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threadsketchier · 4 years

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So I saw the prequels prior to the Originals and it always bothered me how Luke got dumped on a death planet of Tatooine considering the state of that environment and shot that when down in the previous films while Leia got a life of privilege. I was hoping Bail would argue against splitting the twins. I obviously knew why it had to go that route because it had to align and follow up with the Originals. I guess it came off that Luke wasn’t really wanted...?

I already wrote a ficlet somewhat addressing this misconception.

Also, frankly, I’m getting kind of tired of rehashing the same issue - why do people keep assuming that the Larses don’t matter and don’t have a right to be in Luke’s life just because they live on Space Australia? Why do their feelings not count just because they’re low-to-middle-class moisture farmers who don’t live in a palace on Space Switzerland-Utopia? Why the fuck do people assume that Luke wasn’t wanted just because the Organas have a personal preference that was obviously previously established before shit hit the fans and they wanted a daughter and Bail, as a senator and Viceroy - essentially co-leader of his planet - is a fucking rational guy who understands the necessity of making hard decisions dictated by logic over emotions?

The twins weren’t just “split up because that’s how the movies have to go,” it does make internal sense within the narrative that it was safer to hide them in vastly separate locations to prevent both of them from being discovered at the same time and thus lost together, or for their latent Force bond to make them a psychic target if they grew up together and established it, acting like a beacon for Vader and Palpatine and any minions of theirs. It sucks, it’s painful, it has awkward consequences for them later on when Leia’s a bit too loose with her lips, but that’s why these movies have a tragic backstory. It has to suck real hard before it gets better.

Does it seem crazy that Leia wound up raised in such a screamingly obvious position as daughter of a then-Imperial Senator and princess of a highly prominent Core world being trained to follow in her biological mother’s footsteps and become a senator herself, thus occupying a very exposed role in the Empire, right under the Emperor’s and Vader’s noses? Yeah. But also remember that the Superman/Clark Kent illusion can actually work in real life. Assumption is a powerful thing. Your average Joe Citizen would assume that someone as otherworldly as Superman, an alien with the ability to fly, strength to bench-press skyscrapers and jumbo jets, heat vision, and other amazing things, would never stoop to living as a normal, humble, inconvenienced human being. It’s not merely the hiding behind a pair of glasses and hunching over a little with a nerdy tone and habits - it’s the entire idea that a Clark Kent could even exist in the same person of Superman. They don’t understand that he was raised as a human and actually desires this life, and doesn’t feel the need to lock himself away permanently in his dope Fortress of Solitude and never interact with the very people he wants to save and protect.

Vader was lied to by Palpatine about the nature of Padmé’s death, but there was no disputing that she actually died. In his crushing despair, Vader accepted with heaps of self-flagellation that his child was dead. He didn’t even know he had two children. In his mind, whenever he saw Leia - surely they were in each other’s circles at least at a distance before Rogue One and ANH - even if she reminded him of Padmé six ways from Sunday, he would not assume she was his daughter, because as far as he was concerned his child was dead. The OT establishes that latent Force-sensitivity also does not automatically make two related Force-sensitives consciously aware of each other until they mutually know one another as being related and Force-sensitive, so not even torturing Leia revealed this to him.

But I’m going off on a tangent. Let’s break this down:

Tatooine is nothing but a source of anguish for Anakin and his personal loathing for the place made it ideal as a hiding place. And no, I’m not just haha joking about sand. He was a slave there and buried his mother there after slaughtering an entire village of natives he knew in his heart that he shouldn’t have. It holds nothing but misery and failure for him.

Yes, Tatooine is abso-fucking-lutely a galactic cesspit. It’s ruled by the most vile mob boss in the galaxy, is rife with nasty wildlife that’s out to kill you, and is haunted by the troubles brought about by strife between colonizers and the native population. It is indisputably a dangerous place. But it wasn’t Tatooine that killed the Larses. It was the Empire. Just because they look like Soft Folks™ doesn’t mean they were - Owen and Beru knew how to take care of themselves, and they certainly knew how to take care of a child in this environment. They survived to middle age just fine, and would’ve kept going if it wasn’t for those fucking stormtroopers. Just because they didn’t live a life of luxury also doesn’t mean they were dirt poor either. When we meet Luke in ANH, he’s a healthy young lad who still has the privilege to fuck off with his buddies around his farm duties. Life may be tough but it’s not squalor and deprivation for him.

