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miss-lumiere · 1 year

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Redemption | Part V

Pairing: Obi-Wan Kenobi x female!reader

Summary: A young sith apprentice on their first mission. Although a chance to prove yourself to your dark masters presents itself, you do the exact opposite of what is expected of you. Putting yourself at the jedi master Kenobi’s merci, you plead him to lead you from the dark side and show you the way of the light. But will your attempt to redeem yourself be futile and the pull to the dark side be too strong?

Wordcount: ~3,800

Warnings: canon violence, jealousy, Anakin I guess…

A/N: Hey guys <3, I know it’s been a while, but I haven’t given up on the writing. In fact, I am already working on the next chapter with some newfound motivation! Have fun reading and give me a comment!

Also write me if you wish to be tagged!

Masterlist Next chapter

The scent of smoke filled your nostrils as your black robes flowed around you. You knelt before your master your head lowered. As you looked up you met his eyes, his expression one of pride. The Sith nodded once in approval before turning his gaze to something behind you. As you followed his line of sight your yellow eyes fell upon the fallen Jedi temple, smoke rising from the flames devouring the building you once called home. A sad smile played around your lips.

You shot up sitting on your bed, sweat making your garments cling to your silhouette. Running a hand across your face you took a deep breath. It had only been a dream, right? Or was it more than that? You had heard of some force-sensitives possessing the gift of premonitions. But how would one tell them apart from dreams? Maybe you should confide in one of the Masters, perhaps Obi-Wan. But then again, you were trying to gain their trust, not make them question your allegiance. Showing them your inner conflict would certainly not aid that.

Sighing, you rose from the bed making your way to the refresher, knowing that you would not be able to fall asleep again. You would have to get up early anyway.

“There is no way that I will let her near the Senator.”, Anakin Skywalker stated, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed as he mustered you. In the early morning, you had been called to the Council to debrief you on your mission. Everything went smoothly until the man-child himself showed up, obviously unhappy at the fact you would be involved. The masters themselves had given you the benefit of the doubt, seeing that you would be accompanied by multiple Jedi, especially since Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had taken on the responsibility for your actions, was one of them. There was no way you would let this mission fail.

“Anakin, we all know how close Senator Amidala and you are, but I can assure you there is no need to worry.”, Obi-Wan replied with a cocky smile at which a flush seemed to rise to Anakin’s cheeks. ��And why is that Obi-wan?” “As I just said, she will only accompany us as reinforcement. She will have a chance to prove herself.” Not looking entirely convinced, Obi-Wan’s former Padawan clenched his teeth and crossed his arms. “Besides, I trust her, Anakin. Just as I did once place my trust in you.” The younger man seemed to ponder his answer before giving in. “Fine. But don’t let her out of your sight.”

After Anakin had stormed out of the chamber at which you had rolled your eyes, you turned back to Obi-Wan. “You know, he actually means me not letting you out of my sight, old man. He knows you need the protection.”, you whispered to him as the council had moved on to another matter that needed their attention. Huffing, the Master Jedi gestured for you to follow him out into the hallway.

“I am not that much older than you. Besides, Master Yoda is close to 900 years old, so I believe I still have time before I have to turn my back on missions.”, he replied nonchalantly. You came to a hold, your mouth gaping open.

“900 years?!”, you whisper-shouted in disbelief. Obi-Wan simply chuckled watching you in amusement. Your eyes lingered on each other for a second too long and you could feel your face heating up.

“So, about this mission…” “Yes, right.”, Obi wan cleared his throat, back to his dutiful self. “The gala that we will attend is hosted semi-yearly by the Senate here on Coruscant. Senators, Diplomats and Aristocrats from all over the galaxy will be attending to form diplomatic connections with the Republic.” “And our role will be to protect this Senator Amidala?” “Yes, she requested our assistance, since she believes there to be a target on her head.” “The republic has captured a separatist they believe to hold important information, if I remember correctly?” “Not captured, he surrendered himself offering information. Nevertheless, the Senate appointed Padme Amidala to interrogate him.”

“Strange. Anyways, I will see you at the shuttle then.” You said, before the two of you parted ways.

Entering the shuttle an hour later you immediately recognised Obi-Wan leaning on one of the walls with both of his arms crossed. Two other Jedi were standing further away, engrossed in conversation, who you had never seen before. Eying Obi-Wan’s garments you noticed that he was wearing a tunic and pants, resembling the style of the Jedi but made out of richer material and with less layers. His hair was neatly combed back and his beard had been trimmed a little shorter. You had never seen him in anything else other than Jedi apparel and seeing him like this made your heartbeat pick up. You did not want to admit it to yourself, but he did look quite dashing.

The clothing you had been given consisted of an elegant dress and flat sandals. You supposed the Council wouldn’t want you to be immediately recognized as Jedi. The dress was still simple, matching Obi-Wans attire. Enough to fit in without drawing too much attention. You hadn’t been able to take your lightsabre with you, seeing as there would be no way to hide it, but at least the clothes were relatively easy to move in. You thanked the force, you had not been given shoes with heels.

Nevertheless, you stumbled a bit as you moved to stand next to Obi-Wan, his eyes widening slightly as he took in your appearance. Smiling he swiftly looked you up and down. “You look quite beautiful.”, he stated softly. “Well, you do clean up nicely too, Master.”, you tried to hide your nervousness with a smile. What was wrong with you? It was surely only the excitement of the up-coming mission. “A shame that those clothes are not very practical on the battlefield.”, he retorted with a laugh, before your conversation was interrupted by the pilot announcing you would take off in two minutes.

Right as the pilot attempted to close the shuttle’s hatch, the last person you had wanted to accompany you entered. “Anakin, what are you doing here?”, Obi-Wan asked the taller man standing at the entrance, seemingly as surprised as you.

“I decided to take it upon myself to make sure she won’t endanger Padme.”, he stated confidently, letting both of you know that there was no room for arguing. “Anakin…”, his Master responded with a sigh, while shaking his head in disbelieve. Stars, this was going to be a long day.

The gala was hosted at the Skydome Botanical Garden in the Fobosi district on Coruscant. You had already marveled at the tall building from a distance, the evening sun reflecting from its transparisteel dome. The pilot landed the shuttle a few streets away as to not raise suspicion. Although that was probably in vain seeing as a certain idiot didn’t think of wearing something that were not his Jedi robes. You had heard that Anakin was not one for subtilty, but if he endangered your one chance of proving yourself you would kill him in his sleep. At least he had had the decency of not carrying the lightsabre in the open, otherwise he could have just as easily worn a nametag with ‘Jedi’ written on it. Your group walked towards the entrance of the building, your face still in a scowl as you watched the back of the man’s head. As Obi-Wan followed your line of sight he let out a sigh, obviously also not very happy about Anakin’s approach to the situation. The object of your frustration seemed to feel your gaze on him, turned around and rolled his eyes.

“Relax. You don’t really think that whoever has targeted Senator Amidala will not automatically identify us as Jedi, do you?”

“Well, now they definitely will. Do you ever follow the plan?!”, you exclaimed in exasperation. “I do. I just improvise a lot.”, he answered cockily. Before you could open your mouth Obi-Wan chimed in. “Enough, you two. Having you two bickering like an old couple will certainly pull everyone’s attention to us. We need to focus now.”, he explained with a stern voice. Through all the heated discussion you hadn’t noticed reaching the steps leading to the buildings entrance. A droid was positioned outside asking you to show him your invitation at which Obi-Wan pulled out a data pad. After the droid scanned your invitation the five of you entered and proceeded to make your way to the elevators.

Having reached the penthouse you are immediately taken aback by the see-through dome spanning above you. The transparisteel enabled your view of a few stars already appearing in the late evening sky. The air was rather humid with a soft smell of flowers coming from the open terrariums lining the walls. The variety of plants ranged from exotic trees, of which the canopies almost reached the dome to colourful flowers and succulents. Seeing so many plants in one place on Coruscant was a very unusual experience and almost overwhelming. Fairy lights adorned many taller plants bathing the room in a warm hue. Only now did you notice the many people of different species with posh clothes gathered into smaller groups all over the floor. At the very end of the floor was a bar positioned where people thirsty from dancing gathered for drinks. On the opposite side, a door led to a huge balcony overseeing the skyline of coruscant.

After taking in the scene, you turned towards Obi-Wan patiently waiting for instructions. Before he could answer though, Skywalker announced that he would go and find the Senator, advising you to observe the crowd before he walked off. You scoffed. Of course, he would be trying to order you around.

“You two spread out and verify that all entrances are covered by security personal before reporting back. Without attracting more attention than necessary, please.”, Obi-Wan informed the two other knights strictly, who had entered behind you. As you watched the two go off into different directions the master turned back towards you, his demeanour softening. “We could pass the time while Anakin comes back with the Senator, what do you think? Meanwhile we could make ourselves more familiar with the floor.”

“We should attempt to fit in.”, you agreed taking the arm he offered you. Strolling alongside the terrariums you watched the flora in awe.

“Did you know that the plants presented here are all rare and endangered?”, the older man offered in an attempt to socialize.

“Maybe then they should not be taken from their natural environment and displayed for rich people to gawk at.”, you replied in thought whilst shrugging your shoulders.

“A true observation.”, Obi-Wan replied stroking his beard absentmindedly. You caught yourself staring at his fingers for a little too long.

“So... this defector. What do you know about him.”, you asked trying to redirect your focus on the mission at hand.

“As I said before he was a former separatist sympathizer that approached the senate claiming to have invaluable information.”

“And it’s probably not a secret that Senator Amidala was appointed to be a part of his interrogation?”

“No. The separatists have their eyes and ears everywhere. And it would be enough for one corrupt politician to catch wind of the operation for there to be a leak. Since there has already been an attempt on the man’s life since he arrived on Coruscant, the Senate and the Council are worried for the Senator’s life.” Reaching the main seating area surrounding the dance floor, the man let go of your arm. “The interrogation will take place tomorrow, which is why we are exceedingly cautious.”

“I take it you know this Senator Amidala? Are they to be trusted?”, you asked with furrowed brows.

“She is. I have known her for a very long time.”, the Jedi assured you with a soft smile. The fondness he expressed about the woman evoking a strange, unknown feeling in your chest similar to a stab. “You seem overly suspicious?”

“The Senate is filled with corrupt officials, working for other parties of interest like the Separatists or the Trade Federation. I have witnessed it first-hand.”

“You don’t seem overly fond of the Republic.”, Obi-Wan observed with a surprised expression, letting your arm go to face you.

“How could I? I was raised alongside people seeing the darkest parts of this system.”, you stated matter-of-factly. Furrowing his brows, the older man took a moment to collect his thoughts before responding.

“Yes, there are corrupt politicians in the senate. I am not overly fond of politicians myself. But I cannot believe it to be as grim as you make it out to be. The Republic stands for freedom and democracy, fighting for those who cannot protect themselves.”

“That has always been my reality, perhaps your experience is different.”, you answered to which the master responded with a thoughtful nod. Perhaps a topic for another place and time.

Taking a moment to view your surroundings you noticed a bar to the right side of the room where guests were seated with fancy looking beverages in hand. “Would you like a drink?”, Obi-Wan suggested having noticed your line of sight.

“I have actually never tried one before. Such indulgences were deemed unnecessary by Dooku.”, you explained as both of you moved towards the bar. As you followed his lead, the Jedi contacted the other knights, discretely requesting an update on their position. Everything was going as planned. At the bar, Obi-Wan motioned for you to take the only empty seat, while he stood next to you ordering the drinks.

“I’ll have one Ardees and one Corellian Wine for the Lady, please.”, he addressed the Bith bartender. The drinks arrived almost immediately after. “The Jedi also dislike such indulgence but since we are supposed to fit in, I’ll make an exception.”, he continued the conversation, winking at you. Averting your eyes you tried to cover the sudden shyness that overcame you by taking a hesitant sip of your wine. Before you could have embarrassed yourself further, the Jedi master changed the subject.

“How do you like the wine?”, he inquired with curious eyes after you had started coughing from the liquid burning your throat.

“It’s terrible.”, you expressed with your face distorted into a grimace. “What is that bitterness?”

At your reply, Obi-Wan immediately broke out into a laughter. “That would be the alcohol. Most people do not enjoy its taste the first time. Or ever.”

“I wonder why.”, you remarked dryly, but couldn’t hold back a grin at watching his amusement. You had never seen him this light-hearted, you could have almost forgotten why you were here in the first place. You imagined the Jedi rarely had time to relax and enjoy themselves like this.

Before you could continue the conversation you were interrupted by the band starting to play a cheerful tune. Couples of different species flooded to the center of the room, the dancefloor. The people twirling in their beautiful and extravagant gowns seemed to experience a lot of joy at moving to the music.

