#tired of anakin’s pretty privilege

[r-2-peepoo]

Coriolanus Snow and Anakin Skywalker are perfect examples of really interesting characters who had every chance to do the right thing but repeatedly chose wrong even though they were surrounded by good people, all because they had one person whispering in their ear and convincing them to be selfish and to hurt people instead. There is no point where they have to do what they do, it’s their choices that make them compelling.

They’re also both incredibly controlling over the women they claim to love but are quick to try and physically harm them when they realise that they’re actually human beings who will not blindly follow them. It’s very clear they were possessive, not actually in love. To sincerely love is to respect someone’s agency and neither of them were capable of that.

Another trait they both share is that, despite being layered and well written but fundamentally flawed characters who turn to evil by their own free will, if you cast an attractive actor to play them, there are always going to be people who blindly ignore the entire plot just to defend them and justify their actions. Being a victim of abuse or oppression does not excuse you from being a perpetrator.

#‘anakin and vader are different-‘ #i am under your bed #the entire original trilogy is rendered utterly pointless if that is the case (which is most certainly is not) #cant even blame george lucas for this one bc it’s still so obvious #anakin CHOOSES to return to the light bc of luke. it was always him and this was always about his choices. #whereas snow is just committed to evil lmao #tired of anakin’s pretty privilege #notice how they both had a best friend and a love interest trying to convince them to be better? #snow had sejanus and lucy gray and anakin had obi wan and padmé #anakin skywalker #coriolanus snow #star wars #the hunger games #tbosas

[kyberphilosopher]

Atonement

Requested: yes. 

Word Count: 4193 Cal must deal with the consequences of his comrades deception and injuries, while they must deal with what this means for their relationship. 

Atonement is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other expression of feelings of remorse.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*. 

Once upon a time, Anakin wasn’t all bad. But maybe that was why he died. After that, there wouldn’t have been competition for someone that was all bad, or at least somewhat worse than Anakin was alone. 

Not that Anakin was a complete and utter angel. You knew, not better than anyone but still enough, that Anakin wasn’t all good either. And sure, most people aren’t, but your Master wasn’t most people. Far more talented and powerful was he than the other Jedi Knights, but far more unhinged was he who could not control himself. Anakin was the latter. 

The other Jedi seemed to pity you. It wasn’t as if Anakin Skywalker was always inherently kind on you. You weren’t funny like Ahsoka, or respectable like Obi-Wan. In fact, Anakin had a suspicion that there was something inside of you that reminded him of his mother. Thus, he was cold. And he rarely bothered to teach in the way that people deserved to be taught. 

He doesn’t like me, you remember thinking. He never will. 

You had been the perfect padawan. You were certain you had done everything right. And yet, Anakin’s stare was icy, when he bothered to look your way at all. Where had your Master gone after the Purge anyway?

Your eyes open slowly. 

Light peels across your vision, smeared from the art of being tired. Once your lids are widened, the back of your right hand lays across your forehead lazily. You had been dreaming, hadn’t you? But what had it been about? And why did it seem so hard to remember?

Maybe it was about your Master again, you realize as you exhale. No- ex Master now. But maybe it had been about him. It wouldn’t have been the first time. 

You’re a Clone Killer. 

Eyebrows crease with a twitch. You’ve laid in bed with too much comfort now. It’s time to get up. Stars, but the bed is warm and your legs are tangled in your comforter just right. When’s the next time you’ll get to feel this relaxed and sleepy?

Must’ve been the worst Padawan in history. 

“Shit,” you whisper with closed eyes. Yes, now you’re more than certain that it’s time to get up. Comfort doesn’t matter today. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

The restroom door hisses to a close behind you. Rubbing the back of your neck, you begin your sluggish march to the ships deck. You can already smell Greez’s cooking wafting from around the corner. What is that? Sausage and... is that eggs?

Your pants scuff against each other, sweatshirt twisting with the reach of your arm. As the floor transitions from metal to stiff rug, you pull your chair out. 

“Ah, good morning sleepyhead,” you hear Greez’s voice call out to you. Your eyes remain sleepy, gazing down at the table. Doesn’t even look present, Cal observes as his eyes flick over your face. 

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sun today,” Dritus continues from the stove. One of his four hands flick the pan over the stove up with an explosive sizzle. “Be careful you don’t make me feel bad, so I don’t feel inclined to give you more of my food.”

“I slept in too late,” you mutter, half to yourself. 

At the other side of the table, Cal’s stocky form is hunched over. One of his hands is wrapped around a cup on the table, which is covered in cold perspiration. Soft ginger hair falls back as he looks over you. You could feel his pretty, kaleidoscope eyes from the other side of the universe. He doesn’t say anything, though, and you’re too tired to play the “What’s He Thinking About?” game right now. 

“You’re damn right you did,” the Latero says. “Cal here was just about to go and check in on you.”

You swallow quickly, glancing up at the man parallel to you. Cal is looking over at Greez, given you a clear view of his jaw and the scar that stretches over his neck. He’s beautiful. He always has been. You can feel your ears start to burn, and you look away almost immediately. 

“Thanks,” you say instead, finally pulling your hand away from your neck. Without even realizing it, your intelligent orbs look to Cal again. This time, however, your eyes meet. Electric pulses run through you, tickling from your neck to your pelvis. And, true to your nature, you brake gazes immediately. “I think I’ll skip out on breakfast today.”

“Seriously?” Greez whirls around, dumbfounded. “But... breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”

That’s true. Ever since you gained the privilege of having Greez Dritus the wanted Latero to cook for you, breakfast had been far more likeable. He always knows how to add the perfect amount of spice and flavor without coming off as overbearing. But there’s something in the back of your throat, crawling up to the tip of your tongue. A name of an old master, and the dream that you can’t remember. 

“I’m just not hungry,” you push yourself out of your stool and slide it back under the table. Cal watches your form jog down the steps and disappear into the cockpit, his lips parted and near pulling into a frown. 

“Wonder what her problem is,” Greez’s raspy voice calls into the air. 

“Let her be,” a mature female voice breaks as it rounds the corner. Cere emerges from the hallway by the stares, her watchful eyes also glued on the cockpit archway. “She’ll come around.”

Will you? Cal wonders. You’ve always been a bit tight lipped in the grand scheme of things, but today the anguish is peeling off of you like steam. You seem pale in the way that conveys sickness. The dark circles under your eyes are wise, but tired. Maybe you’re just ill. 

It’s not that far off. As you flip switches around on the console pointlessly, all you have to think about are these hands that disappointed your Master. Calloused, rough fingers. Raw palms from holding your saber. Clever, but never enough. 

You exhale through your nose, your shoulders sinking. 

Oh, that’s right. That’s what happened to your Master.

How could you have forgotten that?

“Rough night?”

You perk up at the sound of his voice, but don’t turn around. It’s not that you don’t want to look at Cal, it’s that you feel to ashamed of yourself to even try it. You don’t deserve to look upon him. 

“Just feeling sick,” you mutter so hoarse he can barely hear. 

“Is that the truth?”

Your eyes widen stiffly. One heel at a time, your feet turn around until you are facing your companion. 

Time slows as you look at Cal. His soft orange hair billows in the air conditioning, kaleidoscope eyes twinkling with wonder. The freckles, the jaw, the chapped pink lips. He is beautiful. The way he looks at you now makes you feel guiltier than usual. 

Why don’t you just tell him? Tell him you know the person who’s responsible for that scar on his stomach. Tell him you were trained by him. Tell him about your nightmare last night, how you woke up in cold sweats. But you can’t. You just can’t. 

“Yeah,” you say hoarsely, eyes glued to his. 

Cal steps forward suddenly, almost losing his balance. His soft, pink lips come dangerously close to yours. You can smell his scent, turning your jaw to meet him instinctively. But it was just an accident. 

He steps away to regain his balance. The only sound in the room is that of the air vents. 

He wasn’t going to kiss you. 

Cal stays still, firm. “I hope you feel better,” he says in the same tone as before, though far more sincere. 

And he turns away and walks out of the room, leaving you alone with only the air to comfort you.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

The leaves crunch under boots as they do. Twigs snap, pebbles crumble. Dirt scuffs against each shoe. 

Above you, the Kashyyyk trees whisper in the wind, allowing pools of sunlight to fall in between the loose spaces of green. The breeze tickles at the skin on your arms. It’s a nice day. But this is still not enough to improve the sick feeling in your stomach. 

Maybe you really were just a failure of a padawan after all. 

“Hey,” the boy beside you calls. “Look up there.”

You raise your head, squinting through the thin, rainbow rays of sun. Up ahead of you, over a steep drop that could be anything from a river to an abyss, is a great mechanical building. It’s sleek and gray, standing out against the natural beauty. This itself is enough proof of Imperial presence. 

