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legobiwan · 2 years

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Would Vader's death make a big difference in the grand scheme of the Empire? Sure, he's powerful but most of the Jedi hunting is dealt by the Inquisitors. Palps seems to be looking for an excuse to trade in for a newer model. Yes, he rules the Inquisitors by fear but I'd argue his temper/emotions are too big a liability to the point Palps threatens/cuts off his power/influence. Leia even comments on Tarkin holding Vaders' leash. A more clear headed Sith could do more damage.

Honestly, this is an excellent question and one I've personally mulled over time and again.

I mean, what exactly was Anakin's role in the Empire? Enforcer, ghost story, Jedi hunter...

The thing is, I guess you could argue that Anakin's most influential act was his massacre at the Jedi Temple. After that point, the Empire was more or less a juggernaut (and let's be honest, the political chess game had been in a suspended checkmate long before Order 66 reared its ugly head) until it ended up eating itself, Ourborous-style and fell to the Rebellion.

So what exactly was the advantage to Palpatine keeping Anakin on a leash all those years?

Anakin gets to hunt Jedi and put down any hints of Jedi sympathizers/rebellion with an iron fist. Useful to put the fear of...well, whoever, into the local populace and ensure the Jedi can't rise again.

But as you rightly state, the Inquisitors fill much the same role, albeit without the urban legend, the specter of "Vader" haunting any malcontent's doorstep. And yes, a more clear-headed Sith probably could figure out a way to, if not take out Sheev, at least form a splinter group and be a massive pain in the ass.

And when you go at it from this direction, it actually makes Palpatine's manipulations of Anakin even more creepy and flat-out evil. I mean, Palpatine is a guy who just craves power for power's sake. (It's like if Mitch McConnell actually had any kind of Force abilities). You have to wonder if he just...enjoys keeping Anakin around on a leash, subservient, the supposed "Chosen One" (although I doubt Palpy really gives the prophecy all that much credit) at his beck-and-call. And yeah, he'd turn on Anakin for less than a cracker, which is exactly what happens in RotJ once Luke comes around.

It's...really kind of gross when you think of it that way.

But getting back to the original impetus for this ask (I'm assuming). What would Obi-wan killing Anakin have accomplished? Well, aside from putting Anakin out of his misery, which at this point, considering just how twisted the Anakin-Palpatine relationship is, would be kinder than leaving Anakin to eventually get his shit together in the Hail Mary-est of all Hail Mary passes by the end of the OT...

Anyway, aside from that. Vader's death would be a morale blow to the Empire, at least until Palpatine could conjure up another Big Bad(tm) to play boogeyman. And if nothing else, Anakin was good at wanton destruction. Would his death have saved more lives or would the Empire just kind of carpet-bombed their way through civilians? Not really sure how to answer that.

It's tempting to say that Obi-wan sees the long view during his second duel with Anakin, that he knows it's futile to kill Anakin because one thousand evils would just replace him (maybe he even fears he would be one of them, if he gave in to the idea of killing Anakin). But considering he asserts that, "One of us will die today," I don't think that's exactly where his head was at. Not on Mustafar, and certainly not the second time around during the Kenobi show.

And so while Obi-wan's inability to kill Anakin is not the sole reason the Empire rose (not by any means. Even if Anakin had never turned, it's likely some form of the Empire would have risen considering all the politics and how the war was manipulated), I don't think Vader being dead would have been a bad thing, per se, as he was insanely powerful and killed a lot of beings during his time as a Sith.

(Which kind of leads me down another rabbit hole of thinking if Luke had failed and turned, then what? Would the Empire have survived? The fight outside Death Star II was politics and it was the Rebellion that truly won the day. The fight inside Death Star II was for souls. The Empire may have been toast anyway, no matter what went down in that throne room).

All this is to say, anon, that it's a fascinating question and one that I don't have a clear answer to. I still contend that Obi-wan not killing Anakin was crueler than letting him live (whether you look at that from a wider political level or just Anakin's quality of life), but Obi-wan would never do it. And never did it, choosing to die by Anakin's hand before raising his own against him. Like I said, fascinating stuff.

#hello there #ask legobiwan #anakin skywalker #sheev palpatine #obi wan kenobi #so many questions #fun to consider however

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vagrantblvrd · 4 years

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The AU where Anakin doesn’t dramatically die on the second Death Star, right?

Luke is like, well, medical treatment is a thing. Comes in hand-y, get it dad? Hand-y?

Anyway.

Luke ~sneaks about getting Anakin medical treatment, some nonsense about “Hey, so. How does one treat electrocution? Asking for a friend,” and other such things.

Some doctor somewhere being, “Oh, well, if it’s for a friend...” and then gives Luke all the information and whatnot he’ll need, and also does this friend of his need life support equipment???

Anyway.

For Plot Reasons Anakin doesn’t die over Endor and Luke is trying to get supplies - he just got this rad new shuttle to fly - the Emperor won’t mind if he borrows it - oh, man. Is it too soon?

Anyway.

One of the Rebels who was on the mission to destroy the shield generator is like, “Vader’s dead, is he?”

Because Luke said so, and also the funeral pyre with his armor and hahaha, why would he ask that?

Weird, right?

Friend I found on the Death Star being held a a prisoner for many years who I then rescued because hero, don’t you think that’s a weird question to ask?

Anakin who is hooked up to many life-saving machines until Luke can get him somewhere to get replacements for the Vader suit as what the Emperor fried while trying to kill them is just.

“Hello, Rex.”

And Luke being, omg, DAD, at least pretend to go along with Luke’s terrible ruse for like. A whole minute, pls.

This fraught moment where Luke isn’t sure what’s going to happen because clearly these two know one another and there’s so much anger and hurt and betrayal in Rex and his dad is this sucking pit of shame and guilt and misery, self-loathing and -

“OKAY, WELL. Unless you’re about to kill him - us - we have places to be. Specifically not here.”

Because everything is celebrations and relief and so on? But also Imperial ships and forces and Alliance forces and so much could go wrong so fast and Luke would like to get his dad somewhere safe before people figure out his deception and brand him as a traitor or whatever and anyway

Does Rex wanna come with?

He gets looks from Anakin and Rex at that and shrugs because hey, no one’s dead yet.

And aside from a few notable exceptions dead people can’t answer whatever questions others might have for him, and anyway, anyway.

Rex sighs, this tired little smile on his face as he looks at Anakin. “He’s definitely your kid.”

Which.

What? But it gets an equally tired smile from Anakin, this sadness to it but also this flicker of pride and Luke escapes to start the pre-flight before he cries, again, and anyway.

Rex joins him up front and offers up somewhere they can go. Friends of his - might not be glad to see Anakin, but they’ll listen to Rex, and so off they go to, idk, someplace clone troopers set up a place for themselves.

(Because I need there to be more of those bastards out there after the mess of Order 66 and other nonsense okay.)

They get Anakin set up with new life-support suit or whatever, one that’s not horrible and awful and a goddamned gift from the monster who created Darth Vader, and anyway. (I may have feelings on the matter.)

Luke avoids calls from Leia and Han and everyone if he can, and when he can’t tells them he’s fine, really, just. Jedi stuff. Feels guilty as hell but he knows Leia can’t handle he truth of it just yet and technically it kind of is Jedi stuff,because Anakin.

Ben visits every so often and Luke pretends he doesn’t know his father was crying afterwards, but after a while he’s so relieved he could cry when he realizes his father didn’t cry in talking to Ben.

(He does, though. Luke cries so much, but conveniently wherever they ended up is in the rainy season and Rex just pats him on the shoulder when Luke comes in and gives him a solemn nod, and anyway. Yes.)

It’s like. Not Done, this whole Vader Thing of Anakin’s, he’s done so many terrible things and all that? But he finds a way to make peace with that, or whatever the proper term is I don’t even know at this point, okay, just.

You know.

Also, though, also.

All the information he knows, or knows how to get his - or any Alliance Intelligence agents - hands on.

Things he gives to Luke or whoever to pass on to the right hands, help the Alliance, and then the New Republic root out the Imperial remnants before they can pose a threat to the fragile peace being built in the Empire’s fall, and so on.

Luke just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and tells anyone who questions where he got the information it’s from the prisoner he rescued and so forth and so on. (Rex backs him up, and his position in the Alliance’s ranks lends Luke more credibility, and anyway. Yes.)

Eventually though, Luke can’t just hide out for forever with his dad and his dad’s old war friends, and also Leia would hunt him to the end of the galaxy if she doesn’t see him soon, and.

Anakin more or less boots him out of the little homestead or compound or whatever it is where they are, tells him to come visit but really, get out, son.

So Luke does.

Tells Leia he’s fine, he’ll tell her what everything was about and such, but. Later, you know? Later.