“I have never danced before.”, you stated in awe at the strange choreography. Obi-Wan simply extended his hand towards you and at first you didn’t understand. Obi-Wan simply nodded towards the dance floor.

“No, I don’t even know-“, you started to protest, but Obi-Wan simply grabbed your arm grinning mischievously at you.

“Simply follow my lead.”, he explained positioning your arms correctly and pulling you a little closer. You had never been this close to anyone before, not without the intention to kill. Your heart started pounding at the unfamiliar proximity. The band started playing a slower song and the two of you fell into a rhythm of steps and occasional twirls. The steps were fairly simple, nevertheless it took you some time to memorize the choreography and you had to apologize for stepping on your partner’s feet from time to time. As Obi-Wan twirled you around the next time, you caught a glance at a couple approaching the dancefloor caught up in conversation.

It was Anakin accompanied by a beautiful, smaller woman. Her attire was simply breath-taking. She wore a delicate, almost transparent rose-coloured gown that flowed around her feet. The hair was held up, braided with delicate flowers in-between complimenting the dark curls.

You noticed that the two of you had stopped dancing, Obi-Wan having also turned towards the two.

As the woman smiled at something Anakin had said, she seemed to light up the entire room. Anakin returned the gesture seemingly genuinely happy. It must have been obvious to anyone watching that there was something unspoken between them.

“I have never seen Anakin smile like that. She must mean a lot to him.”, you said directed at Obi-Wan who had pulled you back into the dance. Sighing he averted his eyes from the couple.

“So you have noticed too? Padme and Anakin have been romantically involved for some time now, even though I have advised Anakin against pursuing her.” So the beautiful woman was indeed the Senator you had been sent to protect. Of course, Anakin would get involved with someone behind the Council’s back. Somehow, the knowledge of their involvement lifted the strange feeling you had experienced earlier.

“Why is that?”

“Attachments are prohibited for Jedi. They distract us from our duty and make us choose other people over what is right. It is dangerous to let those feelings control you and cloud your judgement.” You had not been aware how strictly the code regulated the Jedis’ lives. It seemed almost impossible to you not to form any attachments.

“But everyone longs for intimacy and meaningful relationships. Isn’t it inevitable for attachments to form?”

“That is why we must learn to not let our emotions control us.”

“Do you truly believe in that?”

“I do think it is the right thing, yes. Those feelings will only bring ruin to those not able to control them.”

Somehow, and you didn’t understand why, his statement filled you with sadness. You wanted someone to look at you like Anakin and the Senator looked at each other. You had not been shown kindness and affection most of your life and you wanted to experience it just like they did.

“You want to tell me you have never felt this way for someone?”, you inquired with a mischievous grin on your lips.

“Oh no, I have. Although, I am not proud of it.”, his eyes filled with sadness, and you almost regretted starting that conversation.

The song ended and the two of you stepped apart as Anakin, holding the Senator’s arm, approached you.

“You look truly beautiful this evening, Padme.”, Obi-Wan initiated the conversation. The Senator smiled at his compliment reaching for him to touch her cheek to his. “Thank you, Obi-Wan. It is nice to see you today.” As she stepped back she noticed you, mustering you with a curious expression.

“And you must be the new addition to the Jedi Order.”, she stated surprisingly without any contempt. You would have assumed that Anakin would have told her about you, not putting you in the best light. As the knight in question noticed her focus on you, he protectively reached for her arm meaning for her to refrain from speaking to you. She simply put her hand over his finger and with a reassuring glance he let her step forward.

“Not an addition yet but I hope to be soon.”, you answered her a little taken aback by her openness. You understood why Anakin was under her spell. She radiated elegance and kindness everywhere she went.

“Good, and I assume you have already been briefed on the situation?”, she questioned in a soft but direct tone.

“I have.”

“Thank you for coming, but I still believe your concern is unnecessary, just as I told Anakin. I already have my people here to protect me.”, she explained glancing to a man at the other side of the room watching the crowd intently.

“The council insisted on our involvement. They seem convinced you are in danger, Padme.”, the Master Jedi explained, before being approached by the other two Jedi knights. “I am afraid duty calls. The pleasantries have to wait.” After exchanging some words with the knights, the two and Obi-Wan walk off deep in conversation.

“Anakin, would you please give me and your colleague some room to talk?”, the Senator approached Anakin softly touching his arm. The young man protested yet ultimately moved away. Of course, not before throwing you a threatening look.

“Anakin seems very protective of you.”, you observed watching him disappear into the crowd, probably going after the other Jedi.

Sighing, she followed the direction where her lover had vanished with her gaze. “Yes, he is always concerned for my safety.” Watching her worried expression for a moment, you retorted. “I imagine it was him who convinced the Council to get involved.”

“Yes, that would seem like him.”, she agreed a chuckle escaping her lips, revealing her perfect teeth. The Senator motioned for you to walk alongside her. “I hate to agree with him, but perhaps he is right. It’s reasonable to believe you have a target on your head.”, you added with a sour expression at the thought of giving Anakin any credit.

“That has been true for almost every day of my life. It was as true back when I was Queen of Naboo as it is now as a Senator of the Republic.”, she exclaimed with a serious expression, something that showed you that she probably had to grow up far to fast just like you.

“So you have been a politician your whole life. You must really believe in the Republic to devote your life to it.”

“I truly do. I –“, she continues, but you freeze as you see a red dot appear on the senators chest. Without further thought you push forward pulling her to the ground with you.

A fraction of a second later the sound of shattering transparisteel fills the room, which descends into utter chaos.

To be continued...

Tags:

@rockyrocket15 @hellotheregenerallkenobi @glitter-rian @thebackoftheshed @retrobaddie @outofdaylight @irrelevant-86 @rainyrebelconnoisseur @blue-space-porgs @mellowstatesmanhandsempath @whatsasetitoff @ketj

#reader insert #star wars fanfiction #star wars fandom #star wars the clone wars #star wars obi wan kenobi #kenobi x reader #obi wan kenobi imagine #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan x reader #obi wan imagine #obi wan kenobi #redemption obi wan kenobi #fanfiction

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ceruleanvermillion · 1 year

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Sentient Crystal Obi-wan AU (Pinocchio Obi-wan?)

AU where Obi-Wan's soul is within a Kyber Crystal. Featuring made-up Force shenanigans, probably. Could be considered a Steven Universe-esque AU?

This is vaguely inspired by a droid!Obi-wan fic I read a while ago, which was super well done btw, totally recommend. There are 3 versions of the back story.

Obi-wan was a youngling from ye olden days of the republic (KOTOR? or close to that). Youngling Obi-wan went somewhere he wasn't supposed to be, and was caught up in a battle. Long story short he went into critical condition and his mind was unconscious/in a coma, and to save him, the old jedi sealed his soul within a kyber crystal, to heal and protect him. Featuring some lost jedi technique idk.

The jedi (Qui-gon Jinn?) found a sentient kyber crystal in Ilum. They didn't know it's sentient, only that it seems to be drawn to the Jedi. Later, as the Masters study it, Qui-gon accidentally awakens the sentient soul.

Some guy found a crystal. They don't know it's a special crystal, but it provides an energy source, so they use it to build a droid. The jedi notice and buy the droid from the guy.

So as Obi-wan's sentience within the crystal awakens, the jedi create a body for him by basically inputting the crystal inside a droid. The council was like no way at first but then actually meet him and were like okay we have to protect him. Obi-wan is now a sentient droid who can use the force, and his lightsaber blade just kinda shoots out his hand??? anyway. Qui-gon feels hesitant to take him in at first but later he changes his mind because he believes Obi-wan deserves a chance. He becomes kind of a target of dark force users because of the powerful kyber crystal. His sentience is kind of this weird open secret situation to force users in general because nobody could really put a finger over this situaion. The senate don't really get it, they just think the jedi are weird. When they go to mandalore, Satine falls for him and has a crisis lmao, then Obi Wan reveals to her his weird situation. They keep in touch, afterwards.

Events of TPM happen, they meet anakin skywalker. Padme doesn't question Obi-wan's situation. Qui-gon dies. Obi-wan takes in Anakin, and albeit the rocky start, they get along well, and Anakin kind of becomes Obi-wan's personal doctor. Sometimes Obi-wan lets Anakin do upgrades, and sometimes Anakin uses the wrong grease lmao.

AOTC and TCW. Obi-wan finds the clones, but this time he's not alone and with Shaak Ti. Rescuing Anakin and Padme involves obi-wan doing some bad disguise work. Dooku attempts to corrupt Obi-wan's crystal, and fails, but war breaks. The clones are tense around Obi-wan at first, because he is a droid. but later, he proves himself trustworthy and they accept him with open arms. Ahsoka tano is fascinated by Obi-wan.

This is what I have so far.

later, I'm not sure when this will happen, but I'm thinking Mortis arc? The gist is this: in Mortis/Force Planet, droid obi-wan malfunctions because of the force, and so his soul kinda wanders? but in the end, Obi-wan has a revelation and something happens to his kyber crystal hoists his body up via Force alone. When they leave Mortis, his droid body collapses, and when they get back, it is irreparable. at first, they consider making a new one, but for whatever reason it just wont work. Force whispering stuff to Yoda, who suggests the council + obi wan and ahsoka do group meditation together with the crystal.

They meet Obi-wan in what I can only describe as shared force zoom. But when they see him, it's not droid!Obi-wan, it's ewan mcgregor/clone wars obi wan, auburn beard and everything. Yoda has a revelation- They can separate Obi-wan's soul from the crystal which will create a new body for Obi-wan (aforementioned ewan mcgregor body) via force shenanigans. But it will take teamwork and some time.

this is what I have so far for this au. it was fun to conceptualize it, though- maybe it'll be a reality one day?

#star wars #jedi order #obi wan kenobi #Droid Obi Wan (temporary)#sw prequels #pro jedi #the jedi order #disaster lineage #sw: the clone wars #anakin skywalker

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space-blue · 2 years

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honestly so glad someone else liked the s2 ending! like it was bitter sweet but worked really well!! and I love grogu but I think that aspect of the story should have ended here. I just think the show had alot of potential in s1, like force awakens did before the sequels

I agree, I think it worked well. The more cameos and name drops they added, the more unmanageable it became for Grogu to stay with Mando. They established that he's constantly unsafe, being chased, and now we're to understand that this is a pet project of THRAWN??? And Ahsoka is involved on the other side?

Big names, and Din is just A Guy™ on a mission to find a Jedi anyway.

Everything points toward a satisfying ending where the burden Grogu represents is passed on to Luke. It's the end of an era, but it was a good emotional beat, even if it tapped heavily on nostalgia. I agree with you, it should have ended there.

Besides, a third season of Din adventures, with maybe a more critical look on how his upbringing shaped him, and the cursed inheritance the Dark Saber proves to be, could have eventually culminated in an arc where he returns to help Luke/defend his temple, IDK… We could have returned to that, we could have reunited Mando and Grogu for a short bitter sweet time.

But somewhere along Season 2, Grogu became a cash printing machine, and so I assume Favreau was told to undo the split any way possible, without even waiting a few episodes…

Don't even bring up Force Awakens… The betrayal started when they baited former-trooper Finn as a Jedi in the trailer and then… you know.

#din djarin #the mandalorian #sw #ask #I'm in your camp on this for sure #the show had lots of potential but refused to be its own thing #Andor obliterated this series #I know people say 'it's not the same thing' but like #it's beyond that #everything in mando feels like a kiddy show in comparison now

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ladyxskywalker · 2 years

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I know this comes out of the blue, but I saw a video for I don’t know what reasons about how celibacy isn’t a bad thing and I was curious and watched it. I was pleasantly surprised. 😌

It got me thinking about Obi Wan and I can see how he lives most of his life in celibate, it’s a discussion often discussed in the SW fandom and ngl yup I can see it. He probably is a virgin until he truly finds the one and resigns from any kind of sexual pleasure. Obi Wan enjoys to let go of this side of him and to take this energy into the arts of fighting or to reach an even higher meditative state - he might even understand the force in different ways.

And even when he has his SO who he loves dearly I don’t think he’s much into that quick stuff, sex is more of a way to find his lover again. It’s a way to be even more intimate with his love, but not a necessity for him. Living like this makes him even more intimate in other ways. 🥰

absolutely 🌸 I don't think celibacy is a bad thing at all - it is a personal, individual choice that has to do with intimacy, emotional well being, individual beliefs, & establishing healthy boundaries.

