#shmi is not dead just away from all the drama

[veloursdor]

i saw this post and this happened:

obikin au where they're not jedis, they're top gun pilots.

qui-gon and obi-wan were a team, but most importantly, friends. the kind of friends that know each other families (obi-wan is engaged to satine, qui-gon is married to shmi and they have anakin) and think of each other as family as well. everything is great until one day, during a training exercise, the plane malfunctions and qui-gon unfortunately passes away.

obi-wan believes it's his fault (even though the board [aka the council] had cleared him of any wrongdoing), and, out of a sense of responsability and what's right, decides to devote his life to anakin's well-being. shmi tells him is not necessary, that she can manage without qui-gon, but obi-wan has made up his mind and he's stubborn; he will be there for anakin like qui-gon should've.

at first, satine is supportive, she understands her fiancé's sense of responsability and the love he had for his mentor... until it starts taking over everything in his life ("i'm sorry satine, i'm gonna have to cancel dinner with your parents." "why?" "anakin is having his first school dance and i'm chaperoning." "shmi? oh, shmi will take pictures").

she gives him an ultimatum and obi-wan chooses anakin (his "duty") and she breaks up with him. obi-wan is heartbroken, they were high school sweethearts and obi-wan is in his mid 20s, but taking care of ani makes the heartache lessen.

time passes and obi-wan is now an intrinsic part of the skywalker household. he's anakin's father, brother, best friend, mentor. anakin has decided to follow into his father's footsteps and join the navy (in truth he wants to be closer to obi-wan away from shmi's eyes) and shmi and obi-wan are 'supportive' (shmi more than obi-wan).

he wants to be happy for the boy, truly, anakin's happiness is his own happiness. but the idea of losing anakin like he lost qui-gon makes him freeze and think of any way to keep it from happening. he makes an impulsive decision and asks his admiral to drop anakin's application so anakin has 4 more years to make a decision.

when anakin finds out, he's heartbroken. all he's ever wanted is to be with obi-wan and to see that obi-wan would go out of his way to keep anakin away from him now that 'it's not his responsibility' (anakin has just turned 18), decides to devote the next 4 years of his life to make sure the navy doesn't reject him again.

many years pass with no contact between them (obi-wan is devastated at anakin's anger but knows in his heart it was the right thing to do) and obi-wan has led a lonely life. he still calls shmi and lets her know he's okay, but he's too scared to ask about anakin, to know how he is (is he still angry at obi-wan? does he hate him?).

obi-wan is called to base, where he's asigned the mission to rescue and protect the daughter of an ambassador in hostile territory (palpatine's the president there). he's to have a wingman, something he hasn't had since qui-gon's death, and is to work together with them in order for the mission to be successful.

obi-wan is surpirsed to see anakin is to be his wingman, the little boy is no more and now it's a man in front of him, but the younger man rebuffs any friendly advance obi-wan extends towards him. he's rough, angry and borderline rude whenever obi-wan talks to him, but obi-wan doesn't mind because until that moment, he hadn't realised how much he had missed anakin in his life.

however, the days leading towards the mission ease a little of the tension between them because, for better or for worse, anakin has missed obi-wan so much. he's still angry and hurt, but the older man (still the man of his dreams) remains good and kind hearted despite the awful things anakin throws his way.

the mission is a success (despite everything, obi-wan and anakin had always worked well together, always anticipating each other moves; time hasn't changed that at all) and on their way home (on a stolen bigger aircraft) the ambassador's daughter cannot stop flirting with anakin, much to obi-wan's dismay. but is when she places a hand on anakin's forearm and the younger man doesn't brush her off that obi-wan realises he's jealous.

he wishes anakin would stand his touch for more than a few seconds instead of recoiling from it, flinching when all obi-wan wants is to make sure anakin is next to him, alive. he's jealous of the way anakin smiles at her, without disdain or resentment in his eyes.

he's jealous of a girl younger than his military career, and obi-wan can't stand it. because he just understood that, in the few days they had between their reunion and their mission, he fell in love with anakin.

but anakin could never be his.

#obikin #anakin skywalker x obi-wan kenobi #obikin au #anakin skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #anakin x obi-wan #top gun au #im not american so my understanding of the navy is through top gun movies #shmi is not dead just away from all the drama #i imagine her sighing really loud because obi-wan likes to make life harder for himself #somewhere in the distance satine feels like she dodged a bullet

[secret-engima]

I blame @talisward for this but like-

Before I get way into this, tagging @wolfsrainrules​ and tentatively @north-peach​ because FFXV isn’t your fandom but this is also part Star Wars and who knows you might find it funny.

What if in a Star Wars/FFXV crossover, a ship takes damage to the hyperdrive (pirate attack or unexpected meteor shower something) and the hyperdrive yeets them waaaaayyyyyyyyy into Wild Space and it crashes on the jungle islands of an unknown planet and the crew is killed in the crash.

But the crew weren’t the only ones on board.

The Galahdians of various Clans, for once all united, swarm over the strange thing that fell from the sky very warily, scuffing and chirping at each other (because this is totally an A/B/O verse, maybe even an a/b/o spin-off of Thrown to Wolves verse who knows) and they finally pry open part of it to look inside and- dead bodies. Dead bodies of strange adults and non-human ... beings that still looked vaguely humanoid and didn’t dissolve like daemons. Sprawled over in what was clearly death from the crash. They explore and find no survivors or even anything familiar. The letters on the walls are strange, the technology is strange. Everything is strange.

Then one of them finds a body dressed differently. Rather than strange, unpleasant smelling synthetic fabric, this one is dressed in spun clothes, rough and simple and practical. The body, not human but very humanoid, is curled up near a door, an expression of odd serenity and determination on their face even in death.

It’s one of the Ulrics that notices the area AROUND the body is miraculously untouched. There is destruction and crumpled metal and sparking wires in the hallway leading up to the spot, but the door behind the body and whatever is beyond is undamaged. Protected.

One of the Ostiums sniffs carefully, stiffens as he finally catches a scent other than sparks and foreign metal and strange blood, “There’s something alive on the other side,” he whispers.

An Arra presses her ear against the door for several seconds before growling, “I hear pups.”

