#that one engineer!anakin fic changed me as a person

[samstree]

any fic that mentions anakin liking the rain is just 👌👌👌

[gffa]

Hi! You're much more knowledgeable about Star Wars lore/canon than I am (I have yet to read any novels, most of what I know is what I've seen in Rebels and the movies) so I was hoping you might be able to answer this 😅

I know Anakin has a really high midi-chlorian count, and from my understanding, that leads to him feeling and engaging with the force in a way that's different and more than most other force sensitives. In a lot of the fics I've read, at times Anakin is described as being overwhelmed by the intensity of the force around him. As someone with a sensory disorder, I see this as being similar to a kind of (force related) sensory overload. Is it canon that Anakin can be overwhelmed or is that just an idea that a lot of people decided to work into their stories? If it isn't canon, what are your thoughts about it? (Whether or not it's canon doesn't bother me in any way, I'm honestly just curious about it!! 😅)

Hi! This isn't something that's ever come up or been implied in the movies or the TV series, there's no indication that Anakin is overwhelmed by the intensity of his connection to the Force in canon (movies+TCW), he never seems to struggle with it being too much, instead he seems pretty comfortable in his power and it never distracts him or anything. His issues are the ones we all face--that it's hard and scary to really understand yourself and to look at the ugly parts of yourself and change them.  That he doesn’t really want to let go of the things he needs to, when it’s their time, that he’s so unwilling to do it that he’d make a deal with the devil to stop it. I believe there are some books in Legends that have Anakin being overwhelmed by his connection to the Force (I want to say Rogue Planet?) so it's not that it's a totally fanon concept--aside from that the EU was never part of Lucas' world, it was its own separate world, one that is valuable for its own sake, but often took liberties with the worldbuilding that never quite fully meshed with the original foundations, in my opinion (not an inherently bad thing by any means! often times those liberties produced some really cool things!)--but it's not exactly a hard foundational aspect of the character or worldbuilding, either. Personally, I’m mixed about it.  I dislike when it’s used as a bludgeon against the Jedi, because it’s not how Lucas saw Anakin’s connection, that the themes of Anakin’s fall were about his greed for more, more more, to forcibly possess the people he wanted to keep, that he wanted the galaxy to operate the way that he wanted, even when that meant forcing other people.  Having Anakin’s connection to the Force being overwhelming and that leading to his troubles is overwriting the foundational themes of the story, which is what I’m wary of. But I can very much enjoy it when it’s used as an exploration of Anakin’s character while keeping his themes intact, because it’s potentially really interesting!  I think you have to step very fast and light to weave it together with the Anakin we see on the screen, who doesn’t seem to have any issues with this or work any differently than any other Jedi’s connection, just that he can do things more easily, like a naturally gifted athlete or naturally gifted at engineering and mechanics, but if someone wants to explore a sensory issue with a character, I think that’s absolutely fantastic. I think it can be used really well to make Anakin sympathetic, the idea that he often feels like the entire world is screaming at him, certainly I view Anakin through the lens of him having screaming anxiety and that that makes it harder for him to let go, because when you’re constantly terrified and have been all your life (I say, slowly raising my hand) you really, really want to hold on to everything because you feel helpless and its a way of exerting control over the things and people you love. Anakin having an overwhelming connection to the Force can be fascinating in a similar vein, because it’s hard to work around that kind of thing, it’s hard to know that this is something you’ll have to deal with all your life, it’s hard not to let it become an excuse, it’s hard to have your brain feel like its on fire all the time and feel like you’re slogging uphill because you have to do all this hard work to help you cope, when you just want someone to tell you that it’s fine to lean into the screaming hot mess of it all and just do what you want and you’re more special than anyone else because of it. I don’t see it as foundational to the bigger themes of Star Wars or Anakin’s character as a whole, I don’t think you reasonably expect that others must take it into consideration as SW fans, but I see a ton of value in exploring it as a character piece for him!

[dailyreverie]

Can you write an Anakin Skywalker fic? Maybe they have a fight but one of them gets injured so the other one literally destroys everything in their path to get to them. Something super angsty that ends with fluff? Thank you!

A/N: It's here! Finally! Sorry it took ages! I really hope you like it 💞 This is the first time I write Anakin so I'm a bit nervous lol

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x Fem. Reader (she/her pronouns)

Word count: 1 k

Warnings: mentions of violence and injuries, language.

The last conversation you and Anakin had, had ended up in both of you not speaking for the past week. It was a battle of egos, one stubborn mind against the other as you came up with a plan for the next mission. Neither of you were going to accept that the other plan was better; it had escalated so much that the original plan - which was yours and was definitely better  - was completely disregarded as you went at each other’s necks, screaming and yelling at each other about how stubborn and big-headed they were as Obi-Wan sat there and waited for the fight to reach its natural ending.

Except it wasn’t, and the words were getting stronger and the voices were getting higher. “Are you even listening to yourself?” You spat. “It’s always the same shit with you!”

“Alright, you two.” Obi-Wan tried, standing up from his seat to make himself noticeable in the middle of the fight, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. His voice didn’t do much, seeming you two were still going at it. “That’s enough!” He screamed, making both of you turn to look at him shocked. “This is no place for bedroom fights, you want to argue about your personal problems? Go do that outside, I don’t care. But we have a mission to plan right now.”

“We have a plan.” You stated matter-of-factly.

“A terrible plan.” Anakin added, making your blood boil once again.

Obi-Wan sighed, you really were made for each other. “We are going with her plan, Anakin. You know it’s better, it covers every possible outcome.”

“Do not count me in for that mission then.” Anakin looked at you, face serious and voice angry before storming out of the room. “You can go do it yourselves.”

That was the last you heard of Anakin for the last week. You moved back to your room, which resulted in you not being able to sleep without his arms wrapped around you, tear stains having to be washed up every morning before going out and facing the day. There had been fights, but never as big and loud as the last one, never about insulting the other, never lasting as long as this one had.

Lack of sleep and a numb mind run through your body as you make your way to your ship, Obi-Wan hot on your heels making sure you are up to the job. "It's my plan, remember? I know it backwards and forwards."

"Yes, but you are not well rested and anyone with the Force can easily sense your distress." He states. "You don't have to do it, I could go."

He had his own tasks to go through, and switching places meant changing the plan last minute. That was a bigger risk than going with a little night of insomnia on you. "I'll be fine, Kenobi." An attempt at a smile draws on your face, which makes Obi-Wan roll his eyes.

Starting your ship and pulling your helmet on you see him waiting for you to take off. "Be careful, Y/N!" He shouts above the noise of your engine.

You wink back at him, the adrenaline making its appearance. "I'll be back before you know it."

Except you are not.

Everyone is running around trying to get ahold of you, your last message being nothing but your panicked voice desperately calling for backup. That's when Obi-Wan ignores the petty fight between you and Anakin and runs to him. You could be mad at each other, but he had the right to now.

"Something happened to her." Anakin hears the Jedi master say, "We can't reach her. She called for backup and then we lost her."

Blood boils in Anakin's veins, air can't seem to find its way to his lungs, and the next thing he knows is that he is running to his ship. "We have no idea where she is, Anakin!" Obi-Wan says as Anakin starts the ship. "We already sent someone!"

"I don't care," Anakin replies. "I'm the only one who can find her."

An army of soldiers and droids fire at Anakin as soon as he lands, but the urgent pull he feels calling at him is much stronger and powerful than whatever weapon is directed to him. He is pushing through the attacks with ease, eyes burning, focused on the pain he hears is calling him through corridors and dark corners. 

His saber burns the lock of the cell you are in. Your body is tied to a chair, your wrists pinned to the sides, you are practically standing up with your head lolling side to side as whimpers leave your mouth. His stomach turns at the sight of red marks across your neck, and once he approaches you he holds your head with careful hands on each side of your face.

"Anakin?" Your weak voice asks, your eyes barely opening to see him.

"Who did this?" You had never heard such anger in his voice. "I'm going to kill them, tell me who hurt you." He demands, but the frail state you are in pulls him back to reality.

"I don't- I don't know. I got distracted for a second and then-" your voice trails off, your head bouncing again.

Anakin cuts the ties from your body and catches you when you stumble, his strong arms holding you to his chest as he exits the room you were held in. He rushes to the ship, recognizing some fellow Jedis opening the path for him as they fight away the enemies. The road is bumpy and complicated, but he reaches the ship and secures you on the passenger seat, using his cape as a pillow for your unsteady head.

"Ani," you speak softly, grabbing the hand that was laying the cape around your head. "Thank you." There's a weak smile on your lips that he matches. His fingers caress your cheeks tenderly and he leans to place a soft kiss on your lips.

"I would never let anyone hurt you, my love." His forehead is pressed to yours as he speaks. "I've got you, forever. Now let's get you home. He kisses you again before hopping on the driver seat and taking off.

Your hand is in his the whole trip, even as you come in and out of it, but now that Anakin can feel your touch again, he is finally able to breathe once more.

✨✨✨

Thank you for reading! Reblog and comment if you enjoyed it!

[phoenixyfriend]

Re; Ahsoka and Quinlan being the same age, now I'm picturing Ahsoka, Quinlan, and Rex eventually ending up in a weird sorta thruple where Quinlan comes in and out of the relationship but the door is kinda always open for him? And Rex spends a lot of mornings eyeing the tangle of orange and brown skin on the other side of the bed like he has no idea how he ended up here but he's (mostly) okay with that tbh

Context: Commander Buir in chronological order

YES okay so this is wild to me that people are invested in this but like half the time-travel fics with Ahsoka in the same age-group as Quinlan have me wondering if I should ship them. Let me just. Ho shit.

So, okay, I've explored a lot of possible dynamics but there's something really engaging about how Quinlan, trained as a Shadow before the Sith came back, could react to a War Padawan. Ahsoka isn't really infiltration material yet, she's very much a frontline fighter, but she's got a lot more experience with a kind of consistent dark atmosphere that most Jedi don't. They get exposed to plenty of dark stuff, sure, but not the kind of all-encompassing "this is my life for the last two years" thing that is usually reserved for the long-term field agents like Shadows and Watchmen.

The War Padawans, for all that they were supposed to be just normal Jedi Padawans, were living in the kind of consistently negative environment that's normally experienced by those Knighted Sentinels.

So Ahsoka, while still generally pretty young in these AUs, is a very odd kind of person to be around, because she's spunky and vivacious and snippy and affectionate and snarky and knows how to break every bone in your body from harrowing experience as the only thing standing between death and thousands of brothers.

And Quinlan, I imagine, really likes that about her. She gets it, and she's still an energetic and loving and trying to do her best to be a good person despite everything. He gravitates towards her and she... well, she's not blind. She can tell he's interested. And she's not upset about that.

ANYWAY, ONTO REX

So, Rex is... technically twelve. He hasn't exactly got a whole lot of experience with romance. He is also, up until the point of time-travel, legal property of the Senate and the Jedi Order, which means that Ahsoka, or at least her community, owns him. He was indoctrinated to serve her and that community. She also outranks him, for all that she usually lets him take the lead in the field due to experience. He's older than her physically and maturity-wise, but she's also had a grow-up-faster-than-you-should adolescence, and she has superpowers.

