#when he tells obi-wan and Luke ‘don’t make me destroy you’ hesitated to kill them or gives them a chance to reason with him or walk away
Text
I’ve contemplated a lot about why Luke was the sort of person that Anakin felt inspired enough to turn his back on Sidious and the dark side for, while Padme, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka weren’t.
While Anakin does become a hypocrite who no one was obligated to forgive after he turned dark, regardless of his tragic circumstances and compromised agency, I think Luke was the one who finally inspired him to turn back because, in spite of as “above it all” as Obi-Wan, Padme, and even Ahsoka wanted to believe they were, they still had many of the same issues Anakin developed of feeling pressured to be people pleasers to corrupt authority figures, expectations, and rules that they knew were wrong out of fear of the unknown under compromised agency, moral hypocrisy, pride, manipulative tactics, selfishness, and/or an exceedingly vengeful side in their anger that they were not willing to pull back on when they dueled him or other enemies that piss him off.
Padme, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka loved Anakin, but they were also prideful, self-centered, and terrified people who were too afraid to admit that their methods flawed, too afraid to take a stand against the standards of these broken systems they were born into, too afraid to admit they were wrong, too afraid to take risks to do better, and too afraid to admit that they weren’t as “above it all” as they pretended to be.
Luke Skywalker being Anakin’s son is definitely one of the influencing factors that inspires him to turn back to the light. However, it’s also because Luke is self-accepting of his bad decisions, flaws, and mistakes. He’s aware that the old Jedi Order was deeply flawed, hypocritical, and misguided, in spite of their good intentions. He’s unwilling to stoop to the same level as his enemies. He won’t let himself get carried away with baiting his father into a fight when he gets angry, and start making justifications of how he’s “right” just because he has good intentions, just because he was fucked with first, just because he’s not a Sith, or just because it’s “too dangerous” to take a risk to be honest, kind, and offer one of his enemies (his father) a better opportunity when he sees that he really is also a victim of Sidious who is still struggling against his darker instincts and searching for freedom and love from family. He refuses to enable Anakin’s slave mentality and ultimately refuses to let his father believe that “Anakin Skywalker is dead.”
This isn’t saying that Anakin is an innocent, that Luke was obligated to forgive him, or that his victims didn’t have valid reasons to fear him and resent him. Of course, they did. The point is that in those little moments where he tries to reach out to Ahsoka, Padme, and Obi-Wan about being unhappy with the Jedi and keeping secrets of his marriage before going dark, backs off, says “Don’t make me destroy you,” or lets them go, they all had an opportunity to refuse to further perpetuate the cycle of abuse by acting in anger and vengeance. They could have refused to encourage his sense of compromised agency. They could have broken the cycle of system sting abuse, crime, and oppression with Anakin in those instances by being the bigger person.
Instead Padme and Obi-Wan encouraged him to continue to stay with the Jedi and/or keep his marriage secret when they knew their systems were corrupt, and knew he was becoming increasingly emotionally/mentally unstable and unhappy in ways that made him a danger to himself and those around him out of fear of the unknown by pretending that he would just get better if they told him he would when he tried to say otherwise.
Instead, Ahsoka ended up declaring that she’d “avenge her master” when he refused to join her right away and told her “Anakin Skywalker is dead because he destroyed him.”
Instead, Obi-Wan egged him on into a duel on Mustafar by using Padme as bait, and refused to back off after getting him to let go of Padme from his reckless blind rage/paranoia force choke before killing her when he thought she brought Obi-Wan to kill him and even got him to a point where he could tell Obi-Wan “Don’t make me kill you.” When Anakin cornered him again 10 years later for revenge that he clearly didn’t want as much as he had convinced himself he did because he still cared about Obi-Wan deep down, tells Obi-Wan “I destroyed Anakin Skywalker, not you,” and even gives Obi-Wan a chance to run away, Obi-Wan allows Anakin to continue to believe that Anakin is dead, convinces himself that he is, and he runs away to compartmentalize his own guilt over how he mistreated Anakin.
Instead, another ten years later, Obi-Wan more or less encourages Anakin/Vader to kill him by just standing there after confronting him in A New Hope, and saying “I’ll become more powerful than you can ever imagine.”
So the reason as to why Anakin can’t be inspired to atone or do better by Ahsoka, Padme, or Obi-Wan isn’t just because he’s a deeply flawed person. It’s because they are too, they live in denial of it, and let him live in denial of it, too.
#Padme Amidala was deeply flawed#Anakin was deeply flawed#Ahsoka was deeply flawed#obi wan was deeply flawed#and they all lived in denial of just how deeply broken and flawed they all were and kept encouraging Anakin to pretend like he was okay#sacrificing his better instincts and happiness to try to conform to these broken systems that they all knew were messed up out of fear#until he finally stopped trying to fight back and became a serious problem for their well-being out of fear of these corrupt authorities too#when he couldn’t get anyone to listen when he DID try to reach out for emotional support and escape to fight back#like in spite of telling them that ‘Anakin Skywalker is dead’ are obi-wan Ahsoka and Luke willing to let him believe that or not?#when he tells obi-wan and Luke ‘don’t make me destroy you’ hesitated to kill them or gives them a chance to reason with him or walk away#are they going to run away act defensively or stoop to his level and try to kill him when he’s hesitating and being vulnerable?#when he gives obi wan ahsoka and Luke a chance to back off in their duels as vader are they going to fight run away or try to reason?#when he tells Ahsoka revenge is not the Jedi way is she going to agree that vengeance is bad or stoop to his level?#it’s because Anakin is desperately looking for someone who is good and self-aware enough to realize that both sides are messed up#and he can feel safe just being the best version of himself rather than throwing away his moral integrity and sense of self to conform#it’s like he’s testing people he cares about to see if they will encourage him to break the cycle of toxicity in the galaxy#to realize that both the old Jedi/Republic and Sith/Empire were deeply fucked up governments and institutions#or continue to enable and perpetuate it themselves#to not stoop to his level and enable or perpetuate terrible behaviors choices or crimes ‘for good’ fear of the unknown or revenge#to these broken systems that enable and perpetuate systematic abuse of power crime and vengeance ‘for the greater good’ out of fear#pt jedi critical#anti jedi apologists#anakin skywalker#darth vader#luke skywalker#Luke was the only one who could inspire Anakin to redeem himself because he was the only one who didn’t get caught up in the cycle himself#and the only one who refused to let his father believe that ‘Anakin was dead’
77 notes
·
View notes
Note
Re: Star Wars prequel novelizations - the Revenge of the Sith book is genuinely one of the best things I have ever read and changed my life.
THANK YOU, anon, for reminding me about the Revenge of the Sith novelization. I just reread it, and my crops are watered, my skin is clear, and — I cannot overstate this — I actually remember why I love Star Wars. That love has been for too long stolen by The Fandom Menace sucking the life out of those movies to invent a new definition of suffering while digesting them slowly over a thousand years.
Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover is one of the greatest works of adventure fiction I have ever read, and it continues to inspire the way I write action sequences and character conflicts. It does so damn much to transform a movie that is, to be honest, just okay. There are a couple of big additions from the novel that make the whole Skywalker saga richer, and there are about five hundred little tweaks that deepen the lore in a way that shows that Stover loves Star Wars to the core.
First big addition: having Obi-Wan tell Padmé that he’s in love with Anakin.
This is great because yay, queer representation! But within the specific context of RotS, it also sets up the super-important contrast between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan, Stover’s novel makes clear, is the quiet and unassuming embodiment of everything a Jedi is supposed to be: he’s selfless, loving, hard-working, and incredibly skilled with the Force. Obi-Wan falls in love with Anakin, realizes that Anakin doesn’t love him back in that way, and... lives with it. He spends time with Anakin, supports Anakin, enjoys Anakin’s company, and doesn’t act like the world will end if Anakin isn’t his.
Anakin loves Obi-Wan, in a siblinglike way, and he loves Padmé. But he’s got a nasty habit of expressing that love through possession and control, through going behind Padmé’s back to “fix” her life without her permission. Anakin falls in love with Padmé and immediately concludes that he cannot possibly live like this: they must begin a secret relationship, and he must both marry her and remain a Jedi. Later he destroys the Jedi and eventually Padmé herself because he sees himself as having no way out of that dilemma.
And all the while, Obi-Wan is there in the background. Also in love with someone with whom he cannot have a relationship, and just… dealing with it like an adult. Because millions of people are in love with people who don’t love them back, and that’s just how it is sometimes. It’s selfish to obsess over “having” their love at all costs. For Anakin, that obsession with saving Obi-Wan and Padmé eventually leads to him killing them both.
When Yoda tells Anakin that he must deal with his fear of losing Padmé through letting go, Anakin takes this to mean “let her die.” But what Yoda means is not “let her die,” but rather “love her the way Obi-Wan loves you: quietly, selflessly, and with a willingness to do what’s best for her, whether or not that means you get to have her.” And Anakin never understands that, because Anakin’s view of the world is so intensely egocentric.
Second big addition: updating the Force to explain the Dark Side.
Revenge of the Sith, even more so than any other Star Wars, is all about the contrast between the Dark Side and the Light Side. Here, Stover’s contribution is brilliant; he makes the Dark Side egocentric and the Light allocentric.
Terminology! “Egocentric” in psych refers to the perspective that focuses on how the world affects you and how you affect the world. At the extreme, egocentric thinking can be believing that a baby is crying in a deliberate effort to annoy you, or that every person in a crowded cafeteria will remember what shirt you wore when you ate there a week ago. “Allocentric” refers to the perspective that the self is one of several disparate elements buffered around by the world. At the extreme, allocentric thinking can be failing to realize that others are reacting to your presence, or viewing your own life as one thing you can give to help others.
Stover doesn’t use those terms, but he does describe how Dooku “drew power into his innermost being until the Force itself existed only to serve his will” (p. 64). Later, Obi-Wan “gave himself to the living Force… the Force moved him, let him collapse as though he’d suddenly fainted, then it brought his lightsaber from his belt to his hand” (p. 285). Dooku ultimately loses his fight against Anakin because he focuses on how everyone is responding to him, and misses that Anakin and Palpatine are beginning to build an alternate alliance right under his nose. Obi-Wan ultimately wins his fight against Anakin because he allows the Force to shove him around, and sets aside his concern with both his own life and that of his best friend while fighting for the greater goal of peace.
Not only that, but Obi-Wan’s understanding of the Force moves beyond that of most Jedi. He compares “the will of the Force” to “the will of gravity,” in essence stating that simply because it is beyond human comprehension doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own rules. One can be a Jedi without needing to understand the Force in the same way one can be a pilot without needing to be a physicist. In RotS, we see that his refrain of “search your feelings” is a way of calling on a Force user to be mindful enough to accept realities that are already evident, if one can only allow oneself to have that knowledge.
Stover also uses these competing perspectives — allocentric and egocentric — to explain why the Jedi Order falls. The tight control the Order exerts over the Jedi moves them away from the will of the Force and toward the will of the Council. Its insularity creates a sense of superiority, which is the reason so many Jedi fail to see their clone troopers as threats until it’s too late. Stover tweaks the Jedi Purge scene to emphasize that the only reason Obi-Wan and Yoda survive is because of their selflessness. Obi-Wan takes the time to befriend his alien mount, repeatedly confirming her well-being, and then she shields him with her body when his troopers open fire. Yoda respects the Wookie command and puts himself in a position to assist rather than lead the resistance movement on Kashyyyk, meaning that when a fight breaks out between him and his troopers the Wookies don’t hesitate to side with him. Yoda and Obi-Wan are the only two Jedi who truly give themselves to the service of others, and thus they are the only two to survive the Purge.
...and the million little favors this book does for the movie.
During the opening battle, having Obi-Wan tell Anakin to “use the Force” to fly a narrow trench and having Anakin roll his eyes at such an obvious suggestion. It’s a callback to A New Hope, but one that drives home how much more the Force is integrated in the lives of Old Republic Jedi than it is in the lives of Imperial kids like Luke.
Fixing the minor continuity error from Episode III to Episode IV — why would Admiral Motti dismiss Vader as following outdated superstitions if there were millions of Jedi within his lifetime? — by explicitly stating that the Sith are considered a dead culture. Ergo, Vader’s “ancient religion” isn’t the Force in general; it’s specifically the Sith creed.
Making Palpatine scarier and more seductive than he is in the movie. Stover’s rhetoric about killing even the Jedi children is frighteningly rational and coherent, and he uses it to give Palpatine some stomach-churning speeches while corrupting Anakin.
Using the novel format for all it’s worth. Stover skims over the physical-comedy elevator sequence in favor of having Dooku and Palpatine discussing their plans for the war. He only tells us about Anakin’s conversation with Yoda after the fact, in scattered flashes as a panicking Anakin runs through the halls of the Jedi temple. He gives us intense focus on Anakin’s mindset while trying to land the broken halves of Invisible Hand, less on what the ship itself is doing. He cuts away from Anakin and Obi-Wan’s final battle, toward R2D2 and C3PO as they struggle to drag a dying Padmé into her ship out of a desperation to find some small way to help her.
Revealing that Palpatine spends the entire story trying to kill Obi-Wan. This gets hinted at in the movie, but Stover includes several moments throughout Palpatine’s “rescue” from Dooku when Palpatine sets Obi-Wan up to die, and mentions like eight other attempts on Obi-Wan’s life as orchestrated by Palpatine. It’s a great character addition, that Palpatine assumes he cannot get Anakin to fall unless he first eliminates Obi-Wan.
Expanding Padmé’s role in the movie (set dressing, and later refrigerator filling) by having her secretly organize and launch the Rebel Alliance right under Vader and Palpatine’s noses.
Those are just examples of how Stover clearly knows the Force, gets the Force, and strives to make the Force more internally coherent. How he sometimes translates, sometimes preserves, and always improves the pacing and tone of the film.
I haven’t even touched on the FUCKING AMAZEBALLS imagery or introspection in the book yet, but this post is getting wicked long, so I’ll go ahead and leave it here for now. Point is, all y’all should go out immediately and get a copy from your library and/or used bookstore, because Nonny is right and it’ll change your life.
#star wars#revenge of the sith#star wars episode iii#matthew stover#revenge of the sith novelization#book review#long post#nothing to do with animorphs#the force#star wars episode iii: revenge of the sith#anonymous#asks
445 notes
·
View notes
Text
If Vader raised Luke and Obi-Wan trained Leia
Let’s say sometime after Mustafar. Darth Vader in his meditation in his castle, Vader felt a presence he hasn’t felt since.....Padme. Since he felt his unborn child through the force. His child is alive. Sidious lied. The Jedi took his son from him. They will all pay. So here is what would happen if Vader sensed, found and raised Luke.
Darth Vader would’ve killed Owen and Beru instantly and burned the Lars homestead
Obi-Wan would rush to face Vader. Vader would overpower Obi-Wan, mortally wound him and throw him into the burning homestead and use the force to crush the roof onto an unconscious Obi-Wan
Darth Vader would hold a baby Luke in his hands and for some reason Luke is not afraid, but drawn to this dark figure.
Vader would simply say “Luke. Son...”
Vader takes Luke to his castle on Mustafar
Obi-Wan would crawl out of the remains of the Lars Homestead. Injured, but alive. Obi-Wan failed. He contacted Yoda and told him Vader found and took Luke. Yoda will simply tell him “There is another.” All he can do is call Bail for transport to Alderaan. He failed Luke, but he will not fail Leia.
Bail and Breha would teach Leia about politics and Obi-Wan would train Leia to become a Jedi
Luke would spend his entire childhood to adulthood in the depths of Fortress Vader. Training and submerging himself in the dark side of the force.
Vader would indoctrinate his son into hating the Jedi. Hating The Emperor and instructing his son that only together could they destroy The Emperor and the last of the Jedi.
By the events of Rogue One/A New Hope. Luke’s training would be complete. “You were weak when I found you. Now your hatred has become your strength. At last the dark side is your ally. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Zhoun. Rise, my son.”
Source 1. Source 2
Luke would be Vader’s assassin. Carrying out assassinations in the name of the Empire. Killing the last of the Jedi. Enemies of The Empire. His identity is unknown to the Emperor and Rebellion, but his reputation would strike fear in the Rebel Alliance. He is simply known as “Vader’s Shadow.”
Palpatine feels a disturbance in the force, but for some reason, he cannot detect Luke. All he can sense is “a shadow”
Luke fully embraced the dark side and is consumed by it. When Master Shaak Ti tries to turn him away from his path, before killing her(What is this her 5th death????) Luke will say “My father’s fate is my own.”
Vader’s final test for his son would be to pit him against his old Padawan. Luke kills Maul with ease as he decapitates him. Luke uses Ahsoka’s need to save her friends against her and when she attempts to save them, Luke cuts Ahsoka down.
Thrawn would request the aid of Vader, in his stead, Vader once again sends his son. Luke would kill Ezra and save Thrawn. “Lord Vader has need of you, Grand Admiral. Set up the TIE Defenders program in the Unknown Regions and return with a fleet of them.” Thrawn would call off the fleet and let Lord Zhoun deal with the Rebels. Luke would then slaughter the Rebels on Lothal
Sometime after securing Thrawn’s victory on Lothal, as a gift. Thrawn has given Vader and Luke their own personal TIE Defenders.
Vader and Zhoun would slaughter Cal and Cere. The Holocron is theirs.
The existence of Darth Zhoun would only be known to Vader, Admiral Piett and General Veers.(you’ll see why)
Leia had a decade of training. On Alderaan and on Dagobah. Yoda and Obi-Wan together completed Leia’s training. Leia is now a fully fledged Jedi Knight and is ready to lead the Rebellion and confront her father and brother.
art source
Yoda and Obi-Wan would tell Leia the truth. Darth Vader is her father and his secret assassin is her brother, Luke. Due to a decade of training, Leia would prove strong and wise enough to learn the truth of her family.
Also Leia would ask about her mother. “Tell me, what was my mother like, my real mother.” “Your mother was Padme Amidala, a senator, queen and a kind and beautiful..” “Strong, was your mother. Believed in peace and diplomacy did she.” “And my father? Was he always Vader?” “Your mother loved your father. Anakin Skywalker was a good man. But he was consumed to stop the people he loved from dying. His mother was killed by the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine and the Emperor seized the opportunity to turn your father to the dark side. One day, your father was plagued by nightmares of Padme dying in childbirth, The Emperor promised him the power to save your mother, but in doing so Anakin became twisted by the dark side and became Darth Vader.”
Leia believes her family could be turned. Obi-Wan would object. He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.” When insisting that Luke could be saved. Obi-Wan would be remorseful. “I failed my duty to save Luke, I should have followed Vader and staged a rescue, but you needed to be trained, you were our only hope.”
Leia would be contacted by Bail requesting aid on Scarif. Yoda gives his blessing for Leia to go. Saying Ready to reveal herself to the galaxy, she is. Obi-Wan would join her as he must confront Vader one last time.
Leia and Obi-Wan get there just in time and they save the Rogue One Crew. Jyn personally gives Leia the plans. Obi-Wan tells her. “What is it?” All Leia can tell her master is “Hope.”
Leia would transmit the plans to the Tantive IV where her father would be there to receive the plans.
Vader and Luke board the ship to slaughter the rebels. Before they can get the Death Star plans back. They are confronted by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Leia.
Darth Vader and Obi-Wan would duel similar to how they did in ANH aboard the ship. Leia and Obi-Wan are in desperate need to escape
Leia is able to defensively take down her brother, Obi-Wan momentarily stuns Vader and they escape with the plans.
As The Tantive IV is boarded, Leia and Obi-Wan are able to evade detection and hide in the escape pods with C-3PO and R2-D2
In place of Leia captured by the Empire, it is Bail Organa. Bail gives the plans to his daughter and pleads with Leia to leave with Master Kenobi.
Leia and the droids wander Tatooine for a long walk. All Leia can think is “so much sand. so much fucking sand.”
Leia would store the plans in R2. Just in case something happens.
Leia is guided by Obi-Wan. “We must find passage to save Bail.”
Leia and Obi-Wan finds Mos Eisley Cantina and there they meet Han and Chewie. Leia asks for passage to Alderaan for herself and her droids no questions asked. “Is it a fast ship?” “Fast ship? You’ve never heard of The Millennium Falcon? It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs! I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you.” All Leia can do is roll her eyes and takes Han’s word for it. Leia tells her “Once we get to Alderaan, my father Senator Organa will pay you handsomely. Say 15,000 credits?” Han just smiles that cocky Solo smile and says “you got yourself a deal princess”
Once Leia sees the Falcon. “You fly in that thing? You’re braver than I thought.” Han retorts “She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, Princess. I've made a lot of special modifications myself.”
Leia and Han bicker like an old married couple and Chewie just decided “that’s it I ship it” Obi-Wan would see the writing on the walls. “Oh, this is like watching me and Satine”
Bail watches the destruction of Alderaan
Leia would convince Han to help her free her father. Han is hesitant, but Leia will insist “my father will be very grateful, I’m sure we can triple the rewar-” Han would say so quickly “DONE!”