(just like in any mature relationship situation, even if you aren't celibate. communication is key.) ✨️

In this fictional scenario, obi wan most likely would have been committed to the jedi order where there are no attachments involved. On the other hand, he is only human with a kind spirit who is just bound to love & feel some time, (with the right person of course !)

he is full of compassion, & so in tune with nature & his surroundings. he has a playful demeanor, a master of negotiations (which could even translate into flirting !) there's no escaping that humble back and forth, or sterling glimmer in his eyes - or even that smile !

I can't imagine a world where he *hasn't* made a connection with someone, because he truly seems so easy to fall in love with. It is an uncertain conflict that maybe he is unable to get away from.

the way he moves through out a room, or commands over the battlefield comes from both strength & modesty. he's certainly disciplined & focused, to the point where maybe he hasn't had *time* to consider what it might mean to have a partner. someone to come back to from all of it in his life...

& what happens when that becomes a reality for him? when a need for something more lingers in the featherlight air between you? would he be able to control the way tension eventually has a tender way of breaking?

'no attachments' from his past doesn't mean 'no sex' - but with that, sometimes there is feelings involved. which goes back to your point of him not seeming like the kind of guy to engage in something quick only for the time being. he seems like the kind of person who loves deeply & uncontrollably, & maybe shorter engagements would end up proving difficult for him (even if he might enjoy them - stolen kisses & all.)

you are absolutely right, when he does meet his person, this kind of intimacy can be a beautiful thing to show & share with his lover, while at the same time, making him more in tune with how he expresses emotion & love beyond what sex can provide.

Intimacy & love languages exist in many forms, it's all a matter of what feels best in the present moment for the people involved. What brings them comfort & butterflies, how their heart aches when they're around them, however that looks like. I think we owe it to ourselves to love in all the ways we want to. 💖 xo

#sorry if this was too long or not what you might have envisioned !#pxk anon box 💌

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zhakyria · 1 year

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Looming Darkness

Looming Darkness is a collection of stories take place in my Arclight AU which is a melting pot of various Sci-Fi properties, with events, characters, organizations and histories from Farscape to WildStar. This is just my interpretation and fun what-ifs that revolve around my favorite OCs and Canon Characters interacting. Much of it involves Star Wars because right now that is my primary obsession, but there will be references and maybe even some wayward characters that show up here and there. Because this is an AU that includes many different properties, original timelines of events have been adjusted to fit this AU better. Any years listed are in reference to the Arclight Timeline. Ascendancy and Thrawn stuff inspired by Project Compass by DistantStorm, Belonging by amukmuk, and postmortem by furiosophie.

Part 1: Unexpected Variables

Prologue | Out of Time

Galactic Empire | Lothal | Year 4262

The hatch to the bridge opened, followed by blaster shots and the sound of the two death troopers stationed there hitting the floor. Thrawn straightened his shoulders and turned to face his adversary. Ezra Bridger held a blaster trained at his chest. He stood confidently, feet planted firmly with no hesitation in his movement. His gaze focused on Thrawn.

“Looks like you lose, Thrawn.” Bridger’s voice held restrained anger. Justified anger. How many lives had he doomed? At Lansend? At Batonn? How many times did he choose to do nothing? Thought of them as just Imperial assets?

He could have done more.

“A momentary setback.”

He should have done more.

“We’ll see.”

He admired Bridger’s conviction. The same conviction he’d seen in General Syndulla and in Agent Kallus. They were all warriors, willing to die for their cause, yet they fought even harder to live for it, to see it through to the end. They knew where they stood. Did he?

Could he even consider himself a warrior anymore? He felt lost, adrift, anchorless. It had grown difficult to tell right from wrong.

There are things in the universe that are simply and purely evil. Words from another time.

A warrior does not seek to understand them, or to compromise with them. Yet that is what he had done.

He seeks only to obliterate them.…that uniform has blinded you to reality. He’s standing again on that field outside Creekpath but this time he is surrounded by the burned and broken bodies of insurgents and civilians.

There are evil things in this galaxy; far more evil than the Empire… Hooded yellow eyes stare back at him from the dark, knowing, mocking. Dark hallways close in despite their enormity and grandeur.

“Sir, several unidentified objects have just entered orbit.” Reality slams back into place.

“My blockade will intercept them.” Another variable is added to the situation, another brushstroke to the canvas. He catches Bridger’s eye and the corner of the young man’s mouth lifts.

“They’ve destroyed the blockade. Our ships are just gone.” The officer replies. There was fear in his voice, and in the way his shoulders tensed reading the reports.

“Get Captain Pellaeon.” Thrawn demanded with a touch of anger at the edge of his voice. More lives lost. The noose tightened, time was running out.

“Sir, they came out of hyperspace!” Pellaeon’s awed voice echoed through the bridge. “I’ve never seen….” Static hissed through the rest of the transmission.

“Admiral, we have incoming.”

Thrawn’s eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted in a grimace, before he could regain his composure. More miscalculations. How many more would he make?

“Take a look.” Bridger motioned towards the view ports with his blaster. Thrawn obliged him.

The purrgils emerged from the pale gold clouds led by the Ghost, on a direct course for the Chimaera and its support ships. He took in a sharp breath, his eyes going wide. The young Jedi proved yet again to be a master of the unexpected. Once more side stepping expectations and assumptions. Purrgils were ship breakers. Even a small one could do significant damage, their thick skulls able to punch through the armor plating with ease. The largest were of comparable size to the Chimaera.

The lead purrgils slammed into the Chimaera’s support ships, tearing great holes into their hulls and destroying their drives in the first pass. Thrawn closed his eyes and breathed deep. Another promise broken. He snapped his eyes back open, pulled his blaster pistol and faced Bridger. His voice cut through the commotion. “Begin evacuations at once.”

The bridge officers scrambled to obey his command. They were all newly assigned to their positions. His most trusted officers had been re-assigned to a new command under Commodore Faro, just before arriving at Lothal, in order to spare them his fate. The purrgils moved in close to the Chimaera, their size blocking the view ports. Their low rumbling calls reverberating through the bridge.

This would be the end. A brief smile crossed Thrawn’s lips. “Whatever happens next, happens to both of us.”

“That’s the idea.” Bridger replied. He narrowed his eyes and shifted his stance.

The windows shattered. The purrgil’s tentacles reached in and slammed into the stormtroopers standing on either side of Thraw. The explosion of air accompanied the agitated calls of the beasts outside. Thrawn fired uselessly at the tentacles, their tough hide dissipating the blaster fire. The troopers were pulled one by one from the ship. He ducked under one, then charged towards Bridger, to avoid a second one slamming down upon him.

Bridger lifted his hand and with a subtle pushing motion threw Thrawn back into the grip of the purrgil’s tentacles. He managed to maintain his hold on the pistol, and fired it at the softer underside of the tentacles tightening their grip around him.

“Ezra? Ezra, can you hear me? The purrgil, is it you?” Bridger’s comlink crackled to life with Sabine Wren’s voice.

“Yeah! Pretty good, huh?” Bridger looked away, excitement and triumph brightening his voice.

The tentacles around Thrawn loosened.

“Well, you could’ve told the rest of us.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” Bridger looked up and locked eyes with Thrawn.

The hatch to the bridge opened and Bridger whirled to face the charging extraction squad. His stance remained grounded as he threw out his hand, throwing the death trooper into the stormtroopers behind. Bridger brought up the rifle and shot the two remaining troopers.

Thrawn pulled the last tentacle from his waist, aimed his pistol and fired.

Bridger stumbled forward a half step crying out in pain, his left arm hanging limp. Then spun around and pulled the pistol from Thrawn’s hand and tossed it aside with the Force.

Thrawn could never quite account for that variable. There was so much he did not know about it. Did not understand. The sight of rain cascading down a window covered in equations sprung unbidden to his mind.

Bridger pulled his arm back in a familiar move. Thrawn braced himself as he was shoved again against the forward console. The purrgil’s tentacles wrapped around him more firmly.

Another squad of stormtroopers ran up behind Bridger, who turned and used the Force to close the hatchway on them. He breathed heavily, wincing, but he kept his right hand raised, holding the hatch shut. He turned his attention forward.

Thrawn struggled against the tentacles, but they tightened around him, compressing his chest; a sharp pain shot through his side. The Chimaera shuddered. The tentacles around him began to glow and emit a low reverberating sound, not unlike a hyperdrive powering up.

“Ezra! Ezra, get out of there right now! That’s an order.” Hera Syndulla’s voice crackled through Bridger’s comlink.

“Hera, I have to see this through to the end.” Bridger lifted his left hand towards the front of the bridge. A low rumble shook the ship and the glowing patterns on the purrgil’s tentacles flashed more quickly. The air stilled around them.

“Ezra, please! Get out of there.” Worry cut through Sabine’s voice.

“I can’t do that.” Bridger’s voice was calm, almost serene.

The tentacles contracted and rotated Thrawn towards the windows. He winced as the movement and compression cracked a second rib. Several purrgils had grabbed hold of the Chimaera. Alarms blared. Warnings flashed. The integrity of the ship was compromised.

Whatever would happen, would happen to them both.

A promise to burn it all down. Broken.

A promise to return.

No one is immune to failure. Words written a lifetime ago.

“It’s up to all of you now.” Bridger’s voice broke through his thoughts. The clouds and stars stretched before them as the purrgils picked up speed. The thrumming emanating from their tentacles grew more intense. “And remember, the Force will be with you, always.” They jumped to hyperspace.

//message //for commodore faro [ eyes only ] //encrypted //location [ REDACTED ] //sender [ REDACTED ]

Commodore, if you have received this message it means that I have failed and that I am most likely dead. I once commanded your loyalty; I ask to do so one more time. I made a promise to someone very dear to me to burn it all down before I left. It would appear that I am unable to keep that promise.

I understand what I ask of you. I trust you to do what is right. Project Stardust must be stopped. –

Author Notes: This is a re-write of the confrontation between Thrawn and Ezra during the Rebels finale as told from Thrawn’s perspective. Some of this is influenced by the amazing postmortem part 1 and part 2 by furiosophie, and I draw much of Thrawn’s characterizations, thoughts, and past events from that work as it aligns quite well with how I perceive Thrawn and by extension Eli and the others he interacts with.

#arclight au #star wars #star wars au #thrawn #mitth'raw'nuruodo #grand admiral thrawn #ezra bridger #thranto implied #zhak's stories: looming darkness #can't get this out of my head fast enough #just want to keep writing about all of them

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sirenalpha · 2 years

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I was rewatching the Anakin Falls sequence in rots

and that sequence is way too damn long

like I think it works best if you give Anakin as little time as possible to really think of the consequences

but they drag it out so long like as it stands in the movie (taking out the Obi-Wan v Grievous) it goes

Anakin is in the Jedi temple with the council getting the news from Cody that Obi-Wan has engaged Grievous and the council sends Anakin off to talk to Palpatine so they can discuss if they need to remove Palpatine from office without him there

Anakin then goes to Palpatine's office in the Executive Building to tell him the news about Obi-Wan and Palpatine pulls some manipulation stuff and reveals he's the Sith Lord and at this time Anakin says he wants to kill him point blank but doesn't because he needs to be arrested so at this moment he knows what the Jedi behavior is supposed to be, he's implied to be aware of the political ramifications, and is really successfully holding his emotions in check

Anakin leaves Palpatine alone to go all the way back to the Temple and walk with Windu as he's already on his way to talk to Palpatine and they calmly discuss Obi-Wan beating Grievous and that Palpatine is the sith lord and Anakin is told to stay behind

Anakin does the single tear crying at sunset opposite Padme basically implying he is rethinking the part where he rejected Palpatine's offer to teach him to save Padme while the masters try to arrest Palpatine and get their asses kicked

Anakin then has to fly all the way back to the Executive Building while this relatively short fight goes on and he parks like at the entrance of the building with this giant ass hall and there's even a shot of him just fucking walking into Palpatine's office for some reason

Anakin has NOT changed his mind that Palpatine has to be arrested and not killed and argues with Windu about it, Windu says that Palpatine is too dangerous to live which is the same phrase Palpatine used about Dooku to get Anakin to kill him which he regretted as it not being the Jedi way marking a loss of faith in Windu and the Jedi, and lastly makes a plea that he needs Palpatine proving that he had changed his mind during the crying sunset scene

Anakin defends Palpatine from Windu and Palpatine takes advantage to kill him

and then Anakin falls and pledges himself to Palpatine but that's such a long path to get there and therefore lacks the intensity and stakes to believe that it's a rash decision in the moment like Anakin's 'what have I done' is supposed to imply

I think how it should have gone is more like

1 & 2 are fine in terms of setting things up but maybe Palpatine's manipulations could be cut a little shorter

don't have Anakin leave literally turning off his lightsaber and putting his back to a sith lord, have him keep his lightsaber out and contact Windu in front of Palpatine

have Windu break the news Grievous is dead and Anakin tell him Palpatine is the sith lord and he has him under guard for now but they need to arrest him, have Windu not believe him and then when he does tell Anakin he doesnt want him involved in the arrest

Then you can go back to Palpatine manipulations because he heard the whole conversation and it just proves his points about the Jedi not trusting Anakin while the masters rush over

Palpatine's office was nice for the battle but I think logistically it would work best if the masters leave with him and leave Anakin behind in the office as Palpatine won't want to attack in front of Anakin because he needs to appear weak to him for now and for Anakin to have his sunset cry with Padme

then go immediately from that emotional point to Palpatine killing the masters which Anakin senses and proving that he was right and they'd need his help and he can quickly run and jump into the fight

that will allow the Windu and Palpatine banter to get cut down and get right to he's too dangerous to live but Anakin still wanting to save Padme and reacting as soon as he joins the fight as possible so he has no time to think things through

so like it's a similar number of sequences but the fact that Anakin is not traveling between these buildings will cut down the in world amount of time it takes for all this to get done making it higher intensity and more believable that Anakin's actions are rash and also make Palpatine more competent, he performs perfectly as everything lines up with the end of the war and pushing Anakin to fall without the time to think and plan between when Anakin left and the Jedi masters arrived

#star wars #rots

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obislittleone · 2 years

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House Of Memories (39/?)