She lets it go because other business to deal with and anyway, Luke’s gallivanting about and gets ambushed by a Togruta with twin lightsabers who nearly takes his head off before she asks how Rex is doing and has Anakin gotten over himself yet, and also, Luke might want towork on his form a bit.

Which, you know, hi, hello, who the hell are you? But more politely worded and Luke gives Ahsoka the commlink number? address?? whatever??? to contact Anakin.

Hopefully she understands why he didn’t just give her the coordinates to their location, what with nearly taking off Luke’s head and all.

Ahsoka laughs, and does the shoulder pat thing Rex does to him, says, “You’re your dad’s kid alright,” which.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???

Anyway.

More adventuring about, Ashoka ambushing him every so often. Payback, she tells him, for everything Anakin ever put her through - before Everything - she’s quick to clarify, tired smile on her face and Luke understands, but dear God is he so tired of seeing these people who are so important to him looking like that?

ANYWAY.

Some more adventuring about and then this SOS call through the Force and an Imperial light cruiser and this sad panda Mandalorian and.

“Okay, you? You’re coming with.”

And since Luke doesn’t actually have a spot for his school yet and he doesn’t know where this Mandalorian calls home he’s like. “I know a place.”

Anakin and Rex share this look when the shuttle Luke borrowed lands at their little hideaway and Luke comes out with this tiny green gremlin kid toddling after him and this sad panda Mandalorian trailing behind them, and really, the family resemblance has never been stronger, you know?

ANYWAY.

Din and Grogu and Luke trying to figure out how to juggle this whole...Thing.

Anakin never feels comfortable giving Luke advice, because talk about bad role models?

But.

Anakin was raised to follow the old Jedi Order’s rules and whatnot and Vader came of it. (Maybe not the sole reason, but the Order was definitely a factor.)

Also, also.

Anakin doting on Grogu and being his best partner in crime - :D smile when Din comes looking for his tiny green gremlin kid and finds him with Luke’s dad and they’ve both been Up To Something but there’s never any proof, and anyway, yes.

(Also, also. Luke and Anakin bonding over working on this old speeder that’s never run right, or Luke’s X-wing - and okay, yes, maybe someone finds an old Y-wing or something and there are “training exercises” in which everyone takes bets on which Skywalker wins this time and Luke actually hears his dad laugh for the first time and it’s pretty awesome okay.)

But also Boba Fett and Fennec and the whanot finding them and Drama and Boba being like, “Always hated Vader anyway,” and Luke being like !!! but also huh, and Din is like NO.

Because the whole reason Boba and Fennec are even there is because of Bo-Katan and the whole Darksaber business and c’mon, dude, you can’t avoid your duties forever, nice as it might seem.

Anyway.

Anakin looking at his kid who is totally in love with the leader of Mandalore and then at Obi-Wan who is off to the side trying so freaking hard not to laugh, and anyway.

Yes.

(But also, okay, also. Luke trying to tell Leia that hey, their dad’s kind of not dead? And she’s angry - every right to be - and upset and neither of them expect her to do anything, just. They didn’t to keep it from her anymore and more than that she deserved to know, and anyway.

One day, you know. One day she makes a trip out to this hideaway Luke told her about that one time. There’s yelling and crying and not everything is resolved, but. It’s a start and more than Anakin ever thought he’d get and. Yes.)

Also, also.

Anakin and Rex and whoever else going to check out this school Luke is building on Mandalore, Ben beinng like “Oh,” because Luke and Din are like, they found some things he might care to see, and everyone leaves him with old journals or whatever from Duchess Satine and Anakin and Rex wait for him outside, and just, yes.

Basically good, nice things for everyone because I need it today, so yes. /o\

#star wars nonsense #dinluke #technically not a fic #vagrant fic #long post #¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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sailorsol · 5 years

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Rebels fic ideas I’d love to see:

1. Sabine and Ahsoka go on a Road Trip to a bunch of different old Jedi temples before finding one they can use to activate the World between Worlds to pull Ezra off the star destroyer just before the purrgil jump to hyperspace. And then Ezra has to deal with the fact that five years has passed for everyone else, the Empire is apparently gone, Hera’s got a half-human son who is almost definitely force sensitive, and this Luke Skywalker kid is running around saying he’s a Jedi, who died and made YOU a Jedi? Oh, Obi-Wan and Yoda? Well. Shit. Okay, but your lightsaber form sucks and you know nothing about the Force!

2. Caleb Dume survives Order 66 just to end up getting captured by slavers. He ends up in a slave market on Tatooine where he gets rescued by Obi-Wan who raises him for a few years and teaches him shit before Caleb runs off as Kanan and meets Hera and then later Ezra. So Kanan is a lot more stable and sure of himself and willing to work with the Rebels. Also because you know Kanan’s chosen form is Soresu, so can you imagine how much better he’d be after a few years of learning from Obi-Wan? He could also then learn the Way of the Whills so when he dies he can become a Force Ghost.

3. Rex realizes that there’s no way in hell Ezra could have dealt with Maul by himself on Tatooine, which means Obi-Wan is alive. And because he’s far too like Anakin, he can’t leave well enough alone and runs off to find Obi-Wan and tell him about Ahsoka surviving Order 66 but getting killed by Vader on Malachor, and Obi-Wan is like, well fuck, and tells Rex the truth about Vader. Rex totally finds Luke first though, and he’s like, okay, fine, I get it, but you couldn’t even tell Ahsoka the truth?

4. Ezra goes through a portal in the World Between Worlds to just after Order 66 and helps Caleb escape. And maybe raises him and keeps him safe.

5. Ezra and Jyn Erso have Bonding Time about losing their parents to the Empire, Saw Gurerra as a shitty role model, and hey man, nice kyber crystal you got there.

6. Instead of the dark sabre going to Bo-Katan, she decides it’s time for someone new, and Korkie Kryze gets to try his hand at uniting old and new Mandalorians. Because also, wtf happened to Korkie?

7. Instead of being at the Battle of Scarif, the Ghost crew is on Tatooine when Obi-Wan and Luke need a ride off planet. They do a much better job at rescuing Leia without letting anyone die in the process and Leia is all “hey!” And at some point Hera lectures Obi-Wan on lying about being dead, Kanan really could have used some help and you just sent Ezra home with nothing and now they’re both gone and oh look you’ve got another baby Jedi, I will not adopt this one, I swear, I mean it, oh fine, you and Leia can sit over there together, let me make you hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Chopper and Artoo are having a bitch fight and Threepio is despairing. And Rex, who was totally with them because where else would he be at this point is just latched on to Obi-Wan in a hug and refuses to let go.

8. Ugh it’s so ridiculous but I love the idea of it being Hondo that was in the cantina during ANH. Can you just imagine how it goes? Vader: I sense something... a presence I have not felt..... OBI-WAN YOU BROUGHT HONDO FREAKING OHNAKA ONTO MY SHIP HOW DARE YOU???? And Obi-Wan makes that face like, oh shit Anakin just called me out on doing something Overly Dramatic again.

#star wars rebels #fanfic #plot bunnies #ezra bridger #ahsoka tano #sabine wren #kanun jarrus #obi-wan kenobi #captain rex #hondo ohnaka #jyn erso #feels

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sshbpodcast · 5 years

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An Elegant Weapon

by Chris

[Spoilers for “The Rise of Skywalker” follow, along with all the movies before it]

All images (c) Disney. All existence (c) Disney, eventually.

The lightsaber is an iconic item from a franchise that has been positively burying pop culture under iconic images, sounds, and music for over forty years now. Except that, when you really think about it, we almost never get a good look at them. Oh, sure, we’ve seen plenty of lightsaber fights with wildly varying styles across trilogies, but at the end of the day we mostly think of the glowing energy blades; think of a lightsaber and you’re likely to just picture a fairly featureless metal tube. Mostly because that’s almost exactly what the original saber - and the one we get the most close-ups of thanks to Episodes IV, VII, and VIII - was a somewhat-modified camera flash bulb mount.

With some tweaking, that simple bit of equipment would become Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, which would be passed on by Obi-Wan Kenobi (along with some DIRTY LIES) to his son Luke, before SOMEHOW finding its way into the hands of Maz Kanata. She would, in turn, try to hand the weapon over to Rey but settle for Finn as a temporary custodian before the former finally accepted her role in the Joseph Campbell cycle.

On the left above we have Anakin’s weapon from Episode II. Working backwards from what was seen onscreen in 1977, the filmmaker’s created something quite similar, but a little more bespoke and also integrating bits later seen in Vader’s saber. As that one is destroyed in the same movie, he has what will become THE lightsaber in Episode III, seen on the right.

Speaking of Vader, in what can only be described as a “happy coincidence” since Lucas didn’t know DV would actually BE Anakin until writing Episode V, his hilt is in a VERY similar vein to Anakin’s. Now you may think, well, that’s because they were just basing it on the one they already had. And while that is true, they could have chosen to go very different, anyway. As we see with the below...

