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dokoni-mo · 4 years

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Back Again, Together || Darth Vader x Reader (Chapter 4)

(A/N: have i mentioned how much I love my space husband,,, cuz writing this is only making me love him more and more,,, sorry about how long this took to come out with!! I am proud of the results tho :)) as always, tags open, inbox open, and important links below. enjoy!!!)

Masterlist Link (link to the first part of this series) : [x]

Chapter One : [x]

Chapter Two : [x]

Chapter Three : [x]

WARNINGS: cursing, anger, crowdspeaking, some angst, indirect mentions of death, some fluff, some slight nsfw elements, otherwise none!

Key: (F/N) = first name, (L/N) = last name

Word Count: ~5700

~~~

To say that you and him turned heads was an understatement would have been a lie.

You and Vader turned everyone's head.

In fact, a large amount of the people had gathered around about 100 feet away from your landing site just to get a glimpse of the two of you. It was kind of awkward to have so many eyes on you, but you tried to pay them no mind. Even so, the feeling of their gazes upon you made your skin crawl.

You could only imagine how Vader must have felt. Surely people were staring at him far more than they were staring at you.

Rey had helped you unload your bags off of the millennium falcon and transfer them into a small cargo speeder, manned by a Twi'lek girl and a Rhodian male. Even if they were a good distance away from Vader, you noticed how they were practically shaking in their boots at the sight of him. And when you offered them a handshake to show your thanks, they practically ran away from you, making you look kind of dumb with your empty hand outstretched in front of you and your lips parted.

Even though you understood why they would be scared, it still stung. It even made you a little sad. You didn’t want them to be scared of you or him. You both were just here to help…

There was no reason to be scared.

Vee must have sensed your disheartment since he quickly walked over to you, his much taller figure dwarfing your own. Feeling his hand on your shoulder, you turned to look up at him, offering him a small smile.

You didn’t need to say anything to him. The two of you had been together for a long enough time to just be able to read one another.

It was a blessing.

Once Rey was done talking to a few other rebels, she made her way over to the two of you with BB-8 at her heels, her presence grabbing your attention.

“I’m sorry about the crowd,” she said, “I… I wasn’t quite expecting this.”

“It's fine.” you said, crossing your arms over your chest, “I kinds thought something like this would happen…”

A moment of awkward silence falling between the three of you, your gaze dropped to the crowd over yonder. You could see a handful of the other rebels whispering amongst themselves at the sight of you and Vader.

It made your lips tighten into a firm line. It reminded you of long, long ago, back on the Super Star Destroyer....

Memories.

The sound of your love’s voice beside you pulled you back to reality, the bass in his voice comforting you as he spoke.

“I sense their fear.” he said, his head tilting as he spoke to Rey, “Do they know of our purpose here?”

You noticed how Rey didn’t stiffen as much as she responded to your love. She must be getting more comfortable…

It made you smile. Rey was a lovely girl.

“Erm, not exactly.” she said, “They knew you were coming, but they don’t know why yet. But, don’t worry, they’ll know eventually.”

Rey smiled softly at the both of you, making a pause in the middle of her speech.

“There’s a few people who wanted to see you first.”

You raised your eyebrows in confusion and looked up at Vee, earning a look from him back. After seeing Rey leave with BB-8 in your peripheral, your attention was turned to the parting sea of rebels. Out of the two halves of people came something that you were not at all expecting.

A R2 series astromech painted blue and white wheeling itself full speed at the two of you.

You were perplexed and looked up at Vader again. You noticed how his gaze was focused on the droid, unwavering and unmoving.

You didn’t need to force to read him.

He was in awe. It was as if he was seeing a ghost, or some kind of dream.

A small smile painted your lips as you spoke.

“Do you recognize that droid, dear?”

It took him a moment to respond.

“Yes… I do.”

The droid eventually was able to wheel itself up to the pair of you, it's wheels skirting to a stop before the pair of you. The blue droid beeped happily and excitedly as it rocked itself back and forth, earning a giggle from you. Looking down at the droid, you watched as Vader leaned down in front of the droid, placing one of his large, gloved hands upon its surface.

You felt like crying, but wasn’t sure why.

The way Vader was so gentle with this droid…

The way he looked at it like it was but a dream…

You could tell he was overjoyed to see this old, old droid again.

After another long flurry of beeps from the droid, you heard your love speak, a hint of wonder in his deep voice.

“I missed you as well, R2.”

R2. You’ve heard that name before. Your lips parted as the realization hit you like a ton of bricks.

Vader had told you long ago of the stories of how he fought in the Clone Wars, of how he was the best pilot in the galaxy…

And how he wouldn’t have been able to reach that status without the help of one trust astromech.

You couldn’t hold back the smile on your face.

Another flurry of beeps coming out of the droid, you watched as it swiveled it's head to face you, making you stiffen in surprise a bit.

In response to R2, Vader returned to his standing position and placed a large hand on the small of your back, presenting you proudly to the droid before the pair of you.

“This is (F/N), R2. She is my love.”

Smiling down at the droid, you knelt in front of it to get closer to it’s height, placing one of your soft, gentle hands upon its body.

“It’s nice to meet you, R2-D2. I’ve heard a lot about you.” you said.

