#vader really was just palpatines attack dog

[burntblueberrywaffles]

the desperate anidala bitches shall rejoice, because i come offering a second rec list 😌 /lh

My Anidala/Vaderdala rec list! (part 2)

You can find the first rec list here!

sorry I took so long this got buried way down in my drafts but it's finally out 🫡

some of these are not complete so do check chapter count and pls dont yell at me asdfhgkjfh

Modern AUs

The Bet

Anakin's had a crush on Padmé since fourth grade, and after putting up with his pining for seven years, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are finally stepping in and making a bet that he can't ask her to junior prom in the spring. Meanwhile, Padmé is realizing that Anakin isn't as annoying as she'd always thought. In fact, her feelings towards him are starting to go in quite the opposite direction...

Snow Place Like Home

For genre-typical convoluted reasons involving ill-timed blizzards, Padmé is forced to spend the holidays at Anakin's house. Anakin isn't as upset about his boss staying with him for Christmas as he probably should be.

Second Chances

When Luke Amidala and Leia Skywalker meet at summer camp, they're shocked to discover that they're long-lost twins. The logical next step? Getting their estranged parents back together.

I usually avoid Parent traps AU just because I dislike it as a setup, but when it comes to Anidala a bitch is desperate, and this was a cute and fun one, I really enjoyed it!

Lemon

“What other secret fantasies do I have that are glaring neon signs for you?” Anakin asks. “You’re conflicted,” Padmé says, “because on one hand you want to be a very good boy for me, but on the other you want to misbehave so I have a reason to punish you.” He blows out a plume of smoke and taps the ash off his cigarette. “You know, I really thought you were a nerd. I thought I'd have to be like, ‘Hey, how about you tie me up sometime.' Get you into this stuff little by little. But no, you’re diving right in like we met on a BDSM subreddit or something.” Or: Padmé has car problems. Thankfully she knows a good mechanic.

normally, I probably never would have checked out this fic, (mommy kink is just not my thing) but as previously stated, A BITCH WAS DESPERATE and you know what it actually slapped 😌

Rebound

Padmé Naberrie has just been broken up with. She wasn't prepared for a night out with her girls to find her a rebound. She certainly wasn't prepared for Anakin Skywalker.

Sith-Raised Anakin

the inevitable end of dancing with the devil

"Maybe it was too crass to compare the devil to such a creature—Lord Vader wasn’t the devil, he was worse." Senator Amidala was undoubtedly one of the most respected and adored public servants to walk the galaxy. Lord Vader was not. Vaderdala AU. Arranged Marriage AU

A Worthy Sacrifice

Chancellor Palpatine has dropped the act and decided to rule the galaxy openly as Darth Sidious. His reign wouldn’t be half as successful without his unhinged attack dog Darth Vader, a much rumoured warbringer who appears in black robes with a saber red as blood and brings even the strongest revolutionaries to their knees. Padmé is not only fighting for her home country but the freedom of the known regions and she is desperate to turn the tides of this war which is why she agrees to the deal Sidious offers her: A child with this favourite Sith Lord in exchange for her home: Naboo.

This is one of my favourite fics with this trope!

Pearl in My Head

Padmé's just starting her career as a Senator when she attracts some unwanted attention from the Emperor, who has decided on a very different role for her in the Empire. [empire already exists, arranged marriage/forced proximity au! loosely follows some aotc/rots events]

What Was I Made For?

Darth Vader was not a man made for love, but this was not love. Or, Basically, Padme and Vader are friends with benefits, but she's so nice to him that it makes him question his entire existence.

FOR YOUR LOVE (i’ll do whatever you want)

𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐢’𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐢’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 He gave her that devilish smirk of his. The one that had gotten her into this mess in the first place. “I’ll give you what you want.” OR, A rare moment of intimacy happens for Padmé and Anakin – whose relationship is strictly carnal.

I have yet to read the second chapter (will get on that when I get out of the snowbaird hole lol) but I really enjoyed the first one!

Vaderdala

love me, love me (like you used to do) 

In which Vader fails to capture his son, but gains a daughter, his wife, another pair of twins... and the past.

this fic was SO GOOD holy shit literally made me feral when i fiorst read it

Love Like Ghosts

There are very few people who know the location of the Rebel Alliance’s base on Naboo. Even fewer who know the names of any of the people who work there. So when Padmé gets up on a cold morning, the windows frosted and harsh wind rattling the doors of the large house that’s been the headquarters of the Alliance for nearly two decades, to see a package with her name on it sitting on the doorstep, her heart stops in her chest.

loved this fic but as a heads up it doesn't provide "they get back together" closure so be ready for that

news of old by @ineedausernamel829

Padme is a member of the rebel alliance. During a mission, her past relationships with darth Vader comes to light

No vaderdala interactions, but exploration of the relationship through Padme talking about it - It’s so so good

Sad Vaderdala hours

Imperial Socialite

In a timeline where Darth Vader doesn't face immolation and Padmé Amidala lives, their marriage continues in a form that is at once far more honest and deeply dysfunctional. Though Padmé tries to remain within the Imperial Senate, the trauma of her husband's betrayal--and the apparent deaths of her children--force her into early retirement. Too much of a liability to aid the emerging Rebel cause directly, Padmé seeks out new avenues of defying the Empire: by leveraging her connection to Vader to mess with the Imperial Elites of Coruscant.

it could be sweet

an interconnected collection of stories based on the idea of what would have happened if Padmé had lived. (aka me finally writing down my self-indulgent vaderdala daydreams aka me living my best life)

This series is so good in a "rip my heart out of my chest and steps on it" way

all joy sucked dry

Her husband had fallen, her life’s work had crumbled, and her own babies were strangers to her. But she didn’t even care, and that was the worst part. Or: Padme deals with postpartum depression, and Vader is ill-equipped to help her

Others

Across the Seas

Padmé Amidala - the daughter of the royal governor of Jamaica - never expected her life to be much more than it already was. Her routine is to dress in her finest clothes, put on a pretty face, and ensure she is presentable to not only the people but to the many men attempting to court her. However, Padmé's world is flipped around when pirates attack, and the young woman finds herself in the company of their fearsome, brash, (dashing) Captain. Initially sickened by the roughish man, Padmé will quickly learn there is so much more to the mysterious Captain Skywalker. A pirate's life for me

The pirate AU I didn’t know I needed. So good

Right & Wrong

After they watch a holoshow that portrays reprehensible content, Anakin unwittingly reveals the concerning way Chancellor Palpatine acts towards him. Padmé will not let anyone harm her husband — and she’ll make this Obi-Wan, the Jedi Council, and even the whole galaxy’s problem if she needs to.

when the grooming is actually adressed >>

cestrum nocturnum

Summer on Naboo, the Clone Wars have yet to begin, and Anakin is tasked with protecting Senator Amidala after an attempt is made on her life. It's too bad that every moment with her has him in agony, and every moment apart is even worse—especially after that night in the courtyard ... Or: Anakin spends a torturous time on Naboo in the company of the person he loves because he doesn't know how to tell her his true feelings.

Naboo smut 🤭

And that's it! if anyone has recommendations for a fic that isn't in either of my rec lists, please let me know! I am so so desperate I need my anidala fix

Since I was deep into the Star Wars hole and desperate, I’ve also been reading non-Anidala/non-Anidala centric fics about Darth Vader/Anakin/the Skywalker family, so I will be posting a rec list for that soon! (When i say soon it can mean anything from a day to months, my brain is not always great at tasks, if anyone wants to be notified when I do post it lmk and I’ll tag you ❤️)

[maulthots]

Rots novelization LAST ONE!!! I have a lot to say.

Cunty.

Obi wan and Yoda are sneaking into coruscant and they get stopped, at which point obi wan is like, please look at my Jedi baby and the guard says, that's the ugliest fucking baby I've ever seen, and then yoda (the baby) kills him. Like alright.

I cannot stress enough how much sheev just utters the phrase "we are one nation, indivisible" right before he creates the empire.

Padme is the one who gets bail organa and Mon mothma to vote for the emperor so they don't get arrested and executed. Crazy. And then she's like, I don't think I'm going to live that long.

Girl.

Edgy king

He's hunting the separatist leaders and they're like, sheev promised us we'd be left in peace and Vader is like, no haha he said you'd be left in pieces lol XD he is soooooo funny

Sheev was at the order 66 Jedi temple thing. I mean I guess obviously he was but I just never thought about it. I wonder, sorry, if he was like sexually gratified by watching his attack dog get to work, sorry. "He purred like a contented rancor" so I guess maybe yes.

Obi wan said he should have let the zabrak kill him on naboo SO TRUE KING

The baby really does kill all those separatists and then immediately begins to plot killing sidious. The rule of two is not even like a doctrine. It's just inevitable.

He has to reassemble himself into Anakin Skywalker before he meets padme again. Love that. Obsessed. Put on that mask baby boy

"lord Vader gets such a thrill from killing people who care for him" 😵‍💫

Anakin is like, let palpatine do the dirty work. Girl, you got a big storm coming.

Me when I see my fatherbrothermentorlover

He gave obi wan a chance to walk away. Feeling some kind of way about it.

Dumbest series of lines cut from the novel. Obi wan says that only the sith deal in absolutes and then mercifully does NOT follow up with the chancellor is evil.

Omgggg r2 is trying to rescue padme wah he's literally her droid!

The sith spent the last thousand years evolving while the Jedi spent the last thousand years sitting pretty in their temple, and that's why Yoda lost. He lost like a hundred years before he was born.

The sound I made out loud....

Oh shit obi wan used the force to fuck with Anakin's hand, got his lightsaber, and got bodied anyway.

Sheev has called Yoda, and I quote, a little green freak twice in a quarter of a page.

Anakin is holding both of obi wans wrists so hard they're going to break I repeat Anakin is holding both of obi wans wrists I repeat Anakin is hol

Kermit.

I am going to hurl

Anakin Designed His Lightsaber Based On Obi Wan's.

It would be a mercy to kill him and he was not feeling merciful????

Sidious picked him right up off the sand. Yoked.

Obi wan is like let's put luke on tatooine. Anakin survived it. Girl and we all know how that turned out.

Hurg

Gorl.

Gorlllll.

Anyway, bail organa is a prince consort. Important.

[lukeleiahan]

Watched OWK and now I can't help but think about an AU where Obi-Wan does kill Vader after their last duell.

It's the hardest decision he's ever had to make.

Vader says that he killed Anakin, and Obi-Wan...

