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lamaenthel · 4 months

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Tivaevae | Chapter One: Ripped At The Seams

Still struggling to emotionally recover from Master Obi-Wan's deception, Ahsoka discovers in the aftermath that twelve-year-old Boba Fett has been locked up among adults in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. After convincing Chancellor Palpatine to grant him a pardon, she manages to secure his release on the condition that she serve as his legal guardian. Now, with the help of Master Plo and the Wolfpack, she vows to help him track down what family he has left.

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Fandom: Star Wars Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CC-1119 | Appo, Dexter Jettster, FLO | WA-7 (Star Wars), Shaak Ti, ARC Commander Blitz (Star Wars), CT-6922 | Dogma, Original Clone Trooper Character(s) (Star Wars), CC-3636 | Wolffe, Clone Trooper Sinker (Star Wars), Clone Trooper Comet (Star Wars), CC-2224 | Cody, CT-5597 | Jesse, CT-4860 | Boost, Aurra Sing, Tobias Beckett, Null-11 | Ordo Skirata, Kal Skirata, Original Mandalorian Characters (Star Wars), Original Droid Characters (Star Wars), Original Jedi Character(s) (Star Wars) Total Word Count: 123,000 Chapter Word Count: 6,751

"And then Grey was like skoosh skoosh skoosh–" Caleb held up an imaginary carbine and let loose a series of blasts, so enthusiastic about his reenactment that he nearly fell off of the courtyard bench. " –and the SBD just exploded! He got him right in the power core! And then-and then-and then I did a backflip off of his shoulder, and I cut three B1's in half! It was so wizard."

"You did?" Mace gasped, theatrically placing a hand on his chest in feigned shock. He had a reputation for being overly stoic, cold even, but there was nothing that defrosted the Master like his Padawans. Depa had dropped off young Caleb to have lunch with his Grand-Master with a weary gratitude that Obi-Wan remembered well; ironically, it had usually been Mace that would give him a break from Anakin more often than not, back then.

"Sure did," Caleb raised his chin proudly. "Have you ever done that with your commander, Master Obi-Wan?" he asked eagerly, looking at him from the other side of Mace with bright turquoise eyes.

Obi-Wan swallowed his mouthful of salad. "Unfortunately, no," he said with a smile. "I think I might squash poor Cody if I tried, though, I weigh a bit more than you."

"Is that why you're watching your figure?" Mace asked wryly, looking at Obi-Wan's bowl of fresh greens.

"I don't care if they're nutritionally complete, human beings were not intended to survive off of ration bars alone," Obi-Wan grumbled into his salad.

"I didn't jump off Grey, I jumped off the battle droid!" Caleb giggled.

"Ah," Obi-Wan said. "Well, the answer is still no, but I'll make sure to bring it up to him before our next strategy meeting."

"Good idea!" Caleb said with a grin, then shoved a handful of fried tatos in his mouth. His nerfburger had been inhaled two meandering stories ago.

"Well, I'm impressed. That sounds like a very successful first mission." Mace gave him a pat on the back then added an unholy amount of orbakradish paste to his bowl of red turu rice, green peppers and bantha strips.

"Can I have some?" Caleb asked curiously, staring at the bright green bottle his grand-master had pulled from his pocket curiously.

"It's very spicy," Mace warned before leaving a tiny smudge on the boy's plate, then took a stoic bite of his rice bowl.

Caleb carefully dipped a corner of his fried tato in the orbakradish and took a bite. His eyes went wide. "Ow," he said faintly, and held his mouth open. "Aow. Aow."

Mace chuckled, dipped a tato in the cup of vinegar on the other side of Caleb's plate, then popped it in his open mouth. "I did warn you," he said as Caleb furiously chewed. "Orbakradish isn't like capsaicin. For that, you need some sort of cream. To cure this, you need vinegar."

Caleb sighed with relief. "Thanks, Master." He hurriedly popped another vinegar-soaked tato in his mouth, then finished off the rest of the plate with the speed that only eleven-year-old boys could manage without making themselves sick. Mace and Obi-Wan exchanged amused looks while they ate their own meals at a less tornadic pace.

"Go on, Padawan. Time to meditate, then practice your forms at the training salle." Mace patted Caleb on the back and took his empty plate once he'd licked it clean.

"Will you come and– I mean, I would be honored if you would spar with me after your Council meeting is done, Master." Caleb said bashfully. "If you want to. I, um, I know you're busy."

"I'm not sure how long I'll be, but I'll head down to the salles as soon as we're done. I'd be happy to spar with you, Padawan." Mace patted his cheek fondly and winked.

"Okay!" Caleb bowed hurriedly to Mace and then Obi-Wan. "Bye, Masters!" He took off at a run, almost tripping on his robes twice before disappearing around the corner.

"I miss that age," Obi-Wan said forlornly. "They're still so enthusiastic about everything. Once they hit puberty…"

"The attitude, I know," Mace said knowingly. He took a final bite from his rice bowl and reached a hand out for Obi-Wan's dish. "I'm grateful for Depa and Devan. Echuu was a handful. Girls are easier."

"Girls are not easier," Obi-Wan snorted, then rubbed his bald head, textured with a thousand offended bumps. The whole thing was so damn itchy, he'd had to meditate three times that morning just to keep his sanity. Perhaps Lace had some procaine cream in the medbay that he could borrow until all of the hairs had poked through the skin.

"Mine were," Mace shrugged.

"Yours aren't vindictive," Obi-Wan sighed.

"Why would they be?" Mace asked blithely. "I trained them well. They are above pettiness."

Obi-Wan glared at the sky instead of Mace. "Lucky you," he said to the speeder traffic above the Temple.

"I warned you about the consequences of leaving Anakin and Ahsoka out of the loop," Mace reminded him. "You insisted."

"I know." They both stood and began the long walk to the Council chambers elevator.

Mace passed their bamboo dishes onto a waste droid when they passed one then fished around for something in his pocket. "And you are the one who suggested that they go on the mission that 'killed' you," he pointed out, then popped a mint candy into his mouth.

"I know," Obi-Wan huffed. "I understand that my actions have consequences, Mace, I'm not a child."

"Then why are you so upset?" Mace asked.

"I'm not upset," Obi-Wan said automatically.

Mace rolled his eyes. "You aren't at peace, that's for certain."

"I–" Obi-Wan raised his hands and let them fall. "Ahsoka's never been one to hold a grudge at all, let alone at me. I expected the cold shoulder from Anakin, but not her."

"Ah. She's still hurt, then."

"She's got no reason to be hurt," Obi-Wan insisted.

"She discovered your 'corpse,' my old friend," Mace said.

"Please, p-please Bobi, open your eyes, open your… no, no, no, please no, Bobi please–"

"Would you really be so unmoved if you'd discovered hers?"

She fell to the ground like a ragdoll, dead from a single touch. Her limbs were twisted and her yellow eyes stayed open, filmy and veined with black like the rest of the Dark Side corruption that covered her.

He banished the memories. "That's different," Obi-Wan insisted. "We are not meant to outlive our Padawans."

"Yet we do." Mace called the elevator. "More and more often, it seems. And I do not see that changing until this war is over."

That reminded him. "Have you discussed your idea with Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan asked quietly.

"It's difficult to find a good time to propose an assassination," Mace answered. "Especially the assassination of his old Padawan."

The elevator arrived. The two Masters stepped on and began the journey up.

"You've discussed it with Quinlan?" Mace asked.

"I have. He's not unwilling."

"Good to know."

The two fell silent, and Obi-Wan commanded the mental image of Ahsoka's corpse lying at the feet of her killer to stop popping into his thoughts. The encounter on Mortis felt like a dream. He still wasn't sure what had actually happened, what was real and what was a vision, but the memory of Anakin's yellow eyes and his little girl lying dead and corrupted by the Dark side haunted him at the most inopportune moments.

May he become one with the Force before ever seeing such horrors again.

The elevator opened. The two walked down the hall to the inside of the Council chambers and took their seats in companionable silence. They were still a bit early, and no one else had yet arrived.

"Caleb was not supposed to be in active combat yet," Mace said after a few moments. "In case you were wondering. The mission he was assigned was a scouting mission. The droids were a surprise."

"Do you think I'm judging you, old friend?" Obi-Wan asked with a raised brow.

"No, but I thought you may want to know." Mace leaned back with an unreadable expression on his face. "He is very skilled, but I personally would prefer he not be on the front lines until he gains more experience."

Obi-Wan remembered Ahsoka eagerly bouncing off of the transport and straight onto the front lines of one of the most gruesome campaigns of the early war. "I understand," he said gently. "Unfortunately, there's only one way to get experience."

"I'm aware." The muscle in Mace's jaw worked a bit before he settled into his usual serenity.

"Greetings, Master Windu. Master Kenobi." Shaak-Ti's hologram flickered into view and she bowed her head.

The two men bowed theirs in return. "How fares Kamino?" Obi-Wan asked lightly.

"Sunny, for a change," Shaak-Ti said with a small smile. "The cadets have been training outside all day on the landing pads."

Mace smiled at her. "I'm happy to hear it."

"As am I," Plo said pleasantly. He and Depa bowed from the entrance, Yoda hobbling beside them. Depa spared a fond smile for her old Master as she took her seat, which Mace returned.

More holograms popped up; Kit Fisto, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar, Coleman Kcaj, Luminara Unduli, Oppo Rancisis, and Stass Allie were all still on the front lines. Kit's hologram was cross-legged and floating subtly, broadcasting underwater from the ocean world of Klarn.

"Begin, we shall," Yoda said after clearing his throat. "May the Force guide us as we proceed."

Murmurs of agreement followed him.

"May I be the first to compliment Master Kenobi's haircut," Kit's hologram grinned at him.

"Thank you, Master," Obi-Wan deadpanned, resisting the urge to scratch his blasted scalp again.

"We are all very glad to see you alive and well," Shaak-Ti added with a twinkle in her eye. "You should stay close-shaven. You look twenty years younger."

Obi-Wan sighed. He was very aware; it was half the reason he had grown the beard in the first place. Shaak-Ti's tinkling giggle rang like a bell at his reaction.

A round of chuckles echoed her and Mace held up a hand to quiet them. "Our first order of business," he began with a smile, reading off a datapad, "is– oh." His smile disappeared and his eyebrows went up as he glanced over at Obi-Wan. "Padawan Ahsoka Tano has requested to speak with us."

Obi-Wan sat at attention. "She has?" he asked, surprised.

"Go ahead and send her in," Mace said into the comlink in his chair. "Do you know what this is about?" he asked Obi-Wan curiously.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I've no idea," he answered.

The chamber doors opened and Obi-Wan watched Ahsoka step primly inside, pointedly not looking at him despite his centrality in her line of sight. He crossed his legs and frowned.

"Koh-to-yah, little 'Soka," Plo said. "Why have you come before us today?"

"Koh-to-yah, Master Plo. And thank you for allowing me to speak with you on such short notice, Masters," Ahsoka said politely. She made a deep bow and stood with perfect posture, her hands clasped in front of her. "I wish that this was not necessary, but as a Jedi I am a mandated reporter of abuse. If I witness the mistreatment of a child, I must speak up."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, his ire easing. "What did you witness, dear?" he asked, the epithet slipping out automatically.

Her eyes slid onto him and he was immediately taken aback by how cold they were. "I need to report that there is a twelve-year-old human child being held in a maximum security prison facility alongside murderers, rapists, and violent criminals of all sorts right here on Coruscant," she said icily.

Obi-Wan's stomach dropped. He already knew who she was referring to, and cac, it should have been him reporting it. He'd completely forgotten about his encounter with Boba Fett. He had been so consumed with not just keeping his cover and managing Bane, but blocking the Force bond he shared with his Padawans in order to sell his death that Boba had simply slipped his mind. Force, the shock of seeing a twelve-year-old clone in the middle of supermax dissipated almost as soon as it had struck and Obi-Wan had just… left him there. He felt an alkaline knot of guilt twist around his belly.

There was a smattering of surprised gasps among the Councilors.

"Who is this child?" Depa demanded.

"What could he have possibly done to be imprisoned?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, bewildered.

Master Luminara shook her head. "We must contact the Guard at once, surely there was an error–"

Ahsoka held up a hand. "The boy is Boba Fett, Masters. After his failed attempt on Master Windu's life, he was sent to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center."

Looks of grim understanding passed between the Council members. Mace leaned forward. "He's in an adult prison?" he asked, anger coloring the edges of his voice. "Has he been there since he was taken into custody?"

"It would appear so, Master, yes."

Mace sank back, frowning severely. "I recommended leniency," he murmured, almost to himself. "The Chancellor assured me his age and his trauma would be taken into account. I believed he'd be sent to a juvenile facility at worst."

"As did I," Plo said heatedly. "Adult prison, for a child. This is not justice."

"Padawan Tano, find out this information, how did you?" Yoda asked, frowning.

"Well, Master," she said, turning, and Obi-Wan was slightly mollified to hear her address Yoda with the same frostbitten tone. She still hadn't forgiven him for Dogma. The clone was thankfully still alive, as Shaak-Ti had made enough of a fuss on Kamino to have gotten him imprisoned instead of immediately euthanized, but Ahsoka wouldn't be satisfied until he was back in the 501st. "I was viewing the helmet-cam footage from the prison riot that Master Kenobi participated in, and–"

"Is that footage not classified?" Ki-Adi-Mundi interrupted, frowning.

"The report is, but the footage was not, no," she said. "I watched it multiple times, and after I saw Master Kenobi fighting Boba I checked his report." Her eyes flicked onto him and then back to Ki-Adi-Mundi. "There's no mention of Boba in the non-redacted portions."

There was no mention of Boba in it at all, because Obi-Wan had forgotten about him like an idiot. His cheeks burned with embarrassment. A dozen heads turned and stared at him, and he'd never missed his beard more than he did at that moment.

"You fought Boba Fett?" Plo asked him sharply.

"Moralo Eval paid him to start a brawl with me in order to provide a distraction for his and Bane's escape," Obi-Wan said, staring at Ahsoka. She was very carefully studying her boots. He'd bought her those boots. "After I inserted myself into the escape party I… lost track of him."

"He is very small for his age," Ahsoka said with false sympathy. "I know you had bigger concerns at the time, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan's skin crawled like it was covered in ants. All of the extra blood rushing to his face was making his stubble itchier than ever.

"We will contact the Chancellor regarding Boba immediately, Ahsoka," Plo insisted, on the edge of his seat and visibly displeased. "We will ensure the boy is placed into a foster home and receives mind healing. Thank you for your diligence, and for bringing this injustice to our attention."

"Thank you, Master," Ahsoka said with a smile, then bowed to him. Obi-Wan felt irrationally jealous of the warmth in her tone. "But I am not sure that a foster home would be the best fit for Boba. He's young, but skilled at both combat and subterfuge. I'm concerned that he would escape and be at just as much risk on his own." She frowned. "He would likely seek out his father's old compatriots again."

"A fair concern," Kit conceded, his smile long gone.

"Do you have a suggestion?" Depa asked mildly.

Ahsoka clicked her heels together. "I would like to volunteer to serve as Boba's temporary legal guardian until I can reunite him with his family," she said solemnly.

The Council chamber went silent in surprise.

"You're only sixteen," Obi-Wan said faintly. "You can't–"

"Actually, as sixteen is the age of responsibility on Shili, I can," she said frostily. "I am a legal adult."

"It's seventeen on Coruscant," he argued. "You–"

"I believe that if I am trusted to lead a battalion of clone troopers into combat, I should be trusted to safeguard the well-being of a single child," she said, speaking over him. "And according to the most recent immigration statutes passed in the Senate, as a full, dual citizen of both worlds, I am actually considered a legal adult on Coruscant." She smiled at him, all teeth.

"Does he have a family?" Saesee Tiin asked. "I was under the impression that Jango Fett was a loner."

"I spoke with the older clones before coming to the Council, Master," Ahsoka said with perfect poise, and Force did it irritate Obi-Wan to see her use her manners for once. "They informed me that there were members of the Cuy'val Dar – that is, the Mandalorian trainers that Jango Fett recruited to train the clones for war – several of them were very close to him. Under the Mandalorian tradition, some could be considered family."

"What an excellent idea, Padawan," Plo said. "I would be grateful if you would come with me to meet with the Chancellor. I'm certain that you will be able to help me persuade him of the right course of action. We will seek out these Cuy'val Dar together, and reunite young Boba with what family remains to him."

Ahsoka bowed again. "It would be my honor, Master," she said sweetly.

Obi-Wan continued to silently seethe.

"Thank you again, Masters, for taking the time to speak with me," she said warmly, then her eyes flickered over to Obi-Wan. "I do hope that Master Kenobi is not censured too severely for failing to report such egregious abuse of a child. I'm certain he was simply preoccupied with his mission."

That was it. Ahsoka did not get to march into the Council chambers wearing boots that he had bought for her and humiliate him in front of his peers out of childish spite. Obi-Wan's hand slammed down onto the arm of his chair, startling everyone. "A word, Padawan," he said through gritted teeth.

"Of course, Master Kenobi," she said serenely.

He stood and led her brusquely from the Council chamber by her right bicep, ignoring the whispers of his fellow Council members behind them.

"An deach thu às mo chiall?" he hissed once the doors had closed and they had a spot of privacy. He released her arm and glared down at her. "Carson a tha thu a’ toirt eas-urram dhomh?"

"Apologies, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka said politely. "I didn't intend to publicly disrespect you."

He stared down at her. Her refusal to speak Maor-Grásta back to him hurt more than the silent treatment. That was their language. No one else at the Temple spoke the indigenous language of the planet crudely known as Stewjon, not even Anakin, though he had tried to teach him. "So this is how you're going to be, then?" he asked finally.

She blinked at him. "I'm not sure what you mean, Master."

"You damn well do," he snapped, and finally gave in to the urge to scratch his damn scalp. "This is childish of you, Ahsoka. You're better than this."

"Better than what?" she asked, cocking her head. "I've been nothing but polite, Master, but if you find my conduct unbecoming then I apologize. I will meditate on our interaction until Master Plo calls me to meet with the Chancellor." She bowed and turned to leave.

Obi-Wan caught her by the left arm and spun her back around. She hissed in pain and ripped her arm away.

"Please refrain from putting your hands on me, Master Kenobi," she said frostily.

Obi-Wan stared at her, knowing that if he asked what was wrong with her arm he'd get no answer. "I'm not putting my… Ahsoka, please, stop this."

"I'm not sure what you wish me to stop, Master."

"Stop acting like you've never met me before!" Obi-Wan said, raising his voice in frustration.

For just a second, her placid mask crumbled and he saw the devastation she was hiding underneath. The mask reappeared and she looked away, pursed her lips and shrugged. "Recent events have shown that I haven't, Master," she said quietly. "Not really."

Obi-Wan sagged and this time, he didn't stop her from walking away.

Ahsoka went through her mental checklist again. She couldn't muck this up. If she somehow pissed off Chancellor Palpatine or failed to convince him that Boba didn't belong in supermax, the kid was screwed.

"Do not be nervous, little 'Soka," Plo whispered, squeezing Ahsoka's right shoulder reassuringly. They sat together on a plush bench in a waiting area right outside the Chancellor's office.

"I can't help it, Master," she whispered back. "What if I make it even worse, somehow?"

"I would advise you, respectfully of course, to think of what your Master would not do and try that."

Ahsoka snorted. His aura was a little too gold with humor for the seriousness of the situation.

"Trust in the Force. We are in the right, here, and we know this."

She nodded. "Yes, Master."

