#Feel free to contradict some of the points I made with Ahsoka
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Okay, BUT
I need to rant about something because I can't get it out of my head
QUI-GON JINN AND DOOKU
THESE TWO >>>>>>
THE GRIEF THAT DOOKU FELT OVER THE LOSS OF THE PERSON WHO WAS ESSENTIALLY HIS SON OU OFSAIUFH WAIUHF
I CRIED SO HARD DURING THAT ONE SCENE IN TALES OF THE JEDI
THE SADNESS OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP
And also, I think it serves as a nice foil to the relationship of Ahsoka and Anakin. Perhaps not intentionally, or not thematically, but in terms of where it ended up as opposed to the younger members of their lineage. Because Ahsoka's grief over loosing the person she once looked up to vs. Dooku grieving over the loss of the person he cared so deeply for.
The fact that Ahsoka, despite all her hardships and tragedies, kept going after the loss of Anakin and developed into such a prominent figure in her later life.
But the fact that Dooku, after being beaten down after so much and being at such a low point in his life, traumatized, and manipulated by Palpacreep, fell completely after the death of the person in his life he cherished most.
Just...
The EVERYTHING.
The differences in what it's like experiencing loss, either death or corruption of a loved one into someone you don't recognize, shining through in this story when comparing the two characters to each other.
And I hate to get controversial, but I feel as if a lot of people judge Ahsoka and Dooku's story on stuff that primarily isn't canon, which leads to the characters being misshapen into something that differs so much from their original form (like Obi-Wan is.)
Ahsoka and Dooku both lost what was a very similar amount to them, but they handled it so differently and came out on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. And yes, I'm aware that Dooku 'fell' or was at least working with Sidious before Qui-Gon was dead, but he would have had quite a good chance to return to the Jedi, had his Padawan not been killed and he himself not driven to the edge.
And I haven't seen Rebels, so I don't really know much about Ahsoka's character development past the finale of the Clone Wars, and I know that there's a lot more development in Rebels then most would like to admit, but I think that a lot of her hardships are shown through her behavior or personality in the later seasons, after the Wrong Jedi arc. Not all are positive, but there's certainly some perks of her experiences.
But, I will say that I'm not impartial to bias towards Dooku and against Ahsoka (i mean, if you got this far in my rant, you probably know this already) due to the fact that I can't relate to Ahsoka as much, BUT I do think that, taking a break from character analysis and moving towards writing analysis, Dooku is a better character in terms of the pace of his development. He was given what is, excluding Tales of the Jedi, likely an hour of ACTUAL development, but Tales of the Jedi, while being a bit rushed and controversial, managed to do SO MUCH with a character given so little, but SO LITTLE with a character given so much.
#Am I concerned that I relate heavily to a ruthless dictator who murdered many of his own friends and companions and committed some-#-old fashioned genocide? yes. I am concerned.#Anyways#Have to go#Gonna go WEAP over 'I used to bring Qui-Gon here as a boy...'#have fun#Feel free to contradict some of the points I made with Ahsoka#Also Dooku#But good luck finding points to contradict#Because there really isn't a lot on him (which is one reason he's such a great character and Ahsoka sort of falls flat for me_#i mean#its hard to do anything nuanced or interesting with a character given seven seasons#multiple cameos#an important role in a different multiseasoned and lengthy show#and an upcoming live action spin#but I do quite like her thematically#ANYWAYS#Ahsoka Critical#Star Wars#Star Wars: The Clone Wars#Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy#iaminaminoramountofpain rants#Jedi Master Dooku#Brief mentions of Qui-Gon Jinn in relation to his living successors#Rebels#Sorta#convoluted opinions#Tales of the Jedi (is underrated)
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Searching for Dogma (III)
Last Part of this thing.
Brothers-AU Ao3
Part II
*~*
She stared at the man in front of her, eyes wide. The Kaminoans grew human soldiers here, trained them and then took them... to a mortuary? "Why?", she mumbled hoarsely and pressed both hands flat against the glass, it was freezing cold under her skin. Her fingers prickled. She still felt Jesse behind her, what would they do to him if their trip was exposed? Immediately her stomach turned and contracted violently, biting her tongue she leaned her forehead against the glass. Her eyes were fixed on the calm face of the soldier in front of her. Panic bubbled up, there was nothing here! Nothing but the dead, which would never be buried! Dead who couldn't scream and complain! Or did they? Did they whimper?
