#not enough people sassed palpatine

[illuminatedquill]

[AU where Sabine went with Ezra in the Rebels series finale and meets the Emperor]

Palpatine: All you have to do is walk through the gateway, Ezra Bridger. And then you can be with your parents again.

Ezra: (conflicted)

Sabine: I have a counter-offer.

Palpatine: . . . ?

Sabine: How about instead I shove this blaster up your ass, pull the trigger, and show you what a REAL purge looks like?

[phoenixkaptain]

Watched Obi-Wan Kenobi last night. I, of course, loved it absolutely and completely.

Which means it’s time to share dumb things I liked because whyyyyy not

Luke sneaks all of three feet away. He is right behind Beru and Owen. How many times has he pulled this trick, that he is so confident it will work? Or, are they playing along? Maybe they know exactly where he is. Whatever the reason, Luke sneaking all of three feet to the left to escape his guardians is so funny.

Speaking of Luke, it is honestly kind of amazing how he just, cannot be killed. And I get why, you know, narratively speaking, but in-universe, Luke passed out in front of Reva, Luke faced Vader twice, Luke faced Palpatine’s Force lightning, and he’s still just fine. And 2/3 of these opponents faced Luke and then reconsidered their ways. I know (and love) that Reva sees herself in Luke, but I also can’t help but giggle that Luke’s mere presence is enough for evil people to go “Well… maybe I should change…”

I love Reva. Her character arc? The way Obi-Wan begins the show trusting nobody and then gets Reva to trust him? The way Reva was injured and carried Luke out of the Dune Sea and was so gentle in putting him down and the moment they take him away she breaks down? The way she chose not to be like Vader??? The way I wanted to cry during this whole scene because Reva is so great and I like her a lot and I hope she gets some good things in life please

Leia is, of course, completely perfect. She! Is! So! Tiny!!! And sassy!!! The way she is literally being interogated and is terrified and STILL sasses the opposition??? This is Anakin’s kid, dude, Anakin has a kid, whoa-

Obi-Wan himself is also great. He is sad and old and tired and more sad and every two minutes my heart broke a little bit more and the way he responds to finding out Anakin is alive and the way he realizes that Anakin is gone and just leaves and the way he keeps trying to talk to Qui-Gon, over and over again, and the way he gets to taLK TO LUKE and the way he is so attached to Luke that he can tell Luke is in trouble when Reva just learns that there is a kid of Vader’s on Tatooine and and and and

The droids? Perfect. Impeccable. NED-B is literally the cutest thing ever and I want to give him just the biggest hug, all the hugs, every hug. L0-LA59? Could murder me and I would thank her.

(The way Leia is polite to droids and treats them well and tries to stand up for them and the way she really just is Anakin’s daughter and it is killing me-)

I really like Beru. Owen is over there, already greying, while Beru is just like “I’m sure it’s fine :)” Beru is like “I have had rifles prepared for just this situation.” This show really proves my theory that Owen is the helicopter parent who worries over Luke being two minutes late while Beru is the type of parent who gives Luke a high five when he comes home covered in soot from blowing up the landspeeder because he broke his speed record. I love that Owen is the one who is freaking out while Beru is the calm one, it’s very fun.

I like Bail. And Breha is great too. But, Bail “our daughter has escaped once again, whoops” Organa is so good. “We’ll change it together”? God, just stab me in the heart, I guess.

Anakin. Anakin is so fucking dramatic! His cape!!! It flares!!! Anakin and Obi-Wan both know each other way too well and they are using thay against each other and it is soooo good. Vader is so evil!!! But, somehow, Anakin is so… hm. I still want to give him a hug and pat his head and tell him he’s doing great. The way he sets Obi-Wan on fire???? Just out of spite???? Good god, that was so unnecessary, 10/10

I guess you could say I kind of enjoyed Obi-Wan Kenobi a little bit.

[speedgeek]

Sheev Palpatine wasn’t an idiot. He’d known Padmé Amidala as a teenager and the Organa girl was her spitting image. Except for the smirk, that was pure Skywalker. He had never had cause to interact with the girl before her entrance into the Senate. Bail Organa had been intelligent enough to keep the girl from his and Vader’s sight until publicly unveiling her.

So, yes, Palpatine knew from her first moments in the Senate exactly who Leia Organa was.

He’d entertained thoughts of enticing her into his web, certain she’d be as powerful as Vader had been as a youth. Treats, a sympathetic ear, stories of her true parents and the power she was entitled to. The difference in politics was little matter- he was sure he could coax her to his side. He’d been able to manipulate both of her parents easy enough. She was young and reckless, inexperienced in political machinations, but her speeches had shown she had her mother’s keen mind.

A worthy apprentice after the disappointment of Anakin Skywalker.

It was customary for a new Senator to wait to be presented to the Emperor. She was no exception. Unfortunately, her scheduled appointment came on the heels of another public atrocity committed by Vader. Palpatine cared little about the violence his apprentice used, only about the public nature of the debacle. His people were working overtime to ensure the news did not spread further and spin what was public in the Empire’s favor. Vader was en route to answer for his mistakes.

The meeting started out well enough. He’d dismissed the guards and her aides. Tea and Nubian pastries he knew to be Amidala’s favorite were served, they made trivial small talk. She was intelligent, bright, and well-trained. Her words were guarded, deliberate, giving away little. While her words were very much influenced by Bail Organa and reminiscent of Padmé Amidala, the girl had fire in her soul, he was sure.

He would enjoy breaking her.

That was the moment, before Palpatine could even begin to tempt the girl, Vader decided to storm into the throne room and vent his displeasure.

On a normal day, Vader’s casual dismissal of Senators was an annoyance. On this day, it was a catastrophe.

Palpatine was actually impressed with how quickly the situation deteriorated.

Organa pointed out his lack of manners. Vader pointed out the uselessness of the Senate.

Organa pointed out his lack of official position within the Empire, implying he was little more than an errand boy. Vader pointed out her lack of biological parents.

(Get a clue, Anakin.)

Organa pointed out his violent tendencies, also implying she knew far more about the previous day’s events than Palpatine was comfortable with. Vader pointed out she associated with criminals, specifically Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Palpatine just put his head in his hands. Every time he thought he broke his apprentice’s obsession with his former master, Vader would start saying the dreaded name again.

(Was it too late to return him?)

When he looked up, the girl had her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side, mirroring Vader. It was remarkable how much she resembled teenaged Anakin Skywalker in that moment. The sass coming from her mouth was all Anakin too.

His apprentice was too dense to notice.

His apprentice was also too dense to not to take the bait and stop arguing with a teenager.

“Silence.”

They continued to argue as if he wasn’t in the room. The gall of both of them. He pushed down the urge to unleash force lightning on them both. Appearances must still be maintained, after all.

“Silence!” he roared.

Both startled. The similarity between them would have been comical if he hadn’t been so enraged.

Organa showed the good sense to at least look guilty. She’d had diplomatic training, she surely knew the faux pax she’d just committed. Vader, on the other hand, he didn’t need the force to know Vader was still seething. He’d hardly bothered to use his diplomatic training when he was a Jedi, much less now.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t deal with two of them at once.

He refused to spend his time playing referee between father and daughter. Refused.

Maybe if Vader finally got his wish and died, Palpatine would try again. But as it stood, he no longer had any desire to try and break Anakin 2.0 while the original was still around and causing him so many headaches.

“Senator Organa, I apologize for ending our meeting so early, but I must speak to Lord Vader quite urgently.”

The girl glanced at Vader and smirked. “Of course, I understand, your Majesty.”

“Please give my regards to the Queen and the Viceroy.”

“Of course. Good day, your Majesty.” She smirked at Vader as she turned towards the door. “Lord Vader.”

Palpatine waited until the door closed behind her to finally release his anger on his apprentice.

[wyrdify]

@galeleads asked: Give me all the Anakin and Obi Wan brainrot. All of it Kai Munday Questions | Currently accepting.

This deserved a GIF reaction.

Anyway. I'm going to start with one thing: Obi-Wan and Anakin do not view each other in the same way at all. Obi-Wan didn't even know what to make of Anakin in the beginning, and he kind of just went with Qui-Gon's judgment because that's what he had to do. Anakin clearly attached himself to Qui-Gon, but he was kind of like, "I guess this guy is okay," when he met Obi-Wan. He's another Jedi. Cool.

Except Qui-Gon dies, and Anakin definitely just slots Obi-Wan into his place. Obi-Wan doesn't. We hear multiple times during the prequels how Anakin views Obi-Wan as his father, but Obi-Wan sees him as a brother. Based on their age difference, which is about 15 years, that makes sense. That sort of disconnect sets up part of their huge fallout in RotS. The love was there---they definitely loved each other as family would, and you can hear it in Obi's voice during his final scene with Ani. They just expected different things from each other.

But, they loved and respected each other so much. That's what makes Ani's fate so tragic (and why I hate Palpatine so much). They spent years training with each other, getting to know one another so thoroughly that they might as well have been brothers. They were essentially inseparable. You see this really play out in Clone Wars, honestly, and I love all of the back and forth banter we get with them. It is so clear that while they will sass each other to the end of time, they will also do literally anything for the other. Their trust kills me.

What I noticed during my watch of RotS was that Obi seemed pretty skeptical of the Jedi Council when it came to Ani. He's always been pretty against politics, but, when he saw what they were doing to his Padawan, someone clearly incredibly capable of becoming a Jedi Master even at his age, it didn't sit right with him. The movie obviously didn't come out with Clone Wars in mind, but I like to think what happened with Ahsoka also played a part. Anakin and Plo Koon were the only Jedi who really took Ahsoka's side during that whole debacle, and I think Obi really meditated on that after Ahsoka left.

The Jedi are all like, "Yeah don't form attachments. Attachment bad." Obi sucks at not forming attachments, and Ani is the biggest proof. Satine, Ahsoka, the Clones, and just about everyone else he meets are also proof, but it's especially clear with Ani. I mean, look at what he says to Yoda in RotS when there's undeniable proof that he killed younglings: he didn't want to kill him. He loved Ani with his whole heart. Of course he felt betrayed and hurt and in a great deal of grief, but he also couldn't kill someone he loved. And even after the duel finished, he couldn't land a finishing blow to Ani. Every other Jedi in his position would have. Not him.

I think Obi blames himself for Ani's fate too. Like, he logically knows Palpatine was a manipulative asshole, but he wasn't the one who trained Ani in the ways of the Force. That was all him. He even says to Ani that he failed him, so yeah. I think when he hears about Darth Vader and sees Ani alive again, that guilt just comes back. It probably never left, and it probably never will.

And god, he just keeps an eye on Luke in hopes he doesn't turn out the same way. Probably over-analyzing every interaction with him. He definitely did with Leia, who I know he was hoping would turn out like her mother. But, even when Luke's old enough, he lies about Ani's fate. He doesn't say Ani's still alive because the truth still hurts. The man he considered his friend, his brother, his fellow Jedi, is out there killing people across the galaxy. He's trying to let go of Ani and say he's dead, but I don't know if he was successful with that.

This was definitely a ramble, and I have no idea if I was coherent. I have a lot of feelings. Just. Obi-Wan loved Anakin so much, and Palpatine ruined it. First with ordering Darth Maul to kill Qui-Gon, and then with everything else. Like. Come on. I would've loved to see dad Qui-Gon with his two boys, Obi-Wan and Anakin. That would've been fabulous.

[starryknightnight]

Say what you want about Star Wars but if you think I didn’t cry when Rey slides down the sand on Tattooine, thinking about where she came from and where Luke came from and how maybe they weren’t so different in the end, you’re wrong

[superhusbands4ever]

So I have this headcanon that after Cody adopts this little mutated CT cadet with something to prove to be his official Little Brother™️ and Alpha-17 is just like “yeah okay so this is happening”, all the other CC class clones in Cody’s batch also end up adopting Rex to be the official Little Brother™️. And even though they aren’t quite as open about it, Fox, Bly, Wolffe, and Ponds are just as protective of Rex as Cody is but they’re better at hiding it. Fox in particular is a little gruff and a little rough with emotions so he doesn’t always know how to show he cares but he calls Rex “blondie” and smirks when the kid sasses Cody and Wolffe and stands in the background and glares at anyone, even the long necks, who tries to mess with his vod’ika just for being who he is. And it’s okay because Rex will smile that megawatt grin at him and Fox knows that he’s doing right by his brother.

And then after they all get their assignments, Fox has to deal with the anxiety and stress that comes with watching all his brothers go off to fight in the war while he’s stationed on Coruscant running the Guard and protecting the Chancellor. And of course it doesn’t help that he’s working directly under a Sith Lord, he sees the darker mechanizations that go on in the background, hears the words that are said behind closed doors, the plans that are made under the table, but what is there that he can do about it when he’s just a clone? Who would believe one lowly clone versus the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.

Not to mention, Palpatine doesn’t need the chip in Fox’s brain to control him, not at first. The Jedi would never use the Force to get the clones to do their bidding, but Palpatine has no problem subtly controlling his commander, gaslighting him, making him question whether what he saw or heard was real or not, makes him forget long swaths of time where if Fox thinks too hard about it it just gives him a headache and makes his hands shake and his skin break out in a cold sweat. We saw the way Fox flinched back from Anakin in To Catch a Jedi not just once, but twice, and Fox doesn’t work enough with the Jedi to know that Anakin might be angry but he wouldn’t hurt Fox, especially when he’s seen how close Anakin is to the Chancellor. His only true experience with the Force is the Dark Side, even if he doesn’t recognize it as such.

Fast forward to an abandoned warehouse on Coruscant. He doesn’t really remember much about how he got here or what he’s doing. All he knows is that his men are stony and quiet around him and Rex, his little blondie, is on the ground clutching Fives, the fugitive, Rex’s vod’ika, sobbing into his chest where the blaster bolt wound is still burning and Fox is holding the smoking blaster.

