Connor in "The Hostage" for @pathetic-lifeform 💖

Windswept Cal Kestis for @pathetic-lifeform 💕

what is grief if not love persevering?

​(*throws you this angsty piece from last year and goes back into hiding again lol*)

Sometimes it's easy to forget just how kind Anakin could be, how boyishly charming he could be! With another character, this could come off as annoyingly hypocritical, about how he knows he doesn't practice his forms as often as he should (and it shouldn't matter that he's naturally talented enough not to need to, it's about the internal discipline of it all), but he's so adorable about it that instead it's something those who love him wind up smiling at him over. His natural charisma comes through even when he's admitting that he doesn't do the things he's supposed to, he's so easy to love in these moments, he made twenty of these holos for Ahsoka, he trained her through them and emphasized that he believed in her, and wryly admitted that he didn't do as he was preaching to her, even though it's important. It's so easy to see why Ahsoka loved him, it's so easy to see why she held onto his memory, it's so easy to see why Padme and Obi-Wan and the Jedi loved him, why he never really got in trouble for the things he did when he broke the rules. We all know he's also Darth Vader, but Darth Vader is also Anakin Skywalker, you can't have the nightmare murderer without the boyish charm, and Hayden bringing that energy to the character, that we can see both in his portrayal, more charming boy here than nightmare, but it's not hard to put it together with the previous episode's Force vision of him as Vader, because this is who Anakin Skywalker is, too. This is why he was so loved, why he was so easy to love, he's just plain ridiculously adorable here!!!

Some good additions from @mcgregor, well said.

Exactly this. Poor Hayden and Jake Lloyd (a literal child) became the spitbuckets for all the hate and backlash for Anakin’s characterization. The toxic fans couldn’t believe the creator himself was responsible for it. I mean the guy just cast and directed both Hayden and Jake, wrote the lines and even decided what Anakin’s hair was gonna look like but go off, I guess.

It’s like all the interviews/BTS etc with Lucas where he explains Anakin’s character and motives didn’t exist. Some fans still didn’t want to accept that it was the Darth Vader they were seeing in the prequels, but wanted to cling to the idea of an all-powerful, macho and cold villain. In reality, Lucas (and both actors with their portrayals) just made Vader more complex and interesting and I’m glad most of the fans have realized that.

But as we have seen with all the anti Jedi sentiments lately in the fandom, it doesn’t matter what canon (or Lucas himself) says, there are always those who miss the whole point and don’t accept any other truth than their own. But that’s another fight.

After witnessing Hayden’s return to Star Wars, first in OWK in 2022 and now in Ahsoka, I cannot help but think that why did it take us nearly 20 years to collectively claim this man as our own? Do we even deserve him?

In the prequels he gave his everything, his portrayal of Anakin was incredibly nuanced and he clearly had done his homework (e.g. nailing JEJ’s speech pattern and his vocal cadence, as well as David Prowse’s physical mannerisms). Looking at Hayden you could see exactly what George Lucas meant when he said he wanted someone who had ” that presence of the dark side”. But you could also distinguish the former innocent slave boy, who wanted to be a Jedi and make his loved ones proud. He was Anakin, he was Vader.

It still makes me extremely sad and upset that some fans thought their image of Vader at the time was the only right one. They had their heads too up their asses to see that Anakin/Vader was right there, exactly as George Lucas had written him, both passionate and powerful but also sad and pathetic. And of course there were those who did see it, most of them were just too young at the time/without a platform to express all that awe and outpouring of love, as it was mostly drowned out by the loud, spiteful hate and criticism.

I can’t even imagine the things Hayden had to hear, directly from fans and from the media. It must’ve been so discouraging for a young actor. Heck, he was 24 when RotS came out. 24. And still, after everything, he decided to come back. He could’ve declined when Deborah Chow called him and asked him to return to the franchise, I would not have blamed him.

We are extremely lucky to have him back as Anakin and Vader again. And we better remember that.

After witnessing Hayden’s return to Star Wars, first in OWK in 2022 and now in Ahsoka, I cannot help but think that why did it take us nearly 20 years to collectively claim this man as our own? Do we even deserve him?

In the prequels he gave his everything, his portrayal of Anakin was incredibly nuanced and he clearly had done his homework (e.g. nailing JEJ’s speech pattern and his vocal cadence, as well as David Prowse’s physical mannerisms). Looking at Hayden you could see exactly what George Lucas meant when he said he wanted someone who had ” that presence of the dark side”. But you could also distinguish the former innocent slave boy, who wanted to be a Jedi and make his loved ones proud. He was Anakin, he was Vader.

It still makes me extremely sad and upset that some fans thought their image of Vader at the time was the only right one. They had their heads too up their asses to see that Anakin/Vader was right there, exactly as George Lucas had written him, both passionate and powerful but also sad and pathetic. And of course there were those who did see it, most of them were just too young at the time/without a platform to express all that awe and outpouring of love, as it was mostly drowned out by the loud, spiteful hate and criticism.

I can’t even imagine the things Hayden had to hear, directly from fans and from the media. It must’ve been so discouraging for a young actor. Heck, he was 24 when RotS came out. 24. And still, after everything, he decided to come back. He could’ve declined when Deborah Chow called him and asked him to return to the franchise, I would not have blamed him.

We are extremely lucky to have him back as Anakin and Vader again. And we better remember that.

Fashion model Ewan Mcgregor (⺣◡⺣)♡*

Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka (2023)

Live laugh love live action Clone Wars Anakin

Live laugh love live action Clone Wars Anakin

EWAN McGREGOR'S GREEN SWEATER IN BRASSED OFF

Uncle Obi in his element 🥰

Uncle Obi in his element 🥰

intimate hand holding