Only when Jesse grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her away from the tube and pressed her against his chest, did she realize that the strange noises were coming from her! Shaking violently, she clung to his breastplate and swallowed the bile, which tried to come up again, with all her might. Her bandaged arm pulsed violently and her eyes burned... when was the last time she had blinked? But she didn't want to look away either, couldn't turn her back on this misery. A hand pressed against the back of her head, hiding her face against cold plastoid, preventing her from looking back into the room. "Not yet.", Jesse muttered against her montral and the faint vibrations silenced the stifled noises, she carefully loosened her jaw and closed her eyes. The vibration did not go away and it eased something in her heart. For a short while they stood there, Ahsoka shaking softly and Jesse, arms wrapped around her, hummed to her in a non-melodic way. The tremor had not quite subsided when she tried again to turn her head and he released her from the embrace. She tried to smile. It felt like a grimace. "When did Kix teach you that?", she asked, rubbing her face once, it wasn't wet. But her mouth was numb and her tongue tasted strangely sweet. Jesse shrugged and held out his hand, gratefully she took it and entwined her fingers with his. "He didn't, that was Hardcase.", He muttered and they turned to the dead together.
They walked deliberately through the rows, hands still clasped together. Jesse had put his helmet back on and was gazing attentively around the room. Ahsoka was grateful to him for it, she had no nerve left to check the edge of this room. Instead, her gaze slid over the soldiers, one at a time. Here and there it got stuck on a tattoo. A hairstyle. An old wound... She felt every man with her mind, tried to catch a spark in the Force. Sighing, she turned her gaze further forward and stopped dead in place. Jesse didn't understand until a second later the jolt on his arm slowed him down. "Check all doors.", she instructed him quietly, hastily she turned her gaze on him and saw how he cocked his head. "I'm fine, check the doors." She breathed a sigh of relief when he nodded curtly and released her hand. Then he disappeared between the blue glowing tubes. She watched him go for a second, making sure he complied with her request. Then she took a few steps forward and looked at the corpse in front of her. "I'm so sorry, little brother.", she mumbled and put a hand as high as it could get on the glass. She didn't even got to his shoulders and cold tears gathered in her eyes, hastily blinking them away. Tup did not notice her uproar, just floated on in front of her and looked so peaceful... Even if this was cruel, she wanted to keep Tup's face in her memory just like this. Quiet, peaceful. It was so different from the panic he'd last sent out when he was taken away from her. She took a step back and let her gaze slide quickly over the last containers to the left and right of him. They were familiar faces, but no Dogma... Steps forced her to lift her head and she listened, the feet moving too carefully to belong to the Kaminoans. She hurried to meet her brother and she interceptet Jesse in the middle of the room. "You should take a look at the door over there.", he muttered and she nodded hastily, Everything if it got her away from this room! They walked quietly through the rows and after a few seconds of silence, Jesse raised his voice. "Did you notice this too?", he asked quietly and Ahsoka wanted her to shake her head so badly. But of course she had noticed. None of the corpses had all of the limbs, some showing suspicious stitches that would never heal because the tissue could no longer grow. She nodded harshly and they fell silent again, neither of them saying what they were both thinking.
Jesse was right about that door, it was actually interesting. Much better locked than the door to this hall! And not made from the milky material like almost all doors here. This one was made of solid durasteel! "We could cut through it.", Jesse suggested dryly and got a punishing look from the girl. "And trigger the alarm? Great idea! And by the way, who will they think of, when they find traces of lightsabers?”, Ahsoka pointed out and was proud of how strong and even her voice remained. It didn't sway, didn't break away. "So what now?", Jesse huffed next to her and looked critically at the control panel of the door. That would definitely not work. "Let's find an air shaft.", Ahsoka tried to grin and it worked. "Sure, because it's that ea-" "Up there.", she exclaimed softly, after looking around she had discovered a narrow shaft in the wall. Jesse growled in frustration. "They can't be that stupid.", he muttered, but stretched and pulled off the bars, nothing happened. No lights, no alarm. Ahsoka felt something like a tiny triumph, maybe it would be easy to outsmart the long necks after all. "You'd think they'd increased security since Fives."
The shaft was narrow, but not particularly long. It just went straight through the wall and came out the other side. However, it was so tight that Ahsoka really lacked the space to crawl. "Push me through, then I'll pull you.", she suggested softly and Jesse shrugged his shoulders in agreement, watching as she shoved her head, arms and shoulders into the shaft. Then she felt how he took her under her knees and pushed her forward a little. When they were in the shaft, too, the rough gloves grabbed her calves and pushed her forward an inch, enough for her outstretched hands to push the gate out of the way and pull her forward on the edge. As soon as her shoulders were free she wriggled until she was finally out and immediately turned to her brother.
Jesse's shoulders were wider than hers and for a second she thought her brother was going to get stuck. But then she pulled him out and for a moment they just stood there and panted, then she looked up for the first time.
