#The Lord Chancellor’s Nightmare

[phoeebsbuffay]

Imagine Darth Vader finds out you are alive. He keeps track of what you've been up to in these years he became the Sith Lord. You are led to believe he was long dead... Until something happens.

Warnings: a lot of drama, angst... Contains smut, not recommended for minors.

Warnings 2: alternative universe where we have no Ahsoka Tano and Padmé Amidala. Here, Y/N is a character whose plot mixes them both; unburnt Vader.

Warnings 3: Anakin never killed the younglings in any of my stories even as Vader.

Warnings 4: fluffy endings.

Recommendation:"Broken" (Seether ft. Amy Lee); “Pictures of You” by “The Cure”.

***

Intro

Once again, darkness flows uncontrollably. It gravitates towards its victim, ready to attack its heart by surrounding it and suffocating it as its poison dismisses any sight of light.

From the darkest waters, a man arises. From the flames of Mustafar, the one great Jedi has become the very thing he swore to destroy.

Darth Vader is hungry not only for the power to him denied when he was a general Jedi whose reputation once earned admiration from all, but for independence as well. To be set free of the chains of the misled Order he’d been so loyal to after countless years of losses, he is abandoned by all those he loved.

Except by one person.

One single woman escapes his resentment and anger. This woman is Y/L Y/LN. You. Of average height, y/c hair, soft y/c skin and eyes dark as coal, you and him met right after you were under the guidance of General Skywalker. You were not of an age to be a Padawan anymore, you were eighteen, in fact, about to become a Knight Jedi.

Skywalker back then resisted this idea mostly because he thought he did not need a Padawan whatsoever. But after an initial clash between the two of you, there came something. You started getting along.

He got harder on you, despite being very impressed by your skills. You always awoke the best of him. He’d never seen a Jedi as you: powerful, yes, but centered and altruist. Your patience and sharp wit surprised even Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, it was your recklessness and stubbornness that attracted Skywalker.

As diplomatic as you were, sometimes working under disguise to protect a Senator of Planet Y/C, you had your own issues with authority. Not often you did what others told you not to.

In spite of that, two years later Anakin was proud of you: you successfully became a Knight Jedi. He insisted that it was not too soon until you became a Jedi Master. Yet, it turned out to be a very difficult period of your lives. It was when you and Anakin began to seeing each other with romantic eyes.

That was precisely when everything started going wrong. You two had just gotten secretly married when someone set you a trap. The Council expelled you of the Order without a proper investigation of the case. Anakin could not believe the injustice he saw it was done to you. Though he eventually managed to prove your innocence, clearing you of all accusations, the damage was done. Thus was that you refused to go back to the Order.

Despite these circumstances, you carried on. You had a normal life to live together with your husband until the day Anakin went to a mission to spy the Chancellor only to never go back to your arms. It was when the Order 66 forced you to go separate ways.

To you, Anakin Skywalker was dead. And to him, you as well. Until this day… when Darth Vader meditates and only through the Force he discovers your whereabouts.

“By the Maker”, he chokes when he is led to you. “Y/L, you are alive!”

***

Nowadays.

Your POV

It’s been two years, but your conscience does not cease to torment you. The specter of what could have been comes in the form of sweet nightmares that frequently has awaken you in salty tears.

The day the Order 66 had been carried out you discovered you were pregnant. You wanted to tell Anakin yourself: this was a moment where you both prepared for it. You had found an unofficial new job as a keeper of the peace to the Senator of Naboo, something you’ve chosen to do because Obi-Wan insisted and Anakin promised he needed a few more years before both of you left Coruscant.

That was the plan. But that same day, happiness clouded your judgement. You didn’t realize what was going on until Obi-Wan had sent you a trooper of his trust to inform something wrong happened to Anakin. You had to be prepared for what was to come, he was about to suggest you to go elsewhere.

“What good does it do to dwell in what was done?”, you mumble to yourself as you keep walking towards the market.

But memories remain crystal clear in the back of your mind. When the clone turned suddenly against you, trying to kill you in the process… When the circumstances escalated to a tragedy upon which you lost your dear child. And your husband.

Alone in this world, you now wage your own wars. At first, you are isolated—you don’t want to know about Jedis and Siths anymore, you’ve lost too much for either side. You don’t feel right with Anakin’s gone, you are too broken to live up at any resistance out there against the Empire.

You come to the underworld. There are times you sense someone is watching you. You turn, suspicious, but there is no one there. However, the sensation does not leave you.

You eventually cross the path of rebellious sisters whose ship you helped building. One of them, named Seara, is intrigued by your melancholic, closed behavior.

“We don’t even know your name.”

“Why would you like to know my name? I am just passing by.”

“No attachments, eh? I thought we could be friends.”

You feel as if you ghost yourself when you respond:

“We are not friends.”

Yet, eventually war out there comes for you. The moment you all are captured by a ship of pirates is the one you realize you cannot let Seara and her sister die because you simply have no other use for this world.

But it’s right here that your former Jedi self ignites a spark that would bring to you the attention of a very dangerous pair of yellow eyes.

***

Darth Vader’s POV.

His frustration is fed when he is forced to acknowledge he’d been made a fool. Not only once as a child, or often as a Jedi, but even now as the apprentice to Palpatine. What has changed? An unposed question that holds a very bitter answer.

As he stares into the emptiness ahead of him, Lord Vader begins to contemplate instead how to get to you. Once the destruction of the Order meant to get his revenge for all the harm that has been done to you, to amend their wrongs and their injustices. However, this was not the sole point of his anger, of how he pursuit darkness as a solution for his problems.

By doubling his power, Lord Vader thought of you and you alone. He wanted to be the one to give you the life you deserved, comfortable and filled with proper luxuries—even though neither of you were excessively materialists. Nonetheless, what is this now but an illusion that is dissipating right before his eyes?

Seeing your suffering—the one that resulted from his doings—does not appease his angst. It only further bleeds his heart with guilt, breaking his spirit more than he cares to admit.

The only way now is to get his vengeance done. Vader realizes it has never been fully complete. Palpatine must die. A reasonable and yet bittersweet thought. Only then, he is coming for you, his precious love. The Jedi who left, the Jedi who never fell. His angel who remained pure before his eyes.

However, he must see you one more time. The temptation is too great to ignore.

What are you doing, Y/N? If only you knew…

It takes some time before he is led to a scene in which Vader promptly recognizes it as being part of the planet Y/C. You are under heavy rain, a grey hood omitting your features. You stare into the ocean, ignoring the presence of storm troopers who are still under the obeisance of the Order 66.

Vader fears for you. He instantly reconnects with you, trying to send some warnings about it. He sees you are startled by how tense your shoulders are. But you take his silent warning and when you turn, you are surrounded by five clones.

Vader feels an angst washing over his body, flowing over his hands, closing his fists as he tries to hold back a scream. In this very moment, though, the moment is gone. He cannot know what happens to you and to worse the current situation, Palpatine is looking for his pupile.

“I sense a weakness in you, Lord Vader”, his calm voice gives the other nerves. “What am I detecting here?”

“There is nothing to detect, my lord.” Vader goes in one knee, ignoring the look Palpatine casts him.

“I should better hope that you are not cultivating any animosity towards me, Lord Vader, unless death is what you aim to taste.”

There is little need for the demonstrations of anger for almost promptly Darth Vader submits to his Master.

For now, though.

For now.

***

Your POV.

As you embark into this strange adventure with the rebellious sisters, trouble is inevitable. Soon, Seara finds out who you truly are.

“A Jedi!”, she exclaims, perplexed.

“You are a Jedi”, her older sister echoes the observation.

You are too impatient dealing with your enemies to explain your current state.

“Just go to the other side. Don’t be reckless, Seara!”, when seeing you are ignored and the other one tries to help, you let a cry out: “No! GET OUT OF HERE!”

You levitate them and throw them at the ship that awaits your leave. It’s the one you find at your disposal—or some sort of it, anyway.

“Just go!”

You turn, trying not to bear in mind the day where remaining troops found you and when they were about to blaster against you, you swear you could hear Anakin’s husky voice warning you about their presence.

How?

Would you dare to nurture hope? Would you dare to give ears to the truth that has been resounding in your heart at the silent sound of drums? Would you?

Oh for fuck’s sake. You know there is nothing left for me, Y/N…

You dismiss this new hope, rather concentrating in the days Anakin was your Master and when he got hard on you.

“Remember the new blows I taught you, Y/N”, he cried out to you. “Rise and resist!”

You would drop every single time. At every shot, you thought you’d get beaten. But you’d prove him wrong. You were not weak.

“Go on, lass!”

And eventually you did. You not only brought a small smile to his lips, but you surprised Obi-Wan Kenobi. You knocked every opponent down, you surpassed almost every one in your trainings

As you look at the countless enemies that stand right before you, a thought occurs you.

Why should I fear them?

What happens next comes in slow motion. Your cape embraces the cold wind that comes from outside. You can hear the protests of the sisters you are now protecting, thanks to the powers you’ve doubled recently, when you managed to levitate the heavy ship and send it away.

Your eyes never leave your enemies. You remember seeing every moment of your life running right before your eyes. Specially where Anakin is concerned.

‘Remembering you standing quiet in the rain, as I ran to your heart to be near. And we kissed as the sky fell in…’

His caressing, his eyes staring down into yours, the sweet promises that came out of his mouth, the taste of his tongue in a synchronized rhythm with yours… How he held you near, how you heard his heart beating.

Or how he warmed your body in tempest nights, when he soothed your fears concerning thunders, when he peppered your skin with soft kisses.

“I love you”, you often said when he laid next to your side, staring into those blue eyes with the same intensity that hid behind yours. “There is nothing in the world that I ever want more than to be with you.”

“You are the stars of my universe, Y/N”, he whispered back, finding peace in your arms. “I love you. I will always gravitate to you, I will always find you.”

As memory turns into dust and salty tears are swallowed, stuck in your throat, you are brought back to nowadays. The troops step aside and an Inquisitor comes, laughing manically, posing himself a threat with a woman by his side.

“We know who you are”, you are told, hands resting in your sabers. “Almost a Senator, almost a Jedi. It’s what you are. An almost who is now about to become nothing.”

“Yet you treat me like a Jedi”, you answer softly, disdain rolling in your tongue, another inheritance of your husband. “Should I presume you fear me enough to attempt to disqualify me? I am not forgetting the wrongs you’ve done to the one I love.”

Another laughter.

“Did no one tell you that vengeance and anger are not the Jedi way?”

You finally hold your sabers in your hands, eyes narrowed at your opponents.

And a sly smirk twitches in the corner of your lips when you respond them:

“Well, I am no Jedi, you sons of a bitch.”

Thus it is the battle finally begins.

***

Darth Vader’s POV.

His eyes stare down into the lifeless corpse of Palpatine. Despise marks Anakin’s yellow eyes as he leaves it there, to public display under the shocked stare of thousands of troops and those who served the Empire loyally.

They all follow their Sith Lord with an astonished gaze stamped in their faces. What are they supposed to do now? A silent, unspoken question that is to meet, however, an even terrible end. Their reward for their evil services is dying under the forces not of Vader, who mysteriously escapes, but those of rebels who sought an opportunity and promptly took it.