But honestly, even if they WERE dirt poor, they’re still Luke’s family, and they very obviously loved him. I almost feel like I shouldn’t have to restate it, but I will: Owen and Beru loved Shmi, and upon hearing that Anakin died and left behind a baby son, why wouldn’t they be moved and compelled to take Luke in, and why wouldn’t they deserve to have the chance to raise him in their memory? Even though they’d be sad that Luke was orphaned, they might even see this as a blessing to be able to raise Shmi’s grandson and Anakin’s son.

As much as he bitched about chores as a teenager, Luke learned damn valuable skills growing up on a Tatooine moisture farm that, coupled with the Force, saved everybody’s asses at the Battle of Yavin, and went on to make him an ideal squadron leader. Wealth and privilege are not always the best foundation, or at least certainly not the automatic one, for a person to learn good character either.

The Organas are human too. Faced with a difficult choice, they decided to take this poignant opportunity to fulfill a dream they’d been deferring for some time. Sometimes parents wish for a specific child, and that’s their prerogative (except IRL they don’t actually get to pick, they get whatever kid they gestate). If they’d taken Luke and let Obi-Wan take Leia, we’d be having the same argument about Leia growing up on Tatooine. There was no inequality in this decision. Bail and Breha wanted a daughter, there was a daughter present among the twins, so they chose her. This does not mean they valued Luke any less. Since the twins couldn’t be raised together for their own safety, it might as well have come down to a coin toss. Bail isn’t evil for exercising a shred of his personal emotions and desires in a situation where he otherwise knew he’d have to restrain himself. Also, he’d be smart enough to respect the fact that both children had actual family elsewhere in the galaxy and wouldn’t think any less of the Larses just because they live on Tatooine. The only way his decision would be careless or heinous was if he knew Luke was being taken to people who were abusive or so destitute they couldn’t even care for themselves, much less a third person, and he did nothing about it - but we know this is not that situation.

How do you feel about non-wealthy people living in harsh places here on Earth raising their children? Would you expect all the rich people in the world to go take those children away from them and adopt them just so they could grow up “privileged” instead? Think about how that sounds for a moment or two.

Honestly, if Bail had tried to argue about taking both twins because he felt taking Luke to his legal family on Tatooine was “cruel” or “neglectful” because of the planet’s “risky environment and poverty,” I’d hope either Obi-Wan or Yoda would have enough sense to smack him upside the head for being so thoughtless as to insult these people for being seemingly beneath him.

There is more to life than money and power/prestige, and Leia’s upbringing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She was no pampered, air-headed royal spending her days sitting idle being hand-fed space grapes while her “poor” brother ate sand cookies. She had to undergo intensive academic, political, and physical training from young childhood in order to prepare her to become a covert Rebel agent while she was still a teenager, as if being a child senator wasn’t already stressful and demanding enough. Sure, she never lacked for anything, but that is an incredible amount of responsibility to saddle on someone who wasn’t even an adult yet (like her bio mother). Luke was blessed with far more freedom and peace in his childhood than his sister. And him living on Tatooine with his father’s surname wasn’t nearly as dangerous as Leia existing within the heart of the Empire while actively engaging in Rebel activities that could have cost her her life, even without getting into the whole “daughter of Anakin Skywalker” business.

Also, just because we joke about Tatooine being Space Australia doesn’t mean every single day of Luke’s childhood was THAT eventful. It was more likely 80% dull farm life and 20% mayhem, and that 20% would be mostly Luke’s fault for being a crazy nut like his parents and getting himself into trouble he could have avoided in most cases. In other words, growing up there might not have been nearly as “deadly” as we make it out to be.

#i am in a Mood™ about this tonight & i don't care #high-sodium post ahoy #i know i have the tag #aunt beru is metal af #but honestly i need a tag for #the larses are metal af #my meta #star wars #luke skywalker #grew up in space australia & it shows #leia organa #owen lars #beru whitesun lars #bail organa #breha organa #classism

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loridrabbles · 5 years

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Warmth. (Rex x Reader)

Prompt 64. "Here take my blanket."

You are a long time friend of Padmé who managed to weaser your way into fighting alongside the clone army.

Your journey to Orto Plutonia was supposed to be a simple one. Well, simple compared to what normally arises when General Skywalker takes the reigns.

You, along with General Skywalker and Kenobi, as well as their seconds, Rex, with the 501st and Cody with his 212th were escorting Senator Chuchi to the planet on a diplomatic mission. You had grown close to her over the years as she spent time with Padmé and yourself in the palace. Your stomach tingled with pride when she worked up the courage to stand up to Chairman Chi Cho, even if it was to no avail. Unable to hold back a smile, you decided to ask Obi Wan if there was anything that needed to be done to help settle the tension between the intruders, and the planet's residents.

