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spacingstars · 5 months

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Technically these thoughts were inspired by @battlekilt's response to this post I just needed a space to luxuriate in the sauce of my own thoughts lol.

Generally, there are two points to my stream of thoughts here:

One, the personal element of Rex knowing about Anakin and Padme’s marriage.

Two, the professional element of Rex knowing about Anakin and Padme’s marriage.

I’ll first get into the weeds of point one:

By and large, Star Wars canon does not go into overt detail on exactly how it was that Rex found out about Anakin's marriage; how this occurred tends to be a matter of conjecture more often than not—usually pitted down to a matter of accident. Either comically or more seriously. I don't bring this up to disparage this take. I, in fact, held to it myself upon my first watch of TCW! But I've since reevaluated that position and have come to a completely different conclusion altogether:

Anakin told Rex intentionally.

My reasoning for this is down to a number of things, particularly due to the series of TCW novels that were written to tie into the first few seasons of TCW. The one I am primarily discussing here is Star Wars: No Prisoners, and shoving aside any other opinions that I have on this book, it holds some specific moments from Anakin about Rex that really validated the change in thought process I had the more I analyzed Anakin and Rex’s relationship.

Generally, I had before assumed it was a matter of accident (in past scenarios, I most often thought of the confession coming about from a moment where the prospect of survival was not the most cheery of outlooks); the reason as to why I held such a thought process is because Anakin’s marriage is generally his most guarded secret, he was unwilling to tell anybody about it, and in such a context, it becomes easy to assume that Rex finding out was a fluke, nothing more.

However, the more I started to really pick at Anakin and Rex’s relationship, the more I started to think it would be a lot more interesting if Anakin intentionally told Rex about the marriage.

In the past, I came about this mainly from the idea that part of what makes Anakin & Rex so interesting to me is the two-way loyalty that stretches between them, the way Rex occupies a unique space in the list of Anakin’s relationships. TCW itself frequently speaks of the trust they have in each other, to the extent other characters (like Padme herself, seen in TCW S07:E02, during the holocall scene between her and Anakin, and in No Prisoners itself) notice it. And with that in mind, I thought, more and more, it made more sense to me that Anakin had told Rex intentionally. It’s clear, given moments in the ROTS novelization, that Anakin didn’t want to shun this aspect of his life into secrecy:

from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

(This is not the only instance of Anakin expressing a desire to leave the Order in the ROTS novelization; his behaviors in ROTS itself are also indicative of this desire to me (his lack of care about getting caught with Padme in the moment she reveals her pregnancy,) and his quote of “I understand wanting to walk away from the Order,” when Ahsoka walks away from the Order during the Wrong Jedi arc. Which, if you want a short explanation for why I think Anakin stayed despite expressing multiple times a desire to leave, there are many little pieces and layers to it, but the primary conclusion I’ve come to is that Anakin stayed out of a sense of duty, particularly related to ending the war. But that’s not what this post is about.)

This leads me to believe that Anakin wanted to confide in someone—wanted someone who he could trust to share this part of him, and given the loyalty and trust he holds in Rex—and I’d also wager it’s down to Rex’s demeanor—it was easier for Anakin to tell Rex than anybody else. Of course, this was all my own conjecture! This was just me taking bits and pieces of what we have of these characters and their circumstances and affixing them into a different configuration to explain something that wasn’t elaborated on in canon.

Of course, or so I thought, because Star Wars: No Prisoners has quite the interesting scenes, scenes that do elaborate upon this.

from Star Wars: No Prisoners

also from Star Wars: No Prisoners

It’s so fascinating to me that Anakin thinks Rex is someone he owes it to tell, and doesn’t that just speak of how highly Anakin regards Rex? He’s able to think that Rex deserves to know, and not just that, but that Anakin thinks Rex would understand. Anakin describing Rex as not just professionally loyal but personally loyal is a sentiment that really strikes to the core of why I think Anakin was comfortable enough to tell Rex; because ultimately, Rex has not just given him his professional loyalty, the loyalty expected of a soldier, but he's also given the loyalty of his friendship. I really don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the feeling is mutual between them. The way Rex speaks of Anakin in Star Wars: Rebels is so damn fond. I really do think Anakin told Rex, intentionally, not just for the professional aspect of it, which I will get into shortly, but because Anakin wanted to have someone he could trust and confide in; Anakin has trust and faith in Rex, the same as Rex has trust and faith in Anakin.

from Star Wars: Age of Republic short story "501 Plus One"

And, returning to the discussion surrounding the screenshots from No Prisoners, obviously, there’s even more there, what with Anakin thinking about how he can’t just leave his men to suffer (it shows consistency in his character, in regards to the loyalty he shows his men because his thoughts here reflect those in the Umbara arc, where he refused to leave, even on orders from Palpatine, until Rex reassured him he could handle it. Which is just... it drives me batty, but my thoughts on that moment from Umbara are not strictly relevant to this post.) And part of that conniption is born out of the loss of his mother! Because he faults himself for being unable to save her, and now he's left with an all-consuming desire to ensure no one under his care dies, which, of course, will inevitably lead to Anakin being consumed by his own conniptions about death itself through his visions of Padme dying in ROTS. (I love how many layers I can peel back and examine from this one moment.)

I also have to emphasize that the biggest thing is that Anakin didn’t even tell Palpatine about his marriage. Palpatine, Palpatine, someone who had been a confidant for Anakin for so long, Palpatine, more than anyone, most certainly knows the most about Anakin; he’s the only one who truly understood how Anakin ticked, and he used that knowledge to disastrous effect.

Which to me, just reinforces how incredible it is that Anakin felt comfortable enough with Rex to tell him about his marriage.

Now, No Prisoners doesn’t actually contain a scene where Anakin tells Rex, but given his thoughts it’s very likely Rex was told shortly after the events of the book.

Now, for point 2:

Which is that, in essence, when Anakin remarks that Rex needs to know about this secret so he can freely contact him or otherwise know about the whereabouts of his location in case they get orders and Anakin, along with the 501st, need to be shipped out effective immediately.

This is a readiness issue.

Readiness is the ability of a military force to engage in assigned tasks and/or missions upon orders.

Anakin being upfront about his marriage to Rex on this principle is most certainly going to get Rex in agreement* because Rex would be aware of the logistical importance of maintaining readiness. Anakin and Rex are on the same page here because, ultimately, no one else is going to better understand these aspects of the continued function of an armed force than a clone; they're clone soldiers.