Disguised under this vine hood, Vader’s mind and heart are far from the fall of the Empire he helped to build. As he concentrates, he comes to find you in a very violent battle.

Though he is proud of how you fight—(I taught you well, Y/nickname)—he is concerned in the same measure. How on earth will you alone defeat two of the most dangerous inquisitors? Not that he underestimates you, but as Vader is shown the fire spreading around the place you are fighting your war, his concern only grows.

“Fuck, Y/N. Fuck, don’t fight them off! Run away!” He tries to yell at you through the Force.

Though a disturbance is felt, all he can see is the tears that blurry your y/c eyes. Nonetheless, you don’t quake in fear. You are fierce, proud, every inch a Jedi trained and shaped to be one by your Master—the same one you married to.

But you resist. You scream, you give the best of yourself, many of the clones drop dead. But the Inquisitors are harder than you expected them to be.

Eventually though, exhaustion comes at you. Unfortunately, it comes in the wrong time. Right before Vader’s eyes, an explosion occurs.

“Y/N!”

His yells could easily echo throughout the dark silence of a nearly phantasmagoric galaxy as he pilots away to wherever you are. For he knows he will find you.

As he does.

***

Your POV.

You believe you are dead. After a long time spent fighting for others’s wars, you are free. You released yourself after being for so long chained to people pleasing here and there, always tirelessly fighting to do the right. Despite the efforts, all you have received from others—except from your husband—was rudeness and unthankfulness.

However, where is peace? Why is there pain in your body, why does it hurt to breathe? You think you hear someone calling your name.

“Kill me”, you hear yourself gasp. “Please. Put an end to this misery.”

You are surprisingly being held into somebody’s arms. The smell of the scent is familiar to you. No. It cannot be.

“Y/N, my darling… I am here.”

The voice is so familiar that you need not much to acknowledge it. You start crying.

“I must be dead then so we are reunited. Oh, Anakin! I was not waiting for you. I’m so sorry I failed you”, you try to speak amidst the pain that inflicts you.

He is so distressed that you cannot tell what really is going on. You cling into him, sensing somehow in your heart there is a different Anakin that is rocking you in his arms.

But he is still my Anakin, nevertheless. My Anakin.

This is the last thought you have before diving into unconsciousness.

***

Darth Vader’s POV.

He watches as you recover. Both of you are now found in a far away galaxy, somewhere where a new beginning is possible. You wake up in a comfortable bed, dressing a nightgown. A droid looks after you, though Anakin ensures not to leave your side.

“You don’t need to apologize or justify the path you’ve taken”, you tell him for the hundredth time as he apologizes to you. The once proud Jedi and even prouder Sith Lord is humbled before the woman he loves.

Vader is baffled by how well you took the new informations. For fear of losing you, he might’ve omitted some details, though he knows you know what he did not tell you.

But you stay. You cling into his arms, feeling safe. Vader watches you mesmerized.

“How can you…?” He cannot even ask.

You raise your eyes to meet his. Darth Vader is pleased to see some color is now painting your cheeks. You’ve been paled and your recovery took some months. Nonetheless, he’d been there for you: consoling your nightmares, tending your wounds and those unseen scars that left you a deep mark.

“There is good in you, Ani. I know there is”, you stroke his cheek, leaning to peck his lips. Your eyes instantly blurry at the proximity. “I still cannot believe you are here.”

“I’m here, darling. I will not leave you ever again. I… I didn’t know…” He chokes a sob, trying to look strong for you.

“Shhh, it’s fine. It’s all right. Come here.” You pull him against your arms and there he stays, his face buried in your neck. “We will get through this together, it’s what you always told me. I love you, Ani.”

His fears are easily soothed by you. The proximity of your bodies helps remembering how close you used to be—in every possible meaning—before the bloody war and the Emperor meddled and ruined your lives.

Yet, as Lord Vader comes to find out, even in darkness it is possible to let there be light. Little by little, he comes to terms with who he is—something you’ve always done, in fact. When now looking into your face, he is amazed by it.

You never expected him to change his nature, you did not yell at him, calling him names for what he’d done. All you two did was talk about what was done and why it was done, never judging the other for it.

“I love you, angel”, he says rather possessively, holding you close.

Playing with your hair and gently resting his hand on your shoulder, you turn at him when sensing the subtle change of his voice. You side smirk at him, feeling the same feeling.

As you rest your hand in his chest, you peck his lips, bitting his bottom lip.

“I love you too, Ani. I’ve missed you”, your voice comes in a whisper as you move your free hand to dive in his curls.

There is only a brief instant of silence hanging in between you. No more pain, no more nightmares at long last. It’s just you two. No more Jedis or Siths, but a husband with his wife.

It wakes the spark that for a very long time had been drowned in both of you. And he is surprised when your hand slips from his chest to his pants.

“Y/N”, he gasps softly. “What… Fuck.”

You smirk against his lips, enjoying the feeling of having his manhood getting hard under your delicate fingers, moving it up and down—slowly at first before increasing the rhythm just the way he enjoys it.

“I missed this”, you moan softly as he kisses you. “I missed us.”

And just like that, the dark beast comes out again. He kisses your neck, leaving all the gentleness behind when Anakin, formerly Lord Vader, bites it, hungry for your touch.

“Oh”, and you enjoy it, not only the feeling you have upon his manhood, but how he is completely dominating in bed.

“My sweet heart”, he growls under his breath as he starts to push your nightgown over your head, moving his body over yours. “Fuck. I…. Shit. No, no. It’s not about me tonight. Let me reward you for your good will towards me darling. Let me make you see stars.”

A shiver runs in your body the moment he says it, pinning your hands above your head all the whilst you feel him so damn close to your feminine parts, which almost makes you whimper.

Specially when he removes his shirt.

“Fuck”, you curse, feeling wet in between your legs.

Anakin smirks down at you before your cursing. He gently parts your legs, teasing you as he first removes your panties before moving his hands to your waist, arms and gently cupping your cheeks.

“Look what I made you into”, he chuckles. “Corrupting you, aren’t I?”

His thumb plays with your full lips and you take the opportunity to bite it and lick it as well. Anakin groans, hardening in the process.

“Oh by the Maker.”

“Yes?” You feign innocence when he looks at you. “Do you remember when you taught me so many ways to please my Master?”

His hands slip to your throat, wrapping them around it, but never doing anything that goes beyond the limits both of you once settled. His eyes stare down your nipples: he loves watching them getting hard under his touch. He in fact loves how easily you react to him.

“How naughty of you, Y/N”, he leans his body forward as he starts to touch your chest, hands playing with your breasts. “Have you been longing for me, wife?”

Anakin smirks pleased when seeing you blush.

“Y-Yes”, you moan in desperation, overall when he uses one of his hands to tease your womanhood. “Oh my… Anakin!”

As you interlock gazes, you feel as if you’d been brought back to heaven and the Lord Vader you know is the dark angel that’s made it reach to you.

***

Your POV.

You have missed riding him. Oh yes, you have. Every naughtiness there has been in you comes back with no shame. Anakin can tell the same as you move your hips slowly, taking his cock rightly so, as if he needs to remember you own him. As he owns you. As each owns the other.

“Oh Maker”, you throw your head back as his touch in your womanhood, as every grasp against your body sets your soul alight. “Oh my… You electrify me, love!”

“I’ve never been so alive as when I’m with you”, you lean downwards again to kiss his lips hungrily, famine for him, for his soul and flesh.

Anakin now flips positions and he is dominating you once more, leaving tons of bruises in your body, subjugating you to his will. His moves are harder now, matching your screams.

“Shit”, he curses when sensing his climax.

“Give me your seed”, you beg him, which makes him smirk.

Because for some reason he knows and so do you. That this night is not any night. And just like that he complies to your wishes.

Bathed in salt, your bodies are too tangled in each other to make any distinction. Anakin nuzzles against your neck, kissing you softly as he locks his hand against yours.

You rest against his chest, clinging onto him, never again experiencing this kind of bliss.

“Thank you, love”, you capture his whisper just as you start to fall asleep.

You turn your head to meet his eyes. One is painted with the old shade of blue so familiar to you, whilst the other remains yellow.

“What for, sweetheart?”, you ask him.

As he puts a loose lock behind your ear, you can tell he is thrilled.

“For this. For your forgiveness and your love. For…”

“Shh”, you interrupt him. Turning on your elbows, you smile at him as you wipe away his tears. “I will always love you, Anakin Skywalker. And you will be the father of my children. I’ve always known this. Always. We are a family, remember?”

“Yes”, he whispers softly. “Yes we are.”

That night the two of you fall asleep under the certainty something better awaits in a near future…

***

Epilogue.

Ten years later.

“Daaaaad! Luke got your… Oh, you didn’t tell me we had visitors”, Leia blushes. “Hello there, grandpa Ben!”

Anakin and you have been discussing your new steps as Senator of Coruscant when your daughter steps abruptly in the living room.

“I am too old to remind you it’s uncle Ben”, Obi-Wan chuckles, shaking his head.

“I can see your grey hair though, Master”, you joke back.

“Besides”, Anakin adds cheerfully, “didn’t I tell you that you were the closest thing to a father? But you have to wait for me because it apparently Luke has been up to another mischief.”

You sigh heavily as you pour some tea and surrender to your daughter’s pleas about eating chocolate cookie.

In the meantime, though, Anakin’s eyes go wide when he sees Luke took his younger brother, Ben, to a trip without his knowledge. He would have laughed if he didn’t know how fast Luke likes to pilot.

Y/N often says he got it after me…

Swallowing a laughter, Anakin scowls:

“LUKE AND BEN SKYWALKER! Did you go pilot without asking my permission again?”

The two boys exchange guilty glances. Anakin would be delighted to how cute they are had he not been concerned about parenting—or you’d scold him for that, accused of being too permissive with your sons.

“Leia is such a gossiper!”, Ben complains.

“Don’t say that about your sister. Come now, inside. Tell your mother what you did.”

“But dad!”, Luke pouts. “Why?"

"You know very well why, Luke Skywalker."

As he steps inside and finds Leia following you everywhere you go--and you are pregnant again, so Leia is always talking about having a sister because it's unfair how Luke has a brother to make him company.

"I see the boys get something from their father", Obi-Wan remarks in between chuckles.

You join him in laughters.

"Oh you have no idea how much!"

"But I got after my mother!", Leia protests proudly so.

"Of course you do", says Obi-Wan, watching as you beam and kiss her head. "Well time rushes. I hope to see you both on Monday. There are lots to be done! And kids, behave!"

You lean into Anakin's embrace as you two watch the children saying goodbye from their "grandpa" Ben. It's only then you chuckle and say:

"You think I wouldnt notice that you and your brother were up to no good again, Luke Skywalker? So much like your father."

"And it's time to homework now if I aint mistaken", says Anakin, unable to hold back his laughters before their complaints. "Go on. No candy before it's all done. Love, you can do what you have to do. I'm looking after them tonignt."

You beam as you kiss him in his lips, earning some "eeeew" from the children. But this family is everything you wanted. Everything you and Anakin deserved. And this is only growing...

