seemed to register what Ahsoka had told her and her lightsaber was instantly returned to her side as she asked, “You heard my call?”

Ahsoka nodded and walked past Y/N and over to the portrait of the Daughter still lying on the floor. “She won’t appear to you if that’s what you were hoping for. The Force works in mysterious ways, but not even the Daughter would be able to help you bring someone back,” she said.

“How did you-?” Y/N began, but Ahsoka looked back to her with an amused smile that instantly cut her off.

“Know what you were looking for?” Ahsoka finished. “Not many people come around here anymore and only a few know about this room in particular. The Daughter was known for being connected to the light side and was one of the only ones able to bring someone back. I assumed that’s why you have come, but I am sorry to say she can not help you.”

“She brought you back. Why would she not be able to bring Ben back?” Y/N asked a bit defensively, her eyes narrowing at the woman in front of her. “He may have done some bad things in his life, but he died a hero. He deserves to live after the sacrifice he made. I will do anything to bring Ben Solo back and I will never stop fighting for him until I can.”

Ahsoka was silent for a moment as she peered at the young girl before finally saying, “Are you done?” Y/N face reddened in embarrassment, but her expression didn’t waver. “I merely said that the Daughter couldn’t help you. I never said that I couldn’t.”

Y/N relaxed at that, confusion washing over her face as she looked at Ahsoka. “You? But what could you-?” Y/N trailed off before looking at Ahsoka with wide eyes. “You have part of the connection with the Force that the Daughter used to, don’t you? Is it because she gave her life to save you?”

“I can reach him,” Ahsoka told her, ignoring the girl’s questions. “But it will ultimately be his choice. Ben Solo must chose once more which side of the Force he will turn to, but this time he must face the choice alone.”

Y/N was silent at that before setting her jaw and looking up at Ahsoka. “Do as you must, but please bring him back,” was all she said.

“Are you sure? I cannot do anything more but give him the choice. Unless he chooses the light, he will be lost in his own darkness until the end of time,” Ahsoka warned.

“I believe in him,” Y/N insisted, her voice never wavering. “Ben will make the right choice.”

Ahsoka smiled ever so slightly before nodding her head. “Then I will help you,” she announced and before Y/N could ask her how she would do that, Ahsoka raised her hands and the last thing Y/N saw was a blinding light before everything went black.

- - -

When Y/N opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the same spot she had been moments before only this time what stood before her was what looked to be a giant portal. Instead of the decaying room that surrounded her, a red-tinted world of lava and rocks stood in its place. Although she could only watch from afar as two people came into focus.

A small gasp escaped her lips as she realized one of the people was Snoke, a clone of Palpatine’s that had tricked Ben into leaning towards the Dark Side. However, the urge to cry came from seeing Ben Solo standing before him in the same black gear he had died in.

Y/N reached a hand out, ready to jump into the portal and grab ahold of Ben for herself, but a hand on her shoulder instantly stopped her. “You cannot intervene. This is his choice,” Ahsoka’s voice whispered from behind her, but Y/N couldn’t look back at her. She was too focused on Ben who was on the other side of the portal. Ben who she hadn’t seen in eight months. It was Ben. Her Ben. And she was so close to getting him back.

Y/N let her hand fall limply to her side, knowing that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t be able to help Ben. He had to do this himself and Y/N had complete faith in him.

“I can restore you to your former glory!” Snoke exclaimed as the portal came close enough to the two for them to finally hear what they were saying. “I can give you back your army, your power!”

Y/N’s eyes flickered to Ben’s face, freezing slightly at the sight of pure pain on his face as if he was fighting with himself. “Everything that girl took from you will be yours once again and you will not fall!” Snoke exclaimed, his words making Ben grimace once again as she looked up at his former master and his outstretched hand.

“Well? What will it be, boy?” Snoke asked, his eyes narrowing at Ben who stood there with a pained and confused look on his face. Y/N saw his hand twitch and when he slowly began to lift his hand, she felt her heart drop.

“No!” Y/N cried out, her voice cracking as she fell down to her knees in despair. “Come on, Ben! I believe in you!” A heartbroken sob escaped her mouth and tears began to roll down her face, but she hesitated as she watched Ben suddenly still.

He lifted his head and looked around wide eyed as if he had heard her and for a moment, Y/N wondered if he actually could. “Ben,” Y/N whispered, her voice so soft but the look of Ben’s face telling her that there was a good chance he had heard her. “Come home to me. Please, come home.”

Ben stared at his hand before looking back up at Snoke. His face hardened almost instantly and he clenched his hand into a fist before turning and running in the other direction. Y/N blinked in surprise, her eyes widening as the portal view shifted until all Y/N could see was Ben running straight towards the portal.

“Ben Solo has made his choice,” Ahsoka announced, but Y/N could hardly hear her. She was in disbelief and she barely managed to scramble on to her own feet as she watched Ben suddenly stop in front of the portal. As if he was suddenly seeing it for the first time and was unsure of what was happening.

But then his eyes had locked on Y/N and it was then that she realized he could see her like she could see him. “Y/N?” Ben whispered and before she could say anything in response, Ben had burst through the portal and straight into Y/N.

His arms wrapped around her almost instantly, the force of his body hitting hers making the two stumble back until they both fell down to the ground on their knees. Y/N was unable to move, her eyes wide as she shakily put her hands on Ben’s chest in order to push him away.

Ben pulled away enough for the two to look at each other and Y/N continued to stare at him in disbelief as she shakily brought her hands up to cup his face. “Ben?” she whispered. “Is it really you?”

“It’s me. I’m here,” Ben assured her, happy tears beginning to fall down his face as he held her waist tight. “I don’t exactly know how I’m here, but I assure you that I am.”

Y/N let out a breathy laugh at that, but she couldn’t help but break down almost instantly. She fell into Ben’s embrace, the boy holding onto her tightly while she cried in his arms. “You were gone,” Y/N sobbed as her hands balled into fists around Ben’s shirts. “You left to a place I could not follow and. . .and—“

“It’s okay,” Ben whispered, pressing a small kiss to the top of her head while she breathed in his scent in between sobs. “I’m here now, okay? And I don’t plan on leaving you anytime soon.”

Y/N pulled away at that and she let her eyes flicker over Ben’s face, for the man in front of her was not the man she had seen last. He was not Kylo Ren anymore. This was Ben Solo. This was her Ben and never had Y/N been more excited to see him.

Before Ben could process what was happening, Y/N had leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Ben let out a small gasp of surprise, but his eyes fluttered closed almost instantly and he put a hand to the back of her head before pulling her closer, instantly deepening the kiss.

They had kissed for only a moment before Ben smiled into the kiss, his smile being so contagious that the smile that hadn’t donned Y/N’s face in so long finally broke free. Ben was the first one to pull away and he kept his face a mere inch or two away from her own as he smiled and brushed some hair behind her ear.

“I love you,” he whispered, the words making Y/N’s heart soar and her smile grow as she finally felt happy for the first time in months.

“I love you too,” Y/N whispered back, still staring at Ben with wide eyes full of disbelief. After all, it was hard to believe that he was finally here with her after eight months.

The sound of the portal closing caused the two to glance back right as the portal closed for good. Ben furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at Y/N, his arms still wrapped around her waist as she asked, “How did you bring me back?”

Y/N let out a small gasp as she suddenly remembered Ahsoka and she began to turn around. “Ahsoka, thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Y/N paused once she turned around to find that Ahsoka was no where to be seen. A look of pure confusion washed over her face and she whispered out, “What—“

“Who are you looking for?” Ben questioned and Y/N furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around the empty room once more. To her surprise, the portrait of the Daughter had disappeared as well and that was enough to make Y/N frown. “Y/N?” Ben called out and the girl was instantly snapped out of it as she looked back at the boy that was still kneeling on the ground with her.

He tilted his head slightly as he watched her, his eyes sparkling with not only the light that now filled his body but pure adoration. Y/N had never felt happier than in that moment as she stared at the boy that had captured her heart all of those years again.

Happy tears began to fill her eyes once again and she gently shook her head as she smiled. “It. . .it doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “What matters is that you’re here now. You made the right choice, Ben. You chose the light.”

“I felt you,” Ben whispered. “I felt you calling for me, asking for me to come home. I had never wanted anything more in my life. Your belief in me was what kept me going. Turning away felt like I was coming home to you. I just didn’t realize how true that was.”

Y/N was smiling so big that her cheeks hurt and she leaned forward to kiss the boy once more before pulling away and hugging him, digging her head into the crook of his neck while he wrapped his arms tighter around her body and did the same to her.

“I will never stop fighting for you, Ben Solo,” Y/N whispered, her words making the boy grip onto her tighter.

“And I will never stop fighting for you, Y/N L/N.”

They never would stop fighting for each other, that much would be proven in the days to come. But for now they just enjoyed the feeling of being in each other’s arms once again while Ahsoka Tano walked down the front steps of the old Jedi Temple and off towards her next adventure with a small smile on her face.

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[gffa]

“This whole trilogy, VII, VIII, and IX, is really sort of about the generation that follows the great generation and the idea of bringing balance to the Force, which is the whole point of the Chosen One, Anakin, in the original trilogy. “What I loved was the idea that balance brought to the Force doesn’t mean it’s forever.  It’s not immediately everlasting and I think the idea that, if we are not careful, that evil will rise again.  That we have to be proactive and doing what we can to maintain the balance and how does the generation that follows the great generation do that?”  --JJ Abrams, The Rise of Skywalker panel I’VE YELLED A LOT ABOUT THIS, why the sequel trilogy actually has started to really work for me, even though I first felt like it ruined the happy ending of the original trilogy. As I look around our real world and the evil that’s rising again here, as people work to make us forget our history and we repeat it because we think we’re distanced enough from that that we’re immune to it coming back, I think this message is spectacularly salient to our times and something that makes sense to be reflected into a fictional story that’s so much about one generation to the next. While I would have done things differently, I’m not arguing that TROS is a perfectly executed movie, but instead that the foundation of what motivated them in this direction is one that resonates strongly with me.  That Anakin was the Chosen One, he did bring balance, but one of the things about Star Wars is that it’s not just about one or two legendary figures. The Jedi themselves aren’t important because they can move the mountains of the galaxy, but instead because they are teachers, they are inspirational figures, they give others hope, they create a moment where the galaxy can finally swing back in a better direction, but it’s up to every day people to pick up on that. “Jedi have the ability to turn the tide, to make a significant moment, to give hope where there’s none.  That’s their ultimate role to play, to be this example of selflessness.  And that’s what makes them a hero, when no one else can match that heroic thing.  And then our job is to emulate that, to use that example, and further our own lives.”  –Dave Filoni It’s why, all throughout the prequels and the originals and even the sequels, the idea of putting everything on the Jedi is against what’s really going on--that it’s about the galactic public, the everyday citizens who must do the maintaining.  A Jedi can bring balance to the Force, they can defeat the ultimate evil, but it’s up to everyday people to band together and fight off the Empire in the Rebellion, it’s up to everyday people to band together and fight off that legion of Sith Star Destroyers. Rey can destroy Palpatine and choose the light and that’s a tremendous, epic moment.  But without people helping her to maintain the balance in the Force through everyday acts, without the support to maintain the balance after the great generation maintains it, it’ll go out of balance again. That’s what was so fucked up about the Republic--the public didn’t do shit.  They sat back and let the Senate buy a bunch of clones and draft them into the war so that they didn’t have to fight, and it stretched the Jedi so thin that they had no real choices left to them.  They sat back and let the Empire rise, the Senate literally applauding as it happened--”So this is how liberty dies.  With thunderous applause.” is one of the most memorable lines for a reason. It took the galaxy twenty years to really fight back against the Empire and we see in comics like Poe Dameron or in books like Aftermath and Bloodline that people don’t want to think about it anymore, they just want to forget all about it.  They’re tired of hearing about the bad shit the Empire did, they don’t want to deal with another war against something like the First Order again. No fucking wonder the ST happened--because people didn’t help maintain the balance, the light. I am delighted that JJ said it directly in this panel, as well as giving credit to what Anakin did, that the overall ST hasn’t taken away from that.  I have a lot of criticisms about how this trilogy went about these themes (separating the OT cast, the shitshow that is the pacing between TLJ and TROS, the lack of putting this theme more front and center), but I will die on the hill that the theme is there and it’s an important and good one.