These are Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsabers. Episodes I, II, and III/IV, respectively. So we can see, even with the flash mount as a template, the 1977 team came up with something wildly different for Obi-Wan’s own weapon. Again working out of order, the prequel designers decided to have Obi’s original saber(s) be a much wider departure from his final one, tho small similarities remain, like the studded base and a ribbed aspect. This is at least partly explained away by his basing his original ones on that of his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

And while you can certainly see that they are in the same family, Qui-Gonn’s is still quite a bit simpler, even more utilitarian-looking than Anakin’s eventual model.

Perhaps even simpler, however, is Darth Maul’s, the first double-bladed saber seen in a “Star Wars” film. With all the pizzazz surrounding that fact, the design of the hilt itself seems to have almost been an afterthought. Tho it does contain the Prequels’ love of big, obvious, red activation buttons.

In quite stark contrast, then, is the lightsaber belonging to Darth Siddious/Emperor Palpatine, Maul’s master. Say what you will about the guy (absolute prick, frankly), but he put some real care into making an absolutely unique, beautiful, and - dare I say it - actually-elegant lightsaber hilt.

Not that the prequels didn’t let SOME Jedi go a little fancier with their weapon of choice. Mace Windu didn’t just have a unique blade color (per actor Samuel L. Jackson’s request), but a damn pretty hilt. While most other Prequel Jedi were rocking gray-and-black, Windu threw a little gold into his, making it stand out among the other Jedi weapons seen thus far.

Then Yoda has to go and mess things up by being all dull and gray again, giving us what almost appears to be the baby form of Anakin’s saber. Let’s be honest, watching him fight with the thing is a lowlight of the franchise.

But hey, let’s not forget Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku! He’s a former Jedi-turned-Sith, plus apparently a nobleman of some kind! What his lacks in color it makes up for in a unique, bent hilt, HUGE activation trigger, and...whatever that thing is jabbing out next to the emitter. Seems like it should just get melted by the blade...

Hey, why are you showing Obi-Wan’s lightsaber again? I’m not! In the best way I can think of to segue back from the prequels, this is the lightsaber Luke built himself sometime between “Empire” and “Jedi”. Despite the Emperor’s comments that Luke’s saber was “much like his father’s”, it’s pretty clear it’s actually more like his first mentor’s.

“Ok, what the HELL is that?” you’re asking. THAT is the VERY-briefly seen-in-a-flashback lightsaber of Ben Solo, Luke’s most disastrous student/failure and future Kylo Ren. Very simple color scheme, it has a much more carefully sculpted design. But what’s of real note is...

Rather than made a whole new weapon when he fell to the Dark Side, Ren appears to have modified his Jedi hilt into his crackling, vented saber. A nice little touch.

Speaking of modifications! There are no good pictures online yet, but it certainly does appear that the saber Rey builds herself at the end of Episode IX uses the middle of her old bo staff for the hilt. A logical choice for a character we first met as a scavenger, No word yet if it has a second blade...

Remember, Maul could activate his one at a time, so her only switching on one there doesn’t rule it out.

Last, but not least, the saber with even FEWER decent photos of online than Rey’s. Seen briefly in “Rise of Skywalker”, Leia’s lightsaber shares a Kenobi-esque silhouette with Luke’s, but also has a lot of elegance and work put into its overall design. Give it a peek when you can once the movie hits home video.

And that’s your lot! I’ve really nothing hugely clever to say. It just occurred to me that so much work went into so many of these things, and they spend the majority of their screentime covered by hands or hanging from a belt, obscured by a robe or somesuch. I figured, hey...let’s give them their moment to shine WITHOUT their blades.

If you’ve come across this via random means, why not check out the Facebook Page for “A Star to Steer Her By”, the podcast this is part of? We’re actually a “Star Trek” podcast, but occasionally branch out into other topics. Last week we covered “The Rise of Skywalker”, and will be returning to “Deep Space Nine” this Thursday. Give us a listen, why not?

#star wars #lightsaber #star wars prequels #star wars sequel trilogy #luke skywalker #obi wan kenobi #kylo ren #rey #yoda #mace windu #palpatine #anakin skywalker #leia #qui gon jinn #count dooku #darth maul #sith #jedi

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filmtalks4filmophiles · 3 years

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Sci-Fi - Star Wars

Yes, this is a Star Wars: A New Hope appreciation post (with some criticism).

Today I wanted to talk about the movie that I think is most important to the science fiction genre: Star Wars (1977). Science fiction is a genre of movies that typically includes loosely science-based depictions, futuristic or fantastical worlds, or technological advancements, and Star Wars includes all of these factors. The genre has been around for a long time and there have been many movies that have been very influential for the genre, and Star Wars is arguably the most important movie in the genre because it was one of the first very successful sci-fi movies and formed a strong basis for space-themed science fiction movies.

The Best Character

As a woman, I’m sure everyone knows who I’m talking about when I say there is a clear character that takes the spotlight in Star Wars: Princess Leia. While this movie doesn't pass the Bechdel test due to a lack of another female character for her to converse with, Princess Leia is a very strong female character for young girls to look up to as a positive role model. In the movie, she plays a large role in successfully escaping the death star, proves herself to be a great leader, and asserts herself in a powerful way to the men around her. Especially for being made in the ‘70s, I think it is really important and a great thing that there is such a powerful and prominent female character. As a young girl watching Star Wars, I was very happy to have a female character to dress up as for Halloween that encouraged me to be a strong, independent, and fearless girl. Princess Leia’s character is also important to the sci-fi genre in general because sci-fi and Star Wars in specific were meant to be “for the guys” and her strong character gives women and girls an opportunity to connect to this genre better and open it up to a wider audience.

The Hero’s Journey

If I’m being completely honest, Star Wars doesn’t have a very unique plotline because it follows the standard hero’s journey. As I’m sure we all know by now, George Lucas’s movie follows the story of a young farm boy named Luke Skywalker who unintentionally intercepts a distress call from Princess Leia, an important figure in the rising rebellion, and then it turns into an expedition and his call to adventure, to put it briefly. With Obi-Wan Kenobi as his mentor, Luke first refuses the adventure before crossing the threshold by leaving Tatooine and then going on to meet new people, learn new abilities, continue on after his mentor passed away, helping destroy the death star, and finally receiving a medal at the end of the journey. This hero’s journey story is a fun, intriguing storyline but it is also very cliché and it can be boring to hear different versions of the same story over and over again. The context and setting of Star Wars are different and interesting, but the movie could have been much better if it deviated from the typical hero’s journey. In this aspect, George Lucas was playing it safe, but in other aspects of the movie, like CGI, is where he decided to spice up the movie.

CGI

The CGI in Star Wars was also a very pivotal aspect of the movie that has influenced the sci-fi genre as a whole. Although the CGI is in no way considered impressive in today’s standards, it was quite impressive at the time it was made. George Lucas chose to focus his creative efforts on making CGI look more unique and life-like. After learning about it, I found it really interesting that the special effects coordinators for Star Wars created a new system to capture the motion of the spaceship models better and make their movements more convincing. I think that this was very important for the sci-fi genre because I know that CGI is a large part of what sci-fi movies include (due to the genre being centered around futuristic technological advancements and fantastical ideas) and critics often base part of their opinions on a movie on its CGI.

Conclusion

I think that Star Wars remains a classic movie that is really important to the sci-fi genre. Even though the storyline is a bit bland, the movie makes up for it with strong characters and impressive new CGI techniques.

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sethnakht · 6 years

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Have you been reading the main Star Wars comic????? I feel like the end of the most recent issue (#49) was very much the sort of thing you would have all kinds of amazing things to say about, and I would love to hear alllll of your thoughts.

yes please let’s talk about that ending

I’ve been reading the main since Gillen came on board. He’s one of those rare writers who can really make me laugh — all those fabulous little jokes about comic-books, about what he himself does expressed through shape-shifters and droid programming — and think — the abyss sequence in the Jedha arc — while also selling me effortlessly on his grasp of a character.

Of his own characters, Trios has long been a favorite. Was I surprised by her choice? No. Was I delighted? Yes, very much.

Here’s a rambling explanation for why I like her and why I was delighted. Trios is one of those side characters who produces interest by mirroring characters Vader wants to capture but cannot, specifically Leia. (Which is also a refreshing change of pace, since most of the Vader comic is about his search for Luke / the upwelling of his memories of Padmé, not least as mediated through through Aphra.) Part of what made her fun in the Vader comic is the way she was positioned to make the reader imagine Leia, the way even Vader appeared to see in her the daughter he thought he had lost, the way he was at very least moved by her to imagine a father proud of such a daughter. If Vader and Leia are similar in their commitment to duty, Trios is like both of them (“We all do our duty, Lord Vader”). At the same time, she’s also potentially a contrast to Leia in her views on choice, which, while left implied, do suggest she’s more like Vader than his daughter. There’s a rapport between them as well, another reason why she’s fun — she’s not someone he’s going to kill over a polite disagreement, which means there’s room for a relationship there to be developed.