He tries to talk to Rex, to figure out what the hell had happened, what the hell did Fox do, why wasn’t his blaster set to stun, why wasn’t his blaster set to stun—

Commander Fox, execute ARC-5555. Make sure he is not taken alive.

But his men are pulling him back, telling him they need to report back to the Chancellor, and Fox watches as General Skywalker leads Rex back to their speeder, gently pries Rex’s hands from Fives body as the Guard take the body away to be disposed of.

When he tells the Chancellor that Fives is dead the man looks grim but his eyes are bright with poorly concealed glee as he nods yes, it is good that such a dangerous traitor has been taken down and is no longer a threat to your brothers or the Republic and Fox’s head throbs and he feels like he’s going to throw up but he nods and leaves the office feeling like he’s missing something, something vital.

He tries to comm Rex but Rex doesn’t answer, even when Fox knows the 501st is back on Coruscant. He tries to talk to Bly or Wolffe or Ponds about it but they weren’t there, they don’t see it, they didn’t see the look in Rex’s eyes as he held his dying brother or the frown on his face when he looked at Fox as Skywalker led him away. He just needs time to process, they tell him, you know how much the twins meant to him and now they’re both gone. But it’s more than that, Fox needs to understand, needs Rex to understand that he would never do this to him on purpose, he would never hurt his little brother like that, would never betray the closest family and the only people he truly trusts in such a way and he doesn’t know why he did it.

Finally Fox gets an incredibly rare day off rotation when the 501st and the 212th are both planet side in the GAR barracks and he decides it’s time to pay his brothers a visit, it’s time to take action and take matters into his own hands. Except when he gets to the GAR and he finds Rex in the mess... Rex looks at him and suddenly looks so exhausted, so drained, so physically pained that it takes Fox’s breath away and he turns and leaves before Rex can open his mouth and say the words that Fox knows are coming but is too much of a coward to let himself hear.

And that’s how Cody finds Fox, dressed in civvies and curled up in a ball on the ground of his room. His body is shaking and his hands are clutching at his long curly hair and he’s hyperventilating near on the verge of tears. He’s so tired, he’s so done, he doesn’t know what to do, there’s nothing he can do—

I don’t know what I’m doing, I can’t keep doing this. I killed Fives. I killed Fives and Rex h-hates me, Rex’ika hates me, I can’t—

And Cody can’t do anything but hold onto him and try to assure him that Rex does not hate him, he’s just hurt and sad and he needs time to process it but he doesn’t hate Fox, could never hate his ori’vod.

But Fox just shakes his head because he knows, he knows something isn’t right and he hurt one of the people he swore on his life he would do anything to protect and he doesn’t know what to do anymore, nothing is right anymore, everything is wrong, it’s all wrong wrong wrong—

And months later, when Rex is flying off that Sith damned moon in his and Ahsoka’s Y-wing, he thinks about Fox, his ori’vod who served under Chancellor Pal— Emperor Palpatine, Lord Sideous — the dispassionate way he told the Guard to shoot down Ahsoka on Coruscant, the blankness in his voice when he told Fives to put the blasters down next to Jesse’s detached voice when he told the 332nd to open fire, the way Fox’s hands shook and the aborted step toward him when Rex walked away with the General, the ignored coms, seeing Fox that day in the mess when he ran before Rex could say anything, and his head throbs and his heart aches when he realizes all these little things, these tiny signs of deceit, of betrayal, had been right there in front of him the whole time, but he’d been too blinded by his feelings to see it.

[cosmic-herbal-tea]

Windu in fandom vs canon

Things I hear people say about Mace Windu:

“Mace Windu is one of, if not, the MAIN reason Anakin fell to the dark side” 

“He’s barely a character” 

“Mace is just arrogant and bland Jedi. Him and Ki-Adi Mundi are the very personifications o what Jedi had become during the end of the Republic; close minded and full of hubris” 

Too many people comment about how he was SooOOOooo dismissive of Boba for killing his father. 

He’s so mean to Anakin so there must be a reason why; he’s just jealous that Anakin is the Chosen One and he isn’t. 

Hates Ahskoka because reasons?

Things that Mace Windu actually is:

Actually is much more caring and has to find a balance between being the leader of the Jedi Order and being himself; Depa Billaba is his weakness in the fact she’s the daughter he could never have. (Legends but still)

Has compassion (i.e Clones, Zilo Beast, Twi’leks on Ryloth). He’s far from a fucking robot just because he doesn’t hesitate to sass your favorites.

Jango Fett was LITERALLY TRYING TO KILL him and he got decapitated and was presenting a clear threat that enabled him to kill Jedi Masters. 

On that, he actually tried negotiating lighter terms for Boba Fett as revealed in Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy’s Most Notorious. 

Is an ELECTED Master of the Jedi Order, which apparently requires  unanimous votes. That makes him leader of the Jedi High Council and VERY HIGHLY RESPECTED. In-universe, he was valued. He doesn’t need to be jealous of little ole Anakin when he’s old enough to be his dad.

He was literally right to be suspect of Anakin and bold to remove Palpatine: Anakin ends up betraying him for SELFISH REASONS, Palpatine was TOO DANGEROUS to be kept alive and presented a CLEAR ASS THREAT LIKE TEN SECONDS BEFORE AND WAS OBVIOUSLY FAKING THE FACT HE COULDN’T FIGHT MORE AND HE WAS THAT WEAK. Also, he confessed to Anakin, a GENERAL of the Grand Army Republic himself, that he the Sith Lord they been looking for. If you’re a damn suspect for initiating a damn war, being ARRESTED is THE ACTUAL APPROPRIATE step and Palaptine instead tries to claim its TREASON despite already confessing anyway. And then he murders two members of the Jedi High Council and attempts murder on Windu. Even with all the flaws of ROTS, Windu himself was CAREFUL. 

In conclusion:

Stop coming up with made up reasons to hate Windu while un-ironically trying to pit his character for all the pitfalls and failings of the Jedi Order on him. Windu is a flawed human character who is actually way more compassionate than fandom gives him. 

It gets fucking tiring seeing one of the only PoC characters in the damn franchise always get dragged through the mud because he’s not kissing all the fucking favorite character’s asses, even If I love their asses to death and back. It’s very annoying to see people come up with stupid assessments on his character but infantilize Anakin Skywalker’s issues and blame it on the Jedi Order in which accumulated to horrendous atrocities that makes him a very tragic, intimidating, and a disgraceful all at the same time. Anakin’s issues is very complex but he should he held accountable for his actions. (And no, I don’t believe in this “That was Darth Vader” b.s.) 

And finally, stop trying to put the character down for his tactlessness when dealing with teenagers and/or children while defending a character that ends up doing far worse as Darth Vader. He WAS conflicted about the whole issue with Ahsoka but he IS a Master of the Jedi Order and in a position of leadership. And he actually tried negotiating a lighter sentence for Boba DESPITE HIM TRYING TO ASSASSINATE HIM. 

Goodness. Can Mace Windu be held in the same regard others characters get where y’all have some damn nuance about the characters?  

[felassan]

Thoughts on Dark Fortress #3

(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

There’s a lot I thought/wanna say about this final issue, to the point that it’s hard to know where to start!

The cover art is.. beautiful. The symbolic allusion between Shirallas and the dragon (his draconic-y claws, the semblance of a broken collar falling off in the same way, the fire) 👌 On the whole, lined up side-by-side the three covers of Dark Fortress feel really thematically cohesive. Shirallas’ and the dragon’s claws echo Tractus’ sharp metal gauntlet, and as well as the similarities between the dragon and Shirallas, both Tractus and the dragon have a circle of weapons, and the patterning encircles Tractus’ neck and wrists like the collars and shackles. Y’know, like you can just really tell the cover artist planned ahead and put a lot of thought into how the 3 cover arts would ‘flow’ from one to the other, blending elements between them.

I posted some of my fav panels here.

I knew he was my boy but Shirallas’ backstory broke my heart ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` ) the first panel is so bleak and heart-wrenching. the burning aravel parts.. another Dalish clan met a terrible fate.

I wonder if his clan wandered Tevinter like Clan Oranavra? it makes me wonder if Shirallas and Fenris met in Tevinter. It’s nice to see that another clan took him in. And if Shirallas is a name he took, not his original name, I assume it has a special meaning, maybe to do with his quest for justice/vengeance. Shiral means journey, “allas” is found in vallas, which means set, as in the sun. The “vallas” in vallasdahlen (life-trees, planted in remembrance of those who dedicated their lives to the Dales) means life. in many ways the sun and life are the same thing, and there’s the obvious connection to Elgar’nan, eldest of the sun. So journey/quest - sun/life? Like since the loss of his clan he’s on a journey/quest for the rest of his life to get justice/vengeance, which are attributes of the sun god Elgar’nan? that became his life’s purpose and his direction of ‘travel’ ever since his loss, what he dedicated his life to since then. :’( 

Elgara vallas, da'len. ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )

This is our first look at the vallaslin application process, no? what Shirallas is saying in this panel is the Song to Elgar’nan. it’s interesting, in that that prayer kind of resembles what happened, or almost happened, in this issue. a fortress shaken, fire, winged death (a dragon), pretenders to power, “strike the usurpers” (“Red Wraith, dispose of my enemies, kill the traitorous mage”). pretty cool right?

⬇️ me two months ago, look at the tags in red brackets. 

oh my son.. Dalish father roams, and the Dalish son won’t survive the fight   ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )

the panel where Fenris and Shirallas shake hands ;; to which experience is Fenris speaking of, I wonder? once upon a time he saw Anders almost lose himself in his own quest for Justice/Vengeance for the mages.

Parallels between Shirallas succeeding in proving himself to Nenealeus and when Fenris succeeded in proving himself to Danarius all those years ago - compare. ;__; an elf surrounded by bodies of people he’d killed to prove himself, and a horrible Magister telling him “well done”.

I love the design of the sword and its use as a ‘divider’ on the first page splitting up the panels is both smart and beautiful. even here there’s pink light around it, the dragon’s fire

overall I wasn’t expecting this issue to begin with flashbacks to Shirallas’ past and backstory, so this whole page caught me off-guard

omg look at the red lyrium ‘veins’ under Shirallas’ skin. when he emerges from the sarcophagus that is a very cool picture of his face

Nenealeus has been taking beard-styling advice/trends from the dwarves

check out the sword crackling and reforming as Shirallas makes contact with it. is the red lyrium under his skin moving in this scene?

in the panel of Vaea running away from the dragon, it’s nice that as she runs Fenris is still behind facing the dragon, to protect her

gorgeous background in the panel with Marquette, and his expression is one of Regret for what he just did and for his part in all this. the dawning realization that I’ve Fucked Up Big Time

as Nenealeus’ weapon is a sword, does he have some Knight Enchanter-adjacent skills (I don’t expect the actual KE artform is exclusive to southern Circles only)? it’s a physical item ofc, not a summoned one. staffs are infused with lyrium to provide a conduit for a mage’s power. so then, mages can channel power through other [presumably similarly-infused] weapons too, not just mage staves/staff-like magic implements or their bare hands

given the color of Nenealeus’ magic and the fact that the dragon was under the control of his magic, it now makes sense to me why the dragon’s fire is that color! o:

Marius is badass (nice touch that his shoulder is smoking pink with the effects of one of Nenealeus’ magic attacks here) and the four panels where everyone’s grim and determined, facing off against each other and Venatori goons made me feel quite emotional. Aaron is Team Dad.. it’s nice to see him having a friendship / paternal moment with Francesca both acknowledging her pain and power while also giving her a pep talk. You can tell when he says too “We all need to do whatever we can in this moment” that he’s talking about himself too and may already be thinking one or some of them aren’t going to make it out of there

Francesca GO OFF!! she’s so powerful, and it’s really cool every time seeing her plant magic in action. it puts in perspective how powerful Velanna would have been with her similar skills (skills like Thornblades), and I enjoy the contrast of the fire in the background and the blue/green of Fran’s magic in action

Fenris is so cool-headed in high-octane combat situations, quickly taking stock, assessing and realizing the odds then coming up with a plan. the look on Vaea’s face when she’s like >:( wtf u can’t just leave is cute

cool pulled-back bird’s eye shot of the Fortress

Karasten continuing with the sass about Tevinter even during a siege

Fenris speaking Qunlat! I love that they brought this lore fact into play and had him make use of this skill, it’s a neat reminder of Fenris’ exchange with the Arishok if you take him into the compound in DA2. in the opening-up the gates scene, Vaea’s worried about letting the Qunari in and going to the Qunari (from her expression), but she trusts Fenris and his judgement enough to open the gate and see what happens

I like that Tessa’s bolts are fletched the blue of her accent color

chills at the panel where Shirallas is walking out of the flames advancing on Aaron. Ser Aaron, who never retreats, not at Ostagar, not now ;__;

the battle-scenes are beautiful, fast-paced and gory, chaotic and colorful, like it would feel to be there 

Fenris then puts himself between Aaron and Shirallas. I could hear “I will deal with this Red Wraith” in my head

Autumn can look so scary. a true mabari warrior! when she leapt towards Shirallas I was Stressed for her safety despite knowing rationally that they wouldn’t kill their dog!

the horizontal combat splash page is awesome

CLEVER GIRL Autumn. she and Fenris are in sync in this sequence.

