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kyberphilosopher · 5 years ago

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Tᴡᴏ Fɪɴɢᴇʀs

Word Count: 2056

Requested: yes. not my best work, but i think i’m satisfied with the result. i’d like to do more things like this.

violence. graphic description of loss of limb.

“The universe is made of five elements, and each of the five fingers is represented by one of these elements. The thumb represents the fire, as well as universal consciousness. The index finger represents air and individual consciousness. The middle finger represents akasha, or connection. The ring finger represents earth, and the little finger the element of water.

When these five elements are not in balance, we can experience disease in the body.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Anakin gasps as he hits the ground. The blow knocks all the wind from his lungs, leaving him heaving and choking for air. The soreness creeps into his muscles suddenly and without warning.

His left palm slams against the matted floor below him, tapping out. The slap rings out, but Anakin almost feels like you didn’t hear it. He hits the floor a second time, slightly softer with his urgency.

“I’m out,” Anakin gasps. “I’m out!”

“I know,” you say smugly. You stand tall above him as proof of who’s won this fight. It was just sparring, but that didn’t make the man feel any better. You weren’t necessarily more powerful than him, or a better Jedi. But you were more flexible and swift in combat, which made you a more challenging opponent with hand to hand sessions.

Your hand drops down to the man, an offering to help him up. After raising his head just enough to observe it, he rolls his eyes. His left hand reaches up to clasp your own. For extra support, his right, metal one comes up as well. You grip both tightly, using your knees to bring him up.

“You’re lucky we aren’t fighting for real,” you say as you heave the man up.

Anakin gives a single, humorous huff. “You’d never fight me. We both know it.”

Then you looked into his eyes. A small, calm and loving smile formed on your lips, taking in the shape of his face. Bright blue orbs, slightly arched brows with a slit from his scar. Smooth skin, chapped and pink lips. He was the chosen one, the one who walked the sky. The most beautiful, important person in your life. Your colleague, your friend... your family. Your love. The one you would follow anywhere.

“I guess you’re right,” you say simply, admiration glued to your eyes. “I would never fight you.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Now it was your turn for your body to feel sore.

It stemmed from your chest, at your most important organ. Your heart was buzzing between not beating at all and beating all too fast and hard. Your lungs were begging for a real breath of air, and try as you might to deliver it, it was difficult. Every intake of oxygen was agony, no matter how long ago you saw it as a blessing. Everything inside of you was falling apart, crumbling and crippling and hacking itself into millions of pieces. It hurt.

You were leading your troops into battle over Saleucami. There was a few cruisers for support, firing at the opposes forces Separatist ships. Multicolored lasers everywhere, you and your men zipping about in your fighters.

Flying was always fun for you. Anakin and yourself used to race in your off time, laughing when Obi-Wan fell behind. Anakin won too many times to count, you a close second. But this time flying wasn’t fun. Something went wrong.

“I’m glad I have you,” you said over the coms, following your commander’s acts. Some daft droids were on your tail, being very persistent about following you before he shot them down. “You’re the best, Izzy,” you promised him. And normally, he would’ve said something back. But this time, all you heard was a quiet breath.

Commander Izzy shot you out of the sky, taking out one of your engines. You clambered forward, bracing your head as you spiraled out of control. The smoke was filling your chamber fast, your fingers jamming in between panels and oozing with blood. The Clone shot at your fighter again for good measure. A few seconds later, you crashed through a ray shielded Separatist hanger and skidded across the ground.

Order Sixty-Six had taken something from everyone. It took Cody from Obi-Wan. It took Padme’s will. Ahsoka was left with nothing but a shattered state of mind, and Rex not far behind her. Maul no longer had a sense of direction. The Jedi lost their troops, and their lives. The troops lost their family. The only Jedi who gained anything from the Order was Master Windu, who had earned the pleasure of being right in his final moments. But you had lost more than just one thing, or one person.

The first thing you lost was two fingers.

Your left pointer and middle were trapped in between a slot of two metal sheets. You could feel the wires under them. No matter how much they wiggled, they wouldn’t come free. They were burning, straining, losing blood and fast. The deep ruby color was coming down in thick streams as you grit your teeth, holding it at the wrist as you pulled and growled.

The burning ceased with a pop. You didn’t have the time to scream or shout or bind the wound. Your memory was rather blurred, but you managed to roll out of your fighter just before it exploded into millions of pieces. Then you laid on the floor for a while, heaving as you clutched your left palm close to your chest and your veins froze over. The blood was pumping out of you in rivers and splotches and staining everything. The pain was immobilizing, but there was more to it.

All you could think about was Anakin. You didn’t know why. His name just continued to drum over in your mind like a vibration. You could hear distant screams of friends and younglings. You could hear your own, future screams of agony. You could feel Obi-Wan’s tears drop down in heavy drips. You could even smell the birth of a child, followed by another loss.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Then, Order Sixty-Six took your loved ones. That’s why you are where you are now.

The planets heat was licking your face furiously. Bubbles of lava exploded into bolts in the distance. You hadn’t believed it when you’d seen the giant, obsidian fortress looming into the sky, but now you were forced to. You hadn’t believed it when you’d heard Obi-Wan say the words, but now you were forced to. You hadn’t believed it when you felt it deep in your soul, when you had seen it all through his eyes. Now you were forced to.

And it felt awful.

It hurt like hell. It hurt worse than tearing your fingers apart. It hurt worse than the time you were speared through your shoulder. It hurt worse than losing Izzy. It hurt worse than watching Ahsoka walk away. It hurt worse than anything in the galaxy. It was more than just physical pain too- it was emotional, mental. Rooted deep down inside of you and gluing itself to your bloody tendons. But it was real. It was alive and clear as a Tatooine dawn. That was the worst part.

“You turned her against me!” Anakin had yelled. His chest was raising with heavy breaths of rage, eyes flitting between Obi-Wan and yourself. Your own lungs felt like they were collapsing in time with his.

Obi-Wan stood strong. “You have done that yourself,” he promised. Had air always been this difficult to not choke on?

“You will not take her from me!” Anakin seethed. His hair was glowing in the fiery light. Eyes were piercing and daring and troubling all the same, melted like a sickness. A Sith sickness. They met yours, and you know he feels vengeful and disappointed in you all the same. He’s wrong for it, but it stings nonetheless.

“You came here to kill me!” he accuses.

You give out a painful breath, trying not to let your eyes fill with tears. “I came here to save you!” you roared back over the lava. “To talk some sense into you!”

“You’re the one who needs some sense talked into you!” Anakin retorted angrily. His right hand drops to his saber at his side. This time it hurts your bones. “You’re traitors! The both of you are traitors!”

“Anakin do you hear yourself?!” Obi-Wan yelled. Anakin didn’t tear his eyes from yours.

“Join me, or fight me.”

Was Anakin even Anakin anymore? Blinded by hatred and revenge and everything he’d sworn to destroy, he would kill you if he had to. He would kill everything you had once shared. Stories, truths, jokes, stares that lasted longer than they should’ve. He was going to let it die, and you with it. Maybe he even wanted to finish it himself.

“I said I wouldn’t fight you,” you told him. “And I meant it.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

You never saw Anakin again.