Obi-Wan believes him.

Maybe it's just that he needs to believe it, maybe it's just selfishness, but he does believe it.

And if Anakin is dead, truly dead, then Vader is nothing but an enemy.

Obi-Wan never wanted to be soldier, but the Clone Wars made a very good one out of him. He knows what to do with enemies.

Especially enemies that threaten two most important children just by existing.

It's just one swipe with his lightsaber, targeted to the neck. Vader doesn't even scream.

(Obi-Wan will wonder, for the rest of his days. Was this Vader, in his last moments, or was that Anakin, granting Obi-Wan peace? Would there have been a way to save him after all? It eats him, quietly, sometimes. But he is a soldier. And soldiers kill their enemies.)

He wants to bury him. It's Anakin's body as well, after all. But then he feels Luke's terror, and that's that.

After, he goes back. Anakin hated Tatooine, never ever wanted to return there. It would be cruel to bury him there. And no civilized world would want Vader. So he buries him there, on that small moon, under rocks. He doesn't mark the place.

He returns Lola to Leia, tells Bail of the Path, and then goes back to Tatooine. He meets Luke. He finds Qui-Gon. It's enough.

He thinks of telling Bail and Breha, of telling Owen and Beru. Of telling them what happened to Anakin. Of telling them Vader's dead. But what would that accomplish? It's over. It doesn't matter who Vader's first victim was. And so he doesn't.

Nine years later, he does not die aboard the Death Star. He guides the twins to safety. He holds them both as they grieve their families.

And once the battle is over, he sits them down.

"Let me tell you a story." He says.

[gch1995]

Out of curiosity, do you have any good star wars fic recommendations that are pro Anakin? I've been trying to find them. Like I don't hate Obi-wan as a protagonist, but they're so ubiquitous and it gets old. it would be nice to read a fanfic that treats Anakin better.

Oh, yes, there are a number of fanfics out there that treat Anakin/Vader as a really great protagonist. My favorite ones are the time travel fix-it canon divergent AUs and the ones where he see him trying to be a dad to Luke and Leia. People in this fandom know how to make it both heartwarming and terrifying when he’s Vader, and it’s great.

The Truth by MJ Mink - This is probably my favorite canon-divergent AU fic. In this fic, Luke Skywalker is an essentially goodhearted, but rebellious 15 year old boy when meets his father Darth Vader. After losing his Aunt and Uncle Beru, he goes to live with his father. Of course, this fic takes place in the series after Anakin has become Darth Vader in the story, so he’s not always a good dad to Luke. There are some instances where he goes into the abusive parent territory, even if it’s not premeditated. While there’s no excuse for it, he has become so used to just being Palpatine’s deeply and horrifyingly angry, disillusioned, domineering, and merciless attack dog/galactic dictatorial enforcer/murder servant Darth Vader.

Understandably, it’s not just this easy cycle for Anakin to break right away after spending 37-40 years as both the perpetrator and/or victim of systematic abuse of power, crime, manipulation, oppression, and violence to deal with problems and threats under corrupt male toxic authority figures from whom healthy support and safe escape was always highly risky. However, Anakin’s greatest morality pet is his son Luke and family in general. That’s true in this fic too, which is why he gets better at being a good dad to Luke over time the closer they become.

While never putting up with his dad’s shit, Luke also does learn to ultimately forgive and love his father, the more Anakin softens up towards him, and the more he learns about just how tragically fucked up and unfair his dad’s entire life has been.

It’s a really great story with plenty of really great angst, character development, and humor. This Luke isn’t pro Sith because I mean, look at the crimes they commit! However, after hearing his dad’s story, he’s not really pro-Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the old Jedi Order’s way either. He’s neutral, which I really like. Although the Jedi started out as the good guys in the SW universe, it quickly became apparent that most of them only got to hold that title because the Sith were their only competition who were far worse. It always bugged me that we could never get a SW canon story that had more characters pointing out that both sides suck, and deciding not to be either as a result. The closest we got to that in canon was Ahsoka Tano, but the Mouse ruined that too.

Test of Time Book 1: A Father’s Son by AngelDesaray - This is a whole story of Luke Skywalker being thrust back in time by the force, learning about his father, bonding with his father, and changing the entire future by stopping him, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi Council from falling for Palpatine and doing all their other bullshit. It’s followed up by Test of Time Book 2: The Past Meets the Future and Test of Time Book 3: Blood, Sweat, and Tears. The sequels follow the Skywalker family in the alternate future that Luke created after going back in time, particularly Anakin and Luke. The first two fics in this series are complete. The third one still hasn’t been marked as complete yet. There’s also a series of cute, fluffy, and funny one shots that talk about the years in between the alternate timeline with Anakin, Padme, Luke, and Leia as a happy family called Life as a Skywalker. Yeah, Obi-Wan makes appearances as Anakin’s and the Skywalker family’s friend, and, occasionally the twins irritated babysitter, considering the fact that this version seems to have learned from his mistakes with Anakin, but he’s not a main character.

Future Imperfect by TheRealThing - A time travel fic where Anakin is sent 19 to 23 years in to the future to witness the consequences of his and the overall Jedi Order’s actions.

Ambient Dreams by sohna - After his dream of Padme dying in childbirth, Anakin has another dream of what will happen if he pledges himself to Palpatine to try to keep her from dying in childbirth. Obi-Wan and Yoda are there, but Anakin’s the main character, not them.

There are a lot more on ff.net and ao3.org in the Star Wars sections, but these Anakin/Vader fics stick out the most to me.

[obi-wan-kenhoebi]

I Remember It All Too Well

ship -> obikin

summary -> anakin reunites with obi-wan after he dies

warnings -> kissing, insecurity, canon compliant mentions of genocide and murder, burns and wounds, kinda sentimental

word count -> 599

ao3 link

pspsps @maggotscum you asked for a direct link so here <3

When Darth Vader opened his eyes, he saw light.

Squinting, he raised his hand to his face to block out the brightness.

Vader gasped, dropping his hand in disbelief. Was his hand… flesh?

Vader noticed the silence. Ever since Mustafar, he hadn’t heard pure silence, only mechanical breathing.

His hand flew to his throat, his fingers digging into his neck as he felt unburned skin.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

He was Anakin again.

He tried to figure out why he was 22 year-old Anakin again after years of being Darth Vader, nobody but the Emperor's looming attack dog.

Anakin wracked his brain, thinking of a reason as to why this was happening. Was it a dream?

The last thing he remembered was Luke, his son, dragging him away from the Emperor's lifeless body and removing his helmet. He smiled for the first time at his son, and then…

Oh.

He was dead.

He went to tug on his braid to calm himself, a habit he picked up in his padawan years before remembering it wasn’t there, and hadn’t been for 26 years.

Anakin resorted to fiddling with his fingers, not knowing exactly what to do now that he was dead. They didn’t exactly prepare him for it as a child.

Just as he was about to come up with a solution to the unknown problem, he heard a familiar, comforting voice.

“Hello there.”

Anakin spun around with alarming speed, and almost sobbed at what he saw.

Obi-Wan, his Obi-Wan, standing there, looking just as he did when he was 38, before Anakin turned to the Dark Side and wrecked it all.

Anakin choked back his cry, trying to remain composed. “Obi-Wan? Is it really you?”

Obi-Wan lightly laughed, the sound clearing Anakin’s head of all noisy doubts. “Yes, it is me, Dear One.”

Tears did flood his eyes at that oh so special nickname, reserved for him only.

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin rushed at his old master, launching himself into his arms.

He no longer held back his sons as he cried into Obi-Wan’s chest, relishing in the way Obi-Wan lovingly held him in a way he didn’t know he missed until he had it again.

“I- I’m sorry. I'm so sorry, master.”

Obi-Wan shushed him, pulling Anakin away from his chest to tenderly hold his face in his hands. “There is nothing to be sorry for, my love.”

Anakin choked on his words, stuttering out, “But I- I killed so many people- How can you say that?”

Obi-Wan smoothed his hair and kissed his forehead. “Yes you did. But you are here now. You redeemed yourself. I forgive you, Dearheart.”

Anakin stared, pulling away from Obi-Wan to wipe his eyes with the sleeves of his Jedi robe he didn’t even realize he had until that moment.

“You shouldn’t forgive me though. I hurt so many, I killed you, I blew up a planet, I-“

“-Don’t say that.” Obi-Wan’s voice was fire, but not mean. He could never be mean to Anakin.

Anakin scoffed, “Why not? you and I both know it’s true I don’t deserve it.”

Obi-Wan softened. “Dear one, you have redeemed yourself. You found the good left in you, the Anakin left in you, and defeated Palpatine. You brought balance to the Force, like I knew you would from the moment I met you. I love you, Ani.”

Anakin felt his sobs returning, and leaned forward to kiss his love for the first time in 23 years.

“I love you too, Angel.”

The Force was bright that night, as it rejoiced a reunion of lost lovers.

[spell-cleaver]

The Heir // The Luke Palpatine AU, Part 91: The End

Prompt from @heartsofstars

It had been a year, but it felt longer. The day Vader had waited for had finally arrived—the day when he would see his sweet little angel again—but as he stepped off the ship and onto Naboo, he realised he was nervous.

What if Luke hated him? What if Luke had never fully recovered, and blamed him for it?

Still Vader continued on his path, into the garden... and then he felt someone behind him. Slowly, fearing what he would see, he turned around...and froze.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

There was Luke, wearing the most brilliant smile on his face...and, for the first time in his life, he looked really, truly happy.

Previous parts on the masterpost here!

“Father!”

He was wearing clothes more colourful than he’d worn in the last fourteen years, in a thousand beautiful shades of blue, his cheeks rosy and face tanned. Of course: the school year had been over for several weeks by now, though the work of the Empire had not been, and Luke had spent a lot of time out on the Lake Country with his… friends. The Naberries had been most accommodating for him.

Now… Vader just stared.

That was his son.

His son.

He looked so, so happy.

He pattered down the garden path of Varykino, to where Vader was standing, awkward, on the edge of the estate. He was aware that the Naberries were inside, were all staying there for the holiday while Vader dropped by to see Luke, and Vader found himself reluctant to go closer. This was Luke’s happy family tree, the perfect life he’d built for himself, that he deserved. Vader should not step in to ruin it.

But then his son was two steps away from him and had scooted to a halt, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Vader took a moment to study him in even more detail: he was taller, broader—Jedi training with Ahsoka was paying off—and lines around his eyes betrayed an abundance of the broad, bright grins he was currently bestowing on Vader like they were suns and stars to give away.