#star wars imagine #star wars #imagine star wars #anakin skywalker #darth vader #anakin skywalker x y/n #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker smut #darth vader smut #darth vader x you #darth vader x y/n #darth vader x female reader #alternative universs #luke and leia

[imarvelatthestars]

For The Heart

Pairings: Tai (Daiyu Veteran) x Reader

Warnings/Content: references to o66 & ptsd; brief mention of past sexual activity but no explicit content in chapter; demiro/demiace Tai is canon to me; cuteness at the end!

Word Count: 3.2k

Notes: I borrowed @littlemissmanga 's matchmaker, Yen, for this one.

part of the clone matchmaking universe by @tcwmatchmakingau

The war is over. That's what everyone keeps saying, but he's not sure how he can believe it. The war is over and the Republic is saved. The Chancellor is dead. A new Chancellor is in office. Tai doesn't even know who it is, he's not sure if he's supposed to care.

The war is over and clones now have rights. No longer are they Kaminoan property, to be poked and prodded at the will of the long necks and their scientific whims. They have legal personhood, pensions, actual medical, psychiatric, and physical care that they don't have to pay for. They're free. They even have legal representation in the senate, a couple of the boys from Windu and Secura's company, apparently. They have political allies, Organa and Chuchi, and he's hearing now that Chuchi's involved with a clone herself.

It's... a lot to take in all at once. But the hardest thing for him to grasp is the fact that it's been three years since the Clone Wars ended. Three years of wandering the deserts of the galaxy, hunting down traces of Jedi, searching for purpose where purpose never really was. Three years after something switched in his head and he stopped feeling human and more like a soldier, like a killing machine. Three years of following his big brother into battle, chasing the rumors of Jedi and Force sensitives, being a good soldier and following orders, until the remnants of Vader's Fist found themselves huddled in a pathetic little pile of hungry, glassy eyed men on Daiyu's dirtiest street corner. He doesn't even know who Vader is.

They put chips in our heads, Fives had said. Made us complacent, made us kill. We'll have to take your chips out, too. Tai wonders if that's why he had nightmares every night for three straight years. Maybe the chip that told him to shoot younglings is the same thing that made him dream of a Sith lord with a bloody saber, made him want to hunt down every Jedi in the galaxy.

But the dreams are gone now. So are the chips. He has an apartment on Conruscant's mid-levels and a job and a monthly pension to make up for his years of unpaid service. He has everything he never thought he could have. And it's strange to wake up and not put on armor every morning, to not choke down GAR regulated grub, to not head for the barracks and work on his target practice, but it's okay. He has free will now and that's... that's okay.

"Did you hear about the Commander?" "Which one?" "I heard he's head over heels. Totally lovesick." "Which one?" "The last eligible one, di'kut!"

He always overhears something strange at the VA's office. The last time he overhead a couple of the younger boys gossiping about Secura and Bly finally having their first kid. Now they're going on about some kind of -

"-matchmaker, but I dunno. If they can find someone for Appo, they can find someone for anyone."

That makes his ears perk up. There's at least fifty different O'Niners and Niners and Alphas in the whole GAR, but as far as he knows, there's only one Appo. He tries not to sound or look too interested, buries his nose a little further into his pad and pretend that he's found some highly fascinating article that he simply cannot look away from.

"Saw him and his beau out at Monument Plaza the other day. I don't think I've ever seen him smile before."

Tai's not sure he's ever seen it either and they were batchmates, were kriff's sake. Not that that apparently means much to either of them now. He hasn't heard from his vod in months. He'd just assumed the PTSD was hitting him hard again and maybe that's true, but it seems there's a little more to it than that. A boy, maybe, or not a boy. Someone. Not that it matters. His vod is finally happy.

One of the boys - and boys they must be because they look like shinies, they can't have seen much of the war - starts going on about some of the other 501st troopers and Tai shifts a bit in his seat. It's really weird to hear other clones talk about his legion when he's sitting right there, but he supposes that's his own fault to a degree. He never went and got a tattoo, never dyed his hair obnoxious colors or got any piercings, he never felt the need. His first and only duty was to the Republic and his men. He knew he was a clone and he made peace with it, no need to try and set himself apart when he knew in his heart that he was his own man. Now, though, he feels out of place without anything to outwardly determine himself by. Clones are noticed now. They're allowed into high end establishments and welcomed into every class and sector. Now he's another face out of millions and no one can tell him apart and it actually matters.

He really hopes it isn't obvious when he starts typing in 'coruscant clone matchmaker' on his pad. He hopes it's not obvious that he spends the rest of his wait time thinking about the results on his pad, that he thinks about it during the meeting and after it, on his way home, during dinner. He hopes no one can tell that he might want this, whatever this is.

The tab with his holo search results stays up on his pad for a solid week. It haunts him. It's there when he goes to bed, when he wakes up, lurking in the back of his head during his shift. If Appo could meet someone, Appo the stern, silent, far removed commander, Appo with the stick up his ass, then couldn't he meet someone too? He wonders what that would be like.

All the holoroms he's heard of or seen show generic Coruscanti couples in their generic upper-level homes, living generic lives and having a generic romance. That's not what he wants. He wants the things he's heard whispers of over the years. What Bly and Secura have, what Appo has - someone who loves him not as a brother, but as something more. He wants to know he means something to someone, that he's worth something. He wants to know if there's something more to life than eating, sleeping, working, and jerking off when he's bored.

The matchmaker's been skimming his application for the last minute and he's about ready to crawl out of his skin. This was stupid, he tells himself. I'm three years too late. What am I doing here?

"You can relax, you know," she says with a sly glance from the corner of her spectacles. "I'm just reviewing your information before we start chatting."

He nods, but it doesn't stop his fingers from trembling. He tries rubbing them into his thighs, but that doesn't do anything, so he settles for crossing his arms instead. All the extra anxious energy goes flooding into his legs and his knee starts bouncing without him even realizing.

"There's nothing for you to be anxious about, trooper. You have an excellent profile. Steady job, your own place, and good references from your brothers."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She taps her nametag with a very sweet and patient smile. "Yen, please."

"Right." He really needs to settle down. He feels so jittery that it's making his stomach hurt and he doesn't even fully understand why! "I've never done this before."

Yen nods at him. "Many of your brothers were in the same position when we started this place. It's nothing I haven't seen or dealt with before. In fact, it'll probably work to your advantage."

Oh? Tai's not sure why - don't people want someone experienced?

"Not necessarily," she says once he voices his confusion. "Especially with some of our ladies and gender non-conforming folks, they prefer partners that are more down to planet than, say... Fives."

He actually barks out a laugh, it takes him so by surprise, and the tension that's been weighing down the room lessens considerably. "No chance of that, ma'am. Closest I ever got to Fives' level was when a civvie got dared to kiss me on a round of spin the bottle."

This seems to catch the matchmaker's attention because she leans back in her chair and quirks an eyebrow. "Tell me?" but it doesn't come out judgmental or like she's going to laugh at him. He's not sure he feels comfortable enough to share, but he still gets the feeling she's being genuine in her interest.

"Eh, not much to tell. It was early in the war."

"Did you like it, the kiss?"

The memory is so far back, it's difficult to recall. But he does remember the taste of liquor on her lips and the heat of her skin. She was sticky. It wasn't the best kiss, it wasn't the worst, but it was his first. His first trip to 79's. Maker, it seems like eons ago. He was another man back then, still a shiny.

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, Tai, I'm sorry. I'm simply trying to gauge where you're at."

Tai shakes his head. "No, uh, it's alright, ma'am. Yen." He scratches at the patch of scruff that's growing in along his chin and pretends to read one of the pamphlets on her desk so he can gather his thoughts. "Truth be told, I never did much of the stuff my brothers got up to. I tried at first, but it wasn't for me."

"Why's that?"

He's not sure where his answer comes from, but it comes out of him all the same and he knows it's the truth. "Never felt right. Never felt close to any of the civvies I met. They were all there for a good time, but I wanted something different than that." He sighs. "That and I was too busy being a soldier to be a man."

The room goes quiet save for the soft ticking of Yen's chrono, somewhere on the wall behind him. He has flashes of strobe lights on the dancefloor and a girl in a sparkly dress with her hands down his trousers, he remembers she was pretty and flirty and she made his dick hard, but after they got each other off in the storeroom, he still felt sort of empty. He doesn't want that to be what happens this time.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Tai?"

Yen is a striking woman. She's very beautiful in a normal sort of way and very professional, he can tell she's smart and capable, but there's a softness to her that takes him by surprise when he properly looks her in the eyes. She cares.

"I want... someone," he finds himself saying. "I want to try again. Not for the- the sex, if you'll excuse me." After all, she is a lady. He won't be crass.

She smiles again. "For the heart?"

That's a romantic way to put it, he supposes, but she's a matchmaker. Sure. For the heart.

You have Yen's last message on constant repeat in your head and when it's not repeating, you're logging back into the app to reread it so you can starting repeating it again. You're so fidgety right now that you can hardly sit still, the backs of your ears are sweating, and your chest is all tight and pitter-pattery. You've been on plenty of dates thanks to Yen and the matchmaking service, this is nothing new, but none of them have really panned out and you're so eager for this one to work.

First there was Boil (you weren't a big fan of the moustache/beard situation he had going on, but he was nice), then there was this tall, lanky clone who hardly looked like a clone at all (Crosshair, you think his name was) and he was a sourpuss the whole evening. There were others, some were outgoing and bubbly, some were grouchy or reserved, a few seemed more interested in drinks and where the night might lead you rather then the actual date you were on, and it wasn't that you weren't trying or you didn't like them, but you just couldn't find that spark. You weren't clicking with any of them. After a while you sort of gave up; most enrolled clones had found their partners after a year and the incoming trickle of younger clones were a bit too young for you. You just figured you'd missed your chance and that was that.

Now you're at a nice Pantoran restaurant. They've been increasingly popular among clones after Senator Chuchi's fight for the CRP act and they tend to be just classy enough that you don't feel weird about having a single drink and you don't feel forced to drink more than that. You're waiting for your date and you're hoping he shows, wondering if maybe he won't and brainstorming holo options for if you go home early.

He's a slower kind of guy, doesn't want to move fast. And very respectful. You'll like him.

You hope you do. You hope he's as nice as Yen says. You hope he doesn't mind that weird mole of yours or the color and cut of your clothes or that you've already eaten all the breadsticks.

Somewhere in the front half of the building, you hear the door chime go off and your heart skips a beat. It could be him! He might be at the service desk right now! Or - your pessimistic side rears its head - it could be some happily married couple. They'll probably sit in the booth next to you and canoodle all night. Great.

Your head dips as you take a sip of your ice water and your mind starts to wander. There's a new holoshow that's airing right now and you've been thinking of starting it, you could queue it up when you get home and - boots. There are boots by your table. Two pairs of boots, actually. One of them is all shiny and polished and distinctly Pantoran made, but the other... they're work boots. There's no way. Is he really here?

"Pardon me, miss, your date is here."

Oh. The boots lead to legs lead to broad hips and a broader chest, then a neck, a neatly trimmed beard, a face. Oh no. He's handsome. They're all handsome, of course, but he's different somehow. Your entire face flushes with heat.

Your date swallows audibly, he flashes you a tired smile, and he bows his head just slightly. "Ma'am."