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Padawan!reader

Warnings: angst, fluff if you squint, more council abuse

Summary: Ahsoka Tano has been expelled from the Jedi Order upon suspicion that she was the one who planned the bombing on the temple. You and Obi-Wan go to the trial to see what happens.

A/n: ouch... just ouch. next one i'm writing currently and it's hurting me-

also y'all if you like the story, maybe consider buying me a coffee :)

Words: 3.7k

You were not supposed to be out of bed for another day, although you felt fine and did not see a point in the med droid's useless instructions. You refused to be kept in the apartment by your lonesome while everyone went to the trial.

Apparently, the near week you spent on a diplomatic mission, massive findings about the temple bombing occurred, such as suspects, devices, and even separatist involvement. Ahsoka had been the one to work most of it out, however, upon 'some wrong place, wrong time' scenarios playing out, the council was quick to blame her for having a hand in the actions. Go figure.

You knew Ahsoka would never do anything like that, and that there had to be someone framing her to cover their tracks. Too bad the council was so pig-headed, and unwilling to listen to even some of its own members. Obi-Wan was prepared to stand up for Ahsoka and make a case for her to be excluded from the investigation as a suspect entirely, but unfortunately, they had rendered him useless yet again on recount of removing himself from the investigation days before. His lack of involvement made it so that he didn't witness all the outcomes firsthand. Anakin had, but of course, the council treated him about as well as they treated you.

Upon learning more from the clues they had been given, they decided it was best to expel Ahsoka from the order until the case was terminated, with her being proved innocent. She was to stand trial against the republic, being represented by the only senator who would take her on, and she was proud to. Padme Amidala would defend Ahsoka Tano in this trial of which she knew she was innocent. The facts had been stacked against her, and every card seemed out of her favor, but everyone who knew Ahsoka, anyone who had trained with her, fought with her, or even had a simple conversation with her from time to time, knew she was not to be blamed. It was so out of her character to even think of committing such a violent and horrible crime, much less against her own people.

You wanted to go to the trial, to stand as guard by Padme and to show your support for a fellow Padawan. You just about hated the council by now. There were a select two members you could exclude from your loathing, but even they were powerless to stop this madness. The numbers were on the opposing side, with Mace Windu for the instigator, as always.

"I'm fine," you noticed it stung a little to walk as you tried to pass Obi-Wan on the way to the door. He was rather keen on your getting well without any bumps in the road, say perhaps, because you got up and started moving when you weren't supposed to. "I need to be there."

"She knows you're on her side, my love," he tried to gently usher you back to his bedroom, hoping you would accept his efforts and go without a fight. "She also knows you were badly injured."

"I've been through worse," you reminded him, and he recalled the events of the day he almost lost you forever. He didn't ever want to see that day rehash itself again. "I'm going."

There was little he could do to stop you, now. He knew you were right; you had been through worse, and often times kept fighting through it.

"Well, don't try and outwalk me, you aren't going alone."

He made it to the entranceway before you did, pulling your cloak from the rack and wrapping it around your shoulders, allowing your arms to enter the proper sleeves before he paused, looking down upon your face, still stern from the argument moments prior, but softening as he took each cheek in his palms. He smiled and shook his head before pressing a kiss you your nose. It was cute, and his beard tickled, as it was getting longer again. He always looked at you with such pride, and you wondered what he could possibly be thinking. Of course, since your signatures are practically bound for all time, you could simply tap into his mind and find out, but you didn't want to intrude. He trusted you more than anyone in his life, and you would never do anything, even accidentally, to break that bond.

He pulled your hood over your head, and again kissed the top of it, right by your hairline. It was a small and usual sentiment, made nearly every time you left the apartment together, and yet, you would never get used to the feelings it protruded inside of you. You wouldn't be able to stop smiling afterwards, and as you ventured into the halls, everyone seemed to think you were in an incredibly good mood. Perhaps to them you seemed a rather cheery person, bright as you entered the room. Today wasn't as bright, though. The smile lasted all of but a few moments before you remembered where you were going, and under what circumstances.

"What will happen to Ahsoka if she loses the trial?" You were uncertain of how your friend would get on without the order. Like you, she had been brought here at a very young age and grew along with the teachings and training of the Jedi. The temple was her home, as it was yours, and you knew she would never do anything to destroy or even deface it.

"The republic will have to decide her fate, the order has since lost jurisdiction over her now that she's been expelled. I've tried my best to find other witnesses from the day it all happened, but I've been rather unsuccessful. With all the evidence stacked in the republic's favor, I fear what she may endure," he replied, stroking his beard, keeping his pace steady beside yours, which was only a small bit slower due to your healing process.

You turned to look at him with furrowed eyebrows. He'd spoken of witnesses, as if he hadn't known a very crucial part in this.

"Didn't Anakin tell you?"

"Tell me what?" He stopped in his tracks and faced you, ready to hear of this information which had apparently been passed over his head in the few hours it came about.

"He's gone to find Ventress. If he can get a recorded confession, that would be enough to save Ahsoka, wouldn't it?"

He widened his eyes at hearing that his former Padawan had gone away from the temple yet again without telling him. Why did he not tell him things like this anymore? He had deemed it necessary enough to tell you, but not him.... strange.

"She has the reasoning; her agenda has never ceased to be in alignment with the Sith and Separatist plans. It could be enough, but I highly doubt she will give herself up to the republic for the sake of an innocent Padawan," he stroked his beard and mimicked your stance before shaking his head and turning back to walk. "She'd sooner die then help a Jedi's cause."

You heaved your shoulders in a sigh, following him down to the elevator, the trial would begin soon, and you wanted to be there when everything went down.

Standing for hours at a time was taking its toll on you, and you regretted choosing not to sit in the stands with everyone else in the court. Obi-Wan had tried to offer you his chair on the balcony, but Mace Windu found it unacceptable for a non-member of the council to take a seat where everyone could see. Mace knew of your injuries, and he knew you were still recovering. When Obi-Wan tried to reason with him over it, his response was 'If she did not wish to stand, she would have stayed in the temple.'

You assured Obi-Wan you would be fine, although by now you'd gotten a bit tippy on your feet. You glanced at his chair longingly, wishing you'd been so lucky as to acquire one. Your gaze moved to his lap, where he sat upright, legs spread and arms on the rests beside him. If it weren't for the council, you'd be sat there right now, letting yourself rest from the constant standing that had continued for hours. You had to widen your stance to keep from falling over. Your footing and balance had not been the problem, but instead the weakness your body was still enduring. You did your best to keep alert, because the contents of this trial were becoming even more important with every second passed.

"The members of the court have reached a decision," one of the judges stood to his feet in the balcony across from the one you resided in, now.

This was it. This was the time you'd been waiting for, the outcome on the verge of being spilt and yet, you could not bear to hear it. You knew already that they had found her guilty. In the eyes of the republic, she looked incredibly incriminating, someone vile with plans of destruction. Not Ahsoka, never Ahsoka.

Chancellor Palpatine arose from his throne like structure, receiving a data pad with the transfer from the judges.

"Ahsoka Tano," he began, his voice echoing in the large court for everyone to hear clearly, although you were a bit distracted when you sensed a familiar presence coming near. Anakin... "by an overwhelming count of-"

"Chancellor!" And not a moment too soon, the voice of your old fellow Padawan was heard, interrupting the announcement of what you were sure was Ahsoka's certain doom.

You smiled, knowing he'd done it, he'd found a way to prove her innocence, although being trailed behind him was not Ventress, but... Barriss? Surely, she wasn't the one behind all of this. She had such strong beliefs in the light, and hated violence all together, even when used for defense. You'd not known her very well, she was closer to Ahsoka's age group when training with younglings, although you'd had a few encounters, all of which showed nothing hostile or even aggressive from her nature.

"I should hope you have a reason for bursting in on our proceedings, Master Skywalker."

The Chancellor spoke as if he was full of obnoxity by the intrusion, but really, anyone could see by the look on his face that he was intrigued by whatever the young man had discovered.

"I am here, with evidence and a confession from the person responsible for all the crimes Ahsoka has been accused of," he stepped aside, letting the sentinel guards reveal the Jedi who stood among them, her head dropped in shame and regret. "Barris Offee, member of the Jedi Order, and traitor."

The crowd gasped out in surprise, but all those in favor of Ahsoka sighed breaths of relief at hearing the news. Anakin was reliable, you knew he'd figure it out, but did he always have to cut it so close to the end?

"Barriss, is that true?" Ahsoka sounded devastated, perhaps even more so than she would have been had the court rendered her guilty. They were good friends, you'd seen them together often, if only from afar. You couldn't imagine the betrayal she must have felt, first from the council, and now from an ally, or something she thought was one.

"Tell them the truth," Anakin looked at the traitorous Jedi with narrowed eyes, his patience for her existence wearing incredibly thin.

You took a few steps closer to the edge, knowing the council was far too invested in this development now to care if you were seen with them. It wasn't like you were the one on trial here.

"I did it," she began, her tone starting as if she was apologetic, but soon turning for the worse when she continued. "Because I have come to realize what many people in the republic have come to realize. The Jedi are the ones responsible for this war."

That statement struck a nerve with you... the Jedi have always taught you peace and harmony for all the years you've been in the temple, but then they would send you on endless missions, acquiring violent strategies on how to defeat the enemy, and take their forces.

"We have so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, and we are the ones who should be put on trial... All of us."

Again, you heard her words from a personal view. As someone who has seen first-hand the council's ineptness to make proper decisions based on real morals, and the way they fought with great effort to keep themselves as soldiers in this war, you could agree that it had gone way too far.

"My attack on the temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the light that we once held so dear. This republic is failing; it's only a matter of time," she finished her speech in a blaze of glory, and though it had resonated with you, you were happy for it to be over. It was giving you far too much to think about and not enough time to process.

As someone who'd danced with the dark side on several occasions, you knew what it wanted, what it craved. Chaos, it craved chaos. This war was chaos, and the Jedi Order wasn't doing anything to stop it, only feeding it, more and more until it grew to the size and stature of a universal conflict. It would not end until the Jedi withdrew themselves, and that was something you could be certain of. Win or lose, the republic relied too much on the Jedi to defend them, making them the generals and commanders of their army that had long since been created for them.

"Such incivility," Master Mundi shook his head, ready to put the girl in prison and bring about the next thing of importance on his daily agenda.

"She's right," you whispered, but given that you stood now between Obi-Wan and Mace Windu, the latter snapped his head up to find you, looking down on the scene with a sorrowful look on your face.

"What did you just say?" he was ready to hash out another round of insufferable confrontation, but you weren't focused on him one bit.

"She's right. We're only waging for this war, not fighting against it," it was spoken softly, and the sincerity you held in your tone shown him you were deep in thought. Even Obi-Wan was concerned over your words. He had done his best for all the years of his life to do what was right, but now he didn't know what that was. Whatever the force led him to, that's what he wanted to choose.

"You'll be wise to keep your opinions of this matter to yourself, lest you end up in her position."

His threat did not go unnoticed by Obi-Wan, and since you stood between him and Master Windu, he grabbed your hand out of sight. You knew it would never come to fruition; you would sooner leave the order then let the council keep wronging you in the way they wronged others. It would not continue; this horrid cycle of treatment would end today.