That a relationship does develop — and that it perversely mimics the relationship of a surrogate parent and child — that’s interesting to me. Not only as a mirror, but also a statement about Vader’s character (what kinds of relationship he is capable of, when at all, and where he takes his models). Much of the Shu-Torun arc is about lessons (Vader uses the word several times), and the physical parallels between Trios and Luke and Leia — Vader literally has her father killed, then slices off Trios’ hand like he does Luke’s, then gives Trios one of the last surviving pieces of Leia’s planet — strongly suggest that the lessons in question are not only being passed down through explosives and lightsabers and armies. This is made explicit through the contrasting figures of the Astarte twins, specifically Aiolin. Vader tells Aiolin — the girl he will go on to give the mercy death Obi-Wan denied him — that the lessons he has to teach are of no use to her. But he doesn’t say that he never plays the teacher to a student, and one could argue that those lessons are being imparted to Trios instead. The shifts in how Vader and Trios speak to one another resemble, in a most slanted manner, the relationship between a child and parent, or padawan and master — not only does Vader’s creation begin to emulate him, Vader also does step back from questioning her decisions (“as you wish”, he says instead) as though confident she has learned not only her place, but also his lessons.

Beyond how their relationship presents a massively fucked-up version of the (massively fucked-up) relationship Vader actually wants with his kid(s), the relationship Vader has quite literally destroyed for Trios by having her father and siblings murdered, beyond this highly unstable and blink-or-you’ll-miss-it surrogate parent-child relationship, one of the coolest things about the Trios arc for me his how the move from antagonism to something like mutual respect seems to actually have to do with something other than power. Vader spends a great deal of his comic talking about blasphemy and abominations and faith. So does Trios. “Blasphemy!” she cries when the rebellious barons desecrate a holy site of great personal significance to her, a place representing peace and family. (To be sure, Vader had destroyed an irreplaceable factory only a few panels before, but it wasn’t of spiritual significance.) Vader responds as ever — he destroys the attacking force — but his words to her afterward are notable. Instead of boasting about the Empire’s strengths or somesuch, he says, “I know little of your people’s religion, Queen Trios, but I presume this is a suitable punishment for their sacrilege”. I’ve yet to see this moment commented but find it significant that from the moment he acknowledges her religion, from the moment he punishes the people who dared deface a holy place, Trios is on board with his approach to the barons. And later, when he is delayed by Cylo’s trap, she speaks of her “faith” in his return. This sense on both their parts that they will prevail despite the odds seems to go hand in hand with a certain determinism, and one reason I love that ambiguous closing line from him to her, “there was no other choice” for queen, is because it permits that reading while also leaving space for the somewhat more charitable take spelled out by Triple Zero (”He could be implying that you are excellent”). By asking Vader whether he chose her well, Trios also reveals that it on some level does matter to her to have his approval, or perhaps rather that she wants to know whether she has truly earned his respect, or whether his deference was merely the illusion he threatened it would be. Although his response can be read both ways, by not outright narrowing things down to the latter, Vader arguably gives her what she wants (praise of her excellence) while placing that praise under the renewed sign of potential illusion. While he ultimately reestablishes his power with such a move (only he knows what he thinks, everyone else has to guess), letting her have at least an illusion might also be about as generous as he gets.

And then she returns in #38 with such a bang! For all that she’s no longer playing the same role, it’s clear how much of a mask she’s learned to wear. I love how she’s presented as someone who creates elusive comparisons, inevitably misread by those around her (not so unlike Vader) — someone who compares other Imperials to Vader, for instance, and judges them underwhelming on some scale known only to her; who looks into the ashes of a poisoned, wasted, once-holy moon and cooly compares this site of unspeakable horror to her own home as though they were in some way parallel. Her meaning there is clearly misinterpreted by the tank with a cybernetic arm (speaking of cybernetic limbs, has Trios replaced her courtly cybernetic gauntlet with a synth-skin hand??? I’m a tad disappointed), what’s-his-face; he thinks she’s simply confident that robbing the holy city of its final kyber stash will be easy. But her history — her religious leanings — already suggested in that first issue that she had come for some another purpose, that she could not truly be behind such a project unless she had undergone some significant change off-screen. That she ends up working with the girl she mirrored previously thus makes sense, but I’ll admit I was also waiting for a new form of contrast to Leia. (Making them too similar is only boring, plus having Trios become a rebel saboteur without additional storytelling to motivate a complete break with Vader would be unsatisfying, to say the least.)We finally got that contrast in #49, and I like how it’s nonetheless not entirely clear-cut: she’s conflicted, without doubt, she does like Leia, and yet “there was no other choice” shows her deterministic, fatalistic even, as it seemingly confirms, once more, that Vader was right about her, that Vader made her who she now is, that she sees the world as he does and not with Leia’s hope. (I’m hard-pressed to see her betrayal of the Empire as spontaneous or unbeknownst to Vader.)

Exciting to to think about what it could all mean / where it might lead. Does Vader know Trios sabotaged the Jedha mission? I suspect so, but if that’s the case, what does that say about his views on Jedha, on its significance? Or rather — did he encourage Trios to reach out to Leia specifically, to use Leia once more as lure by playing the bait? (Which is very meta: the character who represents what he couldn’t capture is now helping him do the capturing.) That would also be very much in character; he shows himself perfectly willing to sacrifice other Imperials (having Star Destroyers enter the asteroid field in ESB) if it will get him to Leia / Luke. But could one also hear resonances between a willingness to let the Jedha mission be sabotaged and a willingness to let the Death Star be sabotaged? Perhaps that’s too much of a stretch. In any case, Trios speaks to him as though he’s known for some time of her latest plan, but was it his or was this her idea? What are the conditions of her willingness to play bait, does he have something hanging over her head? How much does she truly resent the death of her real father, a man who was ready to sacrifice her for his own power? How much of what she told Leia is not just true, but also genuinely motivating for her? Is she working for him purely because being intimidated by Vader, as she puts it, sets every other concern into perspective, is she doing this out of fear? Or do vestiges of that however illusory respect between them also continue to play a role?

Sorry this got so long! thank you for thinking of me, this pulled me out of sadness. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts, my friend.

#long post #darth vader #queen trios #leia organa #sw: comics #marvel star wars #marvel darth vader #glompcat #asks #character analysis #characterization #repetition and variation #parallels

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moonlitalien · 7 years

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Okay so, here’s my own tiny review (more like a rant lmao) of TLJ, don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie obviously!

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI SPOILERS BELOW

Because it’s a Star Wars movie, and because I’m a SW nerd, obviously, I HAD to see it on the first day, and I was so excited I barely even slept the night before. The thing is, in the end, I was oh so heavily disappointed. Now don’t get me wrong, I love SW and obviously I will see episode 9. And even that crappy Han Solo sequel, probably. Disney knows exactly what they’re doing, and of all the people I’ve talked to who have been so disappointed by TLJ as well, 99% of them said the exact same thing as me: “I used to love the old trilogies, and the EU - therefore, I will see any upcoming SW movie, even if I know it’s gonna be bad”.

I think that sums up my opinion of SW as a whole ever since Disney bought Lucasfilms. I don’t like Rebels, I don’t like the new trilogy, I don’t like how stupidly childish, sweetened down and cheesy they are, but I’m a victim of my own initial love for SW, so... :’)

...My biggest issue with the entire movie is that it didn’t feel like a Star Wars movie at ALL. I spent the entire movie being like, “Who the fuck are you?? What the HELL is this? Where the hell are you going??!”

Nothing felt like SW. It was an outrageous insult to every single old fan of Star Wars - they made up new species, new planets, new characters, and as soon as Leia and Chewie die in (I suppose) the next episode, there will be nothing left of SW at all. It’s gonna be a cheap, childish universe that has nothing to do with Lucas’ SW. Going to a casino planet? Oh, better make it a NEW boring, ugly planet that felt like something out of MASS EFFECT instead of SW, instead of making everyone happy and making them go to Nar Shaddaa. Same for that dumb crystal planet at end - why not make them go to a new ~old Resistance base planet~ instead of oh, idk, Hoth or Yavin, AKA some REAL Resistance planets from the old trilogy?

And the worst part? I spent the ENTIRE casino arc (and the entire movie, in fact) staring at the background and the extras, and.. I couldn’t spot a SINGLE alien I knew. No Twi’lek, no Togruta, no Devaronian, no Pantoran, no Chiss, NOTHING. It was either a bunch of ugly humans in ugly costumes or some unknown cheap-looking alien species. I THINK I saw something that looked vaguely like a Dug at some point, but that’s... literally it. I was so sad and so fucking disappointed.