*Which, additionally, regarding the argument that Rex ends up in a precarious situation for knowing about Anakin and Padme’s marriage, upon further examination of this, I do not think this holds water either. I say this primarily because, ultimately, Anakin, in being married to Padme, has not broken any of the GAR’s regulations. The issue of Anakin’s marriage is of concern to the Jedi, not the GAR. And Rex is not beholden to the Jedi’s religious doctrine; Anakin is, and unless you want to argue that the Order would crack down on Rex in retribution for aiding one of its members in hiding a marriage that’s expressly against their rules… nothing would happen to Rex because ultimately the issue of Anakin and Padme’s marriage is only an issue with regards to, primarily, the Jedi Order, which is not an authority that Rex is behold to; Rex is beholden to the GAR, and, as I said, Anakin being married is not breaking any regulations I can think of… I also find it hard to believe that the GAR would be pressed about a secret marriage when much of their natborn soldier base is also likely to be married. In fact, given my previous comments about readiness, the GAR is likely to take Rex’s stance on the matter.

Rex and Anakin are on the same page regarding the issue of his marriage for both the personal reasons of it and the professional.

And, to address Rex's awkwardness about covering for Anakin in TCW S07:E02:

Rex's awkwardness about having to cover for Anakin and Padme in TCW S07:E02 is presented more as a moment of humor juxtaposed against the earnest conversation between Anakin and Padme as they discuss Anakin and Rex's relationship; it's meant to be a funny-sweet moment regarding the relationship between them. This entire moment is meant to show the familiarity Anakin and Rex have with each other, to the point they have a system worked out between each other when Rex needs to cover for Anakin, which I should also say the fact that Rex is willing to lend his gear** to Anakin for this cover story is something I consider to be a big display of trust, it's very much a classic "friend covers friend," kind of moment.

**That helmet is important to Rex's identity. It is, in effect, his face; it is a custom helmet, donning his signature jaig eyes; it is what most people are going to think when they hear Captain Rex; it is, effectively, Rex trusting Anakin enough to hand over a vital part of his identity.

Everything about this moment screams familiarity to me in the way Anakin and Rex conduct themselves with each other; I find it quite telling that Rex is comfortable enough to tell Anakin they don't have time for what Anakin is suggesting they do in front of the bad batch. Rex is essentially saying no to something that can read as an order from his commanding officer to other clones. The fact that Rex is comfortable enough with Anakin to do so is massive, and as I've said before it shows the familiarity and comfort the two have with each other in their personal relationship. When Anakin first implores Rex to provide cover; Rex's insistence on them not having time for that—to me—less indicates that Rex doesn't like covering for Anakin, but more so that Rex is fixated on the mission because he just got a glimmer of hope that Echo is still alive.

It should also be said, Rex is simply awkward; it's just a facet of his personality. He's an awkward dork in armor.

With all that said, to paraphrase a quote from the post that started this ramble, Rex was one of Anakin’s best friends. (And I personally think that the feeling is mutual given the numerous times Rex has expressed similar sentiments towards Anakin.) :3c

It should also be said that much of this post was made much more coherent thanks to @battlekilt, who was also a great help in fleshing out much of these thoughts, especially those pertaining to Anakin and Rex's interactions in TCW S07:E02.

#The TCW novels are very important to me for numerous reasons but mostly the fact that they vindicated #many of the thoughts I developed about Anakin and Rex's dynamics lol #Anakin Skywalker #Captain Rex #Star Wars #Long Post #Space's Fandom Stuff #Space's Chatter #<- there look I have a meta tag now lol #Fandom Stuff

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antianakin · 4 months

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I've been reading this Luke/Mara series called the Jaded Trilogy where Mara has second thoughts after seeing Alderaan and then she defects in an undercover situation instead of turning over the defectors she infiltrated.

When she joins the Alliance, she and Luke catch feelings for each other. They can't be together right off the bat because Mara is his direct subordinate in his squadron and there are fraternization rules about that stuff. Despite everyone encouraging the relationship and even offering to cover for them sneaking around, Luke avoids that. Not only does Luke do so because the Force says it's a bad idea, but it's made clear HE doesn't feel comfortable doing it. He feels it's an abuse of his responsibilities within the Alliance and instead transfers her over to intel so they can see each other and not break the rules.

To summarize: it's a big suck-it to how Anakin/Padme did things (kinda like Kanan/Hera) and I thought you might like to hear about it.

I'm slowly making my way in the second book so I can't rate the the whole shebang yet but the stuff I described is in the first book.

It sounds interesting! I always love a good deconstruction of what Anakin and Padme should've done.

Anyone who might want to read it can find the fic here.

#star wars #fic #fic rec #luke skywalker #mara jade #luke skywalker x mara jade #luke x mara

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distortionbobble · 1 year

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Royal Flowers Chapter 4

series masterlist

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pairing: anakin skywalker x fem!reader

series summary: A long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a certain Jedi by the name of Anakin Skywalker meets you, the current Queen of Naboo and cousin of Padme Amidala, and is tasked with protecting you by pretending to marry you. As a spy, you’ve infiltrated the Separatist ranks and are close to finding out the mastermind behind all of it. The fate of the galaxy is in your hands.

warnings: minors dni! ageless blogs dni! none this chapter but the series will have eventual smut, canon-level violence and just general warnings.

It’s been a week since you and Anakin last spoke. Or even made eye contact, really. Everytime that your eyes accidentally lock, you both whip your heads the other way, awkwardly remembering the closeness between the two of you. You know it’s wrong— newlyweds shouldn’t be playing bashful lovers, but goodness, his mouth on your skin in such an intimate manner had lingered in your thoughts for far too long.

You haven’t even trained since that first day, forced to attempt the moves in the shower or the privacy of your dressing room on your own. And though Anakin shares the bed with you, he sneaks in when he thinks you’re asleep and is sure to leave before you wake.

Fortunately, you’ve been kept totally busy— the Sandtek Corporation has drafted a new agreement to supply Naboo’s military with modified Skyflippers, and as Queen, it’s your responsibility to read all of the agreement conditions before approving it. Unfortunately, it’s all piloting jargon, and it’s all flying over your head. You sit at the desk in the palace library with your head in your hands, groaning at the mess of paperwork before you before thumping your head on the polished wood. Reyna, your body double, is busy attending some publicity event— a celebration for the royalty thrown by the agricultural sector. Since you didn’t need to be doing anything there, it was decided that she’ll go while you look over the policies. You know the Separatists want you to agree to it, but you can’t for the life of you figure out why. After all, their entire mission is to weaken Naboo, bring it on the brink of collapse to sow their own seeds of chaos. There had to be something you were missing— exactly what was it?