"She makes a point, we have fallen from the true teachings we once cherished," your master spoke up beside you, dropping your hand before anyone saw it connected with his. "Perhaps in order to prevent future catastrophe, we should look into making things different."

Mace would ignore his suggestion, and this argument as a whole. There was really no need for it to happen right now, or at all. If it came up again later, it should be dealt with in an esteemed manner.

"Take her away," Chancellor Palpatine waved his hands, and the girl was taken out of sight.

You wondered if she would be imprisoned, or put to death, as the penalty would have been had Ahsoka been found guilty. Only time would tell, but you didn't have time to waste.

You wanted to see Ahsoka.

You would categorize your three least favorite feelings in the world as follows: when you thought that your master, as well as the love of your life was dead, when you nearly turned to the dark side and left the teachings you grew up on, and when you'd been made to sit outside of the council room while important meetings were being held without you.

The third one happened so often you figured you should have become used to it by now, but you couldn't. It was just as nerve wracking and anxiety bringing each and every time.

It was now, that you had been stopped at the door, and not been let in to hear what was to become of Ahsoka, that you truly pondered why you even stayed. Why did you continue to let them walk on you, disrespect you, and treat you as if you were mud on their boots? You worked tirelessly, using the powers they taught you to wield, and for their bidding. The mission always came first.

You had been feeling for a long time that the force willed you elsewhere, but you couldn't seem to gather the courage to just leave. You'd never been given that push, but when you saw Ahsoka walk past you, out those doors on her own, and without her sabers or head chain, you knew she was through. Just like you were about to be.

"Ahsoka, wait."

She turned to face you, a sad smile adorning her lovely face. She figured she would be saying goodbye.

"I take it things didn't work out," you knew that the way you'd described it was an understatement, but it was all you could say.

"I can't stay here. Barriss was right, the order has changed so much, and I don't want to be a part of what it becomes from this war."

You dropped your head, understanding what she spoke of more than she could have thought you would. You knew that as long as the council members controlled the ranks, and as long as the war raged on, the Jedi Order would continue to become more corrupt until there was nothing left but a pile of rubble, where the skyline of Coruscant split in two.

"I'm coming with you," you said, looking her back in the eyes as they widened in shock.

She never could have believed that you would want to walk away from the Jedi, the only place you'd even known. Though she was young when she was brought to the temple, the people of her home world still loved her, and looked upon her as one of their own. You didn't have a home world. You weren't born on Mimban, no one usually ever was. You had no family, and no one to look upon you as their own. This order was what you strived to be a part of, training since you were a youngling to become one of the greatest the galaxy had ever seen. Why would you want to throw that all away?

"You can't be serious," she shook her head in disbelief. It didn't seem right to her that you wanted to come along, although it was truly what you wanted.

"I am, I'm sick of putting my life on the line only to be turned around and treated like a doormat. I've been walked on for the last time," you confessed, your tone becoming overwhelmingly intense while you thought about the council, still in the room behind you, ready to deal with you as soon as they were ready. They wouldn't get the chance.

"Could you really leave, though? What about Obi-Wan?" she kept her voice down, although you were alone, the hallways of the temple were known for echoing even the gentlest whispers into the air.

Obi-Wan....

"I'll be fine on my own, and I can still see him as long as I remain on Coruscant," you explained. This half-assed plan was not very well thought out, and to be quite frank, you were making it up as you went. You were never impulsive, always thinking things through and finding the best solution, but here you stood, lightsaber in hand, about to throw it all away.

"You would never get to be with him the way you are now. Think about this, it doesn't sound like you."

"It doesn't sound like you either, Ahsoka. If you leave now, you'll be on your own. If I come with you, we might make an easier time of it," whether this be the will of the force or not, you had the urge to go, to turn and never look back.

She was conflicted. It would be nice to start over in the galaxy separate from the Jedi, and if someone was there to navigate the new territory with her, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad... but she knew it was selfish to want you to leave with her. You were being impulsive, and dull minded with making such a quick decision. She knew there was only one way to get you to stay, and though it would hurt to say goodbye, she wanted you to keep going on your path, the one that would lead you to greatness.

"Talk to him," she said sincerely, nodding towards the council room which had yet to adjourn. "If you decide to leave, I'll be in the alley by the station till tonight. If you don't show, I'll know you chose to stay with him."

She turned without another word and walked away. The doors to the council room opened, and Anakin ran after her, but you stayed put, thinking about how you would even bring this up to your Master.

@spencerrxids @sawendel @fandomstanner24 @i-shall-abide @officialjellydoughnut @whatshxrname @darkened-writer @superavengerpotter @cutiepoo16 @hypnoash @softlymellow @howlerwolfmax @mephistominion @honestlywtfisgoingon @anakinskywalkerog @mandiiellen @je--a-n @guyinachair27 @avenger5-a55emble @amelia-song-pond @kaminanii @the-abyss-of-fandoms @queenofnightdreamland @world-dominating-kitty @mandowhatnow @ella-error505 @annahalo @infinity-witch @beetlejuice-stuff @liueski @solarbxby @sirianisrock @lxdyred @endless-warrior-always-fighter @iloveinej @msjb2002 @shoochi @itsilvermorny @gingerrosecosplay @sebschicken @loversjoy @argentinemango @1-800-vader @house-of-kolchek @marierg @graciexmarvel @ttzamara @truly-madly-nerdy @molieux @majahu @dyzlks @pancakefancake

#obi wan x padawan #obi wan kenobi #obi wan series #obi wan x reader #obi wan kenobi x reader #anakin skywalker x reader #ewan mcgregor #anakin skywalker #anakin x reader #hayden christensen #obi wan kenobi x padawan!reader

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

Text

Uncle Ben and Little Luke

AKA we combine several types of time travel for maximum Soft Chaos, let’s go

EDIT NOW THAT I’VE WRITTEN THIS UP: jfc this ended up much angstier than initially intended uhhhhhhhhhh sorry

So a common enough thing I’ve seen in time travel fics is characters getting de-aged when tossed back physically, to neither the age they should be in that time, nor the age they were from the time they left, but whatever is most convenient. This is usually de-aging OT Obi-Wan into his TCW self, for reasons relating to, chiefly, removing the damage of Tatooine absolutely destroying his body alongside PTSD-driven alcoholism, but also because fic writers are horny, and Ewan McGregor playing a late-thirties negotiator is on average more appealing to people than Alec Guinness playing a vaguely feral desert hermit.

So, here’s how it plays out:

We take Luke and Ben from some point in the OT. There are a variety of options depending on how angsty we want it to be. My first instinct is ‘right after Owen and Beru die’ but I want to have that sweet angst where Luke knows that his dad is Vader and that Obi-Wan was trying to convince him to kill his own father without telling him that.

We’ll go with shortly after Bespin, and then they end up significantly before TPM. The Obi-Wan of the timeline proper is, eh, let’s say eighteen. Not really ready to be a knight, but old enough that we don’t have to worry about “if we go save Shmi, do we somehow wipe out Anakin?” which is absolutely a worry. Anakin is a toddler, and is in no place to be evil, on account of being literally two years old. He can’t even explode people with his brain yet.

Now, Ben finds himself mid-thirties, as is traditional. He’s not upset at this, because his joints hurt so much less than they used to! His knees aren’t exactly teenage-perfect, but by the Force are they better than they were in the years before he died! His hair has color! He doesn’t have arthritis! And, goodness, no physical withdrawal symptoms! The psychological aspect is still there, but nonetheless, he’s in much better shape than he last remembers being.

Luke looks like he’s about six. He was recently twenty-two. This is not an upgrade. Ben keeps having to carry him. He can’t see over the counter when they enter a bar for information. He can’t enter the bar in the first place. He’s very annoyed by all of this.

Ben is not annoyed. Ben is having a lot of emotions, actually, but annoyance isn’t one of them. He didn’t get to help raise Luke the way he might have if Anakin hadn’t lost his shit, okay, he sees a small Luke and he wants to hug him and cry.

Luke would like to be able to purchase a speeder part without the lady at the stall asking him if he needs his “dad’s” permission.

Once they figure out when and where they are, they need to decide where and how to leave. There are general shenanigans to gamble their way into enough money to hire a ship. They are in the ass end of nowhere, but definitely not Tatooine. There appears to be a jungle. There appears to be a significant variety of man-eating creatures. There appears to be a temple to the Force of questionable origin. None of this is actually helpful, except for the moment they find a “baby’s first lightsaber” in the temple.

Luke only has one hand and, being a six-year-old, his body is growing too fast for him to bother with getting a wired-in prosthesis the way he could as an adult. He can get a more basic prosthesis, but nothing that attaches to the neurons. He’ll outgrow it too fast.

He’s tiny and he’s not used to doing things with just one hand. He uses the Force to do what one hand can't, and every time someone tries to tell him he's misusing the Force he whaps them with the empty sleeve.

So, you know, they find out what year it is. Ben has a breakdown. Luke is upset that he left behind his friends. Ben admits to him that Leia was his twin. Luke stares in horror because dude, she kissed him, you couldn’t have mentioned this earlier???

Ben points out that Beru and Owen were keeping Luke away from him for nineteen years, and then they had about three days of awkward travel to find Leia in the first place, and then Ben died. He didn’t have a whole lot of time to figure out how to tell him.

(This sparks an argument that lasts several days. All onlookers assume that Ben’s son is throwing a tantrum. He doesn’t correct them, even though this is a very valid reason to be upset, because the truth is much harder to explain.)

Sooooo they travel. Mostly, Ben plays Sabacc, cleans house, and pays their way towards Coruscant. Luke still really wants to learn to be a Proper Jedi, even though Ben is pretty sure that Luke would have... a lot of difference of opinion with the Temple, but sure. Coruscant. They can at least stop by, and see Qui-Gon, and Mace, and Quinlan, and Bant, and everyone else that’s still alive and not tragically deceased in the horror following the start of the Clone Wars and then the birth of the Empire, and Ben can have a nice sob over all his dead friends being alive again.

Ben is only barely holding it together while Luke is in the room with him at any given point. But it’s fine! It’s fine. He’s fine. All of his loved ones have come back to life! It’s great! HE’S FINE.

He is not fine.

Luke is also grieving all the people who haven’t been born yet, but he’s... significantly more okay than Ben is.

The closer they get to the Core, the more often people just assume Ben is Luke’s father, and then look shocked and uncomfortable when Luke flatly calls him by his name, and they just... compromise. This is the point at which Luke starts calling him “Uncle Ben.”

Ben cries in his bunk later that night. Luke overhears it and wonders how the HELL Ben is more unstable now, when there’s a chance to fix things and no Vader or Empire trying to kill or capture both of them, and all his friends are alive.

(Luke will later learn a lot about PTSD and realize this is actually a fairly normal situation, to process significant events and emotions only after gaining safety or catharsis.)

(Twenty years on a ball of sand with an alcohol addiction and debilitating fear of the man you raised as your own brother is not, in fact, safe or cathartic.)

At any rate, they’ve settled into that pattern by the time they reach the Inner Rim. The Inner Rim is the part of the galaxy at which they’ve collected enough money (and mental stability) to travel a little better, and to take a few more risks.

Risks like “manipulate people with those baby blues.”

Ben tells Luke that he’s a menace, after he pouts so cutely that he gets a free scarf added on to a purchase that Ben makes. Luke responds that Ben has no room to talk, since he flirted a free breakfast out of that one inn owner.

Also, Luke is currently physically six. That is objectively a situation that sucks. He deserves to use it for all it’s worth if he’s stuck like this.

“You know, if you keep wearing all-black and looking longingly at the velvet cape and Space Chanel boots, the temple is going to worry that you’re a darksider.”

“Uncle Ben... you told me, yesterday, that I sparkle so brightly in the Force that it’s almost blinding.”

“Yes, but the gloves--”

They don’t agree on this, but Ben relents. He does actually understand good fashion, unfortunately, and he’s not unaware of how much Leia taught Luke about such things.

Luke’s about forty years ahead of the curve, of course, but Skywalkers are prone to such things. It’s usually in regards to technology, granted, but...

They get to Coruscant. Ben is very obviously a Jedi. He knows all the right words and walks like a Soresu master and feels warm and comforting in the Force. They let him in with minimal questions. They note down “my first padawan left the order to have a child, but died shortly after; I consider Luke here to be my nephew, and have raised him as such,” and move on.