Another string of happy beeps coming out of the droid, you stood back up to your original position. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw what appeared to be a human shuffle quickly over to you, your love, and R2. Upon picking your gaze up and giving the figure a further inspection, you noticed how the outside of it was almost completely gold.

Another droid.

You were thankful this one spoke basic, however. No matter how many droids you repaired, you could never quite get how to understand them.

“Oh, I am so terribly sorry about my friend here.” the droid said, referring to R2-D2, “I just simply could not get him to slow down.”

You opened your mouth to say something, but the droid cut you off, beginning to go on a long tangent of nagging R2. Getting lost in his rambles, you looked up to Vee, noticing how his attention was on the golden droid.

You felt that he remembered this other droid. Perhaps this one was more deep-rooted in his memory, but you weren’t sure.

But, you were sure that you were glad that Vee eventually cut the droid off from it's babbles.

“It is good to see you too, Threepio.” your love rumbled.

Threepio…

This must be the droid that Vee had made when he was a boy…

To help his mom.

...

You wondered if Vader saw his mother when he looked at Threepio.

Despite the droid having no facial movement capabilities, it looked quite surprised that your love could call him by name and was glad to see him.

“Oh, my, erm, it’s… thank you, erm, Lord Vader.” Threepio responded.

You noticed how your love’s fingers twitched at how C-3P0 addressed him. He must not recognize Vader, or remember who he once was…

You wondered if you could change that.

The droid turning its attention to you, you were snapped out of your pondering trance.

“Oh, how rude of me. Hello ma’am, I am C-3P0, Human-Cyborg Relations.” the droid said, gesturing with it's stiff arms, “And who might you be?”

“O-Oh, I’m-” you began to say, but were immediately cut off by a somewhat familiar voice.

“That’s (F/N), Threepio. I told you she was coming with him today.”

A shiver ran down you back at the voice. You recognized it, but it was still somewhat fuzzy to you. Looking up to find the source, your lips parted in shock as you saw who it was.

She was a much older woman now, but still oh so vibrant and strong. Her hair was pulled back in an intricate yet simple braid, and her lips were in a small smile as he gazed at you and your love, her dark eyes crinkled in delight. Her dress flowed with her beautifully, and her overcoat just wrapped her up in a strong package.

You couldn’t believe your eyes.

You thought you would never see her again, especially after Endor…

Leia.

You felt like crying again, but quickly decided against it when you heard your love’s voice again. It was much quieter than his usual tone, and laced with something you couldn’t quite place. But, all the same, it filled you with raw, utter joy.

“Leia…” was all he said, the face of his mask pointed strictly at her.

Stepping forward a few more steps, Leia had to look up a great deal to match her father’s gaze, the small smile still held firmly on her wrinkled yet beautiful face.

“I’m glad to see you too, Dad.” she said, her tone sincere.

You could tell Vader was besides himself.

You could tell that he was utterly speechless.

You could tell that he was trying to be as gentle as possible as he rested one of his gloved hands on Leia’s shoulder.

You could tell that he was trying to be impossibly gentle as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

You felt like crying again as you watched Leia accept the hug, closing her eyes as she hugged her father back.

But, all you could do was smile.

“Leia, I am…” you heard your love begin to say, his voice somewhat strained in his respirator, “I owe you my deepest apologies.”

“It’s alright,” Leia said as she pulled away from the hug, shooting up a strong, understanding look at Vader, “You’re here now. That’s all I wanted from you. What happened before can stay in the past. It’s all about what happens today.”

You didn’t think that truer words had ever been spoken.

It made you want to cry again.

Giving her father one more soft smile, Leia turned her attention to you. Her smile was quite contagious; it made one appear on your face almost immediately as she started to speak.

“I’m glad you decided to come too.” She said in a teasing tone.

“Hey, someone had to make sure he doesn’t fall off the wagon.” You joked, nodding your head up to Vader.

Leia’s smile broadened, “You really haven’t aged a day.” she said, referring to your youthful appearance.

Rey had pointed it out originally, but now that Leia had done so as well, you knew it wasn’t just some prank. You really didn’t look as if you had aged one single day since Endor. You looked exactly the same…

If this was the will of the force, you were all for it.

“Some time away from politics does good for your health.” You joked, earning a chuckle from Leia.

The princess then stepped forward with a soft smile, pulling you into a tight embrace of which you happily reciprocated.

“It’s good to see you, (F/N).” she said.

“It’s good to see you too, Leia.” you responded.

After a brief moment, Leia pulled away again, looking from you to her father and the two droids as she spoke.

“It’s best if we don’t keep the other’s waiting,” she said, gesturing back to the crowd of on-lookers several hundred feet behind her, “I told them not to stare but can’t order them all I guess. Come on, let’s get you settled in.”

Watching as Leia turned and walked to one of the buildings in the distance, you looked up at your love, a smile on your face as you searched his mask.

“So far not so bad.” you teased, opening your palm face up to him, offering for him to place his own inside.

Taking your much smaller hand into his, you felt your heart swell.

You were glad he wasn’t ashamed to be sweet to you around other people.

Perhaps it was because he knew no matter what he did, these people would be far too scared of him to do anything.

Perhaps it was because Leia told them about you and him.

Perhaps it was luck.

You didn’t care.

You were just glad you were able to hold his hand.

For if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have had the courage to follow behind Leia.

~~~

The meeting room that Leia took you and your love to was filled to the brim with rebels.