Han and Leia are pretty much battle couple goals while taking down Stormtroopers and Imperial Officers in the detention center.
Leia saves her father and embraces him in a hug.
Vader and Obi-Wan duels and Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to save Leia and Bail
Bail is forever in Han’s debt. He saved his life and his daughter’s life. He will pay Han anything. Being indebted to a Hutt is no way to live a life. He pays Han what he’s owed, but asks if he can join the Rebellion after clearing the debt as the Rebellion is in dire need of good pilots. Chewie is all for it, but Han is having none of it, but looks at Leia and says “I’m not saying yes, Senator, but...maybe.” Bail sees that he’s looking at Leia and says “I see” and knows he fancies his daughter.
Leia would fly in her personal Jedi X-wing Starfighter(Just imagine a mix between Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter and an X-Wing) during the Battle Of Yavin IV
Leia’s hypothetical ship would look like this(source) but realistically it would be colored blue and white
Han would make the save and Leia would destroy the Death Star(btw Han now will not shut up that he saved Leia, ya know in a way, princess I helped destroyed the Death Star. I saved you from Vader and gave you the confidence you needed to destroy the Death Star. Sometimes I amaze even myself. Leia rolls her eyes and smiles...and blushes. Bail notices this and is happy his daughter is in love but knows she will never admit it)
Leia would be knocked out and captured by a Wampa. Leia defeats it.
Han would save Leia. “Don’t worry, your worship I’ll save you.” Leia now wishes for death, he would not stop bringing up saving her during the Death Star, but now she owes him twice. Is the force punishing her?
Darth Vader and Darth Zhoun are on the hunt for the Jedi Princess.
Bail requests Leia and Han to bring Master Yoda back into the fight.
When Han and Leia escape. Bail stays behind. Darth Vader kills him and Leia feels the loss of Bail and breaks down.
Instead of bickering and bantering, Han comforts Leia. Leia embraces Han in a hug and a kiss. Leia lets him in.
Leia and Han make it to Dagobah. Leia is very patient with her old master, but Han thinks he should be bigger. “This is Yoda?” Leia confirms and Chewie says so as well an goes “and how would you know that???” “I fought in the Clone Wars, Han” “Well, what do you want, a medal???”
Chewie would embrace Yoda in a hug. Yoda would warmly greet his old friend. “Chewbacca, missed you I did.”
Leia and Han asks Yoda to return to aid the Rebel Alliance. He doesn't have to fight but advise the leaders as what they must do. Yoda is willing, but first he must complete Leia’s training. With this, Leia tells Han to go and pay off Jabba’s debt. and kisses Han goodbye. Han says “When you’re done, meet me on Bespin, I’m going to see an old friend.”
Meanwhile aboard the Executer, Vader and Luke set in motion the plan to destroy The Emperor. Everyone aboard The Executer, especially Admiral Piett and General Veers are loyal to Vader and his son. The Emperor lies in his throne in the safety of the Imperial city, while Lord Vader is a man of action who fights on the front lines with his soldiers. They will stand by Lord Vader and his son, soon more will follow.
Vader’s call with The Emperor happens as same, but Palpatine says “We have a new enemy. There is a great disturbance in the force. The Rebel Princess who destroyed the Death Star.” “She is just a girl, Obi-Wan and her father can no longer help her. “I have a feeling she is the daughter of Anakin Skywalker.” “How is this possible?” “Search your feelings Lord Vader, you know it to be true.” “If she can be turned, she can be a powerful ally.” “Yes...can it be done Lord Vader? “She will join us or die.”
Vader internally is pissed, but also pleased. Vader tells his son. “A Twin Sister, you have a twin sister. If she can be turned, we will destroy The Emperor and rule the galaxy as a family.” “What if my sister doesn’t join us?” “Then she will die.
Leia’s training is complete. Yoda dubs Leia the rank of Jedi Master. Leia senses Han is in danger. Yoda tells her to go. “Be here, I shall be. May the force be with you, Master Leia.”
Despite paying off his debt to Jabba, Vader still intends to test Han Solo into carbonite freezing him. And Jabba would be overjoyed to have Han as a decoration.
Vader orders Luke to bring his sister in the fold or kill her. “As you wish, father.”
Leia is too late. She sees Han frozen in carbonite.
Leia feels the presence of her brother. They duel and they evenly matched. One wrong move and the fight is over. Luke cuts Leia’s hand off and asks his sister to join him and his father. Leia defiantly refuses. “Vader killed my master and my true father, I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU!” “The Jedi betrayed our father. turned our mother against him and had us separated, luckily he found me and rescued me. With our combined strength, we can destroy the Emperor and bring order to the galaxy as a family.” Leia refuses and falls..
Thanks to Yoda guiding Lando and Chewie, they find her just in time.
Despite not having Leia, Vader and Luke has everything they need to pull a coup on The Emperor
Vader has his son. Admiral Piett. Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Death Squadron. Death Troopers. A legion of TIE Defenders and more and more are drawn to Vader. Vader and Zhoun make their attack on Coruscant.
Darth Vader and Darth Zhoun face Palpatine. The Throne room is lit up with force lightning and crimson blades. The battle is powerful and raw, but ultimately Luke and Vader overpower The Emperor. There is nowhere where Palpatine can escape to. Not Exegol or anywhere. Vader decapitates his old master.
Vader broadcasts to the galaxy. “The Emperor is dead. I am now your Emperor. Those who serve me and my son, you will achieve greatness as we bring order to the galaxy. Those who stay loyal to The Emperor, die.” There would be a small civil war, but eventually all those who stayed loyal to Palpatine would be rounded up and killed.
Leia rescues Han. Leia does not resort to allowing herself to be captured. Nor does Leia need to be forced to wear that slave outfit. Leia gives Jabba one chance to free Han. Jabba refuses and since a Jedi would be impossible to be enslaved, he plans to feed Leia to his pet Rancor. That would be Jabba’s undoing. Leia would use animal bond/beast control on the Rancor and successfully tames the beast. After Leia convinces the Rancor to help her, Leia unleashes the beast on Jabba and his men
Source
Leia unfreezes Han, rescues Chewie, Lando and the droids.
In addition to rescuing Han, Leia also rescues Oola and all the slaves in Jabba’s palace.
Leia and Han would fight Boba Fett. With Boba Fett at their mercy, Leia decides to save him. Leia thinking “he could be so much more.” Han makes the decision to save him. Han and Boba Fett finally bury their rivalry and leave it in the past and shake hands. Boba would declare that Han’s bounty will no longer exists and he won’t chased by him and exits the story. This would work because it would show that Han has grown from the rogue who would shot a man dead without question in ANH to someone who is willing to find an alternate solution to his problems. It’d also give some layers to Boba Fett of being a man of honor.
Yoda dies, but tells her that she is the only hope in saving her brother and stopping Vader.
With Vader as Emperor, he has no intentions with building a second Death Star. Instead he intends to wipe out the Rebellion from the face of the galaxy.
Luke feels a pull to the light. After a life of darkness and evil, Luke feels remorse. He sees what his father as Emperor is doing is wrong and if he feels these feelings, it’s all over.
The Rebellion plans to make one last ditch effort to end the Empire once and for all. A Coup. The battle on the ground would now take place in the Imperial City and the area surrounding the Imperial Palace. The dogfights between X-Wings and TIE Fighters would take place in the skies above instead of in space. The confrontation between Leia, Luke and Vader and would take place in the Imperial Palace in The Emperor's Throne Room.
Leia would contact Luke in order to get close to the palace.
Leia feels the conflict within her brother. Luke is trying to keep her out. Eventually Leia gets in and pleads with her brother to help him destroy Vader. But Luke takes her before Vader
Vader taunts Leia that the Rebellion will die today, but they can all be saved if she gives in to the dark side and joins her family
Vader forces Luke and Leia to fight to the death. Only one can serve him. Leia refuses to join him, but Vader and Luke are not giving her a choice.
Leia and Luke’s duel is a mix between Anakin/Obi-Wan and Vader/Luke in terms of how the fight would go. In the end. Neither Luke nor Leia can kill the other. They both deactivate their lightsabers and embrace in a hug. For the first time in a long time, Luke’s yellow eyes turn blue. This ignites the wrath of their father.
Vader force chokes both his children with full intentions of killing them. The only thing that can save them? Leia remembers on what Obi-Wan spoke about her mother. “Our mother was Padme Amidala.” Vader is stunned and enraged by the mere mention of her name. All Vader can say is “Do. Not. Say. Her. Name.”
Vader ignites his lightsaber preparing to kill. While Luke and Leia are ready to defend themselves. Luke lands a strike that is similar to Ahsoka’s where Vader’s face is visibly seen
With Vader down. Leia continues to speak about her mother. “She was kind and beautiful. You were deceived and betrayed by The Emperor. He turned you from the most compassionate Jedi Knight to ever live into a dark lord. You do not have to be this way. You are free. You and Luke are free. Padme loved you. Obi-Wan loved you. You are Anakin Skywalker, our father. Call off the fleet and let us bring peace to the galaxy as a family.”
Anakin concedes to his children.
The war is over. The Empire has ended. Vader agrees to whatever punishment the Rebellion has for him.
Leia is in charge of Luke. Leia helps Luke on his path of atonement.
Vader is sentenced for execution. His final request. “Let me see my children one last time.” Leia and Luke are saddened, but Anakin assures his children he has made peace with his fate. His final request from his children is to take his mask off. “ Just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes.”
#Star Wars#Darth Vader#Jedi Leia#Sith!Luke#Luke Skywalker#Leia Organa#Dark!Luke#Obi Wan Kenobi#Yoda#Han Solo#Hanleia#Emperor Sheev Palpatine
124 notes
·
View notes
Text
i don't know if any of you are familiar with the concept of 'enneagram types.' if you're not, you can check it out here. lots of fun stuff to click around and read about if you're interested in what this even is. but i've been thinking about it in reference to some of our fave sw pals and have decided to do some character study via enneagram. first up: anakin skywalker in all his angsty glory.
Anakin Skywalker
Eight--The Challenger
Basic fear: of being hurt or controlled by others
Basic desire: to protect themselves and their loved ones
Anakin is an eight. Everything for him comes down to power and control. I believe his childhood as a slave is what really impacts this. He lived his entire childhood under the control of another and wanting to get out. Then, he found that freedom and essentially came under the control of something else (this is not to say that the Jedi Order actually functions as a slaver...but I think Anakin perceives it as that on several occasions). After the fall of the Republic, he becomes a slave to Sidious and the Dark Side. I would argue that the only time Anakin is every truly free is in his death, when he makes the completely independent decision to kill the Emperor. That dialogue between Luke and Ani is really telling, in my opinion.
“I’ll not leave you here. I’ve got to save you.”
“You already have, Luke.”
Because that’s all Anakin ever wants, really. He wants to be saved. And he never quite understands that only he can save himself. This power complex is very aligned with an eight. He so desperately wants control...but so easily falls into bondage over and over again.
Eights commonly have a childhood trauma or Moment that “flips a switch” for them. It takes their innocence once and for all and replaces it with a hardness that wasn’t there before. I think a lot of arguments can be made for this. Perhaps it was some unseen moment offscreen prior to The Phantom Menace. Maybe he watched a fellow slave die. Maybe he watched his mother suffer in some tangible way. Maybe it happened between TPM and Attack of the Clones. But for the sake of this analysis, I’ll use the Tusken Raiders as the Moment. We see it affect him in all the ways one of these “loss of innocence” moments for an eight normally does. It’s a game-changer. In canon, it’s Anakin’s first touch of darkness. In the real world, it’s him dealing with insurmountable pain and suffering. Interestingly, we see that this “loss of innocence” directly counters the basic desire of an Eight, as well. Protecting self and loved ones. He fails to do that. He watches the one he loves the MOST die in his arms. Which--for an eight--is the ultimate form of pain. To lose a loved one feels like personal failure. You LET them die. You LET them suffer You could have SAVED them. But you failed. We see Anakin deal with this onslaught of emotions and then...we see him take action.
Eights are a part of the gut triad. This means before they think with their head or feel with their heart, they act with their gut. Their impulse. I don’t think anyone would dare to make the argument that Anakin leads with his head (sorry buddy...but you are Himbo Certified), but I can see arguments for Heart. My only real counter here is that the two greatly influence each other. And we see him ACT in tandem with his feelings. He doesn’t just sit in his emotions and mope. I’ll continue to use the Tusken incident. Immediately, without any hesitation, he acts on his anger. Anger is not a primary emotion, it’s secondary. I’m not in Anakin Skywalker’s head, but as an eight...I feel like I almost see where he’s coming from, even in his worst moments. Doesn’t mean I agree or that I would partake. But I understand (and it hurts me). I see so much fear for him. Fear that he’s not as strong as he wants to be, fear that he wouldn’t be able to protect other loved ones if something like this happened again, fear that he’s weak when it really matters. Like when the time comes to protecting loved ones. That’s why everything spirals so fast with Padmé. He immediately gets put into that fear mindset. That “weak” feeling of “I can’t do it, I can’t save her…..but I have to.” That conversation between the two of them on Mustafar is evident of this. “Love can’t save you, Padmé. Only my new powers can do that.” Because that’s what it comes down to for Anakin. His worth lies on his ability to save himself and the people he loves. That’s why his perception of love becomes very selfish. He begins to care about the act of salvation more than the person them self.
One of my favourite moments is the classic “this is where the fun begins.” It’s such a silly quick moment but it’s so revealing of Anakin’s character. Eights feel adrenaline like no other number. Their vitality is completely based in their ability to turn their raw energy into something GOOD. For example, doing dangerous dives and spinning (because it really is a good trick) for the sake of the Republic. It gives Anakin a sense of “YES! See how good I am? See how I’m using my aggression and strength for good?” Especially important for someone who has committed atrocities and inspired destruction. To turn around and use that energy and skill for good? That’s invaluable. I think that’s a reason Anakin fails to see the hypocrisy of the Republic.
“What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?”
“I don’t believe that. And you’re sounding like a separatist.”
When Padmé merely questions the point of the war he so immediately snaps back and makes it a personal betrayal. He’s so quick to turn down the slight implication that he’s fighting for the wrong side. Eights are all about sides. All about choosing. Anakin can’t begin to consider that maybe his Side isn’t so altruistic. It would crumble at his very core. This is where the Challenger (the moniker of an eight) comes in. They love to challenge the world around them but absolutely cannot handle when someone else is challenging it in contrast to them. Well...an unhealthy eight anyway. Healthy eights see the importance of contrasting beliefs and the power of refining conversations.
Eights want to ‘leave their mark’ on the world.
“I’m not the Jedi I should be. I want more. And I know I shouldn’t.”
This plays into the ‘deadly sin’ of an eight. Lust. This isn’t explicitly sexual (though I guess it can be, at times). It’s more of a desire for MORE. A need for more. It’s all about that power and control. An eight never quite feels satiated...at least not in their unhealthy state. Which Anakin invariably is in. An eight is always seeking things to satisfy them. Through people and power.They’re not concerned with the actual accomplishment, in the societal standard. Before Anakin is granted a seat on the council, we never see him express a desire to even have it. It seems like that’s completely a Palpatine thing. I can’t help but put myself in Obi-Wan’s shoes there. Seeing Anakin’s overreaction and wondering where it’s coming from. Because Anakin has never seemed like he wants to be on the council. Quite the opposite in fact. His tantrum about being denied the rank of master is really evident of the stake Palpatine has already dug into Anakin’s mind. Ann eight’s desire is personal. They don’t care if they have the top title or the most power from the POV of the world. They worry about their own standards. Which is difficult because we never quite manage to meet our own standards and end up in a lot of disappointment. Anakin holds himself to a hard standard. Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Ahsoka all seem to recognise that in him.
“But be patient, Anakin. It won’t be long before the COuncil makes you a Jedi Master.”
“To be angry is to be human.”
“Maybe, but I have to sort this out on my own. Without the Council and without you.”
These encouragements are so unique because they ground Anakin in a very human way. They hit at his insecurities and remind him it’s okay. He doesn’t have to be all-powerful or perfect. Which they know he needs to hear because he can’t quite recognise these truths on his own. He needs the emotional coddling. Unfortunately, in these moments their words aren’t enough. Each of these conversations is characterised by impending sadness.
Eights are seen as the bravest people. I think this aligns well with what we know of Anakin. He has little to no hesitation when putting his life on the line. He volunteers for the most dangerous missions. Doesn’t bat an eye at horrific scenes. He’s willing to do the hardest and scariest things. He’s brave. He’s determined. When talking about Ahsoka, he says “no one has her kind of determination” to which Plo Koon immediately responds, “Except for you.” But this is such an interesting part of an eight to me because I believe eights are actually the most fearful of any number. Because what they fear is fear itself. They are so horrified at the prospect of being afraid it becomes almost dangerous. They will do whatever they can to mask that fear. Which is what puts a lot of eights into that anger reactionary position. A sort of ‘people can’t know I’m scared if I’m the one scaring others’ sort of mentality. The bravado, the courage–it’s all a facade to hide the fear that eights very uniquely do not feel qualified to experience on even the micro-level. It leads many eights to become dictatorial in the way they love others (which isn’t really love at all in the end). Pushes eights to commit atrocities in word or deed all for what they consider to be the ‘greater good.’ They push and prod at the lines a normal person knows not to cross. Not only do they cross them–they plow through them, hoping that it causes enough of a scene to distract from the fact that they’re just like everyone else. In fact, they’re even more vulnerable because no one has taught them how to exist in a state of need. No one has showed them how to ask for and accept help. Instead, they bottle it all up over long periods of times, releasing small bits in dramatic bursts of energy...until that line is crossed and all bets are off.
The goal of a healthy eight is to find a way to channel the aggression and drive into being the ultimate helper and advocate. Unfortunately, Anakin doesn’t get to this until the very end of his life. His fears guide him down a path of darkness. And we see him mask that fear with anger and hatred over and over again. That’s the way of the Dark Side so it’s no wonder it was so appealing to someone who had already been doing that without proper teachings. Anakin Skywalker had the potential to be one of the greatest forces for good in the galaxy. And for a split second at the end of his life, we see him do just that. It’s all the moments before, though; when he chose fear and anger and lust over and over again. Shoving strength and bravery into the vacancies of emotional competency. Until it all became too much.
#this was a lot and idk if anyone even knows what enneagram is on here#but its been really important for me in understanding myself and the people I love#im an eight by the way so I GET anakin#it hurts me but I GET him#just wish the world was kinder to him :(#wish he believed in his own power to save himself#sw meta#anakin skywalker#enneagram ramblings
35 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fic Prompts: Revenge of the Star Wars Wednesday
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the dashboard...
(It’s an entire chapter of the same au as This Free Day Thursday I did a ways back, where a splinter cell of the Rebellion hands Luke over to Vader in a deal with the devil. The context: Vader got called away before getting a chance to tell Luke what was going on, and had to leave the poor guy in his hyperbaric egg chamber of doom. Which is air conditioned all to heck because that suit gets toasty.
Unfortunately, Luke is from a very warm climate, and high powered air conditioning does not agree with him. At all. He’s having a bad day by the time Vader gets back and Many Blankets are required.)
Luke dreamed of falling.
"Alright, Skywalker. This is your stop."
He saw Leia screaming.
"You're wrong! You're wrong!"
She was calling for him. He knew that she was.
"I'm here!" He tried to call back to her, "I'm here, Leia! Help me!"
But the wind scattered his words, and he fell.
He fell past Leia's horrified face, towards a range of mountains. Faces he might have recognized formed and disintegrated in the snow around him, and the wicked looking peak directly below.
With a choked cry, Luke flailed his arms and met with stiff resistance. Well. More soft than stiff. And heavy. Very heavy. Slowly, by degrees, Luke became aware of his surroundings. He could barely move. Something was holding him down on a-
A bed.
He was on a bed.
On a Star Destroyer.
Everything came back to Luke in a rush. Kobyvern. The handoff. The cell. The cold.
And Vader.
Luke opened his eyes. He didn't hear the respirator, but the sense of foreboding looming over him suggested that the dark lord was somewhere near. It was imperative that Luke not be so...so vulnerable when he returned.
Why couldn't he move?! Had he been strapped down? Panic flooded Luke's veins.
No no no, take it slow, Skywalker! Breathe in- breathe out.
When his heart had resumed a slightly more normal pace, Luke took a slow breath and tried to sit up.
This turned out to be more difficult than he'd expected. If he craned his neck, he could just make out heavy black cloth beneath the blankets, wound around him and pinning his arms to his sides. Well, that was one way of keeping someone from escaping. Arguably more embarrassing than handcuffs, but also preferable to them.
The amount of effort it took to free just one arm was a thorough enough distraction that Luke didn't hear the door hiss open. He pulled at the cape and blankets, already cursing the cold his free arm hinted at. It was tempting to nestle down into the pile of blankets -- there had to be at least four of them -- and let the warmth drag him back down into sleep. But that would doubtless be akin to trusting the hospitality of a Hutt. You didn't get something for nothing. There was going to be a price to pay for this, and Luke wasn't sure he'd be able to afford it.