What I'm saying is, the power dynamic is fucked up.

(Unironically I spent hours last night realizing that it balances out a lot more than C*dywan does, which I'm censoring because by god do I not want discourse on this post. I like both ships, and don't want to argue about what's the most problematic. It's Star Wars. The only unproblematic ships are Bail/Breha and Owen/Beru.)

Here's the thing, though, because the main thing people seem to argue here is the age/maturity difference as a problem area:

The age difference in actual time is four years, which is smaller than the two main ships of the franchise (Han/Leia and Padme/Anakin, to be clear). The age difference in maturity is ??? We'll say that the clones started aging normally after they hit twenty, so the age difference in maturity is six years... which is still normal for SW ships.

(This is why I don't have any issues with the ship in a post-O66 context, once they've had a few years to move past the traumas and whatnot. The age stuff all evens out with time, they're a good team, and neither was grooming the other. It's not objectively any more problematic than most SW ships at that point, and I'm okay with that. They deserve to be happy if they want.)

But they get yanked away from all that structure of who owns what, who reports where, who has which rank, who's legally a person in the eyes of the Republic when they end up on Dagobah. Once they've registered when they are, the only remaining complications are:

He grew up in a cultlike environment and was indoctrinated to serve her (but has been replacing that indoctrination with genuine respect and affection for her as a person because they've worked together for two years).

She has superpowers (contextually not a big problem: we see several Force-Sensitive/Non-Sensitive ships that don't consider those powers a complicating element)

He's several years younger than her (canonically less of an issue than it could be: Cut got married and has kids) and has next to no experience with what a normal romance looks like except for hanging out on the edges of whatever the fuck his General has going on with the Senator

She's several years less mature than he is (...something of an issue)

So a lot of this is mostly okay. She feels weird about the fact that she's got more knowledge of romance and all that it entails. He feels weird about the fact that, despite her being older, he looks at her and sees someone that's still a little young, not quite a shiny. Except she is older than him, and he's seen her behead four people in a single move, and they've saved each other's lives more times than either of them can count anymore. He respects her, and the fact that she's babyfaced doesn't change the fact that, in terms of who they are as people and warriors, they're on a level playing field.

She still looks at him and mourns his lost childhood, and he still looks at her and takes a moment to see past the too-big eyes and adolescent proportions.

But they really, really care about each other, and maybe part of them is starting to recognize that there's a bit of a crush before they time-travel, but neither one wants to make a move. There's a lot of baggage on both sides, a lot of "but they're a child" and "but they're (literally vs functionally) below me in the chain of command, I can't take advantage of that" and all that fun stuff. It's the kind of situation where two people circle each other for ages without making a move, because actually making that move is terrifying on account of not knowing whether the other party knows they can say no, on top of the usual "what if it ruins our friendship?" thing.

What happens on Dagobah, though... is very tropey. They're sort of stranded until Ahsoka can fix the ship, and that takes time. The area is also very heavy with the Force, dense and heady with the energy it carries, and it's... actually really not great for Ahsoka. She keeps feeling like she's back on Mortis, and has nightmares from the trigger there, but also keeps hallucinating because she wasn't ready for the thickness of the energy (like Yoda) or still new enough to the Force that she couldn't feel how dense it all was (like Luke). She can't work on the engines as constantly as she'd like to get them out of there, and while Rex is a competent mechanic, he's not as skilled with it as the girl who jumped headfirst into lessons with Anakin.

Rex spends a lot of time holding Ahsoka and wiping her brow with a wet cloth while she's feverish and out of it. Yes we're going full Florence Nightingale romance here, let me have my fun.

They get the communications relay working earlier than the engine, find out the year is wrong, panic a bit. All is well. (It's not, but they're holding it together for now.)

Ahsoka keeps working on the engine when she's lucid. Rex keeps hunting up game and edible plants for them while she does. They cuddle at night, because it's not cold but it is empty of the people they care about, and they kind of want that reassurance of someone they trust and love at their back.

(Morai visits.)

(Daughter shows up in the nightmares, tells Ahsoka that age will not come for her beloved until the time is natural for it. The phrasing is dumb but she does manage to convey that the accelerated aging is no longer an issue, if it even was after they hit adulthood. Ahsoka is relieved.)

And, you know, emotions happen. She takes his hand while they're leaning up against each other. He kisses her forehead while she's having a bad spell. They cook together and tell jokes to keep sane and spar. They hug each other through nightmares and panic attacks. There is much blushing. There is much cuddling.

Once, they kiss.

They break apart, flushing and stammering and being very awkward about the whole thing, and make excuses to leave and panic about the fact that they!! Kissed!!!!!

A couple hours later they find each other again, and have a long and complicated discussion about why they like each other (war makes bedfellows, there's trust and affection and all that fun stuff) and why they're hesitant (age stuff, maturity stuff, prior indoctrination), and make the decision to take it slow. They cuddle, and kiss, and blush a lot because both of them are basically just dumb teens having their first real relationship.

They eventually leave the planet, make it to Coruscant, etc. It takes a bit for anyone except Obi-Wan to realize that something's changed between them. Most people didn't know them before, and Anakin's observation skills are currently at a very low ebb. But they sit together and hold hands, and flirt when they spar, and once or twice people find them kissing (both standard and Keldabe) in a corner while holding hands and then just smiling at each other like loons.

They end up rooming together because nobody has the heart to separate them after hearing about all the war stuff. Like yes attachment's bad, but these two do seem to understand loss of loved ones and recognize that they could lose each other at any time and death is natural and they won't lose their entire shit about it, and if even General Kenobi is anxious as hell about being separated from the people he fought side-by-side with for two years, then maybe it's just... really normal for those two to want each other's company, and everyone can just turn a blind eye to the romance happening.

They share a bed, but they only ever sleep in it. Like, there's some goodnight kisses and cuddles, but everything is very G-rated until they've had time to settle into being true equals instead of just the "well, I guess the power dynamics balance out? Maybe?" of before.

And just... yeah. Rex does not believe that he's in this good of a position whenever he has the time to think about it. He's got a girlfriend! A really pretty, smart, strong, skilled one! Who thinks he's a cool dude! How the fuck did a clone like him manage that? He wasn't even legally a person a year ago, how did he end up in bed with one of the most amazing people he's ever met? He spends multiple nights just staring at her while he tries to fall asleep, asking himself how he got here and just like... marveling at her. She's worth marveling at. He's in love and she's amazing and he has no idea how to handle it at all.

...yeah no I have a lot of feelings now.

[tennessoui]

FeralObi anon here. How do you come up with these so fast?? Are you an infinite number of ideas and worlds in human-shaped form? I love both of those ideas. The first one kills me tho, Obi gets his first kind touch in years from lil Anakin. Also you can have lil Anakin coming home one day with a skulking, snarling nonverbal murder puppy and saying brightly, "He followed me home, can I keep him?" Schmi thinks this is definitely worse than the time he brought a krayt dragon home.

ah! hello! yes this is the first idea of a feral obi-wan who meets anakin when he's still on tatooine. i will also still do the second idea because like. i liked them equally as much rip me

but i told myself these were going to both be very short snippets and instead this one is uh 2k so i'll post the second one tomorrow instead of tonight!

(ficlet where obi-wan is captured by pirates/unspecified forces at a young age and then tortured for a decade before he escapes to tatooine when anakin is like 6. obi-wan, after a decade of torture is....not alright in this fic though he's only here at the end) (2k)

Shmi had known that when she sent her little Anakin away to follow after the stern-faced, warm-eyed Jedi Master, that this would not be the last time she ever saw her boy. She couldn’t explain how she knew, just as she had not been able to explain how she became pregnant, but she knew beyond a doubt that one day, she would see her little boy back in her arms.

She just hadn’t known it would be so soon.

“He died, Master Jinn died,” Anakin mumbles into the front of her dress, unwilling to move his head far back enough from her hug that he could talk clearly. “On Naboo. And the stupid Jedi council refused to train me even after I was so amazing in the air. Mom, I destroyed a blockade! Entirely! And they wouldn’t--they didn’t--” his little face scrunches up and then he’s bawling into his hands.

A slave, a born slave, knows intrinsically the injustice of the galaxy. It is not often they know hope.

“Oh my boy,” she whispers, smoothing a hand over the top of his head. She has questions. She has so many questions about everything he’s just said and what those strangers have put her son through, but the most important thing is a question she cannot wait until he has cried himself out to ask. “Is your chip gone, Ani? Did they remove your transmitter?”

Because she had sent him away from her so that he could be free. And that had been her own twisted version of hope, that her son could know a life she never would again. If the Jedi masters had proven to be just like every other master in the world, she would find herself sobbing into her own hands.

“Yeah,” Anakin sniffles and wipes at his ruddy cheeks, pulling back a few steps. “They removed it and everything. And--”

He pauses and drops his satchel to the ground in front of her. “They gave me credits. To buy you. For my trouble.”

He spits out the last three words like they’re the most disgusting thing in the entire world. As if Shmi’s freedom isn’t laying at their feet, mere centimeters away.

“Republic credits are no good here,” she hears herself say faintly.

“Padme, the handmaiden you met, she talked to the queen about me I guess,” Anakin mumbles, kicking his feet. “And when the queen learned that the Jedi didn’t want me even after all that, Padme says the queen says I’ll always have a place on Naboo. Me and my family. And then she took the Jedi credits and gave me these instead. It should be enough, Mom.”

Shmi sits down on the floor. With shaking hands, she opens the bag and looks inside. Yes. Yes.

There’s more than enough.

There’s enough to buy her freedom and take her boy away from Mos Espa. There’s enough to take her boy away from Tatooine completely.

“I…” she says. “Ani, I…”

“Padme said she’d send a ship for us,” Ani reports as if their lives are not changing right in front of their eyes. “In two days ‘cause I told her it might take a little bit of time to get Ben to come with us. But we can’t leave without him.”

This is said fiercely and with his arms crossed tightly over his little chest.

Shmi stares at him.

“I’ve already left him once!” Anakin says, stomping his foot. “But that was okay, because I knew you would bring him food and water and stuff. But if we’re both gone, no one’s going to be there for him.”

Shmi bites at her lip. There’s a lot of things happening very quickly right now, and she doesn’t know how to process half of them.

Her son has come back, after only being gone for a week and a half.

He has apparently either endeared himself so much to the queen of Naboo that she was willing to give him the money necessary to buy his mother from slavery and also promise him sanctuary on her planet. He says he’s done this by single-handedly ending a blockade, which is something she just cannot even think about right now.

He has told this queen--queen--that he will gladly live on Naboo with his family. Yes. Alright.

His family seems to include his imaginary friend, Ben.

Anakin has been talking about Ben for years now, ever since he was six and a half years old and sent by Watto to retrieve any scraps he could from what looked to be a crashed pod in the Wastelands. She’d let him ramble on about the ghost of a friend, because she’d known it to be something all children go through and experience. She hadn’t thought Anakin a lonely child, not with the friends he made in Mos Espa, but she’d always known that Anakin had a wandering spirit, ill-suited for Tatooine. If he liked to imagine an older man from a strange world hiding in the caves of the Wastes, then she wasn’t going to say anything.