"General Kenobi. Chi Cho has caused quite a stir. What are we to do about it?" You asked tugging on your thin robes in an attempt to keep warm. As he stroked his beard he replied:

"I'm afraid these creatures are prepared for war, little one." He turned to address the troops. "Rex, take your men and (y/n) and hold off the Talz at the pass until Senator Chuchi can speak to the assembly and negotiate a peace."

"Understood." The troops said in unison.

"I'm not dressed for this." You grumbled.

"What's the matter (y/n)? Robes not keepin' ya warm enough?" Echo teased.

"Hey, I thought we were going to Pantora!"

"Uh-uh. *Moon* of Pantora, darlin'." Echo chided as he sat on his speeder and slid back in the seat. He patted the space in front of him. "You can sit with me. I'll keep ya nice and warm."

You sighed and rolled you eyes as you crossed you arms in front of you. You loved the 501st but Echo was SUCH a flirt.

"Alright cut it out you. Enough with the flirting, we have a job to do." Rex stepped in. "(Y/N) you're with me, Kenobis orders. Men, ready your weapons"

"Sorry Echo." You teased. Breathing a sigh of relief, you sit in front of Rex and prepared your blaster as the squad took off.

"Wait.....Rex!? How is that any better?? He scolds ECHO for flirting when HE'S the biggest flirt around. Granted...he is a lot more charming... Gah! He probably wanted me to sit with him...no Kenobi ordered us together. Wait. No he didn't! Oh force. I can handle Echo's flirting. But Rex is just..so..." Your thoughts swirled.

"(Y/N)"

"He's just so handsome. Kriff! What am I thinking?"

"(Y/N)" Rex repeated pulling you out of your thoughts.

"Huh??" You replied as you snapped to attention. He chuckled.

"Did I startle you? What were you thinking about?"

"N-nothing."

"Oh?" He leaned in closer. You could feel the weight of him against your back as he braced against the handle bars. "Is that so?"

You were thankful he couldn't see your face as your eyes widened and a faint blush dusted itself across your cheeks.

"Comfortable?" You couldn't see his face but you KNEW he had a cocky grin that you would slap off if he didn't outrank you. You were never good at hiding your feelings.

"Yes." You squeaked.

"Talz, on the horizon sir." You hear another trooper in your ear. Thank the force this journey is over.

The battle went without a hitch until you heard that Chairman Chi Cho got involved.

"Blasted idiot." You said as you jumped on the speeder of a fallen clone. Your heart sank as you started it up. You loved them all, as they love eachother, even if they are supposed to be expendable, but you were at least free from Rex.

You and the others raced back to see Chi Cho on the ground, Chuchi speaking to Thi-Sen, and the other the other Talz...dropping their weapons. Chuchi had a grand smile on her face as you approached her.

"Lady (Y/N)." She beamed. "I was able to negotiate a peace between the two planets. This colony is now recognized as an equal to Pantora and her people."

"I'm so proud of you Chuchi! I knew you'd put Chi Cho in his place one day." You both laughed and he put her hand over her mouth as if you two had been talking about something devilish.

"Come on (Y/N)!" Obi Wan called. "Transports are waiting"

You climbed aboard and found the last seat left which was of course....next to Rex. He smirked at you as you internally kicked yourself for not wrapping it up with Chuchi sooner.

You took your seat next to Rex and rubbed your arms. They had gone red from the icy planet. Your robes you chose today were knew high boots and shorts with wraps around your torso that draped down your back. Perfect if you had gone to Pantora as you had planned. Your knees and thighs had gone bright red as well.

"I didn't know someone could blush over their whole body. I also didn't know I could do that to a person." Rex elbowed you. You scrunched up your nose and shot him a glare.

"I'm just teasing you (Y/N). That's a quip you'd expect coming out of Echo's mug." You managed to let out a small laugh as he cleared the tension. He reached into the compartment above his head and pulled out a thick brown blanket and began to unfold it as he placed it on your lap. "Here, take my blanket." He said as he sat back at your side draping his arm around your shoulder. And just like that your stomach gets tight again. "I can imagine how exhausted you are after fighting the cold all day and it's a long ride back home. May as well get comfortable."

"Thanks." Was all you could say before your voice caught in your throat. How comfortable could you get feeling this way.