"You may enter," one of Chancellor Palpatine's secretaries called from the doorway; a short, plump Human woman with black hair shorn down to the scalp and the pale skin of someone who worked and lived exclusively indoors.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then followed Master Plo to the Chancellor's office. He was still sitting at his desk, writing something with an electric pen that showed up as a language she didn't recognize on the left side of his desk.

"Master Koon," the Chancellor smiled, and bowed his head. "And Padawan Ahsoka. My, how you've grown since I last saw you! I must say, Anakin raves about you every time we meet. He is very proud of you."

"Thank you, Chancellor," Ahsoka said sheepishly, ducking her head. There was nothing specific about the Chancellor himself that put her on edge, it was the office. There was just something unnerving about it. The statues of the Four Sages seemed to watch her from their posts bordering the room, and some of the art vibrated weirdly in the Force. Nothing she could pin down, just off.

She peered down at the unfamiliar writing on the Chancellor's desk. "That's a beautiful script," she said, projecting her aura out over the room with green serenity-amiability. It helped block out the weird vibrations of his artwork. "I don't recognize it."

"It's the poet's script," the Chancellor said, his naturally violet aura gone blue with appreciation. "It's an old traditional practice on Naboo. It's never been a spoken language, but one used solely for the arts."

"That's fascinating," Ahsoka said, returning his smile. "Do you write poetry, Chancellor?"

He chuckled and looked down, darkening with humility. "Oh, I dabble," he confessed with a smile. "It's a bit self-indulgent, of course, but it calms my mind."

"Nonsense, Chancellor," Plo assured him. "It is good to know that even in this period of war and violence, our leader makes time to create something beautiful for the galaxy."

Ahsoka was impressed. Plo could give Ob– Master Kenobi a run for his credits when it came to schmoozing.

"Ah, well," the Chancellor shrugged, his smile widening. "I doubt you called for an emergency meeting to discuss my poetry, dear. What can I do for you?"

Ahsoka sat up straight. "There has been a grave miscarriage of justice, Chancellor," she said solemnly. "Boba Fett has been placed into supermax alongside adults instead of a juvenile facility. He is a Fett clone, yes, but totally unaltered. He ages at a normal rate, not the accelerated rate of the troopers." She adjusted her projection to include a yellow ribbon of pity. "He's only twelve, Sir. Every second he spends in that place his life, his- his bodily sanctity is at risk."

Chancellor Palpatine went gray with surprise. "Oh, goodness," he said, immediately swiping away his poetry and summoning Boba's file up to the holoscreen of his desk. "Let me see here– ah." His holoscreen filled up with copies of legal documents, medical records, and crime scene holopics. "It seems that the judge presiding over his case determined that he was too dangerous to be kept in a juvenile facility." He glanced at her. "I cannot say that I disagree. He is unnaturally skilled for a boy his age, from what I have heard. He killed a Marshall Commander."

"Respectfully, Chancellor, Commander Ponds was murdered by Aurra Sing. Boba could not pull the trigger," Master Plo gently corrected.

"I understand the risks, Chancellor," Ahsoka said. "I would like to volunteer to serve as his legal guardian until I can reunite him with his father's Mandalorian family."

The Chancellor's eyebrows almost hit his hairline. "Jango Fett had family?" he asked, going a lighter gray with shock.

"In the Mandalorian tradition of found family, yes," Ahsoka nodded.

"So young Boba would escape punishment for his crimes against the Republic?" the Chancellor asked after a moment of curt silence.

"Boba Fett is but a child, Chancellor," Plo said peacefully. "He was manipulated by individuals that were once acquainted with his father and they used his grief to their advantage. They abandoned him at the first opportunity."

The Chancellor nodded, thinking. "That may be so, Master Koon, but he did kill hundreds of his fellow clones through his actions."

"He did, Chancellor, that can't be disputed," Ahsoka said softly, projecting strong amber amenability at him. "But he's an orphan, and he's twelve. He's exceptionally vulnerable to manipulation by adults that knew his father. They're the only connection he has left to him."

"The cadets that he infiltrated reported that he seemed reluctant to leave them to their fate," Plo piped up. "While his quest was misguided from the start, his target was Master Windu. The loss of clone life and the destruction of The Endurance was wholly unintentional."

"While sabotaging the hyperdrive of The Endurance, he had an opportunity to end the life of clone trooper Rivers," Ahsoka added. "He spared his life and stunned him instead. We truly believe that if not for the presence of Aurra Sing, Castas, and Bossk, he never would have taken that step."

"So you propose instead that I pardon the one who killed hundreds of clone troopers, naval officers, and support staff on account of his age?" Chancellor Palpatine steepled his hands underneath his chin and looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, my dear, but I cannot in good conscience do such a thing. Aside from the morality of it, the boy could wreak untold damage if he escaped your custody."

"I promise he won't!" Ahsoka exclaimed, leaning forward. "Please, Chancellor. I know he made a terrible error in judgment that cost many lives, but he's twelve."

"So you've said," the Chancellor said dryly, lowering his hands. "Ahsoka–"

Ahsoka impulsively reached across his desk and clasped his hands. "He needs rehabilitation, not a life sentence before it's even began," she said earnestly. She wouldn't go so far as to try and mind trick him, not with Plo right there, but her Empathy was stronger with physical touch. She let burnt-orange supplication roll down her arms and flow from her hands onto his. "Please, Chancellor," she said, popping her porg eyes. "Just give him a chance."

The Chancellor's aura flushed copper with affection-agreement. "You do make a compelling argument," he said fondly, withdrawing his hands after giving hers a squeeze. "The Great Negotiator has taught you well."

Ahsoka ducked her head with a small smile, trying not to let him feel the cold shock of hurt that Master Kenobi's nickname triggered.

"Very well." He raised his chin to look over Ahsoka's shoulder at his secretary. "Go fetch Commander Fox, please."

"Right away, Sir." The secretary scurried off and the Chancellor drew up a document.

"I shall grant Boba Fett a full pardon, effective immediately," he said, then glanced up at Ahsoka with a smile. He transferred something onto a datapad and handed it to her. It was a legal certificate declaring her the legal guardian of one Boba Fett.

Oh, kriff, she hadn't actually let herself believe that she'd get this far. She had a kid. She had a shabla kid. A shabla clone kid.

"Congratulations, my dear, it's a boy," he said with a small chuckle and a wink. "I do hope Anakin isn't too cross with you. I can't imagine that he expected to become a grandfather quite this early."

Ahsoka's stripes went hot. Her Master… was not going to be pleased with her, to put it lightly, but she just couldn't leave Boba in there a second longer than necessary if she could put a stop to it.

"Please, 'Soka, you have to get him out of there," Rex pleaded, staring at the screen with an aura gone stark white with shock-horror-outrage. "He's so little. They'll kill him, they'll– osik, what have they already done to him–"

She would have done it anyway, but Force if Rex's begging wasn't compelling. She'd break Boba out if she had to.

But really, Anakin was going to kill her once he got back from Toydaria with that Force-sensitive toddler.

"Commander!" Chancellor Palpatine said brightly over Ahsoka's shoulder. "Please escort Master Koon and Padawan Tano down to the detention center. Boba Fett is being released into her custody, effective immediately."

"Oh. Interesting. As you say, Sir," Fox said, then turned to Ahsoka and Plo. "Ready whenever you both are," he nodded.

"Take care, Ahsoka," Chancellor Palpatine said warmly, standing along with them. "And do be on guard with young Boba. From what I understand, the boy is quite crafty, despite his tender age."

"Oh I will, Chancellor, don't worry. I remember how much of a handful he was." Ahsoka bowed and tried to ignore the way the statues of the sages stared at her. "Thank you again. You've saved a life today."

"And my thanks as well, Chancellor," Plo added, bowing after her. "We appreciate your expediency."

"I wish you luck in your endeavor, my dear." Palpatine winked at her. "And don't be afraid to visit more often. I've got some stories about Anakin as a youth that you might enjoy."

Ahsoka's stripes flushed again and she picked at her thumb's cuticle.

"Alright, General, Commander. Let's get you over to the prison before sundown." Fox slung his carbine over his shoulder and led the way out.

Boba curled up tighter on his side, willing the pain in his sides to go away. After he'd jumped Hardeen it had been chaos. He wasn't sure if it was the guards or the other bastards he was locked in here with that had broken his ribs, but it didn't really matter. He needed to get better. He couldn't afford to look weak. Prison was worse than a jungle, at least an animal just killed you and was done with it. The predators here liked to play with their food, first.

"Come on, little man, come bunk with me. I know it gets cold at night, you must be shivering with only a lizard to keep you warm–"

At least in solitary Boba could focus all of his energy on healing instead of defending himself. He chewed on his split lip and readjusted his face against the wall so that his black eye was pressed directly against the cold surface.

"Time to go, Fett."

Boba was sitting upright and ready to respond in under a second. Nobody would know by looking at him that he was holding his breath so as not to scream from the pain. One meiloorun, two meiloorun, three meiloorun–

"Go where?" he asked after a few seconds, cool as a caniphant. Fox, on the other side of the bars, had two DC-17 sidearms, a DC-15A carbine, and two vibroblade hits sticking out from his gauntlets. Two pairs of cuffs hung from his belt next to a small canister of capsaicin spray.

Boba could get to the spray the easiest, kick the back of Fox's knee, twist his arm and grab the blaster–

"It's your lucky day, cyar'solus," Fox said, undoing the biometric locks on his cell.

"Don't call me that," he snapped. Damn it, Boba didn't want to go back to genpop yet, he was still too injured. The guards tried to watch out for him; some of them did, anyway, the ones who didn't hiss vod'kyramud when he passed them in the halls. Bossk usually stuck up for him but he was just one man. Boba already had a size disadvantage, but with his ribs fucked his speed suffered. He eyed the capsaicin spray at Fox's belt again. He'd get his ass kicked if he went for it, but they'd keep him in solitary longer. Fox had the frame of a gundark but he wasn't a shabuir, he would just give him another lump or two before locking his cell again instead of rebreaking things on purpose.

Fox snickered. "I'll call you whatever I want. Now face down on the floor, you know how this works."

Yeah, he did. Boba swallowed hard and carefully got on his belly, watching the canister of spray swing closer. The floor was hard but the cold felt good. He took a deep breath and prepared to make his move.

As if Fox knew what he'd been thinking, he walked around him in a wide circle and approached from behind before cuffing him. He pulled Boba to his feet, gentler than he expected. "You're being given a second chance, kid," he said quietly. "Don't kark it up."

"The fuck does that mean?" Boba asked faintly; even with Fox's careful grip, he wasn't able to draw in air properly with the way his ribs were screaming.

"You're getting out."

"What?" Boba tried to spin around and look at Fox, but he kept a firm hold of his cuffed hands and kept him from turning.

"Walk, squirt," Fox said in a bored voice.

Where was he going? Where were they sending him? It hit him then, what had to have happened; Aurra. He knew she wouldn't abandon him. She'd had to make a tactical retreat, that was all. Somehow she'd pulled in a favor or used her connections in the guild, or maybe even kidnapped a judge. He fought down a smirk as they walked past the other inmates, all howling and hissing and complaining about his special treatment.

He was foolish to have given up on Aurra. She really did care about him.

"Stand here." Fox started undoing the locks to the hall that led to the private interview rooms, the ones that prisoners used to meet with their attorneys.

Boba never had an attorney. He had gone through sentencing on his own.

"Alright, walk." Fox took him by the cuffs and shoved him forward through the door. "And be respectful."

"Respectful to who?" Boba grouched.

"Your new mum," Fox snickered, stopping in front of a door halfway down the hall. "Congratulations. You've been adopted."

Boba whipped his head up so fast that black spots appeared in his eyes. "I've been fucking what?" he squeaked.

Fox pushed him inside of the interview room while he was still reeling. Instead of Aurra, the two Jedi who had arrested him were waiting inside; a Kel Dor who towered over everyone, even Fox, and a scrawny orange Togruta with big blue bug eyes and two sabers on her belt. She was taller than he remembered.

"Koh-to-yah, Boba Fett," the Kel Dor said, bowing to him. "I am Jedi Master Plo Koon, and this is Padawan Ahsoka Tano."

"The fuck do you cunts want?" Boba spat, furious at himself for being so stupid that he thought Aurra would come for him. He was such a gullible di'kut. Of course she didn't really care. He was never anything but clout to her, just something of Jango's that she could show off.

The Tog blinked at him, obviously shocked. The little princess obviously wasn't used to bad language. "I, um, I…"

"Go ahead, Ahsoka," the Kel Dor said with a little pat on her back.

She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and then smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt the tension in his back muscles ease a little, weirdly enough. "I want to get you out of here, if that's alright with you."

"Why the fuck should I go anywhere with you?" Boba asked suspiciously, then backed up so he could keep the both of them in plain view. "You're the cunts who put me in here. Why do you care?"

"We never meant for you to be placed in a place such as this, young man," the Kel Dor said apologetically.

"We want to help you find your family, Boba," the Tog said earnestly.

"Are you both fucking stupid?" Boba snapped. "I don't have any family. The Jedi killed the only family I had."

The Tog and Kel Dor exchanged looks. "I know, Boba," the Tog said. "And I'm sorry for your loss."

Boba looked at his feet.

"Why don't we be on our way?" the Kel Dor suggested. "We have much to discuss, but there's no need to do so on an empty stomach. I find myself craving a milkshake."

"Oooh, I could go for a milkshake," the Tog said with her brow markings raised. "How about you, Boba?"

"I don't want a fucking milkshake, I want to know what's going on!" Boba said, backing up into Fox. He… he needed to get away from these people. They had some sort of weird plan for him, he was sure of it. What if they wanted to send him back to Kamino? Maybe they wanted to string him up in a lab and use him to make more of their precious troopers. Without Dad the longnecks couldn't make them like they used to, and Boba was a perfect copy. "What did Fox mean? He said I was going to meet my new mum, what did he mean by that?"

The Tog bit her lip and looked at him. "That, um, that would be me," she said sheepishly. "I… I'm your legal guardian."

"You're my legal guardian?" Boba stared at her. She looked barely older than him, though she was a lot taller than he remembered.

"Yep," she said happily, rocking back on her heels. "So, what do you say? Ready to go?"

Boba glanced up at Fox, who gave him a reassuring nod. "Not like I have a fucking choice, do I?" he asked sullenly.

"No, you don't," the Kel Dor – Koon, Boba remembered he said his name was – said gently. "But I imagine that you would choose to leave the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center."

"Obviously," Boba said, frowning.

"So." Koon shrugged. "Shall we?"

The Tog smiled brightly at him. He realized that she was nervous, and for some reason that made him feel better.

"Fine." Boba rubbed his wrists after Fox unlocked his cuffs. Whatever. Fox didn't need to help him, he could do this on his own. He just had to stick with them long enough to get out of prison. The second the idiots turned their backs, he'd be out of there. Boba glanced up and met the Tog's nervous gaze. "But I'm not calling you fucking Mum."

Author's Notes:

MAOR-GRÁSTA TRANSLATIONS An deach thu às mo chiall?: Have you gone insane? Carson a tha thu a’ toirt eas-urram dhomh?: Why are you disrespecting me? MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS cyar'solus: beloved one, the clones' nickname for Boba since he was a special snowflake chosen baby (Thank you Squid_Ink 😘) shabuir: motherfucker vod'kyramud: brother-killer osik: shit OTHER NOTES Mace has a picture of all of his padawans and grand-padawans in his wallet and he shows everyone constantly. It's canon, George Lucas actually told me himself. Palpatine was pretty easy to convince, wasn't he? It's almost like he likes sowing discord between Anakin and his loved ones hmm odd yes very odd indeed Ponds was promoted for plot related purposes ✌️

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork @soliloquy-of-nemo Dividers: @saradika-graphics

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youreobsessedwithtoomanyfandoms · 2 years

Text

Revenge Of The Sith (Part 3)

Words: 5267

Warnings: language? typical Star Wars violence, the plot of ROTS (bc yes, that needs it’s own warning)

Star Wars Masterlist Main Masterlist

(THIS IS X READER I PROMISE IF YOU WANT THE NONE X READER VERSION THEN GO TO @imnotobsessedwfictionalchracters)

So I have like…a million OC’s. One of which I have with Anakin Skywalker. Recently (like a few months ago) I decided to rewrite Revenge of the Sith, but instead of Padme, it’s my OC and it becomes an AU near the end bc Obi Wan is able to pull Anakin back to the light. So, I decided to rewrite it (AGAIN) to make it x reader. So yeah, here it is, I hope you enjoy

Also, I did research on different names. Like the kid who speaks RIGHT BEFORE getting killed? Yeah, found his name (it's somewhere down there) and the Clone Trooper that you be taking Rex's place since he was with Ahsoka (And Jesse was too) would most likely be Appo. So yeah. Researching little things like that was fun.

Also, if you can't figure out a name for the brother, just do Dran cause that's what it is for my actual OC

ALSO ALSO, 'Save Y/N' or something similar is said a lot in this, omg

(Previous Part) (Next Part)

“Save your energy.” Spoke Obi Wan.

Y/N weakly shook her head, “I can’t.”

“Don’t give up, Y/N.”

Anakin sat the Holopad next to him on the couch. The premonitions were getting worse. He was seeing them even when he wasn’t sleeping. He sighed and looked over as he heard Y/N walking in. She gave him a soft smile as he spoke, “Obi Wan’s been here, hasn’t he?”

She placed a soft hand on his shoulder as she passed him. “He came by the morning. I was going to tell you when I saw you.”

Anakin quickly got up and began to follow her, “What did he want?”

She turned to him slightly. Confused by his sudden question. “He’s worried about you.” She walked into the bedroom and placed her coat on the bed. “He says you’ve been under a lot of stress.”

He sighed, “I feel lost.”

She turned to him fully, “What do you mean by ‘lost’, Ani?”

He slowly walked towards her. “Obi Wan and the council don’t trust me.”

She raised an eyebrow. She wondered what could have happened to make him think this. She kept her voice soft, trying to comfort him. “I thought that they trusted you with their lives?”

He stared out the window, “Something’s happening. I’m not the Jedi I should be.” When he stopped and looked at her, she motioned for him to continue. “I want more. And I know I shouldn’t.” He trailed off and she walked over to him.

Placing a comforting hand on his arm, she knew Anakin. Knew that he was expecting himself to be able to do more than he could. “You’re expecting more of yourself than you have to give at this time.”

He turned to her completely and placed his hands softly on her waist. “I found a way to save you.”

His nightmares. “Save me? How?”

“I found a way. Just please trust me. I can’t lose you.”

She nodded and kissed him softly. “Why don’t you stay here for a while today? Longer than you had originally planned to.”

He smiled at her softly, “I can’t, my love. Obi Wan is going after Grievous and I have to stay at the Temple until he returns.”

She nodded, “If he gets Grievous then this war can end, right?”

He nodded, “And we can raise our kid in peace.”

She smiled and kissed him again. Of course the child(ren) would not know peace for its first 20+ years. But they didn’t know that yet. “Good.”

Anakin stood next to Windu as they were speaking to others. That was until Commander Cody appeared. And when he did, Anakin felt worry reside in him. Worried that something had happened to Obi Wan. “Master Windu, May I interrupt?” Windu nodded lightly, “General Kenobi had made contact with General Grievous and we have begun our attack.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Cody gave a curt nod and cut out of the call. “Anakin.” Anakin turned his head to Windu, “Deliver this report to the Chancellor. His reaction will give us a clue to his intentions.”

He nodded, “Yea, Master.” And turned on his way to inform Palpatine of the new discovery.

If he had stayed for a few moments more, he would have heard Windu’s feelings. And maybe…perhaps he wouldn’t have done everything that he did. And perhaps the next 23ish years wouldn’t have gone the way they will.