Shirallas serving super saiyan vibes with the bulk, strength, hair

Fenris bargaining for Fran’s life and then trusting her to use her magic as part of the attack on the Red Wraith

lmao Ser Aaron

smart thinking Fran

Aaron praising her ;__;

Marius was straight-up prepared to die to stop Nenealeus ;__; poor Tessa in this exchange

the face-melting scene  👌

“Ah, Marius... I knew it would come down to the two of us”: this panel is just really cool? Nenealeus looks almost congenial here, which makes him seem all the more colder and more dangerous. and the burning bodies strongly remind me of the bodies at the start of Inquisition which are at the ‘blast point’ of the Breach at the Conclave

when Marius and Vaea’s eyes meet and they formulate the backup plan  👌

nice to see ‘staff’-less magic in action. Nenealeus is clearly a very powerful mage. when he’s frying Marius he has Star Wars Palpatine and force lightning vibes

OH VAEA... you did it, but my heart hurts that she had to kill someone for the first time, even though it was foreshadowed by her discussion with Marius in a earlier issue. & Nenealeus’ look of surprise as he dies says it all

it’s a serious moment but Marius now looks like a cat that stuck its paw in a socket hh

when Nenealeus is doubled over dead, it’s a great panel- the white background taking us out of the chaos that’s going on all-around for just a moment, showing the seriousness of what’s just transpired for Vaea and the realization of it setting in. a pause, the shock. & it’s nice to see Marius being soft with someone other than Calpernia or Tessa

but despite what’s just happened Vaea is still Vaea, she’s concerned about life and immediately wants to save the dragon. I like the part where panels of Vaea and Fran ‘face’ each other as they have this discussion, a lot.

in the moment that it takes off, does the dragon realize Vaea is responsible for saving its life? the ‘eye’ panel feels like an acknowledgement from it, or between the two

Fran’s magic destroying and sinking the sarcophagus into the ground reminds me of what in-world lore says happened to Arlathan, in a way

omg they have to stop Shirallas before he gets over 9000

do you think when Aaron says “We cannot retreat” he’s thinking of Loghain’s retreat at Ostagar?

at this point btw I’m pleasantly surprised that Marius survives, I had sort of expected him to die in this issue

oh Marquette, curiosity killed the cat dontcha know

new lore just dropped: the Red Wraith is able to heal from any wound, which is notable, and he and the sword have a.. symbiotic relationship? with each other. “He feeds energy to the sword from the red lyrium in his veins. And in turn, the sword heals his wounds.” What are the lore implications of this? Just what is red lyrium capable of?

Paragon Branka reference! and later on a Black Marsh reference

:’( As soon as Aaron launched into his story at this point my stress levels went through the roof and I knew it was Time. and then - well. you know :’((( Aaron had death flags in previous issues, so I was logically prepared and not surprised by the occurrence (this isn’t a bad thing btw), but I still wasn’t EMOTIONALLY PREPARED

mfw

nooooooooo.... It was at this point everyone that I burst into tears.. i have never Ugly Cried at a comic before so that was a new experience.. It’s hard to put my feelings about this into words bc rly it just straight-up destroyed me, u know.. Vaea’s “Don’t leave me”, Aaron’s tears when he knows the deed is done, his pendant.. surely the resemblance between the way he looks on this cover and the way he looks in the panel when he’s falling and Vaea is shouting “Aaron!” is intentional. i’m just destroyed okay

On the next page, holes in Shirallas’ shirt where his wounds were before they healed is a nice touch. Autumn’s bite here must surely be shattering the bone in his lower leg. then as if i wasn’t in enough pain already - being separated from the weapon, did that bring Shirallas back to himself for a while? His “Friend?” and the look in his eyes when he looks up at Fenris is so pitiful :’( for a moment just before the end he’s the boy in the wood surrounded by his burning clan again. RIP Shirallas son, we barely knew ye but I loved u :’(((

Having Marquette escape is a smart choice, it means there’s someone still kicking around Thedas who knows what happened here and what went down. maybe we seek him out in the next game when trying to follow up on the plot-thread of the idol/red lyrium/its capabilities/Venatori/Qunari? anyway, can’t help but admire, in a fashion anyway, someone who dips out to save their own skin, and his attempted grift when he’s talking to Tractus x)

we hadn’t seen the last of Tractus indeed. there he is! “This is me, crying over our loss” - he’s such an edgy boi

THE IDOL

“Oh, you mean this idol?” feels like they’re breaking the fourth wall and deliberately teasing us x)

when Fenris says “[stay clear of it] Red lyrium can do things with your mind” I wonder if he’s thinking of his experiences with things like Bartrand and Meredith

started to cry again at the final Aaron scenes ok.. when it pans back to Vaea and Autumn on the shore with the dying Aaron, they look so small and lonely set against the backdrop of the gray rock, windy shore, jagged outcrops. it’s a beautifully poignant and incredibly forlorn backdrop for this scene. Autumn in these panels, and again the parallel between Aaron lying here and him on that cover page.. ;; the whole scene is raw and gutwrenching. even in death Aaron was thinking about Vaea, apologizing that she had to take a life, outlining his hopes that she continues to have a positive future and doesn’t descend into any kind of darkness. the fact that all this time he’s carried around a letter addressed to King Alistair in his pocket, to recommend that Vaea be knighted, the fact that he’s crying too, the pendant, the tenderness between them, how proud Aaron is of Vaea, the fact that he goes out telling a story and smiling because he’s so proud of her, here at the end Aaron is filled with pride and looks at peace.. i can’t ( ok i cried again on this re-read when writing this post, Dad Stuff is the ultimate way to get me ok.. don’t look at me _(°:з」∠)_ )

Vaea IS more than worthy. I’m so glad someone recognizes that and sees it in her. King Alistair WOULD knight her, and there’s a beautiful poetry in that fact as the son of an elf. there’s also something poetic in that, if Vaea becomes the first elven knight of Ferelden, well it echoes the Emerald Knights of old in a way. that’s beautiful. I’m very proud of Vaea.

Here we see another parallel - when Francesca is comforting a crying Vaea as her father figure passes away, it directly echoes when Vaea comforted Francesca when she was crying after her own father died. 

Aaron’s hometown of Portsmouth is a real place in England

I’m happy to see Fran and Autumn continuing to travel with Vaea, and Fenris continuing to keep his promise to Aaron to keep Vaea safe, and that Cassé is now Fran’s horse (that’s a lovely touch considering she healed him in Blue Wraith, a full-circle moment)

Fenris is right, they were family. soft supportive Fenris, with emotional intelligence ;; (and he of all people knows about Found Family)

the last panel of Vaea crying is beautiful too, the sun is rising in the east after the terrible night they’ve had, and the ‘faded’ rectangles is a great style/composition choice

even Cassé the horse looks sad

the scene of Fran and Vaea riding double with Fenris smiling in the background is super cute, and I love that the last we see of the party is them honoring Ser Aaron by telling stories like he did, of his exploits. I hope they always tell stories of Ser Aaron ;;

I’m glad Tessa made it out okay, she’ll be able to return to Charter. 💜 I was a bit worried this wouldn’t be the case

the last page DBKGRRGRKRKGREKF 

Pour one out for Ser Aaron Hawthorne of Portsmouth, Knight of Ferelden.

---

A recap on wider plot-points

The Qunari Antaam have taken control of Castellum Tenebris, and Neromenian has fallen to their advance.

The sarcophagus is broken and has been buried deep in the ground. Francesca asserts that it won’t be found.

The Inquisition agents retrieved the broken shards of the weapon, and are going to take its remains to the shadow Inquisition.

Tractus Danarius is alive and in possession of the idol, or was at the timepoint of this comic. He wants to use it to impress the Venatori remnants so that he can rejoin them. Marquette thinks, or said that he thinks (could easily be a bluff or his lack of knowledge about it compared to someone like Solas), that it doesn’t work anymore. (I’m leaning towards it does still work, otherwise why would Solas be interested in it?)

Solas, in what looks kinda like his most recent DA4 trailer gear, was watching the events of this series/arc the whole time and knows what happened. He knows Tractus has the idol. None of the people in this comic plot are “People Solas doesn’t know”. And it seems that he is able to use eluvians to watch people.

There’s a chance that Tractus Danarius is the mage in Tevinter Nights, from Dread Wolf Take You - the mage from House Danarius who went with some slaves to Nevarra to use the idol to perform a ritual with the Mortalitasi. That mage wanted to change the world to help fight the Antaam’s invasion. In the tale at least, he used the idol, a rift opened, the Dread Wolf popped out and killed him. At the time of that ritual the idol was still working.

+ some new lore -

the Red Wraith was able to heal from any wound, which is notable, and he and the sword the idol created had a.. symbiotic relationship? with each other. “He feeds energy to the sword from the red lyrium in his veins. And in turn, the sword heals his wounds.” What are the lore implications of this? Just what is red lyrium capable of?

eluvians can be used to watch people. not just to communicate over long distances or as portals between places

Lastly I don’t know what to do with myself anymore as this is the end of a long-running DA arc and was the final piece of [currently-known about] new canon Dragon Age content that we’ll get.

[phoenixyfriend]

Madara and Obito... In SPACE

So the preface to this mess: I don’t know jackshit about Star Wars, so a lot of this went through friends who do know Star Wars (the primary of which does not have a tumblr).

(I have watched Episodes 7&8, and Rogue One. Of the first six movies, I remember watching maybe an hour total. I have not seen more than snatches of Clone Wars. Beyond that, nothing but fic.)

Anyway! Let’s go:

As y’all probably know by now, my favorite form of crossover is what I call “intrusive,” so... I'm enjoying the mental concept of "dump Madara on Coruscant and watch him go." (Prequels, probably.)

Does Madara know what's going on? No. Can he understand a word that's being said? No! Is he going to fight the first person to aim a weapon at him, and every person after that? Yes.

Is Madara fighting fit?

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnno, not really, he’s old as balls. This is "I was on cave life support but I'm getting back up to kick ass out of pure spite" Madara.

[Image description: A screenshot of a panel of the Naruto Manga. Uchiha Madara is old and visibly ‘decrepit,’ with spiky white hair and an amorphous black robe. He is sitting on a pale throne, and there is a scythe visible to the side. He has a speech bubble saying “I am... a ghost of the Uchiha.” End Description]

Two wrinkly old guys, staring each other down: There ain't enough room in this universe for the two of us. [Palpatine and Madara start fighting to the death]

Congrats, Palpatine! Your ass is getting kicked by a geriatric malcontent who doesn't speak any language you've ever heard or feel like literally anything in the Force. You may have Sith lightning, but do you have decades of frontline experiences and over half a century of cave-dwelling bitterness?

Both of them, simultaneously, in completely different languages: Get off my lawn, whipper-snapper.

Palpatine: Behold my mastery of the Dark Side, Foolish old man! Palpatine: [shoots lightning] Madara: Oh hey, you're like the seventeenth most dangerous person who can shoot lightning I've fought. Telekinesis? Fought that. Combat precognition? Fought that, have that, and let me tell you hwat, it doesn't help if you're opponent is just that much faster than you.

Now, I’ll take a step back and acknowledge that several people advised me that Palpatine would stand a chance against Madara, likely even win, if Madara just got hacked off of his life support and is down to one eye.

But. I want a shitpost, and also to clown on Palpatine, so Madara wins easily.

Madara also deserves to be clowned on, but the entire situation is clowning on him because he’s not in his cave anymore, and he really wants to go back to his Gedou Mazou statue.

Maybe Madara and Palpatine go Old Man Fight and then Obito just pulls a Ninja Move and kills Palpatine that way. Madara was ranting and Obito just. Ninjas behind Palpatine and slits his throat like “okay, you’re obviously evil so like... bye.”

(I just love causing "Wait what" reactions in characters that are used to having total control. Like. Have you read "Unexpected Guests"? The Bleach fic? Everything that happens in Hueco Mundo and after. That energy. I want that energy.)

Madara waves his scythe around like a cane. Obito just trails after like “Gramps, no” because it’s still pre-Sanbi, so he’s Mostly Innocent (you know, on the scale of how fucked up Obito is as a person), and just wants Madara to like. Stop.

Palpatine dies but nobody's sure what to charge Madara with since he did kind of expose a Sith? And Palpatine attacked first for [handwave] reasons?

Jedi: Well sir, in lieu of charging you with assassination of the emperor, we have decided to ask you politely to return to the elderly person's retirement home from whence you came. Please leave immediately. You are frightening the senate. Madara: [incomprehensible raving] Jedi: Yes yes, very interesting. Jedi, whispering: Does anyone know his caretaker???

Obito looks increasingly put-upon as events progress. You need Obito there to... well, not translate. Nobody can translate. But to at least poke Madara into being Slightly Less Homicidal.

Anakin seems sad about his friend dying and being evil so Obito challenges him to a spar. Madara and Obito get pulled into the Jedi Temple to help train Padawans? My first thought was "they wouldn't trust someone so obviously Weird, Crazy, and Incomprehensible around the younglings" and my second thought was "well they let Yoda do it and he's all those things so I mean? YEAH."

What if they put Madara in the bacta tank and he just freshened up like a daisy because of hand-wave Hashirama cell reasons (Blame Sir Tiddyface).

From “Decrepit and Reliant on Cave Tube Life Support” to “Will Call Down Meteors With Ease”

How many eyes does he have? Whatever’s funniest. Let’s say one Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and one Rinnegan, for maximum chaos.

Would "half my body is missing" Obito freak out if Bacta regrew his eye? Can bacta regrow something like that? When characters lose limbs they usually just get cybernetic replacements, but  the person I spoke with said that apparently they saw somewhere that that kind of thing can grow back it just takes a really long time.

I want to imagine bacta would help Obito with the Zetsu integration.

Anyway! Yes. Have Madara help train people despite being... Madara about it. You know... kind of a dick.

(I’d put example gifs but I don’t feel up to it. Y’all know what Madara’s “weakness disgusts me” ass is like.)

Obito had to get his "these fools could never make me sweat" sass from somewhere, after all.

Do you think Obito could fight the baby Jedi that are around his age while recovering? I have no idea what their skill level is at fourteen, but I want to imagine Obito sparring the Padawans.

Obito + Zetsu + Bacta = he still needs physical therapy but he can spar again!

Madara is delighted to have a baby ninja to bully. He's too old to not bully baby ninjas, and Obito is the only baby ninja. TBH Madara just makes Obito his assistant teacher.