“Luke,” Vader said, and when Luke leapt forward to hug him he received the hug with an oomph, his heart nearly full to bursting. Vader leant down to hold him as tightly and as gently as he could, careful with his own strength, careful with his boy.

He’d seen him in holo calls and messages, he’d heard about his progress through Ahsoka and through Sabé, who’d been updated through Sola. He’d been sent a holo, which he kept in one of the compartments on his belt, of Luke after Sola had dragged him to the hairdresser’s in Theed to get him a haircut that looked less severe, more like a teenage boy. He’d been sent another holo of Luke after his first day of school, with Leia and Zev dropping by to visit and staying for dinner, with Luke smiling broadly in front of a plate full of potatoes, leaning in to hear something she was saying, his eyes fixed on Zev in a way that made Vader both fiercely protective and nostalgic at once. He kept that one on his desk.

But it wasn’t the same. Luke’s Force presence had blossomed, so lovely and unapologetic and true, and he basked in the feeling of it, the way it opened at his touch like a flower to daylight. Luke laced their fingers together.

“Come on,” he said, still smiling that dizzying smile. “Nova came early, to help me prepare those rooms for you again—you know, the ones you had last time? With the view of the lake?—and Aunt Sola even bought an extra big chair for you so you can sit at dinner, I—”

He realised he was babbling, then, and tried to calm himself—stopped himself from skipping, as well. He’d been skipping.

“I missed you,” he told him candidly. “It hasn’t been the same.”

Vader squeezed his hand gently.

“No,” he agreed. “It has not.”

“Can you come inside?” Luke asked. Vader looked up at the building—the manor where he’d told his son the truth for the first time, the house where he’d married Padmé. The place that had been so much happiness, for so long, even when he was so miserable that the memory of that happiness only hurt more.

There would be Sabé, and Ahsoka, and the Naberries inside that building. It would be awkward—it would be beyond awkward; one thing he was here to discuss with Luke was his official resignation as Emperor, and what he thought about Sabé being coronated as Empress in his wake while she worked to deconstruct the Empire, all the politics that Luke had fled to Naboo not once, but twice, to get away from—but…

Luke would also be inside that building.

And so would Padmé.

He squeezed Luke’s hand tightly as they bounded up the stairs and walked through the doors. The entrance chamber was as beautiful and arching as ever, the breeze stirring through the air to tug at his cape and shift Luke’s hair, the sunlight gleaming in the glasswork. There were several people sitting and standing around in the downstairs living room when he first got in there: two young women perhaps five or ten years older than Luke, who looked so much like Padmé Vader had to glance away; an aging couple, who he’d met before, and were all but glaring at him, the man trying to disguise tears of sorrow and anger; and a woman only a few years older than her sister, who also looked far too much like her sister, and whose expression was not angry but… fierce. When she beheld Vader’s mask, and also the hand which clasped his son’s so tightly, it was positively ferocious.

Her gaze softened when it landed on Luke, though. Good, then, that she was so protective of him. Luke deserved as many protectors—

No.

Luke deserved as many parent figures as he could have.

They were not his protectors. Or his enforcers, or attack dogs, or advisors. Luke was no longer an Emperor—he was just a boy, just a son, and he was a part of a family that had grown into more than the lonely, abused child he’d been could’ve ever imagined.

Vader had grown into a man he could never have imagined, either.

“Grandmother, Grandfather, Ryoo, Pooja… Aunt Sola…” Luke bit his lip, then revealed his teeth in a gleaming smile. “This is my father.”

The Naberries’ eyes moved, cuttingly, to Vader, but all he had space for in his mind was Luke’s words.

As Luke wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him forward, into the sitting room proper, that was all he thought.

He was Luke’s father.

And…

And he realised, he understood now, that that was all he ever needed to be.

The End

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Okay. I... have no idea what to say. Where to start, how to express.... aaaaaaaaah is the only way that comes to mind. This fic was such a strange undertaking. It’s a ficlet series nearly 100 ficlets long! Inspired by a five sentence prompt that ended up being sixty sentences! It’s over 100k on my doc! I started writing it in... I don’t even know, January or February, balancing so many fics, and then quarantine came and this was a reliable thing I could post, and work on, and update, and it helped me a lot. A million shout outs to everyone who made this possible, even though there’s no hope I’ll get you all -- it’s a collabfic, essentially; there are so many people I brainstormed with about different plotlines, so many people who sent in prompts, so many people whose enthusiasm kept me going..... You know who you are, and please know that you were amazing.

This was such a fun challenge to work on, a completely different style to what I was used to, and the emotions, and ahhhh I enjoyed this so much; I’m so sad it’s over now. But I’ll be back soon, once I’ve got into the rhythm of the new way life is going to bel I have a lot of fics I’ve been meaning to write for a long time :D

Thanks to everyone for reading, whether you’ve stuck with me the whole time or are only just discovering this series now!! I love you all so much <3

[jasontoddiefor]

AU in which Vader killed Palpatine and made his preteen son Emperor, as you do.

Darth Vader had often been called the Emperor’s attack dog. Whether to his face, choking on their own blood, or in whispers behind his back. He used to resent it, hate it even. For all the strength he possessed, he’d once more been reduced to less than human. Something to be owned.

Nowadays he didn’t mind anymore, took pleasure in everyone knowing that he was never more than an arm’s length behind the Emperor. The dark shadow following the best treasure the galaxy had ever given him.

“Your Highness, I have to insist. With the Rebels still refusing to negotiate with us, we cannot afford war with the Hutts!”

The meeting had been dragging on for hours. Vader didn’t have the patience for such long winded sessions and also didn’t necessarily see the point. They had a plan and Vader would ensure that it was successful. What did it matter that they be fighting on two fronts? He’d make it work. Besides, the Rebels would soon give up once they see how much good Luke was doing.

Patience, Father, Luke’s thoughts reached him. We’re almost done.

Vader snorted and enjoyed how everybody else twitched. They could hardly tell his normal breathing apart from anything else and startling them was one of the few pleasure Vader had at these meetings. Besides his son’s presence, of course.

Like we’ve been almost done for an hour?

“So, Admiral, what you’re really saying is that because our military isn’t strong enough, I should avoid conflict with the Hutts and let millions of sentient citizens of my Empire suffer?”

My Empire, Vader could never grow sick of hearing Luke say it. Every planet, every star, every single grain of sand, Vader had promised Luke when he’d found his nine-year-old son on Tattoine. His son, scared and hurt, had been in a cage, still wearing the clothes stained with his aunt’s blood. Padmé’s child, meant for greatness, stolen away and sold as a slave.

He’d never be hurt again, never denied anything at all again. Here, on the throne that was his and his alone, Luke would be safe.

“I- of course not, your Highness, but-“

Luke smiled. A gentle push of the Force followed and the Admiral stopped talking. Luke‘s speeches weren’t as refined as Padmé’s yet, but he also didn’t have as much practice as she had at his age. And in the meanwhile, the Force would guide him.

“Then I believe we’re done here for today. Thank you for your attendance. Please inform the senate and start preparing the army.”

Luke pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, then smoothed over his heavy red overcoat before confidently walking towards the exit, Vader right behind him.

Luke barely reached Vader’s waist, and probably would never reach Vader’s height if the doctors were to be trusted. It annoyed Luke to no end, but Vader could only see the benefits. It was easier for him to shield Luke and, should any attacked ever manage to bypass him, they’d likely underestimate his son.

“Can we go work on our droid now, Father?” Luke asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Dinner first, my son. The cooks have prepared your favorite.”

Seeing Luke’s heartbroken look, Vader amended. His son had done excellent work today. “But an argument can be made for eating down in the workshop instead of the dining hall.”

Luke smiled, bright, happy and alive.

“Yes! Thank you! Let me just get changed first. Can’t have oil on the robes again, or Miss Tallin will complain again.”

Vader would do everything to ensure that warmth would never leave his side.

Honestly I just liked the picture of teeny tiny Emperor Luke telling people we’re doing Sentient Rights now while Vader stands behind him and stares everyone into submission. Probs gonna do more Drabbles for this.

[ilonga]

excerpt from my “anakin is trapped inside his own mind and not really aware of what he's doing as vader, but can sometimes push through and see the world around him"

bc goddamn, I’m trying to finish it so I can post the whole thing on ao3, but it’s taking so long

here’s the fallout of alderaan:

There’s a sudden aggressive explosion in his mind and suddenly he’s lost himself, trying to block himself off from so much pain, so much death, so much suffering, but none of it’s his own. He’s feeling the pain of thousands, millions, maybe billions all at once. Amongst the echoes of pain and pure terror, he notes rather deliriously that for once, he’s glad not to be in control of his own body. Had he been in control, Vader would have dropped to his knees right then and there in front of the viewport, and not even the respirator could have made him keep breathing. It’s like a rising wave on Kamino, ready to drown him in a way not even the darkness in his own mind can, and then suddenly there’s an intangible tearing and they’re all ripped out of existence and silenced, leaving excruciating, gaping holes in his awareness.

 It’s so overwhelming that a physical reaction somehow gets through to Vader even though he’s not pushing for it; his whole body tenses, his legs nearly buckle despite being mechanical, his respirator slows as it tries to accommodate the changes in breathing and heart rate, and his hand digs into Leia’s shoulder where it’s resting--

Wait. Leia.

Alderaan.

He looks to the viewport and--

Alderaan’s. . . gone?

No. No. It can’t be.

A whole planet, gone just like that?

Impossible. The Death Star may have been built for this but surely the Moffs would never--how could anyone actually go through with it? They could never, no sane person could see this through, it’s--impossible, he must be seeing things wrong. His vision is unreliable, has been unreliable for the past twenty years, at the best of times, so why should it be showing him the truth now? Just because they viewport is filled with debris--it means nothing, they could never--

All those people. . . 

Their pain, their terror. . .

No. No. It can’t be, it would never--a planet? Gone? A whole planet? A peaceful one, no less? All those people--the people--

No, no, no, no, no--Bail! What about Bail, what about Breha, what about--Leia, what about Leia?

How could they?

It doesn’t feel real. It can’t be real.

A planet can’t have been destroyed.

Millions can’t have been slaughtered with the simple press of a button.

Bail--Senator Organa can’t be dead (but you felt his death, didn’t you?). Queen Breha, she can’t be dead (Padme had always felt close to her; both two monarchs of pivotal planets).

Leia.