“I thought they would’ve left by now,” you mutter, slightly in awe. Birds fly over the fort as if it didn’t bother them for a second, and the waterfall nearby doesn’t cease its babbling. “Why haven’t they left by now?”

“Only one way to find out,” Cal tells you after some seconds of silence. 

Something rushes through the air then- a gust of wind that only you seem to feel. It’s haunting and low, like it has it’s own voice or musical theme of doom. It’s almost impossible to tell whether it’s a warning, a promise, or some kind of mockery, but it feels dark. More importantly, it feels like a message. But Cal doesn’t move a muscle. Only his orange locks billow in time with his lashes, which close slowly. 

“Wait,” you break the quiet. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”

The boys eyes are furrowed when his head turns to you. His pale green eyes flash briefly in the sunlight, but the twinkle of confusion and curiosity remain after the flash disappears. “Why not?”

The rush of wind slows until you can barely feel it anymore. The words are on the tip of your dried up tongue, but you’re not even sure what they are. What can you say to explain your... your fear? It’s more than just intuition or a gut feeling. It’s something you know for a fact, and you have the evidence, but you can’t even hold it. 

“It’s dangerous,” you decide, your bottom lip shaking too quick to notice. You say it almost casually, almost as if it were obvious. And of course, it is. Thus the flaw in your attempt. 

“Most things are,” Cal replies. 

Just then, the pitter pattering of little metal feet tap against the dirt and mulch comes to life. It completely cuts away what little presence the ominous air had left, only allowing BD-1′s happy little whirs to clearly ring through. 

Cal’s hands rest on his hips as he turns his head to look at his partner. He squats to the ground with his little calm smile. “Would it make you feel better if I sent BD to scout ahead?”

It wouldn’t at all. All you can think about instead is your little scrapped friend getting his sliced clean off with a long, red blade. Cal wouldn’t even be able to fix him. 

“BD, go on ahead,” Cal tells the machine. He scratches along BD’s head for encouragement, and the creature doesn’t even seemed miffed before hopping off into the leaves and trees until he’s completely out of sight. 

“I don’t- I don’t think-” your hands ball to fists at your sides. A lump forms in your throat like an invisible bubble, or a heavy ball clogging your airway. 

“Y/N?” Cal’s brows furrow once more as he twists and stands again. “You look pale.”

Another wave of wind flows through. It’s the same as before- cold, threatening, filled with something angry and sad and warning you to never have to feel it for real. However, your partner feels it this time too. 

His eyes leave yours and drop to the ground behind him as he twists in concern, looking around for whatever could be the cause. Subconsciously, his right hand lifts from his side to the right side of his ribs. Your eyes widen in understanding, but you wish so badly it was anything but that. 

“Do you feel that?” Cal calls out to you, still trying to locate the presence that doesn’t even exist. 

Yes, you think as you watch the boys other hand slip over his saber. I feel it. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Anakin wasn’t always evil. Whether or not he’s even evil now is up for debate. But for as long as you knew him, in your eyes at least, he was your hero. Not because he helped you, which he didn’t, or because he wanted the best for you, which he didn’t care about. But because he was strong, and someone to look up to. He’s the knight in shining armor that every little boy wants to be like when they grow up, and the warrior every feminist wants to be equal to. Anakin Skywalker was, by all means, a dream. 

So then why is this the worst you’ve ever felt?

“Master?” your voice wheezes out. There’s a storm all around you, a personal tornado for the three of you that makes everything but roaring hard to hear. Rapid blinking helps to keep the dust from your eyes every few seconds, but not enough. It’s starting to sting.

“Stop,” you hear another voice say, but it’s muffled with chokes. “Stop...”

This isn’t Anakin. This is a man of metal- obsidian and iron and cooled magma. There’s not a single inch of flesh showing. The cape, whipping wildly in the wind, is the closest thing to organic. It’s tattered, and the wind gives the illusion of it bleeding away like inky smoke.

“Join me,” False Anakin calls. His fist clenched with determination, a red glow brightening up the area. “Serve your master.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

And from Cal’s position, you just look plain pretty. Kind of distraught, with faded eyes and slightly knitted brows paired with a frown. Your hair is sort of billowing in time with the storm around you, along side that weapon on your belt. Really, you look sad. 

Cal’s fingers dig into the dirt and sand beneath his body. His whole form feels like it’s going to rip away into dust, like Vader doesn’t want him there. And of course, he doesn’t. He hasn’t even given Cal a glance. That being said, his whole stomach feels entirely enflamed. Especially that one special place where he’d felt Vader’s touch before. Now Cal knows that you must’ve been touched by him as well. It’s the worst feeling in the world. 

“Don’t,” he chokes. Cal gets a mouthful of dirt in the process, but he doesn’t even register it. “Y/N-”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

“-will come back from this.”

Your eyes open. They feel stiff and dry, like how you imagine a mummy’s would. The light over head is blinding and white, with flecks of rainbow bouncing off it at the sharper edges. You do not react in any way. 

Internal bleeding of the stomach, one impalement scar on your right side. There is a long, long series of blisters and torn skin across your shoulder from being tossed and dragged across the ground. Then there’s the slit over your left eye which makes it impossible to open. You might as well have lost it. 

Some people would’ve been happy to just be alive. Fighting Darth Vader? Fighting Anakin Skywalker? And surviving it? Well, not everyone gets that privilege. But for some reason the appreciation isn’t coming to you. Maybe you should’ve died back then as some kind of last apology. 

“I know they will.”

You hear footsteps from beyond the doorway become more and more faint, until you can’t even hear them at all. The metal door hisses open. There’s a few footsteps against the floor, then a sharp pause. 

Your head rolls to your right lazily. A young man stands before you. A cute redhead with a broad chest and wide, shocked pale green eyes. Underneath them are mauve rings- dark circles and bags- and chapped pink lips. 

Cal opens his mouth to speak, and then spins around. With the flick of your wounded fingers, the entrance to the room closes and seals itself shut with a click. The cute redhead is still, his back away from you. 

Maybe because of the loss of some other senses, your Jedi one’s have heightened. The intuition inside of you is reading his color- his entire aura- something you could’ve sworn you weren’t able to do before. There’s so much anxiety from him. Enough to make up from the lack of anxiety you have right about now. 

“You’re awake,” he speaks. You can sense his voice about to crack. “I should tell the others.”

“Don’t be stupid, Cal,” your raspy voice croaks. “Don’t be fucking stupid.”

He turns around to look at you, one foot at a time. His eyes are downturned tiredly, but mostly from sadness. The corners of his lips are annoyed from your words. “You’ve been asleep for two weeks,” Cal says. “Didn’t know if you were coming back.”

You don’t say anything.

His use of the words ‘coming back’ sting. Just two simple words, which to you feel like they mean something far more deep and sinister. Almost as sinister as yourself. 

“Are you okay?” he proceeds to question, though you both know it’s just out of politeness. 

“I can’t see out of my eye.”

“Do you know why?”

You don’t move. You’re quiet yet again. 

Cal’s voice raises frustratingly. “Do you know why? You let someone put a lightsaber to your face just so you could smash in their helmet!”

“I don’t remember that.”

“He stabbed you in your stomach!”

Cal’s never raised his voice at you before. You wish you were more upset about it. His tone alone is enough to make a sinking weight appear in the pit of your stomach. But you can’t cry. You can barely feel anything but both relief and emptiness. Not once in those two weeks did you dream about either Anakin, or Vader. 

“I watched him pick you up and slam you on the ground! I watched you die about a million times out there!”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” you mutter hoarsely. And you mean that, too. 

“I thought that...”

Don’t. Don’t tell him. 

“I thought that I was going to hurt you.”

Silence fills the room from corner to corner. Even whatever air that once came from the vents has come to a complete halt. Maybe every system in the galaxy has stopped its turn. 

“What?” Cal asks, now much softer. He takes a gentle step towards you, his eyes desperately locked to your own.

You glance down before back to him. “I was his apprentice before the purge. Don’t ask Cere about it- he never talked about me. I doubt there was even paperwork to confirm it. I thought this was coming but... I wasn’t sure.”

Cal takes another step forward. 

“He never liked me. And then on Kashyyyk... he...” You swallow down the shame for a moment. “He told me he wanted me to be his apprentice again. For real this time.”

“So you fought him,” Cal partially pieces together. 

You swallow again and look down to your hands. 

“Cal, I fought him because I wanted to go with him. I saw my- I saw the future he was talking about. It was good for me. I was happy... sort of.”

He’s finally close enough to sit on the end of the bench that you didn’t even process lying on. There’s concern in his eyes as he listens, and he doesn’t dare take them off your face. It makes you feel like even more of a coward. 