Oh no. Something about the timbre of his voice and the implied respect behind that one simple word has your heart about to beat right out of your chest.

"Hi." It's somewhere between an exhale and a squeak. Maker, this is already getting embarrassing. Get it together! "I mean, hi, uh, it's good to meet you."

You start to clamber out of your chair and offer him your hand, and you realize you're trembling again. But he's a gentleman, just like Yen said. He doesn't squeeze you too hard, doesn't shake you too vigorously, he applies just enough pressure for you to remember that he's there.

"Likewise. I hope I'm not too late?"

"No, no, I got here early. You're fine." His eyes dart to the empty bread bin and you immediately duck your head in embarrassment. "Maybe a little too early, I might've gotten hungry."

His laugh isn't fully realized, it's a little bit reserved, but there's genuine humor in his eyes and you notice they crease a bit at the edges. Cute.

"That's alright," he assures you in that rumbly voice of his. You don't remember clones having such deep voices, but you're not complaining. You're so not complaining. "Won't see me turning down a warm meal."

"Me neither."

This is where it gets tricky. Small talk is always awkward, first dates are always awkward, trying to figure out how you and a stranger mesh is always going to be awkward, there's just no way around it, but damn do you hate it. You're so sick of trying to chat about the weather (it's Coruscant, the weather's artificial) or politics (everyone's glad Palpatine's gone, it's old news now) or whatever obscure sports fad has taken over the clone community lately.

Your date - shit, what's his name again? - is browsing the menu when you speak up. His eyes shift over the top of the flimsi. "Look, I'm not really good at the whole small talk thing. I never know what to say and sometimes I can't tell if the other person is bored of me or not, so I just wanted to say that I'm genuinely happy you're here, I'm just a little awkward at first. I hope that's okay?"

Tai! That's right, you remember because Yen made a note that it rhymes with sky and not gray. Something changes in Tai's face then that you can't explain. His eyes, dark and brown like fresh kaf and cinnamon, can't find a spot to settle, but they seem drawn to yours. The little wrinkle above his brows smooths out after a moment and you see his shoulders relax a hair. There's something weary about him that peeks out behind the neatly pressed dress slacks and the scars on his knuckles, it weighs on him.

"May I speak freely?"

He sounds so unsure of himself, like he knows he's speaking too formally but doesn't know how else to verbalize it. But you encourage him to continue. You smile. You want him to be himself.

"I'm not very good at all this." He gestures to the menu, the bread bin, you. "Didn't get much dating in before the war and didn't get much in after it either. I'll probably stick my foot in my mouth."

"That's okay, Tai." You pause for a moment when his breath catches, you hope that was okay, hopefully you said it right, but his gentle nod gives you the confidence you need to continue. "I'll probably do the same. I'm under the terrible impression that I'm funny."

The corner of his mouth curls into a vague approximation of a smile. "Hm. Unfortunate."

"You're telling me! You're only my second date to actually look somewhat amused by that."

Tai seems to be considering his next words. You can see him start chewing on the inside of his mouth as he scratches along his jaw. It's a nice jaw, from what little of it you can see. His beard looks nice, very dark and recently combed and if there's a little whisper of gray by his chin that makes your head feel dizzy, that's no one's business but your own.

"I must be one of the only people under the impression of a sense of humor then."

You like him. He has good vibes, as you've heard the younglings say. He's trying and you're trying too, and that's all that really matters.

tai taglist: @moodymisty @rain-on-kamino @dystopicjumpsuit @temple-elder @wanderer-six @jambolska-grozdova @bambambunny @andrakass2 @bobaprint

#daiyu veteran x reader #clone veteran x reader #clone trooper tai x reader #tai x reader #kenobi clone trooper x reader #tcw matchmaking au #clone matchmaking au #daiyu veteran x you #clone trooper veteran #clone trooper tai x you #clone trooper tai #tai #daiyu veteran #star wars #lmaoooooo sorry for the boil + crosshair slander it's all in good fun #and yes! there will be a part 2!

[spiritofthenortheners]

CLONE BANG 2023 PROMOS

Team #19 presents a little sneek peak of our work for @clonebang - official release in January 2024!

Deserted Minds

writer: @spiritofthenortheners | AO3

art by the amazing Marbledpolecat 💛 @marbled-polecat | AO3

Summary: During the chaotic early weeks of the Empire, a rogue Imperial Commander survives Lord Vader’s wrath. Onboard a stolen freighter, IC-1010 leaves Coruscant behind, with nothing but his fragmented memories and the Emperor's pet project in tow. The man who used to be Commander Fox sets himself one last mission: to find the remnants of ARC-5555 from the broken mind of a brand new Death Trooper.

Rated E

Word Count ~15000

Tags/ Major warnings: Commander Fox/ ARC-5555 Fives; Post Order 66; Mind Control Aftermath and Recovery; Memory Issues; Dehumanization; Angst and Hurt/Comfort; References to: Drinking, Drugs, Casual Sex, Suicidal Ideation, Torture; Angst with a Happy Ending

Snippet:

Fives had started babbling about another him, a black-clad, weird and threatening and wrong trooper who’d been in his cell. Fox had grimaced, wanting to tell Fives that maybe Force users fucking with both of their minds had caused that. He had no idea how much damage the former Chancellor had inflicted on Fox’s own mind during the past years, with or without the chip. Fives’ nightmare trooper was explainable. Just a dream. Fives had been a puppet for the Emperor’s advanced-level dark side mind fuckery but it was more likely Fives was just suffering from drug withdrawal–induced hallucinations. No Force or other puppeteering was necessary. Maybe. Hopefully.

Probably.

The biggest issue was that Fives seemed to be losing it and this was not a good time to try to explain anything. Fox absolutely shouldn’t talk about Vader’s true identity to a confused half-amnestic man who might not even remember anything about his former General.

Fox had watched Thire’s helmet camera footage from Mustafar. All of it. Seen what the cripled creature under black cybernetics and breathing apparatus looked like. Seen acidic yellow in the former Jedi’s eyes.

Of course he would explain. Just not yet. At the moment Fox settled for snatching the sharp object from Fives’ trembling fingers and flopping down next to him with a grunt. Fox sighed and dragged Fives closer, almost on his lap.

They had time. Maybe.

#cb2023

[kuwdora]

oooh @limerental has me thinking about Dijkstra and that reminded me that i never dumped my Dijkstra ramblings on tumblr. my discord peeps just end up going 👀 when i show up every three months and braindump my nonsense. I thought about cleaning this, but I am too tired and will never share it if I try to spend time trying to make it a Post with annotations to the specific books. So you just get a my rambly galaxy brain take of how a Chancellor Dijkstra could rebuild Redania. Anyway, here we go with some fantasy worldbuilding.

TLDR; Chancellor Dijkstra legalizes drugs to replenish Redania's treasury after the war. References to the Eternal Fire and migration patterns that one could extrapolate based on the events of Nilfgaard's second invasion, and Dijkstra's experience working in the criminal underground in Novigrad.

I've thought a lot about what kind of problems Dijkstra could face in a postwar Redania and what other kind of change could be on the table.

A lot of my thinking is predicated upon the Eternal Fire and the church governance in Novigrad absolutely losing their mind that their man Radovid was assassinated and eventually (somehow?) learning that Dijkstra was behind it but never able to produce evidence of it. which just. leads to anger and other kind of conspiracies and grudges over the years.

Like… Radovid was their guy. their martyr. their mad king they canonize. even if he was or wasn't a true believer, he was Their Guy. I also vaguely remember from the books that the church hierarch also hated Dijkstra, too, so I’m sure the dead hierarch’s followers would also continue in that vein of being big mad at the new Chancellor who is not fit for such a position.

I can’t help but think the church would force Novigrad to levy a shitload of extremely high taxes on goods coming through the port, making it so fucking expensive to get anything imported into Redania or shipped out, which creates a logistical nightmare to try and get anything or out of Redania at a decent price. Everything's gotta come in via Oxenfurt or Roggenvene or something more out of the way.

They economically burn some bridges because Novigrad'll be okay, right?

So Novigrad's no longer the jewel of redania

Or maybe Novigrad/the church ends up suffering some social/economic problems because they need to take it out on Dijkstra and Redania. That means they would look for some friends elsewhere.

They would loosen some immigration restrictions and encourage more wealthy Nilfgaardians to move in and take up places in the civil service and maybe church for those who would be amenable to creating more good diplomatic relations between the city and Nilfgaard. not sure how that really would look, but sort of a thing to spite Dijkstra by having the former invaders sitting pretty in Dijkstra’s backyard.

So Redanian trade is probably fucked up. Dijkstra had to go and beg for money up in Kovir during the books to help fund the war and whatnot so I imagine the treasury is pretty damn empty. Dijkstra also really didn't appreciate having to go ask for money. And I vaguely remember that Redania was able to absorb Kaedwen’s military, I think? At some point in the third war? Maybe? i did a quick wiki check and that looks right but my brain is foggy but if that's the case sustaining more military has gotta be expensive.

Also there are a shitload of current/former/wannabe Eternal Fire knights and bandits cooking a shitton of fisstech it seems every-fucking-where.

Crime lord Dijkstra with experience in Novigrad underworld, maybe sees an opportunity here. To legalize some form of drugs in order to obtain tax on it and create a sustainable revenue stream for Redania’s coffers for generations.

Boom. Dijkstra never again have to o ask for money for anything from anyone. ✊

Maybe start with a 3-5 year plan to get the operation up and running. funnel what money he has into the Department of Alchemy to create an actual program to teach people to cook safely, cook better even.

Maybe enlist some mages to help mitigate some of the worse side effects or help with developing a better fisstech or some other kind of alternative. but then only licensed establishments can sell the drug and we get tax revenue back to the state. then we get drug tourism, too. etc. like. he worked in the crime world for awhile so i am sure he knows the pros and cons of doing something like this better than i would but i like the thought.

I mean. there's always gonna be countryside cooks but maybe over time enough take the deal to go and get certified in cooking this fisstech because it's better than living on scraps in the woods and go legit and the banditry eventually dwindles over the years. maybe creating a whole new generation of wealth for people, too, and whatever problems and exciting things that come with new money folks and whatnot. class division with nobility and whatnot about these guys able to hobnob with the rest of them.

And then i gotta think that Dijkstra’s got some former crime bosses that he’d give a leg up on what he wants to do, and like— him figuring out how to move those game pieces. Because the other half underworld probably won’t be happy that Dijkstra’s now moving in on their market and not letting them in for whatever reason. lots of potential for getting messy. and interesting. but. reform can be a bold thing, right?

I mean it can spin out even more from that, too when you take into consideration the devastation Nilfgaard brought on the northern kingdom's infrastructure. Maybe Dijkstra finally has the people figure out the new recipe but he's gotta scale it up.

There's a bunch of foundry workers in Aedirn who probably no longer have a job because everything was burnt down by Nilfgaard. All that farmland destroyed, too.

So create a plan to encourage those people to come and start a new life in Redania with their skills and whatnot.

Get these people help build some the fisstech producing facilities in Redania. And then we can get some fisstech sold in parlors in every city.