You’re still reading the paperwork hopelessly when the door to the library creaks open, and Anakin slides in, unaware of your presence. When he does finally notice you he freezes, the stiffness detected from the corner of your eyes. He holds his hand up quickly— likely that noise bubble thing he’d mentioned earlier— before he speaks.

“Sorry for the intrusion, milady,” He says rather awkwardly. Anakin’s metal fingers trails against the books as he searches for something. “Just looking for a book.” You snort almost instinctively in response.

“I didn’t know you could read,” you quip slyly, fixing your gaze on the papers before you as a smirk creeps across your face. Anakin remains in a stunned silence before a short chuckle escapes him, spreading to a full-bodied laugh as the awkwardness of the past week leaves the two of you. You’re both so desperate for companionship that it just makes sense.

“Funny, milady,” he says, making his way to the desk. “Might I ask what you’re reading?”

“Oh, Maker, what a good question, Anakin,” you sigh dramatically. “Something about skycraft.” At this, he perks up.

“Skycraft? Might I take a look?” When you nod your approval, he comes to stand beside you, leaning over you as he looks at the blueprints for the modifications of the Skyflippers. “No, that’s not right,” he murmurs, grabbing the blueprints in his confusion as you watch him.

“What is it?”

“These modifications, they’re… all in the wrong place for battle,” Anakin insists. “They’ve gone and reinforced all the parts that don’t need reinforcing, parts that skycraft can return back home with blast holes through them. Meanwhile, the combustive parts of the skycraft are left vulnerable. One well-placed blast and the whole thing goes boom.” Oh. That’s why they wanted you to approve it so badly.

“Shit,” you voice, to which Anakin nods.

“Shit, indeed.”

“Okay, how do you know all of this?” you ask, spinning the chair to face him. He smiles down at you cockily, and you almost want to laugh.

“Well, my queen, if you must know, you’re looking at the best pilot in the entire galaxy,” Anakin says, bowing exaggeratedly when you giggle.

“Is that so, Anakin Lars?” You tease. He holds a hand to his chest, affronted by the notion that he would lie about such a thing. “Well, then, come help me look over these papers,” you say, getting up from the chair to sit on the desk. Your legs dangle freely and you can’t help the overwhelming feeling of relief. Anakin talking to you again, and this whole mess of skycraft resolved? It’s a rare win, and it’s one that you’re going to relish as long as possible.

You take the moment of peace to study Anakin, who’s poring over the agreement and leaving inky comments and scratches all over the paperwork. The bright sunlight streaming in from outside is softened by the wooden shelving of the room, bouncing and scattering and you’re reminded once again of how pretty Anakin is. His face is screwed in concentration, his tongue pressed against his teeth in a manner so endearing that you can’t help but smile. It’s nice to have a friend after so many years of loneliness.

When he’s finished, he looks at you, beaming, and hands you the marked-up blueprint.

“These modifications should actually help the defense sector,” Anakin confirms.

“I’ll have to make sure I can submit the modifications without the Separatists realizing that I made the modifications,” you muse out loud. “We should create a new blueprint that seems to match this one, but actually reflects the modifications you made.” Anakin nods, rifling through the desk to produce a piece of paper identical to the blueprints and begins transcribing the design. You remain where you are, grabbing sheets of policy work and reading through it, occasionally plucking the pen from Anakin’s hand to use it for signatures. Anakin’s quick in realizing that he can help you with other work, and you share the work with him happily.

“Y’know, Anakin,” you say as the two of you wrap up all of your work hours later, “It must get boring with nothing to do in the palace.” He nods in confirmation, stretching and sighing when his joints pop. “I wouldn’t mind it if you wanted to join me for my work,” you say with a slight smile. Anakin’s analytical mind impressed you, and you enjoyed not feeling so lonely. Maybe that was just a lot of words to say that you like having him around.

You walk out of the library with him, the two of you sharing a smile that feels like a secret. Right now feels like a bubble that you want to put in your pocket to be able to pull out whenever you’re feeling blue.