Now, for a list of pros and cons for the rest of the movie:

PROS: - The scene where Leia uses the Force to bring herself back into the ship was absolutely incredible and brought tears to my eyes. The visuals were beautiful, it was just... perfectly executed. - LOVED all of the Kylo/Rey scenes, I’m honestly biased because Daisy and Adam are some of my favorite actors, and they were absolutely incredible in their roles. The hand touch was just... beautiful. When Rey feels the rain and Kylo does too because of their Force bond... It gave me chills. It was beautiful and so sad. - Rose was easily the best developed human character in the trilogy and I think that says a lot considering she’s been here since, well, the beginning of TLJ only. Also, she was beautiful and adorable and really badass. - The space battles. Incredible visuals again. The moment where Holdo drives the ship into hyperspace straight into the Imperial destroyer was just so beautiful. - Yoda’s Force ghost. So beautiful and so sad, and I was so happy that they used the same model that they used in the first trilogy. - Luke’s death. Not the ACTUAL death, which was super badly executed IMO, but the final scene where he becomes one with the Force, with his theme song playing in the background - it made me tear up. It was SO beautiful and so good. As Rey said, there was no sadness, he passed away feeling whole again. - The last scene with the little slave kid telling the other slave kids about the Resistance and the Force, and that tiny moment where he uses the Force to grab his broom, and the last scene where he looks at the sky, it gave me so many prequels/original trilogies feels.

CONS: (oh boy) - The really terrible conclusion to all the Kylo/Rey scenes, where they decided to just... kill off Snoke and make Kylo the big villain. Broke my heart. Really terrible writing, so predictable, again a representation of how stupid Disney’s view of the Force is: everyone is either black or white, and if there’s a SINGLE doubt about their alignment, it WILL be made clear at some point that they’re either super evil or super nice. Kylo was nothing but a sad boy, I was heavily disappointed that Disney chose to make him kill Han, and SO happy when he decided not to kill his mother in TLJ. I was almost starting to believe he could get a redemption arc, but no, it would’ve been too complex and interesting for the kiddy audience obviously. - Luke’s... entire arc?? Entire character?? Disney absolutely destroyed and burned down everything about Luke and the entire movie was just a fucking fiasco because of this. They turned the loving, friendly, ever hopeful little boy into a bitter monster who, for a second, would have been ready to execute a CHILD, his own NEPHEW, in his sleep. Into a stupid Force user who, after witnessing what the Jedi and the Jedi code did to his father, turning him into the galaxy’s most hated man, STILL chose to keep using the Jedi code and to teach it to his students. Ridiculous, completely OOC. - Whatever this mess of a story arc Poe got. Hundreds of people died because of him, including Rose’s sister. It was so OOC and such terrible handling of his character, I’m honestly speechless. - Whatever this mess of a story arc Finn and Rose got...? What was the POINT of this entire arc since it led to absolutely nothing except more pain and suffering? Ridiculous. - WHERE. WERE. THE. ALIENS. Seriously, FUCK OFF DISNEY. I’m so tired of all these humans. SO TIRED. The galaxy is NOT MADE OF A MAJORITY OF HUMANS, FFS. The casino was full of humans, the Resistance was full of humans EXCEPT THREE characters that I spotted in the background on top of admiral Ackbar (who fucking died too??), and even Phasma was also a human. When her helmet shattered, oh boy, I had this faint hope that she would be a Chiss, but NOPE. ANOTHER HUMAN. - Those marketing-driven scenes with the ugly birds (’Porgs’) and the uwuwu cute crystal foxes uwu like lol, go ahead, just buy plushies and figures of them, that was the only purpose of their appearance in the movie anyway. - Leia’s lack of love and empathy for her son. Luke’s unshakable need to remind everyone he needs to murder Kylo for the greater good. It was so OOC for both of them and CAN DISNEY JUST GIVE KYLO A BREAK LMAO. They turned what could have been one of the most interesting twist on a kid falling to the Dark side into a ridiculous evil puppet. Also, Leia has ONE child, and she would never hate him. OOC as hell. Next. - That dude from the casino whose name I can’t even remember, who helped Finn and Rose with the Destroyer and etc. Who the fuck. What the fuck. I just?? Why?? What was the purpose of this ugly drunk hobo besides making me hate Finn and Rose’s arc even more lmfao??? AND WHY WAS HE HUMAN AGAIN PLS REMIND ME? - NONE of the theories/questions were answered. Who is Snoke? Don’t know, don’t care, boom he’s dead. Thanks Disney. Rey is so strong in the Force because she’s related to Anakin? Lol no, she’s a random character with random parents. I was facepalming so hard.

I just. Oooh boy. This movie was a disappointment, It was exactly everything I knew it would be because Disney is bad at storytelling and likes to make everything easy and simple to understand for their stupid goddamn kid audience. Like go away lmao. I’m gonna sound like an old bitter harpy but the EU > Disney. SW was never supposed to be so easy to understand, it’s supposed to be complex, full of mysteries and theories. My mom and I regularly debate about Anakin and Padme and Obi-Wan and Luke and it’s been YEARS since these trilogies ended. That’s not going to happen with TLJ.

What I’m looking forward to in the next ep, even though I know it has 99% chance of not happening: - Leia getting a beautiful death, because she’s a queen, a mother, a legend and deserves the best death ever. - Hopefully a last goddamn chance for a Kylo redemption arc. Like lmao I know it won’t happen and Disney will just keep ruining his character but a girl can still hope. - More Kylo/Rey scenes since they were some of the best parts of TLJ. - More Rey/Finn/Poe scenes because we got nothing at all in TLJ except a hug between Finn and Rey at the end and like a two-word exchange between Rey and Poe. - More cool space battles. - MORE FUCKING ALIENS. FFS. JUST GIVE ME ONE TWI’LEK AND I’LL BE HAPPY. - An Obi-wan and/or Anakin Force ghost. - An interesting ship that isn’t necessarily straight (just saying this because I can FEEL the Poe/Rey happening even though they have 0 chemistry and it’s making me sad :’)) - PLEASE just tell me who the fuck Snoke is and tell me he isn’t really dead. Please. The ~supreme leader~ can’t possibly have such a retarded death with 0 background for his character. It makes no sense.

#TLJ spoilers #star wars spoilers #the last jedi spoilers #val.txt

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pearmainht-blog · 7 years

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The New Last Jedi, Ep II

(Part 2 of 3) In The Last Jedi, our favorite band has delivered us new music. Thank the Maker.

New hyperdrive rules were written; new Force powers; new directions in the heroes’ story arcs; new moral ambiguity.

“Let the past die,” Kylo Ren says. I would take it one further: the past will die. Inevitably, inexorably, the past becomes past. In The Last Jedi, the Star Wars overseers acknowledged to us that they understand this. Moreover, they have embraced this (even if many fans have not).

Kylo is a fitting messenger. He has broken new Skywalker barriers. In vanquishing his overlord, he has achieved a plateau that his role model grandfather sought but never reached. Vader was always second fiddle, his prophecy at the end of Episode III – “my new empire!” – never fulfilled.

In this single stroke, the filmmakers have allowed, nay required, the story arc to go places previously unexplored. The question of “what if Vader gained the top spot?” had always been hypothetical. Now we have been presented an alternate storyline in which Vader (or his proxy/grandson) has done just that.

Rey also blazes a new trail for the Star Wars story arch. Luke’s trajectory pitted him against his father, a conflict with an outcome difficult, but, ultimately, inevitable (the Emperor knew this, setting his sights on recruiting Luke as a replacement). Star Wars has rarely, if ever, had its two central foes be contemporaries. The only previous example is the brief (but epic!) showdown between Master Yoda and Darth Sidious.

In Rey versus Kylo we have the light versus dark poles burgeoning into their primes simultaneously. Plus, both are unimpeded by master overseers. This is not a case of one character echoing the other (will Luke fall to the Dark side just as his father did before him?!?!?!).

Much has been made about their Force connection in The Last Jedi. Snoke reveals himself to be the instigator, but the audience can easily see these two characters connecting themselves. Rey need not be a long lost sister or cousin. In The Last Jedi, connections are not forced upon the characters via bloodlines.

Instead, the connection forges and flourishes naturally: two young, powerful people walking the same parts of their paths at the same time. How many of us have lifelong, non-familial connections formed from this very same happenstance? Be it through military service, college life, or an entry into parenthood, shared experiences draw and keep us close to each other.

These two protagonists are dealing with parental/origin bondage. They share an escape from this over the course of the movie, climaxing in the would-be throne room with Kylo’s “Let the past die.” He is urging himself as much he is urging her. Afterwards, the movie’s final act consists of each of them turning their focus away from the past and towards the present.