When Anakin made it to the Chancellor, he noticed that he was looking at a map of a planet. One he believed was in the Outer Rim. One that had nothing to do with the War. But it seemed that somehow Palpatine sensed Anakin and he turned off the map and turned around.

“Chancellor?” He walked closer. “We just received a report from Master Kenobi. He has engaged General Grievous.”

“We can only hope that Master Kenobi is up to the challenge.”

Anakin realized what Palpatine was doing. It was something he had done to Ashoka to get her to say how she felt. But he hoped that he was wrong. He looked away from the Chancellor, “I should be there with him.”

“It’s upsetting to me to see that the council doesn’t seem to fully appreciate your talents. Don’t you wonder why they won’t make you a Jedi master?”

Anakin began to pace slightly. “I wish I knew.” He sighed, “More and more I get the feeling that I’m being excluded from the council.” He stopped and looked at Palpatine. He noticed that there was something about him that felt off. Something dark surrounded the Chancellor. And so Anakin remembered what Palpatine said. “I know there are things about the Force that they’re not telling me.”

“They don’t trust you, Anakin.” Palpatine stood and walked towards him. “They see your future.” He placed a hand on his back, “They know your power will be too strong to control.” They walked to the doorway, “You must break through the fog of lies the Jedi have created around you.” They walked into the hall, “Let me help you to know the subtleties of the Force.”

“How do you know the ways of the Force?” He was the Chancellor. A former Senator. Why would he know the ways of the Force? He had no reason to know.

“My mentor taught me everything about the Force. Even the nature of the Dark Side.”

Anakin sped up and walked in front of the Chancellor. Suddenly realizing that the Jedi were right to question Palpatine. “You know the Dark Side?”

“Anakin, if one is to understand the great mystery, one must understand all its aspects. Not just the dogmatic narrow view of the Jedi. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the Force.” Anakin and Palpatine began to slightly circle one another. “Be careful of the Jedi, Anakin. Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force and you will be able to save your wife from certain death.”

Anakin stopped as Palpatine gave him a sickly sadistic smile. “What did you say?” He felt himself reaching for his lightsaber.

“Use my knowledge, I beg you.”

He took his saber out of the carrier and lit it. “You’re the Sith Lord!”

They began to circle one another again. “I know what’s been troubling you. Listen to me. Don’t continue to be a pawn of the Jedi Council!” Anakin felt himself feeling more betrayed. “Ever since I've known you, you’ve been searching for a life greater than that of an ordinary Jedi. A life of significance. Of conscience.” Palpatine began to walk away from Anakin, but he still followed with his saber. “Are you going to kill me?“

“I would certainly like to.” But he knew he couldn’t. It wasn’t like the Jedi to kill.

Palpatine’s voice with his next words made the hair on the back of Anakin’s neck stand. “I know you would. I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger.”

Palpatine turned to Anakin and he turned off his lightsaber. And the next words that came from his mouth hadn’t felt voluntary. He was thinking them, but he hadn’t planned to say them. “I’m going to turn you over to the Jedi Council.”

Palpatine nodded, “Of course. You should. But you’re not sure of their intentions, are you?”

“I will quickly discover the truth of all this.”

“You have great wisdom, Anakin. Know the power of the Dark Side. Power to save Y/N.”

He shook his head, “I can do that without your help. Without the Dark Side.”

“You sound so sure of it, Anakin.”

He felt himself grow more angry, “Because I am!”

Palpatine nodded and walked back into his office, “Then go and inform the Council of what you think you’ve discovered and see their reaction.”

Anakin watched as Palpatine walked into his office and for a moment he hesitated. But he knew what he had to do.

And he knew where to find Master Windu.

He ran down to one of the Hangers and slowed down as he got closer to Windu and the other Jedi. “Master Windu. I must talk to you.”

Windu looked at Anakin, “Skywalker, we just received word that Obi Wan has destroyed General Grievous.” Anakin felt a small sense of pride when he heard that. After all, Obi Wan was his friend (brother), and one of the only people he trusted. But then Windu continued talking as he began to walk. “We’re on our way to make sure the chancellor returns emergency power back to the senate.”

And that was when Anakin was reminded of why he was there. “He won’t give up his power. I’ve just learned a terrible truth.” He stopped for a moment, thinking of how to word it. “I think Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord.”

Windu stopped and looked at Anakin. Almost in disbelief it seemed. “A Sith Lord?”

Anakin gave the smallest nod, “Yes. The one we’ve been looking for.”

“How do you know this?”

Anakin tried to keep most of the reasoning out. “He knows the ways of the Force.” He looked away for a moment but did look back at him. “He’s trained to use the Dark Side.”

And for the first time, Anakin saw a look of Windu that he almost only saw him give someone like Yoda. Complete and utter belief. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then our worst fears have been realized.” Windu turned and Anakin followed him, “We must move quickly if the Jedi order is to survive. “

Anakin felt like this could be his last chance to prove that he was worthy to be a Master and to fully be on the Council. “Master, the Chancellor is very powerful. You’ll need my help if you’re going to arrest him.”

Windu shook his head slightly, “For your own good, stay out of this affair.” For his own good? “I sense a great deal of confusion in you, young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgment.”

Anakin tried to convince him, “I must go, Master.”

But he knew by Windu’s tone that his answer was definite, “No.” They stopped and Windu faced him, “If what you’ve told me is true, you will have gained my trust.” He now stood in front of Anakin, but unlike with Obi Wan, there wasn’t that sense of hope and calmness between them. “But for now, remain here.” Anakin wanted to fight, but he knew he shouldn’t. So he nodded his head slightly, “Wait in the Council Chambers until we return.”

And as Windu stepped onto the carrier with Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin. “Yes, Master.” He watched the carrier fly away. And no matter how much he didn’t want to, Anakin walked to the Temple. And did what he was told.

Anakin sat in his seat and closed his eyes. Focusing on trying to feel for Y/N. something he always did when he was stressed or couldn’t focus on something else. But he was unable to as Palpatine’s voice was echoing through his head, “You do know, don’t you, if the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving her will be lost.” He opened his eyes and looked around for a moment. He took in another deep breath and tried to focus on her again. If not her, than Ahsoka.

Ahsoka.

He wished he had gotten to tell her how proud of her he was. Especially now that she had taken down Maul and was on her way back. The second she would get there, he would force her to talk to him. Force her to listen to him tell her how proud he was and how much he missed her. And then hope that she would tell him what she had been doing for the past year.

And it seemed that thinking about that helped him focus on finding Y/N.

He saw her standing up, he knew that she felt it, and then her walking over to the window that looked out to the Temple. She had a worried look upon her face.

He got up and walked to where he would see the area where she was. He had a bad feeling about everything. That something was going to go wrong and that he would be needed. But then there was the fact that he knew what he would do. He had to save Y/N. he just...he couldn’t allow her to die. Not when he knew there was a way to save her. And he knew that she felt it. She felt like something bad was going to happen too. He began to tune her our as she turned to DB as he entered and nodded to him.

He left the Chambers and ran down to hop onto his starfighter that he had just signaled Commander Appo to get ready. So when he made it down to the bay, all he did was jump in and go in the direction of the Senate Building to either help stop Palpatine or unfortunately join him.

Quick was Anakin as he jumped out of the starfighter and ran down to Palpatine’s office when he got there, Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto were dead. Windu had Palpatine down, his lightsaber pointed at his head.

“You are under arrest, my lord.”

Anakin noticed Windu motioning for him to stay where he was, and so he did. :”Anakin, I told you it would come to this.” He looked over from Windu to Palpatine and knew that he was faking the weak voice, “I was right. The Jedi are taking over!”

“The oppression of the Sith will never return. You have lost!”

“No. No. No! You will die!” Anakin flinched away when the bright light of lightning glowing in the room. He moved his arm to try and block the light, but still see what was happening. And what he saw was lightning shooting from Palpatine’s hand and Windu’s lightsaber blocking it. “He’s a traitor!”

“He is the traitor!”

Anakin fully looked at Windu. He had all of the intentions to help him. Help the one that he knew he could trust. But Palpatine’s next words pulled him away from doing what was right. Because Palpatine knew one thing. Anakin would be selfish and save Y/N than to do what was right.

“I have the power to save the one you love! You must choose!”

And he knew he shouldn’t. He knew that Windu was right as he said his words. “Don’t listen to him, Anakin!”

But unfortunately, Anakin succumbed to Palpatine’s weak voice. Something he would always do. Succumb to those who know exactly how to manipulate and use him. “Don’t let him kill me. I can’t hold it any long. I-I-I-I can’t. I-I-I’m weak. I’m-I’m too weak.” He stuttered out. “Anakin.” His hand fell and the lightning stopped, “Help me. Help me!” Palpatine groaned and Anakin grew more to help him. “I-I-I can’t hold on any longer.”

“I am going to end this once and for all.”

Anakin shook his head, “You can’t!” Anger from when Ahsoka was forced to stand trial for the crime she didn’t commit came through. He must stand trial!” If Ahsoka had to, then he had to. It wasn’t fair. He wouldn’t allow it to happen. It hurt him to watch her go through it. Watch as they pushed her away from him. And maybe if they hadn't done it, all of this wouldn’t be happening. Because he would have her still. But not just her. He would have Rex. The two people he had known he could always confine to.

“He has control of the Senate and the Courts! He’s too dangerous to be left alive!”

“I’m too weak. Oh. Don’t kill me. Please.”

“It’s not the Jedi way.” He walked towards Windu. He wasn’t going to allow him to break one of the only rules Anakin actually understood. “He must live!”

“Please don’t!” Windu moved his hand and Anakin knew what was going to happen. Even before Palpatine spoke.

“I need him!” He did. He needed Palpatine. He needed him to show him, teach him, how to save Y/N. So when Windu moved his lightsaber to kill Palpatine, Anakin acted irrationally and pulled his own out, cutting Windu’s arm off.

But what Anakin hadn’t expected was what Palpatine did. He wanted to help Windu the second it happened. But he didn’t. He just shut off his lightsaber and stubbled back as Palpatine pushed Windu out of the window with the lightning.

“What have I done?” He continued to stumble until he fell. He felt his lightsaber fall out of his hand and it clink onto the floor.

Palpatine stood and walked over to Anakin. “You’re fulfilling your destiny, Anakin.” No. This isn’t what he was supposed to do. “Become my apprentice.” No. He could still stop it. He could still fight him. He just needed Obi Wan. “Learn to use the Dark Side of the Force.”

But Anakin couldn’t. Obi Wan wouldn’t. He had gone too far. He just had to hope that Y/N would still love him after all this. “I will do whatever you ask.”

“Good.”

He slowly looked up at Palpatine, “Just help me save Y/N's life.” For if he couldn’t do that, then why did he do all of this? All of this would have been for waste if he was unable to save her life. He looked back down, trying not to show any of the emotions he was feeling. “I can’t live without her.”

“To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret.”

Anakin fell to the floor, unable to keep himself from doing so. “I pledge myself to your teachings.” He tried to hide everything. Hide the fact that he was scared. That he was unsure. That he was worried.

“Good.” But no matter how hard Anakin tried, he couldn’t keep eye contact. He tried hard, but he was unable. Unable because he was scared that Palpatine would realize what he was feeling inside. “The Force is strong with you.” Anakin hated that saying. It was something he had heard many times over again. He lifted his head back up to Palpatine. “A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as...Darth...Vader.”

And then that word went back to its old meaning for Anakin. And he once again truly hated to say it. “Thank you, my Master.”

“Rise.” Anakin stood up. “Because the Council did not trust you, my young apprentice, I believe you are the only Jedi with no knowledge of the plot.” Palpatine turned to him, “When the Jedi learn what has transpired here, they will kill us, along with all the Senators. And since you are with me, most likely Y/N as well.”

Anakin knew that Palpatine was right in a sense. “I agree. The Council’s next move will be against the Senate. And they would believe that Y/N knew of all of this and would kill her in order for her to not try and avenge me.”

“Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic.” And no matter how much he would wish it wasn’t, Anakin knew it was true. But, he knew that he would be able to convince Ahsoka to join him and that Palpatine wouldn’t, or at least he hoped he wouldn’t, deny that. Especially since she wasn’t a Jedi.

“I understand, Master.”

“We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not all destroyed. It will be a civil war without end. First, I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off-balance” Anakin knew what Palpatine was implying. “Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Only then will you be strong enough with the Dark Side to save Y/N.”

“What about the other Jedi spread across the Galaxy?” There were many of them. Mundi. Plo. Ahsoka. Obi Wan. Aayla, Jaro Tapal, Depa and Caleb.

“Their betrayal will be dealt with.” Palpatine sat in his seat, “After you have killed all the Jedi in the Temple, go to the Mustafar system. Wipe out Viceroy Gunray and the other Seperatist leaders.” Anakin gave a small nod, “Once more the Sith will rule the Galaxy! And...we shall have...peace.”

And unknown to him, three people, in various places in the Galaxy, could feel what was happening. And one...one was the one he would have never wanted to hurt like this. And he knew...deep down that this isn’t what was supposed to happen. That all this would do is end in more pain and suffering for the larger half.

Unaware that it was similar to Ahsoka walking down the steps, Anakin marched up the steps of the Temple with the half of the 501st that was with him. He didn’t know that clone Commanders across the Galaxy were getting transmissions from Palpatine saying to kill their Jedi. Little did he know that Ahsoka was hiding in a vent and was going to have to find out about Fives. That Plo was getting shot down by Wolffe. After just handing him his lightsaber, Cody ordered the other Troopers to shoot down Obi Wan. That Aayla trusted her troopers so much that she believed they saw something she didn’t. Depa telling her young Padawan to run.

Anakin walked into the Council Chamber room as he had felt a strong presence there. He walked in and the younglings looked up to him. One that he had recognized as the young Sors Bandeam walked over to him. “Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?”

Anakin lit his lightsaber. He knew that these would be the kills that would hurt the most. Afterall, they were young and defenseless kids. But he blocked out any pain that he could feel, and did as he was told.

Then off in the far distance, Y/N stood staring out of the window. She didn’t know what to think. She was worried for Anakin. The Temple was on fire and she wasn’t answering his calls. She had begged DB to contact Padmé to find out if Anakin had ever returned to the Temple.

She turned to look at her droid, “Padmé said that the Chancellor’s office indicated that Anakin had returned to the Jedi Temple.” She felt her heart drop at those words. “Don’t worry. I-I’m sure he’ll be alright.”

She looked back out at the window and was unable to hold back the tears that spilled. She held a hand over her mouth as she sobbed. The chances of Anakin still being alive after that were thin. But she knew she had to hope that he was. But she couldn’t. She wished that she could and she tried as hard as she could, but she was just unable to.

And so when DB told her that Anakin’s starfighter was landing, she ran over to him. She quickly went to hug him. Immediately when she pulled away, she spoke to him quickly. “Are you alright? I heard there was an attack on the Jedi Temple. You can see the smoke from here.”

He placed soft and reassuring hands on her sides. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I came to see if you and the baby are safe.”

She didn’t answer him, “What’s happening?”

He sighed, “The Jedi have tried to overthrow the Republic.” He hated that. Lying. He knew one day it would get back to her and she would hate him for it.

“I can’t believe that.”

“I saw Master Windu attempt to assassinate the Chancellor myself.”

He saw as her surprise turned to worry, “Oh, Anakin. What are you gonna do?”

He knew he had two choices. Tell her the truth or lie. He turned and walked away from her slightly. Lying would be easier. He already had. And besides, it wasn’t a full lie. “I will not betray the Republic.” He turned back to her, “My loyalties lie with the Chancellor and with the Senate and with you.”

“What about Obi Wan?”

No. He didn’t want to hear about him. He didn’t want to imagine him dead. Or imagine what he would think if he knew. Anakin didn’t want to think about Obi Wan being betrayed by Anakin. “I don’t know. Many Jedi have been killed.”

“And Ahsoka?”

Ahsoka. Maker did he hope she was okay. “We can only hope that they, both her and Obi Wan, remained loyal to the Chancellor.”

“Anakin...I’m afraid.”

He placed a loving hand on the side of her face. “Have faith, my love. Everything will soon be set right. The Chancellor has given me a very important mission. The Separatists have gathered on the Mustafar system.” His hand dropped from her face, “ I’m going there to end this war. Wait for me until I return.” She nodded softly, “Things will be different. I promise.” He carefully pulled her in for a kiss. When they pulled away, he kept his hand at the back of her neck, “Please, wait for me.”

She nodded as he walked away. She held her hands tightly together as she watched him fly away. DB walked over to her. “Oh, Y/N, is there anything I might do?”

She shook her head, “No, thank you, DB.”

He began to walk away as he spoke, “Oh…I-I actually feel helpless.”

As Anakin flew onto the small Volcanic moon named Mustafar, he began to wonder why he was doing this. Was it really all just for Y/N? What if what he saw happening to Y/N is because of him doing all of this? He shook his head and ignored those thoughts as he went to land his ship. He hopped out of the ship and walked to where he was told the Separatists would be. He knew R2 was following him, so as he lifted his hood, he gave his droid an order. “R2, stay with the ship.” He heard him beep in protest, but chose to ignore them and continue.

He walked down the hallway to the room where the Separatists were. Gunray was the one who greeted him. “Welcome, Lord Vader. We’ve been expecting you.”

He closed all of the doors so there would be no way for them to get out. He lit his lightsaber and began to kill the Separatists. It was easier than he thought it would be and he wondered why the Jedi hadn’t done this sooner. Of course, unknown to him, his eyes had turned to the sickly yellow that the Sith had been known for.

Gunray and Tambor had tried to hide in a conference room. He quickly killed Tambor before flipping over to kill Gunray who tried to plead. “The war is over. Lord Sidious promised us peace! We only want-” He stopped Gunray from finishing his sentence as he slashed his lightsaber across his body. He turned off his saber and went to send the transmission to Palpatine. Informing him that he did what he was asked to do.

Y/N let out a sigh of relief when Obi Wan showed up just as Anakin had hours previous. After they had greeted he told her that he had to speak with her. And so that’s why they were standing in her and Anakin’s sitting room.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

She walked away from him, “Yesterday.”

He followed her, “And do you know where he is now?”

She wasn’t fully sure if she could trust Obi Wan, so she lied. “No.”

“Y/N, I need your help. He is in grave danger.”

She turned around sharply, “From the Sith?”

“From himself.” Obi Wan tried to swallow anything in his dry mouth. He placed a comforting hand onto her shoulder. He knew that she wasn’t going to like what he was going to tell her. Assuming she would even believe him, “Anakin has turned to the Dark Side.”

“You’re wrong.” He knew this would be her reaction. After all, he didn’t want to believe it either. She moved back from him and his hand fell, “How could you even say that?”

He carefully moved past her. He didn’t want to tell her, but he knew he had to. “I have seen a-a security hologram...of him...killing younglings.” He placed a hand over his mouth to keep himself calm. He felt as if he was going to throw up even saying it.

“Not Anakin. He couldn’t.”

Obi Wan turned to her, she was right. Anakin couldn’t. It was against how he was. But somehow Palpatine had twisted something and convinced Anakin to turn. “He was deceived by a lie. We all were. It appears that the Chancellor is behind everything. Including the war.” He carefully moved towards her, “Palpatine is the Sith Lord we’ve been looking for.” He watched as her face grew more and more in disbelief. “After the death of Count Dooku, he began to train Anakin. And now Anakin has become his new apprentice.”

Y/N turned away from Obi Wan. She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to believe that Anakin, her Anakin, had done all of this. She walked away from him, “I don’t believe you.” She carefully sat on one of the couches. “I can’t.”