Luke is vaguely annoyed because he already had an uncle (and aunt) that raised him, but he admits that a person can have more than one uncle. He can live with this. Ben was more family to Anakin than Owen was, in some ways, so it’s kind of true. Luke is even working on feeling more childish affection for Ben instead of the complicated mess of emotions that come from being lied to about some very large and important subjects, and then seeing the person saying those lies have regular emotional breakdowns due to something as small as Luke saying he likes the curve of the hull on that freighter.

(Apparently he sounds just like his father did as a child. This is almost heartwarming.)

The thing is! The thing. The thing is, they almost make it to the Halls of Healing to get looked over for weird viruses, or Outer Rim Parasites, or whatever the hells needs to be happening. They almost make it without Ben having a flashback to dead younglings or brainwashed troopers or the declaration of a Sith Empire. They almost make it without incident.

Then Ben sees Qui-Gon, and freezes, and does not move again.

Luke cannot get him to restart.

People are staring.

They haven’t even made it to Medical, Uncle Ben, come on.

Young, local Obi-Wan comes over and asks if there’s something he can do to help. Or maybe this “Ben” knows Qui-Gon? Master Jinn doesn’t recognize Ben, but maybe Luke knows more?

Luke does know more, but what Luke actually says is “he probably needs a mind healer.”

(Ben will not appreciate this.)

(Ben is unfortunately standing in the middle of the hallway and completely unresponsive, and is unable to argue with this assertion.)

(Ben is pretty much proving this assertion entirely correct, actually.)

Obi-Wan is helpful, if a little bitchy in the manner of most late-teens individuals, and offers to help get Uncle Ben down to the Halls of Healing. It involves Obi-Wan gently pushing on Ben’s shoulders, and Qui-Gon offering to carry Luke so he can be in Ben’s sights (because Ben is a Mystery, and Qui-Gon is quite fond of those, so he wants to stay involved). Ben kind of just... shuffles on down.

There are medical tests. They ask about how Luke lost his hand. He refuses to talk about it. They ask how Ben got all his scars. Luke says he doesn’t know. They ask if he knows why Ben looks like he’s been through a war. Luke says it’s because he probably was.

They check for foreign viruses. They find evidence of thus-far-unpatented vaccinations. They ask Luke if he knows what he’s vaccinated for.

“How would I know? I’m six.”

They agree that this is a good excuse.

(It is not. He’s lying. They do not know this.)

They do some more tests. They find a lot of questionable medical bullshit in Ben’s body. Most of this is from the clone wars, but they don’t know this. Someone realizes they haven’t gotten a ping back from the Shadow Network regarding “do we have permission to pull the medical file of a Jedi that isn’t in the normal database? We’re assuming you know who he is, since we don’t.”

The Shadow Network does not know who Ben is.

The healers, of course, go “huh, that’s weird, but maybe the name he gave his nephew was fake. We can’t exactly ask ‘Ben’ for more details right now. We already had to sedate him. Let’s check the DNA!”

The DNA pulls up as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The padawan who brought this guy in two hours ago.

“Huh, that’s weird. Let’s call in Kenobi and ask if he knows what’s going on.”

Obi-Wan absolutely does not know what’s going on.

They ask Luke.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he says, lying through his teeth and not even pretending otherwise.

“You’re not a very good liar,” teenage Obi-Wan tells him.

“I’m not trying to be,” Luke says. “Can you get Master Yoda? I feel like we’re going to need him.”

They normally wouldn’t get Yoda on the request of a six-year-old, but they also normally don’t have a catatonic thirty-something Jedi who looks like he’s been through a war popping up in the medical database as the pimply teenage padawan that broke his pinky trying to do a Badass Ataru Flip last week.

Or... whatever Luke i... is... oh dear.

“Young one,” Qui-Gon asks, while people whisper-shout behind him, not realizing he’s cutting the Correlian Knot and just asking the kid himself. “Do you know why your midichlorian count is so high? It’s almost unheard of.”

“Uncle Ben said my dad was the Chosen One,” Luke says, because he is capable of being a little shit and is actually really eager to let Ben deal with some of the fallout. He feels for the man, really, but he’s also tired of being the one to field every single question.

Also, the expressions that pass on Qui-Gon’s face are hilarious.

(Luke may or may not be more affected by his six-year-old brain than he would like to admit.)

“Thank you,” Qui-Gon says, sounding more than a little strangled about it.

It takes another three hours for Ben to wake up.

He listens to the questions. He hears what they say his ‘nephew’ said. He looks at Luke.

“Is this revenge for not telling you about Leia?”

“It’s not revenge,” Luke does not lie. “I just don’t know how to explain it.”

“It’s pretty easy to explain.”

“It’s not my secret.”

“This is revenge for the Leia thing.”

“No,” Luke says. “Revenge for the Leia thing was when I ate a live frog in front of you.”

This is the point at which someone interrupts and points out that they appear to be stalling.

“Oh, he is,” Luke tells them. He gestures at Ben. “I can’t tell you more, because it’s more his story than mine.”

“I’m afraid, Master, that I am very likely to have an emotional breakdown if I allow myself to consider the reality of this situation for longer than the fraction of a second I already have,” Ben reports, full of false cheer. “Suffice to say, I am far from stable and have only held out this far for Luke’s sake.”

“Can you explain why you have my DNA?” Obi-Wan asks, as the person who’s most concerningly involved in this situation.

“You can,” Ben says, smiling like there is absolutely nothing wrong in the slightest, ever. “I’m you, from the future. I actually died and spent a few years dead before coming back. I’m not sure why I’m younger than I was when I died, but I appreciate being able to put on my shoes without my knees attempting to mutiny.”

“He needs a mind healer,” Luke reiterates, in case the strained grin hasn’t made it clear. “So do I, but not as much.”

“I have felt literally every person in this Temple save for Luke and Yoda die,” Ben reports, looking a shade more manic than a few seconds earlier. “It’s very overwhelming to feel you all being alive again. I may be approaching a mental breakdown, and I’ve been rather strictly advised against using alcohol to treat my traumas again.”

Luke kicks him in the thigh. It’s not a very hard kick, because he is very small, and he does actually like Ben. “I’m not letting you turn into an old drunk again.”

After several seconds of silence, a healer quietly suggests that everyone clear the room, and asks if someone could fetch Master Yoda as the youngling requested.

(THIS IS ALMOST THREE THOUSAND WORDS. I started it less than two hours ago. Why am I like this.)

#Ben Kenobi #Obi Wan Kenobi #Luke Skywalker #Qui Gon Jinn #Time Travel #De Aging #Phoenix Posts #Uncle Ben and Little Luke

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thimbil · 3 years

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Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.

So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.

I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.

Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.

So who is?

Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.

Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?

Hunter

Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.

Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.

Crosshair

The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.

In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.

Wrecker

In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.

You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.

Tech

Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.

And finally,

Echo

Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.

The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.

So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.

But they didn’t do that.

So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.

The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.

Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.

Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)

None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.

This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.

Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.

#star wars #the bad batch #unwhitewashtbb #wrecker #crosshair #tech #hunter #echo

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stonefreeak · 3 years

Text

Revenge of the 5th and also I am SO SORRY it takes me so long to update these days. Who knew having a job and living during a pandemic could be so bad for fic updates?

Anakin can't sit still. He finds it hard to think, hard to breathe sometimes.

Palpatine got convicted on corruption charges.

Sure, not as many and not nearly as serious as those Mas Amedda was convicted of. Instead it seems like Amedda was running a lot of corruption in Mr palpatine's favour... But the fact that Palpatine was involved in even just some corruption, the acceptance of bribes and...

It means Anakin was wrong and Obi-Wan was right.

He can't stand it. He can't believe it. It's not fair!

He fought for Palpatine with Obi-Wan. He pushed Obi-Wan away, raged and screamed at him for being distrustful... And it turns out that he was right not to trust Palpatine. That he was right not to trust in Anakin's trust in him.

And it hurts.

Especially since he'd seen it on Padmé's face when the conviction came. She was pleased. She thought it was right.

She must have been hiding something from him, something about Palpatine, and he almost hates her for it. How could she keep things from him when they promised never to lie to each other? Never to keep anything secret from each other considering how much they must keep secret from everyone else.

It feels like a betrayal and he doesn't know how to handle it.

Not for the first time he wishes that Master Hestish hadn't died. That she was still here to help him get a grip over his emotions, help him think things through.

He knows that Obi-Wan or Padmé would do their very best to help him if he only asks, but when they're the object of confusion... They can't help. If he's angry and upset with them, how can they possibly help him sort his feelings out?

Master Hestish and he had a good relationship, Anakin thinks. She was helpful, kind, and she never judged him. She helped him get himself under control sometimes, and because they only met during his sessions with her, because they didn't have a relationship outside of those sessions... She was always an unbiased and completely separate person. She was never entangled in his duties or his relationships or his school work... She was only ever there to be a rock in the sinking sand, helping him climb to safety until the Tatooine winds calmed themselves and the sinking sands could be traversed again.

He knows that if Obi-Wan knew he's feeling like this, he'd tell Anakin to find a new mind healer to talk to. Find someone else who can help him, but... Anakin doesn't want anyone else! He wants Master Hestish! He wants Bharani Hestish... In her white robes and with her so very odd appearance—like nothing Anakin had ever seen before, completely impossible to mistake for anyone else—and her calm acceptance of whatever he told her.

It's not fair that Anakin has to lose everyone! It's not fair that apparently he can't trust anyone he loves, because sooner or later they keep something from him. They lie to him.

Or they die.

He can only hope that Ahsoka hasn't lied to him too. That she isn't keeping secrets and going behind his back. He's not sure he could take it from his Padawan as well. Well... he knows that she didn't talk to him about her concerns that it might be her fault that Obi-Wan got caught in the blast, but... That's not quite the same thing, right?

He doesn't like it though. He doesn't like the fact that Ahsoka will keep something as important as her fears from him. He's her master and it's his duty to help guide her through her journey to becoming a Jedi Knight, and how can he do that if she keeps secrets and won't ask him for help when she needs it?

He should probably talk to her about that... But later. Later. When he's not as upset as he is now. He doesn't want to risk getting angry at her when it's not really where his frustration and anger is targeted right now.

He should...

He doesn't know what he should do.

He can't talk to Obi-Wan. He just can't. After all the things he said, all the accusations and assertions he did... That he was wrong about Palpatine, even just slightly... Of course Palpatine isn't as bad as Obi-Wan seems to think he is, Palpatine is a good man, isn't he? But...

Yes. That's it.

He feels it like a soft caress in his mind. Of course Palpatine is a good man who's made a few mistakes. Even the court didn't think he'd done anything bad enough to warrant prison or anything like that. He just got some fines and a warning to be careful with what sort of contracts he enters and favours he does for others and asks for for himself.

It's... It's not ideal, of course. But Palpatine is still trustworthy.

After all, he had more power than anyone else in the galaxy for years and he wasn't corrupted. He was still on the whole careful with his political power. Just a few mistakes doesn't just somehow make someone a bad person.

Not when there's the likes of Dooku or even just Mas Amedda out there—people who actually hurt others and cause destruction and chaos. Palpatine isn't anything like them.

Anakin lets out a frustrated breath. Even now that he's managed to sort himself out and his thoughts regarding Palpatine, he still feels restless and like he can't sit still.

He wants to talk to Obi-Wan... Wants to apologise for some of the things he said, but... No. He can't.

He should probably talk to Padmé instead, shouldn't he?

After all, Palpatine has been a mentor to her too. It must have been a harsh blow to her even though she thought it was deserved after she heard the evidence. Maybe they can comfort each other and then visit Palpatine together so he knows that they still support him, that they still know that he's a good person despite what has happened.

Nodding to himself, Anakin gets to his feet and rolls his shoulders. He needs to act swiftly, who knows when he'll be sent back into the field again. It's likely not far away considering how much better Obi-Wan is doing... Anakin knows he got extended leave due to that—which was really nice of the Council, really.

But he wants to make sure he's talked to Padmé so they've sorted everything out before he needs to leave Coruscant again.

Obi-Wan... Obi-Wan can wait.

Some distance will probably do them good.

Regardless of how much Anakin wants to apologise and for everything to just go back to the way things were when he was a child, before Obi-Wan got busy—before the saboteur took Obi-Wan from him—it's probably for the best if they have some distance now.

Obi-Wan probably wants some anyway, he's like that isn't he? He thinks that distance and letting your heads cool is always a much better idea than just getting out and aired immediately...

Ugh. Whatever.

Anakin'll go talk to Padmé instead of driving himself crazy with all these thoughts.

He leaves his room and heads out of the Temple. He considers sending Ahsoka a comm message to let her know where he's gone... But it's probably for the best if he doesn't. At least then he'll have some plausible deniability if anyone tries to suggest he went to see Padmé for anything but platonic reasons. They won't even be able to prove that he specifically went out to see her!