Obito: What are we even doing here and how do we get home? Madara: I'm still working on that. Obito: But I want to go home and see Rin and Kakashi! Madara, who was like two days away from triggering the Sanbi plan: I'm working on it.

Something sticking in my mind rn is Ahsoka&Obito, since Obito is still Baby.

I think Obito would be excited to have someone his age that thought he was Cool and Talented for being able to do Chakra Things instead of writing him off as "the dead-last." Like, Rin is friends with him, but she doesn't look up to him as someone more/differently talented.  He'd be excited to get to be "The Mysterious Cool Big Bro" for once.

I feel I also just like the idea of Anakin not knowing what to do with someone Several Years Younger that is also. Ninja Skill.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Madara is a grouchy old man even AFTER he gets effectively de-aged via bacta dunk, for the record. He's back in his prime and the Jedi have no idea how. They're all concerned about tiddyface*. (When are people not concerned about Sir Tiddyface, really.) The mokuton is a problem.

*Sir Tiddyface is that random Hashirama face that Madara had growing out of his pecs for like... convoluted bullshit reasons.

(Madara doesn't have mokuton, but he has enough Hashirama cells that it interacted very, VERY weirdly with the bacta.)

Obito spends the intervening weeks trying to learn the local language. He's very eager. Not particularly fast. Still doing it though!

I want Obito juggling kunai as physical therapy while he's waiting for Mads to get out of the bacta tank and just gains himself the adoration of a gaggle of small baby Jedi children.

Madara comes out of the bacta tank looking like he did in his prime (which I mentioned earlier but whatever), and it absolutely incites a yelling match of an argument that draws way too much attention.

Someone tries to teach Obito how to access the Force, just to see what happens. He almost turns into a statue because the philosophy behind Force meditation is only a few steps away from Sage Mode Meditation.

Anyway, Madara smacks him with a stick like Fukasaku to make sure Obito doesn't turn into stone.

Madara grumps about the lack of paper and brushes and ink. Bitches about it until someone hits up an antique store or something to get them for him. The day before he and Obito are dispatched on a mission with someone, probably Anakin for plot reasons, Madara very publicly seals things into a scroll and then tells them that no, they can't learn it, because the Force isn't chakra so fuuinjutsu won't work for them, so There.

Obito practices some Teen Rebellion (tm) and like, tries to teach the Padawan friends he's made how to do Chakra Things... but he's so bad at explaining things that nobody can get it to work even if it were possible.

In Obito's defense, language barriers. Not in Obito's defense, he's just really bad at words sometimes.

[chocolateslatte]

🚨The Rise of Skywalker Detailed Review and Spoilers Ahead🚨

George Lucas: “If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds 10 million to the box office”

The “fairytale” we got: A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was a curse of pain and death in a family that just went on and on.  They were never able to break it and they all die, the end. 

Well, you did it JJ, you little punk...you ruined 40 years of cinema. Kids are coming out of theatres crying, they can’t understand. I guess this was the “fun and hopeful ending” you were speaking of during the press tours.  Are you on crack or something, or just sadistic....why would you promote it like that!? Did you forget Star Wars at its core is a story of hope, light, a fairytale in space for children? They did it...they united Reylo’s and Fanboys through hate. 

JJ you do realize tragical romances are only tragically romantic if there was romantic buildup? Romeo and Juliet married in secret, Anidala did as well and flirted in the fields. How was this supposed to be satisfying? A five-second beginning, middle, and end. How this went through multiple execs is beyond me.... I would have understood if Reylo was Rian’s creation. BUT JJ LITERALLY was the one who told Rian to go forth with it...he created Reylo so you can’t say the last Jedi derailed things on that front. JJ wasn’t brave enough for his own vision. This movie was like “the crimes of Grindlewald”, a lot of stuff happening that made me feel nothing. 

Okay, first things first. The OG trilogy was necessary, the prequels were necessary to set up that Vader did not start off bad. What was necessary about the sequels? They just dismantled everything the Skywalker family worked for. Why did we have to see ALL of our favorite characters die? Was the aim that a villain can only be redeemed through death? How original. I’m convinced what they were planning for since force awakens was a journey from villain to hero...but instead we got this a 10min redemption resulting in death a la Vader. Why call Adam Driver’s character a “Disney Prince”?When did Happy endings become so controversial? We go to the movies to feel hope, to escape reality...George Lucas understood that. JJ’s trilogy is uninspired, bland and contributes nothing to the saga. JJ went as far as to recon his own “The Force Awakens”.It had the chance to define generations but no. Literal and utter garbage. Rian made some odd choices but he was bold, unafraid and had the vision. HE knew emotion was at the heart of Star Wars.

WHERE DID THE SKYWALKERS RISE? MORE LIKE RISE OF PALPATINE,  HE BLOODY WON

BUT my problem is not with the ending, it’s the bloody entire movie. This movie made me realize that it's not Reylo that I am a fan of, it was Ben, Leia, Han, Ani, Padme, and all those other characters. I’m upset because this movie is not my Star Wars: of family, love and above all else hope. This is just a 2.5-hour video game with no emotions. This trilogy was all angst with NO payoff.

Okay, you will never ever convince me Palpatine was planned the whole time. This whole movie was retcon for the Last Jedi that pissed off the fanboys. Lucas films did not have an outline for the three films and Rian derailed whatever they wanted to do....except they didn’t even tell him what they wanted! This should be a cautionary tale of why you need to plan. Kylo ain’t bad, Snoke is gone....well pull out Palpatine I guess. This whole film is JJ’s mad scrambling.  Alright, I will humor you, tell me how Palpatine came back when he fell down a shaft and exploded....not *boom boom because of force*. The force in this movie is not canon George Lucas force, it’s just an easy out whenever JJ wants one. 

1. Opening Crawl: As soon as I saw this I knew all the leaks were true, I wanted to bolt from the theatre. When I saw them in August I laughed cause it was so ridiculous it couldn’t be true. How could Disney let a whole movie leak? The plot seemed like a bad fan-fiction. Actually, fanfics are way more true to lore. Anyway, so Palpatine “announces” that he’s back. Is this the shrewd Chancellor Palpatine we know? Certainly, not...why in the world would he announce it rather than keep on the DL and just attack. Yo Palps ain’t this dumb why would you let them (the resistance) prepare?? Because of plot...well okay. 

2. Did Last Jedi even happen:  this film is the sequel to the force awakens, like TLJ never happened...except it’s acting like there was some movie in between that JJ made. Okay, so why is Kylo trying to run Rey over with his tie fighter...he doesn’t really want to kill her. It’s just meaningless action shots.  And don’t get me started on exposition, the dialogue: “hey look its the Knights of Ren”. Except they do nothing. Cool cool.  Kylo’s character goes back to Force awakens era like no development had occurred...except he’s not even there he’s just messing around not even being a real villain.  JJ’s specialty is set-up and he does this beautifully....but he can not wrap up and follow through. 

3. Rose Tico: yup last Jedi never happened, she has nothing to do. She and Finn are irrelevant. Finn has reverted to being obsessed with Rey. Cool Cool.  I honestly feel so bad for the lovely Kelly Marie Tran. How did you relegate a relatively big character into the sidelines?? Why introduce two new characters this late. Rose could have filmed in for them...but alas we must snub Rian at every turn because that’s just how petty JJ Abrams is. ( don’t get me wrong Jannah was cool)

4. The Rise Of Poe Dameron: Finn has been relegated to a side character who does nothing and just yells “REY!”. It was a great setup, a stormtrooper who was force sensitive but doesn’t want his life to be fighting for nothing. You could have explored trauma, the discovery of the light but nope nada. Tell me the point of his character journey. So flat and static. And with Jannah and the ex stormtroopers they could have gone with the arc of these lost, sad kids coming together to find family. 

5. Leia:  Okay you’re telling me our Princess would give up on her son before he was born, just throw away her lightsaber and accept Ben’s fate? Cool alright. And she knew about Rey Palpatine and didn’t say anything...my princess would never.

6. Mary Sue Rey: Ahh Rey this girl feels no emotion in this movie...just like the audience. Sure she’s trained but she can just do stuff with the “force” that even Jedi masters can’t. Stopping a whole starship, something even Yoda could barely do...yup she can do it. Beat Kylo all the time except one, yup she can. Manipulate the force in mind-boggling ways, heal people...sure Luke couldn’t but Rey certainly can.  Cause she is the chosen one...hell even Ani wasn’t this talented and he had years of training. Poe and Finn have a genuine connection, Rey just seems disjointed (totally understandable why)...but if so the ending is even worse. She doesn’t even find peace with her friends. She’s not realistic and human like Luke and Leia were. 

 Force sensitivity in the galaxy:  What a perfect setup, the boy with the broom at the end of TLJ that was force sensitive. The message is that the power to use the force was spreading through the galaxy. No longer confined to the elite. People were hearing of Luke’s battle of Crate and rising.

7. Kylo/Ben: I still maintain that he, other than Ani was the most nuanced character in the whole saga. His arc from Force Awakens to Last Jedi had progressed. How great that even someone from the legendary line of skywalker and solo could fall to the dark again. He wasn’t flat, he was a tortured boy that was conflicted since the first movie. How great would it have been to see him as a conflicted supreme leader, which was set up in TLJ. But *gasps* a plot of his very own, no can do, this is the nature of JJ’s crush on Rey and Daisy. 

Disney released comics that made us sympathize with him, to see that all along he was manipulated by Snoke, and Palpatine the voices in his head. Neglected by those who were supposed to love him. Adam Driver was cast perfectly, he had almost no lines that weren’t related to Rey’s charcater arc. If he were a woman I’m sure everyone would be offended. That single line’s delivery “Dad-”

Come on Poe had more lines than him, and Driver according to JJ was half of the protagonist. He was pitched an arc opposite that of Darth Vader that’s why he signed. Man JJ really did do everyone dirty. 

8. Ben had no lines while redeemed other than “ow”...I am so sorry ADAM that this nasty ass JJ did this to you...this part was 100% improv by Adam, I am willing to bet my life on it. You know why “ow” was brilliant? Cause it meant he felt pain and emotion, he was no longer hiding behind the hardness of Kylo REN. Adam’s performance as Ben left me speechless, he was convincing as Kylo, intimidating...but as BEN he shines in the way only Solo’s can. The way his eyes become determined once he accepts he must give his life, and he does so happily for the love of his life. His soulmate. Star Wars and JJ never deserved the talent that is Adam Driver.

9. They are supposed to be equals in the force yet they missed the opportunity to fight Snoke together. Tell me how they are equals. He existed only to further Rey’s plotline. 

Oh and the other Jedi including Anakin whisper and help Rey...when his own grandson has been asking for help in distress for like 30years. Nice real nice.

10. Finally Reylo:  it felt unearned cause there was no buildup, JJ just threw it in for kicks forgetting all the P&P parallels he was shooting for. An afterthought. Driver and Ridley’s acting saved the day, they had no lines.  Adam Driver is truly one of the finest actors. You could see the difference between Ben and Kylo in his subtle gestures...the sass was pure Han Solo.  

11. And then the death: I wouldn’t even say we won, but at what cost. We won in no way. Had he died fighting I would have understood, but this death was so unnecessary and put in just for the fanboys. Let me say again I would have been okay with death had it been justified.  How is this any different than Vader x Luke. JJ can only copy not create. How crazy that you can just bring people back from the dead...Anakin is here like, am I joke to you? I could have brought Padme back say what???? What was the point of his whole fall to the dark. The force is infinite, that’s the whole point...once you know how to use it you can’t run out of it like juice. Oh, and Ben did not become one with Rey but rather the Force according to the Disney website. So why pray tell did he not appear as a force ghost? I’m convinced JJ was on crack.  

12. No Mourning BEN no acknowledgment:  5 seconds! And then she moves on from losing her soulmate, half of her soul. She loses it over Chewie but nothing, no emotion not even a second over her other half. Seriously? No one ever knows Ben came back...nada. JJ set up Reylo, time and time again he has said that he crafted the story around the romance. He was left scrambling after Last Jedi and this was a last-ditch shock ending. No Reylo theme song, no across the stars

13. Last Jedi told us you don’t have to come from a powerful family to be important. THE WHOLE thing was that you could be force-sensitive and be a nobody. Nobodies can become somebody. A Hero is not born but made. The force lives in all beings, not just powerful families. It inspired me, what a great message to young guys and gals. Kylo’s line, “you come from nothing, you are nothing...you have no place in this story” finally turns out true. You have to come from something to have a part in the Star Wars story. And Rey had darkness inside her cause she was human. Because none of us are pure, we are shades of grey. But no, it’s cause darkness only runs in families. In the Last Jedi when she wants to see her family all she sees is herself and a shadow (Ben) who joins with her. Please do explain this JJ. And if this granddaughter thing was set up I would have had no problem...but they pulled it from their asses. You can have nothing but mean something. But no pander to the fanboys. In the end, a Palpatine lived and all the skywalkers ended....and we are supposed to have hope. Palpatine really did win. 

14. Rey’s biggest fear was ending up in the desert alone, we were told “the belonging she seeks is ahead not behind” and “there’s someone who could still come back”. They mentioned she felt just as alone with the resistance. Only the other half of her soul understood her. This is truly tragic and sad...I am so heartbroken for her. And don’t tell me she isn’t there to stay...the soundtrack is called “a new home”. Enjoy the rest of your days being exactly where you started Rey....but hey at least you got a droid boo. I’m convinced this is not the balance JJ envisioned in the first movie. At one point in TFA Rey looks up sees an old woman alone, scavenging in the desert. This rattles her to the core and it starts her journey of wanting a better, different life. I am so sorry Rey. Okay so you may say she has the resistance and her friends...but let’s consult the last Jedi. In the end when everyone is on the ship...Rey is surrounded by friends yet looks more alone than ever. No one but Ben, maybe Luke, Leia, and Han understood her pull to the dark.

How sad that these two hopeless souls who had never known a moment of belonging and true love, found it for all but a few seconds.