Leia can’t be orphaned, twice over. 

Oh, Leia.

I’m so sorry, he thinks, almost as dead to the world as he had been twenty years ago, I failed, I should have been able to stop them. I should have tried harder.

All he’s ever done is fail, it seems.

Some Chosen One.

He wishes suddenly that he’d never been born. Never given Palpatine the opportunity for such an effective attack dog, never given him the opportunity to tear the Jedi apart from the inside and build the Empire from his ashes. Maybe without Vader at his side, none of this would have happened. Palpatine would have been found out sooner with no Jedi listening to his honeyed lies, the Jedi would have defeated him without Vader’s interference, so many wouldn’t have died.

His mother wouldn’t have had to raise a child she’d never asked for, a child who she then never heard from again until she died and he was too late to save her. Obi-wan would have never been burdened with him so young, Ahsoka would have never died trusting that he’d never hurt her, Padme wouldn’t have died without an unborn child to look after.

Your water, he suddenly hears the lilting cadence of his mother’s voice, you’re wasting your water.

Ani, my son, you must save your water, and your despair, for when your work is finished.

How, he wants to ask, how can I go on? Every time I try to fix things, it just gets worse and worse. How can I continue my work when it seems like my work is doing nothing?

You continue your work, his mother’s voice says, firmer this time, until you’ve finished your work, or until you can work no longer.

Until you’re dead, she doesn’t say.

I miss you, he’d say to her, if she was truly real, I miss you. I need you.

Shhh, my son. I am always with you.

It could be entirely a product of his imagination, but his spirit feels lighter all the same.

[disregardcanon]

so in that au i’ve been bouncing around with where ahsoka and anakin end up deaged to early clone wars days on malachor i think that a really cool plot point would be that when anakin starts to be a major figure for the rebellion and palpatine realizes that this change is just. permanent and he’s not getting his attack dog back, he publicly releases all the footage that he’s gathered that proves that anakin skywalker became his apprentice and did All The Vader Things.

which of course has some ramifications 

[butchgwenwhyvar]

The Star Wars Prequels are a Greek Tragedy

Ok folks, buckle in because this classics nerd has made some Connections™

One of the main themes in the prequels (and by extension, the clone wars) is the inevitability of it all – I know it’s because it’s a prequel and as such, we know their fate, but that’s why it works.

(For the purpose of this meta post, please assume that when I say ‘the prequels’ and proceed to talk about Ahsoka or Rex, I mean ‘the prequels and the clone wars’ – it’s all part of the same story)

 (Important fact that relates to this meta post but doesn’t have much bearing on the actual argument #1: Anakin’s name comes from the Greek Goddess of inevitability, Ananke.)

 But the main argument is this: the prequels follow the format and pattern of a Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy always has the audience take part in the form of the ‘chorus’ on stage – the chorus keep the story going and tell the audience what’s up, but they also provide an insight into the characters and question the characters on behalf of the audience (most tragedies are set in populated cities and palaces but a theatre troupe was traditionally around 5 people, so they had to get creative with extras and stuff). In the prequels and the clone wars, the role of the chorus is directly on the audience because we know what’s going to happen. We know about order 66 thanks to the start of season 6 and the end of season 7. We know that the sweet nine year old we meet in the phantom menace will become Vader. We know that Padme will die and that the Republic will fall and Palpatine will take power.

 To us, the chorus, it’s inevitable. But we also know the future of the characters, so there’s a thread of dramatic irony woven in (dramatic irony is a central part of the format of a Greek tragedy) because we know about the original trilogy and the fact that Luke will save Vader and the Empire gets royally fucked up by the rebels.

In Greek tragedy, the dramatic irony is a little less on the nose though. In Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex in Latin), the chorus and the audience know what’s going to happen from the start. By the time Sophocles had written down the play it had already been performed at least once at the Dionysia, an Athenian play festival where everyone got very drunk and people ran play contests – Sophocles was a common contributor to the contests, and it was recorded that he never got below second place. So as this play is being performed in the late third century BCE, it’s been around for around 100 years. The audience knows what’s up – they know that Jocasta is actually Oedipus’ mother, they know that Oedipus is actually the one that killed Laius and is bringing down the gods’ displeasure on Thebes. So when Oedipus and Creon are talking to Tiresias and saying ‘well, someone has to be cursed because that’s the only way we’ve pissed the gods off enough,’ the audience (and to an extent Tiresias, because he was a prophet) get a sense of dramatic irony. It’s similar to the scene in Attack of the Clones when Dooku’s talking about the sith in the senate – we as the chorus and the audience go ‘It’s Palpatine!’ because we’ve seen the originals and we know about the fall of the republic.

The sense of dramatic irony really helps to build the inevitability of it all because as the chorus, we know the future of these characters.

 Another thing that characterises the prequels as a specifically Greek tragedy is the use of fatal flaws and how they relate to the character’s virtues. Anakin’s main character traits are his general mistrust of authority, his sense of personal loyalty and his need to help others – he’s proven that he’d burn the galaxy down for his family and the people he loves, and there’s quite a few poignant scenes in the clone wars EU novels where he’s mourning the clones and generally caring a lot about them (if you want specific novels, Karen Miller’s ‘Clone Wars: Gambit – Stealth’ is excellent and is the source of that excellent ‘blind me and I’ll tell you who laughed’ quote, and Karen Traviss’ novelisation of the clone wars movie has lots of scenes with Anakin being a good bro to Rex and caring about the 501st). Padme’s main trait is her belief in human decency (we’re using human in this case because I’m relating it back to humans) – she cares deeply about seeing the good in people, up to her dying moments. Obi-Wan’s main trait is his dedication to the Order and their rules.

However, if you turn these traits on their heads, you get their fatal flaws and their ultimate downfall. Vader’s issues with authority and his need to save those he cares about lands him in the suit and as the Emperor’s attack dog. Padme can’t see the problems in the republic and all the things going wrong with Anakin until it’s too late because she’s so focussed on seeing the good in what’s left. Obi-Wan fails as Anakin’s mentor because he was too focused on the way things should have been (let the record show I am not shitting on Obi-Wan, this is just my thoughts about the narrative and this part of the Skywalker debacle).

In Oedipus Rex and Antigone (written before Oedipus, set after Oedipus – it’s about his daughter), the same thing happens. Oedipus’ loyalty to Thebes and his unwavering sense of duty makes him an excellent king – he listens to his people and takes their complaints into account. Creon’s ability to stick to the rules and provide a safe kingdom makes him the perfect second choice as king (this will make more sense when I talk about Antigone because Creon is a main character in this play as well – his character arc spans the two plays). Jocasta is kind and sees the best in everyone (I’m sensing a theme). But if you turn that on its head, all the ugly details come out. Oedipus has inadvertently committed one of the worst sins that the gods can think of a punishment for, and he’s promised the people of Thebes that whoever has cursed the land will be banished for life. When he finds out that his wife is also his mother and he murdered his birth father years ago, he blinds himself in shame but asks to stay in Thebes. This is where Creon’s flaw starts to appear – Oedipus asks to stay and Creon casts him out. Oedipus keeps his loyalty to the Thebans by maiming himself and marking himself as the cursed person, but he doesn’t think his actions through. If he’s banished, his four children will also be banished with him and will suffer for the rest of their lives. Staying is the only option. But Creon is too obsessed with placating the Thebans and the gods, so Oedipus and his children are cast out because of Creon’s determination to stick to the rules. Jocasta’s need to see the best in everyone leads to her denying that her husband is also her son, even once she’s put the pieces together – there’s a scene where she’s talking to her main and her maid asks and she refuses to acknowledge it. This leads to her killing herself in shame once the news has gotten out. It’s inevitable. The audience know and love this play. They know what’s coming.

And then Antigone happens. Antigone is Oedipus’ eldest daughter. Her siblings are Ismene, the youngest, Eteocles, and Polynices. Eteocles and Polynices have declared war on each other (Eteocles is fighting for Thebes, where Creon is the king now) and have killed each other. Eteocles is to be buried with full honours, while Polynices’ body is to be left in the dust (the Greeks believed that being buried in the dirt was the only way to get into the afterlife). So Antigone tries to bury Polynices over the course of the story – her main character trait is her loyalty and her persistence. Creon is still too wedded to the rules, but now he’s also stuck on his own idea of power – the king’s word above all else, even the gods.

The play ends with Antigone’s suicide after being banished  to a sealed cave for the rest of her life (she keeps covering Polynices’ body in dirt until Creon gets sick of it and sends her to the cave). Her loyalty and her tenacity have become her downfall and led to her death (for those interested, Antigone’s death led to Creon burying Polynices properly). Creon’s virtues of being a rule-following king lead to him essentially going mad with power, which leads to his son killing himself after he hears of Antigone’s sentence, his wife killing herself after she hears of Haemon’s death, and Creon’s apparent suicide (he gets an open ending but it’s widely accepted that he dies as well).

 Relating this back to Star Wars and the point I made earlier: the prequels are pretty much the only Star Wars media where the character’s virtues become their flaws. It’s very hubristic and I love it. Ahsoka’s virtue is in her persistence and her drive to survive while trying to do what’s right – turn it on its head and she’s unleashing Maul on a bunch of 66’d clones to escape. On first watch, Rex’s virtue seems to be his loyalty to the Republic, but that’s brought into contention in season 1. His actual virtue is his loyalty to his brothers but that’s turned on its head in episodes 11 and 12 when he’s forced to shoot and stun them and know that they’re going to die and there’s nothing he can do to save them, which almost leads to him giving up entirely in episode 12.

 And that leads me back to my main point. George Lucas wrote the prequels and most of the clone wars like the archetype of the Greek tragedy on purpose, to show the inevitability of the story.

The main parts of a Greek tragedy are as follows: Hubris (personal pride leading to a downfall)

The Chorus and the use of dramatic irony

Virtues as fatal flaws

Catharsis

 The main parts of the prequels are as follows:

Hubris (the Jedi and the Republic’s pride lead to their downfall, Anakin and Obi-Wan’s pride leads to Mustafar)

The Audience and the use of dramatic irony

Virtues as fatal flaws

Catharsis

Hope

 Back to inevitability: the use of virtues as flaws leads to the inevitability of the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. He can’t not be loyal and caring to the point of obsession, jealousy, and overprotectiveness. Padme can’t not deeply believe in the power of human kindness and their ability to believe in a better system. Obi-Wan can’t not be wedded to the rules far too much. To take all of this away from their characters is to leave them as completely different people. An Anakin that doesn’t care as much is an Anakin that’s closer to the ‘perfect Jedi,’ a Padme that doesn’t believe in a better system is a Padme that lets even more atrocities fly under the radar in the senate. An Obi-Wan that’s not wedded to the Code and the Order and the Rules is an Obi-Wan seen in the early Jedi Apprentice books – a Jedi always on the brink of snapping, falling, or expulsion from the Order. So you see these character traits and you see what’s coming and it’s inevitable because these virtues and therefore flaws are what makes the character them, which progresses the story.