Obi-Wan and Anakin... Obi-Wan and Darth Vader slipped away from you in battle. They disappeared down a bridge and hallway, their blue beams clashing against each other over and over again. It was more than hard to watch. You were ashamed of yourself for not being able to fight him like Obi-Wan had, for lacking the strength or courage to do so. But Anakin was everything to you. You couldn’t find it within yourself to harm him, especially not after the promise you’d made to him so long ago.

You took Padme back to the ship. Then you sat and waited, knowing someone was not coming back. Whether it was Anakin or Obi-Wan, you couldn’t say. But you could feel everything you chest fluttering. Every lightsaber swing from him, every beat of his heart. You could feel it like it was your own.

And when he fell down into the fires of Mustafar, your whole body went aflame as well. Burn marks appeared like drawings on your skin, scarring you forever.

Anakin didn’t come back. Anakin wouldn’t come back until years and years later, after even Obi-Wan’s death. If you lived to see it, he wouldn’t know. Once he became the metal man, his bond was separated from you. Anything you two might’ve had was gone, melting down in the lava as he had.

The only time he’d see anything of yours again was about a month later, when a droid had brought him two skinny, long fingers as proof of your death.

You’d begged him not to go down the path that he had chosen. He could remember your voice ringing in his mind with all the memories, dividing the man even further. But what was done was done. Darth Vader couldn’t have brought back the lives he’d taken. He couldn’t have asked Padme to forgive him, or Obi-Wan to help him. And he couldn’t ask you to kill him, because you’d made a vow to never strike him down out of pure love.

You’d loved him more than anyone, and that’s how he knew. Padme had left him, and he struck her down. Obi-Wan had challenged him, and he dueled him out. But when Anakin had killed everyone, and left everything behind, you had stayed strong in your promise. Even when his actions had costed you part of your hand, you were true.

That’s what broke his heart the most.

At nights, when all in the galaxy is quiet and asleep except for Lord Vader himself, he opens up his hologram. Some nights he sees Padme. Some nights he sees Ahsoka. Most nights, he sees Obi-Wan. But then there’s nights where he forces himself to look at your face again, admit to you what he’s done. If you’re dead, he doesn’t know it. He just knows he can’t feel you anymore.

He doesn’t know that you share his burns. He doesn’t know that you live in exile with only eight fingers. But he misses you. And when he returns to where he belongs, when Anakin returns to the light, he’ll tell you he’s sorry. He’ll tap out, one last time.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Taglist: @omg-we-really-doo @imagines-im-obsessed-about @chokemeanakin @anakinswhore @haztory @fanficsforheartandsoul i think that’s everyone this time.

#anakin angst #anakin x reader #anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker angst #star wars #star wars x reader #star wars imagines #tcw imagines #twc angst #tcw x reader #star wars angst #darth vader x reader #angst #fanfiction #star wars fanfiction

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number-1-kuaidul-fanboy · 5 years ago

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Punch Out Mansion AU

Thought I’d elaborate a little bit on my Punch Out AU where all the WVBA boxers live in a mansion together by giving some background on the characters, like their cliques and lives outside of boxing and other random tidbits I felt like adding. This was all just for fun and is admittedly biased toward/against certain characters, so take it with a grain of salt.

Glass Joe

-Along with boxing, Joe is a photographer.

-Only tried boxing out on a dare and was horrible at it. But he kept trying, insisting he could get at least a few wins. The WVBA liked him so much that when he did get his one win, he was given a place in the minor circuit and is essentially a rite of passage for new challengers.

-No one can really bring themselves to be mean to Joe.

-Sandman learns French from Joe so he can shit talk Little Mac in front of him. Joe also learns English from Sandman and can speak it decently, though he has a noticeable accent.

-His closest friends are Von Kaiser, Sandman, and Little Mac.

-Favourite food is baguettes. (I think that was a little obvious)

-Dog person, pretty social and outgoing.

-Dang good at cooking and baking. Always makes food for the others.

Von Kaiser

-Boxing was Kaiser’s main gig for a while but he’s now out of his prime. He used to be a great boxer in his thirties and was even the champion of the major circuit for a while. However, old age and increased cowardice made him lose more and more until he was only able to defeat Glass Joe to keep his position in the minor circuit.

-Everyone calls him “sir,” some mockingly and others sincerely.

-His english is passable, but he gets certain phrases/words wrong sometimes. Everyone tries to be polite about correcting him.

-Cat person.

-He and Joe are best friends, meaning Kaiser also hangs around Sandman and Mac.

-Plays video games just because the ‘kids’ wanted him to do it. His favourite is NES Mario.

-A bit of a dad to the group, being the oldest.

Disco Kid

-Also started boxing because someone dared him and stuck with it because he wanted the exposure for his disco dancing career. Out of all of them, he is the newest to boxing. (Apart from Little Mac, of course)

-Often wears leotards.

-Dances around the house with headphones on a lazy day.

-He and Don Flamenco are best friends and often play Just Dance (their favourite game) competitively.

-They both also hang out with Great Tiger. (Cuz they’re divas)

-Disco Kid is also a famous TikToker.

-He and Don worked together to make: “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas.” Where they basically make fun of King Hippo.

-Dog Person

-Can’t cook at all.

King Hippo

-Nobody knows his real name so they just call him “Hippo.”

-Favourite food is all.

-Doc Louis shares some chocolate bars with him.

-King Hippo’s son, Prince Potamus took over the throne “temporarily” when King Hippo left for boxing. Now that it’s been a year, people are questioning whether he will ever return to his home island.

-He can’t hold a controller, much less play video games. However, he does wreck everyone at Swordplay in Wii Sports Resort. Nobody can figure out how, but they can’t manage to beat him.

-Just eats everything raw without preparing it.

Piston Hondo

-Does martial arts professionally like Karate and Boxing and shit. He is also new to boxing, and was offered directly by a WVBA person after they saw one of his martial arts demonstrations. Hondo accepted and did some training before starting his boxing career. He fights anyone who challenges him, which is why he hasn’t passed his position, he hasn’t had a chance to challenge anyone himself.

-He speaks very slowly in English in order to get all the words right. It is slow, but proper.

-Pretty much everyone from Major Circuit and onward arm wrestle with Little Mac. Hondo tries to regulate the arm wrestles the best he can. (It needs to be a fair fight!)

-Favourite food is sushi. (I think this is kinda canon, but whatever)

-Piston Hondo and Little Mac train together. Their morning jog is outrunning the bullet train.

-Hondo and Doc Louis are the “dads” of the group and are the most responsible.

-Everyone kind of respects him, even the higher ranks.

-He’s not really a gamer, but he likes Ace Attorney.

-Almost exclusively cooks food from his home country, going off of recipes from his childhood.

Bear Hugger

-Apart from boxing, he is a lumberjack.

-He challenged everyone in the minor circuit and won, but couldn’t defeat Hippo. So he just decided to challenge the first major circuit person, who at the time wasn’t Hondo because Hondo only has one loss.

-Loves camping but none of the others ever want to go. (Aran Ryan might go to prank him.)

-He keeps his squirrel as a pet. One of the others has to take care of it while he’s out. (Hondo or Doc usually offer)

-Favourite food is maple syrup. (Also kinda canon)

-He’s pretty chill with everyone and content to go with the flow most of the time.

-Mobile gamer. He’s really dedicated to PvZ in particular.

-Probably arm wrestles Mac from time to time.

-The only one to really get along with Bald Bull all that well.

-Wakes up early to make pancakes for everyone.