And that’s the only incentive they need to start forcing the door open, because pups are sacred, even in a place like this, a metal ship that fell from the night sky and is filled with the dead bodies of human and non-human beings alike.

The door finally gives way with a scream of metal, letting the light spill into the room.

The collection of Jedi Younglings stare at them with wide, frightened eyes, some human, others not, all smelling of sadness and terror and the need for reassurance.

The Galahdians glance at each other meaningfully at the sight of non-human pups, then carefully set about coaxing them all out despite the language barrier, soothing the tears that come at the sight of the dead protector (who must have been protecting the pups with magic, surely) and herding them out into the jungle sunshine. While some of the Clans start working on removing the bodies for as proper a funeral as they can make (they hope star people don’t mind being burned and released to the winds, but it’s all they can do), others start trying to figure out what to DO with the new children. They can’t separate them, but these are a lot of strange children and that will be a lot for any Clan to handle. They settle on giving them to the more famed and long-standing alliances, the Ulric-Ostium and the Lazarus-Furia-Arra because the joint clans will have an easier time raising the kids and figuring out ... well. Non-human biology.

One of the Ulrics meanwhile is carefully distracting the poor scared kiddos by trying to establish some rudimentary communication. She finally coaxes their names out of them and smiles when one of the humans (human-like? If he’s a star person does he really count as human?) in the group, a boy no more than eight if she doesn’t miss her mark, steps forward and shakily bows in greeting and carefully enunciates “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Some other notes on this AU that I apparently have now: a/b/o is an Astral fiddling thing that happens over time and all the Jedi younglings are young enough that THEY develop it too as they’re raised by Galahd.

Galahd guards their Star Children zealously. Keeps them secret and treasured.

If this is not a Thrown to Wolves a/b/o spin-off, then this is still an AU where “magic” (ie the Force) can be used by almost everyone to some degree or other, just for simpler things than the specialized and extremely powerful magics of the LCs and Oracles because of Bahamut’s Blessing. Other people can still do amazing stuff with their “Magic” but it’s not armiger or Walls or superhealing/purification and it’s not as overwhelmingly powerful as LCs (who are all like- up there with Anakin Skywalker Force-power wise).

The younglings are Obi-Wan’s crechemates, they were on their way back from Illum or something when the hyperdrive yote them to Eos. They quickly figure out they’re on a planet so far away no one knows Galactic Standard and that no one has space travel. Eventually they settle in their new lives.

Everyone picture Feral Galahdian Jedi bbys. It’s like- Feral Mandalorian Jedi bbys but without the helmets and heavy armor XD.

They did end up splitting the creche between the various Clans, but tried to keep at least two kids near each other at all times so that they wouldn’t feel abandoned and organized regular “play dates” for all their Star Children (with the added benefit of the adults getting to share their meltdowns over the weird things their Star Children do and need). Also Ramuh is watching from on high and running damage control, which is why no Galahdian falls over dead from space viruses and no youngling dies in spasms from Eos viruses. He’s also the one to tweak the kiddos to fit into the a/b/o dynamic.

Obi-Wan would like you to believe he’s an Ostium. He is not. He’s an Ulric. Bant is his long-suffering Ostium braincell.

Other members of the creche include: Bruck Chun, who after multiple hard lessons on bullying is actually a pretty decent (if aggressive) bby Furia. Quinlan Vos because I find him fun (or, in this AU, Quinlan Ulric), and a couple OCs because I can’t remember who all else is in Obi-Wan’s age group/creche. There’s a Togruta in there somewhere because Togruta are cool.

Meanwhile in the Galaxy at large the Jedi are searching for their lost ship of younglings with more than a little alarm, but they don’t find them. While wandering for clues even years later, one Qui-Gon Jinn stumbles across a slave woman and her year old bby on Tattooine. The bby is extremely freaking Force sensitive so he Qui-Gon Jinn’s his way into buying both of their freedoms and taking them to Coruscant to introduce the woman to the Jedi so she can decide if she wants her bby in the Jedi or not. The woman is Shmi, the bby is Anakin.

Obi-Wan uses the schematics found on the ship (it was a ship for building lightsabers and stuff like in that one Clone Wars episode), his own instincts, and bits of the Elemency crystals/meteor shards lying around to “re-invent” the lightsaber. All the Galahdians are enamored and immediately figure out how to make their own.

Niflheim was Not Prepared to tackle a jungle full of Feral Galahdians with Laser Swords. Galahd does no fall and the Kingsglaive are still formed but not out of refugees. Instead Regis approaches them hoping to form an elite force of laser sword wielding jungle maniacs warriors. The Galahdians agree after some haggling for extra autonomy/privacy to hide their Star Children.

I feel like Obi-Wan joins the Kingsglaive. Just- because OBI-WAN. He’s curious and interested and he doesn’t particularly like war but he has that very strong Protecc instinct and people appreciate his diplomacy.

Years and years later, when the Star Children are teens/young adults, either they figure out how to repair their old ship or somehow another Republic ship finds Eos and all the Jedi proceed to collectively lose their minds over finding their Feral Galahdian former-Jedi younglings and their culture of laser-sword wielding jungle Packs.

Also the secondary genders is NOT a thing outside Eos so all the Jedi are ALSO freaking out over that and trying to figure out how their younglings have it (BECAUSE IT’S A THING. THERE ARE HORMONES AND VOCALIZATIONS AND STUFF THAT NORMAL HUMANS/MON CALAMARI/ETC CAN’T PULL OFF). It ... it never occurs to the Jedi that the Astrals did it because no matter how many times the Galahdians say it’s an Astral-granted thing, no one believes them because everyone “knows” that must be their primitive mythology and culture. There is no such thing as beings who can materialize out of thin air and are made of pure Force. Pssh.

Ramuh the Troll, Bahamut the Drama Queen, every other Astral who is professionally insulted that their existence is brushed off by the idiots who should know better: Behold, we shall ruin these arrogant space monks’ entire careers.

Also Palpatine tries something funny near the Galahdians and is murdered discreetly via an Arra because they can SMELL the madness and near daemon-like corruption on him kthanks.