Obi Wan came to sit next to her gently, “Y/N...I must find him.”

She turned her head to him and that was when he finally saw the tears gathering in her eyes. But those tears quickly began to go away as she accused Obi Wan of something he would never do. At least not to Anakin. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”

But unfortunately, he didn’t deny it. “He has become a very great threat.”

He watched Y/N shake her head, “I can’t.” He knew that she knew where Anakin was. And he knew that since she knew all of this, she was going to go find him. So all he had to do was watch her until she went to find him.

He got up and walked back to his fighter, but he stopped when he was nearly there and looked at her. “Anakin is the father, isn’t he?” He knew it was true. He just needed her to give some recognition that it was true. So when she looked down he knew. He sighed, “I have turned a blind eye in order to keep you both safe. So all that I can do now is say this. I’m so sorry.” He continued and left on his fighter.

Y/N walked to her ship as her brother Y/B/N followed her. “Sister, let me go with you.”

She shook her head, “There’s no danger. The fighting’s over. And this is personal.” There was one thing that she knew, in her family, if it was personal, then you go alone. Unless you ask for help.

“As you wish, but I strongly disagree.”

“I’ll be alright, Dran. This is something I must do myself.” They stopped at the entrance of her ship. “Besides, DB will look after me.”

She turned and walked onto her ship with DB behind her as her brother walked away. And unknown to her, Obi Wan snuck on behind them. She walked over to the cockpit and DB went to the pilot’s seat and she sat there wondering how all of this happened.

#anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker imagine #star wars #star wars x reader #star wards imagine #revenge of the sith #x reader #imagine

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mod--soul · 2 years

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For some reason the YouTube algorithm recently enjoyed recommending certain AMVs to me and it surprises and alarms me that people would even think about combining those songs with fictional (Star Wars) footage. Because those songs by Swedish metal band Sabaton, well, they are about real life military events/people/… (basically a melodic history lecture)

Equating the (much more harmless) fictional events with the real life narrative trivializes the latter, and to me this just doesn’t feel right.

Disclaimer: I have not seen any of the videos (I just can’t do it) so this is not about what exactly is used in them, this is simply judging by what the title suggests. It is also in no way meant to call out the person/people who did them, I just want to draw attention to the actual content of the songs used in perspective to the fictional context.

4. Carolus Rex - The Force Awakens

As the title did not give away more than that, I’m not entirely sure what this video is about, but from what I know about Star Wars (which is bits and pieces, honestly) there was never a character that:

became king at the age of fifteen

declared himself god king

spent his whole life waging war

died under mysterious circumstances on the battlefield (300 years later still no one knows whether the shot that killed him came from his opponents or his own people) and basically started the downfall of the Empire his ancestors had built

Even if you replace becoming king with “coming into Jedi powers” it still does not fit, even with all the chosen ones in mind … and the only force users that ever cooperated with an Empire were Sith … so there is that …

And before anyone wants to argue that there is a clone trooper called Rex: Carolus Rex means King Karl/Carl/Charles, namely King Charles XII. of Sweden

3. Lady of the Dark - Ahsoka Tano

While it is cool that one of the few female characters in the franchise gets attention, do I think that this does neither Ahsoka Tano nor Milunka Savić justice.

Savić was a Serbian woman who took her brother’s place in disguise (Serbian Mulan) in the First Balkan war and became one of the highest decorated female soldiers in the history of warfare (the attempt to put her into the Nurse division after the discovery of her sex only lasted an hour before she could continue to fight, as she had more than proven herself on the battlefields). She showed mercy to her enemies, keeping them alive when possible. After she was demobilized she led a rather normal (if impoverished) life, had a kid, adopted two more and only gained recognition in old age.

Does that really sound like Ahsoka Tano to anyone?

2. Stormtroopers - do I really have to spell it out?

When I first saw the song list for “The War to End all Wars” I briefly wondered if Sabaton finally gave in to their fans’ continuous request of covering “Star Wars”. Well, guess what! They didn’t! Because Stromtroopers, or Sturmtruppen as they are originally called in German, are a real thing with vastly different skills than their fictional “counterparts”. Yet, barely released, this video appeared - and was the first of its kind I noticed.

Where the plastoid wearing cannon fodder usually wins by sheer force of numbers, these highly specialized soldiers (under 25 years old) acted in small well coordinated groups with the best weapons available. They broke through stalemates, confusing the enemies at targeted positions so that the main army could attempt to gain the upper hand.

While there might be a special SW-Stromtrooper regiment that follows similar tactics the common knowledge is quite underwhelming in comparison.

By the way: An additional name, depending on the tactic, is Stoßtruppen, Shocktrooper, which is something I’ve so far only heard from the effort against the SW-Stormtroopers.

But maybe they are closer to each other than I think and it’s all just propaganda …

Speaking of which …

1. The Final Solution - Order 66

This video is the one where the trivialization of horrifying real life events by equating them with much more “harmless” fictional events feels the worst … I mean, while we can (hopefully) agree that the genocide of the Jedi was horrible, I still don’t think it is actually comparable to The Holocaust.

For one, the annihilation of the Jedi was swift, not prolonged throughout decades of suspicion, misinformation (“wicked propaganda”), harassment, exclusion and terror that culminated into arrests and (mass) murder. In SW that happened after Order 66 was given and executed, if I understand the timeline correctly and was way less effective. (Which technically would make this the SW-equivalent of a pogrom, which us only a minuscule part of what is covered in the song)

For another, it lessens the impact. Where SW uses mind controlled beings for the initial attack (the “pogrom”), everyone involved in getting rid of the Jewish people did so willingly (or under threat of death to themselves/their families).

In case you are still skeptical about this not being comparable [TW Description of gas chamber death]: Did they ever put up to a hundred Jedi into a small room to kill them all in one swoop that had them die where they stood unable to fall down due to the amount of bodies inside?

Yeah, didn’t think so …

Besides, the Jedi are heavily Christian-coded, so using terms of Jewish suffering and comparing it, leaves a bitter aftertaste all by itself.

With that said, I hope those of you who consider Sabaton songs as basis for (SW) AMVs to please take a closer look at what is being told there, which is easy as they have their own History Channel that explains everything. Real life is way more cruel than fiction tends to be, let’s not simplify it by (subtextually) saying its not that bad.

P.S.

If you want to do use metal as a background music for your (SW) work, why not try one of these:

Hammerfall:

The Unforgiving Blade

Any Means Necessary

The Way of the Warrior (how this one is not better known is beyond me …)

…

Van Canto

If I die in Battle

The Mission

Majesty: Metal Union

And those are just the ones from the top of my head …

#Star Wars #The Mandalorian #AMV #Sabaton #Sabaton History #war #antisemitism #stormtrooper #clonetrooper #clone trooper rex #ahsoka tano #order 66 #jedi #analysis #The Clone Wars #music #metal

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gallivantcanary · 10 months

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My (Late) Take on the Mandalorian Seasion 3 and Who Owns the Darksaber

So I've come across a fair number of people who disagree with the path of the Darksaber throughout the end-of-second and third seasons of the Mandalorian. As an amusing thought experiment, I followed the Darksaber as it changed hands to find its "true owner" by Mandalorian culture.

The interesting note that defines this analysis is that to claim the Darksaber, one (whether Mandalorian or not, technically, since Maul led Mandalore for a while) needs to "defeat" its former owner. Defeat being the keyword, rather than simply kill: yes Maul claimed it by killing Pre Vizsla in the Clone Wars animated show, but at the end of season 2 of the Mandalorian Moff Gideon is clearly not dead yet Din Djarin is recognized as the owner of the Darksaber. Prior to Pre Vizsla, we don't actually specifically know how he came into possession of the Darksaber, though we can speculate it had been in his family for generations. The course of events is thus:

Maul kills Pre Vizsla and claims the Darksaber. From here, the concept radically spirals out of control pretty much immediately.

Palpatine defeats Maul and Savage Opress on Mandalore, so should he have been the Mandalorians' true leader? If so, he is later defeated in Return of the Jedi by either Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker (depending on your interpretation). If you choose to believe it belonged to Vader, then its reasonable to assume his son would inherit it; thus, up to this point Luke is -as far as we know- undefeated, and is the Darksaber's true owner.

Or when Ahsoka Tano defeats Maul during the final season of the Clone Wars, does she become the Darksaber's true owner? If so, you then have to ask if the Twilight of the Apprentice arc of Rebels counts as a defeat for her. If yes, Vader technically owns the Darksaber (return to previous); if no, Ahsoka presumably is undefeated and therefore still owns the Darksaber.

Or maybe you say Maul still owned the Darksaber until his death; so Obi-Wan is the Darksaber's true owner. When Vader kills him, we then come back to his defeat of the Emperor; the Darksaber passes to Luke (in theory), who is now the rightful ruler of Mandalore.

What we see in the Mandalorian (both directly and mentioned), Bo-Katan Kryze ends up with the Darksaber, but she never won it; Sabine Wren didn't even own it, she just stole it from Maul herself and later gave it to Bo-Katan. Thus, when Moff Gideon took the Darksaber (without actually defeating Bo-Katan), he was never its owner, so neither Din Djarin nor Bo-Katan could have won it from him.

According to this (in my opinion) true accounting of the Darksaber's story, its ultimate fate falls eventually into the final confrontation of Luke, Vader, and Palpatine, which is where the last complication arises: thanks to the Rise of Skywalker, we know Palpatine didn't actually die then. Thus, does his defeat in Return of the Jedi count? Do either Vader or Luke then technically own the Darksaber, or does it belong to Palpatine either through his original defeat of Maul on Mandalore or through his killing of Vader?

It's probably better not to ask these questions. The whole thing is complicated enough as it is.

#gc speaks #star wars #analysis #excuse my random nerd shit

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kenobster · 1 year

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@maiaspen replied to your post: RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP

Y?! 🤣😂 that is intriguing

Haha thank you - this fic didn't have a title; the "Y" stands for "Younglings." It's an idea I had of where Anakin is knighted and moves out of his and Obi-Wan's shared quarters in the Temple, and Obi-Wan is a little lonely and sad (in the children-moving-out-of-the-nest kind of way that all parents eventually go through). It gets worse when Ahsoka becomes Anakin's Padawan because Anakin is suddenly busy with a lot more responsibilities and they don't get to spend as much time together. Thus, Obi-Wan (as many grandparents do XD) takes up the hobby of assisting with the care of younglings/almost-Padawans, including helping them out with their studies.

Unfortunately, I couldnt get a decent excerpt out of this one, so instead have some headcanons my mom and I came up with while watching TCW to potentially go along with the idea:

In the youngling episodes (S5E6-E9, but specifically S5E8) after Ahsoka gets captured, the younglings are stranded on a ship and send out an SOS call. When Jedi General & Council Member Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up the call, literally everybody seems absolutely starstruck (1:01)--except for Katooni and Pedro.

Katooni smiles in greeting and gets immediately to business. She barely even takes a breath before she's giving him their coordinates.

Considering she is a goody two shoes (and we all know which other Jedi is a goody two shoes), my mom and I assume they are on regular speaking terms with each other. We headcanon that Obi-Wan has lunch with her every Tuesday or something lol and gives her advice on her studies. He does this with all the younglings who want to, but Katooni is definitely his favorite lol.

While Pedro is equally starstruck (which is to say not at all), he does not seem to share Katooni's amicable ease. In fact, Pedro makes what we feel is a disgusted face the second Obi-Wan's hologram figure pops up lmao:

This is especially hilarious when paired with another scene... aka, the one where Pedro is boasting about his lightsaber and says, "With this lightsaber, I'm going to challenge Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to a duel and kill him General Grievous!!!!" (S5E7 at 5:48) (You cannot convince me and my mom that this was not an edit to the original script; don't even try.) When these two scenes are paired together, it paints (in our opinion) a picture of a youngling who has gotten into enormous trouble, who has been caught red-handed getting into this enormous trouble, and who blames no one other than Obi-Wan Kenobi for the consequences of being caught red-handed getting into this enormous trouble lmao.

Our Pedro-versus-Obi-Wan headcanon is actually a continuation of a previous headcanon which sprung from episode S2E1. In this episode, Ahsoka refused to retreat from a battle, despite Obi-Wan's insistent commands at 2:37 to 2:55 (he even gave Anakin hilariously dirty looks for all the trouble at 2:53). Afterwards, the scene cuts to the the Jedi Council, where Anakin and Ahsoka are standing in the middle, and the very first lines are (at 3:58):

Mace Windu, stern, no-nonsense tone: "Padawan Ahsoka. Do you feel that Master Kenobi's description of the incident is accurate?" Ahsoka, looks down, absolutely ashamed: "... Yes, my masters."

And my mom and I are like wtf was Obi-Wan's description of the incident lmfao.

It took us a while, but we have finessed our answer to this question to be that Obi-Wan probably is the type who pretends to be completely oblivious and accidental as he throws people under the bus (this is based on countless other scenes, which would make this post far too long, but see one example in S1E2 at 15:27 when he does so with Anakin).

So what my mom and I think he said in the Ahsoka situation was something like:

"Ahsoka was very courageous and initially stayed to fight. Perhaps she was only resistant to my commands because she lacked the bigger picture... although, hmm, I did try to explain it to her... Oh well, she's young and I'm sure she did her best."

Which would be so incredibly damning lmao. Everyone thinks the scathing comments are unintentional, but they are not. Obi-Wan knows exactly what he's doing. In fact, he and Mace Windu play the good-Jedi-bad-Jedi game with younglings and/or Padawans on the regular, and it is wildly effective.

In our headcanons, Pedro is only one of the many younglings to have fallen victim to Obi-Wan's kind and forgiving demeanor only to find themselves totally bamboozled in front of the council later. Like, secretly-conniving Obi-Wan 'incidentally' brought up the fact that he found Pedro sneaking around the lower Coruscanti levels--oh no, that wasn't against the rules, was it? Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize--which resulted in Mace Windu assigning Pedro to babysit Grogu for several days. Pedro will never let this go. (Obi-Wan loves Pedro though, just as much as the other younglings! He's just worried about him and this is his way of protecting him.)

Sadly, these disciplinary tactics become less and less effective overtime... Mostly because Obi-Wan develops a reputation among the sneakier, brattier younglings who warn their younger kin:

"No no no, you can't trust him. You might think you can--he seems so sweet and forgiving and sort of naive--but you absolutely cannot, no matter what he says. Ever."

And meanwhile, all of the nerds like Katooni continue to have their weekly luncheons/study clubs with Obi-Wan...

... However, when he's off-world, they will secretly teach their Pedro-friends what they've learned. And they will assist in any ongoing mischief... the difference is that they have the good sense to not tell a Jedi Council member about these schemes, no matter how understanding said Jedi Council member might seem, because "like... isn't that just common sense?"

#writing #headcanon #mine #obi-wan #katooni #pedro #younglings #ask game

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awesome-art-by-choolee · 2 years

Photo

Making a digital concept vs hand-painting... So here's the story: A wonderful client requested hand-painted fan art of Star Wars' Ahsoka Tano and her 3 trooper clone buddies. I've always hated using gouache and acrylic, but many illustrators swear by them for vivid, opaque colors. So after designing a concept digitally, I gave these paints a second chance. Still not a fan. 😝 Digital tools are so much faster, more flexible, and less messy! Granted, traditional paints still hold their charms. But due to the extra time and mess, —and lack of an UNDO BUTTON— from now on I will no longer be accepting commissions for hand-painted originals. I'm also reducing my intake of portrait commissions, and focusing mostly on murals and character design. What do you guys think of this plan? 😮 Any ideas or advice? #starwars #ahsokatano #starwarsfanart #gouachepainting #digitalpainting #illustration #comicart #femaleheroes #clonewars #lightsaber #cintiq #photoshop https://www.instagram.com/p/CfKvNxet-La/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#starwars #ahsokatano #starwarsfanart #gouachepainting #digitalpainting #illustration #comicart #femaleheroes #clonewars #lightsaber #cintiq #photoshop

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ageofgeek · 1 year

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I posted 940 times in 2022

73 posts created (8%)

867 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@aurorawest

@yoyobobo456

@intermundia

@oceanlover4evr

@atypical-snowman

I tagged 940 of my posts in 2022

#star wars - 182 posts

#marvel - 156 posts

#rofl - 140 posts

#equality - 135 posts

#hetalia - 131 posts

#spoilers - 92 posts

#sw obi-wan kenobi - 92 posts

#rant - 88 posts

#mine - 79 posts

#rebellion era - 64 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#i remember looking through the list of revealed russian propaganda accounts and yeah i absolutely reblogged things from some of them

My Top Posts in 2022:

i still can't get over just how good the opening scene to HOTD is

like, they really gave us everything:

King Jaehaerys!!! it's so fucking cool to see him!!! and the shadow of his great reign hangs so heavily over Viserys!!!

Centering Rhaenys and how the crown was stolen from her (as well as putting the gender dynamics front and center)

the fondness in VO Rhaenyra's voice when she calls Viserys her father just slays me. bc even tho she sees how unfair it was for Rhaenys to be passed over, and even seeing how Viserys' faults led to the Dance of the Dragons, Rhaenyra still loves him because he's her dad

the final line - "the only thing that could tear down the house of the dragon was itself" - being supplemented by the original GOT theme!!! CHILLS. Not only foreshadowing the Dance of the Dragons, but also Mad King Aerys, Rhaegar, and Daenerys!!

truly. It's only like a minute long and it may be one of my favorite scenes in this entire franchise.

28 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

i know that palps just being Fucking Done with vader’s eternal Obesession is hilarious, but i seriously cannot stop thinking about that scene, because...

sidious clearly always used the people anakin loved to manipulate him - whether it was padme, ahsoka, obi-wan, and then later luke. so why would sidious want vader to stop thinking about obi-wan, when he clearly uses obi-wan to taunt vader in other contexts?

could it be because a small sliver of anakin skywalker shone through when he fought obi-wan, and sidious could sense it? could it be that sidious was worried that if vader continued facing obi-wan, that sliver would only get larger and brighter? could it be that sidious realized that obi-wan might have been capable of taking his right hand from him?

105 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

Bond falls victim to what I am now calling "Steve Rogers Syndrome," where a main character throws away his found family (which the audience has become much more attached to) in favor of a bland, boring, nuclear/heterosexual life. Just because Bond doesn't get his "happy ending" doesn't mean that he doesn't fall into this trope.

I think a lot of people would agree with me when I say that Bond & Madeline have no chemistry. They had no chemistry in Spectre and they continue to have none in NTTD. And yet, we're supposed to care about their relationship because 1) the narrative (i.e. Bond) tells us, instead of shows us, that he loves her, and 2) there is a child (which the narrative also tells us that we should care about).

But the truth is that Bond doesn't trust Madeline. Not really. The second he's attacked by Spectre, he immediately blames her and doesn't even question if he's wrong (and she doesn't really try to convince him otherwise). Now, you may chalk this up to Bond not trusting anybody, but here's where we get to the found family: because he does trust his MI6 family, implicitly, immediately.

He trusts Eve enough to tell her about the scientist, Feliks, what happened in Cuba, etc., and to ask for her help. He trusts Q so much that he gives him the flashdrive he recovered in Cuba, he stays with Q in his apt while he's in London, he places his life in Q's hands multiple times throughout Skyfall, Spectre, and NTTD. He trusts Mallory - even after knowing his shadiness with Herakles, he still trusts him enough to go back under his command. He even trusts Nomi after only a few days of meeting her - enough to trust her to have his back on the island, enough to trust her with Madeline and his child.