Great Tiger

-He is a street magician, probably. Maybe a professional magician with like a show. I don’t know how this stuff works.

-Probably seduced the ref to get so many decision wins.

-He beat everyone up to Don and was literally about to challenge him for the championship when Little Mac came along. (We can all agree that Great Tiger is much more difficult than Don Flamenco, right?)

-Either didn’t beat King Hippo and did the same thing Bear Hugger did or did beat him and didn’t take the belt because it was “beneath him.”

-Total douche with his clones. He’ll do things like tickle Little Mac to win an arm wrestle. (Hondo and Doc try to stop him but can’t)

-Total prankster.

-Uses magic literally all the time even when he doesn’t need to.

-He surprisingly knows a good amount of English. He still forgets words/phrases and enunciates certain things oddly but he can carry a solid conversation in English.

-Switches to Hindi to trash talk the others, particularly Little Mac. (Even if he’s grown to secretly respect the persistent kid)

-Hangs out around Don and Disco and will help them prank people for TikToks. They will also game together.

-Favourite food is pakora. (It’s an indian dessert. If you’ve never tried it, it’s delicious)

-Same as Hondo, in which he just knows how to cook foods from his country. Uses his clones to do every little task in order to cook. (Ex: Will have one stirring something, one at the rice maker, and another at the stove)

-Eats insanely spicy foods. (Will sometimes eat chili powder right out of the shaker)

Don Flamenco

-His full name is Juan Eduardo Flamenco Ramirez. He was nicknamed “Don” by his friends growing up and stuck with it for his boxing name. He used “Flamenco” as the second half of his name because it was pretty.

-He is canonically a bullfighter and boxer. That’s all you really need.

-Don climbed the ranks like Mac did. He originally kept the minor circuit belt for a while but decided he wanted something more impressive. He challenged Von Kaiser for the major circuit belt and won.

-Also probably seduced the ref if we’re being honest.

-Loves dancing and expensive dates.

-His best friends are Disco Kid and Great Tiger. He nicknamed Disco Kid “Niño de Disco” and Great Tiger “Gran Tigre.”

-He is pretty much bilingual, and has little trouble switching between English and Spanish. He will switch to spanish to tease Little Mac, though it’s pretty harmless in comparison to some of the others.

-He’s only emo in the ring and sometimes around Little Mac. “It’s not a phase, Mac.”

-Dog person.

-Favourite food is churros. (A spanish dessert. Also delicious.)

-He’s really not a gamer and will only play Just Dance with Disco Kid.

-He punched Bald Bull through the roof for a TikTok. Completely unrelated to that, there is a “natural skylight” in Don’s room.

-Challenges Little Mac to arm wrestles whenever he’s bored. Apart from Hondo, he’s probably the least “cheaty” out of them.

-An excellent cook. Because he loves to impress the ladies.

Aran Ryan

-Actually used his real name for boxing. The absolute madman.

-Apart from Boxing, Aran is a telemarketer. He also scams people on the streets as a side hustle.

-He started on the World circuit, the absolute madman, and Soda Pop was the first boxer he met. Aran Ryan can’t manage to beat him or any of the others though and picked on the lower ranks to work up a record. His “number 5” rank is technically unofficial.

-Wastes a lot of money on alcohol.

-Eats nothing but potatoes.

-He and Soda Popinski are best friends. I could see him and Great Tiger either being friends or rivals.

-Doesn’t get along with many of the others. Bald Bull especially is his enemy.

-Learned Russian to communicate with Soda. Likewise, Soda learned more English to communicate with Aran.

-Tries to use two hands while arm wrestling Mac. Doc or Hondo try to get him to knock that shit off.

-Dog person

-He loves gaming and will hack literally any game he can get his hands on. Newer Super Mario Bros Wii is his favourite game.

-Is banned from the kitchen.

Soda Popinski

-Works at a bar selling drinks.

-He’s been boxing for a long time. Held one of the circuit championships at some point but lost it. His other loss was against Sadman.

-He and Aran Ryan are drinking buddies. (Yeah sure it’s soda. It’s spiked with vodka or steroids. You can’t fool me.)

-He’s not much of a gamer, but often gets pulled into playing Aran Ryan’s hacked games with him.

-Always drinks the entire supply of soda. If anyone else wants soda, they have to hide it in one of their rooms.

-Chugs an entire can of steroid soda before arm wrestling Mac.

-“Favourite food? Uh, soda! That is a food, right?” -him at some point

-Understands English well, but has trouble speaking it himself.

-Mostly keeps to himself oddly enough.

-Doesn’t cook. Pretends to not know english when someone asks him to.

Bald Bull

-Apart from boxing, he’s a professional bodybuilder.

-Just kinda challenged people randomly and somehow won most of the time. His losses (pre Mac) were against Macho Man, Sandman, and twice against Doc Louis.

-Is laid back unless the paparazzi come around or someone does something to piss him off. Then he goes beserk. Like the time Don used him to make a “natural skylight” for a TikTok.

-Probably started the arm wrestling tradition against Little Mac, but no one is really sure.

-He and Doc Louis insult each other constantly. Aran and him are also bitter enemies.

-Talks shit about everyone in Turkish.

-Speaks in very broken english and usually hides out in his room.

-He is most chill around Bear Hugger, his closest friend.

-The others normally don’t let him touch a video game controller. However, he did beat King Hippo at Swordplay, shocking everyone.

-Can probably cook just fine but was preemptively banned from the kitchen so no one is really sure.

SMM

-His real name is Chadrick, like the asshole he is.

-A Hollywood actor for sure.

-Was the champion for a while until Sandman kicked his ass. He didn’t take any of the other belts because it was “beneath him.”

-Buys all the skins and battle passes in Fortnite. Also buys a ton of other useless rich person shit.

-Doesn’t live in the mansion but will visit every now and then during parties and shit.

-Eats nothing but In-n-Out. (Thanks Tumblr, for conflating these two in my mind)

-Is totally lying about his age.

Mr. Sandman

-His real name is Michael. People often make the comparison between him and Mike Tyson.

-He looked up to Mike Tyson as a kid.

-He is 100% devoted to boxing. Before boxing however, he worked in retail, which would explain his utter rage with the world.

-Didn’t take the minor or major belts because it was beneath him.

-Extremely competitive with Little Mac.

-“LITTLE MAC YOU ATE MY FUCKING LEFTOVERS THIS CALLS FOR A REMATCH!” -Sandman, all the time

-Also arm wrestles him a lot and challenges him at Minecraft, the favourite game of the two of them. He has a Minecraft world that he’s used for six years on Survival with all these crazy builds.

-Fairly chill when not boxing or competing with Mac.

-Good friends with Glass Joe and admires the persistent little guy despite his lack of skill in boxing.

Doc Louis

-Was the champion before Macho Man. Climbed the ranks like Mac did, and gave up his belts after retiring. Sandman was probably the final straw.

-Fought Bald Bull back in the day, and often won. They’re still rivals now.

-Favourite food is chocolate. (Literally canon, but whatever)

-The ultimate dad of the group.

-Gives them all advice, but clearly picks his favourites (Little Mac).

-All the older fighters get a little nervous when they see him eating chocolate. (You know what I mean if you’ve played Doc Louis’s Punch Out)

-Plays games with the others when they need an extra player.

-Loves cooking and does it all the time, often for some of the others too.

