a thing about mon/tay that’s really important to me is that in their first scene he refuses her at first. this isn’t a story about love being able to see through the lies or love being held up above politics—it’s a story about two people who have grown apart and must learn how to grow back together.
mon has been a senator for 25 years; tay has seen her become a cog in its machine (and not all of that was a front, lest we forget how fucked the republic was). tay has political beliefs that mean something to him, and he has no reason to believe that mon is on the same level as him. her life is inextricably linked to the empire.
and crucially!!!! this is what allows mon to fully trust him!!! if he was the kind of guy to say yes to her no matter what, she wouldn’t know for sure what his beliefs are. he has to say “sorry, i hate the empire too much to get caught up in ur shit” (which is, in its own way, also a more meaningful expression of trust than the alternative) for mon to feel comfortable bringing him in.
and this is the most romantic thing about them!! in a world where mon is constantly having to perform, smile, laugh, say the things that will get her in the least trouble, in a world where she knows that everyone else is doing the same, tay is someone with actual principles, who is willing to be real with her. it’s not just that he cares about mon in a way no one else does (which he does—he’s the only one to actually think about the toll her constant performance has on her, and that’s before he even knows about the rebel stuff) but he also cares about the things that mon cares about.
It was a long time ago, but it's still burning. Only she dances in my heart. I never understood, but I never will. I know you are far away. I know you have someone else by your side. You broke me with that. They said I would get used to it. It was a lie! I thought I'd never see you again. I was wrong. We could never be apart. You never belonged to anyone else.
Obi Wan had to split up the twins, not to protect them from Darth Vader, but because if they had both grown up as royalty on Alderaan, they would be David and Alexis Rose in space.
“There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause.
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
And then remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that.
And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.
Remember this. Try.”