The new room was smaller than the previous one, but still big! It was colder than a few seconds ago and she had quickly figured out why. There was a grille in the floor in the middle of the room. If you looked through it, you saw a long shaft and the sea. But even though it was so cold and strangely damp here, her heart beated faster. This room was also full of those tubes out of glass, they too lit up the surroundings with a slight bluish tinge. But they vibrated with life! Ahsoka immediately hurried to one of the tubes and pressed a hand against it, the soldier was wearing a mask, surrounded by hoses he was swimming unconscious. But he was alive! "We can still save some!", she breathed enthusiastically and hurried through the room, every tube was occupied. In the last third she found what she was looking for. "Jesse!", she called half aloud over her shoulder and heard how her brother came closer with quick steps and then stopped. She watched him, he didn't take off his helmet. "They didn't execute him?", he asked softly and Ahsoka shook her head, relief making her stomach bounce. How good that it had been as good as empty for a few days! "Not yet. We have to take him with us.”, she mumbled and wanted to turn back to the tube when Jesse grabbed her. "If we take even one from here, the Kaminoans will know it!" "But we can't leave him and the others here!", she protested violently and crossed her arms over her chest before looking up into Dogma's face. He didn't look as stern as she remembered him now. His resemblance to Tup was downright terrifying, even if it shouldn't surprise Ahsoka. Still, she had never thought that with a little more time and care, Dogma might have fitted into her units as well as Tup did! "We don't have a choice right now!", Jesse growled. When she wasn't looking at him, he sighed deeply. "I know how you feel, but we'd endanger everyone else.", he appealed, it only softened her feelings a little. "I'm not leaving a brother here!", she barked and froze, there were footsteps. "Kriff!", Jesse cursed next to her and looked around briefly, there was only one door out. They both looked at each other, then Ahsoka grimaced. "I didn't really wanted to go for a swim today.", she muttered, but yanked the grating away from the floor and took a step back. "Please, after you.", she mumbled and without hesitation her brother disappeared into the shaft and hit the water. Ahsoka climbed hastily afterwards, dragging the grate over i hear head and let herself fall. The water came very close very quickly and she took a deep breath, then it was cold.
Shivering and cold, Ahsoka heaved herself completely onto the platform and offered her hand to Jesse, he gratefully took it and she pulled him towards her. With an audible splash, they both flopped onto the already wet floor. Breathing heavily, Ahsoka looked after her rescuer, the animal disappeared in the rain. "That was very stupid.", Jesse coughed next to her and got up, he reached out his hand and pulled her to her feet. She didn't contradict him. As upright as possible, they hurried through the rain into the city and made their way to Shaak Ti.
The Jedi Master was already waiting for them, with a gentle smile she let the soaked figures in her quarters and handed them towels. "I can have new clothes come for you.", she offered to Jesse and Ahsoka could already see how he wanted to decline. “That would be great. If you could get me a set too, I would be eternally grateful.", she grinned and Shaak Ti smiled. Jesse grunted behind her in exasperation, but seemed too busy with the cold to complain any more. Instead, he peeled off his armor and Ahsoka began to take off her soaked clothes as well. She quickly piled up the dripping cloth in a corner of the room and wrapped herself tightly in her towel. That was better. Shaak Ti came back quickly with something that smelled suspiciously of caf in her hands and two blacks on her arm. Ahsoka waited well until the older Togruta had put the cups on a small table and handed her new clothes. When she tried to get into the trousers that were too big, the fabric stuck to her clammy skin and with an exasperated snort she pulled it up bit by bit. The top stuck briefly on her montrals, until she had pulled it over her head, Jesse had already completely changed and had started to dry the rest of the equipment. "You're angry.", Shaak Ti mumbled and sat down on one of the pillows in the room, offering Ahsoka and Jesse some soft seating as well. Ahsoka plopped audibly onto the floor and took a cup of caf, Jesse declined quietly, sipped briefly at his cup and turned back to his equipment. Ahsoka watched as he quietly kneeled on the floor with furrowed eyebrows. She would leave him alone until they were gone from this place. She could feel that there was just as much going on in her brother as there was in her aching head. She saw that now. "The Kaminoans have more secrets than I thought.", she admitted quietly, shot the Jedi Master a quiet look and took another sip. Shaak Ti nodded slowly and carefully folded her hands on her legs. "Probably true. So you've found what you are looking for?", she asked and her endless, motherly calm almost brought tears to Ahsoka's eyes. If the Jedi cared so much about her and the clones, why did they never intervene? Despite these nagging doubts, she nodded. "Yes. We have- ”The other woman's raised hand cut her off. "Don't tell me.", she said softly and surprised Ahsoka sat up a bit more upright. Shaak Ti had seemed so motivated, so eager to find the secret Ahsoka was looking for! She had given her every little piece of information and now she didn't want to find out the solution to the riddle? "Why?!", Jesse said shocked from behind her and Ahsoka looked over her shoulder, he had come closer and was now directly at her back. Shaak Ti grimaced as if in pain, then looked down and examined her hands carefully. Ahsoka knew this tactic. "Maybe I shouldn't know." "You don't want to know.", Ahsoka countered with a hard voice and she put the cup to one side, the Jedi Master's shoulders shrugged guiltily. “The men here are restless, sometimes they're afraid and I don't know what about yet. Every now and then some of them disappear and the others suffer, but I try to give them strength.", the older woman mumbled exhausted and she sounded so tired, that Ahsoka and Jesse exchanged a look. They agreed, Ahsoka carefully reached out a hand and placed it on the Jedi Master's knee. "It's okay, I'll explain it to you after the war."