“But I didn’t see you there, too. I didn’t see anyone there. I thought maybe I... I thought maybe I had killed you.”

Cal opens his parched lips slightly, and then closes them. 

“And I really don’t want to kill you.”

Cal looks away. From here, sitting up slightly so you didn’t choke in your sleep, you can make out freckles on his neck. They stretch over his tendons, across his jawline. They’ll no doubt stretch over that scar from his jaw down on the other side. His long lashes move as he blinks. His hair looks softer than ever. 

“After the battle I carried you away. After it was done you just... looked at me. And then you collapsed, and I had to carry you.”

Silence. 

Cal gets up. 

“Cal?” you call, louder than you meant. 

The boy turns back to look at you. 

“I...”

Is he prettier than before?

“Do you hate me?”

Cal creases his brows. 

“Do you... are you going to talk to me again?”

He opens his mouth, but you don’t let him speak. 

“Don’t say it, if you don’t mean it. I was trained by the most dangerous person in the galaxy. By your biggest enemy. I... lied to you about it. I almost killed you, Cal. You can hate me.”

“Do you think I hate you?”

Your eye squints, and finally it glosses over as it wells with tears. “Yeah.”

Cal Kestis. Man of your dreams. Hero of everything. Angel of infinity. Please, don’t hate me. You have every right to, I know. But please- please don’t. 

“I don’t think I could ever hate you,” he finally whispers, looking down at the floor. “Maybe you should’ve told me, but... I think deep down I already knew.”

A questioning look appears over your features, but Cal answers before you can ask. “You’d been acting off for weeks, Y/N. Those nightmares were about Vader, weren’t they.”

“Yeah. They were... Do you... think of me any differently?”

Please. 

“...No. I don’t know if I could ever do that to you.”

“I couldn’t think of you differently either,” you say after a moment. You throat is getting scratchy, but it’s hard to care. 

“I care about you, Y/N,” he tells you, sincere but calm. “You know that don’t you?”

“You wouldn’t have carried me if you didn’t care, Cal.”

“Y/N on the morning of this whole thing I wanted to kiss you,” he snaps, his hands limply swinging with urgency. “I should’ve kissed you.”

So many emotions in one conversation. 

“You can still kiss me now that I’m clean with you.”

Cal looks at you for a long time, his tired, bright eyes searching for something in your stillness. Then he looks down. 

“It’s okay, Cal. It’s part of my atonement.”

He looks at you for a long time again. The corner of his lips twitch upwards for just a second. It puts you at ease somewhat, with a warm feeling spreading in your stomach finally. 

“You’ve got nothing to atone for,” Cal says. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Y/N.”

You have nothing to say. No words come to your dry tongue, although your lips hang open like something will come out. Nothing does. You just look at your redhead, who’s tired and distraught, but has more clarity and love than he ever has in his entire life. He won’t raise his voice to you again. 

Your palm dances again as you look to away. The door finally opens again, and Cal forgot that you had initially even caged him in here. 

“You can go now.”

It’s quiet. You can hear shuffling, slow footsteps like maybe he doesn’t want to leave. “Can I kiss you when I get back?”

Even while looking at the wall right next to you, your face goes hot and pink. 

“Maybe,” your husky voice answers. And when you turn to look back at him, he’s already looking at you with a genuine smile like a little boy getting a big present that they can’t believe. That’s how he sees it, anyway. 

“I don’t hate you, Y/N,” he suddenly says. “I could never hate you.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Idk if I’m happy with this or not? I ran into a bunch of writers block with this I don’t know why. Sorry it took so long to put out anyway. I also might change it to better fit the request because that’s really the most important thing to me and with finishing it after literal months I might’ve lost sight of the whole point. Idk though. Cal is a cutie. 

TAGLIST: @omg-we-really-doo @chokemeanakin @anakinswhore @haztory @fanficsforheartandsoul @kit-jpg @ahsokatano-thetogruta

#star wars x reader #star wars fanfiction #star wars fanfic #star wars imagine #fanfic #fanfiction #cal kestis x reader #cal kestis imagine #cal x reader #cal imagine #star wars cal kestis x reader #star wars cal kestis imagine #cal kestis fanfiction #cal kestis angst #cal kestis fluff #jedi fallen order imagine #jedi fallen order fanfiction #jedi fallen order x reader #jfo x reader #jfo imagine #jfo fanfiction #cal kestis x reader fluff #cal kestis x reader angst

[cross-d-a]

Why Anakin is still the Chosen One

Here are some tired thoughts before I go to sleep:

Anakin literally tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. He defeated Palpatine in episode VI and brought balance then. Yeah, Palpatine apparently lived but that doesn't mean Anakin didn't bring balance.

Ever since Force Awakens I can't help but think that this whole sequel trilogy is an allegory for our current political state, specifically: Neo-nazism. The Empire is modeled after Nazis. There's no question. Fascist totalitarianism wrapped up in a genocidal Empire?? Yeah, no thanks.

But then we've got the First Order. They're trying to revive past ideals, trying to revive the Empire. They're a whole mix of people: born into a fascist family like Hux, original Empire loyalists like Pryde, children stolen and brainwashed into it like the stormtroopers-- racism and hate comes from a lot of different backgrounds (it can be taught, it can be learned), but they all tend to latch onto certain beliefs and political structures. It helps the First Order that (from what I can tell) the New Republic was a copy of the first. From the prequels it's easy to tell that it's a broken system. The Empire didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Palpatine was a crafty son of a bitch but even he couldn't sway billions upon billions of people to his side. Those feelings of hate and prejudice and greed had to already exist- Palpatine just took advantage of it and stoked the flames (not even gonna go into real world parallels here).

There is a reason why I'm talking about this. I'm talking about Anakin, who was raised a slave. Who was already a victim of hate and all the evils in the galaxy because he was a SLAVE. A little boy who only wanted to help people, who wanted to break the system that allowed him and the rest of his people to suffer. Then he was freed and thrust into a position of privilege within the system that made it possible for Anakin to be born a slave. And there he was, told over and over that he was the Chosen one. That he must bring balance. But it wasn't the kind of balance he sought since he was a little boy. I think Anakin just wanted everyone to be equal, and the kind of balance the Jedi believed in didn't necessarily mirror that since they were an integral part of the Republic.

But I digress.

I'm bringing up Anakin's childhood in slavery (and arguably, his whole life of slavery) because Anakin is was folded into this Nazi-like Empire which went against everything that he believed in as a child. Everything his mother believed in. Palpatine and the Empire twisted him and yes I love Anakin to death and he is such a victim of circumstance (and he is such a nuanced, interesting character), but he did some pretty terrible things as Darth Vader. He became everything that he ever wanted to fight against.

And then he said no.

He watched Palpatine torture his son. He watched Palpatine try it use his son. And we all know how much Anakin values family. Anakin chose to end fhat circle of hate and suffering. He was the first one to stand his ground and save the person he loved and actually succeed- and with that action he became the catalyst for defeating the Empire.

The thing about Anakin is that he has always been the catalyst. His birth was a seemingly impossible thing. The Jedi discovering him set in motion both Palpatine's plan and the Jedi's defeat. And then Palpatine's eventual destruction.

I'm not discounting every single other person in the Star Wars universe who has suffered or fought for what is right (shout out to Ezra 'spark of the rebellion' Bridger). But there is no doubt that without Anakin we would not have a Star Wars series. Everything revolves around him, whether it's believing he's the chosen one, believing he is the villain we must defeat, or knowing he is someone we must live up to and emulate.

Without Anakin's sacrifice, without him remembering what's truly important (family, love, freedom), the Empire would not have been defeated. Luke would have died. Leia probably, too. Palpatine would have utterly destroyed the galaxy (maybe we'd see some actual Dark!Rey way down the line). Anakin stood up, stood his ground and said No.

The real reason why Anakin is the Chosen One is because he IS that catalyst. Because he did rise from oppression and servitude and had the strength to say No.

I'm going to bring up the Neo-Nazism again: the New Republic rose up to replace the Republic. The First Order rose up to emulate the Empire. I would argue that the First Order became so powerful because the structures that allowed the Empire to rise in the first place still existed.

Yoda says in the original trilogy: There is another. (Yeah you know what like I'm talking about) You could argue that it's Leia (it certainly meant to be at the time). You could argue that it's baby Yoda (my boy!!). But I would argue that it is the next generation.

You see, you can't just defeat evil once and be done with it. We certainly hoped we would when WWII ended, but the fight is never done. Neo-Nazis still exist. Terrible, terrible people still exist. And maybe it's learned, maybe it's passed down through the family-- you can learn to hate in a lot of different ways. The structures that allowed Nazis to rise up like they did still exist today. We still face racism and homophobia and anti-Semitism. The battle is not over.