So the fact that Bond doesn't trust Madeline is a huge, huge red flag. To me, the "trilogy" of Skyfall, Spectre, and NTTD were all about establishing Bond's support system and family within MI6. In Casino Royale and QoS, he really only had M, and no other connections to MI6 beyond her. But starting with Skyfall, he begins to build a support network of people he does trust in MI6, and the audience begins to trust them (and love them) along with Bond.

This simply doesn't apply to Madeline, because Bond doesn't trust her, and so the audience is never shown why we should trust her or love her.

276 notes - Posted November 13, 2022

I've been thinking about tolkien lately, and i know this must've happened to many fathers and mothers across europe in the 1940s, but

do you ever think about how tolkien was sent to fight in a pointless, brutal, terrible war, from which only he and one of his friends returned? a war that promised young british men that they would find glory, only to find death and trauma and suffering? and when he returned, stricken with trench fever, he told his children stories of the adventures of a humble hobbit - a simple tale, that maybe purposefully didn't reflect just how awful his own "adventure" was.

And then just 20 years later, those children, his children who had heard those stories of a humble hobbit, got sent to fight in another brutal, devastating war, and he had to watch them go without him, knowing what they would go through because it had happened to him.

and this time, after that second war was over, and his sons had returned to him safely, he wrote another tale. This one not as simple. This one not for children, but for the grown men and soldiers his sons had been forced to become. This one centered the brutalities of war but also the hope of friendship and love.

i just. do you ever think about john ronald reuel tolkien???

4,154 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

the special relationship is as strong as ever, lads

214,332 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #i love how my 2nd most reblogged post is a respectable 4k notes and then my 1st most reblogged is 214k #that meme haunts me to this day lmao #mine

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pandora15 · 3 years

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Hello! So this is an alternate version of my Whumpay 2021 Day 3 prompt. The prompt was “Crying into Chest.” This alternate version is much darker and sadder than what I originally wrote. The first part of this is exactly the same as what I originally wrote, but then things take...a turn.

Here we go! :)

tag list: @thelove-ablepenguin

(tw major character death, blood)

“Are you sure about this?” Rex asked for the fifth time, drawing Ahsoka’s gaze away from the viewport, to where he sat in the copilot’s seat, eyebrows furrowed.

Ahsoka sighed, slumping back slightly in her chair.

“Not really,” she admitted. The glare of Tatooine’s twin suns shone through the transparisteel viewport, casting Rex’s form in a bright yellow glow. Ahsoka was sorely tempted to shield her eyes, but she was desperate to look into the open expanse of sand, for any sign of anyone—

She turned back to Rex, eyes watering.

“If he survived, he would be here,” she said. “Anakin never really liked it here, but…this was his home, and I just have a feeling, Rex.”

Rex gave her a short nod in response. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No,” she replied, and she stood, picking up the cloak draped over the back of her chair. “Best not to risk it, considering…”

“Yeah.” Rex’s voice was rough, barely anything more than a whisper. Since Mandalore, since the Order, he and Ahsoka had realized that his face—the face of a clone—was simply too recognizable, which made laying low a bit more…complicated.

“I’ll be back,” she said. “I just need to know if—”

If he survived. If anyone survived.

Rex nodded.

Ahsoka managed a quick smile, and then she turned away, rushing out of the cockpit, into the blistering heat of Tatooine’s day.

———————————-

Tatooine was just as dry as she remembered.

Ahsoka didn’t really know much about it, if she was being honest with herself. She’d only been to Tatooine a handful of times, and there hadn’t been any time to explore, let alone adjust to the heat of the suns.

Pulling the edges of her cloak closer together, Ahsoka pressed forward, closer to Mos Eisley. There was a pair of Rodians talking animatedly to each other close to the entrance gate, a Twi’Lek racing past, cloak flapping in the air, and then a small Weequay standing against one of the buildings, smoking pipe in hand.

Ahsoka sighed and turned away.

Even if Anakin was here, somehow, where would she begin to look? The Force was—well, all her attempts to try and find his presence resulted in her encountering the horrifying darkness that bled took over, and she couldn’t bear it at all.

It was just…too much.

Shaking her head, Ahsoka continued moving forward. Despite the fact that she could see the other people around her, just outside Mos Eisley, there was a feeling of silence, of emptiness around her.

It was odd. There was a strange quietness in the air, something that distantly reminded her of the moments right before the Order was called, when she was on the ship, waiting for Rex to take his transmission, and then—

Ahsoka’s breath hitched.

There was the hum of a lightsaber, in the distance.

In a split-second, Ahsoka was running away from Mos Eisely, in the direction where she heard the humming. Her hand grasped desperately at her shoto, holding it in a near deathgrip as she rushed into the open expanse of sand.

Sweat dripped down her forehead, sliding down her cheeks, but she ignored it, pressing on.

The lightsaber’s hum grew louder and louder, but now she heard the voices, along with the blasterfire.

The Force shuddered in urgency.

Ahsoka ran faster.

Soon enough, she saw the lightsaber ignited in the distance, yards away. A lone hooded figure, holding a blue lightsaber, surrounded by a slew of blaster-wielding troopers.

Oh, no.

She was getting close enough to hear the words being exchanged, and now—

“All Jedi have been marked for termination,” a painfully familiar voice was saying. “Including you.”

Cody’s voice, muffled by his helmet, echoed into her montrals.

“I will not fight you, Cody.”

The accented voice was painfully familiar, sending urgency down Ahsoka’s spine.

“Obi-Wan,” she breathed, pumping her arms faster and faster. “Obi-Wan, no.”

Desperately, Ahsoka reached into the Force, to the bond she used to share with her Grandmaster, but that bond had long since dissolved, and Obi-Wan’s presence was completely closed off, impossible for her to reach.

As the clones—because yes, he was completely surrounded by clones marked with orange and white armor—raised their blasters, something heavy pushed Ahsoka back, away from the scene.

In the distance, she saw Obi-Wan’s hand was lifted towards her, in what appeared to be a placating gesture to the clones but was actually keeping Ahsoka away from the conflict.

By the time she managed to get herself back on her feet, Obi-Wan’s lightsaber was no longer visible.

Ahsoka watched, rushing forward as Cody lifted his blaster and fired at her Grandmaster. She watched as Obi-Wan stumbled back with a grunt and fell to the ground, as the clones kicked his body to the side. She watched as they rode away on their speeder-bikes, leaving Obi-Wan alone in the sands.

The Force shuddered again, and a light went out.

Ahsoka’s breaths caught in her chest as she sprinted forward, faster than before, coming to a stop and kneeling down next to Obi-Wan, who was laying on his side, turned away from Ahsoka.

“Master,” she breathed, reaching for his shoulder and rolling him carefully onto his back.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that his eyes were open, half-lidded and glazed over. Then, she saw the hole in the center of his chest, the blood oozing slowly out of it.

Swallowing, Ahsoka brought a trembling hand up to his nose and waited.

“No.” Her voice trembled as she desperately fought back a wave of tears. “No, Obi-Wan, you can’t do this to me, not after all of this.”

Obi-Wan remained completely still, as though he didn’t hear her at all.

Desperately, Ahsoka placed two fingers at his neck and waited to feel the movement of a pulse. Through it all, he remained completely still. There was no breath, no pulse, nothing in the Force but the horrible crushing emptiness she’d felt since the Order was called, and—

The tears were spilling out of her eyes, and with a desperate cry, Ahsoka was falling forward, her head landing on something soft and unmoving. The realization rushed into her then.

If she was only just a bit faster, she could’ve stopped this from happening. If she left for Tatooine even hours earlier, then Obi-Wan would be alive right now, and she wouldn’t feel so lost and alone.

It was only a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds, but in the end, it didn’t matter.

In the end, she was too late.

(Pandora’s Whumpay 2021 Masterlist)

#whumpay2021 #no.3 #crying into chest #pandora writes #ahsoka tano #rex #obi wan kenobi #major character death #blood #this idea sorta came to me while i was writing the original version but i was like kinda already almost done with it #but the idea wouldn't leave me alone so i guess i'm writing two prompt fills for today lol #anyways yeah! this one's even sadder than the original :))))

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mel-street · 2 years

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SPOILERS AHEAD

okay i dont want to do homework and i just finished episode 6 of tbobf and i have MANY MANY thoughts so imma go on a ramble here

spoilers underneath so be warned :)

- first off COBB VANTH, definitely wasnt expecting to see him again so that was pretty cool, he’s not my favorite but seeing him again was cool

- okay LUKE? AND GROGU? AND AHSOKA? AND MANDO? I AM LITERALLY UNWELL. i cried so hard, im crying now, this seriously isnt something i ever thought i’d see outside of headcannons and fanart on the internet. the 7 year old who decided to watch the weird sci fi movies my dad was so obsessed with is literally SHAKING right now. this was literally my spiderman no way home as a star wars fan

- we need a whole sub section to talk about ahsoka so here we go

if you know me you know i have an INSANE ahsoka obsession. we all know that she’s my favorite star wars character in existance, i’ve read her novel and watched every episode of clone wars and rebels that she’s in as well as her mando episode multiple times.

i know the star wars fandom in there infinite ability to hate star wars has issues with live action ahsoka and ngl it took a while to get used to in the mandolorian, but its definitely grown on me now and i generally dont think there’s anything wrong with rosario’s portrayal. people need to remember that its been YEARS since clone wars ahsoka, she’s no longer the snippy 14 year old girl we all grew up with, she’s aged now. we see this in rebels (another reason for people to go see rebels) and we also see her in the very last episode of rebels, she doesnt talk outside of one line but we see that she’s grown and that she’s changed. people complaining about how ahsoka is “boring” now is just stupid because all she did was grow up and they need to accept it.

and yeah i get how seeing cartoon characters in live action is weird because obviously its not going to be the same as the original but i think what we have is the best its going to get and its pretty good for bringing a character from a different medium to life

on a side note, see rosario play ahsoka after seeing her as claire in daredevil was WEIRD

okay now we’re transitioning to CAD BANE

- literally the part of the episode that made me gasp. he looks SO GOOD in life action and anyone complaining is just plain BLIND (once again, this man is GROWN, he was already grown in clone wars and its been literal YEARS, ofc he’s old and faded)

i was literally so scared for cobb in that scene (also i definitely dont think he’s dead) and hearing his voice again gave me CHILLS

yeah i have a lot more thoughts i just have homework, but that was hands down my favorite star wars episode of all time of all the shows (not counting clone wars and rebels obviously) it was just like *star wars* at its core

also BRING BOBA BACK IN HIS OWN SHOW, i love all the cameos and shit we’re getting but why would they name the show the book of boba fett when he’s not even in like 1/3 of the episodes of his own show? i feel like its just a segway into mando season 3 and although thats great, it feels kind of unfair to boba’s character and temuera

#the book of boba fett #boba fett #star wars #the book of boba fett spoilers #tbobf #tbobf spoilers

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kenobiapologist · 3 years

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Star Wars Novel Rankings

In celebration of the end of this year, I made a tier list of all of the Star Wars novels I’ve read since I joined this fandom in 2017 (which you can use to rank these books too). And I named all the tiers in a dorky but appropriate fashion. I would love to hear your thoughts on my rankings, as well as how you’d rank the books yourself! I’ve had a blast reading Star Wars novels from both Disney’s canon and the Legends extended universe over these past 3 years. Here’s to many more years of reading stories from the galaxy far far away!

I put longer (but not more coherent) thoughts below the cut.

The Chosen One: Bringing Balance to the Force and My Depressed Soul

1. The first spot of top tier had to go to Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization for obvious reasons. You simply cannot beat it. It’s a masterpiece. I literally had to put the book down to scream when I read the prose associated with the opening battle over Coruscant. It gave a whole new meaning to the triumphant music and the synchronous twirling of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s starfighters as they weave through blaster-fire in the battle over Coruscant. The rest of the book is the same way. You can’t put it down. I have wAyyYyYy too many feelings about this book oh my god.

2. Thrawn was a surprising book for me. For being centered on an admiral of the Empire’s navy, it had so much heart in it! I loved reading from Eli Vanto’s perspective too. god dammit I love that freaking Wild Space hillbilly dweeb with all my heart. I think his experiences getting to know Thrawn and learning from him guides the reader to feel much the same way as Eli by the end. Thrawn is a trusted friend, not the enemy you expect him to be. I could have done without Arihnda Pryce but she’s supposed to be unlikeable so I won’t blame Timothy Zahn this time.

3. The Clone Wars Gambit duology is basically Karen Miller writing fanfic and I’m HERE FOR IT. As is tradition with Karen Miller’s Star Wars novels, the emotions are dialed up the eleven. Our favorite dumbass Jedi team is back at it again with a mission to save the galaxy and this time they end up going undercover as two lumberjacks from the boonies. Anakin holds an energy shield back from collapsing with his bare hands like a total badass. Obi-Wan is in love with another woman despite it always ending in tragedy, while also bickering like a married couple with Anakin every ten seconds. get a fucking room, you two. These two books inspired one of my fics so they’re near and dear to my heart.

Jedi Master: These Books Have A Seat On The Council Too

4. Wild Space was appropriately named, I’ll tell you that. It’s a wild ride from start to finish. *slaps the front cover* this book can fit so much of Obi-Wan’s suffering in it! @forcearama has elaborated on the many reasons why this book is a gem in Snark Wars blog posts (linked here). It’s also the beginning of the best team-up since Anakin and Obi-Wan...Bail and Obi-Wan! These two bastards get under each other’s skin but it makes for the perfect character development. This book is the reason I screech with delight whenever Bail Organa appears on screen, or is mentioned in conversation. Bail gets a mysterious tip about trouble on a planet, and Obi-Wan decides to go with him to investigate. Cue Sith-induced suffering. It’s cool to see a normal person experiencing the weirdness of Force sensitives and how the world has this extra level of sensory information in it. Plotwise this one isn’t the best, but I think the interactions between characters really shine in this novel. Karen Miller’s writing is like a cup of hot chocolate to me. Indulgent character insight, full of sweet moments, has a bunch of extra marshmallowy dialogue, you’re reading it to have a good time but not to be satisfied with plot. You get me?

5. Do I even have to explain myself here? Kenobi by John Jackson Miller is both an interesting western-style tale set on Tatooine, and a beautiful character study of a man stricken with grief he keeps suppressed. How does one continue on when their whole family was murdered and their whole culture burnt to ash? I wanted to give Obi-Wan a hug the entire time I read this. The characterization was spot-on, from the way he wrangled animals to the way he severed a man’s arm off in a bar with his lightsaber. And when he meets a woman named Annileen Calwell, or Annie for short, Obi-Wan can’t bring himself to call her by her nickname ever and if that doesn’t just break your damn heart fucking fuck.

6. Ahsoka was the first Disney canon book I ever read and it kickstarted my love for E.K. Johnston. The writing is simplistic, but that makes it easy to jump into. Overall, it’s a quick and enjoyable read. By far the best parts are the flashbacks that mull over memories Ahsoka has of the time before Order 66. That shit hits you right in the heart, man. And the part where Ahsoka equates Obi-Wan and Anakin to her adoptive family ohhhhhhh god the tears they flow like a river. There are scenes that allude to Ahsoka becoming the vital part of the Rebellion we know her to be from Rebels, balanced with her current struggles to survive and find herself. Despite having cast away her identity as a Jedi and having any remaining bits of her culture destroyed by Palpatine, Ahsoka shows us all how bright a hero can shine in the darkest of times. AND SHE WAS WRITTEN AS QUEER! finally some good fucking food.

7. Oh shit, another E.K. Johnston book? Don’t be surprised. She’s a prequel fan and so am I, hence why Queen’s Shadow is so high on the list. E.K. Johnston pays homage to our favorite queen and badass senator Padme Amidala. There’s politics, there’s solidarity between female characters, and Bail Organa is in it so you KNOW I simply must give it a high rating. All jokes aside, I thought the story added lots of little details to the world of Star Wars without it being all stereotypical sci-fi nerdy language. You know how people want to describe something beyond our technological capabilities so they throw a bunch of nonsense together like “pre-praxis crystal bio-anode circuitry”? I’m looking at you, Karen Miller, I love you but please. There is none of that in this book. It makes sense, it adds color and culture and life to the worlds of Star Wars. Most of all, it devotes time and love to developing Padme outside of her place in canon as Anakin’s wife, Queen of Naboo, and Senator. She is all of these things, but she’s human too. I do agree that the pacing is slow, but it’s something meant to be savored, I think. E.K. Johnston really shines when she’s writing dialogue because she gets these characters. That’s something to appreciate, because not all canon books agree with the way we’ve perceived the characters as an audience.

8. Rogue Planet chewed me up, spit me out, and declared me an even bigger stan for The Team. People who say Qui-Gon would have been a better master for Anakin can ~get out~ because I could read about these two hooligans getting neck deep in space shenanigans all damn day. Anakin is like twelve, which is a time in his training that we don’t get a lot of in canon. Personally, I think it was equal parts heartwarming and funny to read about their adventures. There is some angst sprinkled in there because hey, we’re reading about Anakin here, let’s not forget the emotional trainwreck that is Anakin Skywalker. The duo is sent to a planet that makes super fast ships that are ?sentient? or at least biologically active. They bond with the pilot, which makes Anakin perfect for this mission. There’s a scene where these little floof things attach all over tiny Anakin because he’s so strong in the Force and it’s god damn adorable how dare he?? I’d probably rate this one even higher if I read it again, but it’s been awhile. Characterization is spot on and reminiscent of Matthew Stover’s writing in how it highlights the strong bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin, how they’re fated to know each other. I’m a sucker for soulmates, what can I say?

9. Lost Stars reads like a movie. Not a script, but just the perfect amount of detail that you can imagine the scenes but the pacing is still quick, the dialogue smooth and natural. I couldn’t help wishing this was a film because the story was so all-encompassing. The highs and lows of the emotions of both protagonists, their relationship developing, the differences in culture. Folks, this book has it all! It’s a totally different perspective on the events of the original trilogy, seen from the side of Imperial cadets training to become pilots. Eventually, one splits off and joins the Rebellion while the other perseveres in the Empire. It’s like star-crossed lovers, but covers so much more ground than that. And the characters are fully developed. These original characters knocked my socks off, and that’s hard to do since I’m usually an Obi-Wan stan through and through. For anyone uncertain of reading Star Wars novels, this book is a great place to start. Action-packed, emotion-filled, and stands on its own despite weaving perfectly into the established universe. What more could you want?

10. Back at it again with the prequel shit, amiright? Queen’s Peril is E.K. Johnston’s most recent Padme-centric novel and it does not disappoint fans that wanted a taste of the Queen’s side of the story. Set during the events of The Phantom Menace, we get a “behind the curtain” look at how all of the handmaidens came to be more than their title suggests. There’s teenage girls getting stuff done! It makes more sense why Padme was elected ruler of her home-world, and you come to appreciate that a royal leader is not alone; there’s actually a whole team at her side to help her overcome everything from the drudgery of daily governing to Trade Federation blockades that threaten to starve her people. I think if you enjoyed Queen’s Shadow, you’ll enjoy this book a lot. For those that are unfamiliar with Johnston’s work, I wouldn’t recommend this one first because it does cover events you’ve already seen in movies and therefore is a less suspenseful companion to them. On the other hand, because it does tie in with TPM, it doesn’t suffer from the pacing issues of Queen’s Shadow to the same degree. I read this all in one sitting, so it’s definitely fun, but wasn’t compelling enough in its character development to elevate the book past some of the others I’ve listed already.