“You have been leaving him food, haven’t you, Mom?” Anakin asks, almost accusatory. “I told him to expect you and everything.”

No. Shmi has not been traveling to the edge of the Wastelands every day during her precious few hours of free time in order to leave food to be picked apart by womp rats and desert critters and not her boy’s imaginary friend.

“Ani,” she says cautiously, quietly, “we cannot...we won’t be able to bring Ben with us when we go.”

Anakin, predictably, does not react well. “Why not!” he yells, backing away from her even further and looking as if she is the enemy. “Padme’s fine with it!”

“Aren’t you a little old for imaginary friends?” Shmi asks desperately, feeling cold suddenly even though the heat of the mid-morning sun has not abated at all.

If anything, her son looks more offended. “He’s not imaginary! Saying...saying that he’s not coming with us...is...is a bunch of poodoo!”

“Anakin!” Shmi gasps.

“Come on,” her boy says forcefully, grabbing at her hand and tugging her towards the door. She gets on her feet reluctantly and has half a mind to pull back just because he needs to learn that this sort of behavior is not okay, war hero or not. “We’re going to buy you from Watto. And then we’re going to go visit Ben!”

---

Buying her freedom takes less time than Shmi Skywalker ever thought it would. It feels distant as well, as if it’s happening to someone else.

It doesn’t help that her Ani is impatient and surly by turn, spilling the coin out onto Watto’s counter and barely waiting for him to finish counting it before he’s looking at the price of renting a four-person speeder parked outside.

“You won’t survive out there on your own,” Watto sneers, even as he’s passing her the kill-switch of her own slave chip. “Days. It’ll be days until the Hutts find out there’s a newly freed slave with no connections out there in the open. Ripe for the pickin’.”

Watto doesn’t have to tell her any of this. She knows. Gods, does she know.

But Anakin seems so sure about possessing the favor of the Queen of Naboo, or at least her handmaiden, which might be close enough to the same thing. She thanks Watto--she thanks him and then doesn’t even know why--and meets Anakin outside.

He’s bouncing around the speeder, little hands clutching his satchel to his chest. “Good!” he says when he sees her, hopping onto the machine and putting the parcel between his feet. “I got Ben something called a fig on Naboo, but I don’t know how long it’ll take for it to go bad. Apparently they’re sweet.”

Shmi goes along with it. Shmi doesn’t know why she goes along with it, but she does. She can see this is important to her boy, and though she’d rather spend the afternoon and early evening saying goodbye to her friends, she will allow Ani to say goodbye to his imaginary friend. Maybe she’ll even talk to it. “Hi, hello, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the imaginary blue milk and delicacies I’ve left out for you this past week and half. Oh no, it was no bother. My son insisted.”

The ride is quick--Anakin has always been a driver to push the limits of any engine he comes across--and before she knows it, he’s dismounting on a piece of desert and rock that look exactly the same as the last four pieces of rocky terrain they’ve past.

“Ben!” Ani calls, satchel clutched firmly in his hands as he makes his way deeper into the crevices of the landscape. “Ben, it’s Ani! I’m really sorry that I left! Ben? Ben! I’m back now! Ani’s back!”

It’s actually...quite pathetic, to watch her boy speak so pleadingly to the cold stone faces of the rocks around them, but if this is what he needs to do to say goodbye to his life on Tatooine, Shmi won’t say a word.

“Ben--” Anakin draws in a breath to call again, but then there’s movement out of the corner of Shmi’s eyes, and something jumps from the rock down to land on her boy.

She screams and darts forward, but the thing on top of her son snarls at her in guttural warning.

“No, Ben,” Ani coos, stroking at the face that yes, is human, now that it’s not in unnaturally fast motion. “That’s my mom, Ben.”

Ben--Ben??--growls anyway, pinning the boy--her boy--beneath him with his legs and arms.

“She’s fine,” Ani murmurs gently, one hand reaching up to stoke over the beginnings of a beard on Obi-Wan’s face “Oh Ben, I’m sorry.”

The man on top of Shmi’s child finally looks away from her and at her boy, which is both better and worse.

“Ani,” Ben drawls out, as if the word--or perhaps forming the word--hurts him.

Anakin is happy. Shmi can tell he’s happy without even being able to see much of him. It’s like the very air vibrates with his joy. “Yes!” her son says. “Ani. Ben.” He taps the man’s chest. “Ben. Ani.”

The man buries his head into Anakin’s hair, hands rubbing up and down his sides and his arms and his face.

Shmi needs to say something, wants to say something about this strange man touching boy like he owns him, but the memory of his growl and the flash of his golden eyes stops her from stepping forward.

“Anakin, get away from him,” she hisses instead of stepping forward and tearing the stranger off of her son. She has the distinct feeling Anakin wouldn’t let Ben go anywhere, not with the way his little hands are holding so tight to the man’s shoulders. The man’s shoulders that are covered with one of her old tunics that Anakin had told her became unsalvageable after its last wash.

“No,” Anakin says, tightening his hold on his...friend. “He says you didn’t give him food the entire time I was gone! He’s hungry.”

Shmi thinks there’s a very good possibility that this Ben is going to eat her, but she knows not to say anything of the sort. Not when it’s two against one.

“He hasn’t said anything!” She cries instead.

Anakin huffs at this and pats at the feral’s head. “Maybe not to you, but he talks to me.”

Shmi stares at him and wonders if there’s something she’s supposed to be doing or saying here. The man won’t allow her to tear him off her child, she knows that automatically. But she can’t--she doesn’t know--

“Anakin,” she tries, desperately.

But Anakin doesn’t even look at her, too busy petting over the man, who has at least allowed him to sit up. “Hey, I’m sorry, I thought she would,” he tells him in an undertone. “I really thought she would, but I’m back now. I’m not going anywhere without you again--”

He extends his hand and Ben presses his cheek against it with enough force that it pushes him back slightly.

“You’re coming to Naboo with us, Ben,” Anakin promises, clutching at the ends of the man’s long hair. “Or I’m not going at all.”

To Shmi, it sounds like a threat.

The way her son’s eyes flash an unfamiliar golden color makes her feel cold as a Tatooine night. She shivers, but no one notices.

[countessofbiscuit]

How would you have rexsoka get together in canon? What is your favourite fic you\ve written? Is there a fic you have that got way more attention than you thought? what is your favourite flower? do you like cake?

thanks for the meaty ask!

Okay, so ... 

The Rexsoka I’d have pitched if I’d been a senior writer and encouraging noises had been made towards possible Jedi-Clone romances:

A Rex & Ahsoka-led Onderon Arc (all 4 eps), with Anakin and Obi-Wan left behind so we see how competently Captain and Commander operate independently, and with the contrived and painfully bad Steela-Lux-Ahsoka love triangle left out, because Ahsoka has 501 reasons to be completely done chasing that chucklebrained chump. Instead, she’s kinda relieved to see Lux maturing into someone that a person as impressive as Steela Gerrera can respect to the point of affection. There’s something in it that seems … familiar, but she can’t quite place it. That is, until her fireteam outflanks Rex’s in a mock ambush and he’s more pleased than cheesed :) 

Throw in a nighttime scene with Rex pulling patrol and Ahsoka unable to sleep, or perhaps them on a nested recce in Iziz — anything where they can have a quiet heart-to-heart beneath the stars as they play rebels, and hello, I think I’ve just foreshadowed your next animated series for you, Dave. You’re welcome.

A Season 7 scene that could’ve been easily pitched and would have said everything that needed saying about Rex and Ahsoka’s relationship without offending anybody: 

The voice-over opening to “Gone without a Trace” cuts from Ahsoka walking down the Temple steps to zipping across an industrial sector of Corucant towards an Underworld portal. Instead, I suggest cutting from the Temple flashback to:

EXT. DINGY CORUSCANT ALLEY.

Ahsoka is in her new but definitely pre-loved duds, leaning against her speederbike, waiting for something or someone.

An armoured silhouette suddenly fills the alley entrance. Starkly backlit but instantly familiar. Rex walks forward, deflating visibly with every step until he’s standing before her. The silence between them is tight with anticipation. “So,” he finally says. “You’re really going, huh.”

Ahsoka nods, grimly.

Rex chews this over, then notices the bike. “You went for that model?” 

“For old times’s sake, I thought I’d not listen to you,” Ahsoka replies, shrugging with a wink. A question pops into Rex’s lopsided smirk. “So you can tell me ‘I told you so’ later.” 

Rex sets his helmet onto her seat and pulls her into a long hug. “I look forward to it,” he finally says.  

Ahsoka tears up and squeezes him back. Then she hands him his helmet and mounts her bike with a hurry that betrays a growing temptation to change her mind. “Goodbye, Captain,” she says with a quick salute. 

Her bike shoots from the alley, engine kicking up dust and wind into Rex’s kama. “Goodbye, Ahsoka.” 

Anyhoooo, someone was clearly thinking about how bereft Rex might feel after Season 5 when they made this poster.

My own favorite fic: Currently, The Colonel & the Margravine of Örtö (Foxiyo Regency AU) is reigning supreme. I’m really proud of the work that went into it, and I look back fondly on the period I spent writing it. Funnily enough, I just dropped some good cash on a mic to play around with Audacity and podficcing specifically so I can work my way up to recording this. 

Surprisingly popular fic: If we’re talking engagement — comments/kudos/other feedback versus just hits — then Joint Command. If you’d’ve told me three years ago that a grody, TCW-era smutfic featuring Ahsoka and two clone officers would be so well received, I’d have asked to share your strip :p

My favorite flowers are daffodils, and cake is one of my five food groups (and the more frosting the better). 

[dettiot]

Fic: late-night interruption 1/?

late-night interruption Author: dettiot Rating: G (for now) Ship: Anidala Characters: Obi-Wan, Anakin,  Padmé,  Sabé, Rex

Summary: When Obi-Wan receives a late-night comm from Sabé, he’s not sure what to expect. But what he learns will change many lives . . . and the fate of the Republic.

Note: This is an expanded and revised version of a ficlet I posted on my Tumblr. I loved this idea so much and a lot of people wanted more, and the follow-up ficlets just didn't scratch the itch for me. So I hope you enjoy this!

Also posted on AO3!

Chapter 1 

As the blue holoimage of Master Yoda faded away, Obi-Wan Kenobi let out a breath. “Well.”

“That’s all you’ve got to say? ‘Well’?” 

“No, that is not all I have to say, Anakin,” he said, looking at his former Padawan. “But where to begin? That’s the question.” 

“How about with the Council playing right into the Separatists’ hands by keeping us bouncing around the Outer Rim like this?” Anakin said, turning to face him. “While we’re chasing droid armies, Dooku and Grievous are planning something, I know it.” 

Folding his arms over his chest, Obi-Wan gazed down at the holotable, even though there was nothing on display. Because it was hard to deny Anakin’s words. For the last six months, they had been moving around the Outer Rim, fighting battles at a clip they hadn’t seen since the early days of the war. 