[jadedjo]

Star Wars Regency AU

Please accept this word vomit from my never to be finished Star Wars Regency AU.

moodboard from @celinamarniss​ 

~~~~

The candles flickered with light reminiscent of a thousand sparkles on the open ocean during sunset. It made Captain Luke Skywalker wish he were anywhere else then in the overheated ball room with said candles. In full Navel regalia, he longed for the open waters of the sea to cool his overheated body. But he had been ordered to attend the gathering held by his twin sister, and unofficial head of the house. He may hold the rank of Lord but it was the Lady Leia Solo who ruled the Skywalker estates.

Thus, his ship in port, and he himself on leave, Luke had very little choice but to make an appearance. As he gazed out upon the throng of pastel clad ladies and the dandies at their beck and call, Luke tried to hide a yawn behind his white gloved hand. 

After finishing a boring conversation with one of Leia’s political friends, he was about to head for the side door to the ballroom and his freedom when a flash motion caught his eye. 

Just entering the room, a woman in a scarlet silk gown that shimmered of the highest quality and complimented the cream color of her skin, stood at the entrance and let her gaze slide coolly over the guests. The red highlights of her hair blazed in the candle light amongst the gold curls, all swept up into a stylish chignon that left her elegant neck bare leading down to the expanse of her shoulders, uncovered by lace shall or chemisette. Luke could not see the color of her eyes from this vantage point and the low light, but when they passed his way and stopped for a split second before moving on, he felt a jolt of awareness spread through him. She was too exotic to be called beautiful by the current modes of fashion. But this captivating woman was worth sticking around for a while longer.

So transfixed by her presence, Luke almost did not see the man who stood at her side until he took her hand to lead her to a group of businessmen standing with his brother-in-law. Hoping to join the group before the woman and her escort got there, Luke slid through the crowd like a schooner through the rocks surrounding the outer bay of Alerra, arriving at his brother-in-law’s side just and introductions where being made.

“Captain Solo,” the escort said. “May I present Miss Mara Jade. My dear, Han Solo, Captain of the Millennium Falcon and our host.”

Han bowed and the woman curtsied before Luke nudged his friend and brother for an introduction. Up close she was even more captivating. Dark eyes, green perchance? Shone with enticing mystery.

Han shot him a wink only Luke could see before fulfilling his duties. “Captain Karrde, Miss Jade, a pleasure. And allow me to introduce my wife’s brother, Lord Luke Skywalker, Captain of the HMS Tantive. Luke, I’m assuming you heard the other half of the introduction so I’m not going to repeat it.”

Everyone gave the proper formalities before Luke asked, “Miss Jade, I’ve not heard that name before. Perhaps you are new to Alderaan?”

“In a manner of speaking,” she said in a throaty voice that sent shivers across his skin.

“Mara’s parents where from Alderaan before traveling east. She was but a child of 5 when they left. It was in waters off Jedha where their journey ended when the ship they traveled upon was attacked by pirates and her parents killed. I was a crewman of the ill-fated ship and managed to secret Miss Jade and myself away before the pirates found us. She has lived in Jedha ever since. It is only recently that I have brought her back to her homeland.”

It was as the man spoke that Luke finally took notice of him. 

Captain Karrde was of some indeterminate years older than Han, though not so old as to be labeled Miss Jade’s father. He carried himself like a man of the sea, stance slightly spread for balance and steadiness. His black hair was kept short and neat, as opposed to the current fashion of longer, curled hair. The gray at the sides gave him a distinguished air that would hold up to stuff with any courtier. The skin of his face bore the trademarks of a life of sun and salt but was of a darker hue then just an ordinary tan. The equally dark eyes seemed to see much and express little. His dress was simple yet of the highest quality and spoke to refined tastes and deep pockets. Luke had trouble placing his accent but it only added to his air of foreign allure.

“It is as Captain Karrde says,” Miss Jade added. “I have begged him for many years to bring me back to my birthplace. Finally, he has relented.”

“Bad timing if you ask me,” Han said. “War with the Coruscant is on the horizon and may happen at any moment. The Queen cannot keep the peace forever.”

One Han’s friends, a Mr. Calrissian said, “You worry too much my old friend.”

“And you don’t worry enough ‘Old friend,’” Han replied, but in a jovial fashion. The others in the group chuckled. Even Captain Karrde gave a slight smile as if also knowing of the good-natured ribbing exchanged by the two.

It was then that Luke heard the strains of a Naboo Cotillion beginning and saw his chance to get Miss Jade away from her chaperone.

“Miss Jade, would you do me the honor of a dance?” He asked. “I fear my land legs may yet trip me up, as I’ve only just landed but a day ago. But if you can bare it, I would be delighted.”

There was an indefinable pause as she considered his request before curtsying and replying, “Of course, My Lord. I have yet to fill up my dance card and have been looking forward to dancing tonight.”

“Please, I am but a simple Captain in her Majesty's Navy and would prefer to be addressed as such.”

“If you wish, my Lor… Captain.” She nodded to the assembled group before taking his hand.

Now standing beside her, Luke noted that she was taller than most of the ladies of his acquittance and once hand in hand opposite each other as the dance began, he found it refreshing not to have to look down at her. Even so close, the light was still to dime to make out her eye color but he found he was utterly captivated by them.

“How are you finding your homecoming, Miss Jade?” He asked as they danced.

“To be honest, Captain, I find it lacking,” she said dryly. “The whole world touts Alderaan’s tranquil vistas and peaceful society, but I have yet to find it to my tastes.”

“Is there something wrong with a peaceful way of life?” he asked, curious by her response. 

“As a man of war how can you say such a thing?”

“Because I am not a man of war but of peace and protection. I offer my service to Her Majesty and to the Navy to protect those I care about.”

“And what of the rest of the world?” she prodded. “Do they not also need your protection?”

“It has always been Alderaan’s covenant to provide aid to those who ask for it. Even now I have it on good authority that the Queen is considering a proposal that would extend our ability to provide said protection.”

“I would believe you if I had not seen the lack of Alderaan’s ‘protection’ with my own eyes,” she said with a touch of bitterness.

“I fail to take your meaning.”

“Were you not aware of Coruscant’s invasion of Jedha?”

“I was. I am very sorry that your home has fallen to Admiral Thrawn’s ambitions. But I fail to see what Alderaan could have done to prevent it.”

“Jedha asked for help. Help that was never given.”

“I see,” he replied. This dance was not going as well as he hopped. Her lack of understanding in upper political workings of his country, made her bitter and resentful. “All I can say is that I cannot presume to know the mind of the Queen only to say that that must have been a very good reason for any withholding of aid.”

The woman said nothing and Luke found her silence irksome. Jedha was on the eastern side of Coruscant, far from Alderaani shores. If he were one of the Queen’s advisors, he would have cautioned against sending a large force and provoking Thrawn into open war with Alderaan.

He brought them to a halt before the dance was done and asked, “You doubt me Miss Jade? My sister and I were once wards of the Queen and her Consort.”

“I do not doubt you Captain Skywalker, and I have heard of your connection the Royal Family. Even as far as Jedha we have heard of the rumors that Queen Breha wishes to make your sister her heir.”

When he did not confirm or deny the rumor she went on, “But I have yet to see any proof of Alderaan’s commitment to anything but its own self interests.”

“Then I am sorry for you Miss Jade. Perhaps now that you are no longer sequestered in the east the truth will be revealed to you.”

~~~~~

This ball takes place during a house party and Luke finds Mara snooping in Leia’s quarters, tries to arrest her but she gets awa.

She escapes on a horse and he follows.