That's why I think these sequel movies are important (despite my problems with it, but I won't go into that here). I would love to think that after episode VI everyone lived a happily ever after. There was no more evil, no more suffering and slavery and thoughtless killing. But it doesn't work like that. Even though that's the ending I want, even though that's the ending I sometimes need-- every generation faces its own threat. Its own call to the past.

I have my own confused reservations about Rey parentage, but I adore that she rejects the legacy of hate. We see what she is capable of. We see that (just like Anakin) she could give in to what she thinks is the lesser of two evils. (It's okay as long as the people I love get to live, right?') We see that she is fully capabale of it even. She struggles with it, much more (I would argue) than either of the other two movies. She struggles to reject that part of herself and she struggles to acknowledge that she is born from that legacy (as so many would). Who would be proud to know they came from a family of Nazis? Not many people I hope.

And maybe it's because her parents chose to "be no one" that she is able to find the strength to think "maybe I don't have to go down this path." I would love to know more about her parents and how they chose to completely defy expectations, but I'll content myself for now with this:

Rey chose to reject the legacy of hate, and instead followed Anakin's own defiance. She's choosing her own legacy: combatting of hate and violence. Embracing love and hope. Learning from the mistakes of the past.

In a way, Ben Solo is right: let the past die. We must destroy the hatred and intolerance of our past. We must tear down the structures our forefathers put in place that allowed this hatred to arise and take over the galaxy. But he's also wrong. We have no way to know how to be better than our forefathers if we don't remember their mistakes. If we don't remember what they fought for and believed in. That's why "a thousand generations live within [Rey] now." She chose to follow the legacy of love and hope that the Jedi embody. And yes, the Jedi have their own problems, but that doesn't change the fact that they did their best to fight for what they thought was right. And, this is something to remember:

Yoda said: We are what they grow beyond.

Luke and Leia continued on that legacy of hope where Anakin and Padmé and Obi-Wan were unable to continue. They succeeded where those three failed. And, I hope, Rey (and Finn and Poe) will be able to succeed where Luke and Leia and Han couldn't. Where the Jedi couldn't.

It's up to everyone that comes after us to remember where they came from and discover how to grow beyond where we failed.

And now I'm back to where I began: Anakin. He tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. We hear many other voices (Luke's, Yoda's, Ahsoka's, even Kanan's and Ayala Secura's), but to me Anakin's was by far the most prominent. I love that we hear Obi-Wan's voice first ("These are your final steps"), and perhaps this is a parallel to Obi-Wan trying to call Anakin back to the light so many years ago. But Anakin's is so prominent. Ben and Rey are extremely important each other (and there is so much to unpack there), but Anakin's final push is what gives Rey strength and hope.

Anakin reminds Rey of the past. He reminds Rey that He broke free from that cycle of hate and that she can, too. Anakin is so, so important. He's the prime example that you can end the hate. End the violence. You don't have to be a Nazi like your shitty grandfather.

"Be with me. Be with me," she repeats over and over and over again. She trying to connect with the past. She's trying to understand her position in the universe. And she does, once she accepts her heritage. Once she accepts where she came from. And Anakin is there to help her take those final steps.

This whole sequel trilogy is about legacy. It's about repeating the mistakes of the past. It's about desperately trying to live up to expectations and failing them. It's about desperately trying to forget where you come from and trying to find yourself amidst the echoes of a chaotic past.

And, as always with Star Wars, it's about finding hope in the darkest of places. It's about love and family and saving the people who can't save themselves. This is the legacy that Anakin Skywalker left behind when he saved Luke from Palpatine, and this is the legacy that will continue to be remembered for every generation to come after that.

So Anakin Skywalker is still the Chosen One. He's that bright little slave boy who grew up twisted and lonely and got beaten into submission, yet still found the strength to claw his way back to the light. We all have that strength within ourselves to be better people, and now Rey can carry on that lesson and pass it down from generation to generation.

#tros #the rise of skywalker #meta #anakin skywalker #star wars #rey #long post #the chosen one #prophecy #tros spoilers #i spent way too long typing this up after texting my friend #luke skywalker #leia #i apologize for any typos #racism

[sassysnowperson]

If you're still doing Star Wars asks - 10, 14, and 30?

I AM still doing Star Wars Asks! Thanks for sending them in!

-

10. Which character do you feel is most like you?

So, I know you sent this yesterday, but when I sat down to try to write it, this one really stumped me! I don't really think I have someone that really feels like me in the universe. When the prequels came out I looked a little like Natalie Portman, which goes a long way to building kinship with a character.

Exploring that a little more - there is a lot of overlap between me and Padmé, especially when I was her canonical age. I had a full heart and was pretty idealistic when I was in my late teens/early twenties. Definitely thought that, if I just had a chance, I could Change the World.  

I, however, am extremely Ace, and it's hard to really feel kinship with a character that makes dumb decisions for attraction. I've made a lot of dumb decisions, don't get me wrong! Just not for the apparently-compelling face of Hayden Christensen. 

More importantly, I think, I've gotten a lot more…tired, as I've gotten older. Cynical, too. More aware of the ways my privilege means the ways my twenty-something self might have Changed the World in grand ways probably wouldn't have been great for the world. But on the other hand, also more aware of the honor in the small fights and small connections.

Thank goodness we don't stop learning when we're twenty, right?

So, I guess I'll keep Padmé, imagining a world where Padmé got the chance to grow older, wiser, and seriously question the system she's a part of. Where she gets to spend some time grieving her past mistakes and then make some progress towards building a better future. 

14. If you could change one thing about the Star Wars universe, what would it be?

Well, related to the above, what if we made Padmé Super Ace? I'd be sad to lose Luke and Leia, and I doubt it would have stopped Anakin's fall, but I feel like there's a story there. 

Actually, looking at it more broadly from a, "choices the franchise makes" sort of way, I wish Star Wars would figure out how it wants to treat droids. Because it's pretty clear that droids are sapient. Which means we've got an enslaved servant class that occasionally gets their memories erased to avoid rebellion. And Star Wars sometimes makes nods towards engaging with that seriously, but most of the time, it's played as a joke. 

Not a good look, Star Wars. 

30. Do you have any headcanons?

Luke Skywalker knows how to make good homemade cheese. People think it's a Space Hipster thing, but no, it's a Space Farmboy thing. He learned from Aunt Beru.

#ask games #star wars asks #I actually have a lot of trouble finding myself in media in general? #I don't know if that's an ace thing #or a stubborn belief in my own uniqueness #but I am a giant nerd #that chose to go into a people-centered profession #and there aren't a whole lot of characters that love both people and learning #IDK! #chamerionwrites

[joracalltrise]

I’ve fallen in love with the 7th season of the Clone Wars, but in the same time this season… disappointed me so much. Do you, guys, feel the same? Or are you fully satisfied?

I warn you, that I’m going to more or less skip the good things and get to the bad things – not because I’m a complaining person, but because I believe a lot of people have already listed all positives about the last episode and season 7 in general (especially <url> www.gffa.tumblr.com </url> – dude, I really love your blog!), so me talking about the things I had loved in the latest season, would be… repeating what other people have already said.

I think we all (or most of us) agree, that the 7th Season was totally amazing, if not THE BEST season of the Clone Wars. We got that clear? Okay, now let’s get to the “buts”.

1. Not enough episodes

I’ll sound a bit whiny here, but… I really don’t get it, why couldn’t we get full 20 episodes for the Final Season of the Clone Wars. Or even more than 20. Maybe there are people in Disney, who are smarter than me, and they know the answer to that question, but STILL… if Star Wars is such a good brand, why not making more of the Clone Wars?

Of course, there are also advantages of producing only 12 episodes.

The whole season feels more like a movie than a TV series. Or, rather – like three movies. Instead of “small stories” we were given three solid Arcs, which are very smoothly connected to each other. That’s a good thing. It’s not the same case as “the Legend of Korra”, where 12 episodes would give us a feeling of an enormous pacing.

BUT. Because I was given only 12 episodes, I got to miss some of my favorite characters.

2. Lack of some important characters

We didn’t see Dooku in the last season the Clone Wars – not even ONCE!

We didn’t see Grievous in the last season of the Clone Wars – not even ONCE!

We didn’t see Ventress in the last season of the Clone Wars – not even ONCE!

We BARELY saw Obi-Wan (sniff! sniff!) – poor guy got some bigger scenes only in “Good friends not forgotten” and “Phantom Apprentice”. And some short (but really good) lines in “An unfinished business”.

Padme got ONE scene (one that confirms, that Anakin is, in fact, blind, since he didn’t comment on her baby bump).