The ship took off slowly and Ahsoka averted her gaze from the shrinking figure in brown robes, who had hid under a canopy, and steered the ship towards the cloud cover. "I'm sorry.", she sighed deeply after the first stars were visible again. With every breath she felt, how the horror they had seen filled Jesse's thoughts and gave him goose bumps. She shouldn't have taken him with her, it wasn't worth it. They had searched, found and would return home empty-handed.
"I'm sorry too.", Jesse tried to comfort her and squeezed her thigh with a warm hand before he started to program the return flight with R7. Ahsoka watched them for a while and when Jesse felt her look on the back of his neck he looked up. They looked at each other for a second and had to smile, at least none of them had gone into this room alone. With another sigh, Ahsoka raised her hand and offered him her pinky finger. "That would kill the others.", she muttered, her heart feeling heavy. If the other clones found out about this discovery, none of them would be able to do anything other than mourn the captured and dead brothers. Men they couldn't help anyway. Jesse nodded and hooked his finger on hers. "That stays between us.", he agreed and they separated again. Before Ahsoka could look outside, at the blue of hyperspace, Jesse gave her a look full of fighting spirit and confidence. "We'll come back."
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The Clone Wars (2008)
Well, this one was certainly different. And not just because this movie was completely computer animated instead of live-action like all the other Star Wars movies. Though I suppose that’s to be expected, since this was obviously designed to be a movie-length pilot for the TV series of the same name. And believe me, it shows. But, for what it was, I suppose it was decent enough. I think the most jarring part for me was that, instead of the iconic text crawl, this movie opens with a narrator voice over, telling the audience that the Clone Wars are still going on. That part was kinda odd. It made me feel like I was watching a documentary set in the Star Wars universe.
But anyway, the movie opens with Obi-Wan, who has been given the rank of General (so much for Mace Windu’s statement in Attack of the Clones that Jedi weren’t soldiers), and Anakin. They’re off with the Clone Army, fighting the Separatists on a planet called Christophsis. They eventually realize that they’re in need of reinforcements, but their communications equipment is out of commission so they can’t call for help. Out of nowhere, a Republic shuttle lands. At first, they believe the shuttle is carrying their needed reinforcements, but a transmission from Yoda reveals that is not the case. Instead, the shuttle is carrying a young female alien named Ahsoka Tano, who is a Jedi Padawan.
Here, we learn that Obi-Wan had requested to take a new Padawan under his wing. Which really makes no sense, considering Phantom Menace made it quite clear that you could only train one Padawan at a time. So how can Obi-Wan take on a new Padawan, considering he’s still supposed to be training Anakin at this point? But it gets even stranger when Ahsoka stats she has been assigned to Anakin, meaning she’s his Padawan. I thought only Jedi Masters were allowed to train Padawans. Did they change the rules? I suppose it’s possible that Anakin was elevated to full-fledged Jedi during the course of the Clone Wars, but I distinctly remember it being stated in Episode 3, which takes place after this TV Pilot movie, that Anakin wasn’t a Jedi Master yet. So right away, we’re getting a pretty significant continuity error.
But, for the sake of the movie, let’s try to overlook that. Anakin isn’t exactly pleased to learn he’s been tasked with training a Padawan as he had no desire to teach anyone. He even tries to say that Ahsoka is too young to be a Padawan. Which is kinda dumb, considering he was nine when Obi-Wan took him on as a Padawan. But despite Anakin’s objections, he’s pretty much told that he has no choice. And the battle with the Separatists continues on. It’s discovered a battalion of Droids and Separatist Tanks are heading their way, with a force field surrounding the Droids, preventing the Republic artillery from striking out at them. A plan is made, and Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with sneaking past enemy lines and disabling the shield. To stall for time, Obi-Wan stages a fake surrender, which takes the Separatist General Loathsom by surprise. And Obi-Wan is just all kinds of extra in this fake surrender, suggesting they discuss the terms of the surrender over tea. In the end, Anakin and Ahsoka manage to disable the shields. But Anakin is still being a bit of a jerk towards Ahsoka, even after she saves him from a group of droids. He also fails to see the irony of the situation. At one point, he tells Ahsoka off for being headstrong and impulsive, telling her that she should never rush into battle and needs to learn to be patient. Well, there’s the pot calling the kettle black, you hypocrite! Though I suppose it could be argued that you’re speaking from experience and have learned your lesson about acting rashly in Attack of the Clones.