The only clear space in the entire room was a circle around you, Vader, and Leia, with Leia standing in front of the two of you. There was a table before her, and the soft blue light of it's map illuminated her face as well as yours, Vader’s mask, and the other faces of the other rebels. Rey was on the opposite side of the room from you, and she looked the least frightened out of all the rest. BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3P0 were nearby her, and listened intently with only a few curious beeps. The tension in the air was thick, and you could tell everyone was on edge.

Hell, some of these poor kids looked like they were about to shit their pants.

Poor souls.

You felt nervous and squeezed your love’s hand. Sensing your feelings, he squeezed yours right back, doing little to comfort you as Leia began to address her army.

“I’m sure all of you know who these two are by now,” she said, gesturing her hand behind her to you and Vader, “And I know neither of them need an introduction. But, I can tell a lot of you are scared, and I understand. But I can assure you both of them are on our side. They have agreed to help us in Luke’s place, and I believe that they can be the push we need to win this war.”

Leia paused her speech to look back at you, making your eyes widen and your nerves fire off.

“Would you like to say anything?”

You felt your lips part in compilation. You did want to say something, but you weren’t sure if it was such a good idea. What if you said the wrong thing? Everyone would just hate you, more importantly him, more than they already did. You briefly thought that he should say something, but quickly decided against it. No matter what he said, they would take it the wrong way.

Your gaze dropping, you remembered what Rey had said to you before.

You’re a bit of a legend around the Resistance.

You swallowed and looked up again to Leia, giving her a firm nod.

If you were a legend, you hoped it was for good reasons.

Giving Vee’s hand one last squeeze, you stepped forward, replacing Leia where she stood at the front of the table. Clearing your throat, you dropped your gaze briefly to contemplate what you should say.

You were so scared.

One wrong move, and both you and him were done for.

Glancing back over your shoulder, you looked to your love.

His gaze locking onto your eyes, he gave you a firm nod, placing his large hands on his belt.

He didn’t need to speak for you to know what he meant.

I believe in you, (F/N).

Giving him a small smile, you turned your attention back to the rebels. Their eyes were like spotlights, and it made you take a deep breath, your eyes closed as you searched for your confidence.

Quickly finding it, you opened your eyes again, looking directly at the rebels with a firm gaze.

You were ready.

You had to be ready.

For your home.

For him.

“I, umm,” you began, “I just want to thank all of you for having us here. Especially Leia. I…”

Your gaze dropped briefly as you searched for how to phrase what you wanted to say.

“I, umm,” you continued, “I-I know that you all must be scared. I know that you all must be really frightened. But, I can assure you that none of you have to be scared. Me and Vader are here for the same reason all of you are. To stop Emperor Palpatine, and to end the First Order. I know it may be hard to believe, but both me and him were victims to that man just as much as your ancestors were.”

You let out a chuckle as you continued, “Hell, we are your ancestors, based on our age. But, with that being said, the force has kept us alive for a reason. And… we believe this is the reason. To fight with all of you.”

You felt a smile creep onto your face, “So, please, don’t be frightened. We’re here to stand with you, not against you.”

You were relieved when you saw a vast majority of the rebels relax, and even more relieved when some of them began to cheer and clap. A wash of pride coming over you, you looked back to Vee with a large grin on your face, watching him give you another nod of approval.

The ice was broken and the tension was cut.

You did it.

Or, at least you thought you did.

Of course, there were still a few who held onto the tension.

Stubborn assholes.

One short-haired girl was one of these few, and made it a point to convey to you as such.

“How can we trust you?” she asked, her voice loud enough to quiet down the other rebels.

Turning your attention to the girl, you felt your smile fade.

Oh no.

With no response from you, the short-haired girl continued on, her voice laced with her fear.

“W-With all due respects, ma’am, I just… We’ve all heard the stories of… the Empire. We all know them. How do you expect us to trust you aren’t trying to sabotage us? That you aren’t with the First Order? With Palpatine?”

A curious murmur fell over some of the rebels.

You felt your breath hitch and palms start to sweat.

This wouldn’t do.

You couldn’t risk the rebels dividing themselves because of you and him.

You had to act.

“I promise you that we are not with the First Order nor Emperor Palpatine.” you said, your tone firm, “We didn’t even know about the First Order or Palpatine’s return until recently. If you don’t trust me, then ask Miss Rey or Leia. Surely their judgements would mean more to you.”

The short haired girl swallowed before talking again. It made your nerves fire off.

Keep calm.

“I do trust them, ma’am, it’s just…”

“There’s no reason to be scared, miss.” You said, your tone sympathetic.

The girl stiffened.

You felt your jaw clench.

“It’s… It’s not you who we’re scared of, ma’am. It's not you we don’t trust…”

Silence.

Utter, raw, silence.

Your brow was furrowed in confusion, but you were quick to relax it as the realization set in.

If she didn’t mean you, then…

She meant him.

How…

Dare she.

You felt your fist clench as your blood began to boil. You had to stiffen your jaw to hold back your words.

How dare she think so little of your love.

He wasn’t the monster everyone made him out to be.

Why couldn’t they see that?

It made you so…

Angry.

And her words must have hurt Vee to some degree…

How dare she.

He was a person too.

He has feelings and a heart too.

How dare she think otherwise.