It’s a far cry from a friendship but there’s respect and trust, and that makes you feel safe for the first time in a long time.

~~~

Anakin wakes up while you’re still asleep.

Last night was… nice. The two of you ate your dinner in the grand dining hall, making pleasant casual conversation until your plates were bare, and had then gone to bed rather unceremoniously. But you thought he was smart. It was an incredible feeling, to have earned your respect by virtue of his interest in flying. And Maker, you looked so impressed when he had done all that work with the Skyflippers. It was kind of addicting, the sight of your approving smile. He can’t wait to impress you more and watch your face light up in excitement. Anakin can’t remember the last time he had truly earned someone else’s approval like that— it usually came as a default response to knowing he’s the Chosen One. Anakin thinks he likes this a lot better.

He knows he should wake you up for training, as it’s been at least a week, but he doesn’t want to right now— for now, he wants to enjoy the quiet. You’re facing him as you sleep, and he’s careful to watch you in case you wake up, but you’re fast asleep, the rise of your chest slow and exhales soft. But he keeps staring, anyway. Anakin’s transfixed by the glow of your skin in the early morning sun, the tranquility of your face, the curve of your nose, the shape of your lips. You’re like artwork, and promises that he’ll only look at you for a moment longer.

Your hand is splayed out between his body and yours, and it almost makes Anakin feel like you’re almost reaching out to him in your dreams. Slowly, carefully, Anakin reaches to you, laying his palm flat on the mattress next to yours. His fingers are curled, but if he straightened them by just a hair, he’d be touching your hand. The thought of it makes his heart race wildly, and Anakin feels genuinely confused. He doesn’t know why that thought makes his face warm, but it does, and with every passing second he just wants to do it more and more. But he’s torn— why does it feel like a betrayal to Padme? His heart belongs to Padme, he knows that. And this is just a friendly gesture. It means nothing, he’s just so starved for touch that the brush of his pinky against yours would satiate him. Anakin breathes in deeply, mustering all his courage before he straightens out his fingers and his body positively hums at the subtle contact. Every doubt in his mind goes silent, all of his thoughts giving way for him to keep his fingers extended just enough to feel your warmth just barely against his. His hand trembles at the effort, but he forces it to stay like that, letting his eyes close as he finally surrenders to you.

Anakin doesn’t keep track of how long he stays like this, listening to the soft sound of your breathing before you begin to rouse. He hears you but doesn’t move, keeping his breaths measured so that he thinks you’re asleep. He feels you pause when you see your barely-connected hands and his pulse pounds loudly in anticipation— will you rip your hand away? Or will you just move it so that it’s still in his reach but not touching him?

You don’t do either of those things. Instead, you sit up and move the blankets off of your body with your other hand, maintaining the position of your hand. Anakin has to fight to keep the smile off of his face, still pretending to be asleep. Your fingers flex slightly towards his before you move away, presumably to get ready for the day. But that action, subtle as it may have been, exhilarates Anakin. And though he can’t quite figure out why, he allows himself to enjoy the feeling, stretching his arm to brush where you’ve left a warm imprint in the sheets. He’ll get up soon, but he allows himself this luxury. There’s a lingering guilt, something about his feelings for Padme, which forces him to sit up and wrench his hand away. You step out of the bathroom now, the very picture of elegance and grace and it makes him feel even worse when you murmur a polite good morning with a smile tugging at your lips. He thins his lips in response and nods, heart sinking to his stomach when your smile falls and you nod, saying nothing of his distant behavior. He hates himself for pushing you away but his commitment to Padme still eats at him, even if it’s a labor of hopeless devotion.

He can’t just give up on Padme. She was the love of his life. It would be wrong to treat you in any way that would hint on some sort of reliance— emotionally, all he needs is Padme, but he doesn’t even have that now. He can’t treat you as some sort of stand-in for her; you’ll never be her, and you’re just a companion, anyway. But it’s too soon to think of all of that. He’s still so distraught over her and he can picture her in your place, smiling and leaning against the door with her hair cascading past her shoulders. Padme. His love. His light. He’s so lost in the memory of her that he misses you calling his name repeatedly, forcing you to come over and jolt his shoulder to force him to look at you.

“Anakin.” Your greeting is colder than how things were yesterday but Anakin doesn’t blame you. It’s better off this way, anyways. “Will you be helping me today with the paperwork?” And though Anakin wants to be cautious of getting too close with you, he nods, too fulfilled by having some sort of task to do to shoot down the opportunity. You smile at him before you turn to leave the chambers, snapping your fingers when you remember something. “Oh, and one more thing, Anakin,” you say. “I’ve been advised by some of the palace staff that it would be a good idea to arrange some sort of public outing, to show our faces to the public and solidify our relationship. I’ve decided to combine that with an advertisement for Sandtek, and since you’re a pilot, I decided to make that outing one where you can fly their Skyflipper. So….” you drawl, watching his face for his reaction. “I guess I’ll see you at noon, then.”

“See you then, milady,” he nods.

Well, so long for distancing himself.

~~~

The ride to the field is short, and you keep the silence filled with some tunes on the radio. Anakin recognizes it as the Max Rebo band and is surprised to see how much you engage with the music, tapping your feet and humming the parts that you’re familiar with. He finds it endearing, even if he associates the Max Rebo Band with the Hutts. He tries to mimic your carefree enjoyment, watching you from the corner of his eye and trying to nod his head to the beat. He likes how fun you are, and laughs to himself when you start humming the chorus a beat earlier than it starts.

“You ever heard of the Max Rebo band, Anakin?” You ask, stretching your back against the transporter wall. He has, even heard them live in the Hutt Palace when he was very very young and Gardulla the Hutt held his mother and himself as a slave. But that’s a bit of a mood-downer so he chooses not to divulge that little tidbit.

“They’re the most popular band in the galaxy. How couldn’t I have heard it?” He says.

“Oh, y’know. I just kind of assumed that the Jedi don’t do anything fun,” you tease, making him grin.

“As if you know what fun is,” Anakin scoffs, eagerly anticipating your reaction. The banter between you is fun, friendly. The way it should be between the two of you. He tries to wipe the feelings from this morning from his mind as he watches your face light up in playful offense.

“Excuse me? I’m way more fun than you!” You proclaim, jabbing your finger at him. He notes that the transport is at its destination so he hops up from the seat, offering his hand for your disembarkment.

“We’ll see about that,” Anakin grins. The doors of the transport hiss open and you stand with Anakin, hand in hand as you face the eagerly awaiting crowd. For some reason, with all of the eyes on you two, the intimacy of your hand against his is lost, and he wonders if he had just imagined what he’d felt this morning. Amongst the crowd is a gaggle of reporters, videoing the two of you. He realizes it must be Sandtek publicity, using the Queen’s endorsement to convince more people to buy their products or recruit more workers. Either way, effective.

Anakin’s excitement takes over entirely when he sees the modified skycraft— it’s been so long since he was able to fly, and he can’t wait to show off his skills to you. He pulls you through the crowd, smiling and waving at them before he’s at the ramp of the Skyflipper. His racing heart excites him, makes him bolder and brash, so he turns around to face the reporters and swoops you off of your feet, carrying you bridal style and placing a kiss to your cheek. His strength makes it easy to carry you, and it’s worth it to see the shocked delight on your face. Good for the publicity, right? That’s what he tells himself, but he’s not sure how much he actually believes that.

“Anakin, put me down!” you giggle once the ramp’s up, and it’s just the two of you. Anakin quirks a brow before he lets go of you completely, using the Force to make you hover just an inch before you would hit the floor.

“C’mon, princess, your romantic date awaits you!” Anakin hollers as he leaves you there. He’s plenty of fun, and by the end of this date you’ll know that too.

He makes sure that you’re fully strapped in before he begins your ascent, the familiarity of flying makes him feel at home. Before long, you’re coasting through the clouds in a peaceful silence as Anakin concentrates. You’re humming a tune aimlessly, drumming your fingers on your seat as you watch Naboo fly past from inside the glass paneling.

“Oh look, it’s a herd of Shaak!” You gasp suddenly, awwing at the gentle beasts as they graze on rolling hills of lush green grass. Anakin thinks of when he’d gone to a place just like this with Padme, the painful memory cutting through his throat and he speeds past the fields. You fly past hundreds of fields, roads and villages, and Anakin can sense the emotions rolling off of you as you survey your domain and the vastness of it all. Your people.

“This is why I love flying so much,” Anakin says quietly. “All of your problems don’t seem so important.”