Also also all the Galahdians take one (1) look at Anakin and go BBY SPACE ULRIC and promptly adopt Shmi and Anakin both while the Space Monks look on and sputter in confusion.

#Secret Engima Rambles #Reach for the Stars (As They Reach Back) verse #star wars/ffxv #oh look a new au

[smuthuttpodcast]

Fetch is iconic because to read Fetch is to suffer. I say that with the warmest regards to Tam. It's an example of the medium as both a challenging, cathartic, and escapist one.

Name/Handle/Alias

@secretreylo SecretReyloTrash

About how long would you say you’ve been rooting for Reylo?

When it comes to smut I tend to go two directions: "Shipping" it or a hypothetical "They'd Be Hot Together". I've been on that TBHT train since TFA, but not contributing and only casual browsing of smut because that's what TBHT is for. Spring of 2018 was when the mediation of how to realistically get these two together, the meta aspect of shipping, really started to appeal to me because of stories I was reading ("Lilies" by diasterisms was my first Soft Ben and I loved him) and I gave writing it a try with Perfumed in Obsession, a story that is 100% mediation of opposing viewpoints. I fell very far, very fast into it.

What did you think of the way Rise of Skywalker handled Rey and Kylo’s relationship?

Really gross. TLJ was a very sensitive text. It's not about physical force; it's about persuasion. Understandable viewpoints, where they both offer so much of themselves and it still doesn't work, and that's really heartbreaking and compelling. TROS felt like it had taken several steps back. Kylo was more of a bullying, negging presence when before he'd respected Rey's power and autonomy before, he just had hopes about what she'd do with it. now he's controlling. He withheld crucial information about her trauma, which is deeply wrong. He was a generic villain and Rey was physically fighting her way out. Their ending wasn't given space to breathe or feel like something was happening, and then he drops dead in her arms. A lot of simpering was done on the filmmakers part about what he deserved by Rey doesn't get anything she deserved. Their only interactions before the Exegol Disaster are only focused on drudging up pain and hostility, so there's no moment where they "see" each other that matches TLJ. The final battle there is some grasping at recognition, but it's really imbalanced towards Ben's redemption, Rey being rewarded for essentially waiting out his bad boy phase, and nothing to address her anger and grief and darkness. It tipped the scales way out of Rey's favor, and she's an important character!

Do you think the film understood why you, and other people, felt like Rey and Kylo had something together? Did it get their chemistry?

No, it really felt like the conversations between them were missing the point. Negging, withholding, leveraging. These were two flawed but honest people (at least with each other) who had a lot of circumstantial baggage that kept them apart. Ironically a lot of the "hero" and "villain" posturing gets stripped away and they are shown as their truest selves through the bond. Finn never sees this side of Rey. Snoke never saw this side of Ben. It's a relationship that mattered because it was so nuanced that way. TROS Rey being stalked by Kylo in his Supreme Leader Helmet seems antithetic to the sincerity of the relationship. It's telling that one of Rey's lines is a generic, cliche whisper of "No": it falls horribly flat because a conversation can't just be "Yes." "No." "Yes." "No." I constantly bring up TLJ in my answers because it's what solidified my love for this ship, but their conversations that Rain wrote were a compelling back-and-forth that filled in their arguments with detail that made the arguments appealing. What about the handling of Kylo’s redemption? Was it something you had to think through in your stories?Here's the thing. I wanted Bendemption to be painstaking, bittersweet and maybe not even completed in full by the ending (but explicitly in the works). Here's where the mythology of TROS gets really wonky, and why I think fans are so upset: If Ben was mentally infiltrated and groomed by the most powerful Sith Lord in the Galaxy for 9 movies, can we actually have a nuanced conversation about what he deserves? No. We all just want to wrap a shock blanket around him and let him have a nap, which, fun fact, is the actual ending of the Exegol Metlife Stadium Battle. My point here is that TROS took his accountability, his toxicity, and his choices and rendered them meaningless. It is way too extreme. What does he have to atone for if Palpatine ruined the lives of every Skywalker so thoroughly that he never stood a chance? I adore the self-sabotage of his character. I adore that he is his own antagonist. I adore that he faces consequences for his toxicity and that his love for someone leaves the ball in his court to Fix His Shit for the potential of his own goodness. But you take a situation and make it so tragic where he was so weaponized and powerless that I'm actually impressed he only killed Han. I liked when his actions actually had weight. I adore him for how his emotions compromise his happiness and how damaging it is that he doesn't deal with them because I see so many parts of myself. Step one or writing Redemption was always facing those emotions. I love writing Ben throwing himself at his father's, his mother's, and Rey's feet and just letting these repressed emotions out, and their capacity for forgiveness sheltering this change. It didn't need to be completed by TROS but it needed to be started. 

What did you think of where Rey landed at the end? There had been a lot of excitement around Star Wars having a female protagonist. Do you think she lived up to the promise of her character?

Rey's ending devastated me. It was a period of active mourning that went way beyond Ben's death for me. You know when you pick one phrase when you cry and just fixate on it? "She's alone" was mine. For days. That was all I asked for from this series. For Rey to find her home. Rey was stripped of so much, and most insulting was the fucking Skywalkers playing keep away with her own backstory until it was convenient for them made it seem like they were the actual villains. Why did she have to go in ignorant? Why did we retcon a girl coming from a shitty family and excelling despite that? Symbolically, now she as a character is most alike to Shmi, and that makes bile rise in my mouth. A single woman on Tatooine, dressed in her Virgin Whites, waiting for the Force to decide what to do with her? Smhi. It's Shmi. Here to immaculate concept some more important sacred Skywalkers. Because if she's a Skywalker, there's gotta be more, or what was the point? Thanks, I hate it.

There’s criticism of the movie that argues it’s akin to “fan fiction” and that is has too much fan service. As fans and fan-fiction writers, how do you react to that?