You opened your mouth to say something, but were quickly cut off by a familiar hand on your shoulder. Shooting your gaze up to its source, you were met with the familiar sight of the mask of your love.

You felt all your anger fade away as you looked into the eyes of his mask, your muscles loosening.

Reflecting back, you almost felt bad for getting angry.

It was hard for you to remember what Vader had done while in the Empire sometimes....

A renewed sense of calm, you took a deep breath with your eyes closed. Opening your eyes again, you addressed the girl with a firm yet gentle tone.

“Look, I know my husband has done some… unforgivable things, but so have all of us. We all make mistakes because we’re people, and so is he. And what do we want most when we do something unforgivable? A second chance.”

Cue another murmur from the rebels.

“I know that some of you won’t like us regardless, but please just try to give him a chance to prove himself. We’re all here for the same reason, and this doesn’t exclude anyone in this room. I’m not asking for you to forgive my husband’s actions. I’m asking you to see him for who he is now.”

You paused for a moment, reaching down and intertwining your fingers with Vader’s.

“There’s a reason I fell in love with him. It wasn’t based on fear or intimidation. It was because I was able to see the person he truly was. The person behind the mask, behind the shackles of the Empire. I hope all of you can do the same.”

A long moment of silence hung over the air.

You felt a lump starting to form in your throat.

Did you say too much? Did you not say the right thing?

You were scared you pushed the rebels away further.

Did you?

You were met with your answer with a statement from a caramel-skinned man, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

“We’re honored to have you here ma’am. Both of you. Welcome to the Resistance.”

You couldn’t hide your smile at the sound of the rebel’s cheers, as well as the feeling of Vader’s thumb rubbing the back of your knuckles.

~~~

You didn’t realize just how long that meeting was until you stepped out of that room.

It was now nighttime on Ajan Kloss, and a cool breeze enveloped the rebel base. The wind made your hair flutter, as well as the fabric of your love’s cape.

You were exhausted. You wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and go to sleep for the rest of time. Leia had assigned a young twi'lek boy to lead you and Vader to your quarters, and you were following him hand-in-hand with Vader, eager to put on your pajamas and go to sleep.

However, someone else had other plans for you.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” you heard a voice call from behind you.

You assumed it wasn’t for you and continued on.

Padding along peacefully, you weren’t expecting to feel the feeling of a foreign hand on your shoulder, stopping you in your tracks. Turning to face it’s owner, you were met with a somewhat familiar face staring back at you.

It was the caramel-skinned man from before, and his dark eyes were boring right into your soul.

“Yeah?” you asked the man, trying your best not to sound as tired as you felt.

“I’m sorry to bother you so late ma’am, but could I speak to you real fast? I promise it’ll only take a moment.” the man said.

You felt your lips part. You really didn’t want to talk to him, but he just looked so…

Hopeful.

You decided you would hear him out.

Turning to your lover, you noticed how he was staring expectedly at you, waiting for you to come along to bed with him.

He looked so peeved. You shot him a small smile.

“Go ahead of me, Vee,” you said, “I’ll be there in a moment.”

Even though he was still peeved, Vader gave you a firm nod before turning and continuing to follow the escort.

Watching him go for a moment, you eventually turned back to the man who had stopped you, crossing your arms over your chest.

“What’s on your mind?” you asked him, a small, friendly smile on your face.

“Thank you for stopping,” he said, holding out his hand for you to shake, “I’m Poe. Poe Dameron. It’s… It’s very nice to finally meet you, ma’am.”

Eyeing his hand for a moment, you gingerly clasped your hand around Poe’s, giving it a firm shake.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Poe Dameron.” you responded, “Please, call me (F/N). I… I should be thanking you for earlier. I really thought I had lost everyone back there.”

“No, I should be thanking you.” Poe retorted, a small smile on his handsome face.

“Thanking me?” you chuckled, “Why?”

Poe’s gaze dropped for a moment as he licked his bottom lip, “Y-You see, my boyfriend… He used to be a stormtrooper for the First Order. A lot of people didn’t trust him at first because of it, so I really related to what you said about your husband back there. It just… It just means a lot, to see someone sticking up for their person like that. So, thanks. Thank you, ma’am. Thank you so much for being here, and um… yeah.”

You felt your eyes soften at the man before you. What you said really must have touched him, and you felt grateful for that.

Hell, you were grateful that someone could relate to you, even just a little bit.

You smiled, “Don’t mention it. You’re a good guy, Poe. Your boyfriend is a lucky man.”

Poe gave you a smile in return, mumbling out a quiet thanks.

Giving Poe one last look, you began to turn on your heel to leave.

“I’ll see you around then, P-”

“W-Wait.”

You were a bit surprised that Poe wasn’t done with you, but turned back to face him anyway, re-crossing your arms across your chest.

“I have..” Poe began, “I’m… I’m curious about something.”

Curious? You definitely weren’t expecting that.

“Yeah?” you said.

“How do you, um…” Poe stammered out, shifting his weight and rubbing his chin nervously.

You raised a brow, “How do I what?”

“How do, umm… how do you and, um, him, um…”

You raised your brow higher, “Go on…”

“Y-You know.” he stammered out, “How do you, umm…”

Poe lifted up both of his hands. You watched confusedly as he formed one of his hands into an O, and fixed the other so that just his pointer finger was extended. Your brow furrowed deeper as he made eye contact with you, sticking his pointer finger through the O with a sheepish look on his face.

Both of your eyebrows raised as you connected the dots.

You were…

Flabbergasted.

Should you have been offended? Maybe.

You just found the situation far too funny and Poe far too cute to be mad.

You shifted your weight in amusement, a goofy smile enveloping your features.

“You're asking me how me and my husband make love?” you finished for him, a giggle rising in your throat.

You noticed how Poe’s cheeks stained pink.

“I-I mean, it’s just that I know he’s mostly metal a-and injured and can’t come out of the suit and I just-”

Your giggle cut off Poe’s babbles.

This was just too darn cute to be mad at.

You smiled broadly at him, “Well, let’s just say…”

Your gaze dropped momentarily as you thought of what to say.

A smile on our face, you looked Poe dead in the eyes as you continued.

“I’ve made a lot of prosthetics in my lifetime.”

You held back another laugh as you saw Poe’s face fall. Reaching out to him, you gave him a firm pat on the shoulder before you left.

“Stay strong out there, Poe Dameron.” you finished, walking off with a smile on your face.

Poe had a little trouble falling asleep that night.