“It all seems so far away,” you sigh, exhaling on the glass and drawing little patterns in it with a light finger. He takes a second to look back at you in the seat— happy, peaceful, and it’s because of him, because of what he’s showing you with his skills. Anakin feels that familiar glow within him, one that he tries to tamp down but can’t stop the smile that he allows himself at the thought of making you happy.

“Are you all strapped in, milady?” He asks, turning forwards again. Anakin routes the craft back to where your original transport waits; he knows you’ve spent enough time in the skies with him,

“What tricks have you got up your sleeve?” You ask suspiciously, followed by the telltale click of metal sliding into metal that cues Anakin to speed all the way up. You shriek when the resisting force pulls your body back, watching everything become a blur as Anakin tests just how fast the Skyflipper can go.

“Maker, Anakin!” You shout, laughing.

“Oh, I’m not quite done yet,” He responds before making the plane spin upside-down. He flies the Skyflipper in quick, tight circles, laughing at your delighted noises.

“Okay, maybe you do know how to have fun,” You admit as the skycraft touches down, your clothes in disarray from Anakin’s wild flying. You straighten them out as best you can and smile up at Anakin when he offers you his arm, the two of you walking out together.

“A successful date, then?” He asks you, bringing his arm around you and kissing your temple sweetly in front of everyone. “A successful date, indeed,” you smile.

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gffa · 8 months

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CONGRATULATE ME, I HAVE MADE SO MUCH PROGRESS ON GETTING THROUGH THE HIGH REPUBLIC STORIES, thanks to my library having a bunch of the audiobooks and comics in! I'm actually a little further than this along (I've read more than half of the 2021 High Republic comic series, more than half of Edge of Balance, more than half of Monster of Temple Peak, more than half of Convergence, etc.) but this is still a good reflection of how up to date I am with THR stories:

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE I:

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi

The High Republic: A Test of Courage

The High Republic: Into the Dark

The High Republic: The Rising Storm

The High Republic: Race To Crashpoint Tower

The High Republic: Out Of The Shadows

The High Republic: Mission to Disaster

The High Republic: The Fallen Star

The High Republic: Midnight Horizon

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: Path of Deceit

The High Republic: Convergence

The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City

The High Republic: Cataclysm

The High Republic: Quest for Planet X

The High Republic: Path of Vengeance

MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE I:

The High Republic (2021) - 15 issues

The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 13 issues

The High Republic: The Monster of Temple Peak - 4 issues

The High Republic: The Edge Of Balance - 2 manga volumes

The High Republic: Trail of Shadows - 5 issues

The High Republic: Eye of the Storm - 2 issues

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: The Blade - 4 issues

The High Republic (2022) - 10 issues

The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 8 issues

The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Precedent - 1 manga volume

The High Republic Adventures: The Nameless Terror - 4 issues

MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE III:

The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight - 4 issues

The High Republic (2023) - 3 issues [ONGOING]

The High Republic Adventures (2023) - 1 issue [ONGOING]

MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE I:

The High Republic: Tempest Runner

MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE II:

The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE I:

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #6 - "The Gaze Electric"

The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2021

The High Republic Adventures Annual 2021

The High Republic Adventures: Galactic Bake-Off Spectacular

Star Wars Adventures (2020) #14 - "A Very Nihil Interlude"

The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2023

ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE II:

The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE I:

Star Wars: The High Republic: Starlight

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE II:

Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment

ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - ALL PHASES:

The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life

I don't know what I'm going to do after I finish all of these! Maybe finally read the second Thrawn trilogy or get around to the second and third Padme books or, ooh, Outbound Flight got an unabridged audiobook version and I never did finish that one! It's been fun to have a bunch of audiobooks to listen to via my library and one thing I will say for The High Republic stories, is that I do think they're some of the best interconnected storytelling Star Wars has had outside of the animated series' continuity with the movies. I do feel like they often times are hamstrung by "so much of the cool stuff happening is just a repeat of the things the Jedi in the Clone Wars did", but the sense of all these moving parts that work together, different authors all having a pretty coherent take on the characters and plot, despite being in so many different books, is really well-done. They're fun to get through, and that's what I'm really looking for.

#lumi.txt #star wars #novels

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gingersnappish · 7 months

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The 2024 Fandom Trumps Hate Charity Auction is LIVE!!!

Bidding runs 5th March 8am EST to 9th March 8 pm EST!

@fandomtrumpshate is an online multi-fandom auction that benefits a lot of progressive non-profit organizations! Fans 'bid' to donate directly to a listed charity and the winning bidder receives a thank you gift for their donation in the form of the personalized fan work- You can read about exactly how it works HERE and see the FULL LIST OF NON-PROFITS!

Star Wars Fandom has a lot of really lovely works being offered this year - 34 creators are offering their time and talents as a big thank you to the winning bidders for their donations! Please, check them out!

And then...

Help out some wonderful progressive charities (and get a lovely custom fanwork as a thank you gift !

The following are brief summaries and not comprehensive. Please read the full offerings before bidding! The full Star Wars TAG contains all the following listings in their entirety!

Written Fanworks

@shadow-spires is offering a <5K piece for Prequel Trilogy or The Clone Wars! Loves working with Cody, clone culture, and fix-its, AUs, angst with happy endings, and more!

@marroniere is offering 20-50K for Andor, Thrawn Trilogy (new canon), Thrawn Ascendancy, or Ahsoka! Especially interested in anything Thrawn and Chiss, as well as Mon and Cassian from Andor! Versatile in genre and focussed on how characters relate to one another and heal!

finkpishnets is offering 5-10K for Prequel Trilogy or Clone Wars! Happy to work with Obi-Wan/Anakin or Obi-Wan/Cody in canon, diveregent, or AU settings! (also comfortably familiar with the Kenobi series canon)

@dirtbag-linecook-kyloren is offereing 5K per $10 donated! Sequel Trilogy Kylux author specializing in Modern AUs!

@captainlilja is offering 5-10K for Sequel Trilogy or Rebels! Especially interested in Finn/Poe, Finn/Poe/Rey, Zeb/Kallus, Hera/Kanan and happy to work with AroAce characters, AUs, fluff, and kinky-fluff where everybody is in love!

blackat_t7t is offering 5-10K for Book of Boba Fett, Clone Wars, or Mandalorian! Interested in M/M or Genfic, Angst, canon-divergent AUs, anything with a Clones focus or BobaDinn! Also appreciates rairpairs and characters!