Luke tried to push himself up into a sitting position and nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand appeared from his peripheral vision to push him back against the pillows.
"Rest easy, son. You've had a hard day."
Vader had returned.
It was difficult to know what bothered Luke more: the uncharacteristic gentleness in Vader's hands, or that he'd called him son.
Luke recoiled as far from Vader as he could.
It wasn't that far.
"You are not in danger, young one. Be still." Vader held out a placating hand.
His jaw ached from clenching and chattering, but Luke gritted his teeth again nonetheless. "I'm s- s-s s'posed to b-believe that-t-t?"
Ugh. It was still cold outside the blankets.
He did not like that he could actually hear amusement in Vader's voice when the man answered, "If I wished harm to come to you, young one, do you really think you would be here?"
Luke picked at the covers and tried to scowl. But being in close proximity to Darth Vader for an extended period of time didn’t exactly bolster one’s courage. The most he could muster was an anxious frown. Don’t let him get to you. He’s manipulating you. Waiting for you to let your guard down. Then he’ll bring in the torture droid.
“Yeah.” He narrowed his eyes. “D-don’t trus-s-t you.”
Alright, that might’ve been a bit too blunt.
Vader inclined his head -- helmet? How much of that was his head? Did Luke actually want to know? -- and made a sound curiously like a sigh. “That is to be expected. We were not introduced under particularly favorable circumstances.”
Luke stared at him incredulously. Introduced? As if they were diplomats crossing paths at a senator’s ball? Introduced?!
This was the man who just...slaughtered anything and anyone that got in his way. He was there for every horrible thing that happened to Leia. He was the reason Luke was stuck trying to figure out the Force on his own. He was the reason Luke was alone! And here he was, upset that Luke didn’t trust him?
“My medical droid informs me that your core temperature has...improved. But you are still feeling ill effects.” If Vader felt as awkward as he looked, he kept it out of his voice admirably. A little too calmly, he lifted a steaming cup from somewhere behind him and held it out.
Luke shrank back. “I d-don’t want it.”
Vader’s shoulders tensed, just a fraction. “It is not poisoned, young one. Nor does it contain a truth drug, or whatever else outlandish theories you have concocted.”
“You c-could be l-l-lying.”
“I could. But I have no reason to be.”
Luke could think of a few reasons. Pure cruelty came to mind. Or lulling him into a false sense of security. After all the bluster about capturing the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, having a tea party with a dark lord wasn’t really on the agenda.
He jumped when the cup was pressed into his hands.
“You do not have to drink it. But the heat will benefit you.” Vader leaned back into a chair that most certainly had not been there before. “Transitioning from Tatooine to the climate of long-term space travel is...taxing.”
No, transitioning from getting thrown out of a ship to getting locked in the Ice Pod is “taxing”, Luke thought, glaring into the cup.
Whatever liquid was inside, it was dark, and smelled almost earthy. Not caf, some kind of tea, perhaps? The steam curled up to bathe his face, and he could begrudgingly admit that it was doing him a world of good.
“My meditation chamber is not meant to hold such low temperatures for such an extended period of time,” Vader said suddenly. “The General’s summons, I fear, did not give me adequate time to reset the cooling system. You were never meant to experience that.”
Luke didn’t care if it was childish or not. He pulled his knees slowly up to his chest -- fighting through entirely too many blankets -- and rested the cup on them. He refused to look up. He would not make eye contact with his father’s killer.
Actually, where even are his eyes under there?
“D-didn’t exp-p-pect the Empire to ap-p-p-pologize to a p-p-risoner,” he mumbled.
His stammer was decreasing, slowly. He thought a warm drink would certainly help, but he was not brave enough to risk whatever was in that cup.
“I would rather you did not think of yourself as a prisoner, but I understand that your experiences have not given you cause to believe otherwise,” Vader answered. “But you are correct: that was intended to be an apology. I will not allow such a thing to happen again.”
The cup seemed like porcelain. Impossibly delicate. But it held up well under Luke’s grip as it tightened. This was getting ridiculous. The handoff. The fall. The pod. The blankets. The tea.
“Just…”
Vader stilled. He cocked his head, as if listening intently. “Luke?”
It was too much.
He broke.
“Don’t c-c-call me that!”
“It is your name.”
“It’s m-m-my! Name!” Luke’s chest heaved. “You d-d-on’t use it! Stop p-p-pretending! I’m n-n-not going to tell you anyth-th-ing!”
I can’t, I can’t do this, Father. I didn’t want to cry, don’t let me cry!
Vader leaned forward again. “Why do you believe that I am pretending?”
Was he kidding?
Luke finally looked up at him. “Y-you k-kill Jedi,” he spat. “Like you k-killed my father.”
And that was what broke the facade.
“Enough.” Vader reached down and took the tea from Luke.
He set it on the tray and whirled back to face the boy.
“Listen to me,” he growled. “Whatever Kenobi told you, whatever wild fictions he spun about your past, he lied.”
Luke’s shoulders hitched. He pulled back against the wall and turned his face back to his knees. “I d-d-on’t believe you!”
“Look at me!”
Vader took his chin in one hand and pulled it up. “Look at me, Luke. He lied to you. And he lied to me. Why do you think I wear a mask? Do you even know what he did?”
“No no no-” Luke tried to shake his head. “W-why-?”
“Why would he lie to you?” Vader asked angrily. “Why, Luke, would he be so interested in making sure that you believed I killed your father? What did you do on Cymoon, before I knew your name?”
Vader’s anger shook the room, cutting the lights into fragments as shadow overtook them. But somehow, Luke didn’t feel that the anger was directed at him as much as it was at Obi-wan. They really had hated each other, then. But why would Obi-wan lie about his father’s death? He had his lights-
The lightsaber.
Luke’s gut churned.
Vader had his lightsaber now. His father’s lightsaber. And now it was in the possession of the man who had allegedly killed him.
Allegedly.
Allegedly?
Why was he even considering Vader’s words? This was Darth Vader! He was a liar- not this time
He was a monster -- maybe so
“W-what do you want?” Luke’s voice cracked. “I d-d-on’t understand!”
The hand on his chin pulled away without warning. The shadows retreated sullenly to pool around the chair. “I know.”
Vader raised his hand again. He hesitated when Luke flinched, then rested it on the crown of his head. “I know you don’t. Not yet. Use the Force, Luke.”
“What?”
Vader tilted his head back with a gentle push. “I know that you can. Stretch out with your feelings. What did you intend to do on Cymoon?”
It wasn’t enough to simply tell the boy the truth. He needed him to see. He needed him to understand. He was a pawn. They had both been pawns. For a moment he almost wished Kenobi lived, so that he could run him through again.
“What did you int-”
“Kill you!” Luke burst out. It came out with a tiny, exhausted sob. “I w-was going to kill you.”
“Because?”
“B-because you k-killed my-”
“Because you thought that I had killed your father,” Vader interrupted sternly. “Because Obi-wan sent you, untrained, untested, into battle having told you that I was your great enemy in some noble quest to avenge a father you never had the chance to meet.”
“Stop.” Luke didn’t want to hear this. This was a kind of torture after all, wasn’t it? It was emotional. Psychological. But there could be no tactical benefit in telling him these things. Why was Vader telling him these things? Why not just kill him and be done with it?
“Who took you from your mother?” Vader’s earlier question rang in Luke’s ears.
A trickle of sweat dried cold on the back of his neck. What did Darth Vader know about his mother?
Do you really want to pull on that thread, Luke?
“What do you want?” He tried. He tried so hard to keep the tears from coming. But he was tired and afraid, and so, so overwhelmed.
Vader’s hand smoothed his hair, disturbingly gentle. “I want you to understand that you are not alone, Luke. That you were never alone.”
He raised his other hand. Held Luke’s face between them.
“Do you know why Kenobi told you that I had killed your father?”
“Don’t-” Luke whispered brokenly. He couldn’t take it. Not this. Not him.
“Luke. Look at me. What does the Force tell you?”
“I don’t know-” Luke tried to pull away. Please don’t please don’t don’t tell me don’t change things don’t let it all be lies- “I don’t know!”
“I did not kill your father.”
It was said with such an air of finality that it rang through the Force, even with Luke’s muffled attempts to read it.
“No,” he agreed.
His world had a little crack, right at the edge. It was small now, but just the right pressure, and-
“I am your father.”
Crack.
#phew! that was a long one#long post#star wars wednesday#The Handoff au#The Handoff fic#star wars au#good lord that was a whole dang chapter I just threw at y'all#fic prompts#writing prompts#my aus#my fics#darth vader#luke skywalker#dangit vader#that could be a tag on its own lol#local dingus of a sith lord does not know the meaning of Tact or Subtlety
156 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hey love your content.
Just wanted to ask you something. There's a claim I've seen coming up in fandom a few times now that Obi Wan knew Luke would bring his father back to the light and redeem him. That he even planned as much and this is supposedly evidenced by his not killing Vader in A New Hope and telling Luke to face Vader but not kill him in Return of the Jedi
I'm not convinced, but can you offer a more conclusive answer rebuttal or whatever.
I’ll be honest with you, this is the first time I’ve ever heard such theory so I’ve no idea where it came from or what arguments are being used to support it. All I can show you is the OT itself. The movies make pretty clear that Obi-wan and Yoda were preparing Luke to kill Darth Vader, and that Anakin’s return was something considered impossible until that point.
Because I don’t keep track of DisneySW, all the evidence I provided is strictly based on the original canon, as developed by George Lucas. So if Disney retconned something, I won’t be able to help :)
That being said, that theory doesn’t make much sense to me, sorry. For Anakin’s redemption to be part of some Obi-wan’s master plan, the character would have to have an impossible foresight into everyone’s involved past and future. For Obi-wan to be able to manipulate people and events to push Anakin’s into going back to light, he would first have to understand why Anakin fell in the first place. And if there’s one thing Episode III makes painfully obvious is that Obi-wan was nowhere near Coruscant when Anakin made his fatal decision, nor was he aware of the circumstances that led him to it. Everyone who knew what truly went down were either dead or his new worst enemies.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Obi-wan’s (alleged) ‘master plan’:
In Episode IV, we have Obi-wan openly lying to Luke about where he came from and dueling Vader (literary to the death). Not exactly the actions of a man who wants the son to save the father’s life.
In Episode V Obi-wan tells Luke not even Yoda had the power or skill required to see into the future of Han and Leia. Considering they were captured by one of the most even being in the galaxy, it wouldn’t be that hard to guess their future did not look pretty.
Luke: But, Han and Leia will die if I don't.
Obi-Wan: You don't know that. Even Yoda cannot see their fate.
The idea here is tied to an important concept in SW: free will. The characters are fundamentally free to make their own choices. Anakin, despite being manipulated by Palpatine, ultimately made his own bed. This is true to all of them. Palpatine’s ‘master plan’ wasn’t about controlling people into doing what he wanted, it was using their own nature against them. He nudged them into the making poor decisions, he never stripped them of their agency.
Obi-Wan: It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants. That is why your friends are made to suffer.
Luke: That's why I have to go.
Obi-Wan: Luke. I don't want to lose you to the Emperor, the way I lost Vader.
Luke: You won't.
Yoda: Stopped, they must be. On this, all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.
Obi-Wan: Patience.
[...]
Obi-Wan: If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere.
Unless you see Obi-wan as a manipulative, cruel person who wants an untrained Luke to face two of the most powerful beings in the galaxy alone for his own personal, secret plan, I’d say the movie is pretty clear in showing us that neither Yoda nor Obi-wan want Luke to face Vader at that point. If the plan was to get Luke to going, wouldn’t have been easier to just let him go instead of creating an huge argument about it? Hell, they are willing throw Han and Leia under the bus to keep Luke from leaving. If that wasn’t shady enough now we are supposed to believe that was part of an even worst scheme involving pretty much everyone?
Yoda: Told you I did. Reckless, is he. Now... matters are worse.
Obi-Wan: That boy is our last hope.
Yoda: No. There is another.
Yeah, it doesn’t sound like using Luke to redeem Vader was their ultimate goal here.
There are some pretty big holes in that theory in terms of character development and narrative structure. I know everyone loves the idea of Vader and Obi-wan having some badass duel in ANH but the truth is Vader had spent the last 20 years training and killing pretty much all kinds of enemies imagine while Obi-wan mediated on Tatooine as grew shockingly old for his age.
As proven on Mustafar, raw power only takes you so far. Anakin has always been much, much more powerful than Obi-wan but in the end Obi-wan won because of skill, training and discipline. Unfortunately, for Obi-wan, he didn’t get much training in his isolation. He couldn’t have because he was in hiding! If that wasn’t enough, the EU confirms that Obi-wan sacrificed himself to allow Luke to scape. There was no secret plan.
Obi-Wan risked a glance through the hangar’s open doorway and saw four stormtroopers guarding the Falcon. He also sensed that Luke was nearby. Hoping to cause a distraction that would allow Luke to board the Falcon, he attacked Vader more vigorously. The noise of clashing lightsabers echoed into the hangar, attracting the stormtroopers’ attention. With his peripheral vision, Obi-Wan saw the stormtroopers leave their stations beside the Falcon and run toward him and Vader. He continued his attack on Vader, and several exchanges later, he sensed Luke’s movement and knew his plan had worked. He risked another glance into the hangar to see several figures racing for the Falcon’s landing ramp: the droids, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Luke, and — Leia! Obi-Wan hadn’t known that Princess Leia was on the battle station, but he recognized the girl in the white dress from the hologram that R2-D2 had displayed. Obi-Wan did not believe in luck or coincidences, and seeing Luke unwittingly reunited with his twin sister, he knew that it was not a tractor beam that had brought him to the battle station, but the will of the Force. His fleeting glance also registered that Luke had paused behind his friends. Luke stood a short distance from the landing ramp and was staring straight at him, gaping. Obi-Wan realized there was only one way Luke, Leia, and the others would escape the battle station alive. He smiled as he looked away from Luke, then closed his eyes and raised his lightsaber up before him. Darth Vader did not hesitate to strike. [Ryder Windham. The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi]
Imo, this theory ruins the character of Obi-wan by making him pretty much omniscient and way more powerful and manipulative than he was in canon. Obi-wan wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t palpatine level of manipulative either. He had no ‘grand plan’ beyond using Luke to kill vader and save the galaxy in a desperate attempt to save the galaxy.
On top of that, let’s remember that Obi-wan had no hope left for Anakin. He did not believe Anakin could be redeemed after Mustafar. If you do not believe md, believe George Lucas.
After the first complete take, Lucas and McGregor discuss when he should say each line: “As you watch Anakin slide down, how about if you take one step forward,” Lucas Suggests. “For a moment, you think about it. Your first impulse is to save him – but then you realize you can’t”.
As the takes multiply and the actors find their rhythm and emotions, the scene becomes more and more powerful. Christensen yells “I hate you!”.
McGregor says, “I love you. But I will not help you”. Lucas explains that what Obi-wan’s really saying to Anakin is: “Your were our only hope and you blew it. Now we don’t have any hope”.
Take. After Anakin implores Obi-wan to save him, George asks Ewan to say “I will not…” softer, almost to himself. Take. “After he burst into flames,” Lucas directs, “it’s as if you’re talking to a dead person. To a piece of toast”. He suggests, to drive home this point, that McGregor change the words in the script to the past tense, “I loved you.”
The actor acquiesces, but points out that his subsequent line would have to change to “But I could not help you.” Lucas agrees, and Tenggren alters the script accordingly.[ The Making of ROTS]
Another thing that George is very clear about is that Luke is the one who redeems Anakin.
It really has to do with learning. Children teach you compassion. They teach you to love unconditionally. Anakin can’t be redeemed for all the pain and suffering he’s caused. He doesn’t right the wrongs, but he stops the horror. The end of the saga is simply Anakin saying, I care about this person [Luke], regardless of what it means to me. I will throw away everything that I have, everything that I’ve grown to love - primarily the Emperor - and throw away my life, to save this person. And I’m doing it because he has faith in me; he loves me despite all the horrible things I’ve done. I broke his mother’s heart, but he still cares about me, and I can’t let that die. Anakin is very different in the end. The thing of it is: the prophecy was right. Anakin was the chosen one, and he does bring balance to the Force. He takes the ounce of good still left in him and destroys the Emperor out of compassion for his son. [ GEORGE LUCAS - THE MAKING OF REVENGE OF THE SITH; PAGE 221.]
This brings us back about what I said earlier about narrative structure. This is Luke’s story. Obi-wan is the mentor, that’s it. It’s Luke’s actions, Luke’s choices. To suddenly reveal that everything happened was the result of Obi-wan’s plan would be narrative equivalent of a slap in the face. We watched Luke’s hero journey only to find out his journey was a lie and his choices weren’t really his own. How disappointing!
Not only that but redemption comes from within. Even if Obi-wan had planned for everything, Anakin would need to WANT to change. and knowing it was Luke’s selfless actions that drove Anakin into killing Palpatine, suddenly finding out an ulterior motive behind Luke’s actions (beyond the character’s own goodness) would diminish the weight of Anakin own choices.
But, again, Obi-wan couldn’t have planned for Anakin to return to the light because he didn’t even believe one could be redeemed after such evils.
Obi-Wan’s spirit was invisible but present when Luke arrived in the Endor system, where the Empire had constructed a new Death Star battle station. When Luke surrendered to Darth Vader on the Endor forest moon, he listened as Luke maintained his belief that a remnant of Anakin Skywalker remained within Vader and had not been entirely consumed by evil. Luke urged his father to let go of his hate. Vader said, “It is too late for me, son.” Then he signaled to two stormtroopers to escort Luke to a waiting shuttle that would carry them to the Death Star. As the stormtroopers moved up behind Luke, Vader added, “The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your Master now.” Luke stared at Vader for a moment before he said, “Then my father is truly dead.” Obi-Wan’s spirit wished he had convinced Luke of this fact earlier. [Ryder Windham. The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi]
Even as they fought, Obi-wan didn’t believe Luke could save Anakin. It was only after witnessing Palpatine’s demise he started to realize what it meant.
Obi-Wan knew that Vader would never help, and he felt almost overwhelmed by a sense of dread. Luke would soon be dead, and Vader would remain the Emperor’s puppet. In fact, Obi-Wan was so convinced of Vader’s nature that he was stunned by what happened next. Vader grabbed the Emperor and lifted him off his feet. [Ryder Windham. The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi]
Had Obi-Wan’s spirit not witnessed Vader’s action, he never would have believed it. Vader, the same monster that Obi-Wan had left to die on Mustafar, had sacrificed himself to save his son. And suddenly Obi-Wan realized where he had failed. For unlike Luke, Obi-Wan had not only believed that Anakin was completely consumed by the dark side, but had actually refused to believe that any goodness could have remained within Vader. [Ryder Windham. The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi]
Btw, in ROTJ, Obi-wan doesn’t try to talk Luke out of killing Vader. In fact, the oppositve of that happens:
Luke Skywalker: There is still good in him.
Obi-Wan: He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.
Luke Skywalker: I can't do it, Ben.
Obi-Wan: You cannot escape your destiny. You must face Darth Vader again.
Luke Skywalker: I can't kill my own father.
Obi-Wan: Then the Emperor has already won. You were our only hope.
Star Wars, at its core, has a very simple message about love and the power it has over people. in the end, the good guys won because they were good, not because they were being guided there by some powerful guy. In the end, it was love that won the war and saved the day. Everyone’s love. Luke’s love for Anakin, Anakin’s love for Luke, Han’s love for Leia, etc. Selfless love makes better people and good people do good things. It’s not about manipulating actions, people or even knowing everything. In fact, I’d say it’s the appositive.
Luke didn’t know he could save Vader, but he tried anyway and that’s what makes him a hero. It’s the not knowing but having faith in someone out of love, faith they can be better than they are. That’s what saves the world. It’s not knowing everything and still acting out love and compassion.
Anyway, I honestly don’t know where this idea of Obi-wan knowing Anakin’s future and planning for it came from. But I do know it’s not supported by the movies, the EU or George himself.
40 notes
·
View notes
Note
For your celebration of "And then he wakes up...", could you write something on either Jangobi + tooka, or a Ventrobi timeloop, please?
Under the cut, a small Obi-Wan/Asajj Ventress fic, with time travel fix-it!
Asajj is busy inside the motors of her ship when it happens. The little beast roars like no other and can outlast the most determined other bounty hunter, or idiotic imperial, but fickle is a too nice word for it. Half of her money is spent on pieces.
So, here she is, oil on her arms and a swear on her lips when something explodes in the Force. It’s so ferocious and intense that she bashes her head on metal so hard she probably gives herself a concussion, then only has the time to reach for the bucket full of oil she just used to bath a recalcitrant butterfly valve and she’s violently ill.
She reaches into the Force with wobbly intent and is meet with weeping and distress. Something monstrous just happened.
Once before, once only, Asajj sensed such lament, just after Order 66, when the Force mourned Its children. Only, there are no more Jedi to genocide, the Inquisitors, Vader and bounty hunters took care of it. But not Asajj, never Asajj, those bounties, she never took, even if she refused to examine the reason why. But today, the Force had been shaken in a very similar way. What sort of horrors could have been so terrible to be felt this way?