11. Thrawn: Treason was a refreshing return to the Grand Admiral we all know and love after the second installment in this series slowed things down a bit. Although it wasn’t as character-driven as the first book (which I love with all of my heart), there were still many moments that had me cackling at the disparity between Thrawn’s immense intellect and the other Imperials’ sheer stupidity, and that’s what we’re here for in a book about the Empire, right? There’s a lot of pressure on Thrawn, as his TIE Defender project has been pitted against Director Krennic’s Project Stardust. Who will get the funds? We just don’t know?? Tarkin sits in between the two and as usual, manipulates everything to his advantage. Palpatine questions Thrawn’s allegiance to the Empire after some of the choices he has made, leaving him in even more of a pickle. Thrawn is sent on a wild goose chase task that should definitely end in failure (on purpose because Imperials all want to watch each other burn as much as they want to watch the Rebellion burn), but you know Thrawn will find a way. My main squeeze Eli Vanto makes his return after being absent from book 2. Missed you, my sweet sweet country boy. He doesn’t have a leading role in this novel, but every scene he’s in makes the story better. Thrawn says “perhaps” way too often for my taste, but if you can ignore that, this book is a solid read. Equal parts action and deductive reasoning, as any Thrawn book should be.

12. Most of Dark Disciple had me thinking this was going to be a top tier book, and damn do I wish we could have gotten this animated. We follow Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku. Why the Jedi thought this was a good idea, I don’t know. But I’m here for it all the same. 3/4 of the adventure were intriguing, but the ending didn’t do it for me. I won’t spoil things for anyone who hasn’t read this yet, but after all of the character development, to have it squandered so quickly just left me disappointed? I got really attached to everyone in this novel, and I’m sure you will to. I’ve read this and listened to it as an audiobook, and actually I think it’s more memorable as an audiobook. Would recommend, except for Mace Windu’s voice being exceptionally southern for no reason. Weird. I think this novel captures all of the great things about The Clone Wars show; time to really get to know each character and their motivations, action and adventure with the darkness of impending doom tinting everything, and lightsaber fights! Plus, Obi-Wan and Anakin make appearances in this book and it just adds that extra bit of spice. Worth the read, even if you know they aren’t going to get Dooku in the end (which I am still mad about, screw that guy).

Jedi Knight: Passed the Trials but There’s Room for Improvement

13. Few books in the Star Wars universe are centered around characters with no use of the Force, but in Most Wanted, we see a young Han Solo and Qi’ra struggling to survive on Corellia and it provides a humorous but compelling backstory to both characters in the Disney canon. Han is his usual lucky goofball self, and Qi’ra is smart and cunning. You can see how they grew into the versions of themselves in Solo. While the book stays on the lighter side of things (typical of stories written for a younger audience), there are still moments of depth on droid rights, viewing the Force as a religion, and what life is like in a crime syndicate. Addressing these heavier topics without it killing the pace of the story is hard to do, but Rae Carson pulls it off flawlessly. I went into this book with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. Han and Qi’ra start off as competitors, but eventually have to learn to work together to survive as more and more people start hunting them down. They’re honestly so cute together, I loved their dynamic. It makes Solo a better movie, and although I liked it on its own, characters like Qi’ra needed a little more time to get to know, which you can get here!

14. Thrawn Alliances was not what I expected at all, and it took me a lot longer to get through. Hell, it has Thrawn, Anakin/Vader, and Padme in it! What’s not to love? Apparently, a lot. The different timepoints and perspectives in this were more jarring than anything else. Although the interactions between Thrawn and Anakin/Vader were enjoyable, it was not enough to elevate this book into the Jedi Master tier. Things felt dry, the characters didn’t grip me like in the first Thrawn, and it all felt like a ploy to introduce Batuu into canon before the launch of Galaxy’s Edge.

15. Leia: Princess of Alderaan was a dive into young Leia’s life before we see her in A New Hope even though this was marketed as a journey to The Last Jedi book, which I disagree with. We really haven’t seen any content about Leia in this time period before, and although I can’t say I was looking for this, I did enjoy it. The book was a little long, but there was adventure and the seeds are planted for Leia to be a bigger part of the Rebellion. The romance wasn’t too memorable, but Holdo wasn’t pointless in this (a stark contrast to her brief appearance in TLJ just to sacrifice herself). There’s a hint about Leia being Force-sensitive but it’s not in-your-face. It’s a typical coming-of-age story but in the gffa. The best part about this is seeing Bail and Breha as parents. I’m forever in pain that we didn’t get to see more of this in movies because it’s so so sweet. Leia must choose what kind of person she is going to be--and what kind of princess she will become. It won’t be for everyone, but I liked it.

16. Master and Apprentice was a typical Star Wars novel, which means it’s full of original characters that are strange and outlandish to serve the plot, a new world full of beautiful landscapes, and Obi-Wan suffering. I want to make it clear that this book is 80% Qui-Gon, 10% Rael Averross, and 10% Obi-Wan. I was expecting it to be 50% Qui-Gon, 50% Obi-Wan, as the cover suggested. Although I was disappointed by that, the story overall was okay. Qui-Gon is kind of an asshole in this? When is he not, though. We really get to sink our teeth into the way he and Obi-Wan fundamentally disagree with each other, so much so that their teacher-student relationship is falling apart. Tragic! They go on one last mission before calling it quits. Qui-Gon is in over his head with prophecies, Obi-Wan just wants to follow the rules, and Rael Averross is Dooku’s previous apprentice that is living his best life as a regent until Pijal’s princess comes of age. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid book. I just don’t vibe with Qui-Gon and want to whack him upside the head every time he avoids confrontation with his own student. My protectiveness for Obi-Wan is showing again, isn’t it? Yikes.

17. James Luceno is one of the most analytical authors I’ve ever read anything from, but it seems to always work? Tarkin is all about...well, Moff Tarkin. He’s ruthless, intelligent, and just downright evil. His backstory was compelling and I found myself drawn into the story by the details, although it is dense and took awhile to finish. I’m not interested in him as a character, but despite that, I enjoyed this story. The plot wasn’t memorable enough for me to recall after 3 years, but it’s similar to how Thrawn rose through the ranks of the Navy, just in a different part of the Empire’s governing body. We don’t get many books completely focused on a villain (I don’t count Vader ones because we know who he was before and the whole damn saga is about him), but this one is good! Don’t be fooled by it only being in the Knight tier. I think people who read a lot of sci-fi will like this book a lot. This is like the opposite of Queen’s Shadow, basically. If you had gripes about that book, you might like this one instead.

18. Battlefront II: Inferno Squad was a worthwhile read for anyone who played Battlefront II. Iden Versio is a great protagonist in the game, and I think Christie Golden totally gets her character. She’s nuanced and relatable. The whole team is interesting and getting introduced to each member before the events of the game makes everything mean more. That’s the real goal of any prequel story, I think. Accomplished! The action scenes are on point, the plot served to highlight what makes Inferno Squad special, and you get a sense for the morally grey area anyone must function in as an operative for the Empire. Although not necessary for the greater canon, it’s a great adventure. Iden and her squad members infiltrate the remains of Saw Gerrara’s group (they’ve become a bit of extremist) and destroy them from the inside. It’s got the suspense of a spy thriller and all of the nerdy space opera elements you expect from Star Wars. Although it’s weird to jump into a story not knowing any of the characters, you’ll get attached to Inferno Squad fast. Well, except for Gideon Hask maybe. He’s kind of a dick.

19. If you’re craving some Dark Side action, Lords of the Sith will give you what you’re looking for. Sidious and Vader crash-land on Ryloth and have to work together to survive, and also defeat the Free Ryloth Movement led by Cham Syndulla. It’s all fucking connected, guys. I love when people weave together stories that fit into the canon timeline like this, bringing in side characters and allowing them to develop some depth. And a chance to sink into the mind of a Sith Lord is always fun, if you’re in the mood to read about destruction and anger. It’s cathartic sometimes. If you’re always wondering, why didn’t Vader just stab Palps when he had the chance, this book explains their dynamic more. It didn’t really change my opinion of any of the characters, which is why it’s not higher on the list.

20. Catalyst suffered from being in a really boring part of galactic history. Despite that, Galen Erso and Orson Krennic have a hilarious relationship that I would have loved to see on-screen. This book really develops Krennic to become more than just the whiny entitled evil man we saw in Rogue One. He’s ten times worse now! But I mean that in the best way, I laugh whenever he’s in a scene, that sassy man just brings me joy. James Luceno is at it again, making things as detailed and dry as possible. I read so many of his stories right at the beginning of my journey through Star Wars canon and it’s a wonder I didn’t quit. Some of them are dark as fuck. And also slow as hell. With this one, I think it all comes down to what you want out of a Star Wars novel. Some people will really enjoy the plot. I think seeing how Galen became a part of Project Stardust was interesting and every time something about the Death Star became more clear, I screeched because I knew what it would eventually become. This book may not hold your interest though, which is why I put it lower on this list.

21. Star Wars: Clone Wars was a decent retelling of the Clone Wars movie. I liked it because I liked the movie, but you have to be able to sit back and enjoy the ride, not thinking too much about the silly parts. For that reason, it’s pretty far down in the rankings. Ahsoka is young and liable to get on your nerves. I certainly wasn’t her biggest fan at this point in the series. The biggest problem is that Karen Traviss is very anti-Jedi. Some authors for Star Wars tend to do this? To me, it’s weird. I didn’t notice it too much because it was one of the first Star Wars books I read, but it contrasts starkly with the truth of the prequel trilogy and some of the other entries in the Clone Wars Novel timeline, like Karen Miller’s books. Needless to say, although this book wasn’t super memorable aside from the familiar plot, it kept me reading Star Wars books, and so it is at least an average book. Plus, any content with Anakin and the clones is worth it for me. I love them.

22. A New Hope was good, for Alan Dean Foster. I’m not a fan, I’ll be honest. But this novelization stands on it’s own. I’m going to have to do a re-read to really go in depth on why this isn’t farther up on the tier list, but the movie is always going to be better to me. If you want to re-live the great beginning of the Original Trilogy, it’s worth your time. I mean, the story is full of adventure and mystery and lovable characters. What’s not to love? I just feel like the movie really elevates the narrative with a great score and fun character design/costumes/sets.

Padawan: These Books Have Much to Learn

23. Attack of the Clones was more entertaining than The Phantom Menace because the characters are in funnier situations. Obi-Wan and Anakin chasing Zam Wesell through the levels of Coruscant? Hilarious, just like the movie. Anakin and Padme falling in love as they spend time together? Holy fuck it’s so much better than the movie. Please read it for that alone. Outside of that, the writing style didn’t really impress me. And my experience with it wasn’t super memorable. There was potential to really make the inner dialogue of these characters impactful, to really develop the story of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme beyond what we could get from the movie scenes alone. I didn’t think it went above and beyond there. Not a bad story at all, but you don’t get to look at Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, or Ewan McGregor the whole time either, so therefore I must rank it lower. So many beautiful people in that movie, holy shit. You can understand my, dilemma, yes?

24. I enjoyed parts of The Phantom Menace book, like deleted scenes with Anakin living on Tatooine before Qui-Gon and Padme meet him. The additional depth is lovely, but I think a story like Queen’s Peril adds more to TPM than this book does. The story overall is still fun. I love this movie so much, it’s hard for me to be critical. I did put a lot of post-it flags in my copy, so it does develop the characters and get you thinking beyond your expectations from the movie. What more could you ask for from a movie novelization? I’d say not much, if I hadn’t read Revenge of the Sith and had my fucking mind blown. In comparison to that, this one is just okay.

25. The Last Jedi novelization wasn’t bad, necessarily. It tried its best to bring this story up to par with some of the interesting novels that don’t have movie counterparts. But still, the plot suffers because of how this movie was made. It’s very focused on Rey and Kylo, and Finn’s little adventure with Rose seems pointless in the grand scheme of things. I’d rather read this again versus watching the film, but that’s all I’ll say on this because I’m trying to keep my opinions on this movie to myself to avoid digging up old arguments. Jason Fry did well, and of the two Sequel Trilogy books I’ve read, I would recommend this one over Ep. 7.

26. The Force Awakens falls short and I think it’s because of Alan Dean Foster’s writing style on this one? It didn’t really expand on anything from the movie, while taking away the beautiful music and visuals. This novel is the antithesis of Revenge of the Sith’s novelization, and for that reason I ranked it fairly low. I wouldn’t read this one unless you really really love the Sequel Trilogy.

27. To be fair, I read the new Thrawn book before I went back and read this one. Even so, Heir to the Empire didn’t impress me at all. Thrawn didn’t seem like a thrilling villain with lots of depth like he did in Timothy Zahn’s reimagined Thrawn novel. We barely saw him. A lot of time was spent on the Original Triology’s trio, which waasn’t bad. I thought Luke, Leia, and Han were all written fairly well. The latter part of the story was redeemed by the interactions between Mara Jade and Luke, for sure. Enemies to lovers, anyone?? Without Thrawn, this book would have been an entertaining story, but for all of the praise it has received from long-time Star Wars fans, I was expecting to be blown away and I wasn’t. Maybe I have to continue the triology to figure out what all of the fuss is about, but after this one, I’m not super motivated to read more. Change my mind?

28. Cloak of Deception really shines when you’re following Palpatine’s perspective because you can feel the undercurrents of his master plan to destroy the Republic underneath his calm persona as a Senator. Other than that, it’s a forgettable plot. This is all about galactic politics and some terrorist group trying to blow up some government officials. Basically the most boring parts of the prequel trilogy. I listened to the audiobook of this at the beginning of this year and I already forget what it’s about. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan should have been able to bring some humor and energy to get you rooting for the good guys, but there was barely any of that. I was disappointed in all of the characters. Everything felt distant, removed from the heart of the characters. Some people in reviews have argued that the events of The Phantom Menace really pinned this novel in a corner because you already know what happens, but I disagree, because we know how Revenge of the Sith goes and The Clone Wars show is that much more tragic and heartbreakingly beautiful because of it. Prequels can be done right. This ain’t it, Luceno. Sorry.

29. Star Wars: The Old Republic, Fatal Alliance needs to go home and rethink it’s life. I’m a huge fan of the Old Republic and I’ve put like 200 hours of my life into playing that game, so I was hoping for some fun content in this part of the timeline. Sadly, this book captured the worst parts of the game, like the fact that there’s way too many factions at war with each other. Jedi, Sith, Empire, Republic, Mandalorians. They’re all here. They’re all ready to throw down. And I’m tired. As with many of the books in this lower tier, I felt there wasn’t enough description of the world or the people in the story. We’re in the gffa, be a little weird and wacky. Be big and bold! Make things terrifying, or beautiful, or both. But give my mind something to work with. The number of characters made the plot messier than it could have been, and it definitely isn’t worth the read. I can’t speak for all Old Republic books, but this one didn’t impress me.

A Sith Lord?! On My Bookshelf? It’s More Likely Than You’d Think

30. So underwhelming, you might as well just read the first half and then stop. Last Shot is absolutely terrible, except for Lando Calrissian’s characterization, which was spot-on. If the whole story had been from his perspective, I probably would have a much difference opinion on the novel as a whole. Sadly, this is not the case. Han was boring, he bottled up his emotions, and seemed drastically different from the badass he was in the original trilogy. There are different timepoints in this novel, and in all of them, Han is unrecognizable. Don’t nerf one of your main characters like that. Daniel Jose Older and I might just not get along. I thought his writing style didn’t fit Star Wars at all. It was like breaking the fourth wall, totally pulling me out of the story constantly. Also, there were little to no descriptions of body language, locations, or movement. It left me feeling disoriented the whole time I was reading. I thought one of the most interesting things would have been seeing Han, Leia, and baby Ben being a family at this point in time, but Han’s family was there as a prop, nothing more. There was a big bad item that was going to cause galactic destruction and our heroes had to go save the day. There was barely any tension and no one lost an arm so I’m pretty pissed off. Is it Star Wars if no one gets their appendage removed? I can’t tell you how much I disliked this book. Which is sad because I was hoping to enjoy it. I like Han. I like Lando. I like space adventures. I’m not that hard to please, or at least I don’t think so.

#Star Wars Novels #tier ranking #long post #i worked hard to put my thoughts into words for you guys #i read these books over a long period of time but I thought I'd encompass all of it in one post #sw lit #i've had so much fun becoming a part of this fandom #and I love the conversations about the books and the gffa in general #hopefully this will inspire some discussion!#i would love you guys to make tier rankings as well #they're always my favorite youtube videos to watch

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jasontoddiefor · 4 years

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Summary: Five times the Jedi Council has to deal with younglings and one time the younglings have to deal with the Jedi Council. Part of my ongoing fix it series. Read on AO3!

Plo Koon took slow steps into the Council chamber, bent slightly towards the right to accommodate for the little guest this session was going to have. He was the last to arrive, and that thirty minutes late as well as the youngling that had latched onto him had first refused to let him out of her sight and then hadn’t wanted to be carried to where Plo need to be. Little Ahsoka Tano, as bright in the Force as she was, was at least twice as stubborn. Unfortunately, Plo had a difficult time denying the child anything. She was his foundling, he had brought her to the temple. He would always remember the days they had spent together traveling fondly.

“Master Koon, you are late,” Oppo Rancisis said, though the amusement in his voice was apparent.

“The Force guided me elsewhere,” Plo answered and crossed the last few steps to his chair. Once there, he sat down while Ahsoka stood in front of him still, her arms crossed and frowning as if she were thinking.

“You can sit on my lap if you want, Ahsoka,” Plo told her but the three-year-old only shook her head.

Then she turned around to face the rest of the Council, still undecided on where she now wanted to go. Plo felt just a little betrayed, had he not spent thirty minutes following her wished only to be abandoned like that.

“You!” Ahsoka said, pointing at Saesee Tiin. “I want to sit with you.”

The Iktotchi Jedi only laughed boomingly and opened up his arms in a welcoming gesture. “Well, then, come here.”

With a delighted yell, Ahsoka rushed forward, somehow now twice as fast as she had been when she was holding Plo’s hand, and climbed onto the lap of the other Jedi Master. They waited until Ahsoka was seated comfortably before finally beginning their meeting.

Mace wasn’t quite sure what exactly he was looking at.

“Welcome, Knight Kenobi,” he greeted calmly nevertheless. Then he attempted to continue with “and Pada-“ only for a suspicious giggle to escape out of Obi-Wan’s direction while the Knight himself pressed his index finger to his lips and shushed. He was smiling fondly and looked well rested for once. He must have begun to learn how to cope with Qui-Gon’s death and embrace his own life again.

Mace exchanged a look with his fellow councilors, but they all either shrugged or smiled in amusement as well. Mace supposed they were going to ignore their little visitor then.

“Well, the Council would like to hear about Padawan Skywalker’s progress,” Mace said.

Obi-Wan nodded and gently wrapped one arm around his stomach.

Or, more accurately, the shoulders of the Padawan hiding beneath his outer robes. It looked utterly ridiculous. Jedi robes could hide a lot, but not a nine-year-old standing on his Master’s feet. Anakin must have his arms wrapped around Obi-Wan’s stomach. Mace wondered whether the two of them had walked through the entire temple like this. It had certainly looked well practiced already when Obi-Wan had stepped into the Council chamber.

“Anakin is an amazing student,” Obi-Wan said, still holding onto his Padawan’s shoulders. “Even though he has experienced multiple setbacks-“ His illiteracy when it came to Basic being a major one that Mace knew of “-he has risen above them. He has a very strong connection to the Force and is already doing very well in the grounding exercises I’ve shone him.”

“Very good that is,” Yoda added. “More you have to report?”

Obi-Wan looked thoughtful then his robes seemed to move on their own accord. Obi-Wan actually bent forward so he could listen to whatever Anakin whispered into his ear. Like this, Mace could actually see his blond hair peak out of the brown robes. Obi-Wan whispered something back, making the youngling giggle and finally stood up straight again.