When the Clone Army wins this battle, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka are notified of a new task they need to address. It turns out that Jabba the Hutt has a son. (Who knew?) But the son has recently been kidnapped, and Jabba has requested the Jedi’s help in getting his son back. While the Jedi aren’t exactly pleased at the notion of helping a notorious gangster like Jabba, they know that doing so is in the best interests of the Republic. Turns out, Count Dooku and the Separatists have taken over most of the hyperspace routes, which makes it difficult for the Republic to continue sending supplies and reinforcements to the Clone Army. So the Republic is hoping to sign a treaty with Jabba, which will allow them to utilize the trade routes under his control. Because of that, it’s really important to make him happy.
So while Obi-Wan heads off to Tatooine to present the proposition to Jabba, Anakin and Ahsoka head off with select members of the Clone Army to retrieve Jabba’s son, Rotta. They manage to track Baby Rotta to a monastery in the jungle planet of Teth. After a whole action sequence, with them scaling to the top of a tall pillar to reach the monastery, Anakin and Ahsoka find Baby Rotta, who has fallen ill, possibly because the unfamiliar climate isn’t contusive to a Hutt’s physiology. Before Anakin and Ahsoka could start to return Baby Rotta back to Tatooine, they are held up by some woman named Ventress. Who is Ventress? I have no idea. She’s just some sort of mysterious alien female who works for Count Dooku. We’re not told a single thing about her beyond that. Maybe they explore this more in the TV series. But I never saw it, so I can only guess on that. Eventually, however, Anakin and Ahsoka manage to get away with Baby Rotta and start making their way back to Tatooine to return Baby Rotta to Jabba, with Ahsoka tending to the sick Huttlet and trying to cure him.
Throughout the movie, it comes out that Count Dooku had organized the kidnapping of Baby Rotta as part of an elaborate scheme to frame the Jedi for the kidnapping. He hoped to get Jabba to turn against the Jedi and join the Separatists. But things get more complicated after Anakin and Ahsoka manage to save Baby Rotta. As Ventress pursues them in order to stop them, she sends a message to Jabba, falsely telling him that the Jedi killed Baby Rotta and are now coming to kill him. Which, of course, makes Jabba even more distrustful of the Jedi.
Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Obi-Wan has relayed Count Dooku’s plot to Palpatine, Yoda and Mace Windu. When Padmé overhears the trouble Anakin is in, she comes up with a plan to approach Jabba’s uncle, Ziro, who lives on Coruscant, hoping that she can convince him to reason with Jabba and see that the Jedi are not the ones responsible for Baby Rotta’s abduction. But Ziro seems purely uninterested in helping and has Padmé thrown out. Padmé doesn’t give up, however, and sneaks back into Ziro’s place. Upon doing so, she discovers Ziro had been working alongside Count Dooku and had actually helped organize Baby Rotta’s kidnaping.
Unfortunately, Padmé is discovered before she can sneak out, and Ziro has her captured, planning to have her executed. Luckily, Padmé manages to send out a message to C-3PO, who apparently lives with her now. 3PO, in turn, notifies the Coruscant Guard that Padmé is in trouble. And they stage a rescue. Once Padmé is free and Ziro is surrounded, the’ Hutt immediately backs down, stating that Count Dooku had forced him to aiding in Baby Rotta’s kidnapping.
On a side note, I have to comment on the irony. R2-D2 was originally built to be an Astromech Droid belonging to Padmé when she was still Queen of Naboo. And C-3PO was built by Anakin. But now, R2 is mainly in the company of Anakin while 3PO now is Padmé’s companion. Logically, it makes sense since Anakin is the one off fighting in space battles and Padmé is a senator, and therefore the Droid they keep with them is the one whose designated purpose best suits their needs. But it’s still ironic that they’ve basically swapped ‘ownership’ of the two Droids.
Back on Tatooine, Anakin and Ahsoka had been shot down by Ventress as they were entering Tatooine’s atmosphere. As a result, they have to make their way to Jabba’s Palace on foot. Along the way, Ahsoka tries to get Anakin to open up to her, as she knows he was born on Tatooine and is concerned that he doesn’t seem to want to talk about it. Which makes sense, as the last time he’d been here, he’d had to bury his mother. (By the way, kudos to the people who made this movie for this one scene in this movie. When they were approaching Tatooine, Anakin is stating he never wanted to set foot on that planet again. And as the camera focuses on him, we briefly hear the bellows of the Tusken Raiders playing over the scene. I thought that was a REALLY nice touch there.)