The answer is on the Holonet only minutes after. The Empire really wants people to know about its new toy, this planet killer born of a nightmare.
A whole world. Alderaan is no more, Alderaan of the shining culture, of the precious beauty, Alderaan with its poetry, with its literature, its theatre and songs and food, with its ideas and its history. Alderaan, the world who fought so hard, always, for the disenfranchised, for the slaves, for the forgotten. Alderaan, who always opened its doors to refugee and voted following its heart in the Senate, its Senators the last bastions of resistance in a sea of sycophants.
Alderaan and its millions of sentients, and its billions of life force.
Asajj feels very old and very tired. If she was the sort of self-righteous idiot prone to this sort of gesture, she would probably search and join for the Rebel Alliance on the spot, but she’s smarter than that.
That night, she still buys herself a very, very nice vintage, quite decided to drink herself into stupor. Sometimes, that’s the only thing to do, if not done too often. She’s in that dangerous state for a Force User, not passed out but drunk enough her control on her powers is not the same, her shields not so tights, when she feels the Light flares. She reaches out, more reflex than decision.
“Ventress!” Someone calls in the void, surprised to feel someone reaching out, and the voice brings back memories of a taunting smile and grey eye and then it’s snuffed out.
Asajj sits up, terribly sober. Wherever he was, Obi-Wan Kenobi just died. In any other time, she wouldn’t have feel it, but tonight, drunk and tired, and with so little Force sensitive beings left. She never liked the guy but to her surprise, she feels a wave of grief. She almost reaches for the bottle again, but decides against it. This night, her dreams are plagued by memories and she sleeps so poorly that the next morning, she doesn’t question it when the ship’s hyper drive acts out again. Exasperated, she opens the compartment, searches for the reason of the problem….By the Force, how much did the resonance in the Force of Alderaan’s blowing up affect her? She would have sworn she had done a better job than that, it’s exactly like…. She needs a holiday. Something safe and quiet and far, very far away from the Empire blowing up entire worlds and killing old enemies who were of the last people in the whole galaxy who knew, really knew Asajj. Because it was certainly the Empire: Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn’t exactly the style to die from anything else than a full legion, or at least a full Sith. She’s there in her memories, thinking of that time on Drall when she had tried to cut him in two with an ancient Sith Weapon, and that time on Selonia when Kenobi had foiled her whole plan by, she was quite sure of it, seducing the twin ambassadors… Strangely; all those occasions who had infuriated her at the time are now bringing a half-smile on her pale lips. He had been a ferocious adversary, but a fun one. And it would be a lie to pretend, but only now, now that he was dead, that she had never imagined what sort of adversary he would have made on another battlefield, one of linen and pillows. She’s there, working on the butterfly valve and thinking of twinkling grey eyes, when the Force explodes in pain. Asajj bashes her head on metal, again.
What the…. This time, she doesn’t throw up, breathing careful, sending her pain into the Force.
Not even ten minutes after, the fate of Alderaan is on the holonet again.
Asajj needs to sit down. Didn’t she live that already? A vision, perhaps? No, her visions are rare, fragmented, honestly not very useful, her talents in the Force residing elsewhere. Quickly, she puts her motor in order and starts her ship.
Asajj Ventress is a lot of things but indecisive is not one of them. Run away? Where? If it’s the will of the Force, running away in the Unknown regions themselves would be useless. The Force can’t be outrun and if Its paths can be mysterious, they are stubborn.
Direction Alderaan, or whatever is left of it. Here, perhaps she will find answers. She’s just leaving hyperspace when she feels the Light flares up, once again. Much more closely, she can almost taste the last breath of Kenobi, feel the lightsaber and something…something strange and powerful and like a note in the music of the universe she never heard before.
Even dying, Kenobi can’t do it simply, the overachiever flirt that he is.
This time, it isn’t sleep which makes Asajj leaves this day. This time, it’s the Empire which destroy her little ship, because she had no chance against a Star Destroyer.
The next day, Asajj doesn’t bash her head on metal hull. That day, her ship is already in the system when the Death Star arrives and here she waits, almost in ambush except she has no intention to reveal her presence, all the powers on her ship on shielding it, and too small fry to interest them , ready to collect all information she can.
She sees the destruction of Alderaan in direct and it’s even more terrible on her nerves like that, the Force howling.
And then…then, she feels Kenobi, in a garbage ship. Kneeling on her bunk, she shields herself and she follows him, letting the all she can collect itself in her mind, the useful and the useless, letting it settle, like organic matter in a swamp. When he dies, again, she reaches for him, letting her presence be a last comfort to his light.
Seven days, Asajj does nothing more than arrive before the Death Star, shudder in deep horror for Alderaan and let the fate of Kenobi, every step he takes on that damn space station, enlighten her about the forces in presence.
Before, when she was the Count’s apprentice, she never would have found the patience. She would have raged and yelled and stormed, and probably died even before Kenobi! Now, she knows better. Sometimes, she would swear she can see, at the corner of her vision, her former Master, the first one, the dead one, the Jedi, almost there, almost real, but when she turns, it’s always empty. But she feels it, as she kneels for the entire day, deep in meditation, learning that horrible space station, feeling the lives on board, she feels her dead Master, right there, and he’s so proud a younger Asajj would cry.
So, Asajj learns and Asajj plans, and Asajj thinks to run, but never does. Whatever the Force wants of her, it’s important, too important. Every morning, she jumps from her bunk and goes to repair her motor; to arrive on in the Alderaan system first. She never even checks the date. Now that the Force had put things in motion, It wouldn’t stupidly let time pass normally for Asajj.
Seven days, she waits. She learns. She meditates. Seven days, she reaches for a dying man, and feels him reaching out, sending him comfort. She never need to send peace. Obi-Wan Kenobi dies in peace, like only a Jedi could.
The eighth day, she strikes.
*************************************************************************
When Obi-Wan, Luke, and their pilots arrive on Alderaan, the whole planet is quite busy panicking, in the very polite way they have about it on this world. The old Jedi find Bail and Breha waiting for him the moment he put foot on their soil, and a monstrous blasphemy in the Force high in their sky.
“It arrived hours before you,” the Vice-Roy explains, “and no tentative of contact of our part has been successful. We have been prepping evacuation, but how be sure that any ship leaving the planet won’t be attacked? And there will never be enough ships” At this moment, a technician calls for them and at they move to the holotransmetter, Bail adds quietly, just for Obi-Wan “And we lost contact with Leia’s ship almost three days ago.”
Obi-Wan’s hand claps on his old friend’ shoulder: “She’s alive,” he swears, “I would have felt it in the Force.”
They meet around the holotransmitter and that’s the moment the whole galaxy flickers, like a flame hesitating before going out and continuing….and then it changes and takes a better path. If not an easier one, perhaps simply one with less death. And that’s how it starts, with two scoundrels, one of them quite hairy, one Jedi, two royals and a moisture farmer powerful in the Force, congregating around a blue image of a former Sith, who looks exhausted and a little manic.
“They’re quite busy with me,” she says, “And I have made as much damages to important electronical stuff as I could, so it’s time to board this horror while they’re busy trying to open the command control room to kill me”.
“Ventress?” Obi-Wan asks, after a second of silence.
“Yeah, yeah, Ventress. Don’t tell me I have changed so much, I would be crossed with you, I mean, have you seen yourself? If I hadn’t feel you in the Force, I would never have recognized you. Why have you aged forty years in twenty?”
“Is this a dead body?” Breha interrupted, her gaze fixated on something at Ventress’s feet.
“I have decapitated a Grand Moff,” Ventress admitted, like she was saying space was cold and water wet, “And honestly, someone should have done it long ago.” Her attention was taken by something outside the view of the holotransmitter. “I barricaded myself into Tarkin’s central command, I think it was made in case the space station was boarded by hostiles. But Vader is there, so, you have thirty minutes to help, or it will have all been for nothing, for me and for the young princess in the cells.”
“We’re losing communication,” the Alderaani technician intervened, “someone in the space station understood she was talking to us.”
“I will guide y-“ Ventress had the time to say, then nothing more.
Chewbacca had just the time to extend his arm to stop Obi-Wan from falling.
“Oh.” The Jedi simply said, “Oh. That’s what she meant.”
For the old man, the sensation of Ventress reaching out in the Force was like something long forgotten. Like they had done that already, before, at their most dire times. He was pretty sure he had never reached out into the Force to her, but in that moment…in that moment, it was like coming home, their two Force presences responding to each other, and here, in his mind, Ventress knew just how take the abomination in the sky with minimal blood loss, like she had studied the plans of the Death Star quite extensively, like she understood the thing in and out, and knew what a small determined commando could do, now that she had temporarily blinded the Death Star.
The rest was quite a busy day. The rest, as Han Solo would say later, was history and he would always be proud to have been there, to the first Death Star battle, when the Alderaan security forces had crept into the Death Star, using the mess Ventress had made. Honestly, he probably wouldn’t have been, if Chewie hadn’t insisted. But he saw history, that day, he saw what a small, determined group of people could do, he saw the impossible fight between Vader, Kenobi and Ventress, and the fall of a giant in the Force.
At the end of the day, Alderaan had won a moon, who would stay there, manned by the Rebel Alliance, as a warning to Star Destroyers who would come knocking. They would never use it on a planet, of course, but the Empire would never win it back and the Rebel Alliance had a new base.
At the end of the day, Asajj Ventress and Obi-Wan Kenobi would try to unravel their Force presences, with no success. “I suppose I could do worse than you,” Asajj would admit, when their third try had sent them directly to bed, because there was a limit of the closeness in the Force two Force sensistives could feel before things started to get physical.
At the end of the day, once all was done, which meant it was closer to the dawn of the next day, Asajj would finally meet the Princess, the one who had started everything, and that she had only peripherally felt in the Force before. She would understand, then, the feeling of her dead Jedi Master in the Force, this sort of giddy joy. “Well met, Padawan”, were the first words of Asajj to the young woman.
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
Dark side, hope and redemption : Anakin and Ben
After watching the behind the scene of TROS, it was said that one way to differenciate Kylo from Ben was hopeful/hopeless. I didn’t realize that, but it does add a new light on the saga for me (maybe what I’m about to say has been obvious for a long time - like 42 years - but it never struck me clearly).
The dark side is emotion uncontroled, pain, selfishness. The light side is control, moderation, giving. Works pretty well with the 3 main couples of the saga (a meta I’m working on). I still think that’s true, but there is a another perspective possible : hope is light side and dark side is hopelessness. Let’s analyse what it means and focus on what it says of Anakin and Ben’s redemption arcs.
1. “Surrender to it” : The dark side is the side of hopelessness
A. When all is lost, “surrender to it” : the dark side’s motto
Characters fall to the dark side when they have lost hope of being good.True villains don’t even have that wish, but Anakin and Ben “surrender to it” when they don’t believe they can be good again or that something good could happen for them. Let’s not forget that Vader and Kylo, while being those persona, are in constant pain and their life is misery, they surrender to the dark side because they have lost the hope that things could change, they are hopeless.
Darth Vader lost the life he had built, his love, his statut, his friends, etc all impossible to retrieve. But in recent comics we learn that he did try and had hope to bring Padmé back, but is that the same hope we’re talking about ? Then all sith have hope, Palpatine more than anyone, but we call that ambition and it is. What is the difference between hope and ambition ? In SW at least, I think hope is something good you can do (saving someone but for the saved one good, not the idea of Vader when he tries to bring Padme back - in ep 3, Anakin wanted Padmé to rule with him on the path of the dark side, nothing says it has changed). Hope is that you can be good or that something good that you wish for could happen. The real question is what is good then ? It’s a vast question indeed but let’s say good is “what doesn’t hurt anyone”.
Kylo Ren feels abandonned by his family, feels like it’s too late and he already is a monster. It even shows in The Rise of Kylo Ren comics, that he turns when all hope is gone aka [SPOILER when the temple is destroyed, when he believes Luke is dead, his three camarades too and especially Tai the only one telling him he could come back. Tai dead, Ben “surrenders” to the dark side and kills Voe, becoming the leader of the knights of Ren], from there there is no coming back (...until Rey!). He has became hopeless and had to surrender to the dark side and he “can’t come back to [Leia] now” as he says to Rey in TROS. He has lost his family and has no hope of finding them again, and that is what differenciates Kylo Ren from Rey : she has lost her family too but she maintains the hope of a family reunion. Tho being a delusion it is ambiguous but it still kept her alive.
When something bad happen, sinking in despair is what leads characters to the dark side.
N. B. There are then two types of characters : the jedi who turn to the dark side (Anakin, Ben) and those who become ermits and exile themselves (Yoda, Obi wan, Luke). It’s not the same reaction, it seems like experienced jedi who have failed as protectors and teachers of others don’t turn dark side but exile themselves. But young characters whose own life is ruined (at a very personnal level) turn to the dark side. Yoda, Obi wan and Luke decision to exile is not so spontaneous, and Obi wan and Yoda even had time to look for a solution : they have been desperate when Anakin turned to the dark side and after order 66, but they made up a plan (to separate the twins, protect them, etc).
For Anakin and Ben, they can’t look forward and give in to despair. But sometimes they try to move on from what happened, to rebuild their life with the hope that things could get better. This is what Ben begins to do in TLJ, leading to the hesitation of the legacy saber in the throne room.
B. The case of Ben in TLJ : finding “a new hope” and reaching the neutral area
In TLJ Ben is torn apart, his attraction for the light side rises and he finds hope again : he turns to the future, he wants to repair his life, his has this HOPE that he can, with Rey, move on and “let the past die”. I always wondered why when he says this it doesn’t sound like a dark side thing, and it’s disturbingly neutral (neither good nor bad) while being the “main villain”’s big project [it’s like Palpatine main goal being not full wicked and having us think “oh maybe, yeah it could be a good idea to destroy planets and rule the galaxy with fear under a sith’s command”]. The good/evil rate of the character main goal IS the character’s position on the good/evil spectrum, that’s why Palps is full dark side and Ben in TLJ gets closer to Rey’s position on this spectrum, closer than ever while he is Kylo Ren : that’s why the legacy saber hesitates between the two. He has at this moment a hope for his future.
In TLJ, Kylo and Rey both move on this spectrum and meet in a neutral/grey area (on the spectrum below, Palps works as a control sample)
Dark side : Palps (ruling), Kylo in TFA (surrending to the dark side)
Neutral (aka grey) : Kylo in TLJ (ruling with Rey for a new order, moving on : hope of a future), Rey in TLJ (she lost hope on her family but wants to be good)
Light side : Rey in TFA (being good and hope of finding her family)
But hope is found and hope is lost for Ben in TLJ : right after the throne room scene, because of Rey’s refusal he goes full dark side back (aka trying to kill Luke and the Resistance) because he has lost what made him reach the grey area in the first place : the hope that Rey could help him move on.
In their last force bond in TLJ, after Crait, he has one last moment of hope...only to be rejected again, destroying the last bit of hope and of light side in him.
My guess is that that is why we see him so determined in TROS, he sunk back into despair but like in TLJ he still wish to move on from it with Rey, only he wants Rey for selfish reasons (just like Vader tried to bring Padmé back to help himself).
2. The light side is hope
Luke was "the new hope" of the galaxy. At the end of TLJ, his projection and implication has brought once again hope in the galaxy (as the broom boy shows us)
Ben has hope again. (SPOIL COMICS in those we may assume while he was Ben Solo that tho he felt it difficult to belong to the Jedi Academy, he had hope he still could fit in, it’s the loss of that hope for the reasons shown it those comics that makes him turn). TURNS because he believes he’s gone too far, can’t fit in and won’t be accepted. Believes it’s too late. TURNS again because he understands it’s not too late and he can still save Rey and do good, hope in himself that he is not the monster he thinks he is.
Anakin : he wants to be good and has the hope he can (and he does great until the end of episode 3). He has hope to stop being a slave and win the race in TPM, to become a Jedi and win Padme’s love in AOTC, to save her in ROTS....until one point. TURNS because he lost hope to save his mother and then to save Padme. TURNS again because he has hope to save Luke and to be good again, once again hope in himself to not be the monster he thinks he is.
Rey has the hope her parents will return. When she lost this hope in TLJ she could have went full dark side but she succeeds in the trial and stays in the light. But in TROS when the trial, like in a fairy tale, presents itself for the second time, she almost fails : learning that she comes from darkness makes her slowly lose hope in herself, therefore falling to the dark side. She doesn’t completely but she does get close.
There goes the second spectrum :
Dark side : Palps (ruling), Kylo in TFA and TROS (surrending to the dark side), Darth Vader (lost hope in life and himself, believe power will compensate his despair)
Darkish : Rey in TROS (on the process of loosing hope in herself)
Neutral (aka grey) : Kylo in TLJ (ruling with Rey for a new order, moving on : hope of a future), Rey in TLJ (she lost hope on her family)
Light side : Rey in TFA (being good and finding her family), Luke, Anakin, Ben (hope they can do good)
N.B. This meta is not about Luke so I won’t complete his journey on the spectrum (in TLJ I mean)
N.B 2 A meta about power and dark saide/light side could be a good addition to this one.
3. Hope for redemption : Luke and his father in OT VS Rey and Ben (TLJ VS TROS)
In ROTJ, it was Luke who had hope he father could be redeemed, in TLJ it’s Rey who has hope for Ben. So far it’s the same
But in TROS it changes : Rey succombing slowly to the dark side has (according to the theory I just explained) lost hope on Ben. Still can debate on why she healed him right after stabbing him (hope ? love ? regret ? no wish to kill ?). And Kylo Ren who didnt have hope, after the stabbing and healing and scene with Han gets hope again. Her compassion makes him gain hope in himself and he understands that “as long as he’s with her he is on the right path” (quote from the Making of of TROS).
So while TLJ repeats the dynamic of hope and redemption of the OT, TROS breaks it (but I think it’s a good thing). Rey has lost hope in Kylo Ren and in herself, or at least is in the process of losing it.
1- As she is surrending to the dark side, she looses hope on what she believed (herself and Ben) : the correlation is there. So far the theory works.
2- So the hope of Ben’s redemption still comes from Rey (the compassionate act of healing him, but it is not her first motive like it was for Luke or in TLJ, it is only a side effect), Leia and the memory of Han, but from himself too. Vader saves his son and it redeems him, but Ben is redeemed before he does anything, his turn is mental, it is a decision : he decides to go save Rey, and from that decision, due to his resurgence of hope in himself, he turns good again. It’s a small difference but it’s important because it’s the difference between Ben and Anakin redemptions : Anakin acts spontaneously and this good act redeems him, Ben has to FIRST forgive himself to be redeemed, his redemption is much easier, it only takes him to forgive himself and have hope in himself again, just with that he is Ben Solo again.
Conclusion
Anakin and Ben have very similar arcs but the differences are important. First, in the third movie of each trilogy : while Luke actively saves Vader, Rey doesn’t and it’s up to Kylo himself to complete this function on himself. Secondly, it takes a spontaneous action to Vader to be redeemed, while Kylo just has to gain hope in himself. Ben litteraly was his own biggest enemy. It’s not saving Rey that makes him turn, he already had, while Vader understands afterwards that he has turned. Ben’s redemtpion is a mental and psychological process, a decision, a choise consciensously made, while Anakin understands afterwards that he had turned, after his spontaneous act. Two different redemptions for two different journeys. But both show the HUGE importance “hope” has and always has had in the Star Wars universe - it’s not for nothing that the very first movie is titled “A New Hope”. The PT, OT and ST have this core thematic continuity about hope being the way to the light side, and despair and hopelessness leading to the dark side.
There are three types of characters according to this hope distinction. Wether it is to fight this despair, to find hope again thanks to someone or from within, Ben and Anakin have the most complex relation to hope and display the spectrum of intention the most extreme. On the other hand, Luke is the representation of hope in the OT and he regains that status again at the end of TLJ. Third type is Rey, she seems to be like Luke but absolutely isn’t (which is great). She is much more greyish and is always fighting to maintain her hope (in her family, in herself, in Ben), because she is aware of her weakness and choses denial to maintain this hope. That’s why it’s very intersting in TROS to see her loosing this hope from time to time, but not enough to be surrending to the dark side. Because she understood the primary lesson of Star Wars : that the best way to remain in the light side or to get to it is to have and to find hope, I think that’s my favourite lesson from Star Wars.
Others main meta
(1) Force jump/flying (TROS meets The Rise of Kylo Ren or Kylo Ren finally meets his peer in Rey) :
(2) TROS’s Ben as a mirror to Anakin’s arc or what is a Skywalker ?