She heads to Talon’s ship in the bay where Luke tries to prevent her from boarding only to get captured himself as a trophy for Thrawn.

~~~

A little back story...

Anakin and Padme are Lord and Lady Skywalker. Padme was a Princess of Naboo when she met Anakin, a minor lord of Alderaan and fell in love. Anakin was matched with many young ladies but it is said Skywalkers only marry for Love. This was the case with Padme as she was supposed to marry another but left Naboo for Anakin. It was a scandal when she wed so far below her station.

Unfortunately their love was short lived and Padme dies in child birth to twins. Anakin soon follows her from a riding accident a few years later. Though many that knew the couple we say he died of a broken heart.

Luke and Leia Skywalker. They are fostered by the Queen and Queen’s consort of Alderraan. Luke becomes a Navel Captain while Leia manages the estate. She follows in her parents foot steps and marries a merchant and humble background, Captain Han Solo ( who also is involved in “free trade”). This is an even greater scandal then her mother as at least Anakin had been a Lord. Luke looks the other way concerning his bro-in-laws activities since tensions with Alderaan and Coruscant are rising and Han’s enterprises are for Alderaan and against the Imperial Empire.

Mara Jade is a courtesan/spy for Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial Empire of Coruscant. He holds on her the safety of a group of warrior monks, the Guardians of the Whills, that trained/raised her and she must spy on her countrymen to free them.

Talon Karrde is her accompli. Doesn’t approve of what she’s doing and just wants her to go to the Alderaan Government and come clean.

[stardustkenobi]

A Former Confidante

Darth Vader x Reader

Request: @dcrthbaeder “Would u be able to write a one shot with darth vader?? Xx”

Warnings: Angst, canon typical violence, unrequited love, pining

A/N: Hiii everyone! I’m so sorry for the lull in posts— it’s been a crazy few weeks but I’m trying to settle into a routine that will (hopefully) allow me to get on a regular posting schedule. As always, thank you so much for reading!

You had been fairly young when you first met Anakin Skywalker. A few days shy of your fifteenth birthday, in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. A budding Jedi with promise, you and your master had been on your way back to your quarters after a long morning of training.

The eye contact you made lasted no more than a millisecond, but it was enough to be seared into your brain forever. You had heard the whispers amongst your peers- he was the Chosen One, supposedly. Destined to end the Sith, bring about the balance that you all desperately ached for. The war raging with the Separatists had kept you from ever laying eyes on him yourself.

Mentally scolding yourself for the blush that rose to your cheeks when he passed, giving your master a nod and you a smile, you drew in a sharp breath and immediately reminded yourself of why you absolutely could not allow your mind toward that place that continuously got you into trouble with your master. You refused to allow your mind to convince you that you were in love with yet another man at first glance. Not again.

But you couldn’t help yourself as you sat meditating on one of the quieter balconies facing the skyline of the city later that evening, flinching a little when the doors open with a mechanical whoosh.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, my apologies.” A steady voice came from behind you, followed by quiet footsteps. “Do you mind sharing the space for a little bit?”

You turned, glancing over your shoulder, mouth immediately going dry at the sight of Anakin Skywalker standing just over you. “Not at all.” You whispered, trying to keep your voice even.

A little bit turned to a whole evening as the two of you talked quietly, meditation long forgotten after sitting in silence for less than thirty seconds. He told you stories of adventures he had been on with his own master, how he had received word that he would be serving as a personal guard to Queen Amidala, an old friend of his. He asked why he had never seen you before, how your training was going, question after question that made your heart race a little bit faster with each moment.

It was one conversation, one night. But, again, you were always one to fall easily. It took everything in your power to clear your head to make sure Anakin was none the wiser as you sat next to him, wishing that the two of you had met in some other life time under different circumstances.

Your relationship in the following years was friendly, never actually professional. He became your biggest confidant and you became his, so you thought. You weren’t aware of budding romances, conflicting feelings, the subtle toeing of the line between light and dark on his behalf. All that mattered to you was that you had a friend and he sometimes brushed your hair from your face while you sat in the gardens, eating fruit and making each other laugh.

He told you about Padme just weeks before everything changed and your world came crashing down. Your time together had been dwindling over the past few months, what with you getting ready to take the trials and his…You weren’t necessarily sure what he had been up to that had suddenly taken up all of his time, but when he showed up in your quarters late one night you didn’t care. You couldn’t be angry because you loved him and try as you might to push it away, you couldn’t.

After settling down on your bed, sitting across from each other, you decided that you would tell him the truth. That it only made sense to before you attempted to complete your training because you would give it all up and run away with him if he asked you. “Can I tell you something?” You whispered, glancing up into his face.

“You can tell me anything.” He whispered back.

As you opened your mouth to speak, you caught what seemed to be the smallest hint of fear emanating from him. Your eyebrows furrowed as you caught his gaze- it was somewhat hardened, his whole face was. “What…Are you all right, Anakin?”

And then the flood gates opened. He told you every single detail of his secret life, eyes filling with tears as he held your hands shakily. He told you about the horrible dreams he had been having- that was why he had come to you that night. He couldn’t tell Obi Wan and he didn’t have it in him to wake Padme for the fourth night in a row, especially when he knew she would tell him it was only a dream.

Like the good confidant you were, you nodded, listened, buried your emotions as best you could. It took all that you had not to scream at him to get out of your room and to never speak to you again because how could he not know how you felt? Did he really have no idea how it was wrenching you apart to hear that everything you had wanted with him from the moment you set eyes on him five years prior could never happen, not because of the rules of your profession, but because he had it already with someone else?

Reassuring him that while dreams sometimes foretold of the future, he still had control of the situation, of his emotions and his actions, you ushered him back to his own bed, desperately needing the opportunity to let go of your own frustrating and anger. He thanked you and, not uncharacteristically, pulled you to his chest, hugging you tight. Your lack of reciprocation was left unnoticed by his own self absorption.

“Oh, I forgot.” He said quietly just before he turned to go. “What was it that you wanted to tell me, Y/N?”

Your head snapped up as your hand hovered over the button to close the door. Without hesitation, your lie spilled from your lips as smooth as the mechanical whoosh your door made after he left just a moment later. “Just wanted to tell you that I think I’m finally ready to take my trials.”

Ten years had gone bye and you had left those fleeting moments far behind you. None of that longing seemed to matter anymore, not after what he did. Not after he had taken so many friends away from you.

After nine years of wandering on your own, trying to figure out where you had gone wrong and whether or not you could have stopped the monster that was Darth Vader from rising up, you decided to do something with your life. You found the rebellion and in turn found a home and a purpose. All of your energy was channeled into bringing down the Empire and bringing down the people that had destroyed the only family you had ever known. You hadn’t planned on ever having anything close to what you knew at the temple you grew up in, but you quickly found a close second in the rowdy bunch of freedom fighters you now shared close quarters with each night.

Rubbing elbows with them on missions where you barely made it out alive by the skin of your teeth was your new favorite past time- gone were the days of carefully planned out schedules, hours of silence, subduing of emotions that just felt so right regardless of what the Jedi Code was telling you. You had quickly traded your lightsaber for a blaster, let your hair grow long, and traded late night conversations with the fallen Chosen One for stolen kisses from your new lover between briefings and meals and training and missions and sheets.

Needless to say, you were happy.

Three weeks into your latest mission with your crew found your small, inconspicuous transport ship being pulled into the tractor beam of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Though this had happened to many other groups of rebels over the past few months or so and prisoners were rarely ever taken, you couldn’t help the rise of nervous energy in your chest as you prepared to be boarded. The people who typically interrogated the crews of the small transports typically bought the story each crew had been taught to spin. Before embarking on a mission of this nature, one had to be familiar with the ins and outs of their alias and the alias of the group as a whole- if the story wasn’t second nature, you weren’t getting on it.

“Don’t sweat it.” Your pilot said as she came out to join the rest of the crew standing just outside the cockpit. “We’re prepared for this.”  

Prepared. The word repeated like a prayer in your head as your fingers flexed in the pockets of your pants. Up until this point, not one person in the rebellion was aware of the fact that you were force sensitive. Nobody had ever seen the hilt of your lightsaber, nor did you practice the force in any other space other than in the privacy of the woods just a little ways from your bunker back on the base. Despite this, you wouldn’t hesitate if a mind trick or two got your crew of ten out of this situation alive. Attribute it to the force or just plain old intuition, for some reason you couldn’t shake the fear that continued to grow as the group of Imperial officers inevitably approached the ship after you had finally been brought into the docking bay of the destroyer.

Blasters drawn and faces stoic, four officers stepped on board- you hardly heard the conversation that ensued because the feeling that continued to nag at you only grew stronger. It set you on edge, made you squirm in your spot and tug at the collar of your shirt as you waited for them to get get out of your hair already.

Your fingers began to twitch just as the officer who had been received a transmission on his comm link. “You’re being taken on board for further questioning.” He said after a moment, glancing at your pilot.

Heart racing, your hands flew to your blaster, ready to put up a fight. However, there wasn’t much you could do, as two of the officers were on you already…The only one not to comply with their orders.

Needless to say, you had flagged your whole group with that simple action. A normal civilian transport would have no problem joining the officers on board for further questioning because they had nothing to hide. You had just damned the whole group to at least a day of detainment and the struggle of a life time to keep your story straight, as you only had been given enough information to cover basic questions. To stave off any further questioning.

The plan had always worked, what was different this time?

With a blaster pressed to the small of your back, you followed the rest of your crew, led by the two remaining officers that weren’t sandwiching you. Weapons were confiscated at one checkpoint, personal belongings at the next. You were divided up into pairs and tossed into detainment cells a little while after.

“This is bullshit!” You called after the guard that had locked you away while you slammed your fist into the door of the cell.

Your companion, the co-pilot of your crew, shook her head. “That’s not going to do us any good, you know.”

Turning on your heel, you raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I’m getting us out of here. All of us.” Your confidence emulated from the words as they rose from your chest. Sure, it was dangerous to reveal your abilities, but at that moment it was a hell of a lot better than being trapped on an Imperial Star Destroyer for an indefinite amount of time.

The co-pilot scoffed. “Oh yeah? And how do you expect to do that, blaster brain?” She rolled her eyes, propping her feet up on the wall across from where she sat. “You don’t have any weapon or a key or anything else to get us out. What would you even do after you got us all out, stare a bunch of stormtroopers down and hop they just back off because you look intimidating?”