Tathrin is offering 5-10K for any of the Trilogies and/or Legends/Extended Universe! Enthusiastic about world-building and plot and queering canon! Classic Legends stuff is a favorite, with a love for snubfighter pilots, YJKs, Leia, nb-Revan, and original flavor Boba Fett!

hoebiwan is offering 5-10K for Original and Prequel Trilogies or Legends/Extended Universe! Interested in crack, grief, recovery, anxiety, trans and queer themes!

@geekymoviemom is offering 5-10K for Prequel Trilogy, Clone Wars, Rebels, or Rogue One! Happy to write Anakin/Padme, Cassian/Jyn, Obi-wan & Anakin, Kanan & Ezra, and family stuff for Clone Wars and Rebels Fam! Canon-divergent or in-universe AUs please!

@treescape is offering <5K for any Star Wars! Familiar with all eras and happy to work with most characters or pairs!

@xenomorphic-warrior is offering 10-20K for Original or Prequel Trilogy, Andor, Clone Wars, Mandolorian, Kenobi, and Rogue One! Especially interested in Cody/Obi-wan, Bariss/Ahsoka, Din/Cobb, Lando/Han, Lando/Leia/Han, Cassian/Jyn, Cassian/Jyn/Bohdi, Cassian/Kino and are fond of speculative AUs like horror and sci-fi, mythology, and canon-divergence!

van1lla_v1lla1n is offering <5K for the Sequel Trilogy! Enthusiastic about Rey/Kylo (one or both of them queer) and will write in canonverse or modern AUs! Likes to work with erotic and heavier themes, ambiguous endings!

solas_oiche is offering 10-20K for any Star Wars! Enthusiastic about anything Ahsoka-centric and open to themes and tropes you may want to see!

Kartaylir is offering <5K for Legends/Extended Universe and the Old Republic! Especially interested F/F, darker themes, world-building, and weird lore details! Familiar with Thrawn Trilogy, Shadows of the Empire, and Tales of the Jedi comics, KOTOR, and have written lots for SWTOR!

Ninja is offering 5-10K for Original or Prequel Trilogies, or Mandolorian! Especially interested in working with Fluff, H/C, happy endings, magic, plot twists, crack, and humor! Loves zany hijinks! Good at taking an initial prompt and running with it!

@s-c-g-s-c-g is offering <5K for Prequel Trilogy, Clone Wars, and Legends/Extended Universe! Especially interested in Jedi characters, pre-quel era fic, gen, bonding, H/C, canon-adjacent AUs, and found family! Primarily experienced writing Gen but open to some rairpairs!

Ternary is offering <5K for Prequel Trilogy and Clone Wars! Likes queer themes, ace&aro themes, and exploring disability themes, as well as trauma-recovery, and emotional H/C! Interested in Obi-Wan’s Legends padawanship, Obi-Wan/Quinlan, Obi-Wan/Cody, Quinlan/Fox!

geniecat2 is offering 5-10K words for the Prequel Trilogy, Book of Boba Fett, or Clone Wars! Especially interested in the AceAre spectrum, found family, platonic and romantic CodyWan, Jangobi, and lineage exploration, as well as Clone and Jedi appreciation, JediCorps too!

@musetotheworld is offering 5-10K for the Original and Prequel Trilogies, and Legends/Extended Universe! Loves Legends-inspired plots and has read most of the Legends books! Experience with writing F/F ships, M/F is fine too, also cool with AUs!

Stens_McHenry is offering 5-10K for All Trilogies, Book of Boba Fett, Mandolorian, and Kenobi! Prefers to write M/M ships and happy to work with AUs and canon-adjacent/divergent works!

MaudeZbornak is offering scaled-by-donation wordcount ($5 = minimum 5K) for All Trilogies, Book of Boba Fett, Mandolorian, and Kenobi! Happy to work with any pairing for Star Wars and welcomes detailed prompts!

thebeespatella is offering scaled-by-donation wordcount ($10 = 1K) for Andor, Clone Wars, and Rogue One! Especially interested in F/F, trans/gender and exploring corporate surveillance, identity and conformity, colonialism/diaspora, radicalization, trauma, moral injury, and interfacing with technology (cybogs)! Likes Clone troopers, clone culture and clone ships, Imperial/Rebellion era, and spy/thriller AUs! Experienced writer of Cody/Rex!

MayQueen517CactusDragon517 is offering <5K words for the Original and Sequel Trilogies, Rogue One, or Solo! Open to many ideas, smut included! Likes exploring alternative identities like a trans or non-binary or ace/aro interpretation of a character! Likes to communicate lots with their winning bidder, building ideas and sharing snippets!

@elthadriel is offering scaled-by-donation wordcount ($10 = 1K up to 10K) for Clone Wars! Especially interested in Clone troopers and their culture and ships, Imperial/rebellion era, missing war scenes, PWP, Cowboy AUs, bittersweet vibes, Cody/Rex, Echo/Fives/Fox, Thorn/Fox, Rex/Fives/Echo/Cody, Cody/Fox, Ahsoka/Bariss, Bly/Aayla, Cody/Maul!

@cabezadeperro is offering <5K for Prequel Trilogy, Clone Wars, Legends/Extended Universe! Interested in open endings, Imperial era, missing war scenes, cloneships, Jango Fett/Obi-Wan, canon divergence, complicated relationships, codex, Fives/Echo/Fox, Cody/Fox, rewalker, qi’rahsoka!

darktenshi17 is offering two auctions for 5-10K fics for the Sequel Trilogy as well as the Original Trilogy! Open to most ideas (with the exception of Kylo/Rey) and interested in working with F/F, polyships, genderswap, trans or nonbinary characters, unhappy or ambiguous endings!

commanderdameron is offering 10-20K for the Prequel or Sequel Trilogies or Kenobi! Loves character and relationship studies! Interested in exploring canon in more plot-centric ways and excited about world-building from a character-driven mindset! Obi-Wan, Poe, Leia, and Rey are favs, so things that focus on their relationships are welcome!

Visual Fanworks

c_art is offering a comic page (per $50 donation) for the Original and Prequel Trilogies! Enthusiastic about Gen and Femslash as well as rarepairs and unusual ideas! Fluff, angst, slice of life, and action all welcome! Black and white pages - will ask the winning bidder for a script or fic to adapt, higher donations = gets more pages!

@temporoyales is offering a drawing/painting for any Star Wars! Any pairings, genders, sexualities are welcome! Likes working with everyday interactions, environmental storytelling, symbolism, genderbending, and costume design! Starting bid gets a black and white portrait and larger bids increase up to fullbody/color!