-He’s retired so he doesn’t “officially” live at the mansion. However, the couch has become his designated spot and the table beside it is where he puts his bag of chocolate bars.

#punch out wii #punch out #video games #aus #silly things #glass joe #von kaiser #disco kid #king hippo #piston hondo #bear hugger #great tiger #don flamenco #aran ryan #soda popinski #bald bull #smm #sandman #doc louis

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jedimordsith · 6 years ago

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I need some major help. I'm trying to write my own novel with two protags, a male and female lead. My problem is, I'm having difficulty finding a way to make them both relevant. Part of this has to do with plot, but a major factor, the largest factor really, has to do with skill sets. So, I wanted to ask someone who has background writing Mara and Luke. How do you make characters who's 'special skills' derive from the same place still be different enough that both are 'needed'?

Okay, well, first off – congrats on working on a novel! That is ambitious and awesome! : )

My first thought is that if you’ve got two protagonists, then the issues they’re facing should be big enough that one person by their lonesome can never hope to hack it. So as far as plot goes, double check that your Big Bad (whatever it is) is big enough and bad enough to match (or out match) your good guys.

As far making characters “different enough that both are needed”… I have a lot of thoughts. I’ll see if I can keep them organized.

Backgrounds matter. A simple example here is Luke and Coran. They both become Jedi and are both pilots at some point, but otherwise their experiences are very different. Luke grew up on an Outer Rim farm, got Jedi training from two different Old Order masters, and served as an NR General at one point. Corran grew up in the higher-end portions of a major Core planet (Corellia) and served in the gffa version of the FBI/CIA. Those divergent experiences give them very different perspectives on how to approach the same tasks (e.g. training the first class of Jedi and looking into Gantoriss’ death in I, Jedi). You could potentially do something similar with your protagonists, giving them different backgrounds that help them approach shared problems from different (but equally vital) angles.

Personalities play a role. Honestly the trio that comes to mind here is Harry, Ron and Hermione in the Harry Potter series. They’re all in the same year in school, they all have the same kinds of powers and when there’s a problem to solve, they can all be on board about solving it… and get to a solution in three VERY different ways. Consider also Scully and Moulder from xFiles or Clone Wars era Obi-wan and Anakin. Characters can be equivalent in a lot of ways but still notice radically different things in the same situation, or have vastly variant reactions to the same situation – all of which you can use to further your plot!. Which brings us to the next point…

Balance. E.g. the classic good cop/bad cop trope, the All Feels vs. All Brain trope, the Type A Personality vs. Type B Personality trope, and probably a dozen other similar tropes we could name. This is actually one of the things that makes Luke and Mara so much fun to write – they’re perfect foils for one another in so many ways. How can your protagonists balance one another? How can they play off one another in ways that make them greater together than the sum of their parts?

Variations within skill sets are a thing. This is something I, in particular, love to play with. Let’s use Jedi as an example: I believe canon supports the idea that Leia’s natural Force giftings leaned toward people. She was inherently extra in tune with people’s intents, feelings, etc., which is part of why she was such a great diplomat. Cilghal was inherently drawn toward healing. Mara can be read to have a unique gifting in telepathy and/or bonding (canon isn’t explicitly clear, but there’s enough to make a strong case). People can derive skills from the same place, and even had strongly overlapping skill sets, but still have distinct giftings or leanings within those arenas that set them apart.

Don’t forget about limitations and hurdles! Along the way in your novel, one or more of your characters might very rightly be taken down or out, in which case they’ll need their counterpart to help pick up the slack! Injuries, illness, exhaustion, kidnapping, getting lost, being delayed by technical trouble, even ‘boring’ admin kinds of interference can prevent people from being and doing everything themselves. They’ll need their partner’s help! (Also, in most cases, people can only be in one place at a time. Depending on how you structure things, you might need/want the option to have your protags in different places during the same time period to cover all your bases, catch clues, etc.)

That’s all I’ve got, but other authors out there – tell me what I missed!

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arielsojourner · 8 years ago

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Part 11 of Luke and Vader Save the Galaxy. Previous parts found under the tag #fatherandsonsavethegalaxy or #lukeandvadersavethegalaxy on my tumblr page. Since this has morphed from sharing crack head canons into some sort of story told in scene format (I may actual have to clean this up and post it somewhere, I haven’t written a fan fic in over 10 years), this won’t make much sense without the other parts but if you do want to read this out of order, all you need to really know is Luke and Vader travel back in time to the clone wars and rescue everyone.

-The Temple is on fire. Rex and his men have managed to hold back most of the attack, but there are gaps in the shield and the outer walls are collapsing and chip controlled trooper are getting in on the west side of the plaza. General Windu is suddenly beside him, ordering him to take his weapon off stun, to meet the attack with lethal force and press forward, Windu leading the way. Rex refuses.

“I don’t think you heard me, Captain!” Windu yells over the sound of battle. “We are pressing the advance and getting the Guard away from the Temple. Weapons must go hot. Order the men to shoot to kill and follow behind me as I lead them away from the Temple,” Mace repeats himself.

“I heard you the first time, sir. The answer is no. Please retreat back into the Temple proper. This area is under GAR control.” Rex will not kill his brothers if he can help it, never again. “Boomer! Waxer and Boil report the west line has broken. Send two squads!”

Windu turns, incredulous and grabs the shoulder of a nearby trooper pushing back a Guard member. “Trooper! Shield down and weapons hot. We are pressing the attack!”

Jesse shoves back the chipped brother and yells over his shoulder “Go to hell, sir!” and process to use his shield and baton to knock his attacker to the ground and into unconsciousness.

“Sir, I must insist you retreat back into the Temple,” Rex demands. “You are interfering with our operations.” He knows he cannot force the General or stop him if he wants to attack the Guard, but he will not comply. Windu looks from clone trooper to clone trooper fighting back their brothers who are attacking with deadly intent. He shakes his head and ignites his saber, but backs away to the ruins of the outer wall. Any Guards who get past the line he cuts down and kills.

Behind Mace Windu, Jedi young and old stand just within the wall and Rex dies a little inside each time he sees one of his brothers fall to a saber blade. This is torture of the most acute kind. It is Krell all over again. He tries to get ahold of himself, to shake it off, but it is so hard. He yells to his brothers to hold the line because any trooper that they cannot stop through non lethal means will meet death inside the Temple at the hands of the Jedi Order.

-In the airspace above Coruscant, Ahsoka takes a page out of her master’s playbook. Their cruiser is failing and will soon be destroyed. Kickback and Oddball have done what they can with ion bombs and fighters but it has not been enough. She orders everyone to abandon ship and get to Master Plo’s cruiser and she will maneuver her ship into place like a physical shield blocking any further orbital bombing of the Temple. She looks up and Commander Cody is still beside her on the bridge. She orders him again to leave, and he refuses. If she stays, he stays. She smiles at him through the smoke filling the bridge and together they turn the ship to protect the surface below.

-At the Senatorial Apartments, Padme has the babies tied in a sling to her chest, and is crouched down inside the ‘fresher tub, blasters in each hand. Artoo and Threepio are pressed against the closed ‘fresher door, blocking it with their metal bodies being as much as a barrier as they can. She can hear Anakin and Obi-Wan and the clones fighting, she can hear her husband screaming. The babies are whimpering and she speaks to them softly as the room shakes and plaster from the ceiling rains down. “Shh, shh, little ones. Mommy’s here, Mommy’s here. Daddy will protect us, Daddy is fighting for us. Obi-Wan is helping. The clones are helping. Shh, don’t cry, don’t cry. We’ll be all right.”