He hates that they have to keep their marriage secret, but...

No, he can't think about this now. He pushes the thoughts away, they'll have to wait for later.

Now he just wants to see Padmé.

—

(Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi masterpost)

#Supreme Chancellor Obi Wan Kenobi #star wars #my writing #update #it's been A WHILE #sorry about that

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nevertheless-moving · 3 years

Text

thanks again to @dykerory and @willowcrowned for this genius au. this is an incomplete collection of very specific set of headcanons/daydreams i had about a tangential version of your au that made me emotional in the middle of the woods. whenever you feel the time is right, i’m very eager to hear your og version on the ‘but obi-wan, tho!’, because i admittedly pushed this one’s resolution really far chronologically because i wanted batman to be involved.

continuation from here

note: my understanding of dcu is as sporadically informed as my understanding of the gffa.

newly graduated clark kent gets his first journalism job and starts settling more and more into the superman thing. the rest of the justice league has been around but his entrance onto the scene is the one that really inspires the various heroes to actually start coordinating to deal with the weirdness magnet that is dcu Earth. Clark is in his early 20s. Anakin is in his late 30s.

He’s been living on Earth, without the force, for nearly 2/3rds of his life. He has a close knit circle of friends who were kind to him even when they thought he was just a weird and crazy emo cult victim (the gradual increase of public encounters with aliens and superpowers sparks some awkward apologies, Anakin at 38 just waves his friends off, smiling and changing the subject, neither confirming nor denying his high school ramblings of spaceships and magic. it doesn’t really change anything).

He lives an hour’s drive from smallville, and runs a successful auto shop. people travel from pretty far to check out some of his more wild and specialized motorcycle abominations. makes enough money selling them to rich idiots to fund his free auto-class and auto-repair programs for impoverished communities.

It took a while but he eventually came around to the idea of helping people without physical force (ironically, this is happening around the same time Clark is coming to the realization that he can help people with physical force). Generally respected as a pillar of the community. When people start to realize how profoundly weird he is as a person in a number of inexplicable ways, someone will generally pull them aside and quietly whisper that he was in a cult at a child, no one really knows much about it except that it’s what inspired his anti-modern-slavery work, which is a little telling. Not married. Was in a long-term relationship for like 9 years. It didn’t end well but no-one knows the details.

Has several cats.

He’s- wistful but settled. He’s been through a lot of therapy. He meditates every morning and night, clearing his mind and examining his emotions in the way Obi-Wan taught him. He thinks Obi-Wan would be proud of him. He know his Mom would be.

Once he gets used to the idea, he never really stops loving the concept of learning just because. Duel bachelors degree in in african american history and american literature, masters in engineering, masters in astrophysics a phd in theoretical physics, another phd in medieval folklore. He’s worked a lot of jobs.

He was already pretty well versed in astronavigation back at the temple. Over the course of his time on earth, he gets more educated in earth astronomy and physics. With is increased knowledge, his theory for ‘how did i get here’ shifts from slight hyperdrive miscalculation, to big hyperdrive miscalculation, to some sort of hyperlane incident. he realizes that none of the stars he knows are familiar in any NASA database. He must be beyond wildspace, which helps him let go of the last bit of hurt he felt that Obi-Wan never found him.

Then he really learns physics- and- light doesn’t exactly work like that right? He thought it was just primitive Earth understanding but... he gets a phd more or less accidentally, trying and failing to disprove that the speed of life is constant constant.

Get’s another even more accidentally, explaining how alternate universes might form if we assume slightly different universal constants. He publishes his thesis anonymously around the same time metas are becoming a household term, and at least one science journalist speculates on it and how alternate universes might explain the increasing prevalence of wildly different superpowers. He doesn’t claim credit for the honorary diploma awarded to the unknown theorist- he doesn’t want to risk drawing any attention to him and by extension Clark, who’s alien differences are far more of the ‘military experiment interesting’ variety then his.

He stops tinkering with Clark’s ship. He finally gets how it works. Now that he realizes how FTL travel has to work in this universe, tinkering with the mechanical generation and harnessing of the massive quantities of energy necessary to do is startlingly familiar. But it doesn’t matter. No matter how far and fast he travels, he’s never going to be able to get back to the life he used to know.

Perhaps this is what being the chosen one actually means- he’s meant to live a life without the force, so that when he returns to it in death he’ll be able to somehow...educate? the force? maybe?

Ok, he’s not great at the metaphysical spiritual side of things, but he does accept that going back is out of his control, and he’s doing good here, even if it’s not galaxy altering.

Despite all the therapy, he never doubts that his early life was real. He has his saber and deep, deep down he can feel a spark in the kyber. He can’t do anything with it, but it’s there. There’s also pieces of the utter wreck that was his ship in the cellar, next to the sleek unblemished pod that Clark arrived in. Shortly before Clark becomes Superman, he asks for his help in melting down his old ship to make unearthly alloys.

He’s not surprised when Clark tells him he met a ‘real’ ‘magic’ user- it stands to reason that considering how relatively easy it is to convert energy from one form to another in this universe (Clark can fly), at least one kind would bend to sentient willpower in a similar way as the force does.

It’s still a little nervewracking showing his lightsaber to someone new for the first time in a decade. Zantana scrutinizes, bewildered.

“There is some sort of power locked within, but it’s unfamiliar to me,” she admits finally. “I could probably brute force it and force the energy to release itself, but it would likely destroy the container.” Anakin politely refuses.

Later, after the justice league’s formation, Clark mentions to J’onn that he has a friend who might be able to work on his ship. J’onn is extremely doubtful when he’s brought to a bizarre autoshop in the midwest that looks half-like a roadside attraction. Anakin sighs and digs his hands into the guts of the craft, muttering incomprehensibly and yelling at clark to melt down some pieces from the special scrap pile. A few days later he explains the patches he’s done to an impressed J’onn. When he asks how a human came to learn such things, he’s absently informed that,

“I used to work in a junkshop in Tatooine. All sorts of ship parts came through.”

“I’m unfamiliar with this world.”

“Tell you what, if you ever meet anyone who’s heard it of it, send them my way, and I’ll make your next repair free.”

“Oh! I’m afraid I don’t have any earth money...”

“Ugh, of course you don’t. it’s cool, capitalism sucks anyway and everyone’s entitled to free transportation, regardless of the area they happen to live. I do ask that if you can’t pay for the repairs that you spend an equivalent number of hours either attending one of my free auto classes, or volunteer at a community-led charities of your choice, here I’ll get you a pamphlet-”

So the Martian Manhunter becomes a weekly volunteer at a Midwestern Food Waste Reclamation Facility. J’onn J’onzz ends up becoming Anakin Skywalker’s friend well before he becomes comes truly comfortable around Kal-El. For a telepath, 39 year old Anakin’s Jedi orderly mind is a soothing relief.

(again, Anakin has spent far more time meditating on Earth then he ever did at the temple. Before all this, spent five years dutifully memorizing the Jedi way even as he struggled to live up it’s basic practices. For the first few years on earth, religiously practicing every meditation technique Obi-Wan ever taught him, thinking obsessively about the philosophies he never had time to really process, is just a desperate attempt to reconnect with the force, prove himself worthy of it. But even after he gives up on ever touching the force again, he keeps up the practice, he can’t release his emotions exactly, but he does find peace. The tendency to stop mid-rant to earnestly pronounce made up zen bullshit and then sit quietly for an hour before picking up on his tirade again as though there was no interruption is one of the things many things people find profoundly weird about him)

Kal-El doesn’t stop asking new aliens and dimensional travelers if they’ve ever heard of Coruscant, or Hutts, or the Jedi Order. Anakin might have given up, but Superman remembers his older brother scrubbing away his own tears to focus on helping Clark calm down enough to touch the floor again. The more the Kryptonian’s powers developed in alarming ways, the more Anakin set aside talk of missing his home galaxy. Anakin might have claimed it wasn’t like that, but Clark was determined to take every chance his increasingly weird life threw at him, no matter how vanishingly small.

In the middle of his first battle with Braniac, Clark starts insulting his incomplete database. The world collector pauses, demanding a more precise explanation. Clark complies, giving his best technical description of Coruscant’s cityscape, Tatooine’s binary star system, and so on. Braniac is so distracted that Superman recovers completely from his kryptonite poisoning and easily saves the day.

Neither the lantern corp or the denizens of the neutral zone have the answers. Superman doesn’t mention it it Anakin, but he never stops looking and listening.

“How did you even meet that guy?” Flash asks curiously after stopping to say hello on one of their after work laps of the country.

“Aliens among us support group,” Kal-El responds deadpan.

“Oh. Wait, what? He’s an alien? I thought he was from the future or something! You’re messing with me. No way that’s a thing. How many people are in the support group? This is a joke, right?”

“Sorry, most of them aren’t out and I don’t want to violate their privacy- a lot of them have high profile jobs. How do you think I met J’onn?”

“SUPES I’M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW YOU’VE GOTTA STOP”

Anakin is just sort of vaguely known by a solid chunk of the super community as ‘that one midwestern zen space mechanic’ and no one really questions it because everyone’s life has just gotten so goddamn weird. A few of them know he used to be a space wizard of some kind. Space wizards now being a regular hazard of life on earth, no one has reason to doubt this, and it’s as good an explanation as any for Anakin’s general vibe.

well. almost no one doubts this. Batman does not simply accept Anakin’s general bullshittery without carefully investigating and drawing his own conclusions. He does not share these with anyone.

But one day Clark- this is well after Superman became Kal-El to him, and not long after Kal-El tells him to call him Clark- comes up to him and asks for his help finding about an alternate universe. Knowing and dreading where this is going, Batman stalls,

“Shouldn’t you be asking one of the league members who regularly travels between universes?”

“I have, over the years,” Clark admits, awkwardly scuffing a boot on the floor of the cave. “But no one’s familiar with the exact one I’m looking for, and I thought since you’re a detective, and also one of the smartest people I know, you might be able to help me...”

“You’re an investigator yourself, and you can survive the vacuum of space,” Bruce shoots back flatly. “I’ve told you before Gotham is my priority, and this has ‘personal project’ all over it.”

“Come on, B, please,” Superman pleads, trailing Batman around the cave like an overgrown puppy. “In a few months it will have been 30 years! He’s my brother! Just let me see the research you’ve already done!”

“Who says I’ve already done research on your brother?”

Clark shoots him a look. And Bruce concedes the point with a grunt.

“I’ll need need to talk with him first,” Bruce finally concedes. “Bring him by the cave. Take the-”

“Take the tunnel entrance, I know, I know,” Clark agrees with a grin. “This doesn’t mean he’s authorized to know your secret identity. Thanks Bruce, this means a lot. I’ll ask him tomorrow about his schedule.”

Superman flies off and Batman scrubs his face with a gloved hand. After a moment he pulls up Anakin’s file on the main monitor. Bruce honestly respects and likes the man, as much as he respects and likes anyone who’s not family. He admires his sense his style, appreciates his upgrades to the batmobile, and is impressed by both this civil rights work and his additions to the scientific community.

That doesn’t mean he’s not convinced that Anakin’s brother is a bit insane. Again, he’s not judging! He dresses like a bat to scare random henchmen and beat up actual demigods! He wishes his rogues gallery was as capable of directing their ptsd-inspired delusions and staggering intellects towards such productive pursuits!

Bruce was already in quiet awe of the Kent’s ability to raise an outrageously superpowered being without blowing up a chunk of the country; their success in derailing a supervillian origin story just puts him over the edge. He stares at the three most likely profiles he’s pulled together. Christen Jones, from a negligent family, death certificate filled out suspicously sloppily at age 3. Earl Lucas, went missing at age 9, both parents dead in a violent assault. And Jake Hayden, who at age 5 disappeared along with the rest of his family in a seismic accident later linked to Luthercorp.

Anyone of them could have suffered on the streets for years and coped by establishing an elaborate fantasy world, aided by self medication, only to eventually be picked up by the Kent’s and start healing. Certainly Anakin had the intellect to create worlds in his mind. All his rogues were smart enough to create their own little realities in their heads- it doesn’t mean they were actually reachable.

Unfortunately Anakin had a Kryptonian younger brother who was determined to actually find the space wizard knight homeworld, even as the 'Jedi’ in question had slowly moved away his reliance on the delusion as an adult. Batman really didn’t see any way bringing up his conclusions to Anakin or Clark could possibly be helpful, and so many alien allies had a ‘If you find about the Jedi please contact Kal-El of Krypton on Earth’ pamphlet that it would be excruciatingly awkward to try and discretely correct anyone.