@gingersnappish is offering a full color book cover/illustration/drawing/comic page/etc for any Star Wars! Specializes in Kylux but open to almost all characters, pairs, ideas! Happy to work with scifi-fantasy design, animals, detailed backgrounds and tech! Will make 2-4 small sketches for the recipient to choose from and then show a refined sketch before finishing the piece!

@nattyjae is offering a comic/drawing/painting/etc for any Star Wars! Scaled donations $5 = black and white, $15 black and white comic, $20 full color illustration, on up to a full color comic page! Loves Clone Wars, Rebels, and Bad Batch but will be happy drawing any Star Wars! Happy to design characters, redraw scenes or visualize AUs!

Beta Reading

@shadow-spires is offering to beta 10-20K for any of the Trilogies, Clone Wars, Rebels, Rogue One!

birbleafs is offering to beta for <5K for any of the Trilogies, Clone Wars, Legends/Extended Universe!

geniecat2 is offering to beta for 5-10K for the Original and Prequel Trilogies, Book of Boba Fett, Clone Wars, Legends/Extended Universe, Mandolorian, and Kenobi!

Podfic Recording

@shadow-spires is offering to record a <5K podfic for any of the Trilogies, Clone Wars, Rebels, or Rogue One: clones centric and Jedi-positive stuff always welcome, as well as OCs!

flowerparrish is offering to record <5K for any of the Trilogies, Book of Boba Fett, Clone Wars, Legends/Extended Universe, Mandalorian, Kenobi, Rebels, Rogue One! They are especially interested in canon-divergent AUs, fix-its, Poly ships, F/F, trans or nonbinary characters, rarepairs and crackships!

kbirb is offering to record fic with wordcount being contribution-based (Donations: First $10 = 2K, +$10 = Additional 1K)! Open to all three Trilogies, Andor, Clone Wars, Mandolorian, Rebels, Rogue One! Especially interested in found family, soulmate AUs, polyamory, trans clone troopers, neopronouns, Jon Antilles rarepairs, Hevy/Fives/Echo, Cody/Obi-Wan, and period pieces (Regency!) Loves recording for an author who wants to hear their fic aloud!

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars fanart #fandom trumps hate #fth 2024 #fanworks charity auction

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lesbianjackies · 1 year

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❤︎︎ character list ❤︎︎

key: bolded - characters i enjoy writing for | italics - characters i’ve written for before

❥ 10 things i hate about you

cameron james, kat stratford, bianca stratford, patrick verona, michael eckman, mandella

❥ marvel

natasha romanoff, bucky barnes, steve rogers, carol danvers, stephen strange, sam wilson, gamora, gwen stacy, tony stark, kate bishop, loki laufeyson, may parker, peter parker (tasm & mcu), peter quill, pietro maximoff, wanda maximoff, thor odinson, yelena belova

❥ pirates of the caribbean

jack sparrow, will turner, elizabeth swann

❥ grishaverse

alina starkov, the darkling / aleksander morozova, malyen oretsev, genya safin, david kostyk, zoya nazyalensky, nikolai lantsov, kaz brekker, inej ghafa, jesper fahey, nina zenik, matthias helvar, wylan van eck

❥ the school for good and evil

agatha of woods beyond, sophie of woods beyond, tedros of camelot, hort of bloodbrook, hester of ravenswood, anadil of bloodbrook, dot of nottingham, rafal

note: sophie x hort x reader is a fav

❥ the hunger games

katniss everdeen, peeta mellark, gale hawthorne, haymitch abernathy, finnick odair, johanna mason

❥ harry potter

harry potter, ron weasley, hermione granger, ginny weasley, fred weasley, george weasley, draco malfoy, neville longbottom, luna lovegood, cedric diggory, oliver wood, theodore nott, daphne greengrass, blaise zabini, tom riddle, james potter, sirius black, remus lupin, lily evans, regulus black, mary macdonald, dorcas meadowes, marlene mckinnon

❥ miss peregrine’s home for peculiar children

jacob portman, emma bloom, enoch o’connor (MOVIE ONLY), olive abroholos elephanta (MOVIE ONLY), millard nullings (BOOK ONLY), hugh apiston (BOOK ONLY), fiona frauenfeld (BOOK ONLY), bronwyn bruntley (BOOK ONLY)

note: i will write for book- or movieverse jacob & emma. please specify which you would like when requesting or i will default to bookverse.

❥ shatter me

juliette ferrars, aaron warner, kenji kishimoto, nazeera ibrahim

❥ the folk of the air

jude duarte, cardan greenbriar

❥ percy jackson

percy jackson, annabeth chase, grover underwood, thalia grace, jason grace, piper mclean, leo valdez, frank zhang, reyna avila ramirez arellano

❥ avatar: the last airbender

katara, sokka, zuko, azula, mai, ty lee

❥ a series of unfortunate events

violet baudelaire, klaus baudelaire, duncan quagmire, isadora quagmire, quigley quagmire

❥ newsies

jack kelly, davey jacobs, katherine pulitzer, crutchie morris, spot conlon

❥ frankenstein

victor frankenstein, the monster, elizabeth lavenza, henry clerval

❥ little women

jo march, meg march, beth march, amy march, theodore laurence

❥ star wars

anakin skywalker, obi-wan kenobi, padme amidala, luke skywalker, leia organa, han solo, rey, finn, kylo ren, poe dameron

❥ my babysitter’s a vampire

ethan morgan, benny weir, sarah fox, rory keaner, erica jones

❥ yellowjackets

shauna shipman, lottie matthews, misty quigley, taissa turner, van palmer, natalie scatorccio, jackie taylor, laura lee, mari, akilah, jeff sadecki

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frumfrumfroo · 1 year

Note

Natalie Portman stated that she's open to returning to SW, but has not been asked to. Seeing that they refuse to even say Padme's name in the Obi-wan series. Or refer to her at all in Ahsoka so far, as if Anakin went to the DS out of freaking no where. I'm starting to wonder if its because Padme reminds many a DLF employee of that one girl who stood them up when they were 13 for the popular kid and wiping out her entire bloodline was their pathetic version of payback? Her nieces are no longer canon so I wouldn't be the least bit shocked.

Padmé represents compassion, cannot be mentioned without reinforcing Anakin's vulnerability and humanity as Vader, and as a character is inherently tied to both Big Romance and motherhood. It won't be a shock to me if the clowns at DLF try to ignore her as much as possible.