Battles that felt pointless. Like a distraction, a misdirection, allowing the Separatists to conceal their true plan. 

“What do you think they’re planning, then?” Obi-Wan asked him. 

Anakin shrugged. “Whatever it is, it’s bound to be big. The Separatists have been losing ground for the last year. Almost like they’re letting themselves be pushed out to the edge of the galaxy, so no one will think they’ve got a big offensive in them.” 

“Going by that logic, their next move will be to attack the center of the galaxy,” Obi-Wan said, stroking his beard. “Like Coruscant.” 

“Yeah,” Anakin said, looking worried. “That’s what I thought.”

The silence that fell between them was heavy and thick. Full of words they wouldn’t say, emotions they wouldn’t acknowledge. 

As he looked at Anakin, Obi-Wan was struck by just how old he looked. Anakin wasn’t even twenty-three yet, but he looked much older. But even more than that, he just looked . . . 

His hair was disheveled and unwashed. His clothes smelled of smoke and bore more than a few singe marks. And he was definitely too thin. 

No matter how bad things were, Obi-Wan made time to shower, to change his clothes, to eat. He might be as short on sleep as Anakin, but otherwise, he attempted to take care of himself. Because such efforts paid off in the long run. It was hard-won knowledge, learned as his youthful energy faded in the face of continuous challenges. 

But Anakin was stubborn. Convinced of his invincibility. And he didn’t respond well when he felt Obi-Wan was telling him what to do. 

“I suppose we should be thankful the Council is being cautious. It allows us to take advantage of the downtime,” Obi-Wan said, eyeing Anakin. 

“You say cautious, I say dangerously inactive,” he grumbled. 

Well . . . it was hard to argue with that. But the point of this wasn’t to get into a fight with Anakin about the Council’s position. It was to encourage him to get some rest. 

“Be that as it may, we should both try to get some sleep,” Obi-Wan said firmly. 

For a moment, Anakin looked at him, and even opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. It was rare for Anakin to hesitate like that--so rare that Obi-Wan took a step towards him. 

“Anakin?” 

As quickly as the moment came, it went. Anakin shook his head and stepped back. “Nothing, Master. You’re right, we should take advantage of this break to catch up on our rest.” 

It was tempting to press Anakin, to step up to the door he had opened for a moment and ask for admittance. There had been something bothering him for the last few months, Obi-Wan knew. Ever since their last visit to Coruscant, Anakin seemed to be mulling something, to the point of outright brooding.  

But Anakin was an adult now. If he chose not to talk to Obi-Wan about whatever was in his thoughts, that was his choice. And as difficult as it was to let Anakin struggle when Obi-Wan felt like he could help, he knew he should respect Anakin’s decisions. 

“Yes, indeed,” Obi-Wan said, following Anakin out of the private conference room and towards the hanger bay. For flexibility, they had been traveling on separate ships, to allow them to split up when needed. But that flexibility had come at the cost of Obi-Wan monitoring Anakin. 

Captain Rex fell into step with them. “Generals,” he acknowledged them. “Any word on what’s next?” 

“Still waiting for it,” Anakin said, sounding disgruntled. 

With his typical equanimity, Rex just nodded. “Sure to come soon, sir.” 

“Only if we’re lucky,” Anakin said. 

Anakin and Rex kept talking as Obi-Wan followed them, contemplating the matter at hand. He didn’t want to pry, but . . . if Anakin wasn’t sleeping, it would catch up with him. Usually at the worst possible time. 

No, if he was going to get his former Padawan to actually rest, it would take going behind his back and arranging for him to not be disturbed. And if there was one thing Obi-Wan Kenobi was perfectly willing to do, it was to be sneaky. 

“Did we get the transmission of the Chancellor’s latest speech?” Anakin asked Rex. 

“Yes, sir. Waiting for you when we get back to the ship,” Rex said. 

There was an exchange of glances between Anakin and Rex. Something about it made Obi-Wan take another look at the two men. Remembering those times lately when Rex had seemed to be covering for Anakin while he was doing . . . something. 

Obi-Wan gave his head a shake. He was becoming paranoid--a sure sign of his own exhaustion. As soon as he took care of Anakin and saw him and Rex off to their ship, he was going directly to his quarters. 

And then Anakin literally walked into a wall and Obi-Wan made up his mind. 

“Anakin, are you all right?” he asked, stepping forward to offer him a hand up. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Anakin said sheepishly, rising to his feet on his own power. His cheeks were flushed and he rubbed a hand over his face. “Just tired.” 

Turning to Rex, Obi-Wan said, “You should pilot the shuttle to the Resolute. If Anakin did it, you’d probably wind up flying into a black hole.” 

“Master,” Anakin said, his voice practically a whine. 

Obi-Wan gave him a look. “Why don’t you go prep the ship for launch? If you do it properly, I’m sure Rex would be more comfortable putting his life into your hands.” 

That wasn’t quite enough to pacify Anakin, but it got him onto the shuttle, just as Obi-Wan wanted. He turned to Rex. “Captain, I’m ordering you to hold any of Anakin’s comm messages until he’s gotten at least eight hours of sleep.” 

Rex shifted his feet a little. “You sure about that, General?” 

Translation: Rex was fully prepared to throw him under the speeder if Anakin found out. Which, to be honest, was just what Obi-Wan expected Rex to say. 

“Yes, I am,” Obi-Wan said. “I’ll deal with Anakin if it comes to that.” 

“Understood, sir,” Rex said, his sense of worry easing slightly. “I’ll take care of General Skywalker, never you fear.” 

“I have no doubt of that, Rex,” Obi-Wan said with a small smile. 

With a crisp salute, Rex followed Anakin up the landing ramp of the shuttle. It only took a few moments for the ramp to lift and for the ship’s engines to spool up. With Anakin on his way to his ship, that meant Obi-Wan was able to head to his quarters. 

A few minutes in the sonic shower and a ration bar was enough to make him feel ready for bed. But he still sat on the floor and dropped into a short meditation, doing his best to clear his mind before bed. He had found that a few minutes of meditation before sleeping was enough to help hold off the worst of his nightmares. 

He just hoped tonight that he would fall asleep quickly. 

By the time he rose from the floor and pulled back his covers, Obi-Wan was yawning. Slipping between the sheets, he closed his eyes and felt the warm, dark blanket of oblivion fall over him peacefully. 

XXX

As she trailed behind Padmé, Sabé was struck with a sense of déjà vu. It had been years since she had served as a traditional handmaiden, but it was rather remarkable how all the old skills came back to her. 

Keep her head lowered but her eyes up. Make a note of every person and droid who crossed their path. Stay two steps behind Padmé, fading into the background whenever anyone approaches her. Listen to every conversation without appearing to hear anything. 

Yet serving Padmé as an aide instead of a handmaiden was very different. On Naboo or during their trips off-planet, Queen Amidala had played a different role. A role with more respect, more autonomy. 

Now? As a Senator? Sabé didn’t know how Padmé could deal with the lack of control, with having to sway other Senators to her point of view. 

But then, that was why Padmé was the Senator and Sabé was the aide. Her old friend and former Queen had all the skills needed to be a Senator, while Sabé preferred to gather information and work on the fringes or in the dark. 

It was only due to Padmé’s condition that Sabé was here at all, stepping in to allow Dormé to double for Padmé more frequently. 

Because even though it was probably obvious to most people who looked at her, Padmé had refused to make any public announcements about her pregnancy. And Sabé knew why, could understand why . . . but she didn’t have to like it. Not when it meant Padmé had to keep working, had to keep pushing herself instead of taking it easy.

Sabé found herself worrying more and more about Padmé’s child, even as her worries for Padmé herself increased exponentially. 

Without the mid-adolescence growth spurt Sabé had experienced, Padmé had remained the same height as when she was a fourteen-year-old queen. Her figure was slight, and even though Sabé knew Padmé was strong and physically fit . . . it seemed like her swollen belly dwarfed her figure. 

The moment Sabé had seen Padmé upon her arrival on Coruscant, her first thought had been how could a woman so small be having such a large baby? Sabé had immediately asked about Padmé’s prenatal care, but her friend had waved aside her concerns. 

“I’ve regularly seen a med droid and I’m in good health,” Padmé reassured her. 

She had opened her mouth to argue that a med droid was fine in a pinch but no replacement for an actual healer, but the tightness of Padmé’s mouth, the strain in her eyes, made Sabé hold her tongue. 

At least Padmé had asked her to come, Sabé had tried to console herself. She was Padmé’s oldest friend, the first handmaiden selected upon Padmé’s election as Princess of Theed and future Queen of Naboo. Padmé must have had some concerns about her health to ask Sabé to come, instead of pretending everything was fine.

And since her friend had asked her to come, Sabé had of course gotten on the first ship to Coruscant. Nothing would prevent her from helping Padmé. 

It had only taken a few days for Sabé to see just how much Padmé needed her help. Her work schedule was even more punishing than it was when she had been Queen. It wasn’t just the hours of reading and research, either. Achieving anything in the Senate seemed predicated upon tedious socializing: cocktail parties, dinners, nights at the opera and the ballet . . . 

No wonder Padmé looked exhausted even before you considered she was seven and a half months pregnant. 

But tonight would be different. There were no social engagements, and it was still fairly early. They could go back to Padmé’s apartment and Sabé would order some dinner while Padmé bathed. If luck was with her, Sabé could convince Padmé to actually relax by watching a holomovie or talking, instead of doing more reading. 

When Senator Bendon approached them, Sabé was very tempted to nudge Padmé along. They were nearly to the speeder dock, where Padmé’s pilot and security escort was waiting for her. They were so close to escaping!

But of course Padmé wouldn’t ignore a colleague, so Sabé hung back as Padmé, with help from C-3PO, spoke with Senator Bendon. 

However, as Sabé watched her friend, she couldn’t help feeling like something was wrong. There was a tension in Padmé’s shoulders--a tension, she now realized, which had been there since Sabé had arrived on Coruscant.

Padmé’s body suddenly flinched, and Senator Bendon made an Ithorian gesture that seemed to represent concern. 

“Senator Amidala, are you all right?” 3PO translated. 

“Yes,” Padmé lied. Her voice was breathy and thin, and she half-turned towards Sabé, who was already stepping forward. “I’m sorry, Senator, but I was on my way home--”

The other senator made a few noises and 3PO said, “I’m sorry to have kept you. Have a good evening, Senator Amidala.” 

Sabé supported Padmé, who leaned on her heavily as they walked to the speeder dock. 

“Padmé, is it--?” she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Lips tight, Padmé nodded. She said nothing further until they were settled in the speeder, zipping through Coruscant’s traffic towards 500 Republica.

“I . . . I’ve been having contractions for a week, but--but it’s too early,” Padmé said, her face white and beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. 

It was all she could do not to roll her eyes. How could Padmé let herself be in this condition for a week without saying anything? Sabé held tight to her frustration, as a way to ignore her guilt. Because how could Padmé have contractions for a week without Sabé noticing? Without anyone noticing?

“We’re nearly home,” Sabé said, putting all the comfort and reassurance she could into her voice. “When we arrive, we’ll call for a healer. No arguments,” she warned Padmé. 