-Anakin and Obi-Wan fight shoulder to shoulder using the Force and maiming cuts whenever possible as the Coruscant Clone Guard attempts to destroy the apartment complex, kill Padme and take the babies. Brothers fight brothers, and Senatorial guards, and assassin droids that attempt to enter through the elevator and stair wells, the ruined balcony, and even scaling up the building or down from the roof.

The holoscreen is still on, though it has crashed to the floor, but Anakin has heard enough even over the sound of battle to know it was Palpatine. Palpatine, his mentor and friend, the man he thought he could trust with his life, who made him believe that all the fighting, sacrifice, and bloodshed was worth it, has betrayed them all. This is the man who has made a mockery of all the death and suffering of the past three years, who has sent men and droids to kill his wife and take his children. Anakin has given his all, has committed totally to the war, to the safety of the Republic, to protecting the people and it means nothing, nothing! It was all worthless. The knowledge feels like a vibroblade to the chest. His whole world seems to be crumbling around him. Nothing makes sense, it is like he is in free fall, the Force feels so far away and fury threats to take over and have him slaughter everyone, everyone who dares attack his family.

It is only Obi-Wan’s presence at his side that gives him the strength to hang on to sanity by his fingernails when all he wants to do is let the red curtain of rage fall over his eyes and hurt everyone else for hurting him and his loved ones. Obi-Wan keeps up a stead stream of talking and sometimes shouting over the sound of blaster fire, and whoever it is who keeps screaming, (someone keeps screaming, screaming in Basic and Hutteese) telling Anakin that he can’t wait to spend time with the children, how he hopes they are holy terrors and give Anakin at least the same amount of grief he gave Obi-Wan growing up, how strong in the Force they are, how Anakin couldn’t have picked a more lovely woman to be his wife than Padme, how Obi-Wan could not be prouder of him as a man, as a friend, as a Jedi, as a teacher, as a warrior, how Obi-Wan loves him like a brother, how he has to stand firm, don’t choke them, Anakin please, try and remember, the children and Padme need you, I’m here, dear one, I’m right here, hold on, Anakin, Force please, just hold on!

-For Luke, this fall is almost as painful as the fall from the gangway in Cloud City. The Sith Master clawing at him, lighting coursing out of his fingertips. The pain is agonizing, he can barely reach for the Force to slow their descent. He feels his father’s Force grip yank him free from Palpatine’s grasp and then his father’s arms are around him, holding him tight as they hit the ground. Somehow, Luke still has his lightsaber and he wastes no time staggering to his feet, pushing past the pain and igniting the blade just in time to block another lightning attack. Vader circles around the Sith Master, trying to pen him in between the two of them. Hardcase and Fives rush to join them and they circle the Sith, waiting for an opening.

The Force sends a warning nearly a second too late and Hardcase turns to block blaster fire from Senatorial Guards in sniper position. He blocks most but one catches him in the leg and another in the shoulder. Fives rushes to defend him and Sidious steals a saber and slashes Fives in the back. Luke prevents the killing blow and Vader hammers Palpatine back with punishing strokes. Luke begins to drag the men out of the line of fire and there is Chatterbox leaping down to join them, pulling his brothers aside and blocking further blaster fire, ricocheting the bolts back to the attackers. Luke throws himself back into the fight.

--Slice and his team have been having a grand time the past months, robbing the Trade Federation and the Banking Clan and all the corporate guilds blind, hacking the code of the inhibitor chips, and using backdoor codes to shut the Seperatists down. But now he, Gin, Wires, Mal, and Uni have to slice the entire Holonet galaxy wide and the Senatorial security feed and the Supreme Chancellor’s computer and back ups and they have to do it now before brother kills brother all over the galaxy and the Jedi are massacred and the friends all die fighting the Sith Master.

No pressure.

“Do we have the code to shut off the kill order or not?” Gin yells.

“There is too much, he has files buried within files,” Mal spits. “The worm is having trouble locating it.”

“We are running out of time!”

“There!” Uni says. “Patch me in to all comms via the satellites.”

“You mean the ones Kickback hasn’t blown up!” Mal complains.

“We have to switch the holo feed. We have eyes on them in the Senate Plaza,” Wires orders. “Slice?”

“Got it. Uni, broadcast the signal!”

-All GAR communicators spit out an incomprehensible screech of noise. At the Temple, the clones chipped and free stagger and some rip off their helmets from the pain, but when the noise ceases the attacking clones stop and stagger and drop their guns. Some vomit. Some look ready to turn their weapons on themselves. Others rush to help brothers that just a moment before they were trying to kill. The call for medics fill the air. The Jedi guarding the Temple stand down. Rex yanks off his bucket and sucks in great noisy breaths of air. He looks out into the dusk and falling night towards the Senate District where weapons fire continues. He calls for Jesse and a few others to get a transport here now.

-The turbolasers fall silent and Ahsoka staggers across the listing deck to helm control. She has spent enough time flying and crashing with her Master that she is sure she can land what is left of the ship on Coruscant. Cody hurries to strap himself in. “Are you sure you know what you are doing, Commander?” he asks as she takes the controls.

“I’ve seen Master Skywalker do this at least a dozen times,” She tells him as they begin their descent (begin to fall really, but Anakin always said attitude was important when flying, so descent it was).

Cody shakes his head and braces himself. “That doesn’t fill me with a lot of comfort, sir.”

-When the chipped clone troopers fall and stop fighting and the last of the Senatorial Guard are dispatched, Obi-Wan puts away his weapon and grabs Anakin. Anakin, who is smashing an already destroyed assassin droid to bits, screaming obscenities. Obi-Wan pulls Anakin’s saber from his grasp and pins his apprentice’s arms to his side and yanks them both backward, holding his Padawan and trying desperately to reach his dearest friend with his words, with the Force, with his physical presence. Anakin finally stops struggling only to collapse on the floor, dragging Obi-Wan with him. He shakes violently and then as if some invisible hand is ripping into him, Anakin sobs, deep wretched cries. Kix moves to help, but Obi-Wan directs him with a shake of his head to see to the fallen troopers. Echo yanks off his helmet and takes one terrified look at his broken General and rushes to get Padme and the babies.

Obi-Wan holds onto Anakin as tightly as he can, whispering soothing nonsense in his ear, hoping that this will be enough. The holoscreen flickers and security footage from the Senate Plaza now fills the screen and the sound of lighting strikes, screams, and lightsabers crashing blasts from the speakers.

-Luke and his father have never practiced fighting together but that doesn’t seem to matter, they move in tandem. He goes low and manages a hit to Palpatine’s leg and Vader moves in for the kill only for Force lighting to arc through him at close range. Vader drops his saber, his prosthetics shorting and sparking and Palpatine slashes out. Vader roars in pain and Luke uses the Force to shove his father clear so the blow maims, but does not kill. Luke blocks and parries, and finds his opening, slicing off Sidious’ hand. Maddened by pain, the Sith throws out great arcs of lightening, striking furiously around the Plaza. Luke goes down with a cry as his flesh begins to cook from the inside out. In the distance over his own cries of agony he can hear Sidious gleefully cackling about power. It seems so far away and Luke can feel himself slipping away.