And if you go back to Novigrad and the Eternal Fire, who maybe doesn't appreciate the economic balance of power tipping in different directions now. Also Dijkstra still killed Their Guy who was going to help usher in a new fiery generation of churchy awfulness. Instead of focusing their attention on nonhumans, the ire is recalibrated towards Redanian citizens who had been living in the city and just continue to disenfranchise and disempower them over time in the city to make it unliveable for them unless they renounce their Redanian citizenship. 😦 There's probably a lot more one can spin out from this, and I meant to use some of this for various stories but I just haven't gotten around to it. Like specifically encouraging the mages to return to help with building and supporting this infrastructure and people. Lots of possibilities to play around with.

#witcher books #witcher wild hunt #the witcher #dijkstra #witcher meta and thoughts #i'm gonna hit post on this and remember i have another thousand words worth of ideas to spew #my brain is swiss cheese these days and my braincells are bouncing around like its a pinball in a machine - pls forgive the messiness lol

[thechaoticfanartist]

What Almost Happened

Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi was almost happy.

Obi-Wan was happy. The Clone Wars had come to a swift end after the defeat of Grievous. Although nobody had expected that the Chancellor of the Republic had indeed been Darth Sidious. It was thanks to Anakin’s warning and Master Windu’s heroics that he had been brought to swift justice.

After that there had come a difficult transition period - where the Jedi had become far more involved in politics than they should have ever been. Although when the new Chancellor - Chancellor Bail Organa was elected the Jedi were allowed to return to their regular lives. Their lives before The Clone Wars.

Ahsoka had returned to the Order after capturing Maul. Although her training had not been complete so she became a Padawan again under Anakin. After which it did not take long for her to become a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan even cried at the ceremony, she may have been Anakin’s Padawan, but in a way, she had become a second Padawan to him.

Upon Ahsoka’s knighting, Anakin was promoted to the rank of Master. Although he shocked the entire Order when he had chosen to leave the Jedi instead. He admitted he only stayed longer to finish Ahsoka’s training. So Anakin Skywalker was no longer a Jedi. Instead he had left to be with Senator Amidala and their two children.

Of course, this never stopped Anakin from getting into any of his usual shenanigans that he always got into as a Jedi. Obi-Wan had laughed the first time he had seen one of his antics on the news. He never really changed.

The years passed, and Obi-Wan was happy. There was peace in the galaxy.

His eyes opened and he was not in his room at the Jedi Temple - he was not in the Jedi Temple at all and hardly even a room. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness, and his heart even more time. There was no more Jedi Order.

The Clone Wars had ended years ago - but not in the fashion of his dream. The Jedi had been betrayed by the clone troopers they had fought beside for so many years - and Anakin had become a Sith Lord. A Sith Lord that Obi-Wan had slain.

He sat up from his bed - or the rock he had fashioned as such - and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. He looked at the ceiling of his cave as tears began to fill his eyes. A dream of course was better than a nightmare. He preferred the dream to his frequent nightmares of when his men had turned on him - or when he had seen the ruins of his home - and above all, the ones of his fallen brother where he relived his murder of the man he had raised over and over again.

But his nightmares at least were grounded on facts: The 212th had betrayed him, the Jedi Order was gone alongside their home, and Anakin Skywalker was dead.

Dreams on the other hand - dreams were wishes that would never come true. Dreams were the reminders of what had almost happened but never did. His dreams reminded him that they had almost won the war, that the galaxy had almost known peace, and that he had almost been happy. But that had not been the truth. His dreams were never the truth. His nightmares were the truth.

Obi-Wan let the tears fall. He was alone - he had been for years now - and would be so for many more. Nobody was here to see him cry.

His dreams were reminders of the almost. He was almost happy - but that had never come to pass.

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added or removed) : @padme--amygdala @soclonely @mrfandomwars @jgvfhl @starlonkedd @milfspectre1 @togrutanduin @jedi-valjean @one-real-imonkey @traygaming @aiylasdrawings @keoxus  @dykerebel @veiled-in-stars @sentineljedi @spicysucculentz @amelia-song-pond @it-was-rose @saturnsokas @thejediprincessqueenofnaboo @veradragonjedi @arrthurpendragon @shrinkthisviolet

#star wars #my writing #obi wan kenobi #star wars fanfic #star wars fanfiction #sw fanfic #sw fanfiction

[wendingways]

We Didn't Start the Fire, Star Wars Version

Amidala, Nute Gunray, no treaty, trade blockade Jedi guarding, desert landing, Qui-Gon's bet—oh gee Ani’s freedom, Naboo mission, death of Qui-Gon, Zabrak fission Old apprentice, new apprentice, Chancellor Sheev P.

We didn't start the fire It was always burning, since the worlds’ been turning We didn't start the fire No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Separatists, death plot, Chancellor, asks a lot Jedi, two refugees, scary mother dying dreams Missing planet, Obi, Republic’s got a clone army Tusken Raiders, Geonosis, galaxy’s in two teams

[Chorus]

First Christophsis, siege weeks long, snippy little padawan Huttling stolen, droids a’ rollin’, lineage snark Ryloth, Duchess troth, Zillo beastie, Quin Vos Mortis, two falls; Rako Hardeen arc

[Chorus]

Pong Krell, slavery, Ventress goes her own way Maul’s a crime lord, Satine Kryze, Temple bombing, ‘Soka leaves Clone chips, Fives caught on, Clovis rising, Qui-Gon Rex’s plans, crazy clan, troubles with the Martez

[Chorus]

Mandalore, Maul again, army splitting, Tano’s men Blue blades, good men die, padawan’s last goodbye Grievous coming, Sheev is gone, tell the Team to come on Skywalker homicide, half a ship’s a wild ride

[Chorus]

Anidala, nightmares, spying games, Sheevie’s snare Lots of lightning, window, arrest is a no-go Vader, Knightfall starts; Padmé, Obi, lacking smarts Strangulation, limbs gone, two new hopes are born anon

[Chorus]

Luke’s new droids, Old Ben, looks like I’m a Jedi then Prison, Tarkin, Alderaan explosion Two old men in one last duel, trash compactor’s not so cool Escape, Yavin, joining the Rebellion Death Star, exhaust port; shooting womp rats, good sport Deadly ray – blown away, what else do I have to say?

[Chorus]

Wampa fight, Echo base, Yoda’s cave’s a scary place Bespin, friend con, carbonite, poor Han Sith Lord, quick sword, Luke’s first duel, parent being really cruel Weathervaned and down a limb, lucky Leia’s saving him

[Chorus]

Jabba’s Palace, sneaking in, death-tight chain around Hutt skin Swamp returns, sister learns, fleet, flight, prisoner New apprentice, Sheev seeks one; Ani’s choice to save his son Empire fractured, ghost encore, Rebels gonna win the war!

[Chorus]

#star wars #parody #prequel trilogy #the clone wars #original trilogy #we didn't start the fire #except sheev. #sheev totally started it. #well he certainly helped at any rate. #did i stay up way past midnight to finish this? #yes. #was it worth it? #also yes.

[corruptedforce]

     It had been a hard few weeks, and that was putting it mildly.  Everything had gotten so out of hand.  When they had been allowed to leave the Outer Rim and rescued the Chancellor, he truly thought things would be easier. He was a Jedi, so of course, he would always be going somewhere.  But, he wouldn’t have to be gone so much. Then, Padme had told him she was pregnant, and he just, he wanted out, even more than he already did. But, the night that his nightmares started, things changed. He had become a desperate man, who was desperate for a cure for her, and ultimately, he had fallen from the Jedi and participated in Order 66.  Anakin Skywalker was now Lord Vader, Sith Apprentice.  To make it worse, he was injured, by his former master.  He’d kept himself from getting dismembered, but he’d lost his other arm, in the process, was covered in more burns and scars. To make it worse, his new master had told him that Padme didn’t survive. 

He needed something from her penthouse, and he needed to get it.  He let himself in and he could still feel her force signature here, which was odd. He had so many regrets, but he couldn’t go back, not after everything.  He felt someone was there and he drew his lightsaber. “Who’s there?” 

@desireandduty​

#desireandduty #(Padme) #V: You underestimate my power (Revenge of the Sith) #I hope this works!!

[maleficarlife]

A Call To Common Identity

The Free Marches need for a leader

As one of the main settings of Dragon Age, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I have personally always been a fan of the Free Marches. This collective of city-states posses a common cultural identity and a love for political autonomy, which made them swear they will never have a King, for no city-state has a claim on the others. Instead, they will always protect themselves from foreign aggressors, thanks to the political concept of "marcher solidariety". This is an excellent solution, for their combined force is nothing to joke on and their geography makes Tantervale, Starkheaven and Kirkwall among the richer and most powerful cities, making them important trade hubs.

However, that's a lie.

Across the serie (and the lore) we have seen the concept of marcher solidariety fail every time. There is no treaty that solidifies a duty to protect fellow marchers and this exposed many of them to foreign enslavement and occupation. Kirkwall has been under qunari occupation for years and it wasn't saved by anyone until the arrival of the orlesian army -which occupied them in turn- and then had to get rid of Orlais themselves.

Tantervale is, blatantly, violating the chantry "neutrality", for it's directly ruled by a Lord Chancellor (you know, the same title Roderick had in Inquisition) and there chantry law is the same as secular law, jailing kids and making Tantervale a theocratic nightmare even for the standards of Thedas.

When Meredith blocked the election of a Viscount in Kirkwall, no fellow city protested against that. Kaiten own Viscount is an ex Templar. The Inquisition can attack Wycome with their own troops during the Lavellan war table operation.

(Of couse, the Inquisitor interference saves the city and dalish elves, but the point isn't the morality of that action, but the fact that a foreign force like the Inquisition was so easily able to just command a free city, even if it's good that they did so)

The Free Marches are rich, politically divided and reluctant to aid each other. Many of them are puppets of foreign interests or are/have been occupied directly for a long time. To protect their own interest, they need to take a page from Ferelden book and unify into a single state like the divided alamarri tribes unified founding Ferelden.

But they swore to have no King right? And that's a valid sentiment. If a city tried to conquer another, that wouldn't hold. In fact one of Sebastian ancestors, "King" Fyruss of Starkheaven, tried and failed.

That is true but there is one simple solution. This solution is personally more prominent in my personal Red Schism AU, but there is proof of it in game-canon too.

If you complete the Lavellan wartable operations succesfuly, Wycome stops being ruled by a Duke and is instead ruled by a council of merchants and elves. The Free Marches refuse the title of King, but in Ferelden the crown is not hereditary. It has to be confirmed by the Landsmeet. Kirkwall nobles elect their own Viscount, and it can be anyone among them.

This are all examples, in-world, that Thedas is aware of the existance of democratic -or at least proto democratic- governments.

And so I do suggest that the Free Marchers should unify into a federal goverment (they probably wouldn't use this word, but it would basically be that) where every city state borders and autonomy are not touched, but one ruler is picked from one of the cities to determine matter of defence, stop infighting and protect the cities from coups. At the ruler end of term -or life, depending on how they decide- another one from a different city would be picked, granting their oath of freedom and allowing better political strenght.

Such a move would obviously need turmoil to be made, systems don't change in peace times and would be disliked by those foreign interests who don't want such an union the chantry and orlais especially .