Now, someone would roll their eyes and say – yeeeeaaaah, but Dooku, Grievous, Obi-Wan and Padme got PLENTY of TV time in the Revenge of the Sith, duh! If you want more of them, just watch RoTs, again. Okay, I agree, but… that was the whole point of me watching the Clone Wars. I liked it so much, because prequel trilogy was not enough for me. I wanted MORE of my favorite characters. What’s wrong with that?

And what about Ventress? She was supposed to have such a great Arc with Quinlan Vos!

Than brings us to the next case…

3. Abandoned and Non-existing Arcs

Utapau Arc… oh, I’m NEVER gonna forgive them for Utapau Arc!

I believe it was actually the best Arc in the Clone Wars. I’ve watched those unfinished episodes sooo many times, and they have brought me more joy than ANY full-fledged episodes. So many good moments in those episodes!

So much of Obi-Wan and Anakin dynamics (I’m sorry, Ahsoka fans, but no matter how much Felloni and Co will try to persuade me otherwise, OBI-WAN is a Jedi who has the closest relationship with Anakin, NOT Ahsoka. Quarrel, if you like, but that’s how I feel, sorry).

Anakin interacting with animals (outrageous, cute and absolutely beautiful).

Anakin’s great plan “ups, I’ve fallen asleep… ah, no, it was my plan from the beginning!”

Scorpion creature playing with Anakin’s lightsaber, and Anakin killing the creature “by accident”.

And FINALLY two best moments:

“Awww, got yourself captured again, Old Man?” (I’ll NEVER get tired of Anakin calling Obi-Wan “old man”, okay?”

And Obi-Wan merrily waving to Grievous, when he and Anakin escape with the cristal.

Ventress and Quinlan Arc – even if they didn’t follow a comic, they could have made an amazing Arc out of this.

Small Padme Arc? Like… how she was dealing with her pregnancy, while working for the Senate? Anything? Pretty please?

Some Arc involving Ayala Secura or Kit Fisto or Ki Adi Mundi or Plo Koon – just to say goodbye to those characters before Order 66? By the way, it’s kind of weird, Ahsoka didn’t think or talk about Plo Koon even a little bit, during the WHOLE season. That’s the disadvantage of having only 12 episodes, yup!

The last Padawan Arc aka Caleb Dume turning into Kanan Jarrus Arc aka One of my biggest disappointments for the last season. Why… WHY they didn’t do it?! The trailer gave me soooo muuuch hope! I really, REALLY wanted to see Kanan interacting with Depa and the Clones. Yes, I know, comics and stuff, but comics is not TV, and I love watching my favorite characters with nice soundtrack and great voice actors and everything. R.I.P. my expectations for Caleb Dume’s Arc in Clone Wars… sniff sniff!

Of course, there’s more, but those are the ones that come to my mind firsts.

4. Ahsoka’s character in this last season

Now, let’s talk about the character who got the most of the TV time in the whole season (if not the whole series).

Ahsoka’s greatest fans will probably get angry at me, but I’m still gonna say this. Not because I dislike Ahsoka, because I DO like her, and I think she’s an amazing character. Actually, before I start throwing my “accusations”, I’ll say some nice things about Ahsoka, so that you know I’m not trying to be mean here.

What Ahsoka did in the 7th season, can be mostly explained by her young age. She’s clearly at the rebel stage, she’s got through some really awful experiences (getting accused of treason, when you’re INNOCENT can really leave someone pretty shaken up, I think we all agree), and before Martez Sisters Arc for the first time in her life she was really, really ALONE.

Also, we all know that Ahsoka will be more mature in Rebels. It kind of makes sense, that you need to become an angry and proud teenager first, before you become an experienced and charismatic leader.

BUT, even knowing that, I’m really annoyed at Ahsoka after the last season. I’ve liked her during all 5 seasons of the Clone Wars, she was one of my favorite characters, but after season 7, she really got on my nerves. And honestly? I’m starting to think, it wasn’t even her fault. Maybe it was just the Clone Wars creators turning her into to some sort of… agenda? Using her to prove something? About the whole Jedi Order, maybe? Or about Anakin?

But, anyway, to the point…

Ahsoka’s actions in season 7 basically resulted in three groups of fans.

Group Number One (that’s NOT me) – people who started to think Ahsoka is some sort of saint, the only good (ex) Jedi in the rotten Order, the very best person, and oh, if only other Jedi could act like her, then maybe nothing bad will happen. And, oh, Obi-Wan and the rest Council sitters could REALLY learn from this amazing woman!

Group Number Two (that’s me) – people rising an eyebrow to Ahsoka’s behavior and being slightly annoyed at her.

Group Number Three (I don’t know who’s there, but there are some people) – people hating Ahsoka, getting really angry at her for acting the way she acted, and also blaming her for not using her knowledge about Sidious wanting to make Anakin his apprentice.

Who’s right? Maybe no one? Maybe partly everyone? I don’t know, so I’ll just proceed to explain my own subjective point of view.

I’ve already said some things about Ahsoka in this post:

<url> https://joracalltrise.tumblr.com/post/615743227991031809/ahsoka-versus-obi-wan-where-did-that-even-come </url>

I’m going to say more, but it’ll be much shorter.

What I disliked about Ahsoka most in the latest season was the fact, that she wanted to have a cookie and eat the cookie and she started to lecture people smarter and more experienced than her how to do their job.

Let’s start with the first one, by looking into Ahsoka’s particular words and actions. So…

She doesn’t want to be a Jedi, but she wants Republic to support her actions (siege of Mandalore) and let her participate in important Jedi-only discussions (Mace Windu talk). Kind of like some Brexit supporters, don’t you think? “Let’s leave the EU, but let’s keep all the privileges of the country belonging to the EU, because we are so smart, we deserve it and that’s it”. Oh, come on! You either leave of not – make up your mind, Ahsoka (Britain could, so why can’t you?).

She wants Anakin and Obi-Wan to help her but she doesn’t want to ASK them nicely and try a little bit to act like a person asking for help. She just expects them to agree, because they… what? Owe her? Owe her WHAT? Not supporting her ENOUGH, when she was accused (let me remind you: Obi-Wan sided with Ahsoka during Council meeting, and Anakin was litteraly running around Coruscant to prove his Padawan’s innocence)?

Her being angry about Anakin and Obi-Wan choosing Coruscant over Mandalore – I’m not even commenting that, because I’m tired of talking about it. But I’ll add just one more thing here – did it occur to anyone that Trace and Rafa are still on Coruscant, when Coruscant is attacked? What a great friendship you have formed, Ahsoka! Not even a single worry about whether or not your new friends will be in danger? But wait, they don’t need you, cause people in Mandalore need you more. Cool (sorry about the sarcasm, guys, but I couldn’t resist).

And now, the second thing.

If you want to change some huge organization, especially one like a Jedi Order, the best way to do it, is from the inside. Qui-Gon Jinn was like no other Jedi, and he was probably tempted to leave, but he chose to stay, and his presence benefited the Order in many many ways! He didn’t really change the Jedi – died before he could – but there was a chance. Perhaps Anakin could have changed the Jedi, had he not turned to the dark side? I think he would! Maybe, if he would mature even more (although, in Clone Wars he matured A LOT – look at the “Old friends not forgotten” episode) and join the Council a bit later, when the time was right… just imagine it! The Jedi Code hasn’t ALWAYS forbidden marriages and love. The Order could have come back to its old ways. Good thing, stuff like fanfiction exists ;)

But anyway, coming back to Ahsoka. If you LEAVE an organization, and then you start lecturing its members about morality and choices, it’s kind of obvious, they won’t take you seriously. And yeah, I fully support Obi-Wan’s statement “but Ahsoka is no longer a part of the Republic Military”, and I totally agree with Mace calling her “a citizen”. It’s all about Ahsoka wanting to keep and wanting to eat at the same time. What she wanted in the final season, basically, is doing all the good things she remember doing in the Order (helping people selflessly, supporting friends), but without having to deal with difficult (but necessary) things (like making difficult choices and dealing with consequences, duty versus emotion, all of this so called “playing politics”, etcetera). It’s like wanting to have a pet, but leaving all the problems – going to the vet, curing the animal, when it’s sick, maybe even making the decision of “putting a friend to a sleep” to keep it from suffering – to somebody else. Do you get, what I mean?

And before I leave the poor girl alone, I have one more thing to add.

I don’t like making Ahsoka “another Rey”.

Strong female characters are very much needed in the popculture. I’m a girl too, so I understand. But, for Force’s sake, don’t upgrade somebody’s skills ex-machina!

Okay, fine, they’ve made Rey a Force prodigy because she’s *********’s granddaughter and apparently she was already good in martial arts before she has left Jakku. Some people like that.  I don’t. I prefer an actual skill development instead of sudden skills upgrage.