No; it's too corporate. Fanfiction has a love for the source that constitutes the FREE effort to write for it. I think the comparison to fan fiction labors under the assumption that fan fiction is lazy and bad: when the most popular stories that do incorporate high levels of drama earn them through painstakingly hard work. Fetch is iconic because to read Fetch is to suffer. I say that with the warmest regards to Tam. It's an example of the medium as both a challenging, cathartic, and escapist one. It had very real feelings and a happy ending that was earned in a trial by fire. TROS instead was pure studio interference. It was trying to please *everyone* instead of someone earnestly saying "this is what I love." There is no joy. Just cynicism and punishing people who were sincere. I can't validate its need for me to love it. It's desperate and sad. 

Are you still writing any Star Wars fanfic? Tell us about it! (Don't forget your Ao3 handle!)

Yep. I will be updating my newest story "The Witch and The Holocron" every Saturday. It is the closest I will get to a Miyazaki Movie. I'm still on my WIPs: Soldiers in Petticoats is due soon, Virtue Rewarded requires an extensive amount of time but it's in progress, I really want to pre-write my Romanov Imposter AU before posting but I'm excited for it. I'll be around. We all know how bad I am with WIPs but I'm still enjoying writing. We'll just pretend TROS never happened. 

Thank you Secretreylotrash! you can find their writing here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadOldWest/pseuds/SecretReyloTrash

[falyakonsdiary]

25 star wars asks

25 star wars asks

Doing this to de-stress and do some fun fandom reflecting lol. Here we go!

1. do you find force users or non-force users more interesting?

This is tough. Overall, I find non-force users (I’m including people who were/are force sensitive in canon like Leia but can’t actually manipulate it) a lot more interesting! They tend to be more inventive and diverse in beliefs and perspectives, and their interactions with force users (and their politics) is always a cool dynamic to see!

2. which character do you want to be most like?

Oh, easy. Padme Amidala, hands down. Her passion, vision, hard work and hope make her a wonderful leader- which is something I aspire to be. Additionally, she’s flawed in the sense that she’s naive in her beliefs at times. She’s far from perfect, but Padme’s legacy (as ignored and hidden as it is in the canon after her death) is obvious in her children and the resistance she inspired. She also parallels Anakin, who in some ways embodies the things I struggle with most in myself. If anyone else came close to being someone I’d want to emulate, it would be the twins. Together they are the best of both their parents.

3. which character are you actually most like?

Yikes. Kinda covered this, but I guess… Maybe Luke? I’m not as wild as Anakin, or as passionate as Padme. I feel like Luke is a nice in-between of those two, but more mellow and simple-minded than Leia- in a good way. He’s jaded, but still maintains this sense of young, youthful naivete that Leia didn’t (despite remaining a very hopeful and strong person). He’s a soft boy, you know? I feel like Luke’s ability to come off still full of wonder, knowing how awful things can be, but still choosing to be optimistic- that’s something I can relate to.

4. what headcanon will you defend to the death?

THAT PADME WOULD’VE BEEN A FANTASTIC CHANCELLOR. Seriously, Bail Organa wouldn’t pick some basic for the job and he (at least in one of the books) was eager for her to take over that role from Palpatine. She died too young. Had so much promise. Also, her and Anakin would’ve been great parents- minus all the political drama.

5. what planet would you most like to visit?

Naboo! Yes, that’s where Padme’s from lol, but more so I just love it. It’s a beautiful planet with lots of water and agriculture. Plus, even if I do see the flaws in its’ political system, any planet that supports the education and empowerment of young women can sign me the hell up.

6. what planet would you most like to live on?

Again, Naboo! I’d love to learn in their schools and travel the natural sites, like rivers and waterfalls.

7. who do you hope you never meet?

Real talk, I hope I never meet Jaba. Snoke, Darth Vader (pre-redemption), other Sith Lords/villains, I don’t care. I mean yeah they would suck, but Jabba forces women to be his sex slaves. I’d rather die than be shoved into some golden skimpy outfit and dance for the pleasure of some slimy, horny slug alien. If I picked someone who isn’t technically evil though, I’d avoid Yoda. He’s more corrupt than he thinks and I wouldn’t want him in my head.

8. what is one thing you would change about any movie, show, book, etc?

Hm. One: Padme’s death. I still don’t think she died because of a loss of a will to live. I firmly believe her kids would’ve given her hope to move forward, even without the Republic or Anakin. At the very least, futuristic medicine would’ve kept her hanging on a LITTLE longer than that. Other than that, I’m still torn about Ben Solo in the movies. I think just because I pity Han and Leia, I wanna make him a happy kid who maybe doesn’t destroy everything his parents fought for.

9. have you ever made fanart or fanfic? do you make edits or any other fan content?

I’ve made fanart of Padme before! It’s on my art blog~ Doodled Leia a couple times too, and I have Star Wars OC’s I’m fairly attached to

10. do you think the jedi were right or wrong?

WRONG. They were corrupt, too, especially during the Clone Wars era. Allowing clones to be used as disposable war machines, only training and manipulating young kids, being overconfident, controlling/shaming members who don’t follow their ideals, their strict rules and polarizing attitude- all of it was very not okay.

11. who is the most underrated character?

Padme. They practically erased her from canon in a lot of ways so. Anakin and Obi Wan survived the prequel shame because they were pre-established in the original trilogy, but Padme? They straight up try to forget her. Even after all the great book and Clone Wars TV show development too…

12. do you care who rey’s parents are?

Sorta? I mean at this point it seems like it’s important to her development as a character, so I’d want to know for that alone. I am a little curious though. Personally, the only theory I endorse is that she’s a Kenobi. Sorry “Rey Skywalker” fans, but your theory is pretty baseless.

13. if you could resurrect one dead character, or prevent them from dying, who would it be?

Padme obviously. So she could do the great things she was capable of to their full capacity. If not her, then Qui Gon Jinn or Shmi Skywalker. Jinn would’ve saved EVERYONE a lot of trouble, and Shmi being used as a plot device for her son after all she went through kinda sucked. I would say Han but we gotta let Harrison Ford off the hook, he’s been asking for years, okay?

14. what is your favorite alien species?

The Togruta! Their design, and Ahsoka’s character, really sealed the deal for me haha.

15. who would you like to bang?

Honestly? Probably Obi Wan lol. Or Leia. Two very different types, two very different experiences. And of the new trilogy, Poe could get it any day lol.

16. which movie/episode have you watched the most?