~~~

Upon your entrance to your quarters, you were relieved to see three things as you kicked off your boots: a meditation pod, a bacta tank, and him.

You could tell that he was waiting quite impatiently for you, since he was watching the door intently from his seated position upon the bed, his cape scraping the floor.

You hadn’t even left for that long, and he made it seem like you were gone for years.

You loved him so much.

A smile on your face, you walked over to him and planted a quick kiss upon his armored head.

“Hey Vee.” you said, walking over to the end of the bed, opening the luggage the escort had helped you bring in.

“What did that boy wish to converse with you about, darling?” Vader asked you, the face of his mask pointed at you.

You giggled at his word choice, “That boy just wanted to meet me officially, dear.”

A half lie, but you didn’t want to explain how you might have traumatized Poe to your love. As much as you loved Vader, he was never really one for jokes.

You heard a grumble come from your lover as you pulled out your pajamas from your bags, making you giggle again.

“Don’t tell me you're jealous, Vee.” you teased, pulling your shirt up over your head.

He scoffed, “I do not get jealous.”

“Sure you don’t.” you teased again, kicking off your pants and socks.

Now in nothing but your underwear, you began to pull your pajamas onto your body, noticing in your peripheral how intently Vee was gazing upon you.

You decided you wouldn’t let him get away with it.

“You’re staring, love.” you again teased, pulling your pajama shirt over your head and onto your torso.

“I am aware.”

Breathing out a giggle, you passed your feet over to the full-length mirror whilst pulling your pajama shorts up your legs, stopping a few feet in front of it. Staring at your reflection, you began to comb through your hair with your fingers, feeling the pressure of the day slowly starting to come off of you.

After a long bout of silence, you heard the bed creak from across the room, signaling that your love had stood up. Continuing to gaze at your reflection, you heard the familiar sound of Vader’s bootsteps draw closer to you, making a small smile appear on your face. Seeing him in the mirror, you watched as Vader slowly wrapped his strong arms around your waist from behind, pulling you close to his large chest. Your small smile broadening, you rested your arms on top of your love’s, looking at him with soft eyes in the mirror.

The sound of his respirator so close to you, you felt all your residual stress slowly start to fade away into nothing. You were so, so soothed by Vader…

You hoped you were the same for him.

He was the one to break the silence between the two of you.

“Do you see how beautiful you are, my dear?” His deep voice asked you, the face of his mask pointed at the reflection of your own in the mirror.

You breathed out a smile, “Only if you see how handsome you are, Vee.”

A rumble of pleasure was all you got from him.

That was all you needed.

You felt his arms move so that his large, leather-wrapped hands were firmly around your sides, his thumbs rubbing small circles into the fabric of your shirt.

You hoped he didn’t notice the blush on your cheeks.

Even after all these years, he still made you feel like a little love-struck schoolgirl at times.

“Darling.” he said.

“Yes, love?” you asked.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?”

Your brow furrowed slightly. You said a lot of things earlier…

“About what, dear?” you asked again, requesting that he elaborated.

“Earlier, you referred to me as your husband. Do you really see me as such?”

Your lips parted in surprise. Shifting yourself in Vader’s grasp, you turned yourself such that you were facing him, your hands draped against the large expanse of his chest.

“Of course I do, Vee.” you said quietly but surely, “Of course I do. Do you not see me as your wife?”

“I do.” he responded quickly, reaching up one of his hands to smooth your hair then cradle your cheek, “I was not certain you saw me as such.”

“Ani, we’ve been together for decades.” you said, leaning into his touch, “I think it’s safe to say we’re not just dating anymore.”

Another rumble from him. His version of a laugh, you assumed.

“I know we were never officially married…” you began, your gaze dropping briefly as you traced circles onto his chest, “And it may be too late now, but maybe it would be nice to do so sometime, like, after all of this is over... “

You shrugged, “Just a thought.”

He pushed a lock of your hair out of your face.

Maker above, you were the most beautiful, angelic person Vader had ever seen.

There was not one single doubt in his mind that he didn’t love you.

He loved you more than anyone or anything in the entire history of the galaxy.

“Perhaps that would be nice.” he rumbled out, returning his hand to your cheek.