I will quote: “preventing female characters with strong, compelling narratives from experiencing love, intimacy, and affection is just as regressive as reducing them down to sexual accessories. Assumes that women must choose between a romantic interest and depth of character”

Men really can not write good female characters, can they? A woman really can’t be a badass and end up with the love of her life

15. The Skywalker’s and Redemption: How truly truly sad that Han and Leia gave their life for their son who also died at a young age. ALL the Skywalkers and Solo’s have a tragic end. This is not what George Lucas wanted. What a tragic way to end this saga...they weren't able to break the curse. AND to all those troubled kids out there that lashed out and made terrible mistakes in their youth....doesn’t matter what you do dying is the only way out. You could have exiled him, made him pay in other ways. Nothing can be done to make up for your sins but death, no amount of good means that you can come home. To the young boys that get wrapped up in terror organizations, sorry the only way you can be redeemed is death...don’t bother changing and coming back. They could have exiled him, had him start an academy with Rey for Jedi kids. He could have spent the rest of his days redeeming himself. Why tell us he was literally preyed upon, haunted, and manipulated as a child. Even in a fantasy world, a victim of mental illness and abuse can not catch a break. Ben as a child could not fall asleep due to the demon-like voices in his mind. Everyone abandoned him in his time of need. Ben never desired power like Anakin, he went over to the dark because “the voice” of his grandfather promised belonging. I am shocked that this is the message Disney sends us. Oh and yeah you can totally take on the Skywalker name for kicks...the disrespect I swear

16. The worst bit is that I am 90% sure there was another ending that was scrapped.  There was a promo shot of Jannah in a field, soft lighting, lush planet. It was exactly like P&P. Daisy Ridley said the lasts scene was known to only Her, Jannah on that panel (Driver was away). Convinced Jannah was looking at Rey and Ben starting a new life away from the desert which she and Luke hate so much. Hence the production of “A New Home” soundtrack. Hence why the “Farewell” song played behind Reylo kiss was hopeful. Why Luke’s soundtrack when he became part of the force was not triumphant. Why the death scene was sudden and cut weird and no sorrow from Rey. CAUSE THEY SCRAPPED THE ORIGINAL ENDING LAST MINUTE.  Everyone knows JJ was still editing one month before. The concept art which was supposed to be released this month has been pushed to March. Why you ask? They need to remove the pages with a happy ending. He just didn’t have the guts, pandered to everyone and yet no one. He was successful in creating a beautifully filmed action-filled movie with none of the heart of Star Wars.

And then she goes and buries Anakin’s saber on freaking TATOOINE. He HATES Sand and Luke wanted to get away from there as soon as possible. Of course, a Palpatine would torture them that way. But nostalgia is the cash cow so. JJ can only generate nostalgia, not create original stories. IF he had any creativity she would have buried it at Padme’s grave.

The fanboys say “leave the romance for the romance movies”....have you seen the original trilogy or the prequels? Star Wars has always had hope and romance entwined with it. 

SO AFTER 40 YEARS...PALPATINE WINS...HIS BLOODLINE LIVES ON

...and people thought the prequels were bad 

JJ you also said that your goal was for people to come out of the movie feeling more hopeful and happy then they went in...yet here I am. My roommate literally had to console me and buy me ice cream. I am just so numb. I am sure the casual fan will enjoy this, as seen from the rotten tomatoes ratings. I think the critics were too generous with this one, 

Star Wars is very simple at its core, Good vs Bad and Dark vs Light. The kids are expected to understand that a Palpatine being the only one who lives is hopeful? That is the conclusion of three generations of Skywalker sacrifice...

This is how the Skywalkers are remembered...In Tragedy and Curse??

[sassysnowperson]

writer's meme - TY to @r0b0tb0y for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3?

168 - oh man that's more than I'd realized. I passed 150 and didn't even notice!

What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,133,901

So many.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Since r0b0tb0y and I were just talking about this, I conveniently have a list of all 20 ranked by number of works

134 - Star Wars 7 - Original Works 7 - Marvel 2 - Pirates of The Carribean 2 - The Old Guard 2 - Discworld 1 - Good Omens 1 - Leverage 1 - The Good Place 1 - Avatar: The Last Airbender 1 - Ocean’s 11 1 - Harry Potter 1 - The Goblin Emperor 1 - Gundam Wing 1 - Star Trek: TNG 1 - Hades (Videogame) 1 - Sailor Moon 1 - Russian Doll 1 - Mummy/Wonder Woman crossover

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lol, looking at my top five - it falls into two categories

1. Fics I wrote right at the height of a fandom's popularity that got a massive reader boost because it was the Hot Thing Right Then

2. Star Wars Fix-Its

~

A Series of Better Decisions - A Padme/Obi-Wan/Anakin SW Prequel Trilogy fix-it where Anakin talks to Obi-Wan and spends Revenge of the Sith in a stressed-out bisexual panic instead of becoming a Space Fascist. He winds up fake-poly-dating Obi-Wan to try to bring down Palpatine, and eventually winds up in a better place due to the power of Quitting Your Job and becoming a househusband.

Galactic Response Time - Captain Marvel - an at the time MCU canon-compliant gen fic that ran the universe forward and explained how Carol really TRIED to show up for all those other crises that happened, but it turns out most of the major MCU disasters only lasted like three days and space is real big, y'all. Featuring Nick Fury cathartically bitching with his Space Bestie.

New Lands for the Living - Fix-it where the sequel trilogy ends Even Worse, Poe goes back in time to mercy-kill the timeline, and much to his dismay winds up married to just-before-Original-Trilogy Luke Skywalker. He has an existential crisis about his own existence, meets some competent women, and starts fixing things.

Life's Little Pleasures - The Good Omens fic where I put all my ace feelings, featuring metaphysical bonding and good scotch.

Flustered - Another Padme/Anakin/Obi-Wan SW Prequel Trilogy fix-it, where Order 66 never happens. Anakin gets some therapy and Padme gets a horrible crush on Obi-Wan.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do! I love getting to talk to people about fics, and I so appreciate people making the effort to comment I want to spend some time with them! It's so much easier not to comment, I know.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm this is not my normal wheelhouse. I usually go angst that gets resolved by the end. Let me look to see what the options are.

Okay, I think we've got two contendors: In Waystation an exhausted Poe Dameron crash-lands in a station where a Bodhi Rook that lived and then hid now lives with Baze and Chirrut. There is a little epilgue that implies they're going to meet again, but the bulk of the fic does end with Poe making the decision to go back to the Resistance, and leaving Bodhi behind. Still, I think it's more wistful, rather than angsty.

Time Enough for Mourning takes it though, I think. Davits Draven/Antoc Merrick, that is entirely about Draven mourning the fact that Antoc has died. The end is still, I think, more cathartic than angsty, but it is overall probably the strongest "break out the waterworks" of my fics.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I do occasionally, usually when someone prompts me and I find something in there that makes my brain go!!! I think the strangest is probably The Face Underneath. It's a Cassian Andor/Elim Garak fic where I drag Garak into the Star Wars Universe for a triple drabble series where he is an old mentor of Cassian's.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Mmm, not proper hate. Realtalk, the most devastating one for me was when I posted a fic that the only comment was a spelling critique.

And yes, there was a spelling error, but still, very crushing to have that be the only feedback. (It has since found a few readers that said nice things, very healing :D)

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes! Uh - consensual, between adults, often M/M adults, tho I have written explicit femslash, hetfic, and poly piles. It's usually affectionate, often plays with power dynamics even if it doesn't go into full dom/sub.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that anyone has made me aware of, I've never looked.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Had a request or two, but never been linked the result - so not sure if it didn't happen or if I just didn't get linked. I welcome it!

I have had several fics podficced, and I LOVE that. What a joy! Making a blanket permission statement that allowed podfic is one of the best decisions I've made as a fic author. Suddenly, Podfic!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Once or twice! I like the idea of doing it, but follow-through is hard. Hoping to do some co-writing soon though, so we will see!

What’s your all time favourite ship?

Sorry, unrepentant multi-shipper here. I like possibilities, and finding the story that will bring people together, more than one specific thing.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don't have ANYTHING I've given up on, but there are a few fics in my unpublished drafts that were beautiful ideas, and really struggled to become contained stories. They all want to be sprawling things, and I have not felt sprawling-thing-writing passionate about those ideas. But, you never know! Inspiration may strike.

What are your writing strengths?

I'd say character voice, along with that, dialogue. Also humor moments that still have real weight and don't undercut the story, as well as straight comedy writing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

You see, I, uh, do this thing where I don't really end a sentence - I think about ending it, I even assume, at some point while I'm writing that I have ended it; I have not and it meanders, persistently, until I have constructed a whole paragraph made out of one chain of words and a hodgepodge of punctuation.

Also the thing where I accidentally use an unusual word five times in one paragraph because my brain has grabbed onto it like an excited puppy and keeps offering it up as the Perfect Word.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I love having multilingual characters. When writing, I tend to keep all the words in English and use dialogue tags to denote language shift - unless I am inventing the language, or have a speaker of that language willing to beta the bits to make sure I don't mess them up too badly.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Actually wrote and posted? Rogue One.

Fandom of my heart my younger self spun out stories in my imagination about? Where if I had my own computer and easy access to a fic archive they almost certainly would have become spectacularly earnest fics?

ReBoot and Sailor Moon. The Sailor Moon was an AU that took place on the sun and they all had kick-ass horses. Baby Sass knew what was up.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Nope, sorry, can't pick, love them all in different ways for different reasons.

Tagging: @semisweetshadow, @anamelesstraveler, @jules-of-the-crown - and generally if you follow me and want to do it, do so and tag me in it!

[the-writing-mill]

assassin au with the "making a deal to save the other" and jangobi?

Okay, this one’s actually even a bit longer than the other one, so it’s going under a read more lol

Jango is a merc/bounty hunter/assassin guy, Obi-Wan is an information broker with an editing cover job and a “rental property” to embezzle money

These two have never met, and have no idea about each other’s identities beyond knowing their underground reputations, until Jango is hired to assassinate Obi-Wan’s little brother, Anakin

Obi-Wan is visiting Anakin for the weekend on the day of the planned assassination, and notices things are a little off, setting off all of his learned criminal world/underground alarms

(Anakin, btw, is a part time mechanic, part time engineering student. Obi-Wan has very carefully kept the boy out of his world since becoming Anakin’s official guardian after their adoptive father, Qui-Gon Jinn, died in an accident)

Obi-Wan gets paranoid enough after spending an evening with Anakin that he fakes a pillow body in the guest room and sets himself up in the living room to guard

This is somewhat fortunate for him when an apparent burglar (who moves much too professionally and dangerously) breaks in through a window near silently

Jango barely has half a second of realizing something’s up before being side tackled

The fight is pretty intense, if odd for being so quiet, since they both coincidentally don’t want Anakin to wake up (at some point Obi-Wan manages to get Jango’s ski mask off)

In the end, Obi-Wan ends up pinned under Jango, hands restrained above his head, knife against his throat, straddled

Jango grumbles sardonically about how Obi-Wan couldn’t make Jango’s job easier and just sleep through the night and call the police in the morning, tipping Obi-Wan off to the man being there for Anakin instead of him

Obi-Wan is, of course, a self-sacrificing idiot and gets Jango’s attention by wondering out loud about what a small-time mechanic going through school could have done to get a high-level assassin sent after him

(Jango’s plan, as Obi-Wan has figured out, was to stage a break in/burglary and wake Anakin up and kill him in the resulting “fight” to make it look like the burglar had killed Anakin in the heat of the moment)

With the man under him clearly having figured out too much, Jango decides he’ll have to kill him too, but first thinks it’s worth learning what gave him away

There’s a bit of back and forth until Obi-Wan is able to piece together who exactly Jango is (should his assassin name be Mythosaur? I think that would be fun and the “myth” bit can refer to his work being so subtle and Jango being such an unknown outside of his assassin rep)

Now, someone figuring out exactly who Jango is an even bigger no-no, so Jango goes right for the kill

Jango doesn’t manage to kill Obi-Wan before Obi-Wan offers a deal (didn’t think I’d take “making a deal to save the other” this way, did you?)

Jango’s pressing a blade into Obi-Wan’s neck enough to draw blood but finds himself intrigued enough to let the man talk for another few seconds (Obi-Wan really is quite the negotiator)

Obi-Wan offers free information for life, basically, and to be support for a set number of missions a year. In exchange, Jango won’t kill Anakin and will let Obi-Wan find Jango’s client and kill the client to nullify the contract (and prevent Jango’s rep from being tarnished)

It’s an utterly absurd proposal but also clearly made with knowledge of the underground, so Jango of course asks who Obi-Wan thinks he is to make that kind of offer

Jango finds himself reluctantly impressed by Obi-Wan’s identity (I have no idea what his underworld identity is, but I don’t it to be “The Negotiator”) and finds himself considering the deal, which Obi-Wan catches onto and he manages to convince Jango

(Part of the final deal includes the fact that Jango technically has two more months per his contract to carry out the hit. If Obi-Wan can’t find the client by then, Jango will kill Anakin anyways. Obi-Wan is desperately confident that he can do it, despite Jango having basically zero info beyond the contract and a clearly shell company in Hong Kong to wire the money to)

Jango gets Obi-Wan to give him a glut of information over the next few weeks, to the point of them spending a few hours in a private booth/room in a very private club so Obi-Wan can safely give it all to him. Obi-Wan is both desperate to meet expectations and tries his best; and is also very annoyed at getting pulled away from hunting down who’s trying to kill Anakin and therefore sasses Jango quite a bit.