The Force Awakens, actually! It’s the only Star Wars movie I got to see in a theater. My mom saw the first Star Wars when it came out and that’s her favorite too- I think the experience made it for both of us lol.

17. what is your favorite line?

“So this is how liberty dies… With thunderous applause.” In our current political climate, Padme says it best.

18. what is your favorite star wars book or comic?

I don’t have one! I haven’t gotten to read any. Of all the ones I’ve seen clips of though, Leia’s comic looks really great!

19. what’s your opinion on legends/expanded universe?

I love that stuff. I say expand away!

20. what do you hope will happen in future movies?

They’ll explore ideas and dynamics we haven’t before in the movies- like the Jedi’s own corruption, the gray area of the force, and more stuff relating to non-force users.

21. if you could switch any character’s gender, who would it be and why?

Nah, I don’t endorse this kind of stuff. I don’t really see gender as making anything that much more interesting beyond its’ use already in canon. Maybe if it added some LGBTQ+ representation or challenged some canon ideal?  Or if Leia was a dude just for that Jabba the Hutt scene. It sucked that she was turned into a sexual slave for the sake of plot, and if she was a man it would flip that sexism on its’ head.

22. favorite droid?

BB-8 honestly. I feel like we’d get along best is all. He’s like a cute lil’ puppy.

23. what’s your favorite star wars musical piece or theme?

Beyond the Stars from the Attack of the Clones. Really beautiful piece.

24. how do you pronounce twi’lek?

Uh, two-will-lehk?

25. which character do you have a love/hate relationship with?

The Jedi as a whole, really. The council, including Yoda, Anakin and Obi-Wan, are a big gray area for me at times lol.

#star wars #portrait #ask mo #this was interesting! #people who need to be tagged to do these are lame #who cares if yall care these are fun and im doing them #so there

[arielsojourner]

Part 7 of Luke and Vader save the Galaxy by Time traveling and Being Awesome during the Clone Wars: Now with actual dialogue and plot and drama. How did that get in here? I wasn’t going to write this. I wasn’t. This was supposed to be crack. 

-Before she leaves to travel to the 104th with Master Plo, Ahsoka says goodbye. The other troopers wish her well. Captain Rex stutters through a professional farewell before blurting out what he really wants to ask her. Will she convince General Skywalker and all of the Jedi that Luke is right? That the clones have a right to think and live and be just like everyone else? He asks it with such fear in his eyes and in his voice that Ahsoka feels her heart clench. He is afraid of her, of the other Jedi, of what they might do, what they might undo. Ahsoka wants to reassure him that everything will be fine but she is just a Padawan. What can she do if the Order and the Council decide otherwise? But then look at what Luke has accomplished (a Sith father, clone apprentices, freed clones, conspiracies unraveled, Ventress helping, Dooku defeated, Grievous dead, reconstruction, peace …) Can she do less having seen what she has seen, learned what she has learned? With determination she meets Rex’s gaze and nods. She will fight for them, Ahsoka tells him and she is sure that Anakin will too. Overwhelmed, Rex comes to attention and salutes, wishing her a safe flight.

Hardcase promises Ahsoka the next time he sees her, he will duel her and show her how much he has learned. 

Fives says “May the Force be with you,” with such pride she cannot help but smile (he is as much a Jedi as she, Ahsoka realizes in wonderment). Chatterbox just nods at her which for him is practically verbose. 

Vader gives Shaak Ti into her custody still in binders. The troopers traveling with her take Shaak Ti aboard the shuttle. She turns to Luke and to Vader. She isn’t sure what to say. It has only been a few weeks but it feels like a lifetime, she has seen and done so much, the galaxy feels changed. Luke reaches out and clasps her forearms with his and leans forward, resting his forehead against hers. “Pass on what you have learned,” he tells her and steps back. She finds herself with her arms still outstretched for a moment, stunned by his show of physical affection, the warmth his familial touch he left behind. She has no words.

She swallows and looks toward the dark shadow always looming over Luke. Vader’s mask is as impenetrable as always, but she can feel his eyes on her. She feels the same resonance of fear from Vader that she always does when he is near and she wonders for the first time that maybe he is not afraid of her but for her. He says nothing but he inclines his head in a shocking sign of respect. She finds herself bowing back.

-When Ahsoka’s shuttle and Plo’s ship rejoin the 104th, Ahsoka wastes no time working to correct the genetic defect and ensuring that the battalion’s medics begin removing the inhibitor chips. She speaks openly with the troopers about the reconstruction efforts of the 501st and how both Dooku and Ventress are no longer at issue. She shares information of the neutral systems and the number of freed systems where their clone brothers freed from Kamino will find homes and have the choice of what they want to do with their lives. She talks about how there are Force sensitive clones that are being trained in the Jedi arts and she finds two in the 104th– Boost and a shiny named Vir. She offers to train them. She talks and talks and Master Plo and the clones listen in growing amazement. Ahsoka has changed. The galaxy has changed.

-Shaak Ti, Ahsoka confines to her quarters. Ahsoka hands Master Plo the arrest order and the charges against her and tells him she leaves it to him what to do about it. “I trust you,” she says to him. Plo looks at his troops, at the order and goes to talk to Shaak Ti.

“They cannot do this,” Shaak Ti insists when she sees the councilor. “We need the clones if we are to win the war. We have no right to make such decisions without input from the Council and the Senate. That man is not a Jedi. He works with Sith.”

Plo sits down across from her and asks her “When did the Jedi Order start to care more about obeying orders and winning wars than doing what was fundamentally right? When did we start down that path?”

“You mean you agree? You would leave me subject to such charges?”

“I would subject all of us to these charges for we are all guilty of sacrificing innocents for expedience. Better to fight with clones than with soldiers drafted from the Republic’s population, is that it? It becomes so convenient to wage war in this fashion. The cost is only ever discussed in credits,” he replies bluntly. “We are now confronted with the truth of our actions and the consequences of them. We have no more excuses.” He removes her binders. “When you are ready to help make things right, you may leave these quarters and join us.”