Mirroring her expression, you moved your hand effortlessly. The door slid open and so did her mouth, in complete and utter shock. Offering her a hand, then moving toward the exit, you quipped, “I think that I’ll check around for some blasters, but I’m also willing to take my chances on your idea.”

She stayed rooted to the spot, in total shock at the fact that you had opened the door with a simple wave of your hand. With a frustrated sigh, you pulled her out of the room, starting to creep down the sterile looking hallway. You made it to the end, feeling somewhat victorious, and then waved your hand once more, opening the second door with as much ease as the first time.

“Your senses aren’t what they used to be.” A modulated voice rang out through the silent hallway just as the two of you began to step through the doorway.

Freezing up, you refused to turn around as footsteps echoed menacingly through the hallway. They sounded eerily familiar. So did the voice, despite its distorted echo.

“I sensed that it was you as soon as your ship landed in the launch bay.” The voice continued as you finally turned around. Eyes widened as you were faced with the face of a monster— Darth Vader. “But you seem to be out of practice.”

Try as you might, you couldn’t bring yourself to fight back as he continued toward you. “I don’t know you. You don’t know me.” You spat, trying hard as you could to keep your lip from trembling. The man you once loved was dead— the man in front of you had sought to that.

“I demand that you take us back to our cell for questioning.” The co-pilot began, clearly not realizing the gravity of the situation.

“Stand down.” You hissed to her as he got even closer. You averted your eyes, refusing to look at him straight in the face.

He tilted his head as he watched you both— one woman refusing to look him in the the eye, the other staring him down defiantly.  “But apparently not that out of practice if you were able to escape your holding cell.” With a flick of his wrist, your co-pilot was on the ground writhing in pain.

“Stop.” You said sternly, voice wavering as you finally glanced up to face the mask. The metal glistened in the bright lights of the hallway and try as you may, you were unable to get a read on him. You tried desperately to reach out to him, clinging to to the force as if it was the last thing anchoring you to the floor of the ship. It wouldn’t be a lie if you said it was. Your eyebrows furrowed as you struggled, trying to break in and understand what was going on in his head.

The tsk that left his lips was as artificial as it was superficial; his voice was mechanic and the sound was almost patronizing. He didn’t care that you were trying as hard as you could muster and he certainly didn’t plan on entertaining your attempts for much longer. “I tried to find you that day, you know.” He began to say, walking even closer. “Tried to reach out to you and tell you it was okay, that you were safe with me.”

You spat at the ground, then glared up at him through your eyelashes. “You would have killed me, too. Just like you killed every single damn person in that temple.”

“Not you.” He said immediately, refusing to let you continue. “You never had doubt in your head when it came to me. No.” You could practically see the smug smile on his face as his head tilted menacingly. “You were so fixed in your affection and would have turned immediately had I asked you.”

Despite all of the time that had passed since the last time the two of you stood face to face, your cheeks burnt like the surface of Mustafar, reminding Darth Vader of the heat that had licked his skin and distorted the face you had loved from the moment you laid eyes on him. “You don’t know me.” You replied, trying to keep your voice from betraying the emotions that threatened to bubble up. Not that it would make a difference, you knew he was well aware of the affect that he had on you. That this encounter was having on you. “You never knew me.”

The laugh that left his lips was low and grainy. “I know you very well.” He finally stopped just a mere few feet away from you. “I know that you love me, as hard as you tried to push it away.”

Your eyes widened as you shook your head in disgust. “I don’t love you. I can’t even stand to look at you right now.” You hissed, eyes narrowing. “You took everything from me, okay? Just let us all go. We haven’t done—“

“Stop groveling.” He snapped, flicking his wrist again. The strangled sounds coming from the woman next to you ceased and you refused to look down at your feet, knowing all too well that she was far gone. “I’m going to offer you what I would have offered you had I found you that day.” He began.

“Don’t do this.” You tried to stop him, shaking your head once more as tears pricked at your eyes. “You know what my answer’s going to be.”

He stepped forward, touching your chin and glancing down at you. “Join me.” He said simply. “You were once a powerful Jedi— I see the power in you still. You could be great.” He continued, tilting his head once again. “You could finally have what you always wanted.”

Your jaw dropped at this assertion; the fact that he still continued to believe that your love would have lasted through the horrors that he had put you through and the atrocities that he had committed would have made you laugh had you been in a different situation. Somewhere safe and far away, wrapped in the arms of your lover in your shared bunk. Laughing at this dumb story and talking about how what you had trumped any “love” that the lonely shell of a man wrapped in metal could have attempted to give you had you said yes.

Swallowing the lump threatening to rise in your throat, you spit once more and hit his helmet dead center. “Read my lips, Vader.” You said, voice cold and calculated. “Strike me down if you want, but I will never, ever join you. I have what I always wanted, and—“

Darth Vader didn’t give you another moment to continue speaking. His hand rose up, using the force to apply just enough pressure around your throat to push you into unconsciousness. A trooper finally emerged from the door behind you after you had fallen to the floor beside your comrade, now stiff and lifeless.

“Sir, what should we do with the Jedi?” She asked, tilting her head as her studied the two bodies laying at her feet.

Vader was already turning, unwilling to look at you for another second. “Bring her to the holding cell and dispose of the other one.” With a mechanic whoosh, the door at the opposite end of the hallway closed and he was gone. Despite your protests, he would have you on his side some day. He wouldn’t lose you again.

[david-talks-sw]

About the supposed “dig  at Rey” in the Mandalorian finale.

So a lot of people have taken to YouTube and social media, saying that Luke’s line about “talent without training (being) nothing” is a dig at Rey “bEcAuSe ShE’s A mArY sUe who’s good at everything and never trained!!”

No.

Quick recap: The Mandalorian is created by Jon Favreau, and he develops it with Dave Filoni (who created The Clone Wars with George Lucas, invented Ahsoka Tano, and created Star Wars: Rebels), among others.

As far as Dave is concerned, Rey is no different than Ahsoka, she’s not “OP”, she’s not a “Mary Sue”. He’s all for strong, independent, female characters.

He talked about this at the National Center for Women & Information Technology, you can find his full speech here. If you want to see the extracts specifically about Rey and female character in Star Wars, you can find it here (though I’d advise just ignoring the intentionally-triggering title and seeing the video for what it is).

All the backlash he saw about Rey? He saw it for Ahsoka too.

“Oh, she’s fighting Grievous and she’s only, like 13?! That’s so OP!”

“She feels like a Mary Sue written for a prequel based fan fiction.”

“Oh, she disobeyed an order from Yularen on Ryloth?! She’s so snippy!”

“Ugh, I hate her and her stupid voice!”

“She’s always pointing out stuff other characters have missed, like she’s so perfect! She's a Mary Sue with an annoying voice and personality.”

And honestly? I remember that period. People hated Ashley Eckstein and Ahsoka, just like they hated Hayden Christensen, and most Prequel-related content.

So no, that line is not a dig at Rey. If you expect that to ever come from Dave, big chance you’ll be disappointed. He is all for Rey, as a character (as am I, tbh). There may be issues with how she’s written, but none of it is related to her being too strong, or her being good at everything. Guess what? Captain America and Goku are good at everything too.

What The Mandalorian tackles, with that line, is a debate with bigger implications than just Grogu.

We get two sides of the same debate, from both Ahsoka, and Luke.

“I cannot train him. His attachment to you makes him vulnerable to his fears. His anger. I’ve seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight. To the best of us. I will not start this child down that path. Better to let his abilities fade.”

“He is strong with the Force, but talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect the Child… but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities.“

The subject they really subliminally tackle is:

Should Anakin Skywalker have been trained to be a Jedi?

On the one hand:

Anakin has the potential of being the most powerful Force-user in galactic history, as the Jedi know it. It’s just a matter of time before he accidentally Force chokes someone in a fit of anger, or when submitted to extreme stress. He needs to be trained to hone his skills so he’s not a danger to himself and others.

Jedi Training would also help him get over the trauma of growing up as a slave on Tatooine, as it is aimed at keeping your emotions under control, whereas Anakin isn’t even acknowledging their existence (he pretends he’s not afraid in front of the Jedi Council, and seems to be the only person in the room to think that he should hide his fears). His hidden fears, his anger… Jedi Training would teach him to confront them.

Also, there’s a big chance the Sith are back! If they let this kid just go out into the wild, who knows, maybe the Sith Lords pick him up and make him one of their own. Better to keep the boy close.

Anakin is a good boy, raised by a loving mother, with a kind heart. If anything, he’s got the drive to do good as strong as that of any Jedi’s. Him being down-to-earth more than your average Jedi can potentially make him the best out of all of them. He could bridge the distance between the Jedi and the Senate, he could lead the Jedi into a new age. If anyone could be the next, better and improved Yoda, it’s Anakin Skywalker.

On the other hand:

Jedi training is for Jedi only. AKA, it’s perfect if you’re raised in the temple at a very young age to be a diplomat/wizard who upholds the values of the Republic, in control of your emotions and in Balance with the Force. But if you’re not? Then the strict rules of the Jedi Order will basically seem like an insurmountable (bordering on unreasonable) obstacle.

Any normal person will see these rules as attempting to turn you into a sociopath. Because if you’re a normal person, they might. For all intents and purposes, Anakin is a super-powerful normal person. If they take Anakin in, 10 years old, with the attachments he’s formed (his mother), the emotions he represses, the trauma from his upbringing - all of which, in a normal person, are totally fine and common - and try to force him in a mold he just won’t fit in, that’s just a recipe for disaster.

Of all people, Qui-Gon Jinn - Mister “I’m always right because I follow the Will of the Force and you don’t” - who is not the most forthcoming of people, as opposed to Obi-Wan, is insisting that he should train the boy. You give a chaotic Master a chaotic Padawan? That’s adding extra ingredients to the recipe for disaster.

The BEST thing to do would be Qui-Gon leaving the Order with Anakin, and raising Anakin as his surrogate son, teaching him his values, rather than training him as a Padawan and teaching him the values of the Jedi (which he’s too old for and which essentially make the Jedi the Senate’s lapdogs). But Qui-Gon’s insisting that he train him as a Jedi.

Anakin’s mind is too fragile as it is. If they add the stress of being a Jedi to that too, there’s a big chance he won’t be able to take it, and bring about the destruction of everything they are, stand for and care about.

And, to be honest? Both points are fair.

Because Anakin was both…

… the best of them…

… and their destructor.

But then, should Grogu be trained?

In my (and Luke’s) opinion? Yes.

Ahsoka’s logic makes sense… but it only applies to how things were before, back when the Jedi served the Republic as Force-sensitive diplomats/ambassadors, making decisions that impacted whole planets and their billions of inhabitants, keeping the peace through mediation, and occasionally investigating a crime.

But in Grogu’s case… things are a bit different.

The Republic is gone.

The Jedi’s mission of upholding its values seems to be gone with it.

So literally any surviving Jedi, has a new mission: just help people.

Be it Ezra & Kanan helping the Rebellion during the Dark Times.

Or Cal Kestis, saving the Force-sensitive children.

Or Ahsoka, helping the village of Calodan, after the fall of the Empire.