Through this re-direction of the central characters’ focus, the audience is brought into a new era of Star Wars. As if to make this new direction inescapable (for the audience) the ancient tree is torched, Snoke is sliced, and Luke joins Obi-Wan when he “becomes more powerful than [we] could possibly imagine.”

The only original trilogy principal still remaining is Leia, a presence made more poignant by events outside the Fourth Wall than by anything a director could conjure on screen. The concept of the inescapability of time becomes literally inescapable – the escapism of blockbuster movie theater popcorn punctured by her real life passing.

(Part 2 of 3)

#Star Wars #Kylo Ren #The Last Jedi

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swfanficbyjz · 7 years

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SW AU - Fate of the Master Chapter 18

<- Previous Chapter

Ahsoka herded the Skywalker family onto the ship. She'd been adamant none of them were getting involved with the Death Star situation until they had figured out how to work things out amongst themselves. She and the akul were coming, she'd claimed, purely as mediators and protection. Anakin was pretty sure Bail wouldn't have let Leia leave if Ahsoka didn't go along. Obi wan had offered to come too, but Bail had begged him to stay and help get information about the Death Star. Ahsoka had assured them both she could handle any issues that came up. "If it came to it," she had said, "I'll sic the akul on them."

Anakin didn't know where they were going or what she had in mind. All she'd say was that she had two destinations. And that the ghost crew were on standby to lend a hand at the second one. Assuming they survived the first.

The first couple days of the trip passed relatively quietly. Luke and Leia spent much of it talking between themselves or playing holochess. Anakin spent a lot of time meditating to emotionally prepare himself for the scars that were going to be ripped open. And Ahsoka spent most of her time on the bridge staring out at the stars racing by or meditating herself. They would talk a little bit, but she wouldn't give any clues about where they were going. At first she'd kept encouraging him to try and talk to his kids, but after a while she gave up.

By the fifth day, they were all getting a little tired of being cramped on the ship and tensions were starting to rise.

Anakin walked in on Luke showing Leia how to use the force, and he couldn't help but smile. Although they both stopped when they saw him. He found himself aching to train them, but they'd need to trust him first. Instead of forcing his presence on them he joined Ahsoka on the bridge with a deep sigh.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." He said to her. She was sitting with her eyes closed. The akul near her feet. "They don't even want to be in the same room with me, not that I blame them, but how are we supposed to talk? Through the wall?"

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea," she laughed softly.

"You're not helping." He said with frustration.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked opening her eyes at last and looking at him.

"I don't know. Even when Padmé was pregnant, I never thought about what being a dad would mean. And now, after everything that has happened, coming into parenthood when they're teenagers... it's frightening. I never had a dad. And the closest role model I had was the most evil person in the galaxy."

"Would telling you to trust your instincts help?" She asked.

"Probably not." He replied.

"You first started taking care of me when I was a teenager. How did you approach it?"

"By the skin of my teeth." He said. "I spent half the time just trying to keep up with you. And the other half, trying to make sure you didn't get yourself killed."

"Okay, maybe I'm not the best example, but you did just fine with me. You talked me through things, you let me figure things out. You showed me how to learn from my mistakes. And when I wasn't driving you crazy, you loved me."

"I loved you even when you were me driving crazy." He said. “Probably more.”

She smiled at that. "Well maybe... that's where you need to start."

"By driving them crazy?"

"No, by loving them even when they are driving you crazy." She said playfully bumping him on the arm. "Think about what you wanted when you were their age. What you wished Obi wan would do or say, and start with that."

---

It was early evening when they landed on Naboo. Ahsoka admittedly enjoyed Anakin's surprise that this was where they had been headed. But she could also sense the anxiety in him. She'd chosen Naboo as their first stop because of Padmé. Where she was taking them, she hoped, would keep them from killing each other. Which, terrible as it sounded, was a real danger.

Leia had an attitude, and really no desire to have any kind of a relationship with Anakin. Luke wanted a relationship with him, but was scared. Add the influence from his sister and it was a more volatile mix than she liked. Anakin wanted to be a good dad, but he was afraid to give in to the emotions and he was struggling to overcome his past. So she'd figured that Padmé was the one common ground they all had and they needed to start somewhere. She sincerely hoped that with Padmé looking down on them, it would be enough to keep Anakin from letting his anger get the better of him.

When they got to her planned destination, she turned on them. "Okay," she said, they all looked at her. "Senator Organa talked to the Queen, who was nice enough to grant us access to this place. But there are ground rules: do not destroy anything, do not kill each other, and none of you are coming out until you've worked it out." She pulled some cuffs out of her bag, "and I swear, I will put these force binders on all of you if I have to." They nodded a little scared of her. Good, now we're getting somewhere.

"What is this place?" Luke asked.

"You'll see." She answered vaguely.

"You know, there were probably plenty of dark rooms on Alderaan you could've locked us in." Leia sassed.

Ahsoka didn't satisfy her with a response. She just turned around and unlocked the padlock with the key she'd been given by the groundskeeper. The door opened but the room was so dark nobody could tell what it was.

"In you go." She said. She shut the door behind them and put the padlock back in place.

"Wait, you're not coming in?" She heard Anakin say from the other side. He sounded a little frantic.

"Good luck," she whispered knowing he couldn't hear her.

"It's so dark in here! You couldn't give us a light?" She heard Leia say.

"You'll get one soon enough," she murmured. And slunk down to the floor and rested her head back on the door. "Your turn, Padmé." She said out loud.

The akul was looking at her curiously. "I know," she whispered to it. "It's going to be a long night." She didn't even hope they'd be best friends by morning, but she was hoping at the very least they'd figure out how to be civil to each other. At least then they'd have a starting point. She pointed to the fields beyond the graveyard. "You might find something to snack on in that direction. Just go easy." She said patting the akul on the head. "I'd go hunt with you, but I have to make sure they live through this." It rumbled and took off in the direction she'd pointed. It stopped to look back at her once and then disappeared in the darkness of night.

---

It was pitch black in the room Ahsoka had put them in. He couldn't see either Luke or Leia even though they couldn't be that far away. It was the one thing he admittedly missed about his Vader suit; built-in night vision.

He tentatively tried to walk forward, running into what seemed to be a table height smooth surface. Why had Ahsoka left them in the dark? Did she think if they couldn't see each other, they wouldn't be able to kill each other? He turned to the right and took a few steps forward.

"Ouch! That's my foot!" Came Leia's voice. Great, she already hated him, now he was stepping on her.

"Sorry," he murmured, backing away. He felt like he couldn't do anything right. He was tired of feeling like that. It reminded him of what Ahsoka had said on the ship, ‘remember what you'd wished Obi wan would say or do and start with that...’ the thing he remembered wishing for the most was Obi wan to stop criticizing him so much. He wasn't sure that really applied at the moment.

He tried walking around the other side of the table thing, using it to guide his movement. His eyes were starting to adjust, but there wasn't much to see. Ahsoka would have no problem in here, she had a predator's vision. He managed to stop in time before bumping into Luke.

He knew he should be the one to start the conversation first, but he had no idea what to say. What would they want to hear, or not want to hear? What did he even have in common with them? They both showed force sensitivity, but offering to train them right now, was probably not the best opening line considering how quickly it would lead to questions about what had led him to the dark side.

"So?" He started. Was it safe to talk about the weather? Or this nice room they were locked in and couldn't see? Or dive immediately into the bigger wounds? "I imagine you probably have burning questions. Who wants to start?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but neither Luke or Leia responded immediately. I'll get you for this, Ahsoka.

But just before he could say anything else, a bright light came on outside. Shining through a stained glass window, shedding the room in a soft bluish glow. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up at the window. It was the most beautiful representation of Padmé he'd ever seen. And that's when he realized what he thought was a table was actually a coffin.

"Oh," was all he could say as the emotions overwhelmed him. This was where Padmé had been buried. It was her mausoleum. He had never given much thought to it. He knelt down at the foot, tears rolling down his cheeks before he could stop them.

Luke glanced at him. "Is that?" He started.

"Our mother," Leia finished for him.

"Padmé Neberrie Amidala," Luke read off the plaque. "Princess of Theed, Queen of Naboo, and senator of the Chommell sector and Naboo in the Grand Republic. A true servant of the people. Born 46 BBY. Died 19 BBY. Beloved daughter and sister." He finished reading. "Why doesn't it say wife and mother?" Luke asked.

"Because of me..." Anakin spoke at last. They both turned to look at him. "I was written out of her story because so few people knew we'd been married. And they didn't mention the both of you, to protect you from me."

"Did you love her?" Leia asked.

"Too much." Anakin replied.

"So if mom was a queen, and you're a princess," Luke said to Leia. "Does that make me a prince?"