Obi-Wan is really having trouble figuring out who wants to kill Anakin, finally giving in and starting from the other end, Anakin himself. Why would someone want to kill Anakin? Specifically why would the sort of person who can find and hire Jango want to kill Anakin? This is in some ways even harder to figure out, but Obi-Wan has many more leads and information to access

After a few weeks of this dynamic, the first change is when Jango and Obi-Wan end up complaining about a mutual acquaintance during an info drop off, which leads to more mutual bitching

Then Jango drags Obi-Wan across the country (we’re just going to assume we were in like… NYC or Chicago before) to assist him in another assassination in LA

Obi-Wan is somewhat tempted to get Jango caught, since that would be an easy way to save Anakin, but decides against it for multiple reasons (including a few that he will not yet acknowledge, including developing fondness for Jango and, even worse, the first few seeds of trust)

So instead of going to prison, Jango returns from a smooth assassination to an already half-drunk Obi-Wan, shirt very scandalously unbuttoned halfway down

The have a nice night of just drinking and relaxing and then wake up the next morning curled around each other in bed (they didn’t have sex, as the lack of certain types of soreness and their clean, still on, pants from the night before prove. But they still have the knowledge and a few sensations of sleeping together with their guards down)

When they get back, things are a little awkward, but it’s fine, they’re professionals, so they’ll keep meeting to keep up their deal. Obi-Wan keeps giving Jango any info he wants, and they keep accidentally falling back into their habits of doing things like complaining about mutual acquaintances who annoy them

Obi-Wan is also making some headway with investigating who wants to kill Anakin, finding many questionable decisions on Anakin’s part, especially regarding friends/social circle, but not anyone who would be able to hire Jango that would dislike Anakin

With about a week and a half left, and leads running out, Obi-Wan starts to freak out a little, which Jango notices, which in turn makes Jango realize that he doesn’t like Obi-Wan being stressed out and afraid and tense and looking at Jango like he’s a cat about to pounce on a wounded canary

But Jango also puts work before all else so when he has another job (coincidentally in the same city), Jango drags Obi-Wan with him, unfortunately making the mistake to literally bring Obi-Wan with him

When Jango starts cursing about the job going to hell part way through a shoot-out, Obi-Wan casually comments that it’s not even that bad, prompting a sass battle between the two of them while they’re still fighting their actual opponents where Jango realizes that Obi-Wan, as brilliant as he is, has the worst on-the-ground luck ever

In the end, they win, with a very damaged, limping vehicle that they, for handwavey reasons, need to get to some spot that the car won’t make it to as is. Thus, they have to go slide into the mechanic shop Anakin’s working the graveyard shift for

Obi-Wan really does hate, in many ways, finally having his two worlds collide, bringing Jango and the shot-out car directly to Anakin, and is almost distracted from how bad he feels about it when Jango tries to comfort him

Jango is, thankfully, a very good actor, and Anakin is a bit oblivious. He very easily starts clumsily probing Jango about what Obi-Wan and Jango quickly figure out Anakin thinks is a romantic relationship between them (and, to be fair, Obi-Wan has been acting strange, and spending much more time “with a friend” in the past two months or so)

At some point, Obi-Wan gets so uncomfortable with the idea that he and Jango are in a romantic relationship that he makes what is, to him and Jango, a mistake, and draws attention to the bullet holes again

Jango vaguely looks like he wants to kill Obi-Wan while Anakin casually explains it’s not that big of a deal, although he might have to find a better patch if this sort of thing keeps happening

This stops any murder plans Jango was making, and any counter plans Obi-Wan was making in favor of carefully probing Anakin to figure out when else he had fixed a bullet ridden car

Anakin reveals pretty easily that his engineering school’s dean, Sidney Palpatine (Sidney=Sid-=Sidious lol) had dropped in about two and a half months ago with a car in similar condition. As well as a few other people that Anakin describes well enough for Jango and Obi-Wan to identify as members of a local crime organization and a private army (like Blackwater/Academi), as well as mention a weird package in the trunk

This is clearly the who and why for Jango getting hired to assassinate Anakin, but they both play it cool until Anakin’s done and they can go on their way to drop off the vehicle

Cue Obi-Wan having a panic attack, which freaks Jango out quite a bit, since he’s so used to Obi-Wan being very calm and controlled and not showing vulnerability. Obi-Wan even gets outwardly angry

Cue Jango’s “oh. Oh.” moment

Jango basically drags a near catatonic Obi-Wan back to the apartment he’s been staying in and drugs him to sleep (in Jango’s mind, if Obi-Wan was too out of it to notice a drugged drink, then he clearly had no more business staying awake)

By the time Obi-Wan wakes up and starts panicking, less than yesterday (thanks to a good night’s sleep), Jango has some basic information on the legal and illegal lives of Palpatine, and a few half-formed assassination plans

Jango also has toast. Which he makes Obi-Wan eat. Obi-Wan grumps about not having been forced to eat breakfast since he was a teen. Cue a small sassy back and forth that further calms Obi-Wan down

Jango offers to kill Palpatine for free, which startles Obi-Wan because that is not how the criminal underworld works. Jango half-heartedly puts forth some logic about how Obi-Wan succeeding with their deal means that Jango gets to keep the best information broker on his side. Obi-Wan can tell that that isn’t all, and recognizes that Jango is probably being kind, but won’t outright admit it

They eventually decide on a plan where Anakin will bring Obi-Wan with him to go visit dean Palpatine who he’s friends with, and that Obi-Wan will bring some poisoned tea in a travel to mug to share. Anakin will refuse the tea, being Anakin, and Obi-Wan and Palpatine will both drink the poison. Obi-Wan will have the antidote (either disguised as something innocuous or to be taken during a bathroom break) and cure himself before there are any symptoms, leaving Palpatine to die of what will look like a natural heart attack

The plan goes awry, due to Kenobi luck, when Anakin accidentally has them barge in while Palpatine is meeting with another criminal. Cue a fight in the office, a secret passage, and more criminals to fight while Jango scrambles to get to the new location to help

Obi-Wan manages to actually word his way into delaying their defeats and deaths until Jango gets there. Jango manages to take out about half of the enemies before he gets defeated/captured as well

At this point Obi-Wan tries to make a deal again, to save Anakin and Jango. It seems to work/Palpatine seems interested, only for him to pull the rug out and basically say he’ll be either killing all three or making them wish they were dead, including some conjecture about Obi-Wan’s looks (aka sexual slavery)

Cue Jango getting incensed enough to break free again and start fighting again. He gets to Obi-Wan, frees him, and thus ensues a battle couple take down from the cheesiest of action flicks

In the end, Palpatine is the last one standing. Before either of them (or Anakin, who is beginning to get over his shock) can kill Palpatine, he runs away. Jango, Obi-Wan, and a confused Anakin give chase, stopping at the end of an alley as they realize that Palpatine has been hit by a bus

Jango and Obi-Wan drag Anakin through a convoluted path back to Obi-Wan’s apartment and confirm that, yes, Palpatine died. Jango and Obi-Wan quickly confirm that there’s nothing linking them to the crime scene (Palpatine had told his secretary that Anakin and Obi-Wan had left out the back when he realized he was going to have to kill them, giving them an alibi)

Obi-Wan and Jango tell Anakin a mostly true story and prod Anakin to decide to go back to [insert some place here] and live with some half-distant bio relatives (the Lars family), maybe finish his degree online

Cut to a few months later, Obi-Wan is reading an update text from Anakin before Jango comes into the room. Obi-Wan gives him a good luck kiss before sending Jango out to his job, reminding him that “I’ve always got your back”, Jango responds in kind, Obi-Wan accepts this/informs Jango that he knows before letting Jango drag him into another kiss

[gabriel4sam]

Seventy-two varieties of root vegetable and other tasty things to discover (now that the Sith are dead); a Gen Obi-Wan story!

Written for theObi-Wan Kenobi Gen exchange and beta-ed by the charming @texasdreamer01

Under the cut, the fic! 

It was when he saw Ahsoka eyeing a beetle with keen interest than Obi-Wan decided it was time for an intervention. He had totally failed the culinary education of his own Padawan, he wouldn’t fail it in the same way for his Grandpadawan.

“You didn’t fail my education, Master, seriously-“

“-Shh, Anakin, I’m the one telling the story.”

The war was dying down, for no reasons the Jedi could exactly pinpoint. They were doing exactly the same things they had done for years, but this time the other side was answering their propositions of peace talks and, sector by sectors, the combats were stopping and tentative talks started.

The Senate was busy sending ambassadors left and right, companies were tentatively establishing commercial routes again, employment was going up and even Asajj Ventress was calming down, because after finally killing Dooku the only thing she apparently wanted was to roam the galaxy with a besotted Quinlan Vos trailing behind her like a besotted, if well-armed, puppy.  

How sad it was that a previously undiagnosed heart condition had taken Chancellor Palpatine before his time, before he could see the peace and harmony he had so wished for.

“Padmé will laugh so much when she hears you called her blaster an undiagnosed heart condition.”

“The joint investigation between the Judicial officers and the Jedi was thorough, Anakin. Heart condition.”

So, Anakin liked to eat worms, Ahsoka wasn’t far behind, the clones had only eaten rations for all their lives, and once a strange mushroom in Fives’ case. That had prompted hours of talking to the wall and giggling about stuff his foot was telling him, the right because the left was apparently quite rude. After seeing that, and also the way Fives had been ill after, none of the vode had wanted to test anything that wasn’t a ration sealed in vacuum and with the same taste every time, no matter what was written on the package.

Time for an intervention.

Obi-Wan had called his old friend Dex and asked for the permission to borrow his diner during the closing day.

Anakin had whined that it was a little hypocritical of Obi-Wan, who survived on tea, sass and more tea, with sometimes some algae biscuits thrown in it when Bant could corner him long enough, to comment on anyone’s eating habits.

“I didn’t whine!”

“You really did, my dear. And you do on a regular basis.”

Dex had said yes and even offered his diner, and more importantly his kitchen, every closing day when Obi-Wan was on Coruscant.

So, Obi-Wan had chosen his first tasters.

Ahsoka, of course, for who he had started all of that. Worms and beetles and other crawling things were fine in a pitch, he had himself sometimes indulged when Qui-Gon Jinn’s latest nonsense had thrown his Padawan self in the middle of a jungle with no rations. He could also admit that with the stress of the war, he had let his responsibilities erase his body’s normal hunger, but it was no more a time of war. Time to eat like a civilized sentient.

Anakin himself. Young Knight Obi-Wan, struggling with grief and -he could see it now- depression, had let this feral child keep his slave days habits in term of food: Anakin ate everything that couldn’t move away quick enough, in a latent fear there wouldn’t be something to fill his belly later. It was honestly heart-breaking.

It could also be heart-healing: the way the younger Jedi always insisted for Ahsoka to eat first… Obi-Wan will fight for every child in the galaxy to have enough, not like Anakin couldn’t when he was younger and now that the war is finishing, he hoped they could make a difference here.

Padme, because now that the so-called secret marriage was out in the open, he hoped he could spend more time with the young woman and deepen their nascent beginning friendship. The galaxy really could do with more friendship.

And Rex and Cody, the two vode they were closest to. Once those two had come back to the barracks in better shape than Fives after his mushrooms experience, the other vode could probably be convinced to try something else than rations.

Aaylala, who had just taken her first Padawan and would spend a year of Coruscant to better learn each other, had already put herself, the Padawan and Commander Bly on what she called jokingly “Master Kenobi’s dinner waiting list”. She wanted to explore with them the food of her home planet and reconnect with her culture.  Boil and Waxer could probably be convinced, too.

It meant the first experience had to be a success.

After his morning session with the Council, Obi-Wan had taken his afternoon off, that too being a new event in the Jedi Order. Most of the time, Bant or Anakin had too threaten to sit on him just for him going to bed. Everybody had sworn to never talk again about that time it had been so bad Master Windu himself really did have to sit on him for Obi-Wan just to take a nap.

“Speaking for yourself, Master, me, I’m never ever going to let you forget that one.”

He had slowly explored the closest market, feeling slightly nostalgic. Qui-Gon always had insisted food should be a fuel, not a passion. He had also said that taking pleasure in the taste, the smell, the hundreds of wonderful vegetables, fruits, meats, grains, offered by nature, that it was celebrating the joy of life, of the Force...

Obi-Wan realized he had forgotten that, in the despair of the war. Now, he took pleasure in choosing fresh produce for the people he loved. Around him, the market was bustling with life. People laughing, speaking, tasting, vendors celebrating their products… It was the season for one of the biggest food import of Coruscant. It was some citrus fruit which had the very rare peculiarity, a very rare one, to be edible for all known sentients. The smell was everywhere in the market, fresh and cleansing and Obi-Wan had taken a bite of one with a groan of pleasure the moment he had purchased them, the juice sweet and slightly acidic at the same time.

When he got to the dinner, he cooked with the same deep happiness of preparing something easy, nutritious and tasty for his family. He had decided to make it simple for the first time, not wanting to push the boundaries of Cody and Rex. Going from rations to a nine-course meal would probably be overkill.

Obi-Wan himself tended to a vegetarian diet, like Qui-Gon had, but he hadn’t always had a choice, and Ahsoka’s body needed an animal based died in a way human didn’t, so he had dismissed his all-time favourite recipe, a creamy vegetable pie a young Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi had learned from a young senatorial aid Bail Organa.

He prepared a stew which he had learned from Kit Fisto, with a lot of root vegetables and some river fish, aromatic bark from the Gold system and just a little touch of black salt. Soon, the entire diner smelled of Obi-Wan’s teenage years, when he and Bant did their homework and Kit Fisto prepared dinner.

Obi-Wan had a smile on his face, a nostalgic glint in his eyes. He should call Bant, soon. Perhaps she and some of their other childhood friends could come the next time….For dessert, he cleaned yellow, purple and red berries from Naboo, to honour Padmé, to be eaten with fresh cheese.

Nothing very complicated. Just simple food, to share and to rejoice in the new chance of the galaxy.

“To the peace?” Padmé proposed for toast at the beginning of the meal and all, they raised their glasses.

“To the peace,” they repeated in answer.