Or Luke, literally being a space-vagabond/Jedi archeologist for 10 years and helping out wherever and whoever he can.

The Jedi no longer have to deal with planet-sized problems, or mediations, or investigations, because the New Republic hasn’t included them in its government, seeing as they have their rangers, now.

So now, the pressure of “upholding the Republic’s values” and “going on missions which impact billions of lives” is gone.

Now, the Jedi operate at a smaller scale and just help people out. As they did, before they became Republic officials.

Sure, they still keep their emotions in control, but that’s simply for the sake of living a healthy life, rather than for the sake of objectiveness and diplomacy.

In these circumstances? It’s totally fine for Grogu to be trained, as he should be.

The line was about the fact that training Grogu to hone his skills is fine, and should be done, before he becomes a danger to everyone around him.

[iit-s-kitty]

"My problems with Rise of Skywalker, because fuck being neutral this movie was a crime"

Written by a disappointed Star Wars fan that happens to ship Reylo, and who will most likely ends up rewriting this mess in her fanfiction

The ridiculous fast pace: seriously, this movie feels like the project you forgot to do on holidays and the due date is tomorrow, so you're just doing the "important plot points": The Palpatine plot? Check. The Rey's parents plot? Check.

The lack of closure for the character's storylines: throughout the sequels it was stablished storyline that allowed for the development of different characters. For example, Finn learning that escaping is NOT the way of opposing the First Order, Poe learning to be the leader the Resistance needs, Han coming back in order to face that what became of Ben's was equally his fault as well as Snoke's, and the most important ones being Rey and Ben's journey. Here? All forgotten. Suddenly we erased whatever happened in the last two movies and give everything for granted, because no one gives a fuck about what happened. Poe is the same as he was, Finn is still hung up on Rey and exhibits no personality of it, Rey has no sequels of what happened in Ach-To at the cave or in the Throne Room with Kylo, and speaking of which...

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WITH KYLO? We cut the last movie on the biggest cliffhanger for this character: he had killed his master in order to gain more power (ironically surpassing Darth Vader... Only that Kylo did it in order to protect Rey, something he wasn't looking for and ended up wanting her at his side), became the Supreme Leader and witnessed the almost complete wipeout of the Resistance as well as Luke's demise. Yet to him it meant nothing because the only person that managed to connect with him decided to stick to her own path and giving an open door to the redemption arc. The logical step was having him as this ultimate boss they all had to defeat, The Supreme Leader... That would progressively become more and more disenchanted with it. Snoke is gone, his abuser is finally gone but what can he do about it? He still has all this rage, all this pain. Think of Zuko when he finally "regained" his honor by supposedly killing the Avatar, yet he felt it wasn't worth anything because he had betrayed the only person that cared for him, in Kylo's case it would be the "death" of Leia, the lack of closure on his part with Luke, Han's death and of course, Rey turning his back on him. What does RoS do? NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Sure, Kylo does redeem himself but the way of doing so...

What the hell with Kylo's redemption? Sure, it happened but the execution was awful. If Kylo was to be redeemed it needed to be EARNED. I'll take again Zuko's example: Zuko not only faced remorse that he was lying to the face of everyone and that Azula could rat him out, it all felt empty because all these people had never cared for him, unlike Iroh did— and now Iroh was imprisoned, starving and humiliated in the deepest cell of the Fire Nation because of him. Sure, he regained his honor, but it comes to a point where he himself said it: "I'M MAD AT MYSELF, because I can't tell the difference between right and wrong anymore". Then, he learns of what his grandfather Sozin did to the Avatar, his best friend, and he knows what to do: the only way to truly regain his honor is to right what his family did wrong and help Aang bring balance. He tells Ozai (which funny enough is voiced by Mark himself) a beautiful "The reason you suck" speech and goes out of the palace to help the Gaang and... They don't want him there. They're ready to kill him on the spot because of all Zuko made him went through and Zuko does NOTHING to stop them. He fully accepts the guilt of what he did and shows with actions that he truly means to redeem himself and train Aang. And even then he faces suspicion and prejudice by the whole Gaang at first. Then, on the Sozin's Comet he helps them by defeating Azula with Katara and helping in the search for Aang, and becomes Fire Lord by the end of the series, intending to start a new Era of peace with Aang's help.

What I'm trying to say here is that, if they were trying to redeem Kylo, fine, do it! I know that the fans of the character (which aren't few) and fans of ships like Reylo were rooting for a redemption of Kylo. But if that route was the one to be taken, then Kylo had to, as we say here in my country, "go through a fuck ton of work to do so". He would first need to doubt whether this was the true path for him (something he was already doing), see the true extent of what the First Order was doing, throw a few punches with him and Leia's relationship as well as his relationship with Rey. They needed to work on his reasons to switch to the Light side of the Force in order to do the redemption and yes, we could say they did it with the Reylo, which I'm a fan of. But it was rushed, sloppy, it wasn't earned ffs.

Leia, Han, Luke, and the whole treatment of the original trio in this shtick: I know, I know that Carrie Fisher is dead and everytime I remember it, I kid you not, I cry because she was a wonderful woman that showed me that despite my mental illness I could still do something worthwile with my life, that I could take the pain to do something beautiful with it. And Leia is a wonderful example of a female character. I know that because of Carrie's death they couldn't do a lot with the character— but that is not an excuse then they put a woman on CGI with her face in order to give "closure" to her character, and I'm sorry but if that was closure for Leia then I'm princess Diana. Leia was Kylo's mother, if someone was rooting for Ben to come back then it was her (as well as Rey, but that's something I'll discuss later) and if someone deserved to have a final moment with him, to see him come back, IT WAS HER. Let me explain, as I said before, even the members of the original trio had a journey of their own here: Han's was trying to reach out for a son he didn't always treat right (if not that he outright feared him) and take responsibility as a father; Luke's was coming to terms with what he did, come out of his depression and acknowledge that Ben can indeed come back as well as to take responsibility for his mistakes. Leia's, given her role as a mother figure throughout this trilogy as well as a leader for the rebellion, was learning to accept the help of a new generation and to guide them, as well as trying to reach for her son in order to make him see the true path. If Kylo is Zuko, then Leia is Iroh here (someone should make a fanart of Kylo apologizing to Leia like Zuko did with Iroh btw). But NOPE, her only purpose is to die so that REY has to have compassion for Ben and then let HAN, OF ALL PEOPLE, reach out for Ben. The whole last movies were building for a moment with Kylo and Leia, to have either a confrontation or a reunion and even if they had the means to do so despite Carrie's death, they gave us nothing. Zero. Nada. Leia died being a prop to Rey and not even her arch with the Resistance was closed. What a rip-off!

Why the hell do we have to bring the Emperor back? No, really, fans of Star Wars— why do we have to bring Sheev Palpatine back and WHY did it have to be the way it was handled? You want to him back? Okay, do so, BUT NOT IN A WAY THAT UNDERMINES ANAKIN'S STORY. By bringing Palpatine in a "he was always alive" fashion, not only do we open the door to a fuck ton of plot-holes, but we shit on the entire Original Trilogy and the journey of Anakin Skywalker. He died for nothing, yes, he saved his son— but the Galaxy was still on the clutches of this monster, HIS FAMILY WAS STILL IN DANGER BECAUSE OF HIM. Heck, as much as I think the EU was a mess with overated or downright badly written characters (cofcofMaraJadecofcof) the whole "The Emperor has a clone as a failsafe and thus come back" was a better way to bring him back. You wanted to make Rey the relative of someone important? Make her the Emperor's clone, the future vessel a le Sasuke and Orochimaru— BUT DON'T GIVE ME THIS SHIT.

Also, if Luke knew so well where the Emperor was hidden that he even made a MAP to him, why didn't he grab Leia (who's now an even better Jedi than he was, apparently), went to Exegol and beated the shit out of his old butt? IT WOULD'VE SURELY BEEN MORE BADASS THAN THIS.

Rey is now a damn Mary Sue: coming back to the theater with my friends, we joked that Rey is the maid of your grandfather that ends up being the one is given everything after your grandpa's death.

The last movie, Rey was given the harsh truth as well as us: not only were her parents pieces of shit that never cared about her, thus not coming back— but us, as viewers, were given the truth that there was no mystical lineage of heroes to explain her powers, that she was just... A nobody. She was the underdog, the Foil to Kylo's ascendancy of heroes and villains and all around famous people. Rey had always dreamed that her blood family would come back, that someone else would come and sweep her away from her personal hell— only to learn, from someone like Kylo, that no one was going to do so except for her. And it was a fucking amazing character arc!

But reddit theorist don't care about any of that. SHE CAN'T BE THAT POWERFULL UNLESS SHE IS SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER! And thus, we shit on the last two movies, her character and her development in order of pleasing people that couldn't stand her being the Jedi of the trilogy in first place.

Not only are her parents now tragic heroes that tried to save her (then why LEAVE HER WITH SOMEONE LIKE THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE? 👀), but the worst part is that they try to give us a "the family you make is more important than the one that birthed you" by her taking on the Skywalker name. Despite having her entire relationship with Ben going back to nothing on this movie and only kissing him at the end.

AND EVEN IF SHE TOOK ON HIS NAME, IT WOULD'VE BEEN "REY SOLO". ARE THEY EVEN LOOKING AT WHAT THEY'RE WRITING?

Rey deserved better than to be the fullfilment of dudebro's complaints and reddit theories.

This movie pulls ALL the punches: say whatever you want about The Last Jedi, but that movie had BALLS unlike Rise of Skywalker. C3PO can lose his memories in order to help the Resistance? DON'T WORRY, HE HAS A BACK UP. Chewie might be dead because of Rey, and thus opening the door for interesting character development as well as an emotional moment for us all? FUCK THAT NOISE, HE WAS ON ANOTHER SHIP. And now, Rey is a Palpatine, Ben dies because WHY THE FUCK NOT, and thus we ensure a narrative so paint by the numbers that would leave everyone happy, right?

The whole fucking Sequel Trilogy was about making a new path, taking risks and opening a new age— even if that meant to let go of the past (heck, it is said in TLJ). See it for yourself: TFA has a Stormtrooper deflecting, the death of HAN SOLO, and a woman who is a nobody being more powerful than the grandson of Anakin Skywalker; TLJ almost kills Leia, they tell us that Luke is responsible for Ben going to the Dark Side of the Force because of his paranoia, the Rebellion is left in shambles, Rey learns that her parents were alcoholics and are dead, and Luke sacrifices himself.

"But Leia died—" Leia died because Carrie is dead, Karen. Otherwise I bet you that she would've lived like Lando did.

We're so feminist and woke!... Or are we?: let's see: Rose Tico, because bigoted morons are a big sector of this fandom sadly, almost doesn't appear in this movie. In fact, she doesn't even talk to Finn despite the fact that the last movie build up to them being love interest.

They introduce us to the character of Zorrie, who appears like an old flame of Poe but doesn't stop her to being a person that would put herself above others— even if it means to throw them under the bus. That would make for an interesting character! But nope, she is only there to be an exposition bot for Poe and making him look good.

They introduce us to Jannah, a woc that like Finn, used to be a Stormtrooper and has fled the First Order and went into hiding, alongside people like her because of the sheer fear they have of being found. That would make for a kick ass plot were they regain their fight spi— but no, she's only there to make Finn look special.