"I'm a princess only because I was adopted by a royal family, not because of our mother." Leia said. "I don't think it counts."

"You both are royalty." Anakin said, standing up. "I'm the only one here that never was."

"Was she the queen when you married her?" Luke asked.

"No." Anakin replied. "But she was when I met her."

"Dad..." Leia said and then stammered embarrassed, "I mean... Senator Organa, told me some things about mom, but never anything about the two of you together."

"You can still call him dad, if you want. We all know he deserves the title more than me." At Anakin's statement, Leia softened for the first time since he met her. "Did he tell you anything about me?"

"No," she said, "he said he didn't know much about you."

"Okay, then I'll start at the beginning, I guess. I was a slave on Tatooine. The Hutts sold me and my mother, your grandmother, to a Toydarian named Watto."

"Watto?" Luke interrupted. "I know Watto. He's an old beggar in Mos Eisley. He owned you?"

"Yes," Anakin replied.

"Wow," Luke said. "I hated being a moisture farmer, but I can't imagine being a slave."

"Me either." Leia said.

"You probably had slaves." Luke said.

"Of course not!" She replied offended. "We had people that worked for us, but we didn't OWN them. They could come and go. My dad was always against slavery. He even felt the clones were slaves."

"I thought the clones had free will?" Luke said.

"They did, but they were created to serve the republic. If they did not, they were considered deserters and punished." Anakin answered.

"So they were slaves." Luke concluded.

"Yes." Anakin said flinching. He'd never really thought about it. He'd loved each and every one he'd met as an individual in spite of their identical faces. It was easy to forget that even though they seemed to always be ready for a fight, they'd been designed and crafted that way. Designed to want to fight. Designed to follow orders. Designed to kill and be killed. All at the whim of whoever was ordering them around. He made a mental note to apologize to Rex. It suddenly bothered him that as someone who had always been so against slavery he couldn't recognize others in the same position. And that he'd let it, no... helped it continue after becoming Vader. It made his skin crawl.

He looked at the two faces of his beautiful children and even though their expressions had become less hostile, he felt completely undeserving of their attention and love. And maybe that was why they struggled to see eye to eye. How could he expect them to want him around or love him, when he couldn't even love himself?

"I knew our grandmother had been a slave, but I didn't know you had been one too. What was it like?" Luke asked.

Anakin felt his muscles tightening as his fists balled up. How do you explain that kind of hopelessness and fear? To know what it's like to be a slave, you have to live it. Which is probably why so many senators had never cared enough to put it forward as a priority issue. They could never know what it was like. But to his surprise, Leia was the one that answered.

"You can't just ask him what it was like! It was probably dreadful!"

"Sorry," Luke said.

"So if you were a slave on Tatooine, way in the outer rim, how did you meet a queen? It doesn't seem likely that she'd take a pleasure trip there." Leia commented.

---

As Anakin told them the story of how he met Padmé all those years ago, he felt lighter and lighter. It was painful too, but it made him feel better to get it off his chest. They listened to him and asked questions, and he was surprised at how much easier it was to talk to them in just a short amount of time. It helped to imagine what it must be like each raised in vastly different worlds, each with some information but plenty of missing pieces, finally getting to hear how it all came together.

He was watching them just as closely as they were watching him. And as the time passed, he started seeing little pieces of Padmé in them. He saw pieces of himself in them too, but thankfully not the bad stuff. Leia sometimes reminded him more of Ahsoka than Padmé, but they'd both had more than their fair share of sass. Luke was more mild mannered, and it reminded him of his mother, Shmi.

He'd been really terrified of what Ahsoka had planned for them, but he was finding himself more and more grateful for this opportunity to just sit down and get to know each other. Even though they were in Padmé's tomb, it kind of felt like they actually were a real family. The stained glass image of his late wife, was so realistic, she could have been standing there. He hoped that wherever she was, she was smiling at them.

He made a promise to himself at some point during the night, that no matter how many mistakes he'd made in his life, he would do whatever it took to make it up to them; to give them the best possible life he could.

---

Ahsoka paced back and forth outside the mausoleum, she really hoped they were getting along in there and that forcing them together like this hadn't been a fatal mistake. The akul had been gone for half the night, and returned from his hunt with something for her to eat too. It was agitated watching her pace, but she couldn't help it. She sincerely wanted to open the door and check on them, but this was something they needed to figure out without her. Especially if she ended up not sticking around.

The truth was though, if they were going to destroy the Death Star and the empire, and rebuild the Republic, they were going to need the Skywalkers. Even though she'd stopped letting herself be consumed by the fate and destiny talk from before, she couldn't deny the power each one of them possessed. Anakin had once told her that no one person could change the course of the galaxy. But then he'd proceeded to do exactly that. Yes, he'd been the unwitting marionette in a bunch of different people's games, but it was truly his power that tipped the scale, regardless of which side he fought for. He'd been unlike any other Jedi. And he'd been unlike any other Sith. And now he was unlike any other regular person. He would always be special even if he no longer had a role to play as the Chosen One.

And with two children in tow, probably equal in power to him or at least off the charts... this whole family would be a force to be reckoned with. They needed each other. Luke and Leia needed to be trained by him, and he needed something to live for and fight for. Thankfully, the emperor, was dead. And no matter who might try to take his place, the Sith had been shattered too. There wasn't, she hoped, anybody still out there that could try to take advantage of their combined power.

Maul was the only one she could think of, but she doubted any of them, especially once they bonded, would fall for any of his lies. If they got through tonight. Their true training could begin.

Just before the sun rose, she unlocked the padlock and opened the door. She was surprised to find them all huddled together under the window asleep on the floor. There was hope for them yet, she smiled to herself. That went even better than she'd imagined. She almost didn't want to wake them, but one of the conditions of using this place had been to clear out before sunrise so it could open to visitors who wished to pay their respect.

---

Anakin felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Ahsoka was standing over them. He smiled sleepily at her and tried to get up, only to realize that he was pinned down. Leia was cuddled up behind Luke and they were both resting on his chest. His back was aching, he could only guess that he'd fallen asleep in such a weird position to accommodate them.

Ahsoka stepped back and snapped a holopic of them, "for posterity" she'd said. He just wanted to stick his tongue out at her. He hadn't thought that whatever she'd had planned would work, but once again, she had proven she knew far better than him. How did she just know how to handle all this stuff now? Or was it because of her it was actually working?

He'd been starting to notice that she seemed to be looking for a kind of exit from his life. He really didn't want her to go. He understood what she was trying to teach him, but even if he learned it, he still wanted her there. It was admittedly weird to think that sitting in the very tomb of the person he'd once thought he could never live without. But he had a strong feeling that Padmé would understand. He knew his life shouldn't revolve around another. But was it so wrong to want to be with them? To want them close?

He'd loved Padmé with everything he was. He'd once thought that she was his heart and his own could never beat without her there. But now as he looked up at Ahsoka, this beautiful person inside and out, who for years he'd had a very different kind of relationship with, he was starting to understand that there can be two hearts, they just beat for each other. And he loved Ahsoka, he didn't want to live without her in his life in some way. He was afraid to let her go, but it was more from a knowledge of what his life would be like without her rather than whether or not he would survive.

He never could have imagined all those years ago, how a snippy, little kid, could become so important to him. But then he glanced down first at Leia and then Luke, and he supposed, it wasn't all that surprising. The Jedi had been right, he'd always had attachment issues.

"Ahsoka..." he said, needing to tell her before the kids woke up. "Without you, I am a scarred and broken person. Without you, I am a mess. But the truth is, I will still be that with you there. It's just that when you're there, it doesn't seem so bad..." he trailed off hoping she understood what he was trying to say. "That's how it's always been, I just never fully understood that."

He reached up one of his mechanical hands to her and she took it.

"I don't need you to stay so that I'm okay; I want you to stay, because I like you here." He said.

"Then here I'll stay." She replied. She leaned down and kissed the shiny metal of the hand she was holding. And even though he knew it was impossible, he was certain he'd felt it.

Then she gently helped him rouse his sleepy kids and they walked back to the ship, Luke and Leia yawning the whole way.

Next Chapter ->

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dreadedloreenkid · 7 years

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I want to know all of the star wars asks, but I don't think you'd appreciate them all at once... so 1-10? or all, I don't mind :)

@ct-hardcase also asked me for some of these, so here goes. Sorry it’s late! Long post, so it’s under the cut.

1. Favourite Star Wars movie? (Episode 1-R1)Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

2. Favourite Star Wars era? Rise Of The Empire, but I’ve recently been getting into the Empire (19BBY-0ABY) a lot.

3 Favourite Star Wars trilogy? (Originals, Prequels, Sequels)Look, I love them all, but I’ll have to say Prequels, even though it’s pretty even, because I have a lot of nostalgic memories attached to them.