Bruce was not looking forward to this conversation.

#star wars #star wars au #dc #crossover #batman #anakin skywalker #corn boy anakin au

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thiefofstars16 · 4 years

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Right so I have a lot of Obi-Wan-centric ideas that will not leave me alone, but here's one that I wanted to write down the start of (and also Maz Kanata deserved more screen time):

Where Obi-Wan gets taught by Maz Kanata to deal with his overwhelming visions, questionably nice-ish Sith and frankly vicious Jedi holocrons, and somehow unexpectedly (or maybe predictably?) falls in love with Jango Fett, the future Mand'alor. Along the way, he royally fucks up the thousand-year-plan-to-rule-the-galaxy made by Darth Bane's idiots, saves the Haat Mando'ade and Mandalore as a whole, and gives the Jedi Order a collective kick in the ass to get their shit together.

----

Obi-Wan Falls while on Melida/Daan, and he's just...furious. Wants to rail at the injustice that he's suffered, at the injustice that the Young had faced, that he had faced on Bandomeer, on Phindar, at the Coruscant Temple itself, at his own Master who didn't even want him in the first place. But at his core, he's still the same even having Fallen, he knows this - he still wants to do good, still wants to help people. It's just...where does he go from here?

----

Obi-Wan Kenobi, cast out from the Order after the latest clusterfuck that was Melida/Daan, somehow ends up at Dex's Diner, alone, with no braid, no 'sabre, and honestly, no idea what to do next. He didn't even realize that he was in the diner that his Master - former Master - had taken him to in their brief time together.

Dex, though, sits across from this pint-sized former-Padawan, remembers that at one time the baby Jedi looked at him and decided that he'd save Dex because it was "the right thing to do " (the baby Jedi's words, not his). And Dex could not let this kid go out on his own, so he goes to his collection of interesting things - which was usually information - that included items which were supplied by a former pirate, who so happened to be quite knowledgeable in weird Force things.

Which is entirely the reason I'm entrusting Ol' Kanata with this kid, Dex thinks, a bit bemused, Though who's to say it's not Maz trusting me to lead Obi-Wan back to her? Considering she probably saw this coming in the first place.

So, he discreetly hands Obi-Wan the things he'd received from Maz for safe-keeping (who had given Dex a knowing look and said she'd be seeing these items again) - which, obviously, include a few holocrons (of slightly questionable nature), many spare credit chips, and (maybe not-so-suprisingly) two khyber and one adegan crystals that sing in the Force loudly enough to startle Obi-Wan from the daze he'd been in since he sat down.

"What's this?" Obi-Wan quietly asks, slightly wary, but intrigued at the hum of the crystals now in his hands.

Dex laughs. "Don't you worry, kid. I got all of this from a reputable source! In fact, that source could be your next stop, as from what I understand you ain't got no one to go back to?" Dex says, not unkindly.

A sharp sting of sorrow cuts Obi-Wan to the core, but he nods, somewhat confused.

"Well then, I can get you on a ship headed out to Takodana to stay with Ol' Kanata - she can get you settled real quick-like," he pauses, shrugs a little, "she'll also be able to help with any funny Force things that your kind get up to, Dark or Light."

The thing is, even only knowing Dex for a short while, Obi-Wan is one hundred percent sure that Dex knows an entirely illegal amount about what happened even if the larger populace remains unaware.

With this knowledge at the forefront of his mind, Obi-Wan is a bit wary. If he were a bit less numb, he'd probably be in tears at the suggestion that there might be someone actually able to help him deal with his recent trip into the well of the Dark. He knew that if someone were truly aware of how far he'd Fallen - because not even the Council knew the extent - then he would be in major karking shit.

But he counted Dex as a friend, and with a little questioning nudge to the Force, knew with certainty that Dex only wanted to help him, even if that meant skirting Republic law.

(He knew he Fell, he knew that he had killed people, though the memories of broken bodies and blood were so blurry that he couldn't remember their faces.

Their screams, on the other hand? Oh, he remembered those.

He couldn't stop remembering those.

A small part of him - the part that had raged at the Republic's refusal to get involved, at Master Jinn's own karking attachment to Master Tahl, at the Elders murdering each other, at the Elders killing their own damned children for the sake of war and death and blood - that part bared sharp teeth in savage triumph at the justice he had handed out and purred at the memory of those screams.)

Shaking himself from the direction his thoughts had taken, he looked at Dex and with a tremor in his voice, asked, "You think she could help me-help me get rid of my Darkness?"

The Besalisk sighed. "Kid, no one can ever truly get rid of their own Darkness. Hells, I know I'm not fully clean anymore and won't ever be," Obi-Wan slumped, and hastily wiped away the frustrated tears that had started to form; Dex leaned down to put one of his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders, "But that doesn't mean she can't help you. Ol' Kanata knows a thing or two about Light and Dark, and she'll give you a space where you can sort things out for yourself, safely, and away from prying eyes. She knows quite a bit about staying off the Republic's radar, and she can give you a place where you can do all things you need to do. I know you, kid - I know that you won't want to stop helping people."

Dex paused, and said with warning, "It won't be easy, kid. There's all sorts hanging around her den - bounty hunters, smugglers, even Mandos - but she'll do right by you. And I have a sense that you need her. So. Whaddya say?"

The mention of those types of people, of Mandalorians, caused Obi-Wan to pale. But he frowned, opened himself up to the currents of the Force and tried to think this through, because really what choice did he have?

On some level he wanted to say no, to go crawling back to the Jedi Order and beg to be accepted again, to be a Jedi, he knew he was supposed to have been a Jedi Knight, he knew that war was on the horizon and that Darkness clouded the Force and that he needed to do something -

He stopped that thought in it's tracks. Because. Because...what was stopping him from doing something about what was coming? Truly? What was stopping him from being a Jedi? Yes, he wouldn't be a part of the Order, and maybe he wouldn't have a Master, but isn't the Code just a philosophy? Couldn't he strive to do good, to help others, to do as the Force willed on his own?

It was almost heretical. To be a Jedi that didn't bow to the Order. To be a Fallen Jedi that, that...that could work in the Dark to serve the Light.

He could do it, he mused. He could go to this 'Kanata', take the offer of shelter and learn from the artifacts given to him by Dex, learn from those who walked a different path. It would be dangerous, especially if there were Mandalorians involved. Though...if he did this, he wouldn't be a Jedi anymore, would he?

What else did he have to lose? He's already lost his chance at being part of the Order, at being a Padawan, at proving himself to the Masters that thought him too arrogant and brash and un-Jedi-like.

Well, Obi-Wan thought with a bit of self-reproach and no small amount of growing excitement, if I was already un-Jedi-like while actually being in the Jedi Order, then I suppose I really don't have anything to lose, do I?

With a nod of determination, a tight grip on the newly aquired items, and something of a new hope unfurling in is heart, he accepted Dex's offer of a haven with Maz Kanata and her possibly-not-so-legal den of wandering spacers.

Obi-Wan had no idea that in doing so, he changed the course of the galaxy.

(Somewhere, a bit later on, Palpatine feels a shiver of not-quite-unease crawl down his spine. But, he dismisses the absolute absurd idea that something had changed, that something had caused the galaxy to shift to the Light.

If he had looked into it, he would have found that one Maz Kanata, along with a former young Jedi by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi, had a curious little run-in with the bounty hunter and Mand'alor Jaster Mereel.

Arrogance, as per usual, would be the downfall of the Sith of Bane's Line.)

#yikes that was longer than anticipated #a thought - the song playing on repeat during writing this is awakening by unleash the archers #i want to continue this but i am decidely tired af atm #maybe I'll post another bit again next week or so #idk if I'll finish this #but if i do #ill tag it as something that i can come back to #theifofstars fic - awakening #jangobi #sith obi wan #or really morally gray Obi-Wan #maz kanata #not really qui-gon jinn friendly #obi-wan is a bit fucked up #and a lot sad #sw fanfic #star wars #good gods I've edited this so many times lmao #lemme know what yall think?#also anyone catch the assassins creed ref #and sw pun?#i figure there'll be flashbacks to just before this and melida/daan #awakening: pt 1 #actually the song that fits this is 'the wind that shapes the land' by unleash the archers now that im thinking about it #obi wan kenobi

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iknowwhattosaynow · 3 years

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Writing asks! 7, 20 & 26 (for Kanan and Hera)

7. My favorite tag: WHY is Kanan alive? BECAUSE SHUT UP, that's why. 20. Generally, I only work on one at a time...which turns into ridiculously long fics. I take breaks on occasion to write filthy smutty one shots while I'm doing it though. How it works? FUCK if I know. 26. I think what I consider OOC when it comes to Kanan & Hera is anything just gratuitously and nauseatingly fluffy. Like, you can have some fluff, but here's my take on why flower shops and shit just doesn't work with them: Hera has never known anything but war and she is single-mindedly obsessed with destroying an entire Galactic Empire. Homegirl was flying relief missions at 14 years old, spying on Imperial refineries at age 10 and trying to convince her father that she could fight, and sometime before age 10, she'd lost a brother. She ditched her absent father and her homeworld at 18 to go sniffing out the Empire's shit from talking to people on the holonet. She had zero childhood and she put every piece of what she was into becoming a pilot and fighting the Empire. To me, Hera is more of a 'I don't need to be cuddled but if you need to be cuddled, I'll cuddle you' kind of girl. She doesn't say things that are sweet and fluffy all the time because she's seen what happens to a man when he loses the woman he loves so I think to a degree she even fears being in love, even if she can't deny being in love with Kanan*. *That being said, I never think she actually withheld saying the words to him until the minute before he died. That's bullshit and I have like at least one solid way to prove that she said it to him before he died. Kanan? Dude was pulled away from his family probably at six months old, doesn't even know what planet he is from or who is parents are and he'll never get that opportunity because there's no Jedi archives he can access for that. He went from dreaming of being a Jedi and raised with always having enough food and structure and all the good Jedi academy stuff to his Master D Y I N G so he could live. At the age of 14, he was a war veteran that he had to change everything about what he was and forget about what he'd dreamt of being; of the thing he'd been training for almost his entire life. He spent months being miserable and hyper-focused on how of the Jedi Masters died. When that didn't work for him (along with things like eating out of dumpsters), he became a womanizing, carousing, bar fighting, Force denying, drunk. Then he got all drunk on Hera™ and got in one good fight with the Empire and even though he was still reluctant to get involved with all of that he was still like "I pick this one. Forever.*" Literally, somehow the man got all strung out on the Tw'ussy and decided that being a Jedi maybe wasn't that bad of an idea. *See: A New Dawn, where he decides like three times in the book that he, the guy who avoids long term relationships or friendships, will follow her anywhere forever. Out of the pair, he's definitely the more cuddly one - he didn't have parents, he had the order. He hasn't seen the consequences of a man losing his wife. He was raised to be fearless and I think that fearlessness manifests in how unconditionally he loves Hera and he's perfectly fine saying it aloud like it's no big deal. Also, he's fine if Hera doesn't like cuddling but he likes to be cuddled so she'll have to cuddle him. THAT BEING SAID: Some of the like super fluffy stuff for them just makes me cringe. They just don't live in a time where they can be super fluffy. Do they make googly eyes at each other when nobody is looking? Absolutely. Do they hold hands in the cockpit while the kids are in bed? Yup. Does he smack her on the ass when he passes her in the corridor when they're going in opposite directions? OF COURSE he does. Does she love to play with his hair while they're lying in bed or when he's in a mood? Listen, if Hera Syndulla had her own hair to play with, the Empire would have won. Are they space married? Fuck yeah. Do they have glorious sex? ALL. THE. TIME. Do they love each other like crazy? DUH. Do

they do cutesy things like buy each other presents and go on a date just to go on a date (they literally schedule sex time in my head...that's their closest thing to a date) or have an actual wedding when they get married? Fuck no. Like, would a marriage proposal be Kanan being on one knee with a ring and all of that gross gooey conventional shit? That should be a trigger warning on a fic to me. Even if you put them in an AU where their lives never sucked, then they just turn into a random Twi'lek named Hera and a hot human named Kanan - because their experiences make them who they are and form their personalities. They're just not gratuitously fluffy people to me. ;TLDR My answer to 26 is Fluffy.

#that was an accidental essay #hera syndulla #kanan x hera #kanera #kanan jarrus #ask me #ask game #ask me fic stuff #oops #also fluff is not the same as intimacy - they totally hold hands and are sweet to each other #kanan just doesn't do shit like bring her flowers and buy her presents #his tongue is gift enough #headcanon: kanan absolutely loves to smack hera's ass when she walks by in the corridor #also headcanon: hera loves kanan's ass

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