This movie (and like many Disney live actions) appears to be "woke" in order to ensure a better box office, but that is— they look the part but don't exactly play the part. They only use this movements in order to further their own sales— they don't care about representation because, with what they did to Rose, they show you that the moment representation stops selling tickets they'll throw it out of the window.

If you agree and have more to say.

[dameronology]

star wars characters as paramore songs

i am bored. i love star wars and i love paramore. thank you for coming to my ted talk. 

finn - playing god 

‘next time you point a finger i might have to bend it back and break it off/next time you point a finger, i’ll point you to the mirror’ + ‘just keep on cramming ideas down my throat’ 

this song screams fuck you energy - specifically fuck you, first order energy. it’s all about getting away from people who try to force their ideals onto you and hold you back from reaching your best potential & that’s exactly what finn does. he breaks out and joins the good fight and we all clapped when he killed phasma. a king. 

poe - now 

‘lost the battle, win the war/i’m bringing my sinking ship back to the shore’ + ‘there’s a time and a place to die, but this ain’t it’

i had quite a few songs i wanted to use for poe but this one specifically fits him quite well; it’s about retaining hope in tough times and using your vision of a brighter future to get to a better place, even if things seem really shitty. he always stays hopeful that the resistance will pull through, even when things get really dire, and it’s that little spark that helps them win in the end. 

rey - let the flames begin

‘i believe that there’s hope buried/hiding/growing beneath it all’ + ‘somewhere weakness is our strength and i’ll die searching for it’

for me, this song is about fighting a battle even when it feels like you’re losing and searching for a reason to fight even when it feels like visions are fading. we see rey go from a bright-eyed scavenger to a more weathered warrior but no matter how much she sees or experiences, she never strays away from the light side even when kylo ren/ben solo quite literally sticks his hand out and invites her to join him. she always tries to keep her goals in mind and she always fights for them, even when the going gets tough. 

han solo - anklebiters 

‘some day you’re gonna be the only one you’ve got’ + ‘fall in love with yourself’ 

this song has big ‘i’m an independent bitch’ energy and that feels very han to me. he always has his own interests at heart - sometimes good, sometimes bad - and he always has his own back, no matter what. we see him develop a lot into someone who thinks more collectively about wider group interests and for the people he cares about but ultimately, han’s best friend is han and he isn’t gonna rely on anyone else.

aside from maybe chewie. 

leia organa - simmer (this is actually from hayley’s solo album but...allow it pls)

‘rage is a quiet thing’ + nothing cuts like a mother’

this song is about being angry and unsetted; leia has this spark inside her, this energy and this wrath, to do the right thing and restore balance to the galaxy. she uses it as her fuel, always #getsshitdone and she’s never apologetic about it. hell hath no fury like a leia scorned. 

luke skywalker - careful

 ‘open your eyes like i opened mine, it’s only the real world’ + ‘you can’t be too careful anymore when all that’s waiting for you, won’t come any closer/you’ve got to reach a little more’

luke went from an innocent, optimistic farm boy to a wise jedi; he saw a lot and experienced a lot but the only thing about him that changes was the way he approached things. he started to become a lot more gutsy and understood that if he wanted to achieve his goals and kick ass, he’d have to get up and take charge. he stopped waiting around for fate to do shit for him and started doing it himself. 

obi-wan kenobi - monster (creds to anon from earlier for giving me this idea! an absolute legend) 

‘i’ll stop the whole word from turning into a monster and eating us alive’ + ‘call me a traitor, i’m just collecting your victims’

all this poor man ever does is fight for what he thinks is right and helps the people around him and how does he get repaid? he loses literally everything and he still continues to do shit for everyone else and he spends his whole life cleaning up collateral damage created by anakin motherfucking skywalker. obi stays on tatooine, he trains luke and he kicks down the first domino that lead to the chain reaction of things that would eventually see the defeat of the empire. 

anakin skywalker - when it rains

‘you made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole’ + ‘just running away, from all of the ones that love you’ + ‘when it rains on this side of town, it touches everything’

anakin is sad. anakin is very, very sad. the poor boy probably just wants to be loved but he has no idea how - he pushes everyone away and eventually, that leads to his downfall. it’s not necessarily his fault but his inability to deal with those negative emotions eventually effects everyone and even when they try to help, the kid slips away to the dark side. 

padme amidala - brick by boring brick 

‘the angles were all wrong, now she’s ripping wings off of butterflies’ + ‘her prince finally came to save her...but it was a trick’ + ‘go get your shovel and we’ll dig a deep hole, to bury the castle’ 

padme probably couldn’t have predicted anakin turning to the dark side but she did choose to see the best in him...and it kinda lowkey did kill her. this song is about blind hope and believing in fairy tale endings and having it come back to bite you in the ass and that sorta sums them up quite nicely (love u tho padme <3) 

[kylermalloy]

my Thoughts on rebels

Now I don’t have any hot takes or any controversial opinions to put out here. Rebels is a simple show with a simple plot. There’s not a whole lot to analyze, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to enjoy. Sometimes all you need is a straightforward concept with lovable characters. So let me proceed to squeal about Dave Filoni’s second masterpiece, Rebels.

Spoilers abound!

Before I say anything else...

THEY HAD A BABY I haven’t stopped squealing.

Zeb Okay I’ll start with Zeb, for no particular reason. He was the only main character I hadn’t really heard about or seen much of before I started watching. In the first few scenes with him, I was afraid he’d become his stereotype—the thuggish gorilla who argues all the time, disobeys orders, messes up plans, and borderline betrays his friends. I was so pleasantly surprised when none of that happened. Maybe by virtue of being a kids’ show, these characters don’t have *edgy* or twisted nuances. Zeb is fiercely loyal. He likes smashing heads in and gets grumbly sometimes, but he’s never a hindrance. He’s not just “the muscle”; his ingenuity saves the day on more than one occasion. If anything, his nuances take him the other way—he’s incredibly sensitive and childlike in some ways. Being one of the last of his kind is a major plot point of several episodes, which brings so much depth to him and his psyche. It also informs SO MUCH on his relationship with Kallus. Speaking of...

Kallus I never, ever expected Kallus to be anything more than a season-long plot device. The fact that he stuck around and went through actual character development?? Amazing. The episode where he and Zeb are stranded together is gold. He’s got a sense of honor even as he works for the Empire, sparing the rebels as Zeb spared him. He develops a new set of ideals thanks to our heroes, and he begins to question and regret the things he’s done for the Empire—ethnic cleansing of Zeb’s Lasat people included. And that last scene of them in the epilogue? I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit shippy.

KANERA I know while the show was airing, fans were constantly asking when Kanan and Hera were going to get together. But for me, they seemed to be married from the first episode. Hera calling Kanan “love” and teasing him? Kanan constantly worrying after Hera while simultaneously believing in her ability to do...absolutely everything? Their parenting of Ezra, Sabine, Chopper, and even Zeb? Explicitly referring to them as “the kids” and themselves as “Mom and Dad”? Yeah, they’re married. And let’s not underplay their strengths as individual characters. Kanan—or Caleb—is exactly what you would expect of a Jedi whose training is only halfway complete. He’s cool and awesome, but also riddled with self-doubt and uncertainty. And Hera is the mature voice of reason this merry band of children so desperately needs—except of course when she’s the one rushing headlong into danger, whether to get a fighter prototype or to steal a family heirloom or to save a couple pilots in a suicidally risky move. She’s a perfect blend of mature reason and headstrong determination that makes a true rebel. (Wait a minute...she’s totally Katara! Maybe that’s why I love her so much.)

Now back to them as a couple! Most of the show did nothing to advance their relationship—further reinforcing my headcanon that things were always happening between them behind the scenes. Even though they became official canon in the last season, the appearance of their kid in the epilogue proves I was right—based only on what we saw, there was no time for them to make a baby. Of COURSE there were things going on behind the scenes. 😏 (I found the interview that explains exactly where Jacen came from, and I was equal parts ecstatic and freaked out.)

Did I mention THEY HAD A BABY???

Ezra So apparently there are people in the Star Wars fandom who hate Ezra? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; Star Wars fans hate everything. Except the OT. If you hate the OT you’re a heathen. I can’t really think of a solid reason why people hate Ezra, except for the fact that he seems to be a Luke Skywalker analog. He’s a poor kid with Force sensitivities who gets adopted by a Jedi and becomes a venerated leader of the Rebellion. He also finds an oddball group of friends he comes to call family but eventually bids them farewell after the death of his mentor. They’re not carbon copies, of course—Luke’s an optimistic idealist; Ezra’s a cynic. Luke whines; Ezra snarks. Luke blows up the Death Star and defeats Vader; Ezra completes a series of far more complicated missions and defeats Inquisitors and Thrawn. Again by virtue of him being the star of a tv show instead of just three feature length movies, he gets a lot more time to have his adventures. Maybe there’s some resentment over him getting more screentime than Luke? Maybe it’s because I’m just Not a Luke Skywalker stan. I like him fine, but I don’t hold him up as some perfect saintlike hero. (I didn’t have any problems with his TLJ characterization.) The people who do need to rewatch the OT they hold so dear. Luke’s a beautiful drama queen and you all should love him for that. But I’m here to talk about Ezra! Listen, this child is a disaster and a half—just like Luke, just like Anakin, just like young Obi-Wan. There is nothing to not like about him—except that he reminds you of your favorite characters but he’s not them.

Clone Wars characters I initially started watching this show solely for the characters I already knew from Clone Wars. Ahsoka Tano has been my girl ever since I started watching Clone Wars, and I didn’t even consider watching Rebels until I knew they had undone her death. (If there was just ONE character they could needlessly save via time travel, they picked the right one.) At any rate, she’s perfect in this show. She’s more grown-up, more mature, but still retains that *young and plucky* spirit. (For the record, I usually hate the *plucky* characters. Somehow, she works for me. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t really do that annoying cocky smirk thing.)

But it’s not just Ahsoka. Rex survived! I’m so glad at least one clone (two? Wolffe?) made it out of the war okay. And he’s great here. His constant snarking with Kanan reminded me so much of his banter with Anakin (and I’m sure it reminded him of that too ;-; ) His presence on Rebels isn’t strictly necessary, narratively speaking, but it’s just a nice tie-in to the world we got used to in Clone Wars. It reminds us that this world with the Empire was once the world of the Republic, and there are still clones out there—even if there’s no place for them in this new order. This of course reinforces the tragic narrative of clones as sentient beings created for nothing but combat. And again, I commend both shows for making me feel that narrative so deeply!

Hondo and Maul were two of my favorite antagonists from Clone Wars, so seeing their multiple appearances here filled me with joy. Hondo cracked me up, as usual, and Maul’s farewell was touching and heartbreaking. I almost wish he were still around! There’s still his duel with Ahsoka in season 7 of Clone Wars... 👀 Honestly what surprised me most about those two were the way they were both presented as protagonists. Hondo especially, and Maul does become an antagonist again. But it really speaks to the way all paradigms in the galaxy have shifted after the Republic became the Empire. In Clone Wars, Hondo was portrayed as an annoying hindrance to our heroes. Now with the Empire as an adversary to our main characters, Hondo is an ally. An untrustworthy one of course, mostly in it for the money, but his interests usually lie with helping our heroes, not hurting them. Besides, nothing tops his relationship with Ezra. Their first meeting had me in fits: “You lied to me?? I KNEW I liked you!” (Also I forgot to mention the running gag of Ezra introducing himself as Jabba the Hutt? Genius. And hilarious, since some people actually believe him at first)