But Ahsoka didn’t held a lightsaber for a long time, and first time she grabs her new pair, she becomes a one person machine. I wouldn’t say it makes me particularly upset, because it was nice to watch. But it DID disturbed me. And I couldn’t help the feeling, that canon was a bit shifted to match Ashoka fan’s expectations.

The canon got me used to the fact, that Star Wars strongest prequel fighters were Yoda, Palpie, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace, Dooku and Maul. I might have forgotten someone, but you get my point, right? Experienced and adult fighters, whose skills are logical and earned. Actually, I think that Ahsoka from Rebels fits that group as well.

I repeat it – Ahsoka FROM REBELS!

In Rebels she’s an adult and she’s got plenty of time to hone both her Force and lightsaber skills.

I’m not saying, I’m hating her fighting like a pro with Mandalorians and Maul. I repeat it - It WAS nice to watch. I’m just not buying it.

Like I’m not buying some other things.

5. Lack of logic (especially in Martez Arc)

It’s not a big fault, actually. We get plenty of those in pop culture shows. It gives us a lot of room for “How It Should Have Ended” videos ;)

But, seeeriiouslyyy…

Ahsoka using the Force right and left in the Martez Arc, while Rafa and Trace don’t notice A THING… are they deaf and blind, or something?

Is Anakin blind as well? Does he REALLY not notice Padme’s baby bump? Was he too busy’s with his wife’s beautiful eyes, or what?

And – AGAIN! – Ahsoka grabing Maul’s ship with the Force. Since when grabing a  (MOVING) ship with the Force became a canonical skill of anyone other than Yoda (or maybe Palpatine)? No, wait, even Palpie and Yoda didn’t grab a MOVIG ship. Why Anakin and Obi-Wan couldn’t Force grab Dooku’s ship, when he was escaping Naboo? There were TWO of them, for Force’s sake, and one of them was the Forcedamn Chosen One! Why couldn’t they? Oh, wait, I know! Because it was BEFORE “The Rise of Skywalker”. In THAT movie Forcegrabing the ships became a canonical skill, especially for prodigical women loved by the audience (again – sorry about the sarcasm, guys). As a woman who used to train martial arts for YEARS, I’d like female protagonists to actually LEARN their super skills, before they use them. Okay?

But, well, Star Wars suddenly canonizing new amazing skills after years is a material for a different article.

And, like I said, it’s really not that big of a deal. The Clone Wars were still amazing and enjoyable to watch – especially the newest season.

Besides, well, I can’t get what I want all the time, right? Felloni and Co had to CHOOSE, whom they want to make happiest, and they’ve chosen Ahsoka’s fans. I don’t blame them. Maybe they’ll choose my preferences next ;) One can always hope, right?

Conclusions?

Yeah, I think that’s all I have to say about the newest season. And I repeat – once again – that in spite all this complaining, I really loved that season. And I loved reading about other people’s opinions about it. May the Force be with us all!

Thank you for reading this long, looong post!

If anyone’s up to the discussion, feel free to contact me.

#Star Wars #the clone wars #tcw #season 7 #s07e12 #final season #ahsoka #tano #obi-wan #kenobi #anakin #skywalker #victory and death #review #long post #meta #utapau #cristal crisis #quinlan #edelgard von hresvelg #ventress #the rise of skywalker #tros #the revenge of the sith #rots #unfinished episodes #dooku #vos #caleb dume #kanan jarrus

[ladyamalthia]

I rewatched the phantom menace last night. Bc I am a 90s baby this stupid movie was my 1st introduction into Star Wars & launched me headfirst into the obsession that led me to get a rebel alliance tattoo in my late 20s.

It’s a pretty terrible movie and I love that about it because it’s got a great cast. Liam Neeson? Good actor! Ewan McGreggor? Good actor! Natalie Portman? Good actress! But for this one shining action movie in space, they all three completely forgot how to act, like, completely. They almost forgot how to speak from the looks of it. Lines are delivered in monotone voices, expressionless faces refusing to make eye contact with each other. The three have never looked more uncomfortable, you almost have to wonder if something weird happened on set day 1 and they just neve quite got over it.

The only time we see any real emotion at all is when they try to force feed us bizarre sexual tension between Natalie Portman and the Actual Toddler who plays Anakin. Adorable child. Also can’t act but few children that age can. Natalie Portman’s outfits are amazing in this movie, though. My favorite one is the Hair Bags one, you know, where she has her hair in two bags that look like tail bags for horses? Incredible.

I am obsessed how everyone - everyone! - tells Qui Gon that he should NOT under any circumstances train The Boy, and Qui Gon is just like “hey so thanks for your feedback I’m gonna go train The Boy now tho”

And then he DIES and with his DYING BREATH makes Obi Wan PROMISE to train The Boy, at which point Obi Wan, previously dead set against any Boy-training, is like “fuck.” And we are all like “fuck” because we all know EXACTLY how badly Obi Wan is going to fuck up training NOT ONLY The Boy, but also The Boy’s Son. One wonders why his Jedi teaching privileges were not revoked sooner.

And my favorite, FAVORITE part of the movie is when Obi Wan breaks the news to Yoda and Yoda just looks and sounds. So. Fucking. Tired. And you just know he’s looking into his own future and seeing how this fucking Boy and his future offspring are going to literally plague and inconvenience Yoda every single remaining day of his unnaturally long life until he finally DIES with Luke STILL whining in his elfen ears.

No wait I lied, my favorite part is when they reveal that Anakin was the product of an IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, CONCEIVED by Mitochlorians, and we are just supposed to accept this at face value with literally no additional explanation and even the Jedi council just nods sagely like “ah yes, that can sometimes happen.” Knowing that can happen, could Disney REALLY not come up with a better origin story for Rey than random daughter of Palpatine who we never even see with a lover (probably because he’s so busy sucking his own dark force dick) bc I for one would have taken another immaculate Force conception over that weird trumped up story line any day of the week.

Anyways, I love the Phantom Menace. I even like horrible JarJar and fully subscribe to the theory that he’s a secret master of the force originally intended to come back as a bad guy but so universally hated by fans that they cancelled that storyline and decided to focus on Palpatine instead.

What a clusterfuck

[fireflyfish]

Obikin, #57 or #64 please!

57.) I miss the way things used to be

A brief snippet from The Eagle and the Wolf, before the curse and before the events of that fic start up.

***

A stray bit of sunlight from the cold dawn found its way through the dark curtains landing on Anakin Skywalker’s upturned face. He grimaced in his sleep, turning away from the offending sliver of sunshine and buried his nose in his lover’s hair, desperately trying to cling to sleep. Everything would be fine as long as his beloved didn’t insist on rising with the dawn and bringing an end to their all-too brief tryst.

“Ah... Anakin?” The man in his arms yawned, rolling back against Anakin’s chest.

Damn it.

“Shh... go back to sleep, Obi-Wan,” Anakin murmured, dropping a kiss on his shoulder. It was too early for conversation, for putting on clothes, then padding and armor. It was too early for saddling up Twilight and strapping his Ilum steel blade to his side.

And it was far too early for Anakin to let Obi-Wan go back to the City of the Dawn on the far eastern edge of the continent, with only letters and memories to keep him company back in his lonely room in the Imperial Palace. He enjoyed being Captain of the Emperor’s Guard, enjoyed the fame and the privilege it brought, but every day he spent without Obi-Wan felt like an eternity.

I miss this, Anakin thought, running his fingers slowly up and down Obi-Wan’s arm. I miss the two of us being together, training and fighting together. I miss his laugh and his smile. I miss the sound of his voice and the way he chews on his pen when he’s writing. He would love the Imperial Court, with all the flirting and double speak. He would master that stupid fan language in a week.

Anakin’s thoughts grew dark as he contemplated the stretch of time between the present moment and the next time he would see Obi-Wan. The Kingdom of Alderaan had requested aid from the Jedi Order, who had sent a master and a small army. When that wasn’t enough to bolster the Alderaanian forces against an onslaught by the Noble City State of Serenno, the High Council had sent their rising star, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi.

It was on Obi-Wan’s return trip back to the City of Dawn that Anakin had been able to meet up with him in a small city along the Northern Imperial road. Anakin was waiting outside the city gates, peering at the crowds coming and going, hoping for any sign of his beloved when he saw Obi-Wan riding up the small rise. He felt the world brighten, as if he had just rediscovered color and light, and rode up to meet his love.

“Fancy meeting you here, Jedi Knight Kenobi,” Anakin grinned, riding up to Obi-Wan and feeling his heart beat faster at the sight of a wide, dimpled smile. “I heard about your victory in Aldera. The Court will be talking about you for weeks.”