Silently, Padmé nodded, then reached out and gripped Sabé’s hand. “Sabé--please call Anakin. I want--no, I need him here.”

“Then we’ll get him here,” Sabé said gently. “Just breathe, Padmé.” 

Padmé nodded again, then let out a soft groan and squeezed Sabé’s hand tightly. 

“Faster,” Sabé called out to the driver, gently stroking Padmé’s hair. 

XXX

It wasn’t the first time the chiming of his comm had awoken him in the middle of the night. It wasn’t even the first time tonight, due to Admiral Yularen notifying him of a course change. But his sleep had been so deep, coming after too many nights with too little sleep, that it was hard to respond to another interruption. 

But Obi-Wan simply called on the Force to clear away some of his exhaustion as he picked up his comm. 

“Kenobi.” 

“Sorry to wake you up, General, but I’m getting a comm for you and the person on the other end won’t take no for an answer,” one of the communication officers said briskly. 

Sitting up, Obi-wan rubbed his eyes. “Who is it?” 

“No name, but they said when you met, you knew them as someone else?” 

Obi-Wan frowned. That wasn’t exactly clear, and his sleep-addled mind wasn’t helping him figure this out. He reached out to the Force, seeking guidance, and felt a small flicker. A nudge, urging him to listen to the unknown person. 

“Put it through,” Obi-Wan said, running a hand through his hair and tugging his tunic into place.

His mouth dropped open in confusion and surprise when he saw the person displayed on the holo. For a moment, he thought it was Senator Amidala, but, no, it wasn’t her--it was–

“Sabé?” he asked, surprised and confused. The former handmaiden still bore a strong resemblance to Padmé, but it was now easier to spot the differences between the two women and make the proper identification. But that didn’t help him understand why Sabé was contacting him. 

“Master Kenobi, I’m sorry for this interruption,” she said after a graceful nod. Her face was smooth and blank, her voice even, but there was something in her presence that made Obi-Wan feel on edge. Because deep down, Sabé was very worried.  

“Not at all. Although I am surprised to hear from you, I admit,” Obi-Wan replied. 

Sabé took a deep breath. “Yes, of course. But–but it is urgent I speak with Master Skywalker, and unfortunately, the communication officers on his ship were less willing to assist me.” 

It appeared that Rex had followed Obi-Wan’s orders to the letter. He couldn’t regret the order, not with how tired Anakin had looked. Even if he was now put in the position of playing middleman between Anakin and Sabé. Who, Obi-Wan noted, had carefully avoided telling him why she needed to speak to Anakin.

“I didn’t know you were in communication with Anakin,” he prodded. He blamed having just been woken up for the not-so-graceful approach he took. 

She seemed to blink. “I’m not,” she said, hesitating for a moment. “I assumed that wherever you were, Master Skywalker would not be far away. Or that you would be able to contact him when I could not.”

“That is true . . .” Obi-Wan said, pondering her words and investigating her presence, even though it was difficult to do so via a holo connection. The fact that Sabé was not a stranger to him helped a little, although given the way Padmé and her handmaidens switched places, Obi-Wan still wasn’t sure if he knew any of her assistants that well. 

And he knew, from his conversations with Padmé over the years, that she considered Sabé her closest friend. Which made him wonder if Sabé was reaching out to Anakin on someone else’s behalf. 

When he considered everything, Obi-Wan knew what he should do. 

“How can I help, Sabé?” Obi-Wan asked, ready to assist in any way he could.   

“All I require is to be connected with Master Skywalker,” Sabé said evenly. 

Of course, she wanted something he wasn’t sure he should help with. Especially not when he reached out to the Resolute for Anakin’s presence and felt the still calm radiating off him. If he wasn't asleep, he was definitely resting, which made Obi-Wan feel relieved. At least something was going to plan tonight. 

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid that’s not possible right now,” he told Sabé, trying to make his voice gentle. “But I would be happy to pass along a message--” 

“It’s an emergency,” Sabé interrupted. Her placid mask cracked, alerting him to the truth in her words. “Please, Master Kenobi.” 

“Perhaps if you told me more about this emergency, I would be able to assist you,” Obi-Wan said, not willing to disturb Anakin for anything less than the fall of the Republic.

A flicker of emotion showed on Sabé’s face and in her presence, a spike of anger and annoyance and--fear? He could tell she was gathering herself before she spoke, and Obi-Wan wondered what she was going to say. 

And after he heard her words, Obi-Wan almost found himself wishing the Republic was falling.

“Senator Amidala has gone into premature labor, and she wants the father of her child to be there.” 

End, Chapter 1

[dyadsaber]

Part 6 of A New Reylo Reads TFA: In Which a Dyad In the Force Has One of the Neatest Looking Lightsaber Battles I’ve Ever Seen and I Finally Get to the End of This Novelization

Previous parts in my dyadsaber text posts tag. 

I came out of the theater the first time LOVING the Rey and Finn vs Kylo in the snow as Starkiller Base falls apart around them scene.  Unless I’m completely forgetting something, we’d never seen a red vs blue lightsaber fight in SNOW before, and I thought it was GORGEOUS. (I know Luke uses his on Hoth, but the Wampa doesn’t have one too, so it doesn’t count.) I just watched the whole sequence again on youtube, you know, for research reasons, and I still love it just as much as I did the first time. (Maybe more?) 

Anyway… here’s my rundown of that scene from the novel: 

First of all, I HAVE QUESTIONS about which side of the Force Rey is drawing on here. TLJ kind of touches on the fact that Rey doesn’t have the “OMG the dark side is ALWAYS EVIL” indoctrination that kids at the Jedi temple (and Luke) would have gotten, and the number of times she’s described as drawing on anger and fury here made sit up and pay attention.

When Rey’s about to shoot Kylo and he freezes her with the Force, we get this: 

“She strained against him, HER ANGER GIVING HER STRENGTH. But she couldn’t fire. He was struggling also, against her newly discovered ability” 

Sure, she’s not able to break free, but he’s been using the Dark Side for a touch longer than she has. Not saying she is for sure, here, but I think it’s one possible reading supported by the text. (Hi I teach English just in case I haven’t said that yet). Personally, I think she was. I also think BOTH of the “sides of the Force” are both amoral and necessary, and drawing on the Dark Side out of anger and desperation isn’t always a sure path to Sith-dom.  

Finn igniting Anakin’s lightsaber is still a moment that makes me love him… he’s ready to defend his knocked-against-a-tree friend with WHATEVER HE HAS, even if it’s a weapon he’s never used before and doesn’t quite understand, and that is sweet and good and loyal, and it endeared Finn to me A LOT.  I remember that when Finn turned it on and stood there in that blue glow in the theater, we ALL gasped.  I don’t remember if it had been in promo material or not, but seeing it on the big screen was… An Experience.

ANYWAY, after Finn does the awesome thing he does, Kylo has a line I’m really glad they cut. After the “That weapon is mine” exchange, we get…

Drawing himself up, a towering figure in the snow, Ren did not even bother to gesture. “I’m going to kill you for it.” 

I mean… he almost DOES (kill Finn, that is) but announcing it is a little too MWAHAHAHA villain for my taste, and I’m glad they let him speak with actions rather than words here in the film. 

So… one of the fun things about all of a sudden caring a WHOLE lot more about Kylo Ren is that I’ve gotten to fully appreciate how incredibly good Adam Driver is at the physicality of this character.  (And by that I mean “I’ve watched a lot of behind the scenes clips and stared at gifs a lot.) It’s just FUN to watch him fight, so this description from Finn’s PoV made me smile. 

The longer the contest continued, the stronger Ren seemed to become. It was as if he was enjoying the challenge. Feeding upon it.

Upon reflection, I know exactly why I love this. It reminded me SO HARD of Jaime Lannister, another pretty terrible (and just plain pretty) fictional character I would get in fights defending. I just like secretly morally conflicted dudes who swing swords, know how good they are, and are kind of assholes about it, ok? 

Give me ALL of the confident, arrogant, Kylo Ren fights.  (Fic recs always welcome. Like I said, I’m new here.) 

This next bit made me wonder about how the “fighting over an object with the Force” thing works. Because this is the FIRST time we see the dyad both try to summon that lightsaber at the same time: 

Ren extended an arm toward the device lying in the snow. It twitched and then began to vibrate as the Force called to it.

But… it doesn’t explode. And this made me wonder, “Why NOT? What was different?” 

Here’s what I’ve got. 

Maybe it went to Rey because she started trying to call it first. So even if he had more experience and wouldn’t have had to try as hard as she (probably) did since it was her first time, the Force… recognized her prior claim? Also I think what happens in TLJ is that the two of them “reach” for the lightsaber at the exact same moment, and so there IS no prior claim, and so they have to duke it out with raw strength, which goes about how you’d expect when they’re equals.  

That still doesn’t explain what happens with the ship in the desert in TRoS though…  Rey definitely reached for it first.  But also, unlike a lightsaber, the ship had ENGINES that were trying to work against her. That might be an explanation.  I wonder exactly what Kylo was trying to do there, anyway… help it break atmosphere like it was trying to do anyway, I’ve always assumed.  So if I’m right, that would make the scene make more sense, and it would mean the rules are: (I’m sure I’m proved wrong a million times in media I haven’t seen yet, but here we go)

A stationary object will usually go to the first Force user who calls it. 

A stationary object will go to the Force user who is “stronger” in the moment if they call it at the same time, (and in the absence of a clear winner, explode?).

A moving object that whose direction the Force user is trying to change will be more resistant and tends to negate #1. 

The confidence/willpower of a Force user (and size of an object only insofar as that affect confidence) is a variable that probably throws a wrench in all three of these. 

Dyads facing off probably screw with the normal course of things, too.

Thank you for coming to this episode of “I need my media to make sense and spend way too much time trying to make it do so.” 

And then… Kylo Ren sees Rey….

“It is you,” Ren murmured. His words unsettled her: Not for the first time, he seemed to know more about her than she did about herself.

He doesn’t say this in the movie. He doesn’t say anything when he sees her, I don’t think.  But when I read this… my heart stopped a little. 

This isn’t what you say to the random girl you met in the woods and who you think has the map to Uncle Luke, even if she is Force Sensitive as Hell.  

This is what you say to a girl you suddenly realize you’ve seen in that place between asleep and awake for most of your life, a girl that you’ve always been subconsciously aware of. This is what you say because you’re beginning to understand that the scavenger you brought on board and this girl you’re just now remembering clearly for the fist time are THE SAME PERSON and she is VERY connected to you.  

What I’m saying is… Ben has been aware of Rey for YEARS without realizing it, and this line FITS THAT THEORY. 

And then they fight. And it gets REALLY interesting. 

Expecting weakness, he encountered only strength. Her skill with the device was raw at best, but it was backed by a fury that was as new to his experience as it was unexpected.

Example #2 of Rey’s maybe-Dark-Side-Use.  The paragraph leading up to this talks about her being “consumed with rage,” and I can hear every (ok, almost every) Jedi master in history talking about how letting anger fuel your use of the Force is a no-no, so I don’t think I’m grasping at straws here. Poor Kylo. He didn’t stand a chance. Angry, “possibly using the Dark side without knowing it” Rey is unexpected and kinda hot, OK???