“Anakin has also passed multiple engineering exams already and skipped several piloting classes,” Obi-Wan stated.

“A great Jedi he will be then,” Yaddle commented.

Obi-Wan smiled. “The very best.”

And little Anakin Skywalker, hiding beneath his Master’s robes, let out a sigh of relief.

After all these years, Mace should really be used to the amused looks he got whenever he had a guest accompanying him to his council sessions. Looking back, Mace could freely admit that it had been a mistake to put him on the Council when he was only twenty-eight. It had been a stressful time, especially those two years he had trained Devan and Depa at the same time. It was a Force-damned miracle that Depa had been as self-sufficient as she had been, Mace wasn’t sure he would have managed to handle two Padawans at once otherwise. He had done her a disservice, Devan too, being unable to give them the attention they deserved. Too often had he taken one of them or both along to a Council session as a replacement for a lesson on diplomacy or galactic history he should have given them in person.

It had taught the two of them well however. They were excellent when it came to keeping secrets and Depa had told him more than once that she was a better Councilor because of how often she had sat next to his chair, doing her homework and listening to their discussions.

And much like his Master many years ago, Caleb Dume now sat next to Mace, filling out his homework.

Or, was supposed to be filling out his homework. Caleb had stopped writing a while ago and was instead listening to them. The boy sat incredibly still, forcing himself to appear calmer than he actually was.

“Do you have anything to add, Padawan Dume?” Shaak Ti asked him.

Caleb immediately began to blush, embarrassed that he had been caught.

“No, Master,” he replied, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, Masters.”

“No need to apologize, young one,” Shaak Ti said. “You can always do your homework later. Treat this like the learning opportunity it is. Don’t you think that is a more productive use of his time, Mace?”

It was, but Mace had promised Depa he would oversee Caleb’s training while she was on a mission much too dangerous for her young charge. He should ensure he actually got his course work done, the current Padawan’s education was already being shot to the dark due to the war.

Caleb looked to Mace, his eyes wide and pleading.

Mace sighed. He knew better than to fight battles he couldn’t win.

“Don’t tell your Master,” he told Caleb seriously, face stern when his voice was everything but.

Ki-Adi-Mundi didn’t enjoy listening to blabbering fools. He downright loathed attending diplomatic missions where one look at the politician in question told you that they were only here for their own gain and couldn’t care less about the people they were supposed to represent. It was exhausting trying to negotiate with such people. It gave Ki-Adi a headache. Thankfully his current Padawan wasn’t much suited for diplomacy. Ki-Adi of course still had to teach A’Sharad basic diplomacy, but it had become clear that it wasn’t A’Sharad’s strength and therefore the number of politicians Ki-Adi had to deal with was limited.

The same, however, could not be said for council sessions.

The Senator from a rather fancy Core World kept inquiring about Jedi aid he very much did not need.

Ki-Adi was tired.

Still listening to the man make the same arguments as he had thirty minutes ago, Ki-Adi focused on looking at the skyline of Coruscant. It was a beautiful day outside and Ki-Adi could think of about a hundred different things he could be doing right now when a shadow passed by the Council window, followed by an excited shout.

All heads shot up just in time to see a second figure pass by the window. This one Ki-Adi did recognize. His Padawan waved quickly before resuming his controlled fall, followed by little Anakin Skywalker. The two Tatooine children were good for one another, no matter how different their cultures of origin were.

“What- what is that!?” The Senator stuttered, face as pale as chalk.

It was the best look he had worn so far.

“Just First flight,” Adi Gallia said with a chuckle. “Ignore them, Senators. The younglings are merely having fun.”

Ki-Adi was pleased to see a group of Initiates and Padawans were following A’Sharad. First flight was a long-standing tradition, a rather ridiculous one as well, watching 10-year-olds throw themselves off the highest points in the temple, but right at this moment it filled Ki-Adi’s heart with warmth. He was happy that despite his troublesome start, A’Sharad got to make the experience most temple-raised younglings did.

The Senator was obviously still in shock. Ki-Adi supposed most cultures didn’t let their children simply jump off high ledges for fun. It took the man a while to find his line of argumentation again, though the shadows passing the windows certainly distracted him.

One by one the children passed until another one jumped and flew by the window that did catch Ki-Adi’s attention. Mainly, because they were much too small to be attempting this yet. With the Force, Ki-Adi reached out to catch the child mid-air. The Mirialan youngling was obviously put out.

“Proceed, Senator,” Ki-Adi said as he rose from his chair to open up the window and pull the child floating mid-air inside.

“Master!” The child pouted. “I wanna fly.”

The Senator did not proceed. For a moment, Ki-Adi considered leaving the council session to bring the youngling back into the creche where they belonged, and yet-

“You’re too young,” Ki-Adi said. “What would cour crèchemaster say…”

“Barriss,” she introduced herself. “I’m Barriss and I’m already six.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Ki-Adi replied. He settled back into his chair, Bariss on his lap. “I apologize, Senator. I hope you don’t mind Barriss staying with us.”

“Of- of course not,” the man stuttered.

The meeting was over five minutes later.

Yaddle was old. Not as old as Master Yoda, no, but she had lived many centuries already. She would be here many centuries more as well, but sometimes she felt particularly old, especially when she was holding a newborn.

Little Cal had been born just a week ago and his mother was tired. Yaddle had offered to take him off his mother for a while so she could calm. Of course, Vatnem’s own Master and sibling-Padawan had offered as well, but Yaddle had missed taking care of someone so young. She should spend more time in the creche like Yoda, perhaps it would brighten her spirits as well.

“A sweet child he is,” Yoda said about the baby sleeping soundly in his crib.

Cal had his mother’s bright red hair and her lungs as well when he screamed, but right now he was absolutely comfortable.

“Not much noise we should make today,” Yoda continued, glancing at Even Piell and Yarael Poof who had very opposing opinions on the discussion at hand.

“Not much noise at all,” Yaddle agreed and didn’t even bother to cover up how fun she thought this whole discussion was bound to be with nobody wanting to wake up the sleeping child.

Anakin looked at the three Councilors standing in front of him. Out of the three of them, only Kit Fisto seemed to be dressed appropriately given that he was wearing only swim trunks. Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You do know this is art class, right?” He asked.

Luminara was wearing her long dark robes and Aayla looked like she had just come from a mission, dressed for war and not for three-year-olds. But given how chaotic everything could get here, Anakin was willing to just call it a day.

“Okay, fine,” he sighed. “Just don’t complain when you get finger paint all over your robes.”

“Like you?” Aayla asked, pointing at his color covered pants.

“Exactly like me,” Anakin replied. “Which is why I wear these every time I’m doing art. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Then, smiling almost a little mischievously, Anakin turned around back to his Clan. He had two Padawans helping out distributing the paint to the children who were now excitedly waiting for their crèchemaster to allow them to start smearing the paint all over the canvas.

“Attention!” Anakin called and all eyes drew to him. “We have guests today, I want you all to be on your best behavior, alright?”

The children nodded or cheered eagerly, Anakin could spot the first smearing paint on their neighbor’s tunics. This was going to be fun.

#star wars #Anakin Skywalker #obi wan kenobi #plo koon #mace windu #jedi council #fanfic #anyway crechemaster anakin rights #and jedi positivity #mace is a stressed single parent since his twenties

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lamaenthel · 4 months

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Tivaevae | Chapter Seven: Stitch In The Ditch

| AO3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |

Not long after the Republic had re-secured Geonosis, a permanent outpost had been established on the surface to hopefully keep it in Republic hands. Ahsoka had no idea what had happened to the native Geonosian population since they seemed to have mostly disappeared, with only a few sightings floating through intel every now and again. The general consensus was that whoever was left had fled into their endless catacombs, leaving the surface occupied by clone troopers who constantly surveilled the dustball for Seppie activity.

Their landing site at the base was not far from the arena where Jango Fett had lost his life and was still under heavy construction. It housed the ARF troopers that made up Sandsnake Squadron, a division of the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps. There were six of the Sandsnakes wearing armor painted a dusty-red camo pattern waiting to greet them on the landing pad. The one wearing deep violet kama and a stripe of the same color up his arm stepped forward as Ahsoka's group departed The Babasta. He had painted fangs on the side plating of his helmet.

"Atten-tion!" bellowed the commander, his lilac aura flush with silver authority-respect. All six clones saluted them.

"Koh-to-yah, Commander Pelter," Plo greeted him and returned his salute. "At ease. It is good to finally meet you."

"Thank you, Sir," Pelter said warmly, relaxing. His men behind him did the same. "Follow me, if you would."

"But of course."

As they walked, Ahsoka fished two sets of nose plugs out of her belt pocket and handed one to Boba. The micromesh allowed her to still mostly keep her sense of smell, but if she had to choose a planet to never to smell again Geonosis would be it. It was dusty, musty, and had an uncurrent of sulfur and rotting meat. It was truly just a gross planet, one that she had no fondness for after being both shot down and buried alive on. "Put these on."

"I'm not wearing that shit," Boba said flatly, staring at the nose plugs.

"Yes you are," Ahsoka said primly, inserting her own set. "Unless you want brain worms."

"Unless I want what?" Boba stared at her, his aura gone lime with disbelief-suspicion.

"Brain worms. Mind-controlling brain worms." Ahsoka gave him a narrow grin. "Welcome to Geonosis."

Boba's eyes darted in between her and the nose plugs in his hand, then he hastily shoved them in. "Not my first time on fucking Geonosis," he mumbled bitterly.

Ahsoka winced at her gaffe. "I know." She patted him on the back sympathetically. "Hopefully it'll be the last for both of us."

They followed Commander Pelter into the sprawling, half-finished base and down a labyrinth of halls with exposed wiring and metal beams until they reached the commhub. A holotable topped with a slowly-rotating, glowing map of tunnels was waiting. "We've had our scouts down in the tunnels with drone mappers since we heard you were on your way, Sir," Pelter began. "We've cleared all chambers down to sector nine, as you can see here–" he pointed to a small offshoot at the base of the hive-shaped rock formation, " –and we've mapped out a grid of an additional nineteen sectors with ground-penetrating radar, though we can't speak to what's in them. The rock interferes with most of our equipment. It's almost impossible to get an accurate read without actually going down there."

"Excellent work, Commander." Plo turned to Ahsoka. "Where do you propose we begin our search, Padawan?"

Ahsoka examined the map, specifically a small, unexplored section in the southeast sector directly below level nine. It was wide open and led to a labyrinth of tunnels, but every time she looked away she found her gaze pulled back to it. She made her decision. "We'll start here," she said, pointing to sector nine. "It's been cleared, so it should be safe enough for now."

"And then?" Plo tilted his head.

"Then, Master, we should meditate. If you act as a focus for our session then I can cast out my aura much further than on my own. Hopefully I'll be able to sense if the armor is nearby and we'll at least have a general idea of where to look."

"I have no objections," Plo replied. "Commander Wolffe, do you have any suggestions?"

"We should bring Arseven. He can keep us on track with the map." Wolffe patted the astromech on the head. "Just don't get left behind, ul'ika."

Arseven honked in nervous agreement.

"Then go ahead and finish any preparations you need to for our task," Plo said. "And Commander Pelter, if you can spare a LAAT/i, we are more than capable of flying ourselves down. There is no need to distract you from your duties."

Pelter nodded. "We'll get one staged for you, Sir. I'll load it with a comm booster. These rocks… they really block everything."

Ahsoka remembered that unfortunate fact all too well. "Here, Boba, put this on." She snapped her cuirass over his chest before he could protest.

"Uh, 'kay." Boba craned his head around to look at his back. "This isn't bad. Where'd you learn how to work plastoid, Tano?"

"I didn't, Rex made it for me," she replied.

Boba smirked and his aura went brassy gold humor-exasperation.

"What?" Ahsoka asked, frowning.

"Nothing." Boba snickered, then mumbled something that sounded like oblivioussayswhat.

"Wh–" She narrowed her eyes and smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

"Boost, I assume you are handling munitions as per usual?" Plo asked him.

"Yes, Sir," Boost replied.

"Excellent. Do not forget a blaster for Boba upon your return from the armory."

The Wolfpack, Ahsoka, and Boba all stared at Plo, their auras gone bright white with surprise. Ahsoka mentally tucked away the argument she'd been practicing in her head for the better part of an hour that advocated for arming Boba and bounced on her heels, trying not to smirk.

"Sir, are you sure?" Wolffe asked quietly, glancing at Boba.

"I see no reason not to. These tunnels could prove dangerous, and Boba is a skilled shot."

"We don't know what's down there, Sir," Wolffe continued, tearing his eyes from Boba. "Shouldn't he stay at the base?"

"I don't think so, no."

Plo smiled warmly at the boy and Ahsoka's heart did a happy somersault. Boba's aura was a pale, sunshine yellow with surprise-gratitude-flattery.

"If you say so, Sir," Wolffe mumbled, turning away with beige unease-anxiety clouding his aura.

"Klef, make sure they all get a liquid nitrogen canister," Pelter ordered one of the Sandsnakes, then turned to Ahsoka and tapped on a small spray can mounted on his wrist. "Just in case you run into any of those little slimeballs," he said.

"Good thinking," Ahsoka agreed, shuddering inwardly. The thought of those worms anywhere near her brain ever again just… ew. At least she knew better than to murder a clone for falling victim to it, unlike Barriss.

Barris was such a hypocrite. All she ever did anymore – well, at least before Umbara, Ahsoka hadn't spoken to the bitch since their fight – was whine about the abhorrent violence of the war, but when her life was on the line she didn't even hesitate. Poor Trap didn't deserve to die because she was a stupid, reactionary cu–

"Ahsoka," Plo said, interrupting her racing thoughts. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Master," Ahsoka said, smiling wanly. "Just… unpleasant memories of this place."

"Hey, it'll be fine," Boba reassured her. "I'll watch your back. Just don't wander off."

Ahsoka saw the way Plo's aura went gold with humor and she patted Boba on the back, stifling her own grin.

Ahsoka kept a hand on Boba's shoulder so he didn't get tossed off the side of the LAAT/i as Comet set it down. His aura was practically vibrating with pale gold excitement-anxiety and he hadn't taken his hand off of his borrowed deece since he'd strapped it on.

"Come, come." Plo hopped off of the side of the gunship and ignited his lightsaber. The chamber was fairly bright, as the chamber was open to the bright orange sky, but the corners were dark. He stood over a wide hole in the southwestern section, roughly three meters wide and pitch-black. "Sector eight can be reached through this tunnel," he informed them. "I shall go first to ensure that the chamber has not been retaken by any Geonosians, then we can continue on to sector nine."

"Sir, let me," Wolffe immediately offered, but Plo held up a serene hand.

"I insist," he said mildly, then before Wolffe could protest any further, he jumped into the hole and disappeared.

"I hate it when he does that," Wolffe growled.

Arseven beeped to concur.

"He do that often?" Mangle asked, peering down the hole with his lights on.

"He always goes first," Boost grumbled. "He likes to worry us. I think he thinks it's funny."

"It is funny," Ahsoka smirked. "He's a Jedi Master, but you'd all tuck him into a box with packing peanuts and a fragile sticker on it if you could."

Wolffe had his bucket on, but she could tell he was glaring at her by how chartreuse his aura was. "Rex might think the suicidal tendencies of the Jedi are cute but we don't, Ahs'ika."

"We're not suicidal!" Ahsoka laughed. "We're just confident in our abilities. It's a shame that the 104th doesn't have the same faith in Master Plo as the 501st has in Master Skywalker and I."

"Oi!" Comet protested, lime with offense. "Nobody said that!"

Sinker snickered. "Very funny, Commander. What you don't realize is that poor Rex has just given up on trying to rein you two in. You and Skywalker give him a heart attack every day."

"Clear!" Plo's booming voice echoed up from the tunnel.

"I'm sending Boba down first!" Ahsoka called down. "Catch him!"

"Catch?" Boba asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Ahsoka said maybe a little too gleefully before lifting him with the Force over the tunnel. "Ready?"

"Um–" Boba said frantically.

"Down you go!"

His yelping echoed all the way down until it terminated with a shriek. It reminded her of when she and Anakin had thrown Rex off of that wall and she couldn't help but smile wickedly.

"Did you die?" she called down.

"Can you fucking warn me next time?" Boba squawked.

"I did! Coming down!" She jumped down the tunnel and slid down the smooth stone walls for a good ten seconds, then landed in a crouch at the base of a massive chamber. Green xenon lights had been affixed to the stone walls and there were stalagmites – or were they stalactites? She could never remember the difference – jutting from both the roof and floor. She gave the seething red Boba, who was still being held by a golden Master Plo, a fond pat on the head.

"See!" she said brightly. "Nothing to worry about."

"If you ever do that again, I'll shoot you in the kneecap," Boba snapped as Plo put him down.

"Yeah, yeah," Ahsoka smirked at him.

The Wolfpack slid down one at a time after her, followed by a screeching Arseven who was firing his jets wildly.

"Easy, buddy, easy," Ahsoka said soothingly, patting him on the head.

The droid whimpered and tilted forward for more pets.

"Aw, what's wrong, Arseven?" she asked.

"𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚖," Arseven beeped miserably.

"Don't worry, buddy, they're organic worms, that's what your liquid nitrogen is for. You're safe."

"Just keep your ports closed, my little friend." Plo patted him fondly as he passed. "Poor Arseven dislikes enclosed spaces. They make him nervous. He much prefers the open air. I couldn't ask for a better copilot."

Arseven happily bounced on his servos at the compliment.

"Come now," Plo continued. "Sector nine is just ahead."

Ahsoka kept her mouth open as she walked behind Plo and clicked softly in the back of her throat, trying to get a better idea of the dark tunnel they walked through in her head.

"What are you doing?" Boba asked, green with curiosity. His big amber eyes were nearly swallowed up by his pupils in the darkness.

"I hear better with my mouth open," Ahsoka replied.

"What?" Boba looked confused.

Ahsoka pointed to her montrals. "No holes," she smiled. "If I open my mouth I can hear almost twice as well. And if I click I can get a mental picture of what's in front of us."

"Fucking hawkbat," Boba muttered, shaking his head.

"Here we are," Plo announced as the tunnel opened into a new chamber, taller than the first. More xenon lights had been screwed into the rock walls, colored eerie green that bleached the red rock into gray. Plo took a seat in the lotus position on a large, flat rock in the center and gestured for Ahsoka to join him.

Ahsoka sank down opposite to him. "Boba, I'm going to be concentrating for the foreseeable future," she announced. "Watch my back."

Boba gave her a nod. He'd drawn his deece and held it down, but ready. His aura was nervous and dirty beige with anxiety-unease.

"It's going to be okay," she said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Just don't wander off."

Boba rolled his eyes and moved closer to Wolffe.

"Shall we begin?" Plo rumbled.

"Yes, Master." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me," Plo joined her. "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

Ahsoka continued to whisper the words as she let her consciousness relax and expand. First her orange aura, normally held tight and protected against her body, slowly flowed out like soft fog and blended with Plo's warm copper to make a shining russet. Their breathing synced together and she became more aware and less at the same time, focusing on the minutiae of their environment rather than the macro. Plo held her steady while she spread their aura thin; she heard the tiny beetles scrambling over the walls dislodging dust, flies buzzing around the lights, spiderwebs creaking and clicking as their architects tapped across them to wrap their trapped prey in silk, the soft slap of Wolffe's kama against his plastoid thighplates–

She took a frustrated breath. She needed to go out, but it felt like she couldn't even leave the room.