 The use of dramatic irony also highlights the inevitability within the stories of the prequels and the tragedies. The audience of the films and the chorus/audience of the plays know what the characters don’t. They know that Oedipus is Jocasta’s son. They know that Antigone and the rest of Creon’s family will kill themselves. We know Anakin will fall. We know Padme will die. We know about the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. But they don’t and that’s why the dramatic irony works so well. We’re on the edge of our seats, waiting for the moment when it all clicks – when someone listens to Fives about the chips and takes action – when Anakin gets help – where Padme survives – where Obi-Wan puts aside the Order and tries to help Anakin and reassures him. But it never happens, and we know that.

Every time we watch the prequels or the clone wars, we think ‘maybe this time it will turn out alright’ but it’s inevitable that it won’t because it’s written like a Greek tragedy and those always end in the darkest possible way.

 There’s another common thread between the prequels and Greek tragedy as well – catharsis. It’s the breaking point and the aftermath, where consequences are dealt out. The catharsis in Oedipus is obvious – it’s when Oedipus blinds himself and is banished. The catharsis in Antigone is subtler but infinitely more painful. Creon is punished for disobeying the gods and as his punishment, Antigone (his son’s fiancée), Haemon (his son), and his wife are all dead, all by their own hand. This brings him shame and it’s widely accepted that he goes off and kills himself, which is even more of a punishment (suicide was not welcomed in the Greek afterlife – they’d often go to the Fields of Punishment or the Fields of Asphodel). The catharsis in the prequels is glaringly obvious in comparison. Anakin faces massive consequences for his actions, which stay with him for the next 25 or so years. He can’t go back to the way everything was, because he’s burnt it all down around him. He’s punished psychologically and physically until his death, as punishment for his mistakes and his actions. The audience feels catharsis here as well, as Anakin doesn’t get away with his actions. His end is especially cathartic, not just because he got his comeuppance, but because he dies to undo a little bit of the horrors he’s committed.

 So the prequels and a Greek tragedy always end in tears, and the quote at the start of the Revenge of the Sith novelisation (thank you Matthew Stover) sums this up perfectly. ‘This story happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It is already over. Nothing can be done to change it. The inevitability of all of these stories I’ve talked about is woven into it’s very fabric, and nothing can be done to change it.

 However, there is one way in which the prequels are different to a typical tragedy – the prequels end with a shred of hope. Tragedies have to finish with the catharsis and complete and utter bleakness and the destruction of a heap of lives – Creon’s family dies, Oedipus loses his wife and his sight, Anakin and Palpatine destroy the Jedi – it’s one of the hallmarks that makes it a tragedy and not just ‘some play by Sophocles.’ The prequels finish with Bail and Breha and Leia in the palace on Alderaan. They finish with Luke with Beru and Owen on Tatooine, where Shmi and Anakin were from. They finish with hope, which is a complete turnaround from the tragedies that the story is written to fit in with.

[femalechibiblogger]

My Top 10 Most Tragic Villains

1. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

Anakin Skywalker is one of the most important characters in the Star Wars franchise. In the first movie, Anakin is only mentioned and is described as being a skilled Jedi Knight, a good pilot, and was also a good friend. Even in the prequels and cartoons that came years later, Anakin is shown to be kind, caring, and determined to save those closest to him. However...no one would have expected a great Jedi and friend to become the most infamous villain in the series. Anakin’s darker feelings, such as anger and jealousy, made him vulnerable to the Dark Side of the Force. When he has visions of his pregnant wife, Padme, dying in childbirth, Anakin is determined to do anything that he can to stop his vision from coming true...including betraying his friends, killing children, and helping a Sith Lord conquer the galaxy. However, Padme still dies, and Anakin becomes the Sith Lord: Darth Vader. Anakin had lost everything...his friends, his wife, everyone...and now all he had left was Emperor Palpatine and the Empire. But for many years, Anakin was unaware that his children had survived: His son Luke, and his daughter Leia. In the end, Anakin chooses to save Luke from Palpatine, and dies knowing that his son never gave-up on him. 

Despite Darth Vader having been a villain, he is only a villain because he was deceived and tormented until he lost everything and everyone who loved and cared about him. For many years, Anakin was haunted by his past actions, and lived in great regret of what he had done. But in the end, we see that he still had some good left in him, as Palpatine could never destroy Anakin’s love for his children. 

2. Arthur Fleck/Joker (2019)

Arthur Fleck is the main character of the original DC Comics story in the movie, Joker. Arthur is shown to be a mentally ill man who suffers from uncontrollable laughter due to a brain injury, who lives with his delusional and emotionally disturbed mother. Arthur worked as a clown, but his dream was to become a comedian. However, Arthur had been mocked by many people in Gotham, which caused him to kill three men who were harassing both him and a woman on a train. Arthur’s actions cause an uproar consisting of people who are either poor, unemployed, mentally ill, or all of the above. As the story progresses, Arthur discovers from shocking truths about his life: His mother had lied about him being the illegitimate son of her former boss, billionaire Thomas Wayne... His mother was actually his adoptive mother, and that he allowed her boyfriend to abuse Arthur...abuse that had caused him his head injury which is the reason for his uncontrollable laughing. Tired of being lied to and ridiculed all his life, Arthur kills his mother, dresses up as a clown, and kills people on live television. Not only that, but the protests that Arthur had unintentionally caused resulted in the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, whose murders were witnessed by their son Bruce. 

This is one of the few stories that actually features Joker’s backstory. This movie is not based off of any comics, and is therefore an original story. While Joker is one of Batman’s most dangerous villains, this may be one of the greatest portrayals of his former self. Arthur Fleck had suffered his whole life, until he snapped and would become one of the Gotham’s greatest threats.

3. Simon Petrikov/Ice King

The Ice King was the main antagonist of the cartoon, Adventure Time. Throughout the series, Ice King would attempt to kidnap princesses, especially Princess Bubblegum, and would often fight the two main protagonists: Finn and Jake. However, Ice King’s past was unexpectedly revealed in the episode, Holly Jolly Secrets. At first the episode is comedic and shows videos of Ice King’s hilarity...but it all becomes serious and sad near the end. Ice King is revealed to have once been a human named ‘Simon Petrikov’, who specialized in mysterious, supernatural artifacts. Simon had a great career, and was madly in love with his fiance: Betty. But one day, Simon found a mysterious crown buried in ice and snow. When Simon put it on his head, it gave him visions that made him act insane without him even realizing it. This drove Betty away, and Simon began to slowly change physically, emotionally, and mentally. In the end, Simon was driven completely insane and lost all memories of his past. His obsession with princesses is because he used to call Betty his ‘princess’...though he did not remember calling her that. In the series finale, Simon is freed from the crown’s power and is returned to his old self.

While Ice King was introduced as a comedic villain, and was the main antagonist for most of the series...he is still a tragic villain do to him once being a sane man with a good life, but began to lose his mind because of the crown’s magic. At least he was transformed back into his old self, in the end. 

4. Mr. Freeze

Mr. Freeze is one of the most famous and tragic villains in the Batman universe. Mr. Freeze is, of course, a villain who uses the cold in his crimes. But in the past, Mr. Freeze was a scientist named ‘Victor Fries’ who had a loving and caring relationship with his wife: Nora. Victor loved Nora more than anything in the world. But at some point, Nora was diagnosed with a fatal disease with not long to live. Desperate to save her, Victor had Nora cryonectically frozen in order to keep her alive until a cure for her illness was found. Unfortunately, however, the equipment malfunctioned, causing the lab to explode in ice with Victor in it. Victor survived, but the explosion caused his body to only be able to survive in extremely cold weather. Nora had also survived...but her condition was even more serious than before. Victor created a suit to help him live, and began to commit crimes so he could continue keeping his wife alive.

Mr. Freeze’s motive for his crime spree is his wife’s life. He would go to extreme lengths to save her life...even if it meant becoming a bad guy.

5. Zack Foster and Rachel Gardner

While number 5 on the list consists of a duo...Zack and Rachel make one heck of a team. Zack and Rachel are the two main characters in the anime, Angels of Death, in which all of the characters are, in fact, mentally unstable individuals who like to kill people. 

As a child, Zack had lived with his mother until her boyfriend set him on fire for his own enjoyment. While Zack survived this attack, his mother abandoned him at an illegal orphanage, where many other orphans were mistreated and starved by the couple who owned the orphanage. Zack was forced to bury the bodies of the orphans who died there, and was treated as a pet by the couple. One night, Zack watched a slasher film, which gave him the idea to stab the couple to death while they slept. Afterwards, Zack left the orphanage and was soon taken in a blind, homeless man who was the first and only person to ever show him kindness. However, the man was killed by a couple of sociopaths. Zack found out and killed them. For many years...Zack would kill people who were ‘happy’ and lied to him, thus earning him the title of a serial killer. 

Rachel had lived with her parents before the start of the series. Rachel’s father was a cop who had a drinking problem, which resulted in several fights between him and his wife. Both of them blamed each other for Rachel’s lack of emotions, but only stayed together because of Rachel. Rachel’s father saw her as an insane girl, and her mother hated her and would even beat her. One day, Rachel found a stray puppy and wanted to keep it, but her parents wouldn’t listen to her and just kept on fighting with each other. But later on, she went back to where the puppy was and it bit her. This caused Rachel to blackout, but when she came to...she saw that she had killed the dog without even remembering what she had done. She then “fixed” the puppy by sewing it back together, thus “making it her’s”. When Rachel returned home with the puppy that night, her father snapped and stabbed her mother to death. Rachel witnessed it and ran back to her room, with her father chasing after her with the knife. Rachel took out a gun that her mother had hidden from him, and shot her father in self-defense. Rachel then sewed her parents’ bodies together, as her way of “fixing” them and creating her “perfect family”. A week later, the police arrived at the house and saw Rachel with the sewed up puppy and her parents. The police thought that Rachel was a surviving victim who was in shock, and was sent to a mental institution for treatment. 