Flipping away from the Starkilling Snow Fight for a moment, there’s a line of Snoke’s that he does NOT get to say in the movie when he tells Hux to abandon ship and come to him with Kylo Ren. 

He added grimly, “It appears that he may have been right about the girl.”

I. Have. Questions. Did Snoke not BELIEVE Kylo when he flat out said she was a REALLY STRONG untrained Force User? Did he not know who Rey was (Palpatine’s granddaughter)? What does this tell us about Snoke’s independence from Palpatine? (Something I’m still not clear on.) The easiest answer is, “You’re thinking about this too much, Dyadsaber.  No one at DLF knew that Palpatine was going to come back yet when TFA was written, so no one worried about it.” 

BUT I NEED IT TO MAKE SENSE. SO, I’ve decided that Snoke didn’t understand how much of a pawn he was. He probably thought he was Palpatine’s heir or disciple or whatever Grandpa Palps convinced him he was.  Anyway, this would mean that Palpatine could give him a lot of autonomy and agency, especially when it came to corrupting Ben, while still keeping a close eye on Snoke through the Force so he could intervene when he had to. If anything in official material contradicts me, I’d love to know. 

And now for a bit that made me scream a Shakespeare line at my kindle. At one point, the narrator observes,  

What she lacked in mass, she made up for in ferocity.

This is basically a less poetic "Though she be but little, she is fierce," AND I LOVE IT. Someone who’s crafty needs to cross stitch this under Rey’s silhouette or something. 

More lines they probably cut for time, but are really telling.  When he’s got her backed up to that cliff: 

Ren held his lightsaber, poised to strike. “I could kill you right now. But there is another way.” Breathing hard, Rey looked up in disgust at the man looming above her. “You’re a monster.”

Again with the threatening to kill people.  Jeez, Kylo. WE KNOW. Seriously, though, I love this. It’s so HIM that he wants her to know he had the advantage and chose not to press it. It says a lot about how he wants to present himself and his intentions to her. As he does in the throne room later, he wants her to give her a choice, and for her to CHOOSE him. 

Also, I can feel TLJ Rey’s MURDEROUS SNAKE energy radiating off of that “you’re a monster” line. 

And instead of being DETERRED by her insult, he comes back with THIS… 

“No. You need a teacher.” He was beseeching and insistent all at once. “I can show you the ways of the Force!”

“Yeah, I know you just called me a monster, but wanna be my student instead?” The arrogance and presumption of this bit of novel-Kylo is SO VERY HIM. Also, “Beseeching but insistent” is so on brand for him when it comes to her.

And the last thing I marked from the fight was THIS bombshell that doesn’t quite come across as obviously (if at all) on screen. Rey has him on the ground, face bleeding, and…

Kill him, a voice inside her head said. It was amorphous, unidentifiable, raw. Pure vengeful emotion. So easy, she told herself. So quick. She recoiled from it. From the dark side.

I mean, if you read between the lines, Rey’s been drawing on the Dark Side without realizing it for a while now. It’s understandable.  She’s seething with pain and anger and a desire to avenge Han, but there’s a difference between using that anger to defend herself or try to just GET AWAY from Kylo, which one could argue is mostly what she’s been doing, and killing him when he’s bleeding on the ground.   

And she doesn’t do it.  TAKE THAT, TLJ LUKE (Note: I love TLJ Luke. I just also love yelling at him).  Rey has a CLASSIC opportunity to make a choice that would send her down a truly Dark Side path - striking down an unarmed enemy in anger - AND SHE DOESN’T DO IT. She RECOILS. (And then Starkiller takes the choice away from both of them by literally crumbling away and leaving a chasm between them.  If I believed the Force was sentient, this would be a moment where it was saying, “You children are not ready to play nice, and I don’t want to kill each other, so you I’m going to separate you.”) 

And that’s that. The next time they see each other, they’re Forcetiming, and I cannot WAIT to read how that goes in the TLJ novel. 

Some last thoughts: 

Because it would have been hilarious, I’m sad we didn’t the fact that Hux...

followed the troopers carrying Ren into the nearby shuttle.

CARRYING. REN. We were robbed of two (four?) poor storm troopers trying to carry gangly, bleeding, passed out Kylo. I am OFFENDED.

Right before Rey leaves for Ahch-to, she and Leia have THIS fascinating exchange…

“I’m proud of what you’re about to do,” she told the girl. 

Rey replied in all seriousness. “But you’re also afraid. In sending me away, you’re—reminded.” 

Leia straightened. “You won’t share the fate of our son.” 

“I know what we’re doing is right. This is how it has to be. This is how it should be.”

I REALLY wish they’d left this in.  I like that it makes explicit that this is the second time Leia has sent a Force user she cares about to Luke, and that choice WEIGHS on her.  (And this shows how much she already cares about Rey, too… MY HEART.) 

The fact that Rey is perceptive enough to PICK UP ON Leia’s concern, and that Leia reassures BOTH OF THEM that what Ben won’t happen to Rey just makes me love both of these characters so much. Also, I think Leia’s worry and Rey’s conviction sets up the conflict Rey has within herself and her own journey with coming to understand balance in TLJ nicely. She’s just… so confident and cheerful in that last line, and I know what’s coming, and it hurts so good. 

And finally, the last line of this book made me laugh out loud. She’s standing in front of Luke, holding out the lightsaber, and....

She wondered what would happen next.

Luke's gonna yeet that lightsaber.  That’s what.

If you read all of these, thank you.  I’d love to know what you think. I never meant for this to get so long, but I’m wordy and newly shippy, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.  Stay tuned for hopefully shorter posts as I dive into Last Jedi in a day or two.

[bedlamsbard]

Do you have any advice for coming up with a plot when you already have your setting and characters? I'm not writing a fic but I figured fic writers also have heir characters and setting pre-plot and you're an amazing writer so I thought you'd be a good person to ask?

I’m not sure that I’m going to be particularly helpful here, because I haven’t written original fiction in a while and I’m the kind of fic writer who believes that if fanfic can be completely divorced from the canon, then it’s failed as fanfic, so I’m not sure how much of this is transferable, but these are some of the things I think about as a fic writer who writes primarily plotty fic:

To oversimplify greatly, plot is the pithy description: “The one where X happens.”  (Ex: The plot of Rogue One is the Rebel Alliance stealing the Death Star plans.)

Also: “The one where X happens because of A, B, and C” – “The plot of Rogue One is the Rebel Alliance stealing the Death Star plans because a Rebel intelligence officer and a group of rogues with various ties to the Empire uncovered the existence of the Death Star and decided to find a way to thwart it.”  (Note: This is not the only way to describe the plot of Rogue One.)

Plot is also the progression of events that make up the pithy description: Thing 1 happens, Thing 2 happens, and as a result of these things, Thing 3 happens; meanwhile Thing 4 is happening because it is not at this point affected by Things 1, 2, or 3, but somewhere along the line Thing 72 will not happen unless Thing 4 happens first.

This is the primary way that I plot – I’ll have scenes or images or lines that I write the story to use, and then backtrace to work out what things have to happen for those scenes to occur later on.

Wake the Storm is a good example of this: the two images that I wrote the story for were Anakin crawling through the ventilation shafts on Vader’s star destroyer and Anakin fighting Vader on Mustafar.  So I had to go back and figure out what the sequence of events for those things to happen would be.  (Wake’s a little unusual in that these are beginning and (near) ending scenes; Gambit and Backbone both have keystone scenes that are closer to the middle of the story as well, but Wake didn’t.)

Sometimes your brain is not consciously aware of these things, and you figure it out further down along the line.  Sometimes you’re further down along the line and you go back and reread and go, “huh, if I use X throwaway line, I can do Y main plot point.”

Plot should flow naturally from characters and setting.  Most of the fic I write is in a genre that I call a single-point divergence AU: if one thing goes differently in canon, how does that affect everything that comes afterwards?  Everything is progressive; actions have consequences both immediate and long-term.  Those actions will flow from characters, both from their choices and events that are out of their control.  (And what will be out of one character’s control will not be out of another’s.)

This is essentially the same method that alternate history writers use.  (I’m a historian, so I think about cause and effect a lot.)

I try to have an action plot (the sequence of events) and an emotional plot (the character arcs).  These should be inextricably intertwined and inform each other; the events of one will ultimately not be possible without the other.

Wake has two primary emotional plots: Anakin and OT!Obi-Wan

Backbone has two primary emotional plots: Hera and Cham.

Gambit is a weird case because the action plot and the emotional plot involve separate sets of characters – the action plot is what happens with the Gambitverse characters, and the primary emotional plot is what happens with the Wakeverse characters.  Certainly there are secondary emotional plots for the Gambitverse characters and a secondary action plot for the Wakeverse characters (and the primary action plot affects the Wakeverse characters because they’re present in that ‘verse, but it’s not their action plot), but Gambit was partially an exercise in seeing if I could separate the one from the other.  I can and did, but the effect was to make the story feel slightly lopsided in a way I’m not entirely happy with (but couldn’t avoid without changing the way I approached the story).

I come up with a lot more plots than I actually use, and about 95% of the time, they flow directly from canon because of the kind of stories I gravitate towards telling.  They also tend to be questions that I’m trying to answer.

Some examples:

How would Anakin react to suddenly turning up in the OT era?  (Wake the Storm)

What would the repercussions of this be, both in the OT timeline and in the PT timeline?

How would Ben react to Anakin suddenly turning up? Luke?  Leia?

What if Queen Amidala was the leader of the Confederacy?  (Queen’s Gambit)

What are the events that would lead this to happen?

What are the repercussions of this change, both in the past and present?

How would canon!Padme react to this?

What if Hera and Kanan were Imperials?  (On the Edge of the Devil’s Backbone)

What are the events that would lead this to happen?  Is there a point in canon I can use for this or do I have to make it all up out of whole cloth?

How this does effect other characters and events in the Rebels timeline?  Other characters and events in the saga timeline? (A.k.a. how important are the Ghost crew, anyway? – Remember that Backbone was plotted immediately after S1.)

What if Obi-Wan a Sith lord?  (All Along the Watchtower; planned)

What are the events that would lead this to happen?

What are the long- and short-term repercussions of this?

What if Anakin didn’t go dark side and survived Order 66? (What is Lost)

This isn’t a great example because I wrote this literally ten years ago and remember none of my thought process, and would do it differently today.

What if Obi-Wan was a woman?  (Oxygen & Rust)

What does this change in the saga?

The way that characters interact with her – how does that change the events of the saga?

Here’s an example from a TCW story that I partially plotted a few years ago, but didn’t end up writing:

In “The Unknown”, Tup reacts to Tiplar and Tiplee as Jedi, but seems unaware of Anakin, suggesting that Anakin may have been specially programmed into the chips not to be an Order 66 victim.

What if more clone chips started malfunctioning and all the Jedi were targeted except Anakin?

The most dramatic way for this to happen would be in a group setting, so that it’s immediately evident to other Jedi that Anakin isn’t being targeted.