The Mage-Templar war and Starkheaven vs Kirkwall (if you spared Anders, otherwise Starkheaven aid to Kirkwall), had Bioware bothered to develop it more, would have been perfect occasions for such an event to happen and in line with the Dragon Age being a time of political turmoil and change.

If this was an actual letter to the rulers of the Free Marchers, I would invite them to put aside petty rivalries and unify in conclusion, but I guess I'll just wish to find fics where this happens one day.

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #dragon age inquisition #the free marches #meta #red schism au #kind of #it's easier in that au because there are a lot more democratic governments around #but there is plenty of proof that the concept isn't unheard of in canon too #so it could happen if bioware wasn't so fixed on never changing their game world and giving false choices #bioware critical

[melodywake]

Starlight Glimmer and the Legion of Doom:

Cozy Glow - Element of Dishonesty

During the events of 'School Raze', Cozt manipulates the other students and Chancellor Neighsat to turn on the Young Six who stood in her way to take over the school, and become the Empress of Friendship by getting her hooves on the Artifacts.

King Sombra - Element of Cruelty

King Sombra is resurrected in 'The Beginning of the End' by Starlight, who is the one to propose they work together. After his attack fails and he's defeated once again by the Mane 6 and Spike, Starlight once again rescues him and he joins her team. She uses his defeat as a warning to the others to follow her plans.

Queen Chrysalis - Element of Dispair

Chrysalis is recruited by Starlight to join her Legion. In the events of 'To Where and Back Again', she is bested by Thorax, Trixie and Discord.

Lord Tirek - Element of Greed

Tirek joins Cozy Glow, imprisoned in Tartarus in 'School Raze'. Both are freed by Starlight who recruits them.

Discord - Element of Treachery

(This ones a fun one) Tirek convinces Discord to join him in 'Twilights Kingdom'. After betraying the Mane 6, Tirek betrays him. But before he was able to steal his magic, Discord fleas. Starlight tracks him down and while he's remorseful of losing his friendship with Fluttershy specifically, Starlight convinces him as the last member to join the Legion, offering him the unrestricted freedom to be himself.

And finally,

Starlight Glimmer - Element of Magic (dark)

During the final events of 'The Cutie Re-Mark, After Twilight and Spike show Starlight the ruined future of Equestria, She reveals her lost friendship with Sunburst. While attempting to stop the Rainboom and Twilight attempting to convince her to try friendship again, Starlight refuses. Spike us able to grab the time spell and Twilight is able to return them all home. She continues to try and reason with Starlight until the rest of the Mane 6 enter, leading Starlight to teleport away. During that time between then and 'The Beginning of the End', Starlight had been plotting and keeping an eye on events, learning about the other villains exploits as well as the Mane 6. After learning about the Artifacts from Cozy Glows attempts to take over the School of Friendship, Starlight gathers the villains, resurrects Sombra, and divulges a plan to use the Artifacts to drain Equestria of it's magic in order to find the location of the lost artifact, Grogars Bell, so she can combine it with the entity known as 'The Darkness' (which had previously corrupted Stygian). Her plan is to revive Grogar, through the form of The Darkness that can be controlled by the Legion. Through the inclusion of Discord, after promising him the freedom lost to the ponies, the magic formed by their union formed the ultimate counter to the Elements of Harmony, appropriately named the 'Elements of Disharmony' or 'Elements of Chaos', for the final stand off against the Mane 6.

Aftermath (brief)

Grogar ends up growing out of control and the future Starlight, Twilight and Spike saw was slowly being realised. Discord ends up betraying the Legion to protect Fluttershy, Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek also side with the ponies because they can't rule a world that no longer exists.

Starlight route A: In a final 'hurrah', so desperate and consumed by blind hatred, now abandoned by her crew, who are all close to defeating Grogar, she uses one final Artifact, the Alicorn Amulet and a hidden spell lost since Ancient times (the Nightmare forces similar to Nightmare Rarity). Starlight fuses with the Darkness and Grogar essence, becoming a new powerful Alicorn, a Nightmare Starlight. Equestria bands together, the other villains, the Princesses, the other kingdoms like the dragons and changelings, they defeat Starlight, turning her into stone.

Starlight Route B: She sees the error of her ways and joins the Mane 6 to defeat Grogar. They succeed, the future reveals Starlights redemption, reviving her friendship with Sunburst, becoming the Headmare at the School of Friendship while teaching lessons about not letting Hatred consume you.

Villain Endings

Chrysalis and Tirek semi "redeemed" not exactly friends with the Mane 6, but the help rebuild before leaving to do their own thing. No longer attempting world domination.

Cozy Glow, disgusted she had to side with the Mane 6, tries to grab one of the Artifacts, but is stopped by Celestia, she fleas.

Discord returns with the Mane 6.

#mlp friendship is magic #mlp au #mlp fan canon #mlp fanfic

[crowsandmurder]

Another plotted starter for @multixfandomxmadness

​Anakin Skywalker was dead, or was he? Who even was he, anymore? Was he Darth Vader or was he Anakin Skywalker?  He had become Darth Vader in a moment.  It was a moment where everything had changed. His nightmares of losing Padme had been getting worse, and the Jedi did not help. Yoda had told him to let go.  How had he been expected to let go of his wife and unborn child.  Chancellor Palpatine had a solution and when it came to Mace Windu almost killing him, he had acted recklessly. That moment, he knew that he had no other choice. He had to save her life, and that had meant turning to the Dark Side.  All of it had been a blur but not a blur.  The screams, the swings of his lightsaber, he didn’t care about the Jedi really, but the younglings, that had been different.  The separatists, they had deserved it. He truly believed it.  He still couldn’t believe that in his anger and jealousy, he had force choked the one he was trying to save.  

But, he would be lying if he said that the fight with Obi-Wan had not been the hardest fight of his life. He had beat Sith Lords, countless adversaries in the Clone Wars, but Obi-Wan was different.  He had lost.  He didn’t remember much past the feel of the lightsaber going through his body, trying to climb up the rock, sliding into the lava, and the feel of the fire coursing into his body.  He had been full of so much hate. He was supposed to be the Chosen One, yet, he had known he was dying.  The worst part was Obi-Wan, his master, his friend, his supposed brother had left him there. He had left him to die.

The dark side had kept Anakin awake, and he had been barely conscious, when he felt someone come.  He couldn’t focus though.  His eyes hurt, his senses were fairly sharp, given the power that Mustafar had, but he felt so weak.   He couldn’t make out who the woman was, who had gotten him help.  He had needed the help, though. He had lost consciousness, sometime after that.  

For what seemed like weeks, he drifted in and out, his breathing affected, but it would recover with some assistance, when he needed some extra help.   His legs were in bad shape, but he would walk again, unless he wanted them gone.   He now had two mechno arms.  His face was more scarred than it had been before, from the lightsabers, the kicks, the punches.  What woke him finally, was his new master trying to call him through the force. It made him stir and he could feel the help to breathe, and he gasped, his hand moving to feel, and he did still have some hair but not a lot and he looked down and his natural arm was gone now and his legs hurt.  They really hurt.  

He called out weakly, his voice barely audible through the respirator.  “Where am I? Who’s there. I’m a Sith and can fight anyone.” 

#multixfandomxmadness #✖ [Sabé] #V: It didn't happen that way [Anakin/Vader & Sabe AU] #✖ [Character: Anakin Skywalker]

[shinra33459]

Star Wars - Republic Undying (An Alternate Universe)

The Clone Wars were coming to an end; the Outer Rim sieges were underway, and the Separatists were making their final, daring push against the Republic. The Sith master was hiding in plain sight: a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Jedi were becoming wary of him, and his intentions. He had been in office for over 10 years, well past his term limit, and something was amiss. The Jedi High Council sent Anakin Skywalker, a man who was close with the Chancellor, to spy on him. But instead of falling into Palpatine’s trap, Anakin talked to Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Ahsoka about his problems and they kept him away from the Dark Side. Obi-Wan even suggested to Anakin that the nightmares he could be having about Padmé were a warning to him if he continued on his current course.

When Palpatine revealed himself to be a Sith Lord, Anakin brought this to the attention of Padmé and Bail Organa opposed to Mace Windu. The two senators then immediately brought this to members of the Republic Security Council. Upon hearing the news and knowing full well that Palpatine is the utmost threat to the Republic, the Security Council issued Order 65 to the Grand Army of the Republic, letting them know that the Chancellor betrayed the Republic and must be apprehended. A contingent of the 501st Legion was dispatched from Mandalore to Coruscant and the 212th Attack Battalion from Utapau, where they would assist the Jedi Council in arresting, or killing, Palpatine. Some of the most powerful Jedi that the Order could muster, and about 750 Clone Troopers were sent to arrest or kill the traitorous Chancellor.

The fight begins and some of the less powerful Jedi are killed easily, leaving only Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, and Yoda to fight the Sith. Palpatine ends up falling out the main window and pulls Anakin down with him. Both Palpatine and Anakin land on a walkway and begin a one-on-one duel. Anakin and Palpatine continue to duke it out in the streets of Coruscant, Anakin using every tangible ounce of his power to prevent Palpatine from killing him. Their fight continues as they fall further and further into the depths of Coruscant, eventually making their way into the lower levels. 

Palpatine continues to beat down on Anakin, the Jedi knight beginning to waver as he grows exhausted. Palpatine knocks Anakin’s lightsaber away from him and uses his Force lightning on him as he’s on the ground. After Anakin had been incapacitated and knowing that the entire Clone Army is after him, Palpatine flees Coruscant for Separatist controlled territory. Anakin is found by the Clones of the Coruscant Guard who rush him to a nearby hospital as he is in critical condition.

With the truth out that the Republic was being manipulated by the Sith, frustrations are at a boiling point within the Republic. Faith in the Republic was at an all-time low, considering that they had been played by an imposter. Bail Organa of Alderaan is elected as the new Chancellor of the Republic following a vote. Knowing that Palpatine is still out there and still leading the Separatists from afar, the fighting has to continue if there is to be eventual peace, as with the Sith still out there, the galaxy would be plunged into civil war without end if Palpatine isn’t found and dealt with.

An order is placed to Kuat Drive Yards to begin mass production on the Imperator-class Star Destroyer (Imperial Star Destroyer in the normal timeline). The intent is to eventually replace the Venator-class Star Destroyer for ship-to-ship roles as the firepower of the Imperator-class made it far more combat effective. Venators would continue to serve, however they would be used almost solely for carrying fighters and bombers. The Republic also announces trials to replace the Z-95 Headhunter, and the V-Wing. In these trials, the Sienar Fleet Systems TIE/LN fighter is selected to replace the Z-95 and the TIE/IN Interceptor is selected to replace the V-Wing, but their production won’t begin until two years later.

Legislation is passed to allow Republic citizens to enlist in the Grand Army of the Republic to fight alongside the Clone Troopers rather than officer-only positions. These enlisted troops form the newly founded Republic Stormtrooper Corps, while the Clones take their position in the newly founded Republic Clone Trooper Corps. Both are separate branches of the Republic military, but these Stormtroopers are put through a simplified, yet effective, version of Clone Trooper training.