Zack and Rachel are quite complicated, as they have both protagonist and antagonist qualities. They both kill people and use each other to escape a building full of death traps and killers...but they also care and understand each other, as they have both suffered years of abuse to the point of developing murderous instincts.

6. Dr. Doofenshmirtz

Dr. Doofenshmirtz was basically the main comedic-antagonist of the cartoon, Phineas and Ferb. Doofenshmirtz is the arch nemesis of Perry the Platypus, and is always making some kind of ‘inator’ device to conquer the Tri State Area...though many of his “evil” plans backfire and are not really THAT evil. Though the reason why Doofenshmirtz is an evil genius, is because of his bad childhood. 

Both of his parents neglected him, he always lived in the shadow of his younger brother, his only friend was a balloon, no one ever came to any of his birthdays, he was forced to wear dresses after his brother was born, and he was even disowned at one point and was forced to live with ocelots. So, yeah...it’s no wonder he turned to a life on crime. 

Doofenshmirtz is quite hilarious and not very evil...but his terrible childhood makes you wonder how he hasn’t killed anyone! At least his arch nemesis and teenage daughter care about him. 

7. Denzel Crocker 

Denzel Crocker is one of the main antagonists of the cartoon, Fairly Odd Parents. Crocker is a fourth grade teacher who is obsessed with catching fairies...which makes the people around him see him as crazy. Of course, there is a reason for his obsession with fairies.

When Crocker was a child, his single mother worked two jobs and left him with an abusive babysitter. Because of this, he had fairy godparents...just like Timmy Turner. His life with his fairies was the only time in his life when he was happy. However, after Timmy went back in time and accidentally revealed that Crocker had fairies, his fairies were taken away from him and his memory was erased several times. People even forgot all of the good things that Crocker had done with his fairies, and was now hated by the townspeople. Because his memory was erased more than once, his appearance changed...but he still did not forget the existence of fairies, only forgetting that he himself had fairy godparents as a child.

Crocker’s obsession with proving the existence of fairies has caused him to become a laughing stock, to the point where he was expelled from Harvard, was denied funding for his fairy research, lost his girlfriend, and he never moved out of his childhood home. Crocker is capable of building extraordinary machines and is quite smart, but he wastes his talents on trying to prove the existence of fairies. If only Crocker had never became obsessed with fairies, he may have been able to live a normal and decent life.

8. Wellies

Wellies are the residents of Wellington Wells in the game, We Happy Few. Wellies are known to be decent citizens in Wellington Wells...but their minds and emotional states are from from decent. They kill or throw out anyone who becomes a Downer (a person who either won’t take Joy, or cannot take Joy due to having a bad reaction towards it). But their villainous characteristics are all caused by denial and drug usage. 

In an alternate timeline, England surrendered to Germany during WWII and the citizens of Wellington Wells were forced to send their under 13 children on a train to Germany. The children never returned, even after Germany lost the war, and all of the townspeople were so traumatized by what had happened that they now rely on a drug: Joy. Joy is a pill that makes people forget the past, and put them in a state of constant happiness. The Wellies are addicted to this drug, as they cannot bear to remember what had happened to the children. To make matters worse, their whole civilization is now on the verge of collapse due to many problems caused by them always being on Joy: Broken machinery, plagues caused by pollution, towns beginning to collapse due to poor maintenance, starvation due to lack of food production, and a government who cannot bear to face the reality of their situation and would rather be on Joy than solve the problem. 

Because of their reliance on Joy, Wellies are completely unaware that the town is collapsing, and would rather be in denial than face reality. 

9. Mary

Mary is the hidden antagonist in the game, Ib. At first, Mary appears to be an innocent girl who claims to be trapped in the Fabricated World like the main protagonists, Ib and Garry. However, it is revealed that Mary is actually a girl from a painting who wants to escape the Fabricated World by replacing either Ib or Gary in the real world. 

Depending on the game’s ending, Mary either replaces Ib or Garry in the real world by leaving one of them behind in the Fabricated World, or is defeated by Ib and Garry and remains trapped in the Fabricated World. 

Mary was the last painting made by the artist: Guertena. She saw him as her “father”, because she was created by him, and was devastated by his death. Mary is very lonely in the Fabricated World, and wants so desperately to exist in the real world. Mary would do anything to become real and have a friend and family of her own. Years of loneliness can make a person desperate and insane.  

10. Zombies

Zombies are always the villains in anything zombie-related. They are undead humanoids who eat human flesh, and drive survivors to do questionable things and fight for survival. 

However, there is something that some people seem to forget: Zombies used to be normal, ordinary humans who did not become zombies by choice. They were turned into zombies either because of a mysterious virus, or a nuclear weapon that mutated them into creatures of the undead. 

Zombies do not remember who they once were, and some even end up killing and eating their own loved ones without even realizing it. They have basically been ripped of their humanity and are now walking shells of their former selves.

[cartoonnonsensegirl]

The Cast of Justice! Excellence! Defense! Intelligence! (J.E.D.I.) and their Star Wars knowledge

Alexis Tano: Has seen the all the originals, but only one prequel: The Phantom Menace, and it was when she was like, 3, so she can barely remember it except for Jar-Jar and some of the other funny moments. She once told Patrice (who’s from Italy) that she thought Queen Amidala looked like she belonged in the Venetian carnival, and showed her the Episode I promo pics to prove her point. Patrice agrees, but she has never seen the prequels (more on her later). Has yet to see AOTC and ROTS. Alexis has also seen the sequels and the spin-offs. Has no idea The Clone Wars exists. Is not a big SW fan in general, and would rather watch Kim Possible or Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Anatole Spacewalker: Has only seen the original trilogy. None of the prequels or sequels. Like Alexis, has never heard of The Clone Wars. He’s heard the Jar-Jar criticisms, but his main thing is that people called Darth Vader “whiny” in the prequels, and he’s afraid that the criticism may be true and it’ll ruin his image of Vader being a fearsome and intimidating villain. He liked the “I am Your Father” scene and considers it one of the best duels in movie history. The one modern SW movie Anatole may consider is Rogue One, because Alexis convinced him that it has great re-watch value. In all honesty, he’d rather be re-watching Lady and the Tramp with Patrice.

Obadiah Kenoly: Like Anatole, has also only seen the original trilogy. Finds Yoda funny in The Empire Strikes Back, and was initially shocked by the reveal that Leia was Luke’s sister. Is also jealous of Old Ben’s beard. Has heard of The Clone Wars but is disinterested.

Patrice Amaretti: Like her J.E.D.I. friends, has watched the originals, but really has not a care in the world for Star Wars. She does have a bit of prequel knowledge from some promo pics and movie stills she’s seen in magazines and online, but only that it’s the story of how Darth Vader became Darth Vader. And even though she has nothing against Leia’s character and strong personality, she thinks her design and costuming could use some work because, in Patty’s own words, “Its Space! You’d think there be more elaborate designer clothes and hairstyles with intricate headpieces! Not just a white dress and cinnamon bun hair”. Honestly, Patty would rather watch a cute, down-to-earth romantic comedy with tons of fashion changes for the female lead and a handsome male lead that is “Mr. Right” than watch a space fantasy. You know what movie she’d watch that has a space setting but also a cute love story? WALL-E. That one and Lady and the Tramp are her and Anatole’s movie night faves.

Yo Fu Wei: Has watched them all, but forgot the plots, he has.

Mace Windham: Has watched the originals and has just started the prequels. He’s been putting off AOTC due to all the deployments the J.E.D.I. Academy has been sending around the globe with their soldiers, but he’ll get to it someday.

Sidonia Palpatine: Has heard of Star Wars, has seen all the memes on the internet (and some clips in videos) when the senators critique her on social media, but never actually watched them until she finally sat down to start with the prequels. Up to now, she’s only seen TPM and AOTC. Doesn’t know the TV shows exist. While she has yet to get to the originals and sequels, she does think Luke is cute, and may also be partial to Kylo Ren for his “puppy-dog eyes”.

Bail Organic: Has seen all the movies. Has tried to convince Patrice to watch the prequels and sequels, but to no avail.

Moira Morgan: Same as Bail. She’s actually told Patrice that she might like Attack of the Clones for the cute romance moments, but the more Patty thought about it, she was like, “So if Darth Vader is Luke and Leia’s father, that means there was a Mrs. Vader...did she go evil too? Why is there no Mrs. Vader in the original movies? Did Darth Vader break up with Mrs. Vader? WHY WOULD ANYONE FALL FOR A MONSTER LIKE DARTH VADER?!!”, thus further pushing Patrice away from the franchise. Moira’s personal favorites are Return of the Jedi and Rogue One, and likes wearing necklaces with the Rebel Alliance symbol.

Rina Chomse: Has seen all Star Wars media, even though she’s not a big fan. She thinks Riyo Chuchi should have gotten more episodes in TCW.

Preston Kelsey: Has seen the originals and prequels, but not the sequels. Wishes to know the lore about the minor Jedi (not the J.E.D.I. Academy that he’s part of, but the Jedi Order in the movies) since he thought they were underused, and the alien designs are too cool to go to waste.

Captain Regis: Has not seen Star Wars

Commander Colby: Nope

Sergeant Republic Face: Nope

Alycia Spurgéon: Has seen memes and only clips. Okay, maybe the Genndy Tartakovsky cartoon, since it’s short and not lengthy.

Sheila Ti: Has seen the first six but has been putting off the sequels. The scene in Revenge of the Sith with the younglings makes her cry, so she usually skips it. She does find the Ewoks and Jar-Jar cute.

Lu Undulashian and Barrie Offerson: Would rather have a Disney sing-along marathon than watch Star Wars.

Kit Ferguson: Has seen them, but not a big fan. Like Preston, thinks all the minor Jedi were underused and just a plot device to be killed off in ROTS to set up the OT.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Standing On the Edge

stress writer + extreme stress + writer’s block for the stuff I actually want to write = me realizing I made a mistake, when trying to think of the absolute worst day Ben Organa Solo could have.

Well, sort of. Here, have a shatterpoint, it’s been a while. Under the cut, because RIP mobile users otherwise.

Ben Organa Solo had Seen Things. Had seen a lot of things, had been running from his demons for the better part of his life, had gotten into bar fights on Canto Bight and shot at pirates in hyperspace and yelled at Force ghosts on Korriban and Malachor, had helped take down the kriffin’ First Order. By all rights, nothing should be able to surprise him by now.

Yet— 

This was a new one.