You smiled warmly up at him, your eyes twinkling in the dim light of the quarters.

You loved him.

You loved him so, so much.

Your husband…

You couldn’t have asked the galaxy to give you someone better.

Leaning up on your tip-toes, you pressed a soft kiss to the mouthpiece of his mask, feeling his grip on your sides tighten.

Your small frame bounced as you returned to your normal standing position.

“Perhaps it would.”

~~~

TAGS: @spaghetti-666 , @soullesstaco , @arsonistvoyager , @robin-obsessed , @glitter-rian , @captainrexstan , @easterncryptid , @deviatedwinter , @roseangel013bf @danicalifxrnia , @dartheldur , @finest-trashbag , @yeah-boiiiiiiiiiii , @elongatedmusk-rat , @shads121 , @muffinbeliever , @sakuramadae , @padme-parker @khapikat222 , @the-official-memester , @rens-angel , @obiwankenobiness , @yvette1703 , @missmannequin , @breakfastpizzagalaxy , @scarletsinsandsnowwithetragedies , @clearnostolgia , @ahs0ka-skywalker

#darth vader #darth vader x reader #anakin x you #anakin skywalker #anakin x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #star wars #star wars x reader #star wars x you #star wars fanfiction #star wars fanfic

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odilekuronuma · 7 years

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Magi: What went wrong?

This is in the same vein as the Berserk post, but you’ll find that it differs wildly from it, since

A- the problems that Magi is facing are totally different from Berserk’s.

and spoiler alert

B- Berserk is still good. Whereas Magi isn’t.

No use beating around the bush. The quality of storytelling in the main manga at least has declined dramatically, to the point that i really don’t see the point in reading it anymore, not even for closure. It really feels like Ohtaka doesn’t try anymore, that she completely dropped the ball.

And I will try to give a justification to this claim. And as usual I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible.Also this might very well be my last Magi related post, because as I just said I don’t plan on catching up anymore, I really don’t care about the ending, which saddens me of course since I devoted a large amount of my time discussing it on various sites ad nauseum.

So if you came here because of Magi then I really am sorry, but I’ll try to make this one worthwhile.

In order to figure out what went wrong, we have to ask ourselves what are the strengths of Magi. Magi’s strengths as a somewhat unconventional shounen were: the sense of adventure, the comedy, the politics, the plot which mostly made sense and of course the characterization.So let’s go over each one.

I- The adventure

The first 100 chapters of Magi were filled with adventure, which in Magi comes mainly in the form of dungeon diving. Even if the action scenes themselves aren’t perfect, and in general they’re not Ohtaka’s forte, it still is that the adventure was one of the main components of what made Magi so appealing. But quickly we saw Ohtaka moving away from that, and even the World exploration arc couldn’t save the sense of adventure, since dungeon diving was no longer a thing. Furthermore it managed to divide the main cast, and as such a good chunck of the interactions between them were lost, and back then a lot of focus was devoted to Magnostadt, so it doesn’t feel like the attention was divided equally between Aladdin, Alibaba and Mor.

Why is adventure so important? Well it is after all a shounen manga, many of them feature some sense of adventure, with series like OP being the prime example of that. And it’s not like Ohtaka simply ran out of ideas for adventure, she could have had any other real dungeon (Belial isn’t the norm for dungeons) or she could have explored some of the nations that were only mentioned briefly in the manga or the artbook, but nope. And I can attribute it partially to the fact that she got too focused on the politics.

II- The comedy

Not every shounen has to feature comedy, but most if not all of them do. Magi’s comedy was one of my favourites, but I do realize that it can be rather personal, and not two people will find the same joke funny. Nevertheless the comedy serves mostly to lighten the mood, which is very important when you’re having arcs after arcs of very dramatic stuff.

Sadly while the first 100 chapters featured a good deal of it, the tone got much more serious, and a lot of the comedy was lost through the arcs starting from Magnostadt. And in recent years, at least in the main manga,the jokes all came at Alibaba’s expenses, and the running joke about him not having a girlfriend became old quickly.

But some might not find it necessary to have comedy at all in their manga, especially Japanese humour which isn’t always appreciated by everyone, to which I say it really is missing the point. The point is not to just feature random jokes, it’s more about finding the right tempo and the balance between serious and non serious moments. Once you do that you’ll find it’s easier to keep the readers interested.

III- The politics

Ah the meat of this whole post. The politics. Usually I see them as Magi’s forte, Magi is unconventional because of it, because you’ll find that everywhere else Ohtaka does follow the shounen tropes, sometimes to the letter.

Magi is always regarded as different because of it, which sure is refreshing, because as it stands Magi isn’t so much about the fights, and more about the politics. And while Ohtaka has always had some degree of it ever since the beginning, there used to be more balance between the politics and the adventure and shouneny(is that even a word?) aspects.

But around halfway through the manga, the politics has started to overshadow everything else. The problem is not just the fact that the balance between action and politics was lost, but the fact that the politics themselves aren’t that good. A prime example of that is the Kou civil war and everything that lead to it.

More than just the politics not being good, it even doesn’t pay off. Case in point with the latest arc in Magi. Alibaba and co going to the Sacred Palace and trying to argue with Sinbad, only for the latter to be fucked over by David. And we go from a situation where politics seem to get somewhere, to straight shounen mindless fighting,wtf.Can’t get someone to agree with you? Fight them.It happened in the Kou Civil war, And that is literally what happened with Sinbad, but also now with David.

So the politics don’t seem to pay off, because of that it doesn’t seem to me it warrants having so much focus given to it.All of that discussion and bringing arguments and trying to convince someone, usually the villain, don’t seem to work. So why devote so much time to it, when apparently you can just beat someone senseless?