#ben solo#kylo ren#meta#star wars meta#star wars#star wars prequels#pt trilogy#ot trilogy#st trilogy#rey meta#rey#reylo#reylo meta#hope in star wars#redemption star wars#redemption arc#light side#dark side#darth vader#Anakin Skywalker#Luke and Vader#luke skywalker#tros#tros meta#tlj meta#tlj spoilers#tfa#tfa meta#revenge of the sith#rots meta
31 notes
·
View notes
Text
Of Myths and Legends
OF MYTHS AND LEGENDS
Anidala Week 2020 - Day 3:Mythology
Author’s Note: LOL get ready to cry ya’ll because 2020 was meant for angst. Might make this into a series later on. These are a lot of tragic mythology that works perfectly with Anidala.
I. ICARUS
“I will get us out of here….I promise.”
He whispered that to her every night.
For some the ability to lose track of time was simple but for Padme time was a necessary construct. Her children, wherever they were, needed their mother…and their father too.
Two years had passed since that faithful day. When all Sith’s hell broke loose. Anakin almost lost himself. She had almost lost him and her children had almost lost their father. They would have lost him to fear and quite frankly, to power and envy as well.
But then Ahsoka came with Maul to stop Anakin from committing his biggest crime. As one singular action becomes a breakpoint for a set of other actions, it seemed Sidious was one step ahead.
When Anakin realized the ploy was to turn him, Sidious turned to Maul and lured him. Maul wanting his rightful place amongst the Sith order, pledged his allegiance to whom had previously betrayed him.
They lost Ahsoka that day. She gave them means to escape.
Soon her and Anakin met with Obi-Wan in Tatooine, and then came the twins. The galaxy’s beacon of hope. But just as she saw them, they were whisked away.
Obi-Wan pleaded to take them far away to protect them. It had been two years since they had last heard of him
The Empire loomed above them, everywhere. Anakin had disconnected himself from the Force, in fear of being found. Similarly, she couldn’t access her credits without being detected. Instead they’d become moisture farmers, living day by day. Working through the sun and making meager ends for some sustenance. Not that it mattered, they’d both lost their appetite long before.
Padme tried not to cry in front of him. But sometimes she could not help herself. Despite having Anakin all to herself without the Jedi Code and societal norms to trump them, this was not what she imagined. They were incomplete and not free.
Being out in the desert became their proverbial prison. Now she understood why Anakin hated this place. Yet, occasionally she’d lie in the desert sand at night and look at the sky wondering what little Luke and Leia were doing.
Anakin was restless.
He would not be at peace until his family was together again. This was his fault. He had not regretted the choice he made in Palpatine’s office after Ahsoka showed up but he wasn’t strong enough to stop the Sith. He was too distraught. Too weak.
They had no credits. No life but the desert. While he hated the sand, he knew how to live in it, but not his angel. She was never meant to be here.
She was broken-hearted and so was he for her, for them. Their love for one another was their own anchor, their only light in the darkness. While they professed their love to one another constantly, he knew it would not be enough to fulfill this new gap that existed.
Obi-Wan had promised to come back with a ship for them, but two years had passed and he was desperate to know if his children were safe.
Soon enough he planned to buy a ship but everytime he scrambled for some credits, some unfortunate situation would happen. They’d need it for food, tusken raiders came up on their homestead, the moisture collectors broke down, and there never seemed to be an affordable ship.
And he did not want to open himself to the Force. He knew the minute he did, Maul and Sidious would jump like Lothal cats on their location.
That’s why when a ship crashed near their home Anakin and Padme looked at each other with hope in their eyes. The pilot had died at impact but the ship was salvageable.
“We’ll find Obi-Wan first and find Luke and Leia, and go far away from here.” She said in her elation. Padme smiled more often now.
Anakin worked like he’d never done before. The hardest part was moving around from the homestead to where the ship had crashed, but he spent day and night fixing that she. His hair had grown and a fierce determination shown on his face almost like a crazed man.
One night as they held each other in hope and desperation, he’d hummed an old desert tune. “You love me better than anyone…you love me better than I’ve known…better than I’ve known before” Padme held him tighter that night.
“So the ship only has capability for two hyperspace jumps?”
“Around that, yes,” he said hesitantly. He’d look in every junk shop for the part he needed on the hyperdrive but to no avail.
“We can probably jump to Naboo. I’ll seek my family quietly and find a way to contact Obi-Wan,” she said.
Anakin shook his head. “We can’t go to Naboo. It’ll be crawling with Imps.”
Padme thought for a second longer until it dawned on her. “Alderaan.”
“Alderaan?”
“Yes, Bail had to have survived. We had gone over every contingency plan with the committee, in case something like this happened.” When something like this were to happen. Padme had kept politics away from him but now more then ever he understood her lack of loyalty.
It was all coming together. Until it wasn’t.
This is a tragedy. There is no happy ending.
As they approached Alderaan, he hesitated. What if they came here for naught? What if Bail Organa had been killed and as soon as they landed they would have been caught by the Empire?
No. He couldn’t allow that to happen. His family was his responsibility now and he would be damned if he did not do anything about it. He would do what he had been holding on to do before. Use the Force. It would guide him to Obi-Wan. If Maul and Sidious dared he would have already landed and escaped. Anakin had been the best pilot in the war, surely he could evade him.
As he sat in the cockpit looking at the vastness of space. Anakin opened himself up to the Force and searched for his old master. He smiled, he was close.
Suddenly an alarm startled him awake. As he opened his eyes he saw ahead of him a large Star Destroyer. Alderaan laid below them. Behind him, Padme entered the cockpit and gasped.
“Anakin!” He only stared ahead. Maul and Sidious were aboard that ship. Laughing at him furiously but then Anakin knew what he had to do.
“What are we going to do?” Padme broke him from his reverie.
He stood up suddenly and was in front of her. Anakin grabbed her face and kissed her. She broke away and stared at him confusedly. I’m sorry.
Trembling he lifted his hand, “You will go into the escape pod.” She simply stared.
He did it again, “You…will…go…into…the…escape…pod.”
Padme stayed silently hypnotized. Slowly her feet moved back, all the while staring at Anakin. Her eye twitched but tears started forming. Her mouth stayed silently shut.
“You will go into the escape pod,” he croaked. Tears forming in his. He saw a small shake of her head, all the while they walked slowly to the back of the ship where the escape pod was.
Soon enough she had crossed the threshold that separated the pod and the ship. Padme’s chest heaved, wanting desperately to scream out. Tears flowed across her cheeks. She trembled violently. But Anakin hit and held the space lock that closed the door immediately.
On the other side Padme yelled, “ANAKINNNNNNN. NO!”
“I’m sorry, my love.”
Her fists hit the escape pod violently. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET ME OUT! ANAKIN!”
“OBI-WAN IS IN ALDERAAN! YOU WILL GO TO HIM AND YOU WILL FIND OUR CHILDREN!”
“No. No Anakin, please. Don’t do this.” But it was too late because he hit the release.
They both wept as they drifted farther apart. I’m sorry, my angel.
But then Anakin needed to move. He sat back in the cockpit and stared straight ahead. They were on the bridge. He knew what he had to do. There was only one maneuver.
And so the tale tells. Anakin Skywalker, maddened by determination to end what he thought was his responsibility, hit one last hyperspace jump directly through the bridge. He destroyed the bridge, Maul, Sidious, and himself. His wife seeing the maneuver in front of her eyes, rarely spoke again.
The galaxy will forever hear the tragedy of the man who walked the skies until one day he simply got too close to the sun.
41 notes
·
View notes
Text
WARS OF THE STARS
So ya homegirl finally saw the last jedi and oh, there are THOUGHTS to be HAD below the cut for spoiler purposes but guys. GUYS.
I LOVED IT
I LOVED IT
IT WAS WEIRD AND AMBITIOUS AND OVERTHREW THE CONVENTIONS OF THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE IN A WAY FORCE AWAKENS SPECIFICALLY DIDN’T AND I LOOOVVVED IT
when luke threw the lightsaber over his shoulder at the very start i was like OHHHHH YES BITCH...... ITS FUCKIN ON
‘this isn’t going to go how you think’ INDEED
my heart siezed when i saw leia ugh.... and this film treated her with the gravitas she deserved and i loved that
POE IS A COCKY FLYBOY BUT OKAY THE HUX SCENE WAS LEGITIMATELY FUNNY and domhnall gleeson is having THE MOST FUN
ROSE’S SISTERRR and i feel like this film took pains to show a more diverse range of people in the resistance and also in the background on the star destroyers? and i really loved that
snoke’s red room of pain lmaoooooooooo. and his mara jade bodyguards
snoke forcing kylo to take his helmet off because he knows kylo needs it to disconnect shut the fuck up
kylo tantrum™ and him wrecking the mask because snoke shattered its meaning to him but also YOU DON’T GET TO WEAR THE MASK IN THIS MOVIE, KYLO. A BITCH IS GONNA BE OUT HERE VULNERABLE AS FUCK
the timeline of this movie was... odd? i feel like we were meant to think rey was with luke for weeks but the rebellion plot was suuuuuper super fast. i employed some mental time dilation to make sense of it lmao
KYLO NOT BEING ABLE TO TAKE THE SHOT AND KILL LEIA
EMO SON LOVES HIS MOM 2K17
holy SHIT i really thought they were going to kill leia off 20 MINUTES IN for a hot minute there
but then she FORCED HER WAY BACK INTO THE SHIP? SUCK ON THAT DUDEBROS WHO SAID SHE WASN’T STRONG WITH THE FORCE LIKE DIE
SPACE LAURA DERN
We Need To Talk About Rey And Kylo’s Sense8 Plot
THAT FIRST SCENE WHERE SHE DIDN’T HESITATE, BITCH
and he FELT IT. HE FELT THAT BLASTER
THEIR FACES when they force felt each other what the guuud FUCK
kylo: you will lead me to skywalker
rey: i think the fuck not
‘i don’t see where you are... only you’
BI.......TCH
THE REST OF THE WORLD FADED AWAY AND THEY WERE STUCK WITH ONE ANOTHER
luke’s sad hermit routine lmfao
luke: the jedi weren’t shit really
me: absolutely fair and true
when rey was like ‘please take this lightsaber and all the responsibility that comes with it’ and luke was like ‘this bitch empty YEET’
porgs are whatever. i wouldve eaten that one on the stick lmao chewbacca is a softie
am i the only one who like doesn’t remember the millenium falcon’s dice in the mirror lmao
sidenote like, adam driver’s voice. right? right?
KYLO CALLING HIMSELF A MONSTER WAS WHAT MADE REY START TO BELIEVE HE WASN’T? WHAT KIND OF BYRONIC NONSENSE......
‘i’d really rather not do this right now’ / ‘yeah me either’
I CACKLED.
THESE TWO SHIT KIDS WITH A SENSE8 CONNECTION THEY DON’T WANT DROPPING IN ON EACH OTHER’S NARRATIVES
I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS MOVIE IS REAL.
i heard that kylo ren had a sixpack. that kylo ren is shredded
DON’T YOU HAVE LIKE, A COWL OR SOMETHING?????????????????????
MAZ KANATA IS LIVING HER OWN ACTION FILM SHE DOESN’T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR BULLSHIT
loved the casino world that was so obviously based on monaco and dipping into the muddy waters of arms dealing and showing how deep the fight between tyranny and freedom runs in the galaxy. it can get quite baroque with the skywalkers and their drama and i felt like it was a smart smart move to have finn team up with rose to see how exploitation and cruelty don’t always have to be in the form of sith lords or first orders
this movie is so busy dismantling the ideas of heroes and villains. it’s just people making choices and that’s the point and it’s TRRRUUUUUUE
benicio del toro is the new era boba fett and i love HE
poe getting SLAPPED and BLASTERED like multiple times lmaoooooooo like i like him well enough but bitch listen to your betters!
i kind of loved that finn and rose went off on this grand plan to save the resistance and it.... didn’t work. like everything they kept trying just DID NOT WORK but there was still hope at the end? friends it was beautiful
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
KYLO SLIDING OUT INTO THE CORRIDOR IS UHHHHHH THE STRAIGHT UP BEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN
HE’S A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD LINKIN PARK FANATIC AND I LOVE
rey in the rain
the first time she’s ever felt it?
and then the world goes QUIET AGAIN
WHAT KIND OF WOLFGANG AND KALA BULL SHIT
and okay the end of this scene where kylo pulls his hand away
AND WIPES OFF
THE RAIN
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
CANNOT
I CANNOT.
WHAT IS THIS AGE OF INNOCENCE FUCKING BUFFONERY SCREAAAMM
‘did he tell you what happened?’
and like, kylo could just say it himself
but he knows rey wouldn’t believe him
and luke fucking LIED
‘THAT SKYWALKER BLOOD’
me two years ago: what’s an adam driver
me now: (laughing nervously) what the f
‘why does the force keep connecting us?’ BITCH ME TOO LMFAO
the way the world STOPS ALL AROUND THEM
oh my god the flashbacks
like i feel like we got more than enough of this alluded to in force awakens but some people need it in black and white i guess and HERE THE FUCK IT IS
‘and the last thing i saw were the eyes of a frightened boy whose master had failed him’
and okay WOW @ ME EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO HAS CONTINUALLY SAID HAN, LEIA AND LUKE DIDN’T FAIL KYLOHE LITERALLY TRIED TO MURDER HIM
look.
i am the most stoic bitch in a movie theatre. like shit does not phase me but i fucking teared UP my face just CRUMPLED LIKE UGHHHHH
AND ADAM’S DRIVER’S STUPID FUCKING FACE AND HIS DUMB EYES
HIS PARENTS SENT HIM AWAY BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRAID OF HIM AND HIS UNCLE TRIED TO FUCKING MURDER HIM
‘YOU WERE WRONG TO THINK HIS HEART HAD DECIDED!’
and THIS is what’s at the heart of the last jedi - dismantling the myth of the hero. there are no heroes, only people, and luke is the embodiment of thatto rey he’s a myth but to kylo he was a man and that’s how he stumbled but he stumbled because he believed his OWN myth i’m just..... dying slowly
THEIR HANDS TOUCHING
THEIR FINGERS
FUCK OFF
THE ELECTRICITY
I FEEL THE CONFLICT IN HIM
REY CRYING AND KYLO TEARING UP
GOODBYE BITCHES I’M FUCKIN OUTTA HEEEYYYYA
rey: i saw you at my side
kylo: well i saw YOU at MY side
me: fellas,
REY BLASTING OFF RIGHT INTO THE HEART OF THE ENEMY CAUSE SHE BELIEVES SHE CAN SAVE BEN’S SOUL
REY GOING INTO THE DARKNESS AND NOT BEING AFRAID
AND TRYING TO SEE HER PARENTS BUT ONLY SEEING HERSELF
snoke claiming that he mainpulated rey and kylo looks up in FURY because he realises he was manipulating him too
LIKE HE ALWAYS KNEW
BUT HERE IT IS IN BLACK AND WHITE
his fingers twitching
the saber moving
me in my seat: boy he bout to DO IT
AND KILLS
HIS
TRUE
ENEMY
i SCREAMED
well i didn’t scream because i was in a theatre but i screamed on the inside. i would watch kylo or ANY character kill every person who ever manipulated abused used them and HOW oh my GOD
HE COULDN’T KILL REY AND HE KILLED SNOKE INSTEAD.
HE COULDN’T KILL LEIA AND HE COULDN’T KILL REY
JUST A BOY IN A MASK
THE EYES OF A FRIGHTENED BOY
like he just wants someone to to TRUST and they all keep FAILING for all his talk to rey of her constantly looking for parental figures like all he fucking wants is to belong to something??
it’s whatever.
like i can but i also can’t believe we actually got this character so shaped and formed by abuse and manipulation KILLING HIS ABUSER. like KNEELING IN FRONT OF SNOKE and being beaten down and down and FINDING THE STRENGTH TO KILL HIM ANYWAY
the conflict of this series is happening in the galaxy but it’s also happening in ben solo’s heart and that’s just about enough for me to mcFREAKING lose it
THE WAY REY CONSISTENTLY CALLS HIM BEN.’
BEN. BENJY. BENJO BOY
REY AND KYLO FIGHTING
BACK TO BACK
BACK! TO BACK!
REY WITH THE CROSSGUARD SABER KYLO WITH ANAKIN’S SABER
KILLING THOSE RED DUDES MAYBE THE KNIGHTS OF REN? THE SLOW MO
FIGHTING TOGETHER.................
POETRY
I DIED
I FUCKING STRAIGHT UP ASCENDED
REY CALLING HIM BEN AND HIM FLINCHING
EVERY
SINGLE
TIME
‘you’re nothing to the story - but not to me’
LOOK,
LISTEN,
I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS MOVIE IS REEEEAAALLLL
when kylo asked rey to join him i swear to god i heard the opening synth of carly rae jepsen’s ‘run away with me’
FORCE FIGHTING FOR THE SABER
DARKNESS AND LIGHT TO MEET IT
BUT ALSO DARKNESS IN HER AND LIGHT IN HIM
THE BALANCE
THE BALANCE!!
THEY’RE EQUALS THEY’RE SO EQUAL THEY FUCKING
TORE
THE SABER
APART
i seriously thought this was going to be the film’s climax but there was like 40 more minutes after this ksadjfkdsfj
LAURA DERN AND LEIA wow that was some BUSINESS
and leia explaining to poe about doing the right thing vs. looking like a hero MY GOD this film is on another level. how the fuck did it both take star wars to town over like its most fundamental conventions but still feel true to the series and respectful and genuine? I AM... AGOG
LAURA FUCKING DERN LIGHTSPEEDING INTO A SPEED DESTROYER HOLLLLYY SHIT
and the no sound CRACKING APART of the cruiser the LIGHT
this movie was shot so beautifully thanks disneymarvelfox conglomerate
honestly i’m still astounded that a film so rooted in nostalgia, nearly dependent on it in a way, firmly and deeply embedded a ‘let the past die’ moral through its narrative. LIKE, WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF BLOCKBUSTER???????? but i loved it, i loved that luke and kylo were both so determined to bury the past and rey was equally determined to dig it up. because how can you have balance without it?
the whole hoth version 2 snow planet was beautiful and the BURGUNDIES the contrast i love an aesthetic!
(tastes red substance hesitantly) ‘Salt.’
i want a crystal wolf
LMFAO YODA JUST BEING A FUCKING TROLL WHAT THE HELL
they couldn’t phone ewan mcgregor for a yung hot jesus obi wan cameo? i’d be into it
LUKE’S FOOT NOT SHOWING A RED PRINT THAT’S WHEN I KNEW HE WASN’T THERE
kylo: .........i’ll destroy the girl
luke: no you wont
kylo: yeah no i wont u right u right
LUKE AND LEIA OH MY GODDDD the GRAVITAS of mark and carrie!!! it was so beautiful
when kylo gave an order and hux repeated it super loud and kylo GAVE HIM THE WILDEST SIDE EYE I FUCKING CHOOOOKEKEKKEKEKED
i’m glad somewhere along the way they realised hux is like the biggest joke character lmfao
bye phasma
finn’s storyline really god sidelined this movie huh? i loved rose a LOT and i loved them together but did we need the poe plot like really
all the scenes with the og trio have been so layered and beautiful you can
though i thought luke died in the fire and it was his force ghost not him like force astral projecting lmao
LUKE WALKING OUT OF THE RED SMOKE FROM THE GUNFIRE DDDAMMMMNN
‘do you think you got him????????’ KDBFKSHDFKHDS
ooof that final confrontation scene though
damn right you should apologise luke lmfao
SEE YA, KID
kylo’s anger in the last third is just wooooof like he thinks he can destroy every person and every remnant that rejected him but he’s just running on his own anger until he realises luke isn’t really there and there’s nothing else for him to fight
OOOOF
THE BINARY SUNSET
that GOT me i was verklempt
rey and poe meeting was cute
i hope they’re not setting up a love triangle cause like that shit is tiiirrreeeedddd
i like finn and rey and also finn and rose like im happy to go down whatever road they take
THAT FINAL SCENE
SNOKE WAS WAY FUCKING DEAD BUT THEY WERE
STILL
CONNECTED
HIM BENEATH HER ABOVE
YES BITCH LOOK AT EACH OTHER
and shutting the door but like the FALCON
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S GONNA BE TWO MORE YEARS
is the fucking novelization out yet?
or the script?
i want to swim in this movie god stay tuned as my thoughts #develop and #grow
#star wars spoilers#the last jedi spoilers#spoilers#tlj spoilers#I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL ANYONE#i can't BELIEVE i lasted like FOUR DAYS without getting spoiled#but i'm so glad#it was such a joy to watch#star wars#i've been GRINNING like an IDIOT all afternoon and night like this movie has made my YYYYEAR#RIAN JOHNSON SAVING 2017 LATE IN THE GAME
450 notes
·
View notes
Text
young woman (who do you wanna be)
Rey wakes up in the throne room and wonders what she’s supposed to do now. the Force offers her some help (in the form of our favorite Force ghosts). 1.7k words, background reylo.
read on AO3.
[or: in which Anakin Skywalker tells Rey all the things he wishes the Jedi Council had bothered to tell him.]
She wakes slowly, a bit at a time, in that almost languishing way she’d thought she’d trained herself out of years ago, after thieves had invaded her AT-AT and made off with her emergency portion stash. Memory returns in the same way: trickling slow and thick back to her, like blood in the sand.