"He sends such mixed signals. Of this goes on for much longer I might just explode. Why doesn't he just come out and admit he likes me? Maybe he's waiting for me to say something. What if I do and he isn't actually flirting with me and I just look like a fool? I can't like him anyway! He's my captain it's not right!

You felt a gloved hand cup your chin and tilt your head back.

"I don't care of your not a clone, you belong on the battle field. You did great today mesh'la." Rex said. You smiled in return and dropped your head back down.

"Mesh'la. What it Mustafar does that mean. The way he said it was so....gentle. Is it even possible for him to talk like that? Why can't my thoughts stop spinning like this. Ome minute he treats me to tenderly then the next he treats me like infantry. What the kriff, Rex make up your mind.

Just as your spinning mind reached maximum velocity you felt a warm kiss on your forehead.

"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum" Rex whispered almost inaudibly.

"Shavit"

Bonus Echo:

(ง ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )ง < (that's cute but fight me bitch)

Ok this kinda sucks ass. It's been a hot minute since I've written. I promise I'll get back into the swing of things.

#rex x reader #captain rex x reader #the clone wars #clones #Captain rex #clone wars #imagine #oneshot #prompt #clone trooper x reader #obi wan kenobi #fluff #echo #clone trooper echo #clone trooper rex #star wars #clone troopers #swtcw

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postedbygaslight · 6 years

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On Force Bonds, or, What Was Meant to Be a Brief Musing on How All This Works

This is intended to be a short rumination on the depiction of Force Bonds in Star Wars, since the Kylo/Rey bond is now so tremendously important to the series. What I wanted to address was something I’ve seen a few places, mainly a claim that the existence of these bonds is random or only works when the plot needs it to, etc. I’m going to look at Force Bonds overall, give my opinion on how they started between various characters, and how the films support that manifestation. I’m writing this on mobile, literally sitting in a parking lot waiting for a court proceeding to start, so there won’t be much in the way of pics, gifs, videos, or the like.

The Nature of Force Bonds

As I’m not going to go combing through all canon content while writing a quick post, I’m going to recite from memory and supply some conjecture as to how Force Bonds are created. It appears they are established in a number of ways that are constant, and in a number of ways that are capricious. These are the ones I can identify:

- between a mother and her children, established in the womb

- between a father and his children, but only after birth (or perhaps only if he makes an effort to reach out during the mother’s pregnancy)

- between a master and an apprentice

- between siblings, especially twins, as the bond is established in the womb

- between lovers, for obvious reasons

- between enemies, during combat

- between two people while one is deep within the other’s mind

Of course, the above is subject to the all-powerful whim of the Force, which makes setting hard and fast rules nearly impossible, but let’s use the above as a framework.

Using the examples above, it seems that the way these bonds form is through mutual use of the Force, almost always unintentionally, allowing a door to open between two spirits and minds. Between certain persons, it is far more likely to happen, and the less cosmically significant the two beings are to each other, the less powerful the bond, and the longer it takes to establish firmly.

Kyber Crystals and Lightsabers

Now, one thing I want to address, and this is my personal take on it, but between Force sensitives who have bonded with a kyber crystal, I believe a lightsaber will only WILLINGLY answer the call of a being that is its bondmate, its master (in the case of the Dark Side), or to the call of another being bonded to the crystal’s bondmate/master. Anakin’s lightsaber belongs to Luke once he’s given it by Obi-Wan, but that’s because Vader had lost it, and had bent the will of another Force user’s kyber crystal, and made it submit under torture (the bleeding of the crystal to make it red). After Luke lost that saber in the fight with Vader, he made a new weapon, bonding to a new kyber, thus releasing the legacy saber to choose another bondmate, i.e., Rey. This is why Lucasfilm Story Group has referred to the saber as Rey’s Lightsaber. Because it’s truly hers.

The reason I stressed the word “willingly” above was to address that if another Force user has the power to manipulate or subdue the bondmate/master of a kyber, and decides to exert that power, the same rules apply to the kyber and, by extension, the saber. That’s why Snoke can override Rey’s call for her own lightsaber; he ragdolls her around the room and Force freezes her at will. The kyber crystal is compelled to obey. So, why doesn’t this same saber go to Kylo when he calls it in the forest on Starkiller? Because he considers it to be his and tries to call it as though it’s his, but his bond with Rey is not yet strong enough, and his commitment to the Dark Side is much more tenuous than first observation would assume. By the time we’re in Snoke’s throne room, Rey and Kylo are now bonded more strongly than maybe any two Force users ever, and their sabers answer to each other interchangeably.