THEY HAD A BABY!!!

Thrawn I need to see this guy again. Whether in a continuation where we learn what happened to him and Ezra, or some other moment in time where we see him younger, rising through the ranks of the Empire full of ambition and ideas. He’s quietly menacing, always confident and meticulous. He does a great job of making the rebels feel helpless in their fight, needling their pressure points and taunting them—but he never makes the conflict personal to him. He always remains detached, just a guy doing his duty. He’s just there to pick up interesting art pieces. I love the way he’s acted—always quiet, cultured, practically whispering. I didn’t know he was voiced by Lars Mikkelson until after I watched, but that was a perfect choice. I found the Inquisitors a little flat as villains (antagonists, whatever) and the other Empire ministers and governors not very threatening. Thrawn was the perfect balance (lol) between interesting and a genuine threat.

MANDALORE For all of Sabine’s merits as a character, I love her most in the Mandalorian arcs. The episode where she comes into her power and wields the darksaber is one of my favorites. She’s not a traditional stern, stoic Mandalorian character. She’s a free spirit, incredibly creative and intellectual. Yet she’s also afraid of her mind and what she could create—for years she created weapons for the Empire to feed her hubris. Maybe that’s why she mainly sticks to painting throughout the series. :) Anyway. I look forward to the follow-up detailing her adventures with Ahsoka.

Chopper I rolled my eyes so hard when I first saw Chopper. Everything from his name to his design screamed “kiddie version of R2D2” and I was fully prepared to hate him. I don’t. He’s just like R2, in that every sentence he says sounds like it’s punctuated with about ten different swearwords. It’s hilarious seeing such a cute character being so surly and even threatening on occasions! Chopper kicks some serious butt. He even comes with a tragic backstory!

Lastly, I don’t think I’ve mentioned...

THEY HAD A BABY AND HE’S ADORABLE

[thegirlwholied]

SW anon - So I have tried to watch the whole thing before but I could never really get past the start. I watched ep IV a few years back (and in 2018 I watched it while it playing with a live orchestra which really enhanced the experience) and ofc I’ve known most of what happens bc my mom and brother have been fans of it (and ofc all the references to it in shows and it being everywhere) but the thing about the original trilogy that I found difficult to watch was very much the acting being off

Gov SW anon continued - but I think I’m gonna watch the clone wars show next as I feel like the general universe and people speak to me more than the skywalker and co. story speaks to me. But I’ll probably try and get back to the prequels afterwards (at least just to have seen them) but also bc I’ve been on tumblr for so long and I’ve encountered so much about the new movies with Finn, Poe and rey (I already know I don’t like kylo) that I’m interested to see what comes before that

Seeing Ep IV with a live orchestra sounds fantastic as the music is incredible. <3

I must admit I haven’t gotten properly into the Clone Wars show! I’ve tried, & did jump in to (and enjoy) the finale ~ and certain Mandalorian episodes strongly remind me of the show’s tone ~ but it has yet to hit me right in the place where I care. What I appreciate about it & what it’s brought into the Star Wars universe is still on a more distant level, not visceral. 

I most love that The Mandalorian is truly exploring & taking advantage of the wider Star Wars universe beyond Skywalker & co. (but boy do I also love Skywalker & co.) There is an exciting amount of potential in the newly-announced projects too I love characters outside of a universe’s main chosen-one story. In 6th grade, I was obsessed with the X-Wing book series, which were definitely really marketed toward adult guys but whoops, I had found the deep Star Wars section of the library! And the first line of that series, introducing the main character, is “You’re good, but you’re no Luke Skywalker.” And in a way, that’s the Mandalorian too, to the audience if not himself ~ good, but no Luke Skywalker. Not a Jedi, not meant to bring balance to the Force, a sidestory in the main universe’s struggle.  I (from what I’ve seen/know of) get the impression that’s how Ahsoka sees herself ~ ‘you’re good, but you’re no Anakin Skywalker’. 

Of course, for that contrast to work, first you need a Luke Skywalker.

it’s interesting you mention OT acting feeling off as I would use that exact word to describe how I feel about the acting in some episodes of The Mandalorian. In some I love it! Other times... I hesitate to say ‘like a video game’ as I mean no insult to the well-developed video game characters out there but yeah, it hits me like the actor’s aware they’re essentially in a live-action video game cut scene.

But. I truly love the acting in the original trilogy! ...but also as I type this I’m watching a movie from 1944 and acting style certainly varies by decade, & mileage varies as to personal taste... but also I will never be objective about Star Wars which I have loved since I was six... but also I studied film history in college and firmly believe Star Wars, the original trilogy is just objectively good if not quite everybody’s cup of tea (...okay maybe Return of the Jedi is not quite as objectively good, but I still love it so much and given the work it had to do wrapping up the original trilogy, hey, it did its job successfully and with Ewoks). 

I love the twinkling, wry humor & also gravitas of Alec Guinness. There’s that sense of amusement as he talks to Han, as he waves off the storm troopers, and even in the “let go, Luke”... but always the right weight in the right moments imho

Luke & Han particularly can both be petulant in different ways, & they’re all quippy & brash & even cavalier at times in what in context ~ especially when you rewatch A New Hope right after Rogue One ~ in Very Serious Situations! and I love them for it. 

Carrie Fisher’s accent does shift in the one scene (which I have never minded and definitely went around as a kid trying to say ‘Governor Tarkin’ exactly the way she does), and young Mark Hamill’s Luke can be Dramatic & the Most Petulant but understandably (& prettily) so, and... yeah I probably could muster a criticism for Harrison Ford but also I *can’t*! There are some ridiculous Han Solo moments in Return of the Jedi especially, but also I love him/them/just about every choice these movies made. They just hit on magic.

The magic’s there for me from the music swelling as Luke looks yearningly into the twin suns (the cinematography!), but where it really hits is the up-and-running chemistry between all three of the main actors starting the “Luke, we’re gonna have company” scene, and then, boom, it’s the garbage chute, it’s the you’re-braver-than-I-thought/he-certainly-has-courage, for-luck, here-they-come of it all and the movie is flying. 

...and I will never forgive the sequels for, avoiding spoilers as it sounds like you’re familiar but haven’t seen them, not giving us any true interaction scenes between Rey & Finn & Poe all together until the 3rd movie. While I still so appreciated finally getting that & what we got, for me it was just not just too little but too late. I love the casting & acting for all 3 of those characters, but while fandom’s taken and run with the combination, and they had plenty of chemistry... it should have been up-and-running so much sooner. 

And the prequels just... well, even seeing them in theaters at a susceptible age, the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out at the same time and that did them no favors in comparison. As someone who judges movies above all on dialogue, that... also did them no favors. (Beyond the OT I may have a Nontraditional ranking of Star Wars movies). 

The short version of my prequels & sequels take is that both missed that cinematic magic for me, outside of certain scenes, though I still enjoy them as part of The Whole Thing That Is Star Wars Which I Love. Rogue One had that magic; I know and see the criticism of the early editing & introduction-of-Jyn’s-background-and-Krennic-and-Galen scene, but, to me, that movie is perfect. Solo was solid - maybe not magic, but reliably enjoyable, and I’ve been meaning to rewatch. The prequels & sequels... the lows are very low and the highs are very high, in terms of how they hit me. 

I feel like I’d probably sum them up as Prequels: Good Star Wars, Bad Movies, and Sequels: Good Movies, Bad Star Wars, which may seem a little harsh or too kind on one side or another but gets at my take at the worldbuilding vs. just the cinema of it all. The bread scene in Force Awakens, the salt planet in Last Jedi, the dyad-duel-in-dual-locations in Rise of Skywalker? Gorgeous. Individual scenes’ acting & dialogue is sound for me. And yet. All three sequels’ choices in respect to the entire Star Wars universe and existing characters AND its new characters? ...Tonally inconsistent with each other *and* ultimately with the themes of the OT. Whereas the prequels did so much worldbuilding, and its politics, and I’ll see gifs and think ‘yes actually, is it better than I remember?’... and then I’ll catch one on TV & it’s the Padme & Anakin romance or even Anakin & Obi-Wan’s buddy scene dialogue at the beginning of Rise of Skywalker and the answer will come, clearly: “noooooooooooooooo.”

(...this got long. Which I tend to do when I care, about fiction in any form, and with the prequels/sequels: the ingredients were there to be magic. And just-misses are more frustrating than swing-and-misses. A la, you won’t find me complaining about the Star Wars Holiday Special!) 

(...OK so I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars Holiday Special, and I’m sort of aiming to watch it through this holiday season, since what other year than 2020 seems more appropriate? So I won’t promise not to complain about the Holiday Special but I mostly expect to laugh at it.)

(That said I found the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special an absolute, surprising, laugh-out-loud delight; 9/10 would recommend & yes, 1 point deduction as I will nitpick character consistency even when they are Legos.)

[ariainstars]

Star Wars, the Last 20 Years or Can We Please Try to Stop the Blame Train?

I would like to touch a subject that’s starting to grate on my nerves a little.

Anyone here knows that I disliked The Rise of Skywalker heartily. And I’m not the only person here or elsewhere who tore it to shreds. But I am reading (again) over and over why and how JJ Abrams, Chris Terrio, Kathleen Kennedy and Co. made this mess. Instead of searching for culprits, this time I would like to point out a few things.

I. Star Wars Prequels

Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best and Hayden Christensen had to endure awful harassment in their time: the audience largely vented their frustration on them because when the prequels hit theatres, they did not get the Star Wars they had wanted. Politics are a dry subject, and young Anakin and the Jedi Council were all too human to be liked by fans who expect coolness in a hero more than everything else; which is probably why Darth Maul is a huge favorite although we hardly learn anything about him and he says almost nothing. Ditto Obi-Wan although he is clearly not suited to train Anakin and it’s him who maims him and leaves him to burn in the lava. (Until I saw the film, I had always assumed Palpatine had tortured Anakin to push him to the Dark Side.) 

The prequels’ messages in general were not liked: the Jedi were not perfectly wise and cool wizards, the Old Republic was stagnant, Anakin was a hot-headed, frustrated young man desperate to save his wife and unborn children. The films do not want to excuse what he did; however they portray him not as a monster but as a human being who was under an almost unendurable pressure for years and years until he finally snapped.

These messages may not be “cool”, but they were realistic and most of all, humane. Portraying the Jedi as well as Anakin as powerful, flawless heroes and the old Republic as a just, prosperous and balanced place would have meant undermining a central theme of the original trilogy: the former generation could not have been all that powerful and wise, else the collapse of their world and the failure of their convictions would not have happened in the first place. It is a sore point, but still twenty years later Obi-Wan and Yoda denied that Vader was human and expected Luke to commit patricide. 

All of this goes to show that the Jedi’s moral standard was flawed and their attitude not rooted in compassion and pacifism the way they claimed. In the end, what they cared about was winning, no matter the cost. In this, they were no better than the Sith.