"Focus, Padawan," Plo murmured. He took her hands and squeezed. "Let go of your frustrations and stop searching. Let the Force guide your path. I will keep you from becoming lost."

She tried again. Their aura stretched further, searching, brushing, touching the walls of the tunnels near her. She took it all in softly, listening and feeling for anything that didn't belong. There was a sudden ripple on the very edge of their aura, a tug like a shy child trying to get an elder's attention by grabbing their sleeve.

It retreated once she noticed it, and she followed it down a dark tunnel in a northern direction. There was a quiet song that she couldn't quite hear emanating from this tunnel, almost like a bell that chimed and pulsed at the same time, as soft and resonant as a memory. She flowed after it over the rocks and dirt like smoke, on and on and on as the song became louder and–

Nothing. Whatever was tugging on their aura was gone like a fish on a broken line and the song quickly died away. Ahsoka huffed, frustrated, and pulled back once more. She opened her eyes and frowned. "I thought I had something, but–"

"I saw." Plo squeezed her hands. "Do you think the armor would call out in such a way?"

"What do you mean, Master?" Ahsoka asked. She gently detangled their auras and leaned back on her elbows.

"We are looking for the armor. It is not looking for us." Plo looked troubled; his aura was turquoise and was as flat and still as a pond. "I do not think that we are alone down here."

Ahsoka's eyes widened and dread clenched in her belly like a fist. "Boba?" she called, looking around.

"Right here." Boba peeked his head out from behind Wolffe. "Me'vaar ti gar?"

"Naas. Just checking in." She turned nervous eyes to Plo. "What do you think, Master?"

Plo thought silently for a moment. "Whatever is down here is not likely to be friendly," he finally said. "We should continue with caution. I do not like the idea of such an unknown entity so close to the ARF base."

"Agreed," she said, and got to her feet. "The question is, do we follow it or not?"

"Right before our connection was broken, I heard a melody," said Plo. "Did you also hear it?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Did you recognize it?" she asked.

"Possibly. I have never heard the song myself, but I have read tales in the Jedi Archives about the resonance of certain materials in the Force, only audible to those who know how to listen. Beskar is said to have an exceptionally clear tone, like a bell."

"You think the armor was singing?" Ahsoka asked a little skeptically.

"There is only one way to find out." Plo gestured to Boba. "Stay close, son. I want all of you to stay vigilant. Ahsoka and I sensed a presence in these tunnels, one that wants us to follow it. We proceed with utmost caution from here on out."

Arseven honked in a way that sounded very much like uh oh.

"Ahsoka, I must ask you something," Plo said softly as they proceeded single-file down the northern tunnel.

"What is it, Master?" she asked.

"Are you doing alright?" Plo asked, his aura a gentle teal with protection-concern-affection.

"Master?"

"Your presence feels heavy in the Force. It has not felt so heavy since…" Plo hesitated, then glanced back at her. "Since Xior-Cal."

Ahsoka didn't answer. She wasn't sure how to. There was no ceremony from her culture to help her move on this time. For a few insane moments she fantasized about knocking one of Obi-Wan's teeth out and feeding it to Hinata.

"I'm okay," she said after she realized she'd been silent for at least ten awkward seconds. "I am. I'm alright."

"When we meditated on the journey here, you had trouble fully surrendering yourself to the Force. More difficulty than I've ever seen you have, even as a child."

"I know," she admitted. "I'm not centered like I should be, Master. I'm working on it."

"Strong emotions cloud our connection to the Force. That is why it is so important to release them, Padawan." Plo's aura went dark and rich with affection-comfort. "Whatever I can do to help you move past this, please tell me. Not just for the sake of our mission, but for your own wellbeing. You are a beacon of light in a galaxy that becomes darker with every moment this war continues. It breaks my heart to see you so dim."

Plo was right, she needed to get it together. She was mentally spinning, having trouble concentrating and unfocused. They didn't have time for her to be so off-balance. Boba didn't have time.

"Arseven, the map, if you would," Plo rumbled.

Arseven beeped pitifully and projected what he had; according to the ground-penetrating radar that the Sandsnakes had used there was another large, open chamber at the end of the tunnel.

"Ahsoka, wait here with the others," Plo instructed. "Wait for my call."

"Yes, Master," Ahsoka replied, and she watched Plo dip around the edge of the tunnel.

"And now we wait," Wolffe grumbled, his aura gone a deep teal with protection-annoyance-affection. He leaned against the side of the tunnel and checked his chrono. "He's got five minutes."

"Before you swoop in and save him?" Ahsoka asked, trying not to laugh.

"Before I send your mouthy shebs in after him," Wolffe grumbled.

Ahdoka leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, smirking. "I bet y–" she began, but stopped once she noticed Boba. He was frowning and playing with the strap on his holster; his aura was green with curiosity but ringed with yellow embarrassment again. "What's the matter?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing," he mumbled. A ribbon of smokey dishonesty circled around him.

"Boba, what's the matter?" Ahsoka dropped to one knee. "What happened, what did we say?"

Boba glanced up. "I don't want to piss you off," he said, still fidgeting. His eyes flicked over to Wolffe and his aura went darker yellow.

Ahsoka put a hand on his shoulder. "You won't, I promise. Now what is it?"

"What was Xior-Cal?" he asked hesitantly. Ahsoka realized he was afraid that she would react the way Wolffe had when he had asked about his scar.

"You don't have to answer that, Commander," Wolffe said immediately, putting a protective hand on her shoulder. "Listen, kid–"

"I'm fine." Ahsoka patted Wolffe's hand and gave him a grateful look. "It's okay, Wolffe."

"You don't need to be thinking about all of that right now," Wolffe growled. His visor turned to Boba and his aura was almost opaque teal with protection-resentment. Not towards Boba, no, towards even the memory of Clan Sylen.

Ahsoka had been horribly injured at the end of her fight with Dol and his family, too injured to stay for the aftermath. Plo had arrived on his Venator a few hours after she'd left. Wolffe had overseen the evacuation of Clan Sylen's slaves, he'd been in Dol's breeding pits. He knew exactly what fate Ahsoka had escaped.

"Then let me tell him so we don't have to linger on the subject," Ahsoka said gently, then turned back to Boba. "A horrible man – an exiled Mandalorian, actually – he kidnapped Jesse and I and took us to a planet he'd taken over called Xior-Cal. He wanted to marry me and then use me to claim the Darksaber for him so he could overthrow Satine Kryze."

"Is that who you were talking about before with Nala Se?" Boba asked. The yellow bled into red anger.

"Yeah." She smiled at him and stood. "There's more to the story, but that's the gist."

"That's why he's so protective of you," Boba said, his aura tinged mint with realization-understanding. "Jesse, I mean."

"One reason, yeah," Ahsoka laughed softly.

"Clear!" Plo declared ahead of them. "Be careful, watch your step when walking. The chamber floor is cracked down the center."

Ahsoka led the squad out, keeping a careful eye on their path. She clicked in the back of her throat as they walked; there were no lights in this chamber and it felt oppressively dark outside of the small circle of light her lightsaber emitted, but she got the impression that the chamber was vaguely egg-shaped without any stalagmites. She was unwillingly reminded of the chamber she and Jesse had hidden in from Dol and his vassals underneath the moonless Xior-Cal's chandanam grove. "Stay close," she ordered Boba, joining Plo on a flat rock in the center. There was a wide hairline crack down the middle of it that they stood on either side of.

"Yeah." Boba swallowed hard and glanced around.

"Hey, kid. C'mere." Boost fished something out of one of his pouches and handed it to Boba. "Snap it on the bottom of the barrel. There's a magnetic lock."

Boba carefully applied whatever it was Boost had handed him and a flashlight flicked on once the magnet had clicked.

"This was the chamber where we lost our lead," Plo said quietly. He took her hands and they sank to their knees together. "We will begin again, but be careful, Padawan."

"Yes, Master," Ahsoka murmured. "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me." She whispered the words in tandem with Plo as she once again melded their auras and reached out in a russet fog. Above them was a quietly tittering nest of bat-like creatures that squeaked and shivered amongst themselves. Ahsoka could feel their apprehension, their anxiety; they wanted them to leave and posed no danger. She continued on and tasted the gritty, musty dirt in her mouth, felt the rough texture of the newly-dug walls, heard a clear, pulsing bell that vibrated her teeth–

"Newly dug," Plo murmured. "This chamber is freshly made."

"Yes," she whispered back. "Do you hear it? The bell."

"I do. It is much louder than before."

"Do you think we're close?" she asked.

"I cannot say for certain."

Ahsoka felt sweat drip down the side of her face. The humidity of the chamber was beginning to rise, oddly, but what was causing it? "Master, do you feel–"

s ʜ ᴏ ᴡ ᴍ ᴇ

A foreign voice hissed the words in her mind at the same time the rocks cracked overhead, scaring the life out of her. It shook the walls and loosened a torrent of pebbles. Something grabbed a hold of her aura; not the shy tug of a curious child like before, but a chitinous hand that closed like a spike trap.

s ʜ ᴏ ᴡ ᴍ ᴇ ᴍ ᴏ ʀ ᴇ

"Master Plo–" she whimpered. Her lekku stung as they began to rapidly swell, reflexively trying to scare away whatever had a hold of her.

"Ahsoka, stay with me!" Plo's voice boomed both out loud and in her mind. "Focus on me, Padawan!"

Ahsoka tried but she felt her aura detangling from his and she couldn't stop it–

The floor gave way without warning and Boba rolled, too shocked to even scream. He landed with a grunt and rolled about ten feet, tangled up in the limbs of his twitching ori'vod and almost crushed by the squealing weight of Arseven.

"Ahsoka!" Plo shouted. "Boba, are you–"

"INCOMING!" Wolffe roared, then all Boba heard was blaster fire, the humming of a lightsaber, and the clicking screams of Geonosian drones. "WE'RE SURROUNDED!"

The chamber above shook. Dust and a shower of rocks fell down where Boba and Ahsoka had landed. "Tano," Boba said quietly, hoping the blaster fire above would be loud enough to cover his voice. If whatever was attacking the Wolfpack realized they were alone they'd be dead in seconds. "Wake up, Tano. Come on." He shook Ahsoka but she was completely out, and if her lekku weren't twitching like snakes Boba would have thought that she was dead. He dragged her around the edge of the rock they'd rolled down and pressed himself against it. He swept dust and pebbles off of her lips before she choked on them.

Arseven began to rapidly meep, panicked at being separated from Plo. "Quiet!" Boba hissed at the flailing astromech. "Get over here!"

Arseven meeped pitifully one more time then fell silent and rolled out of sight of the upper chamber.

"Fall back, fall back!" Wolffe yelled.

"Men, to the tunnel!" Boba heard Plo boom above him. "Boba, ke'haaranovor!"

Boba closed his eyes and tried not to hyperventilate. He hadn't heard the noise of a Geonosian army since… since…

It didn't matter. He had to keep it together.

Blaster fire started to become muffled as the troopers presumably entered the tunnel. Boba held his breath until he couldn't hear clicking anymore. He had thankfully kept a hand on his blaster, and he used the flashlight to examine where the hell they were once he was fairly certain that all of the bugs had been drawn away. It looked like the floor had just opened and they'd fallen into a much older chamber below. It smelled even worse than the first and he saw why immediately; there were dozens of bodies in the room, all wearing white plastoid armor. They'd been there a while, probably since the very first deployment. There was nothing but bones and leathery sinew left of them. Boba nervously adjusted his nose plugs and looked at Arseven. "Show me the map."

Boba examined Arseven's projection; the chamber they were in was thankfully on what the Sandsnakes had found with their ground penetrating radar and they were close to the eastern side of the hive. "That tunnel to our right," he whispered. "It leads right up against the side of the canyon. Think we can cut our way out with the laser sword?"

Arseven quietly honked.

"Alright, follow me." Boba holstered his deece. He crouched beside his twitching Togruta guardian and hoisted her tall, skinny body onto his back. "Fat fucking head," he grunted as he struggled to his feet, slipping and sliding on the debris. Her legs were so long that they dragged on the ground. He spared a glance upward at the last echoes of retreating blaster fire then turned and struggled on towards the tunnel.

Arseven beeped at him, hesitating.

"We can't get up there," Boba hissed. "Plo said to hide and we can't just sit out in the open like this, we need to keep her safe until she snaps out of it. Come on, I need your light."

Arseven sadly beeped and illuminated the tunnel ahead.

"Keep an eye on our backs, would you?" Boba whispered as they made their way through the pitch black. He could still hear insectoid clicks and distant blaster fire echoing through the stone. If they were jumped, he'd have to toss Ahsoka off his back and draw as quickly as possible. Hopefully her tails would cushion her big head in the fall.

Fuck, this was stupid. They never should have come here. The only reason they were crawling through a shabla bug nest at all was because he had cried about his dad and Ahsoka didn't know when to stop trying to help. Now she was probably going to die – well, fuck, they were probably both going to die, who was he kidding – and it was all his fault. Typical. He had managed to find the one person in the galaxy who wanted to help him, actually help him without wanting anything in return, and he was the one who was going to get her killed.

Tiarek was going to be furious. About her, at least. Boba still wasn't sure what his brother thought about him; he cared, clearly, but Boba wasn't sure if it was just his sense of honor or if he maybe felt the memories that the kaminii demagolkase had stolen from him, locked deep in his mind.

Arseven honked frantically and spun his spotlight behind them. Boba tossed Ahsoka to the ground and aimed his blaster in the direction of the light.

Something tiny, reptilian, and vaguely rat-shaped scurried across the floor of the tunnel.

Boba lowered his blaster and glared at Arseven. "I meant for Geonosians," he snapped at the astromech.

Arseven cooed apologetically and if Boba didn't know better he would have said that the droid was embarrassed.

"She's probably already got a concussion, you know," Boba grunted at the droid as he hauled Ahsoka onto his back again. "She – ugh – she doesn't need – come on, you leggy bitch – any more head trauma." He finally got her up and turned just in time to see a hissing Geonosian drone at the end of the tunnel raise its spear.

Boba tried to draw but he wasn't fast enough. The spear hit him square in the chestplate and sent him flying backwards. He landed hard on Ahsoka and heard a sick crunching noise.

Arseven screeched and sprayed liquid nitrogen in the drone's face. It reared back, screaming and clawing at its eyes. Boba aimed from the ground and plugged it three times in the face, then it fell dead to the ground with a noise like a tea kettle.

"Fuck," Boba panted, lowering his smoking blaster. "Fucking fuck!" He yanked the spear out of the plastoid and tossed it, trying not to barf. If he hadn't had her cuirass on, they would have both been skewered like a pair of fucking runis. "Thank you, Tiarek," he mumbled, then realized he was still sitting on Tiarek's Jedi.

"Oh shit, let me get off– I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry, shit–" Boba holstered his blaster and then rolled Ahsoka onto her back. Her left arm flopped in a way that made him want to puke. "Did I–" Boba gasped. "It's broken. I broke her fucking arm. Shit, shit, shit!" He stood up and placed frantic hands on his head. "Shit, Ahsoka, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Arseven let out a series of panicked beeps and started to bounce.

"Okay, okay, um–" Boba spun and looked at Arseven. "You gotta carry her. I have to keep my blaster out."

Arseven honked indignantly and waved his spotlight at him. Boba didn't speak binary but the implication was clear.

"I've got a flashlight too, now hold on." Dad had made sure Boba knew the basics of bonesetting, though he'd probably never expected him to use the lesson on a Jedi. He unclipped Ahsoka's leather belt, careful to not bump the buttons on the lightsabers clipped to it, then untied the sash it covered. Something clattered to the ground once he'd freed the cloth from behind her back and bounced a few feet away.

Boba and Arseven leaned in to look. On the tunnel floor was some sort of tooth, wide and flat and off-white; clearly a molar but way too big to be Human. Boba gingerly picked it up and examined it. "The fuck?" he muttered. He tucked it into his pocket for safekeeping and started searching for something to serve as a splint. He decided her gauntlet would have to do, and after he unstrapped it from her wrist he saw that there was a hilt sticking out of the end.

"Woah." Boba unsheathed the big vibroblade that was almost as long as her arm. He glanced down at her. "Didn't know you were allowed to use these," he mumbled to himself. "Good thing, though. Makes this easier." He carefully sliced the sleeve of her robe up to her shoulder and then made a second pass to get at her undertunic, going even slower the second time so as not to nick her.

When he got above her elbow he almost choked. The skin there was mottled black and her whole upper arm was swollen twice the size it should be. "This… this isn't new," he muttered. "What the hell, Tano? This why you've been favoring it?" He kept cutting until her arm was completely exposed and gently probed her bicep with his fingers to see just how bad the break was. "At least it's not through the skin," he mumbled, gently rotating her elbow. It didn't move right. It had broken clean in half.

She gasped in pain but didn't wake up.

"Sorry," Boba said again, then made a face. "And sorry for this." He gingerly strapped the gauntlet over her skinny bicep after maneuvering the bone as best he could back to its original position, praying to whoever was listening that he wasn't ripping up her arteries because he didn't know what the hell what Togs had in there, then tightened it down.

Ahsoka cried out and tears flowed down her cheeks, but she still didn't wake up.

"Sorry," Boba said miserably for what felt like the millionth time. "Okay, we have to move." He used her sash to tie her splinted arm to her chest, then stood and hooked his arms under her armpits and dragged her over to Arseven. "Don't drop her," he ordered the droid as he draped her awkwardly over his dome. Her lekku flopped towards the ground and tickled her nose. He slung her leather belt over his shoulder, nervously adjusting the lightsabers, then motioned at the droid to follow.

Arseven made an affronted honk at the indignity of it all and wheeled after Boba down the tunnel.

Ahsoka came to in a fog. She was in some sort of medbay, though she didn't recognize it, but the smell of antiseptic and old blood was unmistakable. She blinked bleary eyes around the room and tried to sit up.

"Easy, mo nighean," a familiar voice beside her said soothingly.

She turned her head slowly and squinted at him. "Bobi?" she mumbled through numb lips.

"Hello, my dear." Obi-Wan leaned forward and gently dabbed sweat off her face with a damp cloth. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm…" she looked around the room. "Where are we?"

"Back at the base." He leaned back and smiled at her. "When I received word that you had been ambushed, I mustered the 212th and rushed here as quickly as I could."

"How…" She stretched her jaw with a wince. "How many casualties?"

"None." Obi-Wan smiled. "Not a single one, Ahsoka."

"Thank the Force," she sighed, and let her heavy head rest on the pillow again.

"They found Jango's armor. They're going through the files in the war room now." Obi-Wan picked a piece of ice out of a cup and ran it over her lips. "They think that there might be a lead on the Sith Lord in there. It's promising. You may have just ended this war."

"Really?" she breathed, unable to believe it. "That's… that's…"

"And there was all of the information on the Cuy'val Dar that you could have asked for. Boba's going through the list now with Master Plo."

Ahsoka could have cried with joy. "Who would've thought?" she whispered. "It was here the whole time. We could have ended the war before ever leaving Geonosis if we had just looked."

"If only." She could hear the smile in his voice. "I am so, so proud of you, Ahsoka." His bare hand grasped hers. "And I owe you an apology."

Ahsoka suddenly remembered that she was mad at him.

His thumb gently stroked hers. "What I did to you and Anakin was unconscionable. I made a terrible, terrible mistake. I understand why you're so angry, and you have every right to be. I can only hope to earn your forgiveness."

Ahsoka closed her eyes. She must have been given painkillers; they made her connection to the Force foggier than a Trandoshan dawn and she couldn't see even a wisp of his aura. "Thank you for saying that, Master," she said quietly.

"...she snaps out of it. Come on, I need your light."

Ahsoka tilted her head