Along the way to Jabba’s palace, Anakin, realizing they’re still being followed by the people who kidnapped Baby Rotta in the first place, comes up with a ruse. He sends Ahsoka ahead of him with Baby Rotta while he fills up the backpack he’d been carrying the Huttlet in with rocks. As such, when Count Dooku catches up to Anakin in order to kill Baby Rotta and ensure Ventress’ claims won’t be contradicted, Baby Rotta is out of harm’s way. Anakin manages to escape Count Dooku and makes his way to Jabbah’ palace.
As for Ahsoka, she manages to nearly make it to Jabba’s palace when she is also ambushed by some of the Separatist Droids. After a short battle, she manages to defeat them, though it was a close battle. In the end, both Anakin and Ahsoka manage to reach their destination and return Baby Rotta to Jabba.
However, Jabba is still convinced that the Jedi kidnapped Baby Rotta, and immediately orders the pair to be executed. Before his order could be carried out, Padmé manages to send a message to Jabba. In the message, she gets Ziro to confess to his nephew what really happened. Now that Jabba knows the truth, he allows the Jedi to leave, and even states he is willing to allow the Republic to use his trade routes during the ongoing Clone War. He only has one condition- that the Jedi make sure Dooku pay dearly for his trickery.
And so the movie comes to an end. And as they are triumphantly picked up by Obi-Wan, Yoda and the Clone Army, Anakin states that he’s decided to keep Ahsoka as his Padawan, as this adventure has helped the two bond.
I’m guessing that this is where the TV show picks up. But I have no intention of watching that at present. Though Ahsoka seems like a pretty good character. Even though she shares some of Anakin’s impulsiveness, she doesn’t really have any moments when she becomes unlikable. And while Anakin does have a bit of an attitude at times, he’s much more tolerable than his live-action counterpart. I also admit I enjoyed the musical score in this movie. So props to Kevin Kiner on that count. Maybe I’ll give the TV series a look in the future, but that remains to be seen.
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Day 3- Emotion
Anakin, Ahsoka and the Jedi Code.
rating: g
pairing: none
word count: 1880
(read on ao3)
This one got away from me. But here’s day three of Star Wars Fictober- Emotion.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
“I don't understand,” Ahsoka admitted to her Master. “If Jedi aren't supposed to show emotion, how are we supposed to be compassionate? That part of the Code contradicts what we stand for as Jedi.”
“If you take it at face value, maybe,” Anakin replied. He set down his datapad, which he was using to write a report. “But the Code isn't telling us we aren't ever allowed to have emotions. What it's saying is that we shouldn't let our emotions rule us. If you have an important decision to make, make it with peace, not out of anger, or fear.”
“That makes sense.” Ahsoka frowned. “Why doesn't it just say so?”
Anakin shook his head, amused. “I dunno, Snips. I asked Obi-Wan the same thing when I was a Padawan.”
“And what did he say?”
“Some knowledge should be earned, not taken, my young apprentice,” Anakin said in a credible impression of his Master. Ahsoka masked a snicker behind her hand and went back to her studies.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
“You alright there, Ahsoka?”
Ahsoka dropped her hand from her chin and suppressed a yawn. “I'm fine, Master. I just have a lot of studying to catch up on since we've been away from Coruscant for so long.”
She expected him to nod in sympathy and leave her to it. Instead, he came around the table and sat down beside her. “What is it today? Languages? Galactic affairs? History?”
“History,” Ahsoka said. “The Hundred-Year-Darkness.” It wasn't boring by any means, but once she was finished the chapter on that, she needed to start on her languages. It was going to be a long night.
“Hey, I remember doing that bit,” Anakin said. “Do you have any questions? I was pretty good at history.”
And swordmanship, and languages, and galactic affairs, and most other subjects, from what she had heard. Ahsoka had big shoes to fill as his Padawan. She would appreciate the help with her studies, but...
“What's wrong?” she asked suspiciously. “This isn't like you. At all.”
“Nothing's wrong,” Anakin assured her. “But you've been stuck in the library all day and you deserve to have some free time before we ship back out again. So let's get this over with.”
Ahsoka blinked. The fact that Anakin occasionally paid attention to things like that was news to her.
But, it was also nice that he cared. She found herself smiling. “Thank you, Master.”
There is no passion, there is serenity.
“Rex!” Ahsoka yelled across the blasterfire. She made to run across the battlefield to the fallen soldier, but Anakin held her back.
“If you try to go over there in fire this heavy, you are going to get hit,” he hissed. “Jesse and Kix are with him. The best thing you can do for Rex right now is to clear your mind and finish this fight.” His gaze softened, just a bit. “Okay?”