4. Jedi or Sith? I think Sith, from the point of view that I love learning about them and their history and doctrines. The Jedi are super interesting too, especially when delve deep into the political aspect of the Order. Idk, they’re both interesting in different ways.

5. Empire or Rebellion?Well, if you’d asked me this a few years ago I would have said Empire without hesitation, but now that I know and care more about the Galactic Civil War era, I have to say Rebellion.

6. Bounty Hunter or Clone/Strom/First order Trooper? CLONE TROOPERS!

7. Rebels or Clone wars? Clone Wars

8. Favourite Star Wars book?I must confess, I haven’t read many Star Wars books; of those I have, I’d probably say Aftermath: Empire’s End?

9. Favourite Star Wars Comic? I’ve never actually read any of the comics

10. Favourite Star Wars game? Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (the original from 2005, obviously). What an iconic game. I wish I still had a working PS2 to play it on, because I will never ever be bored of it. Empire At War is a close second, I really wish they had done a Clone Wars era edition of it.

11. Top 5 favourite female Jedi?Ahsoka Tano (who is not a Jedi anymoer and I strongly support that decision)Shaak TiAayla SecuraRey SkywalkerDepa Bilaba

12. Top 5 favourite male Jedi?Obi-Wan KenobiLuke SkywalkerQui-gon JinnKit FistoPlo Koon,

13. Top 5 favourite Bounty Hunters?Jango FettAsajj VentressJas EmariEmboBoba Fett

14. Top 5 favourite Sith?Darth MaulDarth SidiousAsajj VentressDarth VaderDarth Bane

15. Top 5 favourite Droids? Individual droids: -Mister Bones-C1-10P-R2-D2-General Kalani-C-3POModels: -OOM-Series Battle Droid-P-Series Droideka-HMP Droid Gunship-Vulture Droid-OG-9 Homing Spider Droid

16. Top 5 favourite Troopers? Fives (ARC-5555) Rex (CT-7567) Keeli Tup (CT-5385)Gregor (CC-5576-39)

7. Top 5 favourite Senators? Padmé AmidalaMon MothmaBail OrganaRiyo ChuchiLeia Organa (NR)

18. Top 5 favourite Republic/Rebellion shipsVenator-Class Star Destroyer (GR)LAAT/i Gunship (GR)ARC-170 Starfighter (GR)T65-B X-Wing Starfighter (RA/NR) Mon Calamari Star Cruiser (RA/NR)

19. Top 5 favourite Separatist/Imperial shipsRecusant-Class Light Destroyer (CIS)Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer (GI)TIE-series Starfighters (GI)Lucrehulk-Class Battleship (CIS)Providence-Class Star Dreadnought (CIS)

20. Top 5 favourite planets? NabooGeonosisCoruscantKashyyykMandalore

21. Where would you live in the Star Wars universe?Naboo, no question

22. Who would you be in the Star Wars universe?In terms of occupation, I think I’d be happy as a public official on Naboo tbh, nothing too fancy, but high enough to go travelling as part of diplomatic entourages.

23. What ship would you own?I think I would like to own nice Naboo yacht, something like what Padme had at the start of Episode II; otherwise, something reliable and reasonably comfortable, like a Corellian light freighter or similar. A customised Sheathipede class shuttle or Lambda class shuttle would be nice too.

24. What Droid would you own?I’m not sure that I’d own a droid, but I guess they’re useful so probably an astromech or a repurposed OOM-series or B1 battledroid.

25. Would you have a team, or would you work alone? Well, ideally I’d love to have a team of friends that I could trust and keep me company.

26. If you where a Jedi, would you be a Knight or a Master?I think I’d be a Knight. My disdain for the Council and their dogmatic doctrines would make them disinclined to grant me the rank of master, I should think.

27. If you where a Jedi Master, would you have a Padawan?Maybe? I doubt it, but alternatively I might be able to give them a better, more honest and open view of the galaxy than a more orthodox master.

28. If you where a Sith, would you be the Master or Apprentice? Oh, the apprentice for sure. I don’t have it in me to be a Sith master; I wouldn’t be a very good Sith. I mean, I can see myself using the Dark Side maybe, but I would never subscribe to the Sith Creed or doctrines.

29. If you where a Sith Lord, would you have an Apprentice?No, given that the Rule Of Two dictates that the apprentice only becomes master by killing theirs.

30. Married, in a relationship, or single? Well, it’d be lovely to have a hubby or two, but you know, that’s down to the circumstances. I wouldn’t actively avoid or search for relationships, though.

31. Top 5 favourite species?GeonosiansZabrakWookiesTwi’leksMon Cala

32. What species would you be? Probably human tbh.

33. What species is your type? Uhhhhh………that’s an interesting question. Do Mandalorians count as a species? But that’s just because of Jango and the clones. Maybe Nautolans?

34. Who would your best friend be?I don’t know, I’ve never thought about this sort of thing.

35. Would you customise your ship? Someone who I trust, because I’m not very good at mechanics and engine things. If I’m honest, I probably wouldn’t customise at all.

36. Would you customise your Droid? Again, someone I trust and who knows their stuff.

37. What colour skin/eyes would you have?I really have no idea. Given I haven’t even thought about being a different species, I think I’ll have to pass on this one.

38. If male, beard or no beard?Beard if I can. Love facial hair.

39. 1 lightsaber, 2 lightsabers, double lightsaber, or 2 double lightsabers?Look, I’d love to go for double lightsabre (sabrestaff), but I would probably end up killing myself with it, so I think in reality I would keep it safe with a single sabre.

40. What colour would your lightsaber(s) be?BLUE! Even though in Legends canon (and possibly current canon?) blue represents a warrior, someone who about taking action, whilst green represents thinking and analysing (which is more me). I’ve also been told by online quizzes that I should have orange, but no thanks.

41. If you’re a Bounty Hunter, what armour would you have? Phase 1 Clone armour with kama, pauldron, and all that jazz.

42. Would you customise your armour? Definitely. Gotta look snazzy.

43. What colour scheme would your armour/robes be? I’m not sure. I think white, green, and blue would look good. Although, I might go for white, purple, and black.

44. If you where a Droid, what Droid would you be? I mean, I’d like to be something intelligent but also powerful and capable of looking after itself. Maybe a super tactical droid?45. What colour would your droid self be? Purple, blue, yellow…those sorts of colours I guess.

46. Pod racing or ship racing? I don’t have a death wish, so ship racing.

47. Space battle or ground battle?? Ooh, that’s a tough question. In Star Wars there are lots of cool things about both, but I’ll go with space, because I think my naval strategy would be a little better than my surface strategy, and it’s easier to escape if it all goes tits up.

48. Would you have survived order 66?Almost certainly not.

49. Where would you go after order 66? Probably a small, peaceful world on the edge of the known regions (if I could find one)

50. What would you do after order 66? Probably just hide, maybe try to resist if I encountered a rebel cell. I think these are the sorts of things that people always say “well, this is what I would have done”, but noone really knows exactly how they’ll react until they’re actually in these situations.

51. Do you have any Star Wars Pop Vinyls?Yes! I have a Queen Amidala one.

52. Do you have any Star Wars collections?I have a lot of Star Wars Lego.

53. Do you have any Star Wars art? I have some BTS prints from Episode V and Episode VI, otherwise no.

54. Do you create any Star Wars art?Nope, can’t draw at all, never really been interested that much in the visual arts. I used to try to copy the technical drawings in Incredible Cross Sections when I was a kid though.

55. Do you like/read any Legends/non canon stuff? I loved the young Boba Fett books (the ones that took place between Episodes II and III), and I loved the storyline of Battlefront II until Disney decanonised it. There’s also a lot of non-canon information in Incredible Cross Sections that was super fascinating. Having said this, I still support the decision to redo the EU canon and clean it up, because imo there was way too much crap in the EU that was just plain rubbish.

56. Top 5 favourite Legends character? I’m sorry, I don’t know enough for this.

57. Who is your Star Wars role model? It has to be Padmé Amidala. She is resilient, skillful, intelligent, principled, and compassionate. When I was a kid I used to pretend to be her.

58. Top 5 saddest Star Wars deaths? The entire Order 66 sequence in ROTSFivesSatine KryzePadmé AmidalaHan Solo

59. If you could bring any Star Wars character back to life who would it be? Padmé Amidala

60. If you found out the Star Wars universe was real, would you move there or stay here? Stay here, obviously. Have you watched Star Wars?! Sith, pirates, bounty hunters, crime lords, totalitarian regimes, corporations that have official political representation and own entire planet systems?! I think I’ll stay put, thanks.

61. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being very little, 10 being an absolute know it all) how well do you know the Star Wars universe? 8.5, maybe a 9?

I hope those answers were satisfactory! Thanks for the asks!

#star wars #ask #ct-hardcase #puffandproud

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