The final months of the Clone Wars begin with a highly aggressive Republic offensive campaign, specifically targeting droid production planets with the intent to kneecap the Separatist’s military. Using the newly fielded Imperator-class Star Destroyers, the Republic fleet was close to unstoppable, with more firepower, bigger crew complements, and better defenses to boot. The Republic Stormtroopers prove to be pretty effective in combat, rivaling some auxiliary Clone Trooper units, but easily outclassed by veteran combat units like the 501st Legion or the Wolfpack.

The Jedi on the other hand found themselves more invested in capturing or killing Palpatine opposed to spearheading the continued war effort. To the Jedi, Palpatine continued to be the biggest threat to the galaxy at large, and if he wasn’t stopped, another army to oppose the Republic would be built in time and wreak havoc on the galaxy. The Sith had to be eliminated at all costs for the protection of the rest of the galaxy.

After most droid production facilities under Separatist control are destroyed, the forces of the Droid Army begin to drastically deplete in numbers as the Grand Army of the Republic continues their aggressive campaign, destroying or confiscating any battle droid units they can. As Republic forces close in on the Separatist capital of Raxus Secundus, and with a rapidly depleting military force, the Separatist Senate begins to collapse as their members are torn whether to meet the Republic’s demands of an unconditional surrender, or fight to the bitter end. Palpatine orders the Separatist military command to head to Raxus Secundus from Mustafar, as he still needed them for his plans.

The final battle of the Clone Wars begins: the Battle of Raxus Secundus. The remnants of the Separatist fleet engage the Republic fleet above the planet in a space battle with a scale larger than the Battle of Coruscant. After hours of fighting, Republic ground forces land on the planet. The main Republic units in the fight are the 501st Legion, 7th Sky Corps, 104th Battalion, 327th Star Corps, and the 41st Elite Corps. In terms of Separatist ground defense, there were a few droid regiments remaining, but they were incredibly stretched thin. As a result, Separatist leaders founded various militias and conscripted civilians into these militias to defend the planet.

With a Republic blockade of the planet, and Republic Intelligence forces pinpointing Palpatine on the planet, Republic forces and the Jedi knew what had to be done. The only way the war would come to an end is if Palpatine was killed. Republic forces were deployed to the planet’s surface to engage the remaining Separatist forces as well as defeating Palpatine. After months of intense training from Yoda, Anakin was now ready to face his greatest challenge yet. A strike force on the Separatist capital city on Raxus Secundus was organized by the Jedi in their daring final confrontation against Palpatine. With a heavy military presence in the capital city, the Jedi had to HALO jump from orbit to the building where Palpatine was hiding.

Once in the building, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Plo Koon, and Mace Windu begin their final duel against Palpatine. Once again, Palpatine finds a way to get into a one-on-one duel against Anakin, however he is prepared this time. In a duel to decide the fate of the galaxy, the two use every tangible power they have in an attempt to defeat each other. As their duel progresses onto a walkway overlooking the city, Palpatine succeeds in knocking Anakin’s lightsaber away and begins to electrocute him again. Through his willpower, and knowing if he failed, everyone he ever cared about would die, Anakin used the force to pull his lightsaber into Palpatine’s back and impaled the Sith directly through the heart. After regaining his lightsaber, Anakin kicked Palpatine off the walkway where the barely alive Sith fell to his death.

After 2 months of harsh fighting, the Separatists eventually surrendered, and the Clone Wars officially end. The remaining Separatist stock of battle droids are reprogrammed to serve the Republic, further bolstering Republic numbers. Using his emergency powers, Bail Organa signs an act that allows the Clone Troopers the same rights guaranteed by Republic citizens as he believed that they deserved it after fighting the Republic’s war for them without thanks. The Kaminoans also develop a way to cure the accelerated aging of the Clone Troopers, which the Kaminoans have been researching into doing ever since they started making the Clone Army. After receiving this cure, many clones retire from military service, but most don’t.

With the fighting across the galaxy now over, the Jedi Order falls into a schism. Their unwavering adherence and investment to the politics of the Republic and blindly following the will of the Republic’s political machine didn’t allow them to see the threat that was building from within over all those years. With this disorder, many in the Jedi pushed to reform the Order. Many Jedi supported this movement, which pushed for a much more neutral stance in galactic politics, where the Jedi would not simply serve the Republic’s wishes, as well as see many Jedi leave the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic. These reforms also allowed for much more lax rules about attachment, allowing members of the Jedi Order to have romantic partners and spouses. Many Jedi agreed with these changes and saw the more liberal interpretation of the Force as a good thing, however quite a few did not, chief among them being Mace Windu. Once the Jedi overhauled the order, Windu, and several Jedi who were like minded with him, left the Order and formed the Bureau of Force Sensitives, where they would use their abilities in the Force to help serve the Republic in any way they could.

The Republic decided to maintain its military strength to act as a deterrent to any future Separatist movements and to protect the Republic from attack from external and internal threats. The Republic returned to what it was before the rise of the Separatists, but with a military that is able to enforce the Republic’s will for themselves. The Republic also built large installations across the galaxy to assist in the rapid deployment of the Republic Navy in emergency scenarios. These were usually in strategic positions within deep space with the occasional one being near a planet.

Having been arrested and sent to a prison within the Republic, Maul posed little threat. That was until he hired the bounty hunters Aurra Sing, Cad Bane, and Boba Fett to liberate him from his confinement. Knowing full well that his time as the leader of Mandalore was at an end, as he had been replaced with Bo-Katan Kryze, he needed an alternative plan to ensure that he would defeat and kill Obi-Wan Kenobi. Rallying members of Deathwatch that were still loyal to him, and finding a hidden droid foundry on Mustafar, where he would make his own base and build an army to use when the time was right, as well as training against countless holodroids to learn the exact moves of Obi-Wan, and how to kill him better.

As Maul was plotting his revenge against his most hated adversary, the galaxy had a new threat, one worse than anything they anticipated; the Yuuzhan Vong. News of a large series of invasions in the Outer Rim spurred the Grand Army of the Republic and the Jedi into action, but the forces they face off against were nothing like they’ve ever seen; any technology they have is organic rather than mechanical, and the Jedi couldn’t even sense them as they were outside the Force. The first few battles go very poorly for the Republic with many soldiers and Jedi being killed in the Yuuzhan Vong onslaught.

During their first encounters with the Yuuzhan Vong, the Republic learned of a key flaw in Phase II Clone Trooper armor; the armor is incapable of filtering out biological warfare agents, and as such, the Jedi, clones, and Stormtroopers who first fought the Yuuzhan Vong, died. This was also a flaw with Phase I armor as well, considering that it couldn’t filter out the Blue Shadow Virus. The Republic finished a new set of armor that they had been developing since the end of the Clone Wars. This armor was a more advanced version of Imperial Stormtrooper armor in the regular universe, the only differences being that it retained the HUD from the Phase II Clone armor, it has advanced filtration systems in the armor to filter out biological agents, and it reintroduced the life support systems that were present in Phase I Clone armor. This armor is mass produced and given to the soldiers of the Republic. Whether they be Clone Troopers or Stormtroopers, they must wear this new armor. The Jedi fighting alongside the Republic got armored hazmat suits to wear, ensuring that the Jedi would be harder to beat by the Yuuzhan Vong.

In this conflict, the battle droids the Republic confiscated from the Separatists played a pivotal role. All of the droids in Republic stock were upgraded to have tougher armor, and they upgraded their computers to be able to make more tactical decisions to make them better fighters. Considering that battle droids weren’t even affected by chemical or biological warfare, most means of combat for the Yuuzhan Vong don’t work against the droids, and the sheer firepower of B2 super battle droids and Droidekas alone could easily turn the tide of battle against the Vong.

For many months, the fighting was at a brutal stalemate, but once a lot of people enlisted into the Republic military and new Clone units trickled in from Kamino, the Yuuzhan Vong began to get pushed back. One by one, the systems under their control begin to fall, and eventually, they are driven back to the frigid and unpopulated world of Rhen Var. The Republic began bombarding the planet with a massive fleet of star destroyers, destroying most of the military equipment for the Yuuzhan Vong. After almost a month of sustained bombardment on the planet, the Yuuzhan Vong, defeated and even terrified of their opponents, surrendered to the Republic. The Yuuzhan Vong were forced to stay on Rhen Var and the planet became their new homeworld. In the war itself, massive casualties were felt by the Republic with 15% of their military (not including droids) listed as killed in action, and over 1,300 Jedi dead.

Following the end of this conflict, many Jedi retired from their positions in the Grand Army of the Republic including the likes of Falon Grey, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Aayla Secura. Their reasoning was that the Jedi should no longer be militarily involved with the Republic due to the Jedi switching their priorities away from the Republic. Despite this, some Jedi stayed in the Republic’s military like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Kit Fisto, Rahm Kota, and Plo Koon, although their roles in the Grand Army of the Republic took a heavy backseat to their roles as Jedi. During the time the Republic spent fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, Maul learned every aspect of Obi-Wan’s swordsmanship, from how he held his lightsaber to how he stepped before he made a strike. He also had a shape-shifting spy within the Order give him access to the Jedi Archives, where he downloaded all the necessary information on Obi-Wan.

For the next 13 years, the Republic remained in a state of relative peace, but also a state of fragility; the only times the Grand Army of the Republic were deployed were to fight pirates, protect dignitaries, provide humanitarian relief to planets that suffered a crisis, training missions, et cetera. With the news of Palpatine playing both sides in the war still fresh in everyone’s mind, faith in the Republic was still incredibly low. Anakin trained his son, Luke, in the ways of the Jedi, and guided him to become a very powerful Force user. Anakin’s daughter, Leia, was trained by Plo Koon as Anakin couldn’t have two apprentices. When Leia was around 15 years old, she left the Jedi Order and became a politician like her mother.

One day, the first major terrorist attack on Coruscant since the Clone Wars happened. Someone set off a thermobaric bomb with a large blast radius inside the headquarters of the Bureau of Force Sensitives, killing everyone there. Mace Windu was executed by a blaster bolt to the head by his long-time rival, Boba Fett. This was a deliberate attack that had been orchestrated by Maul to further his goal of luring out Obi-Wan. Over the last several years, Maul moved the large force he had created to the remote planet of Yavin IV, as well as a fleet of salvaged ships from scrap worlds. Whether they be former Republic or Separatist ships, it didn’t matter. Maul used a very small portion of his forces to attack some Republic outposts, and willingly let them track these small raiding parties back to Yavin. He would also have Boba Fett drop some breadcrumbs to help lead them into his trap. This made Maul’s numbers seem smaller than they actually were, and that this was just a small terrorist cell.

The Republic sent a small fleet to engage these droids and rogue Mandalorians, and they were met by one of the largest fleets they’ve ever seen. The Republic fleet was destroyed quickly, and any survivors were executed. The Republic sent a very large fleet in retaliation, and among this fleet was Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was unknowingly falling into Maul’s trap. Not far behind Kenobi’s fleet was Anakin Skywalker’s fleet with Ahsoka and Luke with him. Obi-Wan and some members of the 212th Attack Battalion were lured onto the planet. Around this time Anakin and his battlegroup arrived.