I’m fine with having some degree of politics, but it shouldn’t overshadow the rest, and considering it’s not even some clever politics, but sometimes it literally feels like someone just talking out of their ass (literally each time with Aladdin) then you’re simply alienating it.

IV- The plot

With each manga or any work really, the plot needs to be somewhat consistent. Meaning that each plot twist would have to be somewhat logical, but with Ohtaka it has been rather nonsensical especially as of late.

The plot seems to be all over the place, and that Ohtaka changes her mind all the time, as much as she’s changing underwear maybe. There are various instances of the plot having twists just for the sake of having them, and I think it all started with Alma Torran and the Arba twist. Even if we argue that it was ambiguous, the fact that David was never so much as hinted at, and yet have this much importance, pretty much came out of nowhere.Now an author can always create a character if he wants to, but the mere fact that David has pretty much manipulated everyone, and for the longest time Al Thamen were thought to be the villains yet turned out to be pawns, is nothing short of being mindboggling.

And his prophetic writing doesn’t help, it gave some exposition about certain plot points that weren’t even hinted at at that moment. Basically it feels like Ohtaka decided to make a new villain out of scratch, perhaps because Al Thamen’s motivation just doesn’t seem to have been that strong. Because even if we argue that they had some legitimate reason to be pissed at Solomon, it certainly doesn’t explain why they were dead set on destroying the new world. So their position there is less legitimate, and as such they come off as weak, cliche villains. And David is also as cliche as they can get.

And the last arc features a good amount of plot twists just for the kicks of it. Oh Sinbad is dead, nope he’s not. David became Sinbad’s bitch, nope it isn’t and David has been manipulating him all the time. See what I mean?

V- The characterization

While Magi offers a good deal of characters you can sympathize with, and they all have some colourful personalities, it really is that the characterization isn’t always top notch, especially in the last arc. I always had reservations about characters like Alibaba or Kouen, because for the former he seemed for the longest time to not have grown as much, and basically he did nothing. And the for the latter, just all around being a hypocrite who denied Hakuryuu, even though he himself didn’t want to be a king.The Alma Torran folks especially were pretty immature, so someone like Solomon really came off as a brat who thought he could fix things, but just made them worse. And while he realized his mistake, it was too late and we haven’t seen or heard of him much since, to really understand where he came from and what he learned from that experience.

And the prime example of the poor handling of the characterization is Sinbad himself. Yes, while it was predictable he’d want to make himself God at one point (and it’s not sure he succeeded) it still is that his visit to the Sacred Palace, and even before that saw his character being handled in the most horrible way. Instead of giving him more reasons to become God, and his experiences as a human having a bearing on the situation, Ohtaka simply chalked it up to him just being “greedy”. Even afterwards when he seems to have finally come to an understanding with Alibaba and co, he seems to side with David instead, out of the blue, just because they share the same fate? It looks like Sinbad can’t make up his mind, or even that he’s a jerk.

And let’s not even talk about the fact that he legitimately wanted to orchestrate a genocide, which if you read SnB would be very difficult to swallow, considering how Sinbad reacted to the villagers getting slaughtered on Barbarossa’s orders, and also how deeply he was touched by the destruction of Sindria 1.0 which is nothing short of being a genocide.

So yes the characterization has been especially disappointing.

Conclusion

So Magi’s main issues have to do with the story itself, the nonsensical characterization, and the fact that Ohtaka uses plot twists as often as possible to try to garner some interest, but it just feels like she’s going with whatever she likes atm, and changing her mind all the time.

Other issues pertain to the lack of balance between various aspects of the manga that made its appeal, or even scrapping them off completely. And I’m sure there’s other issues I haven’t talked about.

There is also too much focus on the pairings and the romance, which not only is divisive, but it just doesn’t seem to be happening at the right time-coughAlimorcough.While shounens aren’t exactly known for featuring romance, sometimes it just doesn’t seem warranted, and it is downright happening at the wrong time, which as I previously pointed out greatly divided the fandom. And trust me the last thing you’d want to see if a forum blowing up due to Alibaba and Mor getting together too early, or even hinting at the possibility of Aladdin and Kougyoku having something going on, which it did.

So based on all these facts, I’m tempted to say that Magi is NOT what it used to be, it is NOT in any way shape or form good, that Magi greatness we experienced in the first half of the manga is mostly gone. I can chalk it up to a few things, including the fact that Ohtaka could be pressured by her editor to change plot points which she has done in the past and is prolly still doing. But mainly I think Ohtaka simply gave up, and can’t wait to finish her story, which as you know might end prematurely, since I think she could have explored way more things since she hasn’t shown all of the countries in the NW or most of them. And with the possibility of parallel universes she could still have the story go on for longer than that, but instead the manga is ending.

And it sure feels like she has stopped trying overall. Of course this is my opinion and you might not agree with it, but that doesn’t invalidate it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my Magi posts so far, and I hope you can continue to read some of my posts even if they’re not Magi related.

#magi #ohtaka shinobu #what went wrong #analysis

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drink-n-watch · 5 years

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Genre : Supernatural thriller, suspense, action, drama