“Captain Skywalker,” Obi-Wan bowed from his saddle, his blue-grey eyes twinkling at their play-acting. “I can’t imagine how the Court has any time to talk about me when they’re still swooning over your victory at the Spring Tournament. The padawans are still talking about it back home.”

They rode into the city together, finding a quiet inn with a comfortable room and spent the rest of the day together, reaffirming their love, remembering how they fit together.

Anakin always felt better after seeing Obi-Wan again. He felt more grounded and centered, like his world had been off kilter and Obi-Wan’s gentle words and soft touch set it all back to right. Obi-Wan was Anakin’s home, his touchstone and the other half of his being. Split up, with what felt like an entire continent between them, Anakin felt empty and off balance.

He needed Obi-Wan to be whole.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. We’re supposed to be together, like we were when we were younger. We trained together, fought together. Why did the Council split us up? Why can’t Obi-Wan stay with me and help me protect the Emperor? Why do I have to do this alone?

“Anakin...” Obi-Wan’s voice rumbled up from his side of the bed, low and rough from sleep. “It is far too early in the morning and I am far too comfortable for such brooding. What’s wrong?”

“I miss this,” Anakin mumbled, letting Obi-Wan roll over to face him, his fade copper hair charmingly askew. “I miss waking up next to you. I miss sleeping next to you. I’m tired of letting you go. I want you to come stay with me in the Imperial City.”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, his eyes shining with affection and his mouth pulled into a gentle smile. “You know I want nothing more to be by your side but I cannot lie to the Council and tell them there is a need for me when they know very well there is not.”

Frowning, Anakin nodded. This was an old argument between them, one they moved through faster every time, not willing to waste precious moments in anger when they could spend it in each other’s arms. “I know. I just... I worry that you’ll forget me. Or that pretty Duchess of Mandalore will steal you away from me and I won’t even have a chance to fight for you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Obi-Wan laughed, pulling Anakin against him. “The Duchess is a good friend but she could never replace you in my heart. And besides, I have it on good authority there’s a southern lord who’s got his heart set on wooing her.”

“That’s not reassuring,” Anakin muttered, looking down at the spray of faint freckles on Obi-Wan’s collar bones. “Just... nevermind. Forget I said anything. I... I just don’t want to let you go today, that’s all.”

“Well I have good news,” Obi-Wan smiled, leveraging himself up over Anakin and scattering kisses all over his face as he spoke. “I planned an extra two days of traveling just for that reason.”

Anakin’s eyes lit up and he grabbed Obi-Wan’s shoulders. “Truly? Two extra days?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan laughed softly, stroking Anakin’s cheek. “Two whole days to be spent however my dear one desires.”

“In bed,” Anakin said, pulling Obi-Wan back down for a long and passionate kiss. “I desire to spend them both in bed.”

“Well I am pleased to hear that,” Obi-Wan laughed. “Although we shall have to leave eventually to procure some fo-“

Anakin cut Obi-Wan off with another kiss, hard and hungry, the two eventually finding their way back to the place where no words were needed between them.

For now it was enough for Anakin and he lost himself in the swirl of their love together.

For now Anakin would be content.

But one day it wouldn’t be enough.

What would Anakin do then?

#anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #Obikin #The Eagle and the Wolf #Look! A random update from a fic I’m sure everyone thought was long dead #;D #long post #Because I apparently can’t actually do a drabble #Or rather my drabbles are just wordy rambling bitches #XD

[ace-beef]

Jedi Cats AU

Y’all ready for this shit? An AU where Obi Wan Kenobi has to look after some cats while he’s doing Jedi Stuff. These four cats are: Anakin, Qui Gon, Padme, and Ahsoka. 

It’s kinda like a modern au at the same time, purely because I’m thinking of the dumb shit that cats do in this day and age… but like,, the Jedi order still out there doin’ Jedi things…

For now it’s just the Jedi but I may also make a post containing information about Palpatine’s cats. If I do any more posts for this au I’ll just use the tag ‘jedi cats au’

Anyway, the details are under the cut, enjoy! 

Obi Wan Kenobi  - himb human  -  he’s very tired from looking after these troublesome cats while being a Jedi - “I’m sorry Master Windu I must rush home and attend to some important business” *rushes home and finds Anakin staring out the window into the back garden meowing angrily at Dooku* “*sigh* Anakin...” - if the mission isn’t going to be that dangerous but requires him to be gone for a while, then he’ll bring the cats with him - “Master Kenobi, do you really have to bring all them with you?”  *with Anakin clawing his way up Obi Wan’s leg and Qui Gon prowling across his shoulders* “yes, Master Windu”  - constantly has to stop his cats from fighting with his neighbour’s cats (especially after Qui Gon got a nasty clawing from Maul one time): Dooku, Grievous and Maul, even though Obi Wan isn’t particularly fond of those cats himself - said neighbour is a seemingly friendly old man called Palpatine, who all of Obi Wan’s cats seem to like, especially Anakin - he’s so tired,, blease let himb rest - will often fall asleep on the sofa by accident, and then will wake up to find Qui Gon in his lap and Anakin on his face, while Padme and Ahsoka are on the sofa and pressed up against his legs - “Anakin nO” - often looks to both Qui Gon and Padme to help with the other two - have I told you how tired this man is? 

Anakin Skywalker  - he a black cat, v slim and slender, has a slight bit of extra fur around his face, yellow eyes - you may only pet him when he wants to be petted, if you try and pet him when he does not wish to be touched you sHaLL fAcE tHe CLaWs oF dEaTH fOuL hUMaN - touch the tumby and YOU WILL DIE - try and touch the toe beans and YOU WILL DIE - very rarely purrs, except for when in the presence of Obi Wan, the only human who can pet him almost 24/7 - will always obey Qui Gon, will listen to Obi Wan most of the time, proteccs Padme and Ahsoka constantly  - quite playful, give him a droid toy and/or a lightsaber toy and he enters the Silly Zone - is the kind of cat that will stare at you straight in the eyes as he quickly pushes something breakable off the table - is very territorial and hates it when there are any other cats in the back garden, especially the neighbour’s cats  - although he actually likes the neighbour human Palpatine quite a lot, although Palpatine is not privileged enough for extra Anakin pets like Obi Wan is - a very loud cat, meows constantly and loudly, as well as hissing at those he doesn’t like and doing that fuckin ‘mmmmrrrrrrrooowwwwwowooww’ aggression noise  - is also a very active cat, is constantly running around the house and often goes for walks in the neighbourhood, mostly to get into scraps with other cats (this is how he got a scar over his right eye) - “Mrow!” “Anakin no it’s not time for food yet” “mrrrOW!” *sigh* “Anakin what did I say about arguing back?” “mrrOOWW!” “Anakin!”  - when he’s not running around being a nuisance, he’s cuddling up with Padme - often takes Ahsoka out with him on his adventures - when Obi Wan takes them on missions with him, Anakin is somehow more mischievous and disobedient than he normally is - will absolutely bring Obi Wan ‘presents’, all the time - a sharp and pointy boi who is also a fuckin dumbass

Qui Gon Jinn  - one of those cats with the super long fur, mega soft fur, soft green eyes, clearly used to be a brown tabby cat but has turned more grey with his age, a slender cat but himb big because he tol - old and wise cat that always has this knowing look in his eyes - do not be fooled by his calm appearance, he will fuck u up if he wants to - you may touch the tumby, but only if you are Obi Wan, otherwise you will die - try and touch the toe beans and you will die, unless you are Obi Wan, then you’re allowed to - will break shit and mess shit up when nobody's looking, then act like he didn’t do anything when they discover the mess… this mess is often blamed on Ahsoka or Anakin  - having said that, he is also the kind of cat that will slowly push something off of the table while remaining eye contact the whole time; he doesn’t do this with Obi Wan though, Obi Wan must not see his crimes - when is brought on missions with Obi Wan, will also be more mischievous than normal, but Obi Wan never knows this - “Master Kenobi! One of your cats broke something again!” “Oh no, really? I bet it was Anakin, hey Anakin!” “Is Anakin this grey-brown fluffy one?” “No? That’s Qui Gon, he would never break anything” “well he just did” “what?” - all of the other cats respect him greatly, even Palpatine’s cats  - he must protecc his human at all costs, as well as the other cats, Obi Wan can’t help but feel slightly flattered at the fact that one of his cats is so willing to protect him - he may be a cat but Himb Still Dad - a calm and relaxed cat, likes to lounge in the sun, and will make that little ‘mrrrp?’ noise whenever he is awoken - not really that playful, will just sit and watch the human do silly shit in an attempt to try and play with him - most of the time he is relatively quiet, gently purrs when he is petted - himb soft and smart