On the ground, the company of the 212th that Obi-Wan was with encountered heavy resistance. This company pushed their way to the Great Temple where they holed up and called for backup, closing the large blast doors behind them. There were only 3 survivors in this group: a Stormtrooper named Kanan Antillies, Clone Commander Cody, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kanan Antillies is Force choked to death, and as right as Cody is able to squeeze off a few shots into the darkness near Maul, a few Mandalorian blaster shots hit Cody in the chest and put the Clone veteran in critical condition. Maul ignited his weapon, illuminating the Dathomirian in the blood red of a Sith blade. In a scene reminiscent of the events that unfolded 32 years prior. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and began his duel against the man who had taken so much from him.

Anakin saw Obi-Wan’s distress signal down on the planet, so he assembled Torrent Company along with Ahsoka and Luke and headed down to the planet. Obi-Wan wasn’t faring well in his duel against Maul; as the two have gotten older, Obi-Wan remained somewhat stagnant in his power, but Maul grew stronger, and combined with the fact that Maul studied every aspect of Obi-Wan’s fighting style, the Jedi Master’s outlook looked grim. Anakin and Torrent Company pushed towards Obi-Wan’s location, becoming more desperate as time marched on. Eventually, Torrent Company got pinned down, and Anakin had to continue on his own to reach his former teacher.

Anakin made it to the old Temple and heard the sounds of lightsaber clashes. Knowing that this was where his old teacher’s distress signal was coming from, he uses all his abilities in the force to lift the blast doors and jams them in place so they don’t fall on him. As he rushes into the temple, Maul, seeing Anakin, decided to end the fight by hitting Obi-Wan with a cheap hit, and stabbing him in the heart before fleeing with his Mandalorian guards. Anakin rushes to the side of his fallen master who was barely grasping onto life. Anakin began apologizing to his old friend that he wasn’t fast enough and was on the verge of tears. Before dying, Obi-Wan told Anakin that he was proud of him, that he was an amazing student, and an even better friend. 

After Obi-Wan’s death, Anakin’s anger began to consume him. He’d now lost another person very close to him. His eyes began to glow a yellow not unlike that of a Sith and there was only one thought left on his mind, killing Maul. After calling for a medevac to rescue Cody and retrieve the corpses of Antilles and Obi-Wan, he returned to the battlefield. Anakin struck down as many of Maul’s droids, and a few Mandalorians that stayed to fight, that he could, his emotions similar to that of what he could’ve become 19 years prior, Darth Vader. The Dark Side was consuming him, and he would stop at nothing to exact his revenge. After the battle was over, Anakin gathered his troops and even more members of his 501st Legion and was going to scour the galaxy until he found Maul and struck him down.

In the aftermath of this, Anakin went into isolation, stewing in his anger and hatred. He began to disregard everything as his best friend was taken from him and he believed that nothing mattered except for his revenge. When the Council faked his master’s death during the Clone Wars, he was incredibly enraged, and felt a similar amount of rage and hatred as he did back then. Reaching out through the Force, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan talked to him, telling him that seeking revenge was not what either of them wanted. If he was going to kill Maul, it should be for a reason of righteousness opposed to anger and hatred. Now seeing clearly, Anakin found the reports of Republic Intelligence that lead him to the planet Mustafar.

Anakin decided to face Maul alone, as he felt that this was his destiny. Luke and Ahsoka stayed behind as Anakin went down to the surface to deal with the final remnant of the Dark Side. Once at Maul’s base, Anakin killed the Mandalorians that were protecting the fallen Sith and began his duel against the Dathomirian. During the duel, they traversed all across the temple and to a nearby mining facility. As they fought, something clicked within Anakin, and that was the perfect balance of the Force. Anger and hatred were only so powerful, but when combined with the love and compassion of the Light, it formed a deadly weapon. After cutting Maul’s lightsaber in half, Anakin cut Maul in half as well, only this time, vertically, ensuring that he would never return to bring pain and torment to others.

Returning to Coruscant, the Jedi Order, several senators, and countless officers of the Grand Army of the Republic held a funeral for Obi-Wan. They remembered his selfless sacrifices he made in his life as well as his valiant actions over the course of his time as a Jedi. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber was placed in a museum of sorts where it rested next to Qui-Gon’s lightsaber.

The following months were all about cleaning up the remnants of Maul’s forces. The droids that he used were either confiscated or destroyed, and the Mandalorians that served with him were either killed or put in prison. Afterwards, the galaxy finally saw peace for the first time in a long while. Faith in the Republic was finally mending, and the galaxy could rest easy and return to business as usual. The final embers of the Clone Wars were finally put out, and the Sith became extinct. Evil would rise in its own time once again, but the bulk of it all was finally over. The Jedi could focus on being peacekeepers once again, and the Republic had finally secured itself.

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars au #star wars alternate universe #anakin skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #maul

[aromaseraphy-lavender]

You know when it comes to time travel/memories of the future fix-it-fic au's for Star Wars (mainly centered around the prequels to orginal trilogy era) it's almost always same handful of characters.

Post "Return of the Jedi" Anakin waking up back in pre burnt chicken-nugget body. A redemption arc without any other character even knowing.

Obi-Wan trying to remember every single point things went wrong and trying to not do that or prevent it.

Luke trying to save his future father while also trying to prevent people from knowing his parentage.

But hear me out

Captain Rex being the protagonist of a time travel fix-it fic.

Rex spending the night celebrating on Endor with everyone else in the Rebellion. Finally ending the war that for him has gone on for nearly 30 years.

Even though he's a glad as anyone that Darth Vader is dead he still mourns for his old General. (Personal head canon that while Rex doesn't have a force sense like Ahsoka or Obi-Wan, he worked closely with Skywalker for years, he can spot the same tactics and maneuvers being used. So he figured it out on his own.)

He goes to sleep believing the nightmare is over. He lived to see through it to the other end.

And then he wakes up in his old barracks. Surrounded by bother he hates to admit have faded and blurred in his memory.

The Jedi are all still alive.

The Emperor is still just a Chancellor

Fives and Echo are still alive and whole

Ahsoka is still in the order.

Anakin Skywalker... at least it seems like Darth Vader doesn't exist yet.

Whatever has happened why couldn't it have been a Jedi? A Jedi could have just said something about the Force so they wouldn't be immediately dismissed as crazy. But a Clone? He still has the memory of Fives' death burned into his mind. And the information he died to relay was barely the tip of the iceberg. goes so, so much deeper than JUST the Inhibitor Chips.

In a deadly web made by the Sith to kill the Jedi and rule the Galaxy it's a single Clone that was gifted a second chance.

So goals

-Make the chips and plot to use the clones agaisnt the Jedi public without getting killed. And if not that, try to discreetly remove the chips from as many clones as possible.

-Find a way to out Palpatine as the Sith Lord everyone is after.

-Protect Ahsoka Tano from her cruel fate

-Save Anakin from himself if it's not already too late.

-Hopefully still be able cover for Anakin when he goes to have "private chats" with Senator Amidala. He can out 2-and-2 together, and Luke and Leia were good kids.

Sure 👍 easy... 🙄

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #captain rex

[lurking-latinist]

I’m reading an older translation of Aristophanes which uses the rhythms of English comic verse, and the anapests in The Acharnians are scanning perfectly to the Lord Chancellor’s Nightmare Song from Iolanthe, and help I can’t stop now

#I’ve had it stuck in my head anyway since observing I was passing Sloane Square and South Kensington stations yesterday #I went to the V&A it was very cool

[steamedtangerine]

The Third Reich of Dreams by Charlotte Beradt

Despite how the title sounds, this is an amazing book by a woman who was barred from publishing after Hitler became Germany’s Chancellor in 1933. She started having horrendous dreams that she recorded. Feeling she was not the only one, she began to press those from her oppressed community to open up about their dreams, only to find that they were having nightmares, as well.

She had collected over 300 dreams-one described seeing her neighborhood stripped of it’s usual signs, only to be replaced with propaganda posters warning about 20 forbidden words-the first being “Lord”, the last being “I”. Another woman dreamt of a mind reading machine composed of a maze of wires that could detect anytime she associated Hitler with the Devil.

https://www.museumofdreams.org/third-reich-of-dreams

https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/how-dreams-change-under-authoritarianism

The book above was released in 1966 with an essay by Bruno Bettelheim.

#book pick #top tier #stuff dreams are made of #atrocity

[krispyweiss]

Rewind: Todd Rundgren - Todd (1974)

Editor’s note: Todd Rundgren’s sprawling 1974 elpee, Todd, turns 50 this month, February 2024. So Sound Bites listened back and rewinds you to the mind of Rundgren in his mid-20s.

With 17 songs - novelties, soundscapes, ballads, hard-rocking anthems and even a show tune - pouring out over four sides and nearly 70 minutes of music, 1974’s Todd is one weird Todd Rundgren album. At the time of its release, however, it may have seemed relatively tame, coming as it did on the heels of the previous year’s ultra-experimental A Wizard, A True Star.

A flawed masterpiece in the truest sense, Todd is nevertheless undeniably groundbreaking as it swings between 100-percent-solo and band-produced pieces.

Rundgren sets the tone early with “How About a Little Fanfare?,” an instrumental patchwork of electronica that seems to signal another deep dive from the ever-changing musician. But then … “I Think You Know” pops up and the balladic, moody and introspective Runt of the early post-Nazz period seems to be on tap.

And then … a bunch more weirdness - first with the majestic instrumental “The Spark of Life” and then the childlike “An Elpee’s Worth of Toons,” which turns out to be an autobiography in whimsy as Rundgren sings:

A picture of a soul in pain/trying to change the world with an elpee’s worth of toons/there’s something at the heart of it that’s simply awful/a man who makes a living off a plastic waffle

Before we go any further, it should be noted that Rundgren toured Todd in 2010 - Sound Bites was fortunate to see the first and last gigs of the short trek - and proved that with modern technology, such studio shenanigans could actually be pulled off on stage and rendered exquisitely. The entire audience singing the “Sons of 1984” refrain - credited to First United Church of the Cosmic Smorgasbord, New York and San Francisco chapters on the album - after the musicians vacated the stage is one of the blog’s most treasured in-concert memories.

Worlds of tomorrow/life without sorrow/take it because it’s yours/sons of 1984, we sang as we clapped out the beat - thinking about it now makes Sound Bites shiver.

It’s documented on the 2011 album also called Todd.

But back to the Todd of ’74.

The album contains one of Rundgren’s most-enduring ballads in “A Dream Goes on Forever;” transforms Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1882 composition “Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song” into a bit of late-period psychedelia; and finds Rundgren exploring mortality and spirituality on the dramatically anthemic “The Last Ride,” showing off his respective blues- and rock-guitar chops on “No. 1 Lowest Common Denominator” and “Heavy Metal Kids” and exploring extra-musical territory on “In and Out the Chakras We Go (Formerly Shaft Goes to Outer Space),” the one track not played on the 2010 tour.

The result is aural multiple-personality disorder in the extreme. All of which makes Todd an album sometimes best taken in pieces, occasionally - when the mood is right - swallowed whole and always intriguing.

Grade card: Todd Rundgren - Todd - B+

2/18/24

#todd rundgren #todd #a wizard a true star #nazz #gilbert and sullivan

[speculativism]

The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song by Gilbert & Sullivan

#youtube