-Yoda wakes. He did not expect to, but he does. He was ready to embrace the Force when Master Windu left his siege to help heal him. He felt the strength of the Force pour into him like water poured onto a parched field. He sensed warmth and compassion. It is attachment he did not expect from his former Padawan. Healing between Master and Padawan is usually limited to times during training, the Master healing their student. Yoda did not expected any of his old apprentices still living to travel so far just to heal him. It speaks of fear and a lack of faith in the Force. There is no death after all. The war has obviously affected Mace. But when he opens his eyes, it is not the medic or Master Windu at his side. It is Commander Gree.

Commander Gree has had a bizarre few days. His General nearly dies and then another Jedi appears with a tall dark bodyguard to heal him before the Commander can even comm anyone. Some of the 41st thought the bodyguard may be some sort of droid, but the Jedi, Luke, treated him like a person. After healing Yoda, Luke had proceeded to do something with the Force to repair a genetic aging defect all the clones suffered from and remove the inhibitor chip that none of them had even knew was implanted in each of the clones. The medics Pip and Quin had verified both were real and both were deliberate. After clearing the entire battalion, it turned out Cooker was Force sensitive and the Jedi offered to train him. Train a clone brother to be a Jedi! Yoda is now awake and Gree has no idea how to even explain what has happened but he is the best of the best so he gives his report.

Yoda is flabbergasted. He was in shock when he read Ahsoka’s message and he wakes up and finds it is reality, that somehow this Luke and Vader have been here.

Commander Gree asks if it is true, if the war is ending and if the clones are free.

Yoda shakes his head “Unimportant that is, Commander. Pursuing a deserter, a priority it is not. Master Windu, I must speak with. Where is he?” Yoda asks, wanting to know how the other Jedi Master could have let this all happen while he was unconscious. Obviously there are serious security problems and Padawan Tano wasn’t exaggerating when she reported Vader and Luke had access codes and Republic and Jedi intelligence. How could they have such information? Yoda ponders.

Gree is not happy with being brushed off. He is a good solider, the elite of the elite of the army. He has never disobeyed an order. He has given the Republic and his Jedi commanders his all. But, the clone troopers’ universe has been turned upside down. The news of the chips and the deliberate defect and now the fact that clones can be Force sensitive is too big of news to just be called unimportant. And Cooker hasn’t deserted! He has transferred to the 501st for training. Gree won’t have a good soldier like Cooker marked as a deserter.

Usually when he thinks such thoughts, Gree hears a voice inside him reminding him that good soldiers followed orders but this time, this time, there was no such voice. He can only feel a rising disquiet inside him at the General’s words.

“Master Windu isn’t here, General,” Gree answers curtly.

“Healed me then, which Jedi? Commanding this base, which Master?”

“The young Jedi, Luke healed you. He and Vader and the other clone troopers who can use the Force, they healed everyone on the base. There have been no other Jedi here since your collapse, sir.”

-Luke liked the time that he and Vader spend in their quarters aboard ship. Vader at first was hesitant to remove his mask, but after Luke had made the adjustments to the atmospheric controls, he couldn’t deny the desire to look at Luke with his own eyes. The first time he took his mask off, Luke’s face had shone with sadness and then with care. A part of Vader wanted to look away, angry, but he shoved that feeling aside, casting his eyes over his son’s features and taking his fill. He could see his wife, himself and even his mother in Luke’s face and coloring. He stared, unable to look away even as Luke insisted on upgrading his prosthetics with ones that functioned better and hurt less. Luke had reverse engineered his own right hand to upgrade Vader’s own cybernetics. 

His son wanted to share a meal with him which wasn’t possible, but Luke insisted they share water. It reminded Vader of things he had thought long forgotten, things he had purposefully put aside when he committed to the Jedi Order. Anakin Skywalker had buried and shed as much of his rimworld ways faced with Core world sensibilities and the Order’s implacable demand for conformity, for submission of self.  Luke hadn’t forgotten though, had refused to abandon who and what he was just because he was committed to being a Jedi. Vader found it hauntingly familiar to see Luke echo some of Shmi’s mannerism and sayings passed down through Owen Lar’s wife Beru.  It filled him not with anger for what he had lost nor hate for what he had suffered, but with a profound sadness. Prior to Falling, Vader hadn’t cried over a decade.  Grief was not something to be expressed, merely released into the Force. Detachment and peace was what the Order required. Vader had not shed a tear since the desperation and anger of his Fall. Now, twenty three years later he found his face damp with salt.

-There are people Luke misses from the future. That is a given. He misses Leia’s fiery strength and certainty. If she were here, he just knew that she would have given every Jedi General a run for their money while simultaneously teaming up with Senators Padme and Bail and Duchess Satine and reforming the Republic through sheer force of will. He misses Han’s gruff kindness. He was a smuggler and an opportunist, but one only had to see Chewie by his side to know that Han would sacrifice a great many things to do what was right.  He wishes Chewie was here; he would get along so well with the clone brothers and he gave the very best hugs. 

Luke sometimes catches himself calling for Artoo to help him with something and found the astromech was just not there and Luke misses Threepio’s anxious flutter as he shuffled around arranging things for everyone else’s comfort. He misses Rogue Squadron– Wedge and the others. He wonders what their lives will be like in this new future he and his father are building. He worries sometimes at the arrogance of what they are attempting, choosing to change the entire galaxy and whether he is preventing those he loves and cares about from even existing. He realized shortly after they arrived here and were not wiped out by temporal paradoxes that he will never see them again and it hurts, it hurts like a hand was squeezing his heart inside his chest. The grief is a physical thing. It hurts to know that there was no Rebellion to return home to and even if he lives long enough to see them again, they will not be the same as the friends he loves . . . loved. 

He has pushed the pain away, focused on what he could do in the here and now. He has gotten past loss before by focusing on the next challenge, the next obstacle and he will do it again. But seeing Yoda, lying still and small in the medical quarters brought it suddenly sharply into focus again. His father was right; waiting for Yoda to wake up, to talk to him, was a futile exercise. This being was not his teacher. His teacher is lost to him and the Force told him there will be no other teacher to train him. Even with his father beside him, with the clones, and his parents and a Jedi Order alive and well, Luke cannot not shake the feeling that he is truly alone, truly the last.