Palpatine’s sadistic joy seems to fill the air as much as the scent of ozone and burning. He is so engrossed in murdering the Jedi that he misses the dark shape of Vader looming out of the evening dusk behind him. Vader impales Sidious with one vicious stroke and then both he and the would-be-Emperor fall.

Luke finds the strength to look up only to be blinded by the explosion of Dark pouring out of the Sith’s body as he dies.

#sw au #star wars #star wars alternate universe #luke skywalker #darth vader #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #captain rex #ahsoka tano #mace windu #Fives #Hardcase #Chatterbox #Padme #clones #clone wars #luke and vader #luke and vader save the galaxy #father and son save the galaxy

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samuelpboswell · 7 years ago

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5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run

You know what they call a shortcut that actually saves time? The route. That was the wisdom my dad gave me the first time we went hiking together. Sometimes when you look at the map, it looks like there’s a better path. But the route is the route for a reason. Chasing a shortcut feels like making progress — but it might not get you to the trail’s end. Marketers dig shortcuts. Or, as we call them, “hacks.” It makes sense: We’re usually overworked, understaffed, and expected to work wonders. A content marketing hack promises to cut a straight line through a tedious process, increasing efficiency and boosting results. While some hacks can absolutely aid success, there are several instances in which you’re better off sticking to the route. Here are five shortcuts that will actually cost you time, resources, or reputation.

#1 - Shady Linkbuilding

The Shortcut: Search algorithms consider how many backlinks your content has, right? So why not treat backlinking like another paid channel? There are plenty of entities that will help you out. Their tactics range from moderately shady (groups that exist only to share each other’s links) and incredibly shady (you pay them, they link you on tons of cloned spam sites). But backlinks only work in your favor if they’re from reputable sites — and if your content is really worth linking to in the first place. If shady sites are linking to your content, that will actually hurt your ranking. And if Google finds out you’re engaging in shady linkbuilding, they might choose to penalize you further. Search engines are fiercely protective against any attempt to game the system.

via GIPHY The Route: Link building is possibly the only marketing function for which there isn’t a good paid alternative. It has to be organic, and you have to put in the work. The best way to get quality backlinks is to create amazing content. Make stuff people will want to link to. Include influencers who will throw you a link. Do some outreach to reputable sites who would find the content relevant. It’s a drawn-out and tedious process, but it’s better than risking Google’s wrath. Plus, even if you don’t earn hundreds of backlinks, you’ll still have quality content to bring people in.

#2 - Copy/Paste Repurposing

The Shortcut: As an agency, we’re bullish on repurposing content. It’s a good way to fill out your editorial calendar. It’s great for squeezing every drop of potential from an eBook, a blog post series, or an influencer submission. But proper repurposing takes a little time and effort. So why not just take some old stuff, paste it into a new blog, and call it good? Who’s going to remember that blog post from 2009, anyway? Short answer: Google. Duplicate content is another ranking factor that can move you down in the SERP. Thoughtless repurposing can get you in trouble with your audience, too: If they catch on that you’re repurposing without updating (those “Call Me Maybe” references are a dead giveaway), you’ll lose credibility. And if you’re just slapping a new image on an old blog post to fill out the content calendar, odds are you haven’t considered whether the content is still relevant to your audience. [bctt tweet="If you’re just slapping a new image on an old blog post to fill out the #content calendar, odds are you haven’t considered whether the content is still relevant to your audience. @NiteWrites" username="toprank"] The Route: As with all content marketing, repurposing should start with strategy. Make sure the content you want to repurpose is still resonating with your target audience. Update it so it’s superfresh and hyper-relevant. You could even add some influencer quotes (original or curated), or transform the content into another medium entirely. In short, repurposing is great for putting out content with less effort… but it still requires a little effort to truly rock it.

#3 - Uninspired Curation

The Shortcut: Curation is another way to fill out an editorial calendar with low-effort, high-return content. That means list posts, news roundups, lists of stats — anything that’s primarily bringing in third-party content. You can see uninspired curation posts everywhere. I won’t call anyone out specifically, but try a search for “[subject matter] stats” for one type. You’ll see dozens of articles all listing the same 20 statistics, most of which don’t cite their source (or they’ll cite another stats article as the source). Lazy curation can also look like a news roundup with nothing but headlines and hyperlinks. Or a “x best books” that’s just a list of titles. Or a quotes roundup with content everyone’s seen a dozen times. There are lots of ways to go quick, easy, and dull. The Route: What sets good curation apart from lazy curation is an intent to provide value. Lazy curation is all about filling blog space. The alternative is to understand your audience and actively seek out stuff they might have missed that would be useful to them. [bctt tweet="What sets good #curation apart from lazy curation is an intent to provide value. @NiteWrites #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"] Your curated content should also include your brand’s point of view. Anyone can compile a list of links. Stand out by bringing valuable editorial context that only you (and your brand) can provide. Read: Content Curation 101: 7 Best Practices, Helpful Tools & Great Examples

#4 - Single Drafting

The Shortcut: It takes work to make sure your content is the best it can be. And look, I know how it goes: Sometimes the deadlines are looming, the creation process was slow, and you just want to click “Publish” on that first draft. It may not be perfect, but it’s something, right? Maybe you can glance over it once before you publish. You do good work; who needs an editor?

via GIPHY Based on some of the content I’ve read recently, publishing without editing is a new favorite content shortcut. But all those typos, awkward sentences, and trailing thoughts can hurt your credibility. The Route: We believe every piece of content needs at least two pairs of eyes on it. Everything gets an edit. Even this blog post by a senior content writer. Ideally, you should write, edit, and have someone else QA before you publish. It's as simple as that.

#5 - Shallow Influencer Marketing

The Shortcut: We all know influencer marketing – working with industry experts and thought leaders to add value and credibility to your content – is a great way to increase amplification, connect with new audiences, and build valuable relationships. The quick and easy way to do influencer marketing is use a tool to find influencers, pay them for content, then go your separate ways. Like the other shortcuts on this list, it’s quick, and it works – for a while. Until the budget runs out, or your audience gets jaded, or your influencer gets on someone else’s payroll. The Route: Shallow influencer marketing is similar to a celebrity endorsement. There’s no relationship-building, no follow-up, no mutual excitement for the content you’re creating. Of course, some influencers want financial compensation, and that’s fine. But if you want truly effective influencer content, something has to be in it for them beyond the money. We strive to cultivate relationships with people who are not only influential, but smart, fascinating, and doing cool stuff we want to share with our audience. Over time we have developed a community of influencers who we love working with, and who love working with us. Read: Beyond the Hype Cycle: It's Time to Redefine Influencer Marketing

The True Danger of a Shortcut

All of the above shortcuts seem like they can save time or effort with just a little trade-off in quality. But those little compromises add up, and can actually hurt you in the long run. The real danger, however, is that chasing these shortcuts keeps you from optimizing, improving, and perfecting. [bctt tweet="Constantly chasing #contentmarketing shortcuts keeps you from optimizing, improving, and perfecting. - @NiteWrites" username="toprank"] Definitely keep an eye out for ways you can genuinely increase efficiency. Move faster and get better results over time. But remember that there’s no shortcut for doing it right and doing it well. There’s only the route. There are no shortcuts in content marketing. But there are ways to increase productivity and efficiency in a strategic way. Check out these posts to find more inspiration:

16 Ways to Be More Efficient With Content Creation

5 Productivity Hacks to Bring Content Creation from Failing to Flying High

6 Quick & Dirty SEO Research Tips for B2B Content Planning

Of if you need help planning your route? Check out our content marketing services.