That’s going to look suspicious as hell and the other Jedi are probably going to take Anakin into custody.

Let’s have Obi-Wan be injured in this attack and out of the picture, so Anakin feels trapped and alone.

Palpatine is pissed off because this isn’t playing into his plans at all, so he’s revising and improvising on the fly.

If all of the sudden Jedi can’t trust their clones, then that’s going to have massive effects on the war – a.k.a., the Separatists can suddenly make a huge push forward.  What if Dooku starts taking the war seriously?

Anakin’s an enterprising sort and after what happened with Ahsoka, he doesn’t have a whole lot of reason to trust the Order in this scenario, so it makes sense that he would escape.  (Maybe Palpatine helps to engineer this, because it’s easier for him to have Anakin loose than in prison.)

There ought to be a clone in here, make it Rex, who was aware of what happened with Tup and Fives.  He teams up with Anakin.

Rex is going to be wary of having that thing in his head and Anakin needs proof, so they need to find someone to remove it.

How is Padme going to react to all this?  Anakin doesn’t want to actively involve her, but he also wants to let her know that he’s all right.

Anakin escaping makes the Jedi Council pretty sure he’s guilty, but after Ahsoka they’re feeling burned, so maybe they proceed with more caution.

At this point Palpatine doesn’t have many options as Supreme Chancellor other than making Anakin look guilty; as Sidious this is an opportunity for him to recruit Anakin.

It would make sense for Anakin to contact Ahsoka to have an ally outside the Order, especially if she’s still on Coruscant.

at this point I stopped plotting this story out.  I never had an ending.

(this was originally supposed to be my cool down story after Queen’s Gambit; I wrote Backbone instead)

Here’s a link to some writing meta that I like (and which influenced me a lot when I was younger – you’ll note that this is where I got the terms “action plot” and “emotional plot” from).  Her 10 minute AU is essentially the same as my single point divergence AU, but she breaks it down better than I do.  (ETA: I want to clarify that I don’t agree with Synecdochic on everything, but I really can’t deny that a lot of this was pretty crucial to my development as a plot writer.)

This isn’t really helpful insofar as coming up with ideas goes, because when it comes to original fic, that’s…what I don’t write and haven’t written for a while, because I’m so used to bouncing directly off canon for ideas.  When I do write original fic, I have a tendency to mash stuff together – “classic urban fantasy + ancient Rome,” “traditional high fantasy + modern urban setting,” “prison hulks + space,” “New Orleans-inspired + WWII + magic” – and see what that gets me.  If it’s something like a genre – urban fantasy, high fantasy, prison break – then I look at what the common tropes for that genre are and how they function in a different setting.  And hope that something shakes loose.  (I haven’t done originals in a couple of years, and the last time I was working on one I was co-writing.  Which is a whole different thing.)

Hopefully there’s some food for thought here!

[gffa]

You know how some fandoms just keep piling on the fic, so you’re like, “I’ll just wait one more day, so I can read a few more and include them on the list!” and then two weeks later it’s still happening and you finally have to go, “NO, I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT THIS NOW, NOT IN ANOTHER MONTH.” and yet people still keep posting fic? That’s me yelling at STAR WARS fandom about how much wonderful fic there is and that I cannot keep up with it and it’s the best problem to have! Because, oh, this collection has some incredible fic, so many of them that I want to shove right at people and yell at them to read this amazing thing, and how brilliant this fandom is. STAR WARS FIC RECS: TIME TRAVEL RECS: ✦ Legacy by myrlendi (thehistorygeek), luke & leia & obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, time travel, 105k wip    Three months after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker goes in search of a rumoured Jedi temple in a secluded part of the Mid Rim. He finds within the temple nothing but a strange artifact, which unexpectedly brings him much closer to the Jedi of old than he ever thought he would be. ✦ Let’s Try This Again by Nny11, obi-wan & ahsoka & anakin & cast, time travel, 33.5k wip    Anakin’s life is shaken up when he finds a small togrutan toddler hiding in a dingy alleyway, after all, she did create a Force bond with him and is apparently his future Padawan. Wizard! PREQUELS RECS: ✦ A Constituency of One by victoria_p (musesfool), padme & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.7k    Padmé is the one who figures it out. ✦ And the Void Answered Back by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan & anakin & rey & finn & poe & ben & yoda & maz & han & cast, force ghosts, 84.9k wip    (Follows the Force ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, and friends getting dragged kicking and screaming through the events of The Force Awakens) ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & cody & bail & palpatine & cast, 22.1k wip    By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ Dooku Deserves a Break by nny11, dooku & qui-gon & yoda & obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke & cast, 1k    Master, it’s time now. The voice was faint and familiar, and it burned. It’s soothing sound eating away at everything. Pain, pain, pain- It went ignored. ✦ The Past Remains by otherhawk, obi-wan & anakin & cody & mace & plo & adi & depa & cast, 15.6k    The war drags on leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. After a bereaved Master is accused of harming his padawan, Obi-Wan is sent to talk to her, dredging up memories of his own past. ✦ Not the same fate as mine by liv_k, obi-wan & anakin, 2.6k    Excerpts from the journal of a newly minted Jedi Knight. ✦ perfect in so many ways by victoria_p (musesfool), padme/sabe, nsfw, 1k    Padmé knows she’s been selfish. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, obi-wan & bant, 1k    When Bant steps into Obi-Wan’s room in the Halls, it’s like a balm to his nerves. She’s one of his oldest friends, and her familiar presence is so very soothing. He really has missed her, they see each other too rarely these days, what with the war. ✦ Villain of a Different Story by HiNerdsItsCat (HiLarpItsCat), obi-wan/satine & anakin & cast, 73.2k wip    It turns out that there are some perks to being the Chosen One: Anakin finds himself transported five years into the past—only to discover that it isn’t his past, but a completely different one. One where Obi-Wan Kenobi left the Jedi Order, where Qui-Gon Jinn survived… and where Anakin Skywalker is the galaxy’s greatest villain. ✦ Accidental Baby Acquisition: The Obi-Wan Kenobi Way by kitkatkaylie, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 8.5k wip    Shmi Skywalker was desperate, so when she saw a Jedi in the marketplace of Mos Espa she did something that many would judge her for if they knew but just as many would understand. ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k    New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he’ll make some friends along the way. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, mace & cast, 1.2k    “News, I have, from the investigation into the altered mission reports from the Senate.” ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, anakin & ahsoka & background obi-wan & cast, 2.4k    The past and the present blurs together, Anakin can hardly breathe through it. Too many thoughts crowd inside his head and the more he tries to sort himself out, the more of the past he remembers and the more fears for the future it brings up. ✦ Passing by Nny11, ahsoka/barriss & luminara & anakin, modern au, 18.3k    Barriss claims she’s dating Ahsoka, Ahsoka agrees to go along with it, and both of them spend the next 6 months worrying the other will discover their crush on the other. Nobody is really surprised about this fact besides them. ✦ Jedi of Light by Sannah, obi-wan/anakin/padme & mace & yoda & plo & even & jocasta & cast, 9.4k wip    Out of irritation with the war and with permission from the Council, several talk show hosts create a show that airs weekly about the Jedi. They name the show *Jedi of Light,* and go around following Jedi and asking them questions. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ And yet, somehow, a happier ending by liv_k, obi-wan/anakin (pre-slash?), ~1k    He had always known that there would be no happy ending waiting for them at the end of the road. And yet, somehow, he felt that this was happier than what could have been. ✦ The Missing Part by Nightstar269, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & palpatine, NSFW, modern au (of sorts), 109.3k wip    Anakin Skywalker, a student of mechanical engineering, has always felt that his life was lacking something, a feeling that was made much worse with the deaths of his mother first, and of the woman he loved some time later. Still haunted by the pain and heartbreak, he tries to go on with his life as well as he can. When an initiative of the director of the university has the students attending the classes of another degree so as to enrich their knowledge, he will meet someone that will turn his world upside down. ✦ my push and my shove by victoria_p (musesfool), obi-wan/anakin/padme, nsfw, crossdressing, d/s, 1.8k    There wasn’t much Anakin wouldn’t do to make Padmé and Obi-Wan happy. ✦ Collar by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, 9.4k    “You have to be sure, Anakin. Once we’re in, we’re in.” “I think I can handle being your sub, Obi-Wan.“ ✦ Shaak Herding for the Troubled and Lonely by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt), obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme & ahsoka & plo & cast, au, 34.3k wip    Disgraced Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was content to live out the rest of his life as a hermit until the Prime Minister appeared at his door, begging him to attend the Skywalker clan’s annual party. ✦ Solstice by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, 8.9k wip    After the events of Equinox, Obi-Wan and Anakin find themselves back at war with enemies both seen and unseen. ✦ Home by little_tales, obi-wan/anakin & qui-gon & shmi & cast, time travel, 6.4k wip    Time travel fix-it story with a bit of a twist. After his death, Obi-Wan wakes up on Tatooine, in the body of his padawan self. But instead of trying to prevent Anakin from Falling, he decides to change the future by stopping Qui-Gon from ever meeting the little Ani. ✦ Tidbits by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin, ~1k    Things go a little bit differently when Anakin sees Obi-Wan off on his mission to Utapau. ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin + implied obi-wan/anakin/padme, nsfw, 1.6k    (The easiest way to kill someone? You just need to kill what they love the most.) ✦ 36 Questions by kenobiapologist, obi-wan/anakin + background anakin/padme + implied obi-wan/anakin/padme, 30.7k    In a study by psychologist Arthur Aron, they found that strangers would fall in love when asked to answer 36 questions together. ✦ Let’s Be Wrong Together by bluebell26, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 3.1k    Anakin Skywalker had a dark secret. He’s been in love with his Master for several years now. He is attached. Yes, attached. It was bad, he shouldn’t, but what his former Master didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. ✦ Untouchable by Blu3sc0rpion, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, non-con issues/themes, 64k wip    A mission on Kraysiss-Two takes a turn for the worse. Ancient Sith designs work against both Obi-wan and Anakin as they desperately try to find a way off world. In the throes of confusion their relationship begins to spiral. They might be able to escape, but can they ever truly be rescued? ✦ Seed by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin + anakin/padme, NSFW, 44k    When Anakin falls prey to a lethal poison, Obi-Wan has no choice but use all his resources to heal him– no matter how reluctant he is in administering the antidote. ✦ Miasma by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin & cody & rex & & kix & cast, dark themes, 20.6k    Obi-Wan never believed his best friend and lover Anakin would die first. But he has. ✦ [iasip music] Anakin Explains to His Darkest Timeline Son That He’s Gay by destiny919, obi-wan/anakin & luke & ahsoka & cast, 2.2k    "Ah, Padawan,” said Qui-Gon. “The crux of the matter lies in that our world is prey to the spectre of compulsory heterosexuality.” Obi-Wan gasped, horrified. “No! Not that!” ✦ Swear On It by dirkygoodness, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s undertones, 6.5k    He squeezes his eyes shut tight against it and holds his breath for a moment, trying to get himself under control. Tonight it doesn’t seem to be working, though, because the images of people he knows and loves hurt and bloody and dead just won’t get out of his mind. ✦ Unexpected by planetary_retrograde, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 2.1k    Obi-Wan’s first instinct when Anakin is hiding something is to help. ✦ Hidden Treasures by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, 3.9k    Ben Kenobi doesn’t look like the type to have tattoos, and Anakin badly wants to see his hidden ink. ✦ He Is the Chosen One by wearethewitches, obi-wan/anakin & cast, fem!anakin, 17.8k    Darth Vader dies. Then, Anakin Skywalker wakes in the body of a dead slave woman in 31 BBY, a year before the Occupation of Naboo. ORIGINAL TRILOGY RECS: ✦ Maker by ambiguously, luke & r2-d2 & c-3po, 1.8k    Threepio’s processor has an error. Luke and Artoo have to figure out why. ✦ does it bother anyone else that someone else has your name? by suzukiblu, multiple pairings across all of star wars, soulmate marks, 2.9k    Drabble series about various soulmates in the Star Wars universe. ✦ brittle, break by glorious_clio, leia & luke & han & chewbacca & rieekan & cast, 8.2k    They’re not on Hoth very long, but Leia stands still long enough for it to leave an impression on her. A very cold sort of impression. ✦ sand into glass by glorious_clio, luke & cliegg & owen & beru, 2.2k    AU where Cliegg is around for Luke’s arrival at the Lars homestead. Luke has a lot to learn from his grandfather. REBELS RECS: ✦ The Starry Crown by bedlamsbard, ezra & kanan & sabine & zeb & chopper & cast, 8.8k wip    Months after Ezra Bridger vanished into the depths of the mysterious Jedi temple on Lothal, he reappears – with Kanan Jarrus in tow. All Hera Syndulla and the other surviving members of the Ghost crew want is to retrieve their missing teammates, but a Jedi who can raise the dead is a prize too great for the Empire to pass up. Palpatine will do anything to get Ezra and the secrets he carries – secrets that may allow the Emperor to control reality itself. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[gffa]