Ahsoka took a deep breath, forcing herself not to look back across the field to Rex's prone form. “Okay.”
They dove back into the fray, but things were different now. Feelings of anger and fear drove Ahsoka's actions, making her swings heavier and her head feel clouded. She gritted her teeth and took down one battle droid with such ferocity that she almost got shot by another coming up behind her. Frustrated, she hacked that one into pieces as well.
This wasn't working. She was trying to channel her emotions into a passion that could help them win this fight, but it was leaving her vulnerable and she was making mistakes she hadn't made in months.
Focus, she told herself. Clear your mind. You can do this.
She took a breath, in and out, and the world around her seemed to come back into focus. She reached for the Force to help center herself, and slowly, the clouds in her mind lifted.
She had found her point of serenity, and now she would win this for Rex.
Later, when they had secured a perimeter and Rex was safely in the med bay aboard the Resolute, Anakin came up beside her.
“You did well today Snips,” he commented. “I saw you starting to lose it out there, but you pulled it together and kept going.”
“Your training is finally starting to pay off,” Ahsoka said lightly, though inside she was beaming at the praise. Anakin nodded.
“That must be it,” he said in that false cocky tone of his. Then he smiled warmly. “In any case, good job.”
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
It was a two man job. Get in, get out, don't be seen. Both as simple and as difficult as that.
All the men nominated Anakin and Ahsoka for the job.
“It couldn't be anyone else,” muttered Hardcase, and there were several murmurs of agreement.
The two of them ran silently through the grasslands of Vexis III, careful to stay out of the path of the searchlights coming from the Separatist compound. The weight of twenty thermal detonators in each of their packs didn't even slow them down.
Once they were safely in the shadows at the base of the compound, Anakin stepped back to look at the tall walls before them.
“You ready?” he said in an undertone.
“Just like we practised,” Ahsoka confirmed. She took a running start at the wall, then leaped, using the Force to assist her. As her feet left the ground, she could feel Anakin drawing on the Force to give her an extra boost. For a moment she was flying, soaring through the dark skies over the compound.
She touched down on top of the wall, careful to make as little noise as possible. Turning around, she accessed the Force again- this time to help Anakin as he made his jump. When they were both on the wall, Anakin gave her a short nod, then ran left along the wall. Ahsoka turned right.
The whole thing had taken less than thirty seconds.
Getting in undetected had been the hard part. From there, it was easy to sneak around the Separatist compound, evading battle droids and planting thermal detonators. They had both agreed on their respective courses of action beforehand- Ahsoka would take the open yard, Anakin would go for the reactor powering the compound. When they were done, they would meet outside.
Ahsoka planted her last five detonators on the tanks by the door, then slipped outside with the patrol. When she got to the rendezvous point, Anakin was waiting.
“What took you so long?” he quipped, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes, knowing it was too dark for him to see.
“Better to be thorough than to rush through and make mistakes,” she said.
“Now you sound like Obi-Wan,” Anakin said. He held up his thermal detonator switch. “Ready?”
Ahsoka raised her own and nodded. Anakin counted down, and on one, they both pressed their switches.
Two hundred yards away, the separatist compound lit up as bright as day.
Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged satisfied looks. With them, the result of harmony was usually chaos, and that was the best part.
There is no death, there is the Force.
“I brought you some tea,” Ahsoka said softly. She stepped further into Anakin's quarters, taking in the silhouette by the window. He wasn't standing tall like he usually did. There were new lines of grief etched into his frame.
Anakin didn't move. “No thank you.” His voice was hoarse.
“Anakin, you haven't eaten anything in days.”
“I'm not hungry.”
Ahsoka set the tea down on his workshop bench and came to stand beside him at the window.
Usually, silences between them were peaceful and calm. This one was not. It was awkward and empty and Ahsoka could tell that her Master was struggling to control his emotions.
“You still haven't been sleeping, huh?” she guessed. “Neither have I.” The nightmares were so bad, she didn't want to try.
Anakin looked up at that. “You need to sleep, Snips. We have to be ready in case the Council decides to send us out again.”
Ahsoka rested a hand on his shoulder. It was a role reversal that was rare with them. “Maybe it's time for you to take your own advice.”
Anakin shook his head. His lips were pressed tightly together. “I can't.”
“I know.”
He took a few steps back, then, sinking down onto one of the round meditation stools by the window. Ahsoka sat down on the other, taking a moment to study his features.
He looked thinner, like he'd lost weight he couldn't afford to. His face was pale and drawn and his eyes were dull, like a spark had gone out within them.
Anakin loved deeply and he felt loss even deeper. It wasn't a surprise that Obi-Wan's death was affecting him like this, but it broke her heart further all the same.
“Have you been meditating like Master Yoda said?” Anakin asked.