-Later, much  later when Padme is in the middle of giving birth, and Senatorial guards and assassin droids and chipped commando clones are trying to break in and kill her and take her child, Obi-Wan arrives to find pitch battle being waged to protect the Senator. Leading the defense by clones wielding blasters and one clone – Fives (wielding a lightsaber!) is a massive man in a black mask. This can only be Vader. Obi-Wan doesn’t know what is going on. Reports of the firefight were all over the news and he couldn’t raise Anakin on the comms. He isn’t sure at first which side to take, he hesitates, the Force raging around him. Then Vader sees him he demands he goes and protects Padme, Anakin and the baby. “Baby? What baby?” Obi-Wan sputters over the gunfire and the crash of sabers. The credit chip drops. “Are you saying that Anakin and Padme–?!”

Vader lunges forward as ready to attack Obi-Wan as if he is the assassin and kidnapper. “You fool!” He snarls at Obi-Wan. “You blind, Code bound fool! Now is not the time!”

Obi-Wan’s thoughts are spinning. He knew Anakin harbored an un-permitted attachment for the Senator, but he was sure that Padme had more sense and that Anakin would control himself. This was beyond everything! They were in the middle of a war! Anakin would be expelled from the Jedi Order! He was the Chosen One! He couldn’t be dallying with someone! There were Sith to deal with! How could Anakin have done it? How could he have–?

The Force reaches out, picks Obi-Wan up by the throat and drags him into Vader’s grasp. “LIAR! YOU LIAR!” Vader roars into his face, shaking him like a rag doll.  “He is ‘your brother!?’ Your Chosen One!? Supposed to SAVE you?! YOU LOVE HIM?!” the Sith screams. Obi-Wan chokes in shock and disbelief under the wave of burning black rage and betrayal and the hand at his throat. Just before he thinks his throat will collapse, Obi-Wan is flung through the door behind Vader.

He crashes into the next room, staggering to his feet, his mind and soul battered and burned by Vader’s anger and pain (there is so much pain and hurt! Obi-Wan feels the ache of it down to his bones), and there Obi-Wan finds Anakin sitting on the bed, a lit lightsaber clenched in his right hand, his wife (because the Force is screaming it at him like the Sith did, this was no dalliance, this was Anakin’s wife!) cradled to his chest with his left arm, his left hand twined tightly with hers. A med droid, a clone medic – Kix-- Threepio, Artoo, and one clone trooper with two lightsabers - Hardcase- all surround Padme’s bed as she labors to bring life into the world. The room is shaking from the blaster fire just outside the door where Vader stands. There are sounds of battle and explosions from the balcony where clones and other force users– Luke and Chatterbox – fight off attackers. Obi-Wan finds he has broken a few ribs and can barely talk from the damage to his throat, but he takes one look at Anakin’s desperate, terrified face and realizes that Vader is right.

Anakin is his brother. 

Obi-Wan loves him like he loves no other living being in the galaxy. 

There is nothing more important than that. 

#sw au #star wars alternate universe #luke skywalker #darth vader #ahsoka #captain rex #plo koon #obi-wan kenobi #yoda #clone wars #clones #luke and vader save the galaxy #father and son save the galaxy

[malarkiness]

I saw the Star War. TLJ spoilers under the cut.

I was spoiled for just about EVERYTHING in TLJ but despite that, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it once I actually saw all the weird shit in context. Some fans with similar tastes to mine seemed to hate it, but others thought it was mediocre with some redeeming traits, and then some actually liked it, so I didn’t know how I’d react.

And after seeing it, I'm... still not really sure how I feel about it?

I didn’t find the conflict between Poe and Holdo that interesting. I can appreciate that it provided a little character development for Poe, but it felt kind of contrived. 

There’s a lot of jarring humor in the first half hour or so of the movie. Like there are all these scenes where tension starts to build and pull you in, but then it’s shot down because someone just has to make some stupid, useless comment. And it just makes the writing seem really insecure, like they’re afraid the audience won’t take this seriously, so instead of just committing anyway, they have to throw in some elbow-jabby line to make it seem like they’re in on the joke, too. I found myself refusing to take scenes seriously because I knew the emotional build-up wasn’t going to pay off.

Leia gets shot into outer space and lives because... the Force? Honestly, fuck it, who cares, Leia can do whatever she wants.

I did like how Rey and Kylo’s skype calls were shown, how you could tell that they could see each other even though they were in different locations and weren’t even in the same shot. Kylo noticing the rain on his glove was a nice touch, too. Also, between shirtless Kylo and those.... things Luke milked on the island, there were entirely too many nipples in this movie.

Rey started sympathizing with Kylo WAY too easily, IMO. She saw this guy nearly kill her friend and also rip a hole in his own father’s chest, what, a week ago? If that? Why would she believe anything he tells her? I understand her not fully trusting Luke either, that’s fine, but her decision to try to get Kylo to switch sides was too abrupt. I’m not really against Rey trying to turn Kylo as a plot point, but it could’ve been written much better, and in a way that doesn’t make Rey look so naive.

Popular opinion, apparently: I didn’t care for the casino planet. Finn and Rose have to go there to find this one kind of annoying character who can get them access to the First Order, and along the way they see how the First Order is funded and all that, so it does play into the overall story, but it just felt like those two were lightyears away from the actual plot. Every time the movie cut back to that subplot I just dreaded it, and I hate that. Finn’s my favorite character, so his storyline should’ve been one of the highlights of the movie for me, but it was just so boring. Like the setting itself wasn’t very creative, the codebreaker they pick up is pretty forgettable, Finn and and Rose’s interactions are kind of flat (which is a shame because John and Kelly work great together in interviews and whatnot; it just seems like they weren’t really given any good dialogue to work with). The whole thing just felt like a waste of time. They definitely could’ve found something more interesting for Finn and Rose to do. I did like Finn telling whatshisfuck that he should give Rose her medallion back, though, and that whatshisfuck.... actually did it. That was kind of nice. I think what the writers were trying to do was solidify Finn’s commitment to the resistance, but... we sort of already did that? In TFA, he wants to run from the First Order and is on his way to do just that after leaving Rey at the cantina, but he changes his mind after the first Starkiller attack. And from then on, he’s on their side. Granted, his primary focus is saving Rey, but he’s still fighting alongside the resistance. And anyway, if you really wanted to do this sort of storyline (again), you could’ve found a more interesting way to do it.