For a long moment, she expects to feel the gritty, sand-dusted metal floor of her home beneath her cheek; the smooth, cool surface she feels instead just serves to confuse her even more thoroughly. Where is she? Why isn’t she on Jakku? Maybe her parents finally came--
And then she opens her eyes, and everything comes rushing back.
She’s on the Supremacy, in the throne room. Snoke is dead--killed by Ben. Her parents have been dead for a long time, courtesy of the desert. And the Resistance…
The Resistance is decimated, nearly destroyed (perhaps all gone, she didn’t see what happened after he refused to give the order), and it’s all because of Kylo Ren.
For a while--she’s not sure how long, but it’s probably less time than it feels like--Rey just lays there on the mirrored black floor, now scored by lightsaber blades and dotted with the red-armored bodies of Snoke’s personal guard. She needs to get up, to move, to meet Chewie at the rendezvous, but there hardly seems to be a point anymore. She’s failed, completely and entirely; Luke wouldn’t come back and Ben wouldn’t turn and the only thing she’s accomplished is getting Snoke killed--and the cost was her lightsaber. An invaluable weapon, the weapon of a Jedi, and irreplaceable to boot. The only other lightsaber she knows of is Ben--Kylo’s, and as much as she wants to she can’t bring herself to take it from him.
She should, but…
“Hey.”
The unexpected voice where there shouldn’t be one (she knows no one’s come in, she would’ve heard them) startles her, sends enough of an instinctive adrenaline surge through her muscles to overcome the listless exhaustion and propel her to a sitting position. Rey doesn’t bother to get to her feet, though; let them kill her, if they want to. At this point, she’s not even sure she could stop them (and she doesn’t quite know if she wants to stop them).
“Alright, that’s enough moping,” the man’s voice says, and almost against her will she turns to look at him.
He’s tall, decently so, with tanned skin, bright blue eyes (that look vaguely familiar, though she’s not sure why), and nearly shoulder-length curly golden-brown hair. He’s dressed in a black outfit eerily similar to the Jedi robes Luke had been wearing when she’d first arrived on Ahch-to.
Oh, and there’s a strangely flickering blue glow around him.
Rey blinks, eyes wide, and then she says the first thing that pops out of her mouth: “You’re not part of the First Order.”
He doesn’t respond, his eyes instead going to something laying on the floor. “You broke my lightsaber!” he exclaims, affronted. “Only I’m allowed to break my lightsaber.”
She’s not quite sure what to say to that. “That’s--my lightsaber?”
It’s not supposed to be a question.
“Did you build it?”
She blinks again. “What?”
“The lightsaber,” he says, slowly, as though he’s talking to a child. “Did you build it?”
“Of course not!” Rey stares, askance. “I don’t know the first thing about building a lightsaber. It was given to me.”
“Excellent,” he says. “I’m glad we got that cleared up.”
It takes a moment, but finally it clicks. “You built it?”
That infuriating smile--smirk, really--just widens.
“Then you can help me fix it!” Suddenly, she feels a rush of hope--all is not lost, she hasn’t completely failed yet.
But all that fades away, leaving her just as cold as before, when he shakes his head, the smile dimming. “I can’t, I’m afraid. It’s well and truly broken this time.” He shakes his head, rueful, a touch of nostalgia entering his voice. “Obi-Wan would be so… proud.”
“Resigned,” a faint voice whispers. “I believe the word you’re looking for is resigned.”
“This is my conversation,” the man yells. “Keep your nosy collection of half-truths and hyperbole out of it!”
There’s a faint huff of amused laughter, and then the man returns his full attention to her, stepping closer.
“Who are you?” she blurts out. “And why are you--glowing?”
“Glowing?” He looks down at himself, confused, and then waves a hand. “Oh, that. It’s an unfortunate side effect. I’m Anakin. It’s nice to finally meet you, Rey.”
“How--” He just grins, and she cuts off, shaking her head. “Right. Why are you here?”
“Frankly, you’re terrible at shielding,” Anakin starts, “and all that emotion spilling into the Force was giving me a headache.”
For a moment, all she can feel is sheer indignation. “That’s not my fault!” she says, sharply. “Master Luke didn’t teach me anything!” And then she sighs, slumps. “He told me this would happen, but I didn’t listen. I thought--”
“You thought he was old and too cautious and keeping you back from something you knew you could achieve,” he finishes, a knowing look on his face.
She sighs, admitting defeat, bowing her head and dropping her eyes. “... yeah.”
“And now?” She looks up questioningly, and he elaborates. “What do you think now?”
“I think…” Rey hesitates. “I don’t know what to think. Just that--I can’t be what the Resistance wants me to be, but… I can’t be what Master Luke wants, either! And--” She looks over at Ben--no, Kylo--and closes her eyes, swallowing. “I don’t even know what to do for Kylo.”
“Ben,” Anakin corrects gently.
“What?”
“His name is Ben.” At her skeptical look, he adds, “Names are important, Rey from Nowhere.”
“Alright then,” she says, trying not to flinch at the title she’d given herself. “I don’t even know what to do for Ben. I don’t know what he wants from me!”
“So what?”
She blinks, stares at him in utter shock. “So what? I can’t do it, that’s what!” She jumps to her feet, fueled by a burst of sudden anger. “I can’t be a Jedi, I can’t stay away from the Dark, and I won’t turn!” By the end, she’s shouting, chest heaving, tears coalescing on her eyelashes. “I can’t save everyone,” and she slumps, voice falling to a whisper. “I’m just a scavenger, and the galaxy wants a legend. I can’t be one.”
She stares, defeated, at the broken pieces of the lightsaber, the legendary weapon of the Jedi, that would never work again. The mystic legend shattered, just like the images of Luke Skywalker shining with glory, the golden child of the Rebellion, just like the glimmering future she’d been so sure was true. You have no place in this story, you come from nothing. You’re nothing, Ben had said, and it’s never felt so true.
(She studiously ignores the rest of his words: but not to me. She’s not ready to even begin to deal with the implications--she’s not sure she’ll ever be.)
“Then don’t,” Anakin says, drawing her attention back to him.
“Huh?”
“Don’t try to be something you’re not,” he explains, stepping closer, something softening in his expression. “Don’t let others pressure you into that--don’t make the same mistakes as I did. The Force knows what it’s doing, Rey, and I promise you this: you might not be what the galaxy wants, but you’re exactly what it needs.” And then he grins sardonically. “There’s more to the Force than the Jedi and Snoke. ‘Only the Sith deal in absolutes.’” The last sentence sounds like he’s reciting a quote.
And, for the first time, a bit of weight lifts from her shoulders.
For a moment, she imagines the Resistance’s reaction when she tells them she’s not going to be a Jedi, thinks of the betrayal Finn will surely feel, and then--”General Organa’s Force-sensitive, but she’s not a Jedi--I’ve never even seen her use the Force,” she starts, slowly. “But she’s done more for the Resistance, and for the Rebellion and the New Republic, than any Jedi has.”
Anakin smiles. “Now you’re getting it.”
“But--” Rey hesitates. “I don’t know what I’m doing, I haven’t had any training. I don’t know where to go from here--I don’t know what to do. I failed.”
“You know everything you need.”
She shakes her head. How can he say that? “I already told you, Luke didn’t teach me anything!”
“From a certain point of view,” that same whisper-soft voice says again (she looks around, but there’s no one else in the room besides her and Anakin and Ben’s unconscious body). “From a certain point of view, however, he taught you everything.”
“Still not your conversation, Master,” Anakin grumbles, but he’s grinning. “Trust your instincts, Rey. Listen to what your heart tells you.”
“My heart hasn’t exactly been very reliable, lately,” she says, swallowing, and gestures around her. “Look at the mess I got myself into because of it.”
“You call this a mess?” He stares at her, raising his eyebrows. “Amateur.”
“Anakin!”
“Right, er,” and he looks sheepish, for once. “Look, my point is that you can’t save everyone. You’ve done what you can for Ben, and now it’s up to him to save himself.” He tilts his head to one side, face briefly taking on an expression of intense concentration. “Someone’s coming--you need to go. I’ll see you again, I think.”
Rey nods, already turning to run towards the back of the throne room--there’s an escape craft there, probably for Snoke in case of an emergency--Force-pulling the two halves of the lightsaber into her hands. A few steps in, though, Anakin calls her name. “Rey?”
She stops, turns halfway around again. “Yes?”
“Don’t give up on him just yet--he needs time to process everything. He’ll regret this, eventually, and he’ll come back. He will.”
It’s almost too good to be true. “How do you know?”
“Because,” he says with a lopsided smile, “I’ve been in almost the same situation. And he’s a Skywalker. We’ll do anything for our women.”
And then, before she can process that statement, he’s gone--faded away as though he was never even there.
Rey stands, frozen, for a long moment, and then she turns and runs.
#reylo#reylo fanfic#rey#obi wan kenobi#anakin skywalker#force ghost#force ghost anakin#force ghost obi wan#star wars#the last jedi#prequel trilogy#sequel trilogy
84 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Created for @avada-matata for @jedifest Alien April fanwork exchange!!
Prompt: Ahsoka + Time
(I made the drawing first, then thought I’d write just a little snippet to give it some context…
and then the little snippet became a lot longer than I meant it to be. Oh well.)
Enjoy!
It had taken a long time, but Ahsoka had finally found another entrance to the world between worlds. She had debated for years whether or not she should go back; she had seen how it had tempted Ezra, recognized the power it could yield, and was horrified at what could happen if the Emperor had access to the strange world. But she felt that it held the answers she sought. Answers that no living being could answer.
She hadn’t been on Yavin during the attack on the Death Star, but the name of the young pilot that fired the killing shot spread through the Rebellion like wildfire: Skywalker.
Of course, she sought out the boy immediately, and the world spun when she laid eyes on the young man who was so obviously his father’s son. They had talked, and Ahsoka had prodded to find out what young Luke knew about his parentage, but he had even fewer answers than she did. Looking into his wide eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him what had become of his father. Not until I understand how it happened.
Ahsoka had thought that perhaps she wouldn’t be granted access to the doorway, which was deep in the ruins of the Jedi temple on Vrogas Vas. No longer a Jedi, she expected some sort of resistance to her approach. None came. On the contrary, she felt drawn to a particular stretch of rock that appeared to be the remains of a vast wall. Ahsoka stopped before it, resting her hand on the ragged stone. But how to enter?
A hoot from above drew her attention. The green and white convor came to rest on a broken statue to Ahsoka’s left. The Togruta smiled at the creature. The Daughter’s vessel had never strayed far from her in recent years, and she was grateful for the company.
“May I enter, Morai?”
In response, the convor spread a wing in the direction of the wall. A faint blue light began to emanate from the rock, soft and inviting. She took a step towards it, but hesitated. The place beyond was ancient, imbued with power she couldn’t understand. Perhaps it was best to leave that realm in peace. But she needed answers. I need to know.
Ahsoka stepped through the doorway.
First, there was darkness. She trusted that she would not plunge into an abyss as she walked forward blindly. But then, she was not truly blind. She felt the world opening up to her, felt it morphing and brightening. And as she walked, voices began to surround her, echoing through the world. Ahsoka strained to hear them all. Some, she recognized; others, she couldn’t place the speakers.
Koh-to-yah, Little ‘Soka.
You never would have made it as Obi-Wan’s padawan. But you might make it as mine.
I want to learn the ways of the Force.
You and your precious Jedi Order.
And become a Jedi, like my father.
He’s my brother.
Light shimmered around her, and she stepped from the doorway and emerged in – what appeared to be a world suspended in space. The voices continued to speak as she gazed at the transparent lanes that arched between doorways as countless as the stars that enveloped her.
If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
I exist where there is no future or past.
Life doesn’t cease at death, but merely changes form in the Force.
I can only show you a place where the answers will be revealed to you.
The Force will be your guide.
Ahsoka felt…so small. The galaxy was vast and incredible in itself, but this place… she could barely comprehend it. She had seen the past here.
Morai hooted softly from behind her, and the convor landed lightly on her montrals. “How do I even begin?” Ahsoka asked. The voices quieted for a moment, as though pondering.
You turned her against me!
She spun around.
You will not take her from me!
That was Anakin’s voice, clear and full of – anger. It reached for her like a grasping hand, and she began walking on the transparent path, trusting the Force to show her the way. She did not know how long she walked for; did time even exist here? Eventually, she found herself before a circular doorway. Morai called mournfully and took flight. Ahsoka sensed the Dark Side beyond this doorway, something evil and awful. What if she wasn’t strong enough to face it? What if it was the Emperor again, attempting to claim possession of the power here? She had barely escaped last time. Her companion perched herself above the door, fluttering anxiously as a red haze filled the interior. Ahsoka took a breath to steady herself. She could not turn back now.
A landscape began to take shape through the mist, as though sucking the red color into its water. No, not water. Molten lava flows ebbed around volcanic land masses, its rock scorched and broken. Smoke and ash plumed in the air.
And – Ahsoka took another step forward – up the river of lava, two blurred figures stood in close quarters on some sort of skiff, blue blades of light arching towards each other. She knew their fighting styles too well, recognized their presence in the Force. But she could not understand the sight of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi attempting to kill one another.
Dread crept into her heart. “What is this?” Ahsoka whispered.
Through the doorway, their blades locked, energy crackling between them. With effort, Obi-Wan leapt backwards, clearing the skiff and coming to rest upon the sloping land.
It’s over, Anakin. I have the high ground.
And even from here, years and lightyears away, Ahsoka could feel the hatred rolling off her former master. Her heart rose into her throat.
You underestimate my power!
“No. No. Don’t. Anakin, please.” Ahsoka stretched out a hand to –
To what? To push them away from each other? To help Obi-Wan? To help her master?
Don’t try it, Obi-Wan pleaded.
“I can’t.” The words caught in Ahsoka’s throat. “I can’t do anything.” The sound of her own voice rang in her ears, but it wavered. “This happened years ago.”
And he leapt. Anakin leapt, roaring as he spun through the air, angling his lightsaber to bring it down on his former friend –
Obi-Wan was quicker.
Ahsoka screamed as the blue blade passed through Anakin’s arm, his legs. She screamed as he hit the rocks and rolled toward the lava, barely stopping himself at the edge of the bank as he dug his mechanical fingers into the land.
You were the Chosen One!
The agony in Obi-Wan’s cry seemed to be torn from her own throat.
It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!
Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness.
Obi-Wan turned his back on Anakin and picked up the fallen lightsaber. He stepped further away. Revulsion clouded her thoughts. “How can you leave him like this!” she shouted at ghosts.
I HATE YOU!
Tears spilled from her eyes as Anakin screamed, his face contorted, his eyes warped.
You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.
Ahsoka waited with baited breath for her master to say something, to say anything. But before he could, a fleck of fire from the molten river sparked onto the fabric of Anakin’s clothes. Within seconds, he was engulfed in flames.
Hatred and fire burned through what remained of Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka could take no more. She whirled around and staggered, pressing her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. But what was the point? There was no one to hear her. Her legs gave out and she crumpled to the floor, weeping, Anakin’s screams of agony fading behind her.
Ahsoka sobbed until her head ached, and even then, she lay there, suspended among everything that ever would be, letting the voices of the long-dead and the yet-to-be-born wash over her.
“I don’t understand.” Ahsoka’s murmur was barely louder than the other voices. “How did it come to this?”
How indeed.
The voice was unfamiliar, and Ahsoka raised her head. Morai stood before her, cocking her head inquisitively. Ahsoka had hoped the Daughter would offer her guidance, but it appeared the being either could not, or would not.
The voice spoke again, a male voice reverberating through the Force.
You may go from doorway to doorway, Ahsoka Tano. But in chasing the past, you narrow your knowledge.
“But I need to understand what has happened in the past to know how it will affect the future,” Ahsoka protested, wiping her eyes. “I need to understand…if only for my own peace of mind.”
Ah yes. The past, the present, the future. The passage of time seems so straightforward. But time has no meaning in the Force.
“I don’t understand.”
When Ezra Bridger pulled you from the temple on Malachor, was he not both young, as you had seen him not moments before, and older, as you saw him here?
“Yes. I suppose he was.”
Through the Force, we exist in every moment. Once you understand that, you can open yourself to every instant, to every corner of existence. You become truly one with the Force, and experience it all as it was meant to be – as one, cohesive thought.
“That sounds like far too much to bestow upon a single being,” Ahsoka said, getting shakily to her feet. “I don’t know that I would be able to process it.”
Eventually, you will master it.
The mere thought was too large for Ahsoka to wrap her mind around it. And this was certainly far beyond what she had been taught of the Force. “Who are you?”
I? I was once known as Qui-Gon Jinn. I trained Obi-Wan Kenobi to the best of my abilities. And I continue to teach him even now.
Ahsoka hesitated. She sensed no evil here, but no shining presence of the Light Side either. It reminded her of the Bendu. True balance in the Force. “And will you teach me? I want to understand.”
Yes. I will help you understand the Cosmic Force. And it is the Force that will be your guide.
She let out a breath, expelling her grief, her confusion. For the first time in quite a while, she felt at peace. “I pledge myself to your teachings.”
Then let us begin.
#soooooo i went a little overboard#but i enjoyed every moment i worked on both of these#so i don't really care#sw#i have a lot of thoughts about that world between worlds#and paired with that 'moment of death' short story in the 40yrs of star wars book#this is how i interpret it#star wars#swr#star wars rebels#a world between worlds spoilers#ahsoka tano#fanart#my art#renee's art#renee's fanfic#@jedifest#@avada-matata#alienapril#togruta#qui gon jinn#long post#obi wan kenobi#anakin skywalker
33 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Last Jedi: themes of change, cycles of renewal, and bitching about lore
Spoilers included
Ok, so I was going to give this a bit more time, maybe watch the movie again to see if I caught all the details, but then I started seeing all of these reviews on Youtube from ostensible Star Wars “fans” that just... miss the themes of this motion picture by an enormous margin. So I’m going to tell you what it’s all REALLY about. And you can trust me, because I have a small blog on the internet and write long unwieldy sentences.
Here’s what I’m going to start with: AngryJoe begins his spoiler review by complaining about the death of Leader Snoke. About how he wanted to know about his origins, his powers, his damn rings. Joe asks “where were the lore masters” when this scene was written. And like... I admit I too was curious about Snoke when I first saw TFA. But here’s why I think clinging to that is wrong: as TLJ moved on with its own scenes I realized more and more that Snoke was an utter irrelevance. A red herring, a nebulous and powerful “evil presence” to kickstart the plot.
Nobody important. Film wasn’t about him in any way. And so of course he would die halfway through the film in a way that echoes the deaths of both Palpatine and Darth Maul (as always, the history of the Star Wars galaxy rhymes, and the past is echoed into the future). Just like Palpatine, he dies in the same movie that he makes his first “real” appearance in, at the hands of his own apprentice, whom he had derided and openly mocked in front of someone said apprentice clearly cared about. Hell, he even outright states he cannot be destroyed; if that’s not a dead giveaway I don’t know what is. We find out just as much about the Supreme Leader in TLJ as we did about the Emperor in ROTJ. Which is to say, no more than we need.
Again, this story was never about Snoke. He was a literal relic, physically and metaphorically left over from the old days. The new trilogy is about a new generation of heroes and villains inheriting things from the old guard and fumbling and making their own mistakes as they become independent and try to understand their role in this next chapter of history.
Rey’s parentage reveal is another thing that bothers a lot of people, who are more preoccupied with lore and the mechanical intricacies of a fantasy space opera than with the characters the entire story is built around. Of course Rey is a nobody, daughter of drunkards on Jakku. She’s not a Skywalker or a Kenobi or whatever. Because, again, this trilogy is about releasing yourself from the past. Kylo Ren sees this as “killing the past”: first his parents, Han and Leia, then his mentors, Snoke and Luke. Rey, on the other hand, interprets that same concept differently: she realizes that her origins, as the nothing daughter or nobodies on a nowhere planet, doesn’t stop her from becoming a fucking Jedi hero.
Hell, even fucking Yoda, the series-long stand-in for tradition, dogma and the ancient Jedi ways, understands this metanarrative need for change and renewal that both the franchise itself and the long-held philosophies within it sorely need. Rey doesn’t really need Luke’s teachings, inherited from generations of previous Jedi masters, just like Luke didn’t really need Yoda’s teachings that much. Both Luke and Rey took only the barest understanding of Jedi-ism with them into the confrontation with their respective masked men and their masters.
Here’s the thing though: it could be argued that this cycle of breaking off from the past has taken place once before, but was incomplete. Luke did learn some stuff from Yoda, like a loathing of the dark side, and attempted to pass that flawed knowledge on to a new generation with disastrous results. The renewal wasn’t complete, and the result was failure. The very fear and mistrust of someone powerful falling to the dark that Yoda and Obi-wan instilled into him is what led to the destruction of his new Order. However, Rey has the opportunity to take the cycle to a more positive conclusion: she has with her the ancient texts of the Jedi, but not the old Jedi interpretation of them. Luke never did pass that on to her, and indeed he realized why those ways of thinking had failed. I fully expect Rey to be able to create a truly new Jedi Order, based on a fresh spin on the old wisdom, making Luke Skywalker both The Last of the Jedi and, paradoxically, not.