After the funeral, Master Yoda had told them both to meditate and release their grief into the Force. Ahsoka had tried at first, but quickly discovered that destroying things in the training room was much more effective at taking her mind off things.
“Sort of,” she hedged. Anakin raised an eyebrow and she sighed. “No.”
“I understand,” Anakin said. “But Ahsoka, meditation is still important. These things... take time to process, and meditating can help with that.”
“Then why aren't you meditating?” Ahsoka challenged lightly. By now, she could tell the difference between pieces of wisdom that Anakin meant and things he was saying because he thought she was supposed to learn them.
He looked down. “I can't.”
“Don't give me the official Jedi Master sayings, Anakin,” Ahsoka said, leaning forward. “Not after- not now.”
“What do you want me to say, Snips?” Anakin said helplessly. “I can't tell you to sleep, because I'm not sleeping. I can't tell you to meditate, because I'm not doing that either. I could tell you there is no death, there is the Force and a Jedi does not form attachments and a hundred other things, but that won't help because you and I are too alike for our own good.”
“Master Kenobi used to say that a lot,” Ahsoka said without thinking. “Usually after we'd pulled off another one of your wild schemes.”
“Hey, those schemes worked every time, no matter what he tried to say,” Anakin retorted automatically, and they both stared at each other for a moment.
It was the first time one of them had directly mentioned Obi-Wan since that day in the alley.
Anakin cleared his throat, glancing away. Ahsoka twisted her fingers together in her lap.
And the world just- kept going.
There was silence again, but this time it was much less awkward.
“As for what I want you to say,” Ahsoka ventured after a while, “yes to the tea would be a good start.”
Anakin blinked, as if he'd completely forgotten about it. He aimed a hesitant smile at Ahsoka. It was a shadow of his usual bright, cocky grin, but still a good sign. “You know, tea sounds great, Snips. Thanks.”
It wasn't just a thanks for the tea, and they both knew it.
“Anytime, Master.”
#anakin and ahsoka#ahsoka tano#anakin skywalker#starwarsfictober#writings#it's still the third here so technically i haven't missed a day yet#also i rewrote the last section four times before i was happy with it
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The Clone Wars: Bounty Hunters (2x17)
Summary: This episode is Seven Samurai.
Comments: This show really needs to stop remaking movies. Hasn’t Seven Samurai been done to death? I knew it was going to be bad when the show opens with a title card that reads “In Memory of Akira Kurosawa.” That couldn’t be a good sign.
Prequel!Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka crash (of course) on a planet. They find a village which is growing Sillim—the most valuable crop in the entire galaxy (according to Prequel!Wan). After confronting the four mercenaries hired to protect the village, the leader of the village explains to them that “Sillim farming is a meager trade,” directly contradicting Prequel!Wan’s previous statement. Who is writing this story?
The village elder explains to everyone the situation: they have found themselves in a Seven Samurai movie and must defend the village. Like, one of the bounty hunters literally looks like a samurai, in case you weren’t getting it.
Anyways, you know what happens. What’s interesting is that Prequel!Wan refuses to protect the village for reasons that don’t make any sense as Ahsoka protests how inconceivably immoral that is. You are demi-gods. You could swat down three dozen pirates without breaking a sweat. Yet you choose not to protect a defenseless village from pirates.
It doesn’t matter anyways, because by the end of the episode, the writers forgot what they were doing and OP!Wan assists in the protection of the village in contradiction to his previous decision, soooo...?
Fortunately, this episode was made watchable by the revelation that the pirate leader is none other than Hondo himself. I didn’t make it obvious in my non-review of Dooku Captured, but I actually enjoy the character of Hondo. He’s over-the-top and the voice actor plays him well. He feels like an actual character.
One final point. After Anakin doubts her abilities, the lead mercenary takes a jab at the OP!Jedi for failing to defend galactic peace. Prequel!Wan replies, “The rift in the galaxy is not our fault. If more worlds would stand up for themselves against the Separatists, this war would have been over long ago.”
The shifting of blame is considerable and is on par with what we should expect from Prequel!Wan’s character, but I have a question. The Separatists are sometimes portrayed as villains trying to murder innocents; other times as political separatists who only want to be free of the Republic. The inconsistent portrayal and lack of explanation in the show led me to Wookieepedia to try to get an answer to a question: Why are the Separatists leaving the Republic? Like, what’s their problem with the Republic?
After way too long, I came to realize that Wookieepedia doesn’t know either. The best I could find is a mention that the Separatists want to leave because of “corruption within the Republic.” I can only assume that means Palpatine and his army of slaves, since that’s the only thing that makes sense to me. This has some serious implications, which I’ll leave for another time.
In conclusion, this show is just rehashing old movies. What’s next? The Godfather? Metropolis? Godzilla?
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