He swallowed hoarsely as he looked around and faces he’d only ever seen in his dreams, and bit back the urge to punch the wall, scream, anything.

Oh, come on.

Ben had long since been made aware of whose armor he’d apparently found, oh so long ago [it’d saddled him with that stupid, ridiculous name, how could he not?] but...

Well, he had already known the galaxy was still recovering from the fall of the Jedi. But it was one thing to be academically aware of something, and another to have said knowledge be forced in your face via the lightsaber he’d hastily had to deflect because— 

Purple lightsaber clashed against purple, and Ben took a nanosecond to process his shock before he ripped off his mask with his other hand before things could escalate even more because this was a nightmare and the absolute worst way he could think of meeting his heroes [the only heroes who had never disappointed him].

“Hey, hey, I know this looks bad but I’m not him!”

His Force presence was a roiling stormcloud, he had a purple lightsaber and the armor of the Revanchist on some godforsaken battlefield and Sithspit he had not thought this through. 

The only way things could be worse would be if—

A faint hum was the only warning Ben had before he ducked under the other lightsaber as he put his mask back. The other, annoyingly familiar blue lightsaber and kriff that was Skywalker.

...Ben could not kill him. No, he couldn’t kill the man who’d featured in the worst of his childhood nightmares, even if he wanted to deny any connection to the bastard he still wanted to be born and he must be really, really feeling like a Sith in the Force right now if the way they were eyeing him was any clue.

Do not screw with the space-time continuum, do not, do not— 

So of course that’s when a platoon of droids find them. 

Of kriffing course. 

.

Jedi General Mace Windu was very, very alarmed to see the newcomer, and it was only partly because of who he resembled.

Nor was it the way the stranger’s Force presence had darkened even more at the sight of Skywalker, or the color of his lightsaber. 

No, Mace Windu’s main concern was the ease with which he had turned to face the droids— his blood ran cold when he saw the figure outstretch a hand, and decimated them with an ease that spoke of years of practice and control. 

He recognized it immediately, of course. [How could he not, when he himself had been the only one of his generation to have possessed said ability as well?]

Shatterpoint.

.

Ben kept his shoulders squared and lightsaber at the ready, even as he lowered his hand. He did not like the way the Jedi were looking at him— Mace Windu[!!!] had ill-disguised shock in his eyes, while Skywalker had stiffened after the first of the clankers had started falling [the hypocrite]. In the distance, he could hear clone troopers approaching and registering the disturbance as well— they’d probably arrive in a few minutes.

So much for subtlety.

Rey was never going to let him hear the end of it. Ben could almost hear Finn’s laughter, too, and the pang of homesickness came on the heels of the realization of how strained their bond felt, stretched between time and space as it was. 

[He just wanted to go home.]

“Who are you?” Skywalker asked in suspicion, and Ben tamped down on what irritation he hadn’t managed to channel into his attack.

No need to escalate this, these were allies. 

He turned to address Mace Windu, out of spite. “General Mace Windu. May I trouble you in asking what the date is? I do believe I’m a bit lost.”

.

aka the one where Ben crash-lands the Clone Wars. Cue internal screaming.

On the plus side, his childhood dreams [and nightmares], plus his being a history buff, mean that he’s very much on the ball as far as politicking and tactics go. Plus whenever Anakin’s not in the picture, Ben is highkey fanboying over everything and everyone he meets [Mace Windu! The 187th! Obi-Wan Kenobi! The 212st! Plo Koon! The Wolfpack! Bail Organa! Mon Mothma!] because these were his childhood heroes, the people whose deeds and morals he aspired to emulate when he was at his lowest points. He’s seeing and interacting with people he’d only ever seen in his dreams, and for the first time in his life, he meets his heroes and they don’t end up disappointing him even once.

...whenever he’s not scaring the crap out of them, anyway, because he refuses to remove his mask in case anyone spots the resemblance between him and Anakin. Which, combined with the armor he’s also not inclined to take off anytime soon [dude crash-landed in the middle of a war zone, what do you expect?], and you get a lot of heart attacks whenever he meets someone new. 

A lot of ‘oh shit that’s Darth Revan!’ moments, with the Jedi, and multiple kidnapping attempts from the Separatists because of that very same reason. Because Ben refuses to set foot on Coruscant as long as the Supreme Chancellor’s on it, and Palpatine is very...intrigued by these reports. 

Unfortunately for him, Ben takes one look at what’s going on, and goes “okay you know what? I didn’t want to make waves but clearly this is an alternate timeline so screw it, let’s see how much I can fix”.

If this universe doesn’t get a Ben, well at least they’re still going to be minus an Empire, so he’ll take it. 

Even if the Jedi are slightly horrified by how chill he is about the prospect, because what the hell. Made even worse as the story continues tumbling out, about Order 66 [by the way, turns out that Shatterpoint + chips = one less risk in a pinch] and Operation Knightfall and everything else that went down— and that Ben saw it in his childhood. 

The pièce de résistance, however, is the ‘my grandfather was a Sith Lord’ thing, hands down. [Geez. No wonder the guy’s Force presence was as solidly grey as it was.]

Ben doesn’t name names or remove his mask, but he doesn’t need to.

Not when everyone can feel just how little he likes Anakin Skywalker, whenever they’re in the same room.

Even if he hasn’t done it yet [ever, in this timeline], Ben will never forgive him for it. For becoming Darth Vader, for being the Emperor’s attack dog and casting a shadow so dark, Ben couldn’t fully escape it even after a lifetime of running. 

Which is a tragedy, actually, because if Anakin had been any other person, they would’ve gotten along very well. 

They have a similar protectiveness for their loved ones [the sacrifice Ben made to keep Finn and Rey safe would’ve spoken for itself], and similar experiences as Padawans [both experienced jealousy and fear because of their power]. Ben inherited Anakin's and Han Solo’s piloting skills, and Ben’s drive for justice runs in the family too. 

But because Anakin Fell in Ben’s timeline, because he featured in so many of his nightmares, was the reason Ben had struggled so hard to define himself, he just— can’t. Can’t help but raise his guard, whenever he sees Anakin. Can’t help but stiffen, can't keep his Force presence from darkening slightly. 

It’s painful to watch, even for the most distant of outsiders [...who are allies, anyway. Ventress just sits back and has popcorn, whenever they’re out in the field]. 

Especially because the more time passes, the more Ben lowers his guard around everyone else. He shows an excellent head for tactics in his talks with Obi-Wan and Yularen and the various politicians that crop up, banters with Ahsoka and the clones, and is...not exactly subtle with the way he fanboys over everyone. 

It’s...kinda adorable, actually. Ben tries to acts all professional and aloof and gruff, but then he’ll slip and geek out at the prospect of sparring with a Jedi, or he focuses so much on trying to impress Bail Organa that he completely misses the look in the man’s eyes when Ben offhandedly mentions his own efforts against the First Order.

The more time passes, the better read everyone has on the situation. 

And then Finn and Rey show up [”dammit Ben next time we’re the ones scouting the creepy Force cave”], and even more pieces of the puzzle come to light.

Finn and Rey, who are brilliant where Ben was a stormcloud. 

Finn and Rey, who openly, shamelessly give their own perspective on things too, and help fill in the parts that Ben left out.

By the time the trio leave, it’s with the hope of a brighter future, and the knowledge that that galaxy is in good hands.

[sonofthesuns]

Anakin winning on Mustafar changed... so much.

In canon, Mustafar was such a pivotal moment in his life. It’s where Anakin Skywalker died and Darth Vader was born. Up till that point, Anakin still had one foot in the Light. Up till that point, Anakin was still holding onto himself. He was still, at his core, Anakin Skywalker. He still cared about the same things Anakin did. It is only after he lost literally everything that he completely gave himself over to the Dark Side, where he completely adopted the persona of Darth Vader and cast his old self away.

That does not happen to AniVader.

He won. He gave Obi-Wan mercy, yes, and Obi-Wan used that mercy to escape with Padme and get the fuck out of dodge (it’s like poetry, it rhymes), but Anakin hasn’t lost everything like Vader did. If nothing else, he still has himself to fall back on, something Canon!Vader would never have again, trapped in his suit of armor like he was.

Canon!Vader was Palpatine’s attack dog. Loyal to his master because that’s all he had. No ambition, just going through the motions. He had nothing to live for, as everything had crumbled into dust around him, and he tossed away his old self to spare himself the pain. He was the iron fist of the Empire. The Emperor’s pet monster.

AniVader is the Hero of the Empire. Taking full advantage of his popularity as the Hero With No Fear. He still holds onto his persona of Anakin, and as such still has Anakin’s goals, Anakin’s desires, Anakin’s relationships (as fractured as they are). He’s softer than Canon!Vader, but on the flip side, he’s also far more ambitious.

It’s his new empire, after all.

AniVader has every intention of one day murdering Palpatine and taking the throne. It is the Sith Way. But he also loathes his master on a fundamental level. Their friendship that they shared for all his youth has been shattered. Palpatine lied to him. Palpatine betrayed him. Palpatine used him. Palpatine is no better than the Jedi. As such, AniVader will learn all he can from his master, and then he is going to usurp him.

But the more things change, the more things stay the same. I’ve repeatedly mentioned how much influence I draw from Vader’s noted disdain for the Death Star. But he went along with it, following his master’s will.

Does AniVader really strike you as the kind of person that would let the Death Star stay intact? Think on that. And the implications.

[spell-cleaver]

(Luke Palpatine AU) It had become a routinely habit of Luke’s to look over his shoulder when in the presence of Lord Vader’s whose glaze and force presence always seemed to follow him wherever he may be.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Masterpost here!

It had become a routine habit ofLuke’s to look over his shoulder when in the presence of Lord Vader, whose gazeand Force presence always seemed to follow him, wherever he may be.

It was awful. Being dogged by that monster was like having his own personal grim reaper, like having a knife hovering above his throat, and he was still expected to walk around like a calm, collected child emperor and keep his nose in the air, feet on the ground, head in the sky, far away from the fact that death’s shadow had apparently decided to become his.

But soon. Soon, he wouldn’t have that problem. He just had to wait.

He glanced up from the novel he was reading—he hadn’t taken a single word in, he should really focus—to eye Vader, sitting in the corner of the room, quietly working on something of his own. Tinkering, Luke was pretty sure, and he was almost tempted to go over and talk about it, to see what the master engineer that Vader was known to be could teach him, but then his father’s voice hissed in his head: Luke was a prince, now an emperor, and Vader was his enemy. It was beneath him; it was dangerous for him.