The post 5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from The SEO Advantages https://www.toprankblog.com/2018/11/content-marketing-shortcuts-avoid/

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christopheruearle · 7 years ago

Text

5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run

#1 - Shady Linkbuilding

#2 - Copy/Paste Repurposing

#3 - Uninspired Curation

#4 - Single Drafting

#5 - Shallow Influencer Marketing

The True Danger of a Shortcut

16 Ways to Be More Efficient With Content Creation

5 Productivity Hacks to Bring Content Creation from Failing to Flying High

6 Quick & Dirty SEO Research Tips for B2B Content Planning

Of if you need help planning your route? Check out our content marketing services.

The post 5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

0 notes

befoundonlinemarketing · 7 years ago

Text

5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run

#1 - Shady Linkbuilding

#2 - Copy/Paste Repurposing

#3 - Uninspired Curation

#4 - Single Drafting

#5 - Shallow Influencer Marketing

The True Danger of a Shortcut

16 Ways to Be More Efficient With Content Creation

5 Productivity Hacks to Bring Content Creation from Failing to Flying High

6 Quick & Dirty SEO Research Tips for B2B Content Planning

Of if you need help planning your route? Check out our content marketing services.

The post 5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

5 Content Marketing Shortcuts That Cost You in the Long Run posted first on http://www.toprankblog.com/

0 notes

arielsojourner · 8 years ago

Text

Part 13

-As they come out of hyperspace near Honoghr, alarms blare. There is pitch battle between several smaller Republic cruisers and a Separatist battleship. Luke scrambles with the other pilots to offer support to the cruisers. Vader takes the role usually reserved for Admiral Yularan who was still with rest of the fleet in orbit at Umbara and has Commander Appo direct their three capital ships to focus on protection of the planet. Vader also orders that whatever troopers are trained in slicing be brought to the bridge immediately.

Rex pulls several men from different platoons, five in total. When Vader sees them he hands them a code cylinder and tells them they are Separatists codes and they as the newly christened Hack Squad are to start slicing the enemy. Rex watches the battle on the holoscreens, but Vader prefers to stand close to the transparisteel viewport, masked helmet unerringly tilted to following the distant zipping shapes of the fighters and bombers, as if tracking his son’s presence. Things seem to be going well at first, the fighters covering the damaged cruisers when it all goes to hell.

The Separatist ship has taken heavy damage and it is in a low orbit, when one of the cruisers loses its reactor containment explosively and proceeds to collide with the Separatist ship. Vader calls for a calculation of the trajectory. Appo reports that the ships will likely crash on the planet unless the Separatists manage to maintain power and altitude. Vader turns to the troops busy slicing into the Separatists code. “Can you get us control of that ship?” he asks.

Slice looks up and then looks to Rex and then steels his spine. “Sir, I can’t guarantee that. They must have one of those advanced tactical droids in command, it’s slowing us down.”

Vader strides over to the comms officer. “Get me Black leader.”

Luke’s voice responds promptly. “Black Leader, go.”

“The ships will crash on the planet’s surface. The slice is proving problematic.”

“Blast! Is there nothing we can do? If it was one of our ships we could perhaps bolster their orbit physically with the cruisers or even one of the destroyers but unless the Separatists plan to stop fighting–”

Vader’s hands clench into fists. “The planet will take the brunt of it and the damage will be catastrophic.”

There is a long pause. “Father, what about the Force? We could lift the ship, together.”

Vader is silent for a long moment. “Together,” he says turning back towards the viewport “Get clear of the battle.”

Rex and Appo exchange a glance and follow after Vader. Could the Force do that? They had both seen Jedi lift rocks and droids and all manner of wreckage but an entire ship? What was clearly Luke’s fighter swoops out of path of enemy fire and the bridge crew stills. The very atmosphere seemed to change. Rex half expects his ears to pop, his skin prickles. Clones are not capable of being Force sensitive but clearly there is something going on.

Vader’s breathing never hitches, never speeds up, it continues on its ponderous pace. He reaches for his son and together they stretch out with the Force, with their feelings (Vader with his frustration and anger and Luke with his determination and desire to protect the innocent below on the planet) and in one voice with one mind they say move.

Rex watches, eyes shifting between the viewport and the stream of data on the holo screens around the bridge. At first nothing seems to happen and then, then slowly but with growing speed the Separatist ship begins to move to a higher orbit.

“Z minus 12, Z minus 11.5,” one of the bridge lieutenants murmurs. “Z minus 11, Z minus 10, she’s . . . she’s rising.”

Appo orders the other cruisers to get clear and tells the fighters to see what escape pods they could tractor with them as they move away from the Separatist ship. When the lieutenant announces they had the ship in orbit and stable, the whole crew audibly sighs in relief. Their efforts are completed not a moment too late, the Separatist ship explodes but it was now high enough above the planet that the debris could be dealt with without harm to the planet below.

-Vader sat cross legged on the bed watching as Luke paced back and forth across the length of the room. Vader thought the day had gone rather well. The Noghri were protected and could not be enslaved. The Separatist ship was destroyed and with only a few casualties from the exploding Republic cruiser, they had taken on the surviving troopers and added two remaining cruisers to their little fleet. Luke did not agree. Their efforts to use the Separatists codes his father had recalled did not work. Slicing took too long to get the desired effect in battle. If it hadn’t been for the two of them working together to lift the ship–

Luke felt a bit giddy remembering of how that felt. It was the same feeling he had gotten the first time he threaded the Needle in his skyhopper but better. He knew that nothing was impossible with the Force. Yoda had lifted his entire X-Wing. Vader in battle had moved AT-ATs with a wave of his hand. Together they had lifted the battleship out of the gravity well of the planet. At first it was tricky, running his Force sense in tandem with his Father. Vader was shadow and smoke, burnt embers and icy black cold, grasping and treacherous. Luke wasn’t sure how his Force sense appeared but initially working together felt like being buried under a sand dune or being lost in a sand storm. Then somehow, something had clicked into place between them and they were guiding the power together to lift the ship.

Vader didn’t think Luke realized what they had accomplished together. When his son had suggested they use the Force, Vader thought it a lost cause, an unfortunate consequence of the Clone Wars they were too late to prevent, but then Luke’s strength had poured into him with a feeling of power as pure and refreshing as water, cool and clear and sparkling with sunlight. Vader had worried at first that his own Darkness may simply seize and feast upon the power shared without any effect but there seemed to be a never ending stream of it from Luke, a determination and strength without bounds. It was enough, it was more than enough, and the ship had moved.

Luke spoke honestly about his concerns. He was not the military genius his father was. He had never commanded troops at this level or any level outside his rebellion fighter squadron, but he knew that using the codes and slicers was not going to be enough. If they were to defeat Palpatine, they had to stop the war, not win it. The Separatists were commanded by a Sith and Vader could certainly play the part.

Vader was aghast. “I am not a Separatist!” he shouted.