If I may be allowed a dip into philosophy here, the old Jedi always had a problem with darkness and passion. Yoda relentlessly preaches about their dangers, and Luke is horrified when Rey doesn’t even hesitate to throw herself into the pit in her vision. In my opinion, this is a flagrant rejection of human nature, of the understanding that people can’t just be beings of pure light or pure darkness, and that a balance must be struck between them. Rey is a being of balance. She goes for the dark, sure, but it never corrupts her. Hell, even Kylo is like that, desperately trying to throw himself into the pit for the power it promises, only to never actually be able to go all the way down (and making a fool of himself in his failures). Maybe this will be the basis of the Jedi teachings going forward?
Back to the theme of renewal. Two more things get renewed in TLJ the way I see it: fascism and the rejection of it. It has been said before and it bears repeating: the First Order are the alt-right to the Empire’s Nazis. They’re angry, shithead fascist fanboys. Their convictions are paper-thin and they lack whatever structural cohesion and discipline made the old way work (evil as it was), and as a consequence they start falling apart rapidly as soon as their leader is dead. General Hux’s attempt at following chain-of-succession lasts all of 5 seconds before he backs down from the much more powerful Kylo Ren, like a schoolyard bully who has finally met an even bigger thug. Meanwhile the “Supreme Leader” Kylo Ren is a fucking mess, losing every single crumb of his mind the moment he catches sight of Luke Skywalker, and allows his old master to utterly humiliate him before his entire army.
The Resistance, meanwhile, goes back to the roots of... well, resistance. The old Rebel Alliance was created by rogue senators, stateswomen, financiers and true believers in the democracy of the Old Republic. However, the first thing we were ever told about that democracy, by the Prequel trilogy, is that it had been, for a long time, failing. This is what the scenes on Canto-Bight, who so many lesser reviewers deride as “pointless” and “leading nowhere”, are actually for. They reveal that the New Republic relies on the exact same corrupt power structures as the Empire and the Old Republic before it. The rich man who sold TIE fighters to the First Order also sold X-Wings to the Resistance. That whole segment of the story also reveals that the anti-imperial revolution had failed to protect society’s most vulnerable members. And surely enough, because the cycle of renewal did not complete in this case either, and the New Republic was ashes 30 years after it had started. The Resistance looks set to avoid making the same mistake, by appealing to a different “base”. Instead of nostalgia for an old, flawed power structure, it seems to be centered around support from very poorest members of society, people who have been abused their whole lives by those in power. Floor sweepers on the Starkiller Base. Sisters from mining planets devastated by the First Order. Stable boys in the casino-city Canto Bight. And a random junker girl whose parents had sold her for drink money.
That’s the new foundation. And the renewal seems set to complete itself this time.
Thanks for reading this far. Any comments would be genuinely appreciated.
#star wars#star wars the last jedi#swtlj#tlj#the last jedi#rey#kylo ren#the first order#resistance#fascism#alt right#reylo#star wars review#the last jedi review#snoke#supreme leader snoke#ben solo#supreme leader kylo ren#predacinemateca#angry joe#general hux#armitage hux#the force#jedi#yoda#master yoda#sw
299 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ways I would improve Rise Of Skywalker
My post on how I would fix TROS
Exegol would be Moraband
They are Holocrons, not Wayfinders
The Resistance base would be Batuu, not Ajan Kloss
There would be no Death Star ruins, the final Holocron would be on Kamino
Ben would have an existential crisis after his meeting with Palpatine. The revelation that Palpatine has been manipulating him all his life, shakes him to the core. And at this moment, the force ghosts of Luke and Anakin reach him. First. Luke. Luke tells him that he kept his promise, that he’d always be there for him. Luke makes amends to his nephew. Luke finally realizes the truth, he didn't kill his fellow students and shows Ben the truth through the force. The truth that he hesitated and regretted his moment of instinct and they forgive each other. And Anakin finally appears before his grandson. Ben is in disbelief and says “....Grandfather????”
Anakin finally speaks to his grandson
“I never wanted you to repeat my mistakes. That pull to the light you were feeling was always me. I wanted you to be better than I was, who I could have been” and showing Ben his memories and what he had to go through. His life as a slave, meeting Padme, meeting Obi-Wan, becoming a Jedi, losing his mother, Order 66, losing Padme and being saved by Luke and finally destroying Palpatine(lol but not really). And telling Ben “Let the light in. You still have a chance, no one is ever really gone“
And as a parting gift, Anakin and Luke use the force to will Han’s spirit, and finally father and son can speak for real. Their talk remains the same, especially the “Kylo Ren is dead, my son is still alive.” line and with the Skywalkers and Han talking through with him, Ben decides to renounce the dark side and Palpatine, but realizes it won’t be easy to leave, so Ben will play the spy.
Pryde is not with the First/Final Order. Hux is 2nd in command and is the perfect tool for Palpatine to use against Ben when he feels his turn to the light.
Senator Enric Pryde is the benefactor for The Resistance and the last surviving Senator of the New Republic. His aspirations is to bring the Republic back and plans to lead by Leia’s example as he was the only one who listened to her claims, but red tape held him back.
Rey would have her yellow lightsaber from the beginning and it would be a Yellow Saberstaff
The tie in novels matter and The Resistance is in a giant fighting force
Knights Of Ren are Sith warriors who serve the Sith Eternal
Rose joins Rey, Finn, and Poe
Connix would be featured more prominently on the Black Spire/Resistance Base. We would also have it established that Poe and Connix are in a relationship. Cause Billie Lourd deserved to shine and if Poe had to have a girlfriend, at least let it be with someone he already has great chemistry with.
FInn and Rose are together. Cute displays of affection like kissing, nicknames like “Commander Tico” “Jedi Prince” and Rose made a matching pendant for Finn to match hers to show that Finn and Rose are soulmates
During the time skip, Rey and Finn would’ve trained together and Finn would be her Padawan. Finn, like Rey would craft his own Lightsaber. A Purple Blastersaber.
Hobbit boy would be cut from the movie entirely
Instead of doing nothing, Chewie fights the Knights Of Ren and loses, that’s how Chewie is captured.
Jannah is inspired by Finn’s defection and the defeat of Phasma. Jannah explains that it’s because of him they got the courage to rebel when he left and when Phasma was killed, there were small rebellions, but only Jannah’s group survived. Jannah and her people even call Finn “Phasma slayer” this inspires Finn to help Jannah start a Stormtrooper Rebellion. And Rose is there to help broadcast a signal so Finn can give a speech to incite Rebellion
Finn, Rose and Jannah are able to sneak aboard Hux’s flagship. Rose helps using her skills to help Finn to broadcast a signal to every Stormtrooper. I think it could be something like this. “My name is Finn, I was FN-2187, a Stormtrooper. Like every one of you, I was taken from a family I will never know. I was raised to do one thing… but my first battle, my friend Slip died and that death marked me and made me realize We are people and we have a choice. I wasn’t gonna kill for them. I had nothing to fight for. Until I met my friends, they gave me a name, a purpose and something worth fighting for.(cue Finn smiling at Rose) So I am here to tell you. You have a choice. You are people. You do not have to kill for them anymore. Take back your lives and fight the people who took your lives away from you. I am giving you the one choice they never gave you and choose for yourselves. You can either storm this very room and kill us or you can take back your lives. The choice is yours.” Then we get a very emotional scene of Stormtroopers led by Finn’s last surviving Squad member, Zeroes removing his helmet and tossing it to the ground and then we see hundreds, to thousands of Stormtroopers ripping their helmets off and tossing them to the ground. Officers DEMAND they put their helmet back on and kill The Resistance scum, but they don’t. It happens. Rebellion. Finn, Jannah and Rose have successfully led a Stormtrooper Rebellion and together burn The First Order from the inside out and Rose could say something that calls back to TLJ. “It was worth it, though. To tear them up, make ‘em hurt.” Finn would embrace Rose in a kiss and say “Now it’s worth it.”
No fake out deaths. Chewie is shown on a different transport, but C-3PO does give his life to translate the holocron(just let him translate the holocron, translating a weapon is fucking stupid) and C-3PO asks R2 “let me take one last look, at my best friend”
After interrogating Chewbacca and reading his mind which shows him his happy childhood memories with “Uncle Chewie”, Ben reveals his true allegiances to Chewie and frees him
Finn and Poe are captured and are at Kylo’s mercy and awaiting their execution. To their surprise, Kylo Ren kills the Stormtroopers and allow them to escape. Ben tells them “I am the spy” then Poe goes “I KNEW IT!” Finn retorts “NO YOU DID NOT” Finn asks Ben why and then he telepathically tells Finn everything, Finn understands and they shake hands.
Replace Zorri Bliss with Jacen Syndulla(played by Matt Smith), and this gives Poe a ex-boyfriend, which also cuts out that horrendous racist stereotype. Jacen is undercover for The Resistance and he helps Poe and they embrace in a kiss. Poe tells Connix “we used to date” this way we can show that Poe Dameron is Bi
Ben tells Rey the truth of everything in his quarters. And Rey would ask Ben to prove that he's changed and together they destroy Vader's mask to symbolize his turn to the light.
During the scene where Rey flies into the hangar. Instead of Ben asking Rey to take his hand, it’s Rey asking Ben to take her hand. With this, Hux enters the room and claps. Hux displays Snoke’s murder for all to see and displays Ben’s conversations with Rey. “Did you think The Emperor a fool Ren? Or me? You are a traitor. OPEN FIRE! and with that, every single Stormtrooper begins to open fire. Ben then flies into the Falcon with Rey, Finn, Poe and Rose.
Together they leave for Kamino for the final Holocron together. Rey’s fight with Dark Rey still happens, while Ben fights Vader(a projection from Palpatine obviously) Leia’s death causes Ben to lose his fight and is left for dead, Rey saves Ben via force healing
Rey is still horrified by her inner darkness and that Palpatine is her grandfather, so she still goes to Ach-To. So cue the same scene between Rey and Luke, only, instead of Rey going via X-Wing, it’s Ben and Chewie in the Falcon who come to Rey
Chewie comes to Ben’s aid for saving him earlier, for saving him and showing that Ben has a change of heart, Chewie hugs Ben and takes Ben to Moraband to save Rey. Chewie even gives him Han’s blaster. Showing that Chewie forgives Ben for Han’s death and to help him save Rey.
When Ben arrives, Rey hugs and they embrace each other. Ben parts ways with Luke. Luke would encourage Rey and Ben to heal Ben’s Crossguard Lightsaber, so with their combined powers, Ben’s Crossguard Lightsaber is healed and it is now white. Luke then tells Ben and Rey, “1000 generations of Jedi lives within you now. This is your fight.” and tells them “may the force be with you” Before leaving I could see Ben rebuilding his saber hilt and it would most likely be Grey.
Prior to landing on Moraband, Ben changes his attire. He removes his dark Kylo Ren aesthetic, for something you would associate with the son of Han Solo art by machodoodle and Phantasy Studio
Ben asks, “how do we look?” Rey tells him “perfect” Ben will say”no, almost perfect” and Rey realizes what he means and undoes her buns and frees her hair. “Now we’re perfect” how Rey with her hair freed would look, source
Before exiting the Falcon, Ben believes this is the last time to tell Rey, so Ben would talk to Rey and tell her “I never wanted power, all I wanted was you. You were never nothing, you were everything to me and I love you Rey” Ben would hold out his hand and Rey would take it and Ben would kiss Rey. Both Ben and Rey believes this will be their last night alive, so Rey and Ben make the most of it by making love. Your standard movie sex scene, but nothing too explicit
When they land on Moraband, they are greeted by the Knights Of Ren. Rey and Ben fight the Knights Of Ren together.
Instead of space horses to land on a Star Destroyer, it’s basically the result of Finn’s message. Stormtroopers start rebelling and Finn is leading the assault. Stormtroopers vs Sith Troopers. And we’d see Finn igniting his Lightsaber to lead the charge. Just imagine how emotional it would be to have the lightsaber of a former slave to be used to lead and free other slaves. It’s an awesome battle, but it results in Hux’s defeat. Hux shares Pryde’s fate.
After Hux’s defeat, Finn senses danger. So Lando drops Finn off to save Rey and Ben
Due to Finn’s presence, Ben and Rey are fully rejuvinated.
Rey, Finn and Ben are able to kill Palpatine together(Anakin, Leia and Luke are able to empower them both to end Palpatine once and for all) however it would not end the with Rey and Ben just deflecting lightning, Palpatine would draw two red lightsabers and faces Ben and Rey in a epic lightsaber duel. It is easily the best lightsaber duel in the sequel trilogy with Williams brand new edition of Duel Of Fates playing in the background. It ends with Palpatine saying “I AM ALL THE SITH! and Finn, Ben and Rey say “we are the Skywalkers” and it finally ends with Palpatine destroyed.
Pryde and Ben sign a treaty to end the war
We’d get a scene of Ben making peace with Finn and Poe
Also a scene of Lando and Chewie hugging their nephew
To help cement his redemption. Ben goes off on his path of atonement to right his wrongs by wiping out FO holdouts. Ben insists he has to do this on his own, but Rey will tell him “we’ll do it together” and the final scene is Rey and Ben in the Falcon, sharing a kiss before they head out to end The First Order hold outs.
Epilogue. The war is over. The First Order is no more. The New Order is established. Think Galactic Federation of Free Alliances from Legends. Lando Calrissian is the Chancellor of the New Order. Leia passed away and is entombed on her home of Chandrilla with Han. Finn leads a program to help properly help his brothers and sisters integrate back into galactic society and to help them all find their families and worlds. Poe and Finn would be the Ministers of Defense, always keeping The New Order’s Military strong and on their toes so they can prepare them for whatever threat there is to come. Finn and Rose got married and Rose leads a sanctuary for all the children and animals who have lost their families due to the war and helps take care of them, but also Rose would lead an attack on arms dealers and war profiteers who have profited off the war and suffering of the galaxy. In time, Finn and Rose would bring relief and restoration to Hays Minor and together Finn and Rose Tico would return home and have a family. Poe and Connix get married on Yavin IV.
I believe that Rey and Ben would get married on Naboo, have their honeymoon on Chandrilla, then setting down on Mortis to reform the Prime Jedi and balance the Force while raising their family. Basically Rey and Ben would either gain a peaceful life on Naboo or build a New Order where both sides of the force can come together in order to achieve balance, where they can love freely and use their passions and compassion for the good of the force without suppressing their emotions and I think the best place for this new Order to take place would be on Mortis.
70 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello! Luke and Vader celebrating Father's day in the Vader lives au or if it's already taken Vader discovering slave Luke on tatooine.
This one is a very loose deviation from one of the comics, where Luke is almost (or in this case is) captured by some of Jabba’s men after he tries to steal water back from them after they took it from the farmers. In the comic, Obi-Wan shows up to rescue little 8 year old Luke, but here he wasn’t quite fast enough. It works out though, in the end. :)
Of all the things his Master had ordered him to do, of all the places his Master had ordered him to go, Vader detested this assignment the most. Negotiating a treaty with Jabba the Hutt in his palace on Tatooine was a pointed insult, and Vader’s rage roared in the pit of his stomach like a sandstorm, painful and deadly. There was no need to send him to do this. One of the many simpering politicians the Emperor had on his payroll would do just as well. But this was a punishment, Vader knew, for some insignificant misstep the Emperor believed he had committed. Whatever he had done to offend his Master, he had not been made aware of it. Or perhaps it was simply the Emperor’s way of reminding him where he had come from, what he had been and what he still was.
The heat of Tatooine’s twin suns didn’t touch him through the environmental controls in his suit, and the light was no more blinding than the dim glow in his hyperbaric chamber thanks to the lenses on his mask, protecting his damaged eyes. But still the sand managed to work its way past the leather gloves and get into the wiring of his prosthetic hands. He could feel it grinding each time he moved his fingers or clenched his fists. How it managed to get into his sealed suit, he did not know, but he knew he shouldn’t really be surprised. It had always managed to get where it should not be able to.
Jabba’s palace was cooler and darker, but no less sandy. The raucous crowd of bounty hunters, slavers, sycophants, and guards, all varying species in varying levels of intoxication, irritated Vader. He remembered all too well Gardulla’s court, though it was many years and a lifetime ago, and he had no wish to dwell on the memories brought up by the similarities it shared with Jabba’s palace. They were the memories of another man, he tried to tell himself, though the clarity with which he remembered them contradicted that in a way he could only pretend to ignore.
Vader made sure to stay well clear of the concealed trap door on the floor in front of Jabba’s throne throughout the negotiations. He could feel the restless hunger and unconstrained malice of the rancor kept in the dungeon underneath the floor of the throne room, and though the animal would pose no serious threat to him, he had no desire to encounter it.
The negotiations had concluded favorably for the Empire, something which had never been in doubt. The whole thing was a farce, and both parties knew it. Vader was just turning to go, more than ready to leave the palace and the planet behind, when a small commotion behind him drew his attention. He paused, still feeling the desire to simply leave. Whatever was happening would have no consequences for him, so there was no reason for him to remain, regardless of Jabba’s barbed invitation to stay and enjoy whatever the palace had to offer.
He took another step towards the exit, and the Force tugged on his awareness, jerking him to a stop and nearly spinning him around with the burning need to pay attention!
He gritted his teeth, annoyed that he would need to spend even an extra second on the Force-forsaken planet, and focused his attention on the scene playing out in front of him.
Several Weequay guards had dragged a small Human boy in front of Jabba, his wrists bound behind his back, clad in a familiar sort of white outfit preferred by natives of Tatooine. His hair was light and his eyes were too, and Vader froze as he watched himself be shoved to his knees in front of Jabba’s throne. But no, the boy was not him, despite the physical similarities, and Vader almost shook his head to clear the phantom image of himself as a child overlaid on this boy.
The boy was fighting the hands on his arms, but not struggling, defiance written in the set of his shoulders and the way he held his head. His eyes were hard, determined, despite the fear rolling off of him in the Force. There was no way this boy was a slave, yet, or if he was, he had only just been captured.
“You wanted a chance to tell Jabba what you thought of his taxes,” one of the Weequays taunted. “Now would be the time.”
The boy lifted his chin a little higher, raising his head so he could stare directly at the Hutt’s face. “The water belongs to the farmers,” the boy said, and none of his terror was audible in his voice. Despite himself, Vader was impressed. He knew the boy felt fear, as Vader’s sense of it in the Force was curiously strong, but he had seen grown men cower under the influence of half as much as this boy was feeling.
Jabba laughed, a disgusting sound that made Vader grit his teeth, and the boy scowled.
“If you do not want your family to pay taxes in water, perhaps you would prefer to pay with your service?” Jabba said in Huttese, and the boy caught his breath, paling. He shook his head, but Jabba was already gesturing at the guards.
“He’s a pretty one. I want him kept that way. I will keep him for now, but he should be able to fetch a decent price if he stays looking the way he does.”
“No!” the boy shouted, and he jerked against the hands holding him down. “You don’t own me. You can’t sell me!”
The boy yelped as one of the guards struck him, and Vader had to force himself not to move forward to interfere. He should not care about this insignificant boy, and he did not understand why a long-dormant protective streak was rearing its head now. He should leave, before the scene dredged up more unpleasant memories he wanted to leave forgotten. But something in the Force protested at that thought, and he didn’t turn to leave.
The blow seemed to have tamed the boy, at least for the moment. He kept his head down, his shoulders trembling slightly, but Vader could feel his determination vibrating in the Force, and he suddenly realized that the boy was Force sensitive. His sensitivity was dormant, untrained, almost blocked or shielded, but not by the boy himself. Vader tilted his head, contemplating the boy. Perhaps this was why the Force had prompted him to stay. He would need to kill the boy, or, if he was strong enough, take him to Mustafar to train him as an Inquisitor. And if he was being shielded by an outside force, perhaps there was a Jedi hiding nearby that he would need to deal with. That would be a welcome outlet for his frustration at being sent back to this planet, frustration that could never be taken out on its source as he was not powerful enough to destroy his Master.
“What is your name, boy?” Jabba demanded.
Luke threw his head back, a gesture accompanied by a flare of defiant pride in the Force. “Luke Skywalker,” he said. “Freeborn son of Anakin Skywalker.”
Vader couldn’t breathe. His respirator forced air into his lungs at the same pace it always did, but he couldn’t breathe. He had killed… She had died before giving birth. It wasn’t possible, but the Force screamed the veracity of the boy’s claim.
“My father got out, and I will too.”
Jabba laughed again. “And where is your father now?” he taunted.
Luke stiffened, but before he could say anything, and before Vader could properly think about what he was doing, he stepped forward, igniting his lightsaber.
“Right here,” he growled. He raised his lightsaber, pointing it at Jabba. “Release the boy to me.”
Everyone in the throne room froze, not even Jabba’s guards daring to advance on him. The boy, Luke, his son, looked up at him in confusion, his eyes wide.