Seated between Cody and Rex, Obi-Wan explained sotto voce what exactly they were eating. He explained the planet of origin of every vegetable –

“Because everything has to be an occasion for a lecture.”

“Anakin, if you don’t stop, you will be in charge of the washing-up. And I used a lot of saucepans.”

Rex was very, very cautious with his first taste. He had been there when Fives had vomited everything he had ever eaten, and had been slightly alarmed once Obi-Wan had explained what a root vegetable was.

“Doesn’t seem very hygienic.” Was his opinion.

It changed after first taste and his plate was quickly cleaner than a ship before the admiral’s inspection.

Cody was more curious about why different sorts of vegetables had been designed.

“Waste of resources,” he decided, “one per species of sentient who wanted to eat them would have been sufficient.”

Obi-Wan hadn’t laughed. How could Cody, raised in the sterile environment of Kamino, know better about the extraordinary abundance of nature? In his own plate, he had picked a small section of one of the root vegetables he had chosen.

“This is a red stachys”, he explained, “the species comes from a planet all the way in the Outer Rim. It was only present on one of their landmasses, but as it isn’t attacked by fungus or insect pests, it’s now cultivated on all the planets and a lot of other agricultural worlds.”

Anakin made a face. He hated agricultural worlds, mostly for the smell. The desert boy loved his cities.

Obi-Wan smiled at his former Padawan’s face but continued:”Today, you can easily find seven, sometimes ten subspecies in Coruscant markets, but on the original world, where the people had centuries to select cultivars, you can find seventy-two cultivars. And it is only one of the vegetables you can find there.”

“Seventy-two!!”

Cody looked a little more at Obi-Wan’s spoon and the innocent little selection of vegetables swimming in the rich-tasting sauce.

“And every world…”

“Every world has its own food. Every ancient country, you could say. Every area. Sometimes every town has its own speciality.”

It was Cody’s turn to make a face. Not surprising: after years of ration, the abundance of possibilities seemed strange to his mind.

“It tends to be a little standardized today,” Obi-Wan admitted, “but a lot of people are working hard on preserving heirloom varieties and culinary traditions…”

Cody stabbed a bit of fish with his own cutlery and tasted it, chewing cautiously.

On the other side of the table, Padmé and Anakin were flirting. Anakin’s lines were terrible but Padmé’s own use of Naboo flowery poetry wasn’t exactly better.

Next to Cody, Rex and Ahsoka were whispering something about putting joy back in the Senate and something very suspicious about dye that Obi-Wan and Cody definitely weren’t hearing, because that one would be Commander Fox’s problem.

Cody tasted a yellow stachys, stolen directly from Obi-Wan’s plate because there were only red in his own plate. Then he tried again a red, pairing it with a green kidney-shaped pod.

“And that?” He asked, poking another pod.

“Magnolens. Seldom grown today, originated from the world of Glee Anselm.”

Cody seemed lost in thought, so Obi-Wan let him chew in peace, instead discussing literature with Padmé. They had all sworn they wouldn’t speak of work tonight, so every time they drifted to politics, Anakin interrupted them by stealing a kiss from Padmé.

It was a rousing and pleasant success.

“Master?” Ahsoka asked later, when she was helping with cleaning Dex’s kitchen. It would probably be neater than before their arrival.

“Yes, my dear?”

“Can I come to the market with you next time? And I think Rex would like it too.”

“Of course you can.” She gave him a sudden hug, surprising him.

From the kitchen, Obi-Wan could see the rest of them, Padmé and Cody lost in debate, Anakin just finishing his third helping of dessert.  Rex had taken apart his own dessert, testing the berries one by one.

His former Padwan sensed their gazes and turned to them, a smile on his face. His eyes were clearer than they had been in years, and Obi-Wan felt pride and happiness swell in him.

“You would be very welcome, my dear,” He answered his Grandpadawan.

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 11

Prompt: Hallucinations

Warnings: illicit drug and alcohol use

Read on AO3

I Carry On

In her defense, Ahsoka literally just left the Jedi Order. Like, hours before walked down the steps of the Temple, leaving her Master standing there looking as though he had been punched in the gut. She took no pleasure in his disappointment, but she knew she had to leave.

Ahsoka just wasn't sure where to go.

Her whole life has been spent either in that Temple or on a Star Destroyer in the middle of a galactic war. Not exactly the usual upbringing. As she walked through the streets of Coruscant, stripped of her lightsaber and her identity, Ahsoka had the overwhelming desire to buy a blaster.

Apparently, it is difficult to be a seventeen-year-old girl and buy a blaster. Legally, at least.

Which is how she ended up a few levels lower than she has ever been. Which is also how she ended up getting a bargain-- a lightly used blaster with no (traceable) criminal history, as well as a pamphlet for a club opening a few levels up.

A part of her was hesitant. She's been in plenty of cantinas, and she is of the age of responsibility for drinking, but a night club is a different story. But the prospect of spending the night alone with nothing but her old life as a Jedi on her mind seemed like a horrible idea.

As it turns out, a nightclub is an incredible place to escape reality. Lights of every color flash through the darkened multilevel club. A wrap-around bar covers three sides of the first level while the center is a massive dance floor filled with what seems like every species in the galaxy. Ahsoka marvels at the upper stories of additional bar and VIP seating that tower above her, all also filled with people.

It's loud. The music shakes the ground and makes her ears ring. People are constantly shoving into her, and the accompanying scent of sweat and alcohol is strong enough to put down a banta.

Strangely enough, she loves it. The chaos energizes her a well as the feeling of being close to so many people. Though they are strangers to her, she feels comforted by brushing arms with those she passes, or the grins of other young women with rosy cheeks and glossy eyes. When Ahsoka goes into the fresher to relieve herself, she discovers a whole other aspect to club life that quickly becomes her favorite part.

"Oh my gosh, I love your face paint!" a human woman about her age squeals as she comes out of the stall. Ahsoka doesn't have the heart to tell the stumbling girl that her markings aren't painted-- she has a feeling the concept won't stick-- so she smiles instead.

"Oh, uh, thank you!"

The woman grins, pulling at the hem of her short black skirt. "My name is Caly."

"I'm Ahsoka."

To her surprise, Caly embraces her tightly. "Such a pretty name Ahsoka! You're so pretty too. Are you here with people?"

"Uh, not really."

Caly pulls away, looking at her with wide brown eyes. "You're here alone? Damn girl, look at you being an independent gal. Do you want to hang with my friends?"

Ahsoka didn't really expect such warm kindness from the club refresher, but she can feel Caly's genuine feelings in the Force. Light lines her Force presence, and so Ahsoka agrees. Caly guides her through the crowd to a group of other sentients near the corner of the dance floor. Most look to be human, but there are also a few humanoids and a Twi'lek in the group. Their introductions are cut short by the song changing, and another girl Caly called Raan squealing in delight.

"It's our song!" she yells, and as though this is their battle cry they go running onto the dance floor, forming a circle amongst their group. Ahsoka follows, completely starstruck with the entire encounter. From what she can tell, most of the friends are around her age range. Much of the club seems to be young, as far as she can tell, which leads her to believe that if she weren't a Jedi, this is how she'd be spending her free time-- dancing and drinking with friends.

But you're not a Jedi. Not anymore, the less fun part of her brain tells her. Ahsoka decides to shut up that voice by downing the rest of her drink.

Drinking is another thing she isn't accustomed to, but she's had a few brews with the troopers before. She quite likes the warm buzz that the alcohol gives her as it settles in her stomach, and she goes to order another. When Ahsoka returns, "their song" has ended, and they have reunited back in the original spot. Caly smiles when she returns.

"Ahsoka! There you are. We were just about to move upstairs."

"What's upstairs?"

"A place to sit. Watch the fun. Have some fun," she says with a wink. Ahsoka suspects she is supposed to know what that means, but she doesn't. But with two drinks in her system now, she is willing to find out what it is her agemates do on a night out. So she follows them. Ahsoka settles between Caly and Raan in a couched area at the corner of the club. The music is quieter, but the lights still shift colors every few moments.

"What brings you to a club alone, Ahsoka?" Caly asks, taking a little box from the person next to her and taking out a small tablet, and setting it on her tongue.

"I... had a bit of a bad day."

The girl looks at her with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, what happened?" she asks as she passes the small box to Ahsoka. She stares at the colorful tablets inside a moment and then looks back up at Caly. "Do you want one?"

"What is it?"

"Dreamdust!" she pauses. "You don't have to have one, just if you want one. It might help with your bad day."

Ahsoka has heard of dreamdust, actually. A padawan she once knew told her all about his escapades with different drugs and how they felt. He tried dreamdust and said it made him feel amazing, close to the Force. And if it will silence the voice in the back of her head that plagues her with reminders of Anakin and Master Obi-Wan and Rex and the war, then she will accept the chemical fix. She takes a tablet from the box, popping it onto her tongue as Caly had done, and passes it to Raan.

"I got fired," Ahsoka says to Caly, before sighing. "Or, I guess I quit."

She giggles. "How do you get fired and quit?"

"They were going to fire me, and then I quit when they decided not to."

"Well hell yeah, sounds like they didn't appreciate you. I'm sure they'll miss you once you're gone and they know what they lost."

Ahsoka sighs. "I doubt it, but maybe."

Caly wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Getting fired sucks but you'll find somewhere else. Gotta find a place for the next chapter to start anyway."

A voice hollers from the other side of the circle. "Cal, are you getting philosophical again?" The others laugh. Picking up strays from the fresher must be a common occurrence.

"What, you want to receive my wisdom as well?" she grins.

"I get far too much of your wisdom."

"Then why are you still so dumb?"

Another roar of laughter and Ahsoka melts back into the comfortable couch. She can't help the smile that comes to her face watching the group of friends bicker. Though all of this was to get her Jedi life out of her mind, it's only managing to make her heart ache with the idea that she won't ever again get to spectate on one of Anakin and Obi-wan's sass battles. Or sit in the mess with the clone troopers as they try to teach her curses in Mando'a. Or getting to see her crechémates when she goes back to the temple and catching up on all their adventures with a bottle of Jawa juice and a game of sabacc. Suddenly her life is divided into before and after.

She knows she can't take it back and go back to the way things were. She won't let herself give the council that satisfaction.

"Well doing what the council says, yeah, that's one thing," a familiar voice rings out. Ahsoka's body feels heavy and tired, but she looks up slowly. Standing at the end of the table is none other than Anakin. She nearly jumps with surprise, but her body doesn't seem to want to respond. "How we go about doing it, that's another idea."

"Master?" she squints at his distorted figure. His hair is shorter, cheeks rounder, and all of him seems to be transparent to the lights that shine from the dance floor. It's all wrong, but from the way the walls are melting away she has a feeling nothing is as it seems.

"Ahsoka," he frowns. "What in blazes are you doing here?"

It's Anakin's body and lips moving, but her master has never had a core accent. He crosses his arms, jetting out his hip like Master Kenobi does sometimes, but it just looks awkward on Anakin. It makes her giggle until she feels a nudge at her side.

"What are you laughing at, young one?"

Master Plo. Caly is gone and Master Plo now sits next to her. "Master Koon what are you--" She looks to her other side where Raan was just a moment earlier but it's Chancellor Palpatine, staring at her with his dark, beady eyes. Panic fills her to the brim and she moves for Master Koon's comfort, but the space next to her is empty. She looks for Anakin, Obi-Wan, anyone but she is alone with the Chancellor.

"You have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself," he says, a menacing smile stretching across his features.

"No," she says, jumping to her feet. Somehow he still seems to be standing higher than her. A platform that continues to rise.

"This court," his words echo off the walls, growing louder with each repeat. "Will decide your fate."

She turns to run, but she slams into a wall, staggering backward as the bitter bite of the whistling winds and heat of the lava pits fight for dominance.

"You have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself."

"It's not true! She cries, turning around and around only to realize she is in a cell and not a night club. The impenetrable walls of the Citadel are closing in on her, pulling her into the darkness of their keep. She bangs her fists against the walls as though her strength could really break through solid rock and steel. Finally, she stands back, taking a deep breath, and then putting all her weight into a running start. Her shoulder smashes into the wall, but the rock and durasteel shatter like transperisteel, and she is falling, faster and faster through the open air. Ahsoka closes her eyes, reaching out with the Force to grab onto something--anything-- and her breath is nearly knocked out of her when the Force responds immediately. She's suspended midair, the Force pulsating around her with life and the rest of the world frozen in a moment of time. She walks through the nothingness to the nearest solid ground, only to find herself atop a rocky cliff of a lava planet.

"What about me?" Anakin yells, his eyes shimmering a bright gold as he looms over her. When did she fall over again? How did she get on the floor? And why is he staring at her with such malice? "I believed in you! I stood by you!"

"What are you going to do?" she bellows, realizing his lightsaber is in his hand, and there is dangerous darkness surrounding her master. A darkness she has never felt before, like needles going through her bones. She reaches through the Force, expecting to find their bond, but instead, she feels an eerie nothingness that makes her audibly gasp. Anakin shakes his head, a tear dripping down his cheek.

"What you made me do," he says in a low voice, looking past her and igniting his saber. She has to roll out of the way to avoid his pursuit, expecting the burning light of his weapon to slice her in two. But he doesn't. She opens her eyes and his lightsaber is smashing against the readied weapon of Master Kenobi. They fight furiously, desperately. Not like when they spar, but when they go up against real enemies with real motivations to kill.

"Stop it!" Ahsoka yells, but they pay her no attention. She pulls herself to her feet, tears streaming down her face. "Masters, please! I'm sorry!"

"Stay out of this!"

"Stop it!" she repeasts.

"Be at peace, Ahsoka," Master Obi-Wan's voice feels like it's speaking directly into her mind. Her eyes grow heavy, and the lava around her bubbles and spreads until it explodes into a brilliant geyser of bright yellow and red molten rock. "And sleep."