Sometimes I think about yelling at STAR WARS fandom to slow the hell down because I have so many things to read and so many books and comics on top of all the fic, but then I remember, THIS IS THE BEST PROBLEM TO HAVE, oh no I have so many fun things to read! How awful! I can’t keep up with everything that I know I’m going to enjoy, so I have to post a list before I’m finished catching up, because otherwise it’d take me another month! Terrible! The fandom really has put out some absolutely wonderful things lately and I’ve just felt really happy and fizzy about them, I’ve been excited to yell about them and now I want to yell at other people about all the stuff I loved. STAR WARS FIC RECS: TIME TRAVEL RECS: ✦ Hearts Entwined by KeeperofSeeds, obi-wan & shmi & qui-gon, time travel, 6.5k wip   stolen moments between Padawan Kenobi and Shmi Skywalker, glimpsed by Qui Gon Jinn, and his continued attempts to understand both this strange new addition to the Temple and the unexplained relationship between the pair PREQUELS RECS: ✦ And the Void Answered Back by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan & anakin & rey & finn & poe & ben & yoda & maz & cast, force ghosts, 37.5k wip   (Follows the Force ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, and friends getting dragged kicking and screaming through the events of The Force Awakens) ✦ Youngling by LostintheTARDIS, obi-wan & anakin & cast, de-aged!anakin, 65.5k wip   Obi-Wan is sent on a rescue mission to find his missing padawan, shot down after completing a mission of his own, but what he finds is not what he expects. “No, it… It’s not possible, Obi-Wan. How can Anakin Skywalker be this little boy?” ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & cody & bail & palpatine & cast, 16.5k wip   By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ The Orchards by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.6k   When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan’s recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace. ✦ Staggering Is For Those With Nothing To Live Up To by shiningjedi, mace & ponds & depa & yoda & obi-wan & cast, 4.9k   Ponds has fought side-by-side with his general for over two years, so if Windu thinks that he can’t tell when something’s off, then, with all due respect, he’s made a serious error of judgement. ✦ Blow me away, Master Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan, 1.9k   An explosion at a spaceport caused by anti-war extremists leaves Obi-Wan to navigate his way up through the surface through the debris. And then he finds the children… ✦ Found Clan by silvergryphon, boba & ocs & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 18.4k wip   After the Battle of Geonosis, a Jedi Healer discovers young Boba Fett mourning the loss of his father. Not about to leave a ten-year-old boy on his own, she promptly adopts him with the full collusion of her Padawan. ✦ The Art of Dual Wielding (Specifically, How to Not) by F-117 Nighthawk (F117_Nighthawk), obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, ~1k   “Hey, Master, can you teach me Jar’Kai?” ✦ On the political ramifications of a marriage between a Jedi and a Senator by Deviant_Accumulation, obi-wan & anakin/padme & cast, 9.4k wip   In a shocking revelation, Nabooian priest Father Herriem has come forward stating that one year ago, he has officiated a marriage between Senator Padmé Amidala, former Queen of Naboo, known for playing a major part in the Liberation of Naboo, current Galactic Senate representative of Naboo and leader of the liberal south-up faction, and Knight Anakin Skywalker, Jedi General of the Republic Army. ✦ The House of My Father by ReneeoftheStars, dooku & cast, 2.4k   Dooku has left the Jedi Order and returned to his homeworld of Serenno, where he claims his rightful place as the Count of House Dooku. His sister-in-law is less than thrilled with his arrival. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, dooku, 2.6k   Yan Dooku looks out over the holotable, filled with recent battles against the Republic. Battles that has started to go increasingly well for the Republic, with the heightened morale from their new chancellor. ✦ Full of Charts and Facts and Figures by ambiguously, mace/depa, 4.3k   Mace and Depa get kidnapped by pirates. ✦ Shed by SingManyFaces, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, ~1k   Not long after being assigned to Anakin, Ahsoka becomes worried he’s hiding something serious and goes to Obi-Wan for advice. ✦ Tipping Point by Ria Talla (ronia), adi gallia & finis valorum & eeth koth, 3.3k   “I believe that if what’s happening on Naboo is allowed to continue, the other member systems will wonder what they owe to a Republic that can no longer protect them.” ✦ The Path of Totality by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & yoda & qui-gon & cast, 1.8k   Before going their separate ways into exile, Obi-Wan Kenobi shares with Yoda a lesson of wisdom he’d learned from his late Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. A lesson of darkness, light, and hope. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ Homecoming + Ben + To Love What Death Can Touch by Ripki, obi-wan/anakin & luke & leia & cast, western au, 3.7k   After a long absence, Anakin finally returns to the Lars farm. (Western AU.) ✦ The Missing Part by Nightstar269, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, modern au, 57.4k wip   Anakin Skywalker, a student of mechanical engineering, has always felt that his life was lacking something, a feeling that was made much worse with the deaths of his mother first, and of the woman he loved some time later. Still haunted by the pain and heartbreak, he tries to go on with his life as well as he can. When an initiative of the director of the university has the students attending the classes of another degree so as to enrich their knowledge, he will meet someone that will turn his world upside down. ✦ Across the Darkness by xpityx, obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme, 19.3k wip   Obi-Wan knew they had hit the temple’s inner security measures when Anakin went from calm to clutching both Obi-Wan and his lightsaber between one step and the next. ✦ Desire by Ralph_E_Silvering, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s, 10.8k   Anakin Skywalker decides to take his investigation of an illegal smuggling ring in entirely the wrong direction when he finds a substance called “Desire"…and Obi-Wan cleans up his mess, as usual. ✦ What An Expensive Fate by FromDreamstoEmpires, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, sith!obi-wan, sith!anakin, 1.3k   Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at him, “But you like it when I tell you what to do.” He said softly, hand pulling on his curls until Anakin was forced to look at him, “Don’t you, sweetheart?” ✦ In the Details by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin & anakin/ahsoka & obi-wan/anakin/ahsoka, NSFW, 2.3k   Anakin spends time learning the bodies of those he loves, and enjoys the same treatment. ✦ Collar by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, 4.1k wip   “You have to be sure, Anakin. Once we’re in, we’re in.” “I think I can handle being your sub, Obi-Wan.” ✦ Pursuit by Icse, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, modern au, 18.5k wip   Aka ‘Obikin Equestrian AU’ on Tumblr. ✦ Thank You, Dear Heart by supercalifragilistichespiralidoso, obi-wan/anakin, ~1k   Obi-Wan calls Anakin by a pet name when they’re not alone ✦ came last in the technical by destiny919, anakin & ahsoka + background obi-wan/anakin, 1.5k   “Okay, Snips,” Anakin said confidently. “We’re doing this. We’re making this happen.” ✦ my heart is an echo chamber by Burning_Nightingale, obi-wan/anakin, 3.4k   Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader don’t meet again until their final confrontation on the Death Star. Not in person, at least. ✦ Rebel with a Cause by planetary_retrograde, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, 12.6k wip   A year after the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi has formally joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. His new mission: training Rebellion pilot and resident loose canon Anakin Skywalker. ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, cock warming, 1k   “Remember dear one,” Obi-Wan reminded him as he pet his curls with one hand while the other stroked his cheek gently. “If it gets to be too much or if your need a break just tap our signal, okay?” ✦ Out Of Control by Gildedmuse, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 4.2k   “All right. But you owe me, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time . .” “Ninth time. That business on Cato Nemoidia doesn’t count.” ✦ last one on the list by destiny919, obi-wan/anakin & cast, ~1k   TIL the Han Dynasty was founded by a sheriff who was transporting convicts when several escaped. Knowing the punishment for this was death, he freed the rest and organized many into a rebel band, eventually going on to help overthrow the ruling Qin Dynasty and install himself as Emperor. ✦ darling can’t you hear me (s.o.s.) by nessa_j, obi-wan/anakin & cast, 3.5k   Stranded alone on a planet, Obi-Wan thinks his transmissions aren’t being received, and starts sending private messages to Anakin, not knowing that Anakin can hear everything. ✦ a night full of stars by Ralph_E_Silvering, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, 2k   Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka are sent to Batuu on a mission by the Jedi Council. While there, Anakin and Obi-Wan finally act on the unspoken feelings between them. ✦ untitled by spell-cleaver, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, ~1k   So for the prompt mashup, Magical Accident, Accidentally Married, Obikin Thanks! ORIGINAL TRILOGY RECS: ✦ The Family Tree by frodogenic, vader & luke, 12k   In which Luke Skywalker is stranded in a tree waiting for a flash flood to recede. Too bad he’s got company… Post-ESB oneshot, can be read as canon-compliant. ✦ They rhyme by liv_k, obi-wan & anakin, 5.2k   Past and future, darkness and light, despair and hope meet one last time. ✦ Stitched With Its Color by lammermoorian, luke & hera & cast, 4.4k  Luke’s been all over the galaxy searching for clues about the Jedi - he should have started a little closer to home. REBELS RECS: ✦ in this world by xpityx, zeb/kallus, NSFW, 2.1k   It had been eight months. Eight months since he’d last seen Alex in person. He’d still been Kallus then, had still been convinced that the Ghost crew were taking him to his executioners. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!