Luke picked up his novel again with trembling hands, and he wasn’t even sure he could blame it on lasting symptoms of the poisoning, this time. He still felt weak, far too weak to bear such a heavy crown, but the wounds on his back were healing, even if he still bore scars. He would recover from this too, he was sure.

Vader had insisted he not return to his duties yet, that he relax for that recovery, and Luke had almost scoffed. Knowing that he was handling the running of Luke’s empire for the time being made him even tenser than he was before.

Finally, Vader looked up from whatever he was doing, rose to his feet, and said, “It is time, Your Majesty.”

Luke blinked, and frowned. “Time for what, Lord Vader?”

“Sabé has arrived, Majesty; I just received a message from security informing me that her shuttle was cleared to fly to the palace.”

Sabé—

“Nova?” Luke asked, scrambling to his feet too fast; the scars on his back, his neck, squealed in protest. Already? “You— she said she needed time—”

“I contacted her while you were indisposed,” Vader said. “She agreed to come immediately.”

“You—what did you do?”

“I contacted her,” Vader repeated impassively. He gestured to the door. “Shall we go and greet her?”

“May I have my comlink back?” Luke shot back. If he could find—or find a way to reconstruct, if deleted—the exact message Vader had sent…

There was no response. Only a tilt of the helmet from Vader, then Luke groaned and continued on.

He just wanted to see Nova again.

And when he did, in the hangar, despite the hulking shadow at his back, he burst into a smile.

She smiled right back. She looked as elegant as ever, standing on the ramp to the nondescript shuttle thanking the pilot, clad in a blue tunic and grey trousers, a midnight travelling cloak around her shoulders. Her hood was down to show off the slightly messy but elaborate crown she’d braided it into at the back of her head and her neat black shoes clacked on the floor as she strode, almost sprinted, across the hangar towards him.

He hadn’t realised he’d moved to meet her too until she’d wrapped her arms around him and suddenly they were in the middle of the hangar, and he was engulfed by her cape.

Up close, it had subtle coloured threads woven throughout it: clouds of pink and gold against the dark blue, silver dots picked out against it all. Like her name, he supposed.

She tried to lift him up, but gave up with an oomph. “Guess you’re a bit too big for that, now, little prince,” she joked, ruffling his hair. His crown sat askew on his head; she delicately moved it back into position, and dusted his curls so they fell about in a more regal manner. “Or is it little emperor now?”

“How can I still be little if I’m too big to pick up?”

Nova raised one perfect eyebrow and straightened up. Sure enough, she was still ever-so-slightly taller than him. “That’s how.”

Luke giggled.

He sensed a stab of something through the Force from Vader—something dark, lustful—but it was too fleeting to pin down, and Luke ignored it when Nova’s hand moved from his hair to his face, brushing his cheek then moving his head left and right, inspecting him.

“You’ve grown up so much,” she murmured.

“It’s only been three years.”

“Three long ones!” She smiled again, a little sadly, and squeezed his hand. “I never got to say goodbye to you when I was sent away, I wanted to apologise. I—”

“No, Nova, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. I left you with him—”

Luke found himself tensing at the casual slander of his father—sure, he hadn’t been his biggest fan in the past few years, largely because he’d sent Nova away and Luke had started actually thinking about how she’d always insulted him behind his back, but… still.

He wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

“It’s fine,” Luke insisted. “You’re here now. And I need you, now.”

“I heard.” She swiped a thumb over each of his cheekbones, tracing the dark blue around his eyes. “How are you feeling? I heard about the Rebel attack, and— I thought—”

“I survived,” he said softly. He unclasped his hands from her cloak, let the fabric run between his fingers, and clasped her hands instead. “I’m alright. The attack came, and went; the poisoning came, and went—”

“Poisoning?”

Luke frowned. “Did you not know? Vader"—he shot a glare over his shoulder, to find the man with his gaze still riveted on him—"said he’d told you.”

“He sent a very cryptic, very threatening message that scared the life out of me,” Nova informed him. “So I came as fast as I could; I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner. She lowered her voice. "How are things with Vader? I know…”

“I know.” Luke swallowed. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

He worked his jaw for a moment, then tried again.

“When I first woke up from the surgery, the last thing I remembered was the attack,” he whispered. “And then there was Vader, telling me my father was dead, and… he swore his loyalty to me as the new emperor, but I don’t trust it, I don’t trust him. But he’s always around, he never gives me any peace; he swore to obey me, but when I ordered him to go and eliminate Tarkin he refused to leave until you got here, even before the poisoning. He’s replaced all my father’s red guards with the members of the Five-Oh-First, Amedda and other senior politicians were executed for murdering my father, and I—” He choked; he hadn’t realised how much he was keeping bottled up until it all came spilling out. “I just feel so alone.”

Nova looked dismayed: there was a pinch in her brow and her lips. But when she spoke, her tone was still light.

“You’re not alone anymore,” she assured him. “I’m here. I’ll help.” She lowered her voice a little further. “And I bet I can give Vader a run for his credits.”

Luke’s choking turned to laughter.

“Come on.” She turned Luke around, sweeping an arm (and a good section of her broad cloak) around his shoulders. “Let’s head upstairs, and we can talk in more detail. If you’ll have my things brought up to my quarters…?”

“Of course,” Luke said, and nodded to the servants standing by. “Take Lady Nova’s things up to the rooms prepared adjacent to mine.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“‘Your Majesty’,” Nova murmured. “It suits you. But I’m no lady.”

Luke smiled. “You are to me.”

She squeezed his shoulder. “Well, you’re just as sweet as I remember. You’ll be doomed in court.” It was said in jest, but the words hit a little close to home. She must’ve noticed his flinch. “Let’s get started on preparing you for it, then.”

They were passing Vader now, and Luke found himself involuntarily tensing up as he looked into that death mask. He opened his mouth, but again, nothing came out—

“Thank you for protecting my emperor, Lord Vader,” Nova said, clearly and confidently as ever. “I can take it from here, though; we won’t be needing your services again today. You have a chance to rest.”

There was a smile on her face and in her voice, but Vader still took it as the vaguely insulting dismissal it was meant to be. He stiffened, then turned towards Luke, who did his best to stand up straight and look… well, like an Emperor.

“As Lady Nova said,” he ordered Vader, watching Vader stiffen in response, sensing… disappointment? Sensing something. “I will see you tomorrow, Lord Vader.”

Vader hesitated a moment then, very reluctantly, bowed his head.

“As you wish,” he said, and Nova marched Luke onwards, until that cold, burning gaze was no longer fixed on his back.

Send me the first sentence of a scene for this AU and I’ll continue it!

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[jasontoddiefor]

Title: every planet, every star, every single grain of sand Fandom: Star Wars Summary:  In which Darth Vader finds 9-year-old Luke on Tatooine, proceeds to have a breakdown, kills Palpatine and makes his preteen son Emperor, as you do. Otherwise known as the Adventures of Teeny Tiny Emperor Luke and his Royal Dad Guard Darth Vader. AN: Cleaned up the drabble I wrote on my phone and posted last night since I decided this is an AU I’m invested in now.

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Darth Vader had often been called the Emperor’s attack dog. Whether to his face, by enemies choking on their own blood, or in the whispers of his soldiers behind his back. He used to resent it, hate it even. For all the strength he possessed, the insult was yet another reminder that he’d once more been reduced to less than human. Something to be owned and subdued and broken over and over again.

Nowadays, he didn’t mind anymore, took pleasure in everyone knowing that he was never more than an arm’s length behind the Emperor. He was the dark shadow following the most precious treasure the galaxy had ever given him.

“Your Highness, I have to insist. With the Rebels still refusing to negotiate with us, we cannot afford a war with the Hutts!”

The meeting had been dragging on for hours. Vader didn’t have the patience for such long-winded sessions and also didn’t necessarily see the point. They had an honorable goal and Vader would ensure that it was successful. What did it matter that they’d be fighting on two fronts? He’d make it work. Besides, the Rebels would soon give up once they see how much good Luke was doing.

Patience, Father, Luke’s thoughts reached him. We’re almost done.

Vader snorted and enjoyed how everybody else twitched. They could hardly tell his normal breathing apart from anything else and startling them was one of the few pleasures Vader had at these meetings. Besides his son’s presence, of course.

Like we’ve been almost done for an hour?

“So, General, what you’re really saying is that because our military isn’t strong enough, I should avoid conflict with the Hutts and let millions of sentient citizens of my Empire suffer?”

My Empire, Vader could never grow sick of hearing Luke say it. Every planet, every star, every single grain of sand, Vader had promised Luke when he’d found his nine-year-old son on Tatooine. His son, scared and hurt, had been in a cage, still wearing the clothes stained with his aunt’s blood. Padmé’s child, meant for greatness, stolen away and sold as a slave.

He’d never be hurt again, never denied anything at all again. Here, on the throne that was his and his alone, Luke would be safe.

“I- of course not, your Highness, but-“

Luke smiled. A gentle push of the Force followed and the Admiral stopped talking, giving up. Luke‘s speeches weren’t as refined as Padmé’s yet, but he also didn’t have as much practice as she had at his age. Until he caught up, the Force would guide him and silence everyone else and force them to listen.

“Then I believe we’re done here for today. Thank you for your attendance. Please inform the senate for the next session and start preparing the army.”

Luke pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. He smoothed over his heavy red overcoat before confidently walking towards the exit, Vader right behind him.

Luke barely reached Vader’s waist, and probably would never reach Vader’s height if the doctors were to be trusted. It annoyed Luke to no end, but Vader could only see the benefits. It was easier for him to shield Luke and, should any attacker ever manage to bypass him, they’d likely underestimate his son.

“Can we go work on our droid now, Father?” Luke asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

His son yawned and his shoulders dropped. The straight posture they had practiced in front of mirrors fell away easily.

“Dinner first, my son. The cooks have prepared your favorite.”

Seeing Luke’s heartbroken look, Vader amended. His son had done excellent work today, much better than Vader would have. He’d have just told the generals to shut up and do as he said. Luke was much more skilled with endearing people to him.

“But an argument can be made for eating down in the workshop instead of the dining hall.”

Luke smiled, bright, happy, and alive.

“Yes!” He cheered. “Thank you! Let me just get changed first. Can’t have oil on the robes again, or Miss Tallin will complain again.”

Vader would do everything to ensure that warmth would never leave his side again. Luke would be great and grow up knowing he was loved.