Before she makes it to her knees, the world turns muddy, and then a dark blue. Lights flash overhead, and it takes her a moment to realize it's the lights of ships and speeders flying through the Corescanti night. She's lying on her back, the faint smell of tobacco reaching her senses, making her cringe.

"Good morning," a soft voice says. Ahsoka sits up, already feeling a horrible headache pulsating in her temples. Caly sits next to her, taking a drag of a death stick. Where they are sitting is a whole other question.

It's a rooftop of some sort, somewhere in the Upper Crest by the looks of it. Caly is no longer in the party attire Ahsoka met her in, but a pair of baggy pants and a tight-fitting long-sleeved shirt. Her short blonde hair is pushed back with a thick piece of cloth tied at the nape of her neck.

"What happened? When did we--"

"Bad trip. You needed air," Caly says, shaking her head. "You should have told me you were a Jedi."

The words hit harder than they should. Ahsoka tries to bite back the urge to cry but she doesn't seem to have any control over her emotions currently. The tears are coming before she can try to hide them. Caly scoots closer to her, rubbing circles on her back.

"I'm not a Jedi," she says between sobbing gasps. "Not anymore."

And they sit there in the cool dawn air, only the sound of speeders and Ahsoka's crying to fill the space. She expects nothing of this girl that she met in the fresher of a club, but yet, the kindness of a stranger seems to be the only thing Ahsoka has to hold onto. Caly, ever the one to continuously surprise her, pulls her into a tight embrace, tucking Ahsoka's head into her shoulder.

"What I told you earlier still applies. This is your next chapter, Ahsoka."

"It started out pretty shitty."

Caly laughs. Squeezes Ahsoka a little tighter. "It was just a bad trip. Jedi-- uh, Force-users, react to dreamdust a little dramatically. You didn't know."

"How do you know so much about Jedi?" she sniffles as she pulls out of the hug. "And how we react to dreamdust?"

"You're not the first to break away from the Temple for a night of fun," she winks. "Usually they are a bit more obvious."

"Baggy robes?"

"Oh, yes, you know the ones."

Ahsoka manages to smile, wiping away the stray tears. "Thank you, Caly. You've been... a great friend when you had no obligation to be."

"Well I did provide you with drugs that made you nearly punch a security guard... so don't thank me before you find out you've been banned indefinitely from that club."

"Probably for the best,"

They laugh. It's comfortable but not familiar. Not the laughs she's used to sharing. After a long time of just staring at the morning traffic begin to pick up, Caly stands.

"I gotta go. But I'm glad you're okay." Ahsoka is far from okay, but she's better than she was before. She smiles, thanking Caly once again. The girl from the nightclub starts to walk off, but then she stops, looking back. "Do you know what you'll do now, Ahsoka?"

The former Jedi smiles solemnly. Over Caly's shoulder, she can see the Jedi Temple in the distance. By some miracle, she doesn't feel the urge to sob just by looking at it. It's a tug at her heartstrings, the same feeling she gets from a sad song or when the troopers talk about their fallen. Dull, painful, but every time she looks or thinks about it she knows the pain will lessen.

"For now, I will carry on."

[rinrinp42]

For that fic meme thingy: an unplanned excursion into a strange temple (re: the ground collapsed) has Obi-wan Kenobi and Ghost company (plus or minus some Torrent that were right there when the ground went) recalling a full past life each. Now various people have to integrate who they were with who they are, and Palpatine's totally fcked, he just doesn't know it yet! (look I'm just desperate fr good crossover reincarnation fic in the SW fandom, a tidbit would be a feast!)

Sorry this took so long (first was the whole, a bunch of other things came up, but then) I couldn’t decide what I wanted to cross it over with.  I kept thinking of ones at times when I couldn’t write and then dismissing them as not working before I could start.  And then I went to get Starbucks and it hit me and now I’m very excited for this.  No Torrent because it’s been a while since I saw the other fandom and wasn’t sure who else I’d want to include)

The blue lightning settles down, slowly stopping it’s dance over their skin.  Waxer brings a hand up, clutch and rubbing his neck, checking that he’s whole.  Wooley hovers around him, just as concerned.  Both of them, along with Boil - who’s been turning over his (her? Wooley knows that feeling and it feels weird to still call Boil him now) hands, studying them intently - look up, eyes sharp as a heavy feeling, like tons of pressure, starts to fill the air.  It’s a hot, burning feeling, centuries old and, there really is no other word for it, dark in the way only one of Them could be.  Wooley stiffens, eyeing their General, memories long old rising to the forefront.

Even Cody seems apprehensive, though not as much as Wooley.

In the end, it’s Boil who steps forward, pulling her? helmet off, and rolling her? eyes.

“Hey Old Man,” she? sasses, “I thought you weren’t doing that anymore.  What with the whole mess with Kronos.”

Obi-Wan looks at her for a long moment and then the pressure is gone, folded neatly away as he simply exudes the feeling of an old library again.  It’s a welcomed type of feeling in the back of their skulls.  Same as the feeling of rolling hills from Cody, the steadfast honor from Wooley, the raven-like nature of Boil, and the eagerness of youth from Waxer.

“It would seem,” Obi-Wan spoke with all the weight of the Old Man himself, all the years of Methos, no hiding behind the veil of Adam Pierson, “that our esteemed  Supreme Chancellor is hiding something.”

Cody, Wooley, and Boil nod.  They’ve all seen it before.  Corrupt officials at the end of the day, all have something in common, and they’ve all lived long enough to know how to spot it.  Waxer nods, but with all the confidence of a boy who grew up on the edges of society, with no confidence in any authority.

“Well then,” Cody says, “we’ll have to take care of that.”

“Without loosing our heads,” Wooley adds, the secondary feeling of kinship with Cody warm in his chest.

It shouldn’t be too hard.  After all, no matter what, they have centuries between them over Palpatine.  And a suspicious Old Man as well.

Just to be clear:

Obi-Wan - Methos

Cody - Conner MacLeod

Wooley - Duncan MacLeod

Waxer - Richie Ryan

Boil - Amanda

[natashaashleymarvelromanoff]

True Balance

Ben knew what he had to do. And this time, he knew that he had the strength to do it.

What he was about to do… it would kill him. Transferring his life force to bring her back? There was no doubt about it. But for her, he would sacrifice everything… anything. Including himself.

——-

Alternate ending to the rise of Skywalker!

I hope this fic can make people feel a lot better about the ending ❤️ Love you reylos

It was cold. Lifeless. A nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. The bond they had shared was practically gone. Along with her. And Ben had never felt such loneliness as he was right now.

Before, even when he thought he was alone he wasn’t. Snoke or Palpatine or whoever the hell it had been was always lurking in his head. And then he had Rey. Since they met neither of them had truly been alone. But this, with her gone. It felt like hell. 

Feeling a tear fall down his cheek, Ben stared down into his arms, His eyes focusing on rey's face, her eyes we’re still wide. This was never supposed to happen. She -they were never meant to end up like this. She was supposed to be here with him. They had fought Palpatine, she had killed him to save everyone. But at what cost. 

She was supposed to be here. With him. They were finally supposed to be together. 

Taking his hand, he gently caressed her cheek, the warmth of her body slowly fading away. But it wasn’t all gone yet. 

There was still time. 

Ben knew what he had to do. And this time, he knew that he had the strength to do it. 

What he was about to do… it would kill him. Transferring his life force to bring her back? There was no doubt about it. But for her, he would sacrifice everything… anything. Including himself. 

Picking his hand back up from her face, Ben slowly moves it down her body until it’s resting against her stomach, just like she had done to him not even a few hours earlier. Saving his life. 

He shut his eyes and focused. Drawing every bit of life and energy he had within him. Concentrating on Rey. 

This has to work. Ben didn’t know what he would do if it didn’t. She was his reason for everything. She’s the reason he’s here. She is what guides him to the light. She gives him a reason to live. 

But he doesn’t want it if it’s not with her. 

What would any kind of life be if he didn’t have her in it? 

Pressing his hand down further, he tried even harder to give her his energy. Deep inside he knew he had already given her enough but she deserved more. She deserves everything. 

But suddenly, his eyes shot open. The soft touch of a hand placing itself on top of his own. Reys.

Her once limp body now awakened with life. She grabbed his hand harder, not daring to let go just yet and lifted her head from where it was being held by bens arm. 

Ben starred in relief. Watching as she was brought back to life right inside his arms. Helping her to sit up better, he pulls her closer to him, their faces inches apart as she looks at him with nothing but relief and happiness. She knew. Of course she knew, she could feel it in their bond. Part of him was forever part of her now. They shared one life. 

As both of them scan each other’s faces, they check for wounds or bruises but also to wait. Waiting for the other to do something. Meeting each other’s eyes, they both lean in more until Rey can’t take the wait any longer. 

Reaching her hand up, she softly touches ben's face, her thumb gently running down his scar. The one she gave him. Ben can do no more but smile. She was here. She was alive. She was in his arms and he never wanted to let go.

She was finally with him again. And he had never been more grateful in his life. 

Returning the look on ben's face, Rey smiles too. Ben solo had finally come back to her. 

Leaning in she grabs his face and crashed their lips together in the middle. A moment she had long waited for. A moment that he had long waited for. 

Their lips moved against each other in sync, like they had done this a thousand times before. The feeling of their kiss was more natural than anything they had ever felt before. This was balance. 

True balance. 

As they pull away for a breath of air. Ben flashes her his crooked toothy grin once more before falling back onto the ground. 

There was always a cost. 

Rey's eyes grew concerned instantly, widening in shock at ben's collapse. 

She climbs over him, grabbing his face with one hand as she tried to meet his eyes.

Once their eyes meet, she knew instantly what he had done and sacrificed to bring her back. And her own eyes start to blur with tears. She won’t have it. 

Not today. 

Rey has lost nearly everything today. 

She lost her parents. 

She lost Han. 

She lost Luke.

She lost Leia. 

She almost lost her true family. 

She will not, she will never, lose Ben solo. 

Never.

Grabbing his hand on his chest, Rey pushes back. Returning half of his energy back to him before he can leave her. He gave her too much, and now she was about to return the favour. 

Then, after a few seconds had passed, she felt his grip tighten on her hand. His eyes getting wider with life. He was okay. 

Ben was going to be okay. 

She was going to be okay. 

Everything, the war, the people, their bond. Them. 

It Was finally balanced. Rey pulled on ben's hand, lifting him back up to face her. And she instantly grabbed onto him, throwing her arms around his shoulders and burying her face into his neck. Breathing in the saltwater musk she was so grateful for. A stream of tears leaking from her eyes down her face until they soaked up bens shirt.

Ben did the exact same. He sat and held her in his arms. Thankful that they would finally be able to be together. At last.

….

“Can you tell us it again?! Please?”

The brunette rolled her eyes playfully, of course they want to hear it again. She inwardly laughed to herself, no matter how many times she tells it, they ask every time. She didn’t get how they weren’t bored of it yet to be quite honest. 

“Again? But I just told you it for the 10,000th time?!” The two youngsters giggled at their mother. She never gave in to telling them twice, but they always hoped she would. It was their favourite story after all. 

“Please?” They both pouted. And god those little pouts did nothing to help, they were just like their father when they pulled that face. 

“Come on now, I already told it tonight, but if you really want, I can tell it again tomorrow, how about that?” In the dimly lit bedroom, The twins turned to look at each other, conversing silently inside their heads about whether they should agree or not. In the end, they did. Satisfied that their mother would tell them again tomorrow. 

With two little nods coming from both of them, Rey stood up from between their two beds where she had sat to tell the story and leaned over to both her daughter and son to gently kiss their foreheads. 

“Goodnight my loves.” She wished them. Quickly giving them both a tuck into their beds. It wasn’t long until they were practically falling asleep in seconds. 

Once they were both properly settled, Rey turns to leave their room, stopping at the door to glance one last time before she turns down for the night. It didn’t matter how many times she stopped at their door to look at her children asleep. It was truly the most amazing feeling in the world. And she couldn’t imagine her life any different. 

Flipping the switch to turn off their light, the mother turns to face the outside of their door, gently shutting it, careful not to make too much noise to wake them once more. 

“Did you give in?” 

She could practically feel his smirk through the bond. Hell, she could sense it was there anyway, bond or no bond. And she’s pretty sure he could feel hers too. And the rolling of her eyes.

Spinning around on the spot, Rey leans against the door. Tilting her head back to look up at the man she loves. 

“Never. Unlike some of us.” She sasses him. It’s true, Ben could never say no to their children. For someone so stubborn he was the galaxy's biggest pushover, and she was more than happy to tease him about it. 

Throwing his head back and letting out a soft laugh, Ben reached out for Rey, grabbing onto her hips to pull her toward him, causing her arms to lift so they fell against his chest. 

“That’s not my fault, they use the force to make me do it.” 

Rey once again rolled her eyes and shined a grin at him in clear disbelief. Her natural instinct causing her hands to smooth over his chest and shoulders until they reached his neck. 

“Sure they did, Ben solo.” Ben softly smiles at her, leaning his head down to meet hers so he can capture her lips with a kiss. Melding together like they’re made for each other. It never gets old. 

This feeling of being in his arms. Being held closely by the man she loved. The man who, with his whole heart loves her back. The man who saved her life. The father of her children. 

It will never, ever, get old. 

Once enemies they were now lovers. 

Once a Skywalker and Palpatine they were now solo. 

Once dark and light they were now balanced. 

Their children, their son and daughter would grow knowing only but balance. Never having to fight conflict within themselves. Because they, Rey and Ben, would be there for them. To protect them. To train them if they wished. 

To tell them everything about their story and where they came from. 

Pulling back from their kiss, Ben leaned his head against his wife’s. Their noses slightly touching each other as they breathe in and out in bliss. 

“I love you Rey.” 

Opening her eyes to look into the brown ones of her husband, Rey smiles, a tear threatening to fall from her eye. Those words. They certainly will never, get old either. 

“I love you too Ben.”