“But you could pretend to be one. You said Sith and Dark side users commanded even over the Trade Federation and other corporate heads. You could go in using the codes you have and shut them down,” Luke reasoned quickly. Vader grumbled but finally agreed. Luke was careful not to roll his eyes. Of all the things for his Father to be sensitive about!

-The changes came fast after that. The 501st was used to receiving orders of battles in progress, systems or supply lines to protect. Now their orders were of an entirely different nature. Luke and Vader seemed to know ahead of time where the Separatists were going to be, what systems were in trouble. Echo combed through intelligence briefings but could not find where they were getting their information. They certainly had not received any comms, running comms silent since Umbara. Luke them met privately with the medical staff leading to a flurry of activity which accumulated in Kix arranging an appointment for every single clone as soon as possible. The newly formed squad under Slice was kept even busier. Vader had them working on something that could take down battle droids though what use it would be if it had to be input at the source Rex didn’t know, but they were working on it. Luke had them and any other trooper with marginal code and slicing skills hacking the Trade Federation, Techno Union and Corporate Guilds. When Rex questioned what they were doing, they showed him. All they were doing was copying contracts, trade agreements, loan documents from dozens of worlds and then placing a flag on the files copied before backing quickly out of the system. In between all of this, Vader would take off in a shuttle alone and then a day or so later Luke would announce which system they were traveling to. They arrived to find Vader in charge of the Separatist fleet (and wasn’t it a kick in the gut the first time the 501st realized that) and Vader would immediately surrender or send a message so they could work together to take out whatever portion of the Separatist fleet Vader did not have under his control.

When the truth came out about the chips in their heads, the deliberate genetic defect, the codes that could switch them into nothing more than battle droids, Rex didn’t know which way was up anymore. Dogma and several other troopers had to be sedated for their own safety. Tup’s surgery to remove the chip nearly killed him. It seemed like the nightmare that had started on Umbara had never let up. But Luke and Vader had never faltered. They had a fix, they treated everyone and then the revelation that clones could be Force sensitive had been like the sun rising after a very long night.

-The ship is shaking apart around them. Cody notes that they have already lost a good portion of the superstructure burning through the atmosphere. And then there is the other problem. To be in place to protect the Temple district from bombardment means that there isn’t enough time, thrust, or lift to direct the crumbling ship anywhere other than somewhere halfway between the Temple and the Senate district. Cody sees it too and is comming ahead to evacuate the entire area and prep emergency crews but apparently the entire area is swarming with troopers already and there appears to be an active firefight down at the Senate. Master Plo cuts through the comm chatter ordering them to get to the escape pods if they can, but Ahsoka knows that if they abandon ship now, the risk is too great that the ship will go awry and hit the Temple or the Senate or any of the dozens of other buildings in the area. Someone has to fly her down to do the least amount of damage. Her teeth snap together from the jolting but she just keeps reminding herself that her Master could totally do this and she was his Padawan so she could do it too.

“Ahsoka!” Master Plo shouts over the comms. “The escape pods, now!”

“I can do this!” she yells back. “I can!”

-Rex is hanging out of a gunship watching the Resolute head towards the ground like a fiery arrow. Further away, lightening is illuminating the Senate Plaza.

“Aw, kriff!” Jesse yells as he dodges and weaves around falling debris. “Who is crazy enough to be trying to land the old girl?”

“Appo!” Rex orders through the comms. “You handle the ship, we’re heading for the Senate. Try and get the fire crews to--”

What is left of General Skywalker’s flagship slams into the ground sliding forward at insane speeds towards the residential buildings, smashing itself to bits along the way. The noise is deafening, the ground buckles and part of the ship sinks into the lower levels before finally coming to a precarious stop still burning in the growing dark of evening. Everyone seems to hold their breath for a long moment before the tremendous noise of rescue efforts fills the air. Coruscant Guards who were previously trying to massacre Jedi rush to the scene to help.

Rex is torn. Part of him wants to help at the crash site because he has a pretty good idea who was piloting, but there is still blaster fire coming from the Senate and lightening that means the Sith is still fighting. He must trust his brothers to handle the Resolute. He yells at Jesse to continue on to the Senate, ordering the rest of the men with them to be weapons hot as they are about to come into range of whatever is going down between the Chancellor and Vader and Luke. Senatorial Guards and Sith are not deserving of mercy. They made their choices and now--

–and everything goes silent for an instant, leaving an eerie ringing in his ears and then–

–a soundless explosion of writhing blue black light blinds him and--

–a roar of sound catches up and the whole ship tips to the side and nearly throws everyone out of the gunship before Jesse rights their course.

“What. The. HELL?” Redeye manages to say. “Wh-what was that?”

Rex leans forward, his whole body trembling. “Land!” he yells to Jesse, “Land now!”

–-Once there was a boy born the poorest of the poor, who owned nothing, not even the flesh upon his bones or the labor of his hands. He could claim no father nor mother; one he did not have and the other was owned by someone else. He could not speak or act for himself except in secret and always under threat of suffering and death. Anything he built in secret, anyone he chose to love, could be lost to him, taken from him, and he would be helpless to stop it. He only had his thoughts and his feelings (unspoken, hidden) to truly call his own.

One day a man traveled to the poor town where the boy worked and lived. The man traveled with an angel and the boy offered all he had secretly built and loved to help them in their time of trouble in honor of lessons taught to him by the mother he could not claim or hold. He saved them and in exchange the man told him that his thoughts and feelings could grant him power to win his freedom and free others in turn. And so the boy left and did not look back. He was taught and trained how to wield the power within him, but in exchange, his thoughts were not his own to freely think and his feelings were no longer his own to express and feel. But the power gave him the ability to protect and fight back and so he submitted to the leashing of his mind and felt secret emotions and thought secret thoughts, knowing that if anyone found out he would lose all he had and he would be helpless to prevent it.

And lose he did. Mother, wife, dearest brother, little sister, comrades in arms, trusted mentor, values, causes, faith, hope.

A daughter and a son.

He was being lifted up and through the ruins of his mask, faceplate shattered, he could see Luke. His son was alive. He was here.

“Father,” he said. “Father, can you hear me?”

And then Vader felt it, the cool water touch of Luke’s Force presence, flowing through him. It brought sensation back to what little flesh he had left and he wheezed in pain, but it was a good pain. It was a good feeling. His son was here. He hadn’t lost him.

“L-luke,” he managed to mumble.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Luke said urgently, pulling him closer. “I won’t leave you.”

Vader wished he could feel his son’s arms around him.

“Is it done? Is-is . . . he dead?”

“Yes, yes, Father, it’s done,” Luke assured him, nodding jerkily before lifting his hand to block the glare from the floodlights of a gunship landing.

“Tha-that’s good. That’sss good,” he slurred. “Safe, sssafe now. Ev’ryone sa–fe.” Luke, Padme, the babies, Ahsoka, the men, all safe, even– even Obi-Wan. Even Anakin.

“Father, help is coming. Please, hold on, we’re going to save you,” he begged.

He tried to focus, it was so hard to breath. My son, My son, I have to tell you, I am so proud . . .

“ ‘lredy saved, Luke. Already saved m-me.”

“No, no,” his son cried in denial. “Don’t go! Father--!”

#sw au #star wars alternate universe #star wars #luke skywalker #darth vader #luke and vader #clones #clone wars #ahsoka #captain rex #luke and vader save the galaxy #father and son save the galaxy

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