~~~more under the cut~~~

II. Star Wars Sequels

J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Iger and company were the ones who introduced the Star Wars sequel trilogy and with it its themes, characters, setting etc. to us in the first place: I think we should give them credit where it’s due. Rian Johnson made a very beautiful second chapter with The Last Jedi, but he did pick up where the others had left. 

Kelly Marie Tran made experiences similar to Jake Lloyds or Hayden Christensen’s when The Last Jedi was hit theatres. She was disliked for not being “Star-Wars-y” enough, chubby and lively instead of wiry and spitfire, and also taking a lot of screen time while many fans were impatiently waiting for some grand scenes from Luke and / or Leia. 

That Episode VIII, the central and most important one, was called “The Last Jedi” cannot be overstated. Luke was literally alone with the heavy task of rebuilding a religious order that was gone and destroyed long before he even learned about it, and at the same time he had to patch together his own family and atone for his father’s sins. This is a crushing burden for anyone to carry. It was important both for Rey and for the audience to meet Luke to see that he was a good man, but still just a man.

When Luke spoke openly to Rey about the failure of the Jedi Order, it was the first time he ever spoke about it that we know of; this wisdom he obviously acquired only after his nephew’s fall to the Dark Side. Luke has understood that the ways of the Jedi were wrong; but he does not know a better alternative. Force users are still born all over the galaxy, and they have to learn to use their powers - only how? Again, Luke is not to blame. How is he to know, when the Jedi of the Old Republic had lost sight of Balance in the Force for so long that they didn’t know what it actually meant anymore? 

Same goes for Leia, the princess without a realm, who tried to rebuild the Republic after the galaxy had been terrorized by the Empire and devastated by war for many years. She assuredly did her best, but she was only human. That she failed her son is of course shocking, but after the horror she had to endure at the hands of her own father it is not surprising that she would be terrified of her son possibly going the same way. Ben, like Anakin, was crushed under a legacy and responsibility that was by far too heavy for him. The tragedy of his life and the disruption - and in the end, obliteration - of his family was another proof for the failure of the ways of the Jedi. 

All of these lessons until now were not learned from. But let’s be honest: how many of us come from dysfunctional families? If we do, was getting away from them enough to heal the wounds of the past? Did we find out what to give our children on their way in life, or did we fail them because we had not elaborated the past enough to make way for a better future? Such problems are very common, and to heal them is complicated and takes time. A “happy ending” e.g. in form of finding a new family is not enough, on the contrary, it can lead to wanting to leave the past behind, leaving wounds unhealed that will fester their way through our lives again, sooner or later. Star Wars always was an allegory of the human mind, even if deeply cloaked in symbolism. The saga also abundantly takes inspiration from the Bible, and I think it’s not coincidentally said there that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. 

As fans, we would have wanted to see films that cemented the Jedi as guardians of the galaxy, with the Skywalker family right at the center. Which in itself is impossible because Jedi are supposed to remain unattached, making the mere idea of a Jedi having a family absurd. If the prequels told us that the Jedi were flawed, the sequels tore down the myth of the Skywalker family. And both trilogies showed that you can’t be a Skywalker and / or a Jedi / Force user and have attachments and a happy family of your own at the same time. At least, not until now. 

 III. Film production

Many fans of old complained because the sequel trilogy implied that the “happy ending” of the original trilogy’s heroes had not been so happy after all and that after having made peace for the galaxy, they had failed to keep it that way. Other viewers however liked the new trilogy and new characters right away and began to root for them. But they, too, jumped on the blame train when the trilogy had ended: expectations were not met, and now director, producers, script writers, cutters etc. are faulted all over again.

The first person coming up with the idea of Han’s and Leia’s only child turning to the Dark Side was Lucas himself. It always was a main theme of the saga that war separates people who actually belong together, like family, couples or close friends; that is not played for mere drama, but because it emphasizes the absurdity of war.

We as the audience do not know how production went - it is very possible that Lucas approved the general storyline, and there is always a whole team on board. It is not easy to purchase such a large and immensely popular franchise; it was to be expected that if things went not the way the audience expected, the Disney studios would be blamed harshly for having “ruined Star Wars”. With the prequels, at least Lucas was still at the helm; it was conceded that maybe he had lost his magic touch with storytelling, but certainly not that he was trying deliberately to ruin his own creation. And the fans who could not praise the Disney studios enough after The Last Jedi came out, now blame them over and over.

The Disney studios have long-term politics to consider and contracts to observe, and we don’t know their contents. We have every right to be disappointed, but I think it’s not fair to blame one or a particular group of persons who are trying their best to satisfy as many viewers as possible. If they simply wanted to satisfy the average dudebro who sees nothing but clichés, two-dimensional characters and Good against Evil - then why did they allow The Last Jedi to be produced in the first place? The studios obviously are aware that there are fans out there who are ready to look deeper in the saga’s themes, who wish to see the Force coming to Balance, who value family, friendship and love over “victory at any cost”, and who do not place the Jedi on some kind of pedestal.

In a sense, The Rise of Skywalker seems like a bow before The Last Jedi: the weakest chapter of the saga followed one of its strongest. Maybe the authors were aware that equaling or even topping what Rian Johnson had created would be next to impossible, so they patched up the open threads of The Force Awakens together with some fan service hoping to be out of the business as quickly as possible.

In retrospect, the infamous podcast with Charles Soule might also be tell-tale: Soule obviously is not elbows-deep in the saga and largely ignores its subtext. Since his The Rise of Kylo Ren comics are quite well-made, I assume that the general storyline did not stem from his own creativity and that he only carried out what he had been advised to do. The production of the whole sequel trilogy may have happened in a similar way. I am not excusing the poor choices of The Rise of Skywalker; merely considering that one or a few persons cannot be blamed in a studio that has thousands of creative minds on board.

I am still hoping for the next trilogy to finally bring Balance to the galaxy, and also into the fandom. Rian Johnson had negotiated the rights for the next trilogy along with The Last Jedi; I assume it is very possible that there was a clause about intellectual property saying that only he would continue Episode VIII’s topics, nobody else. This would at least be an explanation, given the embarrassing, jumbled mess that Episode IX was.

The overall title of the saga assuredly never wanted to inspire the audience to start online wars attacking the studios or the actors or other fans out of the conviction of being entitled to blame someone else’s worldview. The saga’s message is compassion. Both George Lucas and the Disney studios are telling us their story; the idea and the rights do not belong to us. Harping on “whose fault” it allegedly is won’t bring us anywhere; what we can do is make the studios understand that we’re not too stupid not to understand the subtext, the symbolism and metaphysics of the saga beyond the action story. If they listened to the Last Jedi haters, in all fairness they are bound to listen to us, too. 😊

  IV. Will Ben’s story continue?

My husband already warned me years ago that Ben most probably wouldn’t survive, or at least not get a happy ending. As Kylo Ren he had already been the head of a criminal organization for six years at the start of The Force Awakens, but all of that perhaps could still have been condoned within the scope of war. It was the very personal and intentional act of patricide, the killing of an unarmed, forgiving man, who turned him into a damned person. And after the deed, Ben was aware of it. He knew there was no way out for him, he had gone too far.

Many members of the audience did not understand that Kylo / Ben is not an out-and-out villain and that this narrative ultimately was about his redemption. Bringing him back to the Resistance after the Exegol battle alive and by Rey’s side would not have been accepted; how was Rey to explain everything when she hardly understood it herself? How would the audience have reacted to the former head of a criminal organization, a patricide, suddenly standing out as a hero? Remember how in Return of the Jedi Luke asked Vader to come away with him. Now suppose Vader had complied? It would have seemed (and been) sheer madness. Nobody would have believed neither father nor son that the terror of the galaxy had had a sudden turn of heart. Nobody knew that he was Luke’s father; Luke himself did not know Anakin’s backstory; nobody knew what had transpired between Luke and Vader so far. Yes, Ben was young and healthy, but he still had terrorized the galaxy for years and killed his own father. He knew himself that he was damned and could not go back to normality, as Vader did.

Rey was coded as the heroine: narratively, the sequel trilogy was her story. Ben couldn’t become the hero, with or without her, at the very last moment. She usurped power like her grandfather in his time, the Skywalker family was obliterated the way the Jedi were, she takes over another mantle (Skywalker) the way Palpatine did (becoming the Emperor). Balance in the Force never was truly in the cards, it was only vaguely hinted at in The Last Jedi by the Force mosaic in the Ahch-To temple. Balance is a complex and difficult subject; it would have been extremely difficult to develop it in the sequel trilogy together with introducing the new characters and giving the old ones closure.

However: if Ben is brought back in the next trilogy, his sacrifice for Rey will have been his atonement. If his role this time is not that of the villain but of the hero, it would reverse Anakin’s path and make clear that he no longer is the same man. Vader was redeemed, not rehabilitated. His grandson might still have the chance to go that way.

- Luke had promised Rey a third lesson, and it happened. He also had promised Ben to “see him around”, which has not taken place yet.

- On Tatooine, Rey watches the twin suns setting, same as Luke before he met the other half of his soul (his twin sister) again.

- The studios had said that the sequels would be “very much like the prequels”; the prequels were a tragedy where the Dark Side (Palpatine) won that was followed by a fairy tale where the Light Side won.

- The Skywalker saga is closed, so if Ben comes back it would be justified by his being a Solo, i.e. the story of his own family and not his grandfather’s.

- Given the parallels with Beauty and the Beast, the Beast died before the broken spell brought him back, making him a wholly new person - his past identity, purged and redeemed.

- George Lucas repeatedly said that the prequels and the classics belong together as one narrative, with Anakin Skywalker at its center. First news of the next trilogy came up with The Last Jedi. Since there are strong parallels between Ben and his grandfather, we may assume that this six-chapter instalment will be his; Anakin also was left for dead but came back with a wholly different role and name.

- When Anakin was reborn as Darth Vader, he “rose” slowly from the ground, clad in his black armor. Ben fell to the ground abruptly and shed his black clothes, disappearing. This could be another clue. (It was also already speculated that Leia’s body dissolved exactly in this moment because she gave her life-force to her son for him to have another chance to live. Both Han and Luke had done what they could to atone for their remorse towards Ben; this might be her turn.)

- Much as I love Luke Skywalker, I can understand that Lucas did not see him as the saga’s protagonist. The overall arch is not so much about Luke’s heroism than about Anakin’s redemption and atonement. It is unusual because we expect the story’s “hero” to be the one who kills the Bad Guy; and indeed Anakin is, because he kills Palpatine in the end, the twist being that technically he is also a villain though not the archvillain.

- Ben had promised Anakin he would finish what he started. Anakin had been meant to bring Balance to the Force, and he had started a family. Until now, Ben did neither.

- If Ben and Rey are a dyad, i.e. one soul in two bodies, then Rey is in urgent need of her soulmate for her future tasks. She has her friends of course, but none of them gets her the way he did.

So, I still see reason to hope for a continuation, and, hopefully, satisfying conclusion of The Last Jedi’s themes.

  Film production: on a side note…

In the Nineties, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale were the directors both of Beauty and the Beast and Atlantis: two more different stories are hardly imaginable with regard to everything - drawing style, setting, characters, development, music etc. This outcome can’t have been only due to the director’s choices, there must have been a wholly different idea behind both films right from the beginning. Just saying.