Movie: 1 hour, 1 min

Studio: Ufotable

Shiki is a girl who’s isolated but never alone. She keeps the outside world at arm’s length because they would never understand what’s happening inside. Shiki’s own world is complicated, violent, frightening… It runs in the familia. It’s better for people to keep their distance. Better for Shiki’s and better for them. She’s managed to stick to this principle all the way to prep school. But beautiful teenage girls tend to attract attention, and Kokutou is very eager to get to know her better. But the boy is kind and patient. He doesn’t pry. He’s particularly difficult to push away. Shiki’s world just got even more complicated. Meanwhile, a string of gruesome murders are happening in the real world. Will the two collide?

If you’ve read my review for the first Garden of Sinners movie, you know that I was drawn to it’s experimental production style. It was a bare bones storytelling experience that invested a lot in the mechanics of an animated narrative. I sort of film school nerded out over it. I didn’t go to film school… I mostly studied chemistry. Nerding out is pretty much my go to, as you can imagine.

off to a STRONG start!

The first movie of The Garden of Sinners struck a delicate balance (and one that did not work for most), by complementing an occasionally lack luster plot with very interesting animation narrative devices. As you can imagine, visuals and sound design become particularly important in that context. So how did the second movie stack up? That sort of depends on your preferences.

Let me get this out of the way right now. The Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: …and nothing heart. (Murder Speculation Part A) is in all things a much more conventional movie. Except for the title. That’s impressive. I didn’t even add on to it for my post because I ran out of space!

The designs have been cleaned up and are much closer to what we’ve come to expect from traditional anime. Well the designs in and of themselves stay pretty much the same. But the art style has removed all the extra artistic effects in favor of sharper, more detailed and vibrant images. It’s visibly prettier. Color still plays an important role but in a much more obvious way (scenes becoming bathed in mono color schemes or colors getting singled out and intensified).

see what I mean by pretty?

Basically, the production decision making this time around valued a visually attractive product. Even the animation, which is once more extremely slow and calm except for bursts of intense action, has been smoothed out creating a pleasurable watching experience. There’s a chase scene towards the end of the movie that is downright breathtaking (my header gif is just a little taste of it). There is no doubt that The Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: …and nothing heart. (Murder Speculation Part A) is an all around animation boost. Visual storytelling was traded for eye candy and it’s up to you to figure out if that’s a plus. Personally, I think it evens out.

By contrast, sound design was much more integrated to the plot. I don’t think anyone will be listening to the soundtrack on their way to work, but the playful use of music contrasting intense silences definitely added a lot to the story.

Maybe because the non verbal narrative was somewhat pared down, the story itself is much clearer and better defined this time around. Despite being the second movie, it is chronologically a prequel to the events of Thanatos. We are introduced to Shiki and Kokutou at the time of their first meeting while they are both still in school. The characters remain fairly mysterious but are considerably more fleshed out. You get a pretty good sense of exactly who everyone is and how they relate to each other, in a way that was not previously clear. The background plot of a serial killer on the loose is likewise much more defined and wraps you into the mystery.

wait who is this guy?

When I say the characters seem more three dimensional, I should really specify, the *main* characters. Of which there are only two: Kokutou and Shiki. Everyone else remains a barely there extra that might as well be a plot significant piece of the scenery.

Unfortunately, as the title implies The Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: …and nothing heart. (Murder Speculation Part A), this is only the first half of the story and many questions are left unanswered. Despite this, The Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: …and nothing heart. (Murder Speculation Part A) is less open ended than its predecessor and provides a more satisfying conclusion in my opinion. in fact, a lot of questions actually come about due to events of the first movie, rather than any plot holes in the current one.

It should be said that part B only resumes in the 7th movie, so the story was always meant to have a long interval between the two halves and was probably written with that in mind.

Random thought: Shiki wears all sorts of kimonos this time around. Still, exclusively kimonos for some reason.

wait…no school uniforms??? what is this???

In mind… Although I do miss the interesting directorial choices of the first movie, The Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: …and nothing heart. (Murder Speculation Part A)’s more accessible and fleshed out storyline offers plenty of incentive to watch this movie. It also offers a great mystery to sink your brain teeth into. I am now considerably more interested in seeing where the story goes!

Favorite character: Kokutou

What this anime taught me: the deafening silence of snow is the same the world over.

So who’s this Moderation guy everyone keeps telling me to go drink with?

Suggested drink: First Love

Every time someone calls out to Shiki – take a sip

Every time Kokutou strikes up a conversation – root for him

Every time there’s a new victim – take a gulp

Every time the weather’s bad – take a sip

Every time SHIKI comes out – take a sip

Every time we see a doll or doll parts – take a sip

Every time we see the police – take a sip

Every time Kokutou narrates – pay attention

Every time Shiki bites her thumbnail – get a snack

Here are a few more screencaps. If you want to see the rest, they’re HERE

the Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: …and nothing heart. (Murder Speculation Part A) Genre : Supernatural thriller, suspense, action, drama Movie: 1 hour, 1 min Studio: Ufotable Shiki is a girl who's isolated but never alone.

#action #anime #drama #Garden of Sinners #romance #supernatural #thriller

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