“Anakin Skywalker,” Jabba said, considering Vader. “You’re still a slave, boy.”
And Vader could not deny it. He clenched his free hand into a fist, and Jabba choked, scrabbling at his throat.
“Release him, Jabba,” he snarled, stalking forward. The palace guards finally regained their wits and raised their blasters to aim at him. He batted aside the first shot easily, sending the bolt ricocheting back into the body of the guard that had fired it. No one else dared attack him, most of them spellbound by the sight of the Hutt twisting on himself as he fought to escape the intangible hold on his throat.
Vader’s limbs burned with the desire to drive his blade through the bodies of every being in the throne room aside from his son and the handful of other slaves cowering with wide, hopeful eyes in the corners of the room, but he would not risk his newfound son’s life. If he started slaughtering the guards and sycophants now, the rest would begin to fight back, and though he could protect himself easily, he would not be able to guarantee Luke’s safety.
Jabba gave one last gurgle before slumping down on his throne platform, dead. Luke stared at the body, his mouth hanging slightly open. Vader turned to regard him, and one of the Weequay guards, the one who had struck Luke earlier, brought his blaster up to the back of Luke’s head. Fear snarled in the pit of Vader’s stomach, but he pushed it down with a wave of anger.
“If you so much as pluck a hair from his head, I will make your death more painful than you can possibly imagine.” He could hear the icy rage in his voice, audible even with the vocoder’s regulation, and the other guard behind Luke took a step back, releasing his grip on Luke’s shoulder.
Luke trembled, his breath shuddering as he lowered his head from the pressure of the blaster’s barrel against it.
“Hand him over to me now and I might be merciful.” The guard would die, both for threatening his son and for striking him, but he could be persuaded to make it quick and relatively painless.
The Weequay hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting around the room to see if anyone would support him. But Jabba’s death had shaken them, and Vader could feel the confused turmoil permeating the throne room. The guard lowered his blaster slowly before jerking Luke to his feet. He shoved him towards Vader.
Vader reached out and caught him, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder as he stumbled. Luke reared back from his touch, his body practically vibrating with his fear, but Vader hooked his arm around the boy and pulled him close. Luke ducked under his cape, and Vader was briefly amazed at just how tiny his son was. He should be eight years old, but he looked so much younger.
His son safely ensconced in his armourweave cape, Vader reached out with the Force and snapped the guard’s neck. The Weequay dropped bonelessly to the floor, and the other guard recoiled.
“But you said -” he stammered.
Vader cut him off. “I gave him a merciful death.”
He crouched suddenly and scooped Luke up with his free arm. It was awkward with the boy’s hands bound behind his back, but Vader balanced him carefully, aware that Luke could not hold on like this. Luke gasped indignantly, but did not struggle.
“I will free your hands once we are out of here,” Vader promised, not willing to give him any extra chances to escape. His son’s mind was darkened with distrust and no small amount of fear. If he allowed him to, Vader did not doubt that the boy would try to flee.
It was only after he cut down the other Weequay guard that the rest of the room’s occupants realized his bloodlust had not been sated by Jabba and the first guard. Even with Luke in his arms, Vader made quick work of them, moving through the room with all the determined inevitability of fate, and none of the blaster bolts touched him.
Luke had pressed his face into Vader’s shoulder sometime at the beginning of the massacre, and now as Vader deactivated his lightsaber and turned his full attention to his son, he realized the boy was sobbing.
Vader shifted him in his arms before kneeling and setting Luke’s feet back on the floor. The boy immediately tried to skitter away, but Vader’s grip on his shoulders was too strong.
“Luke, calm down,” he said, attempting to soften his voice as much as the vocoder would allow. “I will not hurt you, my son.” The words seared his throat with the heat of Mustafar. It wasn’t a title he had ever thought he would bestow on a living person. He had choked the life out of his dream of parenthood even as he wrapped the Force around his wife’s neck. Yet here his son stood in front of him.
Luke shook his head slowly, his body still trembling with the remnants of tears. “My father is dead,” he whispered.
“No, Luke,” Vader said, and his heart ached. He removed a hand from Luke’s shoulder to reach up and brush the hair away from Luke’s eyes. Luke turned his head away, avoiding Vader’s touch.
“What do you want with me?”
“You are my son, Luke. I simply want you.”
Luke shook his head again. “I don’t believe you.”
“I can prove it to you,” Vader said. He felt a brief flash of uncertainty; what if Luke wasn’t really his son? But the Force wiped the doubt away quickly, assuring him of the truth of their relationship. “Will a DNA test satisfy you?”
Luke turned back to look at him and watched him carefully for a moment. Vader’s respirator protested, and he realized he was trying to hold his breath.
Finally, Luke nodded slowly. Vader bowed his head in an unexpected surge of relief. “Good.”
He released the binders from Luke’s wrists with the Force and swept his son up in his arms before the boy could even give a startled gasp. Luke squirmed, pushing against Vader’s chest, and Vader tightened his grip.
“I can walk!”
Vader smiled, the action pulling painfully at his scars. It wasn’t enough to distract him from his humor at his son’s adorable, childish outrage. “Not fast enough. Your legs are too short to keep up with me for long.”
Luke frowned. “Where are you taking me? I need to get back to my aunt and uncle. They have to be worried about me.”
Vader tilted his head. He had no siblings, and her family were all on Naboo, so that left only one set of people Luke could be referring to.
“Owen Lars?” he asked.
Luke’s eyes widened. He bit his lower lip and nodded cautiously. “And Aunt Beru,” he whispered. Vader felt a small spark of hope alight in Luke’s mind. Perhaps Vader wasn’t lying about being his father after all, if he knew who his guardians were.
“You may comm them after we reach my ship,” Vader said, unwilling to confront his stepbrother.
Luke pulled away from him again. “You can’t take me away from them!” he protested.
Vader sighed. He should have expected Luke to have concerns about leaving with him, but he hadn’t thought about it, in the rush of realizing he had a living child. He opened his mouth to reply, when he was distracted by movement near the door to the throne room.
A young Togruta girl crouched in the shadows. She shrunk back when Vader turned his head to regard her. His anger flared again as he took in the scraps of cloth that passed for her clothing, and he was briefly reminded of another Togruta who had once posed as a slave to infiltrate -
No. Vader stopped that line of thought in its tracks. He focused again on the girl and quickly ran his awareness over her, locating the transmitter implanted in her left shoulder.
“Come here,” he told her. She trembled but did as he asked. He shifted his grip on Luke to free one of his hands, and she flinched when he reached for her.
“I will not hurt you,” he said. He remembered the promise he had made as a child, that he would one day come back and free the slaves. He had so far failed to make good on that promise, and he would not be able to complete it for a little while yet, but he could start here.
He hovered his hand over her shoulder, not touching as she whimpered when his hand neared her bare skin, and sent a tendril of the Force questing for the transmitter. He deactivated it and broke a necessary component in it so it could never be activated again, careful not to do anything to hurt her.
“I have deactivated your transmitter,” he told her. Both she and Luke gasped, and Luke turned his head to stare at his mask.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
“With the Force. I will teach you.”
Luke nodded, and Vader smiled again at the light in his son’s eyes at the thought.
“Are there others?” Vader asked, even though he knew that of course there were. The Togruta girl nodded and rushed off to gather them when Vader twitched his head.
It was a delay in getting his son off the planet, finding and deactivating the transmitters of all the slaves in the palace, but it was somehow more satisfying than even killing Jabba had been.
#asks#father's day fic#my fanfiction#luke skywalker#this precious child#darth vader#the ashes call my name#you're my dark star
190 notes
·
View notes
Text
Vader Strikes Back - Part the 8th
Not beta read/really rough/not really proof read/plot holes and OUT of order. Also spoilers for the original first story in AO3 Back From the Future: Episode VI The Clone Wars. Check the tag #vader strikes back on my page for the other parts to this mess/fic outline.
I am on a ROLL. Ha-ha! This first of three major story arcs for this fic are FINALLY coming together even in this rough draft form! I may even have more to post in the next day or so. I have IDEAS! Such ideas, I cannot tell you. Let us just see if they actually WORK together so bear with me.
Please note that we are jumping around in time. Not all of Part 8 happens AFTER sections of Part 7. The snippets in this post may seem completely out of order and they are. I will rearrange the order of the various parts when I finalize this for posting on AO3. So please don’t be too confused. This is just the order that my muse is interested in writing these scenes and there will be more related to this part.
Finally, you may see some familiar hints of Tatooine slave culture and use of Amatakka in this section and future sections. I asked and received permission from the amazing @fialleril ahead of time to use some words from this language. They are just an amazing author. Follow them on tumblr. If you have not already, READ EVERYTHING they have ever written on AO3. I am not kidding. They are amazing!
*
A month into the Tatooine campaign and Rex was at his wits end. He felt that he’d crisscrossed the planet at least a dozen times, been to palaces, mansions, cities, towns, and villages, (and places that had delusions and fever dreams of village-hood). He’d been to the race course, the fighting pits, just about every cantina and watering hole on the planet and he was still always ten steps behind Vader.
Vader moved across the planet like a force of nature, leaving a swath of destruction in his wake at the level of most planetary disasters. Rex had seen some remarkable feats of martial strength by Jedi and Sith alike, but nothing compared to this.
The problem was, with Vader always on the move, the clone Captain could hardly plan an effective strategy! While finding an organized Underground on Tatooine was a relief and a blessing, the Trail runners were not trained to follow the chain of command and had their own very distinct ideas of how to wage a slave revolt and revolution.
(Rex never again wanted to witness unarmed civilians both young and old throwing themselves on the weapons of the enemy to open up a way for his men attack. He didn’t want to see slaves, knowing their transmitters were about to be triggered, using themselves as sentient bombs to help others escape. Rex could have lived his entire life without knowing that with an effective scanner, slaves would undergo invasive surgery to free themselves from implanted bombs with no anesthesia and little to no way to provide sterile conditions. Bearing witness during one such surgery to test out the effectiveness of the scanner Vader had designed was enough to put him off food for days and he was a veteran of some of the bloodiest fighting of the Clone Wars!)
If only they had more support from the GAR, but no, he had to plan and implement the campaign with the scant resources they had. Things would be a lot easier if Vader would just give him some idea of his plan of attack so Rex could arrange for a more effective liberation effort. But Vader never seemed to sit still. Rex would catch up to him at one location, finish the attack and relief effort, turn to consult with the man and find him gone.
Even when Vader did not immediately leave a town or palace or farmstead, he did not seem to rest. He would wander out into the fast approaching night, like some sort of silent specter, always moving, never still.
(Some of the locals would whisper . . . something as he passed by. It wasn’t in any language that Rex or even Echo recognized).
Rex knew there was a human man underneath that armor but since Luke had died, no one would believe it.
Vader didn’t sleep. He didn’t eat. He had not gone back to the sealed chambers he had aboard the Dauntless since they’d first made planet fall. Rex seriously wondered how long Vader could continue like this.
The only solution that Rex could figure out would be to move with Vader and talk to him as they traveled. Spying the dark cloaked figure heading out through the twists and turns of the city, Rex grabbed a datapad and his helmet and ran off after him.
*
Vader walked.
When he wasn’t killing slavers, he walked. His feet took him to many places. Many he’d seen before when Palpatine had ordered him to treat with Jabba on behalf of the Empire (one of the Emperor’s favorite sadistic games). Other places were remnants of his childhood. (The slaver quarters looked the same all over the planet. One weather beaten hovel was very much like the next. Junk shops and garages were ubiquitous.)
He was alone while he walked.
“I’ve never seen Mos Espa,” the voice to his left said in the growing dusk. “I’ve seen Mos Eisley and I’ve flown Beggar’s Canyon enough times, but I never got as far as this.”
Vader turned a corner and then another, halting to let some children run passed him.
(It was so strange that despite his mask, no child shrank in fright from him here.)
“It really is something, especially the race track. I wonder if they are still flying your old racing colors. You did win the Classic after all. Shall we go and look?”
Vader hesitated. To the right down through the market, passed Watto’s old shop, was the way to the track. To the left was the winding route to the quarters.
He turned left.
There was no one to show the flag off to anyway. No one living cared about such things, least of all him. But when he entered the old shabby courtyard of the slave quarters he wondered if he’d made a mistake in turning left, because the grandmother of the quarters was sitting and telling stories to a host of children who had flocked to her, children waiting and hoping that some family member may soon be free and come and find them.
Vader didn’t want to hear any stories. He didn’t want to remember. He wanted to finish this campaign, kill every single slaver and crime lord he could get his hands on and then leave and never return.
“I know this one,” the voice said excitedly. “Listen, this is the best part!”
Vader edged around the crowd and finally ducked down a narrow alleyway, the old woman’s voice fading.
He hurried forward not wanting to listen for a moment, only stopping when he finally reached a familiar door. It was so much smaller than he remembered. He looked at the frame and noted the symbols etched innocuously around it, easily mistaken for scratches and wear and tear. To those who knew how to read them though, they provided an access code and informed visitors that no one was living in the hovel currently. Vader went inside and out of a long forgotten habit, he shook himself from head to toe, trying to dislodge as much sand as he could.
The place was dark. The air wasn’t something that Vader could smell or taste but he was sure it was stale from long abandonment. There was no furniture except a few worn chairs at a familiar table, but Vader knew that behind a false back of one of the kitchen cupboards would be a hidden storage space with a few necessities if anyone was traveling the Trail and needed a place to rest.
He stood in the entry way, lost. He didn’t know where to go or what to do next. He didn’t want to remember.
Which begged the question, why then had he come here?
“I think you came because do want to remember,” the voice said quietly. “I think . . . I think you’ve been keekta-du since long before you went by the name Vader. But you can remember where you came from. Your feet know the Trail to take. We are desert people. Desert people don’t forget.”
Vader didn’t respond. There was nothing and no one to respond to.
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there in the dark until he heard a tapping on the door. The Force easily supplied him with the identity of who had followed him. He turned and opened the door to let Captain Rex and some of Luke’s students enter.
“Be sure to shake the sand off,” he counseled as he headed into the kitchen.
*
Anakin did not look away from the viewscreen but at Obi-Wan’s request he did pause the holovid, the image of Hardcase futility digging into the side of a mountain frozen in front of him.
“What do you want, Master?” he asked dully.
Obi-Wan paused, not sure what to say. Tatooine had long been a forbidden subject between them. Not since the very earliest days of their lives together had Anakin so much has hinted at his background or mentioned much of his past, (his nightmares about his mother’s death notwithstanding). Obi-Wan couldn’t pin point when Anakin had stopped talking about his past, but the words had dried up. Then the quirky strange things little Anakin used to do back in the beginning had ceased and his accent and way of talking had changed. At the time, Obi-Wan had thought Anakin had “let go” of the past.
He’d obviously been wrong about that as he had about so many things when it came to Anakin.
But things were different now. Things were supposed to be different between them. No more pretending. No more lying. He steeled himself and stepped closer and placed a hand on Anakin’s tense shoulder.
He counted it as a victory when Anakin does not shrug him off.
“I’ve received a message from Coruscant. There’s an emergency meeting called by the High Council. Do you want to listen in?”
Obi-Wan had been making this offer since they’d come to Naboo, breaking all traditions, rules and protocols by allowing his former Padawan to view meetings that should be shrouded in Silence. But it was more important now to demonstrate trust, to change the habits of a life time that nearly destroyed Anakin, the Order, and the entire galaxy. Obi-Wan may lose sleep over a lot of things, but breaking this rule was not one of them.
“It’s going to be about Tatooine,” Anakin said in a small voice, his fingers tracing the edges of the comm array buttons in front of him. “These holovids haven’t leaked onto the Galactic Holonet, but they’re all over the GAR servers. Every Jedi officer and every one of the troops have access to these vids.”
“Very likely, yes,” Obi-Wan agreed. He’d watched a few himself (just a few as it turned his stomach to watch, as all he could see was Anakin in the face of every liberated slave).
“And what is the Council going to do about it? They’ve already sent Master Windu out . . . hunting Vader.”
Obi-Wan shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Anakin turned in his seat, his eyes burning as he looked at his former Master. “Will the Council use Vader as an excuse to interfere with the campaign?”
“I don’t know.”
Anakin clenched his jaw. “You don’t know. You don’t know.” He stood suddenly, pushing the hand off his shoulder and began to pace. “He’s liberating the planet. He killed Jabba. He’s freeing the slaves. How is that a bad thing?”
“It’s not a bad thing,” Obi-Wan insisted, hoping to calm his friend. “It’s not.”
“Slavery’s supposed to be illegal, not that anyone would know looking at the galaxy.”
“It is illegal, Anakin.”
“They why don’t you know what the Council is going to do?!” Anakin exploded. “This is simple. This is so, so simple. Slavery bad. Liberation good. What is there to decide?”
Obi-Wan hesitated but then pressed on to disclose the most damning piece of news he had. “Master Yoda’s message setting the meeting mentioned a petitioner from the Hutt Clans.”
Anakin visibly recoiled as if struck. Items around the room started to vibrate and rattle. Obi-Wan raised a hand, trying to calm him, but Anakin was having none of it. “So the Hutts are going to beg the Jedi Order to intervene and protect them and the Order’s going to agree, is that it? Slaves begging for the Order’s help, well, the Council doesn’t have time for that but when an emissary of that slime ridden filth comes knocking there’s a special session of the Council? Is that what this is? My troops and innocent civilians all fighting, dying, for freedom but because of politics, because Vader is leading the charge, the Order is going to help the Hutts?!”
Anakin turned his head to the side and let out a spitting curse in a language that Obi-Wan had never heard before, but was so obviously vile it resonated through the Force like a slap in the face.
“I will not support that, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, trying to forget the mission the Council had forced upon his student-- the rescue of Jabba’s son, the securing of Hutt hyperspace lanes for the war effort, (a sham war, a fake conflict orchestrated by a Sith, where he and other Jedi had compromised and compromised until there was nearly nothing left that made them Jedi to begin with). “Listen to me, I will not support the Hutts.”
Anakin looked at him, eyes searching his face, his feelings searching the Force.
(Anakin was checking. Obi-Wan hadn’t realized it before. He’d seen Anakin do this throughout his years of teaching him, but until recently Obi-Wan had never put two and two together. He thought his former Padawan was sulky and silent, and at times arrogant. Now Obi-Wan could see what before he never could. Anakin was checking to see if Obi-Wan was lying).
Obi-Wan was not lying. He was done with lying, no matter how painful it was.
Because he’d seen the consequences of lying that day the twins were born and Palpatine was defeated.
He never wanted to see Anakin that close to Falling ever again.
(He never wanted to see Anakin become the tortured violent shell of a man that was Vader.)
Anakin must have found him to be sincere because he did not turn his still visible anger against his brother. “And if the Council decides to help the Hutts retake Tatooine anyway?” he asked bitterly.
“They better not,” Padme’s interjected sharply. She entered the room and handed Anakin one of the twins to carry without a by your leave.
Immediately, everything in the room stilled, the cloud of anger evaporated like morning fog as Anakin cradled Leia in his arms.
Obi-Wan blinked at the sudden lifting of Anakin’s spirits. Nothing and no technique Obi-Wan had ever taught him (or that Anakin had taught himself) had ever worked as well to ground Anakin in the light like his children. It was awe inspiring each time Obi-Wan witnessed it.
But Padme was still talking and her tone of command was quick to refocus Obi-Wan’s thoughts. “I’ve already conferred with Satine and Bail on this. The Republic will not get involved in Tatooine. I can’t convince them to officially help given the current precarious political and economic knife’s edge we find ourselves on, especially with the Accords not finalized, but the Republic won’t interfere. We won’t provide aide to the Hutts to stop the liberation. When Vader manages to secure the planet, reconstruction funding and resources will be available through the League’s free market. That much I can do. But you make sure you tell them that, Obi-Wan,” she said, rocking Luke in her arms. “You tell the Council that if they back the Hutts to undo all the good that is happening on Tatooine I will personally see to it that each and every one of them regret it until their dying day,” she said with a finality of a death knell. “In the most legal and ethically way possible, of course,” she added after a beat of stunned silence.
“Of course,” Obi-Wan echoed weakly, more than a little unnerved. Sometimes he forgot that at 14 Padme had ruled a planet and fought a war to protect it from the Trade Federation (no doubt to Palpatine’s total consternation, he realized with bitter remembrance and hindsight). He really shouldn’t forget that. He spared a glance over to Anakin, who had managed to take his eyes off his daughter’s face to gaze at his terrifying wife with stars in his eyes. (As per usual, Anakin was largely useless in curbing the Senator’s more vicious tendencies and obviously found them to be a wildly attractive quality.) “Well,” he said shaking himself. “I’d best comm the Council.”
Padme nodded and then she and Anakin took a seat on the couch out of holocamera range to watch.
Obi-Wan took his seat and a deep breath, and activated the comm system.
*
37 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
japtats1
Japtats1
merry-madness
Of Marry Madness
goddess-gamez
Goddess Gamez|CC FINDS
bubblegumdefect
vaya con dios
multiuniverse02
Cowboys & Cultists