The other option, as we've seen before with the terrible tie-in books, is making her a 'badass' Strong Female CharacterTM who shoots her problems to death, throws out cringey tumblr gotcha lines, and totally dumped Anakin in that scene where she begs him to run away with her.

#not that i'm bitter #salt #anidala

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allamericansbitch · 9 months

Text

Hi everyone! Here’s the newest addition to my Creator Shoutout Series (december 17 - december 24)! I want to appreciate editors and their creations that i love from the past week. To track this series or look at previous shoutouts, please check out the tag on my blog *creatorshoutouts. Have a great week and a happy holiday to those who celebrate!

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: tigris gifset by @magnusedom

orville peck: 2023 performance wardrobe gifset by @madeline-kahn

taylor swift: the eras tour + details gifset by @lovestory

maisie peters: the good witch gifset by @antoniosvivaldi

brooklyn nine nine: raymond holt gifset by @muldery

narcos: javier pena gifset by @perotovar

home alone gifset by @percyjacksonss

taylor swift: marjorie gifset by @rogerhealey

maisie peters: guy on a horse graphic by @andtosaturn

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: book differences gifset by @saws2004

olivia rodrigo: get him back gifset by @usercindylou

taylor swift: the eras tour gifset by @h-f-k

the muppet christmas carol gifset by @cindylouwho

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: lucy gray baird gifset by @rachelsennot

yellowjackets: 1.01 x 1.03 gifset by @taiturner

the bear: syndey adamu in 2x03 gifset by @demarcoes

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: coriolanus snow gifset by @feodor-dostoevsky

brookyn nine nine: jake peralta gifset by @jakeyp

taylor swift: lavender haze gifset by @treacherous

the princess diaries: mia thermopolis gifset by @phoebesbridgers

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: lucy gray baird gifset by @maliagf

samia: triptych gifset by @sofiarostova

yellowjackets: shauna gifset by @girlbutcherwife

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: lucy gray baird gifset by @nowadayz

abbott elementary: holiday gifset by @goabbott

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: lucy gray baird gifset by @tomblythsgf

friends: holiday gifset by @birthdaysentiment

the hunger games gifset by @sharpesjoy

stranger things: nancy wheeler gifset by @eightynines

taylor swift: the story of us graphic by @taylrswift

the ballad of songbirds and snakes gifset by @kvtnisseverdeen

a charlie brown christmas gifset by @sheryl-lee

yellowjackets gifset by @natscatorrcio

the ballad of songbirds and snakes gifset by @richardgrimes

barbie 2023 gifset by @fawad-khan

the ballad of songbirds and snakes gifset by @clarisselareu

pride & prejudice: darcy gifset by @prideandprejudice

the ballad of songbirds and snakes gifset by @jakeperalta

the ballad of songbirds and snakes gifset by @kendalroys

olivia rodrigo: the grudge graphic by @georgesezra

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: tigris gifset by @padme-amidala

the ballad of songbirds and snakes: lucy gray baird soundtrack gifset by @crowley-anthony

#*creatorshoutouts

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checkoutmybookshelf · 1 year

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The Boys are Back in Town

Most of the X-Wing series focused on either Wraith or Rogue squadron in their full capacities and on standard missions. That is NOT this book. This book focuses on Wedge Antillies, Wes Janson, Tycho Celchu, and Derek "Hobbie" Klivian as they slide inexorably from a diplomatic mission to something that Padme Amidala would unquestionably describe as "aggressive negotiations." Let's talk Starfighters of Adumar.

When you have a planet that has evolved outside of either imperial or republic influence that reveres pilots to an arguably unhealthy degree and you can't drag Luke Skywalker out of whatever he is currently doing, you get Wedge "I blew up two Death Stars, you don't scare me" Antilles. Wedge then puts together a crack team of his three best pilot buddies to hammer out a treaty between Adumar and the New Republic (I'd be LYING if I told you I was picturing anything other than Adam Sandler casting his best friends and taking them on epic vacations and incidentally making a movie for this bit).

As per usual, things go pear-shaped basically before they even get boots down on Adumar, because among its other problems, Adumar loves the HELL out of dueling. To the death. Usually with starfighters. Some asshole decides to try to increase his personal clout by shooting Wedge down as they fly in. This doesn't work, but hot damn does it set the tone...

The toxic dueling culture is not limited to snubfighters, however. Cheriss ke Hanadi (the undisputed queen of duels with blastswords) guides Red Squadron through the twists and turns of Adumari culture. That does not stop Wes from getting in a duel at the diplomatic reception, though. This duel is incredible because it's Wes giving an object lesson in how to humiliate the living hell out of an overly cocky opponent with a blastsword while functionally unarmed. This fight is glorious, and it's a beautiful follow-up to the "getting ready for the ball" scene our boys get to have where Wes lights up like a kid at Christmas when he discovers that blastswords are basically "blaster[s] that you have to hit people with."

Cheriss gets done a wee bit dirty by this book, because she basically develops a crush on Wedge, and when she finds out that he and Iella have gotten together, she sets herself up to get murdered by fighting a stupid number of duels in a row. The rest of Red Squardon steps in though, and as an added bonus, the New Republic medics give her a medication for her chronic vertigo to allow Cheriss to become a pilot. This series literally is not here for anyone who isn't a New Republic pilot, so I don't love Cheriss's arc, but honestly it could have been a lot worse, so I'm not complaining too hard.

The draw for this book though, is unquestionably the character work in our four protagonist pilots. The plot of the novel is pretty simple, all things considered, so Allston takes the opportunity to really dig into character for our boys, and getting to follow them on a somewhat nontraditional mission and using their skills as best they can is just FUN. As a friend says, this book is delicious candy fluff, and the characters are the candies.

Even when the mission goes directly to hell and Red Squadron has to run the gauntlet for their lives, the choices and twists and turns are largely character-driven. That makes what could have been a run-of-the-mill climactic escape into a really tense, well-constructed series of choices and consequences that are just FUN because of the characters who have been dropped into the situation.

There's objectively not too much substance to this book, but it ties Wraith Squadron as my favorite X-Wing book because of the character work and focus on the top four New Republic pilots. Plus, it's a little adorable that this is where Wedge and Iella really get together, and I am HERE for legends continuity legacy families.

#star wars #star wars books #star wars eu books #starfighters of adumar #wedge antilles #wes janson #tycho celchu #hobbie klivian #x wing #x wing fighter #x wing pilot #sci fi #science fiction

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