Padme Amidala  - a pretty, white cat with piercing blue eyes, she very elegant - will allow most people to pet her, unless she knows that they’re Not Nice and will therefore take a swipe at them (this is the same for the tummby and the toe beans)  - Obi Wan and Anakin want her to stay inside as like,, an indoor cat, but she wiLL nOt bE cOnFiNEd - most of the time the noises she makes are relatively soft and quiet, unless she’s fuckin angry then she’s loud and constantly making noise - you can tell when her and Anakin are having a spat because there’s a constant stream of very loud angry cat noises that drown out some slightly fearful loud cat noises - overall is a very well behaved cat, respects Obi Wan and doesn’t break anything - when encountering Palpatine’s cats, she doesn’t make any noise, she just glares at them (which is somehow more scary and intimidating than Anakin’s constant stream of aggressive noises) - she probably won’t, but everyone knows that she has the power to kill them at any moment - is the best behaved out of all of the cats  - her fur is somehow constantly clean and perfectly groomed, Obi Wan doesn’t groom her more often than the other cats and whenever her and Anakin go out together, Anakin always comes back dirty with his fur in a mess but Padme will still be pristine - if Obi Wan takes her on a mission with him (which he doesn’t really want to do but sometimes he has no other choice) she is on her best behaviour, she’ll snoop around if she has the chance to but she won’t actually cause any trouble, unlike Anakin and Qui Gon - only plays when she’s in the mood, doesn’t go quite as crazy as Anakin does, but she can get quite into playtime - she soft and elegant but has the potential to be sharp and pointy

Ahsoka Tano  - the smallest of the cats, a bright ginger tabby cat with a white tummy and white paws, bright green eyes - she’s also the youngest of the cats, still has a vague kitten look about her - highly energetic and literally will not stop moving, constantly goes outside, often with Anakin - will let most people pet her, but only if she’s in the mood to be petted - do not underestimate this tiny kit, she may be inexperienced but she can and will fuck you up… although on occasion she does have to be rescued by Anakin or Qui Gon - Ahsoka: gets into a fight with Palpatine’s cats and takes on more than she can handle Qui Gon: feels his dad cat sense tingling and goes to rescue her, must protecc the smol at all costs - is the same as Anakin when it comes to territory, and will do the same shit as him if she sees any unwelcome cats in the back garden, except she’ll also claw at the window - very impatient with everything *insert let me in meme here* - she breaks shit, but most of the time it is actually accidental, she very rarely causes destruction on purpose - if taken on one of Obi Wan’s missions she’ll try her best to be behaved but she just can’t help but get into trouble - has a lot of respect for Obi Wan and the other cats, but much like Anakin she can’t help but not follow the rules sometimes - fuckin’ LOVES to be played with, she’s down for that shit anytime and will often enter the Silly Zone - has a loud and high pitched meow, will make noises frequently, so much so that Obi Wan sometimes just has to put his face in his hands and focus on drowning her constant meowing out - she must ZOOM at 3am most nights and will not stop until she has no more energy left - a very sharp and pointy smol that is not to be underestimated

#I spent a lot of time on this #and it's probably only going to get like 2 notes #like all of my bullshit long posts do #I hope y'all enjoy it though #star wars #sw #star wars prequels #sw prequels #clone wars #sw clone wars #star wars clone wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #qui gon jinn #padme amidala #ahsoka tano #beef speaks #beef writes #jedi cats au

[ily-rly]

yknow this whole thing with the possibility of kylo ren’s future redemption(???) being compared to vader’s redemption in rotj has been bugging me lately so i’m just gonna say what’s on my mind

first off i should clarify that i don’t think there’s any place for a kylo ren redemption arc in the sequel trilogy. from a narrative perspective i think it undermines some of the most fundamental reasons why he is such a fitting villain for a modern generation of star wars fans, and to give him a redemption arc in the last film would weaken a narrative that already can’t seem to decide if he’s an irredeemable monster to be defeated or the most compelling and important and special person in the galaxy (don’t @ me and thanks rian). i also think that culturally we have no use for audiences being shown another angry and violent and dangerous and powerful white MAN (because he is a MAN and not the CHILD that certain people seem to want us to view him as) who ISNT ALL BAD WE PROMISE. it’s just tired and useless and not what we’ve ever needed and definitely not what we need right now.

NOW, that having been SAID

the most common argument for a kylo rendemption i’ve seen is that star wars is “about redemption”, and kylo’s idol darth vader is near-ubiquitously cited as the prime example of this. but, people say, while kylo has committed murder and patricide and genocide, tortures people, invades their minds, actively works to uphold a fascist empire, etc., ANAKIN HAS DONE THE SAME IF NOT WORSE AND HE GOT A REDEMPTION ARC and if HE got a redemption arc WHY SHOULDNT KYLE RIGHT

it should be obvious by now that i heavily disagree with this notion but a lot of the rhetoric i’ve seen in this arena really doesn’t do much for me. there are a lot of posts out there with this big focus on finding the differences between vader and kylo—the one i’m thinking of is all about how star wars is “about choices”, and i can not find it right now, but a lot of the distinctions in it don’t make a lot of sense to me. i don’t think reframing the themes of the series to show how anakin made one right choice when it counted while kylo made bad choices over and over is very effective because at the end of the day, the fact of the matter is that their actions are really comparable and no matter what vader “chose” in rotj he was still pretty reprehensible.

don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of solid differences between anakin and kylo you can point to (chief and most effective among them i think being that anakin grew up a slave who was traumatized by the murder of his mother and then emotionally stunted by the jedi order when he was kept from dealing with his trauma in a healthy way, which as we know twisted him into a complete monster; while kylo grew up free with a family that was not only loving but a group of the most famous, powerful, influential people in the entire galaxy, and was living a life of tremendous privilege and potential before he decided to murder his uncle and mentor (which we all know he failed at but also fully intended to do on more than one occasion), his schoolmates, and his father and use his power to become a space nazi, terrorizing and murdering and subjugating countless innocent people and aiding in the destruction of multiple planets just like vader had)—

—and there are a lot of good narrative reasons why anakin‘ arc differs from kylo’s (namely that kylo’s redemption tease in tlj has a lot of problems in part because it necessitates rey acting almost unrecognizably out of character and making a complete 180 from kylo being an irredeemable monster whom she has bested in single combat to kylo being a fundamentally good person who was also the ONLY PERSON POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SAVE THE RESISTANCE for some reason, and how even though both arcs technically involve an abused person being burdened with the effort of redeeming their abuser the gender dynamic going on in kylo’s arc and the deeply fucked up tropes it evokes makes it 100x grosser and more unacceptable)—

—but to me, these distinctions still don’t do a great job of justifying why anakin should have a redemption arc and kylo shouldn’t. their atrocities are similar and, i think, similarly irredeemable, regardless of how rough anakin had it.

while a lot of people feel like they can only resolve this similarity by affording to kylo the redemption afforded to vader, i kinda approach it from the other end??

namely, i think that looking at star wars in the modern era, in its totality, vader probably shouldn’t have gotten a redemption arc either.

i’m surprised more people don’t consider this, but i feel like the redemption discrepancy is actually pretty simple when you look at it from a practical standpoint. the prequel trilogy was just a twinkle in george lucas’s beady little eye when rotj came out. audiences saw vader being redeemed long before it was even established that we saw anakin—who, as we DIDN’T SEE UNTIL THE PREQUELS, was ALSO AN ANGRY WHITE MANCHILD at the time—commit genocide against the sandpeople, execute innocent children, choke his pregnant wife, try to murder his best friend, and usher in the rule of a fascist space nazi empire, etc.

star wars was written out of order. if it had come out in order, and we had been shown vader’s redemption IN LIGHT OF all the shit we’d seen anakin do, do you think we would have accepted it as easily as we do now? i definitely would have found anakin’s redemption just as unnecessary and unacceptable as i find the possibility of kylo’s.

i think people let anakin’s redemption slide because the story of star wars was a lot less morally complicated and a lot less scrutinized, and the real implications of vader’s crimes had yet to be really explored, when the movie first came out. that’s fair, to me. but does that redemption age well? does it work in the modern context of how we view star wars?

i really don’t think it does, and i also think that bending over backwards to try and reconcile that heavily undermines some really good, rational, and justified criticisms of how the villains of star wars are being handled right now.

#this turned out way longer than i thought it would be #star wars spoilers #tlj spoilers #spoilers #star wars tlj #star wars tlj spoilers #the last jedi #the last jedi spoilers #star wars the last jedi spoilers #anakin skywalker #darth vader #kylo ren #return of the jedi #revenge of the sith #star wars #rian johnson #rey #ben solo #the force awakens