I liked seeing Yoda again, especially his OT incarnation. I rewatch RotS at least once every Christmas, and that’s more consistently than I watch any of the other films, so I tend to forget that Yoda wasn’t always the calm, steady, powerful CGI figure that he is in the prequels. He actually started out (release order-wise) as this jankity puppet character who’s very wise but also kind of batty, and it was just really fun to see that version of him again.

I’m pretty sure my heart dropped into my stomach when Phasma showed up. For some reason, I completely forgot that she’d be aboard that ship too, so I wasn’t prepared for her at all. I think I actually gasped in the theater lmao.  I loved seeing her and Finn face off, and that she calls him a flaw in the machine (or something like that) and then “scum,” and I LOVE that he corrects her insult to “rebel scum” right before she dies... even if it does seem like a cap to a kind of redundant character arc, but what the hell, it’s still a good line. I would’ve liked some more build-up to this fight, though. I suppose Finn defeating her had more to do with what she represented to him than their personal relationship, but I dunno, it would’ve been cool for these two to get more than just one fight (and a very brief one at that). Also, Finn needs to fight with a lightsaber again before this trilogy ends.

Rey and Kylo kill Snoke in his very silly-looking throne room and then fight off all his equally silly-looking cherry jolly rancher henchman. Silliness aside, though, that was a great scene. Kylo using the Force to ignite the lightsaber and slice Snoke in half was gruesome and honestly really fucking cool, and I say that as someone who’s easily grossed out by that sort of thing. I also liked how the tone shifts when the fight’s over and Rey expects Kylo to call off the First Order and spare the rebels, and he refuses.

The fight scenes in general were fantastic in this movie. I especially loved how often Rey used a reverse grip with her lightsaber.

Luke and Leia’s reuinion was very sweet. I did cry a little over that.

Luke and Kylo’s face-off was great, too. I like that Luke apologizes, but still holds Kylo accountable for his actions. And I liked the line, “Kill me in anger, and I will always be with you,” and I can’t wait to see how that concept plays into IX. And I LOVE that Kylo doesn’t kill him (not for lack of trying, ofc...), but that instead, Luke sacrifices himself to give the resistance time to escape. I was just a little upset that Luke wasn’t really there, though, and that he didn’t really give Leia Han’s dice.

I liked the battle on Crait, too. The red soil getting kicked up from under the salt made for a lot of nice visuals. All the red dust in the scene where Kylo fired everything at Luke made it seem so much more brutal. I also liked the scene where Rose stopped Finn from sacrificing himself (by  crashing into him lmao, that could’ve ended very badly very easily). Rose kissing Finn was kind of random, but I liked her line about “saving what we love.”

Finn and Rey’s hug at the end was the single greatest moment of the entire film (and possibly all of 2017 cinema tbh). It was perfect. I love that Finn is the first one out of that cavern to her, and that there’s no hesitation or talking or anything between them. They are just immediately in each other’s arms and are so happy and relieved and it’s so beautiful and pure and I am devastated that this ship is sunk.  I mean... I dunno, I guess it could still happen, but right now, I’m thinking FinnRose’ll be endgame. Rey and Kylo will probably have some drama or whatever, but Kylo’s almost definitely a dead man in IX, so I kind of doubt we’ll get R*ylo as a final ship. Just no love triangle bullshit, please. I barely survived LoK’s, and I kinda  doubt a FinnReyRose triangle would end with ReyRose.

I gotta say, though, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of an actual relationship between Luke and Rey. I mean, they have a relationship technically, but there’s no bond. They eventually have this duel on the island, and Rey tells him she thinks she can turn Kylo on their side and leaves, and....... that’s the last time they ever see each other. It just felt so hollow. Instead, the movie focuses all the real drama on Luke and Kylo’s relationship, which honestly is fine. I was surprised that I actually didn’t mind all that much that Kylo got so much focus in TLJ because the movie at least built him up as a good villain for Rey, setting him up to be a very Vader-like counter to her Luke. I just wish I could’ve gotten that and some more development between Luke and Rey. I liked seeing Luke’s fear of training Rey after sensing the darkness in her, and I wanted to see some more focus and drama around that. In all fairness, though, Luke could come back as a Force ghost in IX and remedy some of this, so maybe I shouldn’t be too hard on it.

I’m fine with Rey not being a Skywalker (and she isn’t, assuming Kylo’s word is good for anything. It’s perfectly possible that he was lying, but even if he was, I still don’t think she’s a Skywalker. Luke showed 0 recognition of her, Leia and Han didn’t know her... Unless Shmi miraculously conceived another Force baby and didn’t tell anyone, I think this theory’s dead.). Truthfully, I mostly wanted her to be a Skywalker just because it would’ve established a foundation for her and Luke’s relationship, but I guess it wouldn’t really be necessary. I just wanted something substantial between these two, and... I didn’t get much of anything. And okay, I’ll just throw this out there: What I really, really wanted was for it to be revealed that Rey had been one of Luke’s padawans along with Ben when she was very young (and she later lost her memories of this via plot contrivance), and she was the only one Luke managed to save when Kylo went on his rampage. And instead of.... any number of better choices, Luke decided to hide her on Jakku and then go into hiding himself. And honestly, if there’s a fic with that premise, I want to read it. Hell, I’ll forget all about this movie’s canon and sub that in, I don’t care.

All that said....... We ever gonna learn anything about Finn’s lost family or what?

lol this write-up is all over the place, but that’s kind of how I feel about this movie: It’s all over the place. There are some good twists and nice moments, but god, you’ve gotta slog through all the forced humor and casino subplots and Holdo-Poe spats and everything else to get to to the good stuff. I’ve ping-ponged back and forth over whether or not I liked this movie as a whole, lol. A lot of fans seem to either love it or hate it, and I think I might be somewhere right in the middle.

If nothing else, though, it made me appreciate TFA that much more.

#star wars #tlj spoilers #the last jedi #sometimes i watch things #this is so damn long ldjfksf