This leads to a compelling observation about the nature of the Dark and Light sides of the Force, which are not warring camps of Force power, but opposing ideologies about how to use the Force. While Light Side Force users attune to their crystals, bonding with them naturally, Dark Side tradition has typically held that a Dark Sider must kill a Light Sider and dominate and bleed the claimed saber’s crystal, thus becoming that crystal’s master.

The last point becomes incredibly poignant when considering Ben Solo. Dark Siders usually bend other’s crystals to their will. Ben instead bled his own crystal, a stunning act of self-harm and self-betrayal that might have been the true cause of the crystal cracking.

Canon Force Bonds in the Films

Let’s do a pairing-by-pairing breakdown of some important bonds I see at work throughout the saga, where they started, and their relative strength. I’m going to proceed chronologically.

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi

The first bond we see is a master-apprentice bond. These bonds are typically minor, particularly since the Jedi actively sought to limit the bonding to surface level or training related purposes. But this example will serve to inform all other master-apprentice relationships. Masters tend to be saying things to apprentices like, “Your thoughts betray you,” and other observations of emotion. This leads me to believe that masters practice a one-way bond relationship; their students are bonded to them, but masters employ means to block their students from access to their minds, thus keeping the bond from becoming overly potent.

This is why I believe Obi-Wan was able to call Qui-Gon’s lightsaber to him to defeat Darth Maul. If you notice, the saber hesitates for a moment, but then acquiesces.

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

This is where we get into some of the meat and potatoes of how this all works. People have long wondered why Darth Vader can sense Obi-Wan’s presence on the Death Star, but not Luke (even though he can clearly sense Luke later). This is because Vader and Obi-Wan retain the bond forged when they were master and apprentice. However, once Anakin turned, he no longer deferred to his master’s will, and could sense him regardless of whether Obi-Wan wanted that.

I think another point to make clear is that Obi-Wan was always a reluctant master to Anakin, and, once out of his charge, Obi-Wan scrupulously avoided taking advantage of the bond to gain a more concrete sense of Anakin’s pain and confusion. Willful blindness. It’s a bitch.

Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

Though a short lived master-apprentice relationship, it can be argued that Obi-Wan and Luke became closer in the Force in several days than Obi-Wan and Anakin did over decades. I think this is probably because Obi-Wan learned the hard way that his keeping Anakin at arm’s length was a terrible mistake, and he openly and affirmatively encourages a nurturing relationship with Luke, creating a strong bond between the two once Luke is awakened to the Force through training.

It makes me wonder if one must have a Force Bond in order to commune with a Force Ghost. Something tells me yes.

Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader

So, a big one here. Darth Vader cannot sense Luke on the Death Star, but is able to recognize strong Force sensitivity in him during the Battle of Yavin. I do not believe a bond was formed then, only that Vader, like all trained Force sensitives, could sense that ability in another.

Even when Vader is combing the galaxy for Luke in ESB, there’s no indication of a bond. In fact, Vader seems surprised to learn from the Emperor that Luke is his son. Still, even with this revelation, no sign of a bridging of minds. It’s only when Vader and Luke fight, both of them using the Force in close proximity and combat, that the bridge opens. From that point, Vader can sense Luke’s presence, and vice versa. Vader can even speak to Luke across distances at first (though I believe Luke subsequently takes steps to shut him out of his thoughts, it’s much harder to hide a spiritual signature).

However, this also addresses why Vader can’t sense Leia, and never forms a bond with her. Even though he oversaw her torture on the Death Star, he pointedly mentions that she is able to resist his efforts to probe her mind. Because he never got through the first layer of her thoughts, that door never opened. If Leia had remained in his custody much longer, we might have had a very different story unfold.

Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa

The twin thing. He’s practiced in the Force, she isn’t. They both remained unawakened to the Force for a very long time, and that explains why they never connected fully (especially since they were separated at birth).

They can speak across distances and feel each other’s presences regardless of where they’re at, which shows a level of bond that exceeds most others. Luke, however, is fully trained, and Leia rejected formal training, and that’s why he’s able to shut her out in the Sequel Trilogy.

Hurried Conclusion

This is already much longer than I intended, and I’m looking to the Sequel Trilogy and seeing all the Ben Solo bonds, and I don’t have time. That’ll be for a later post.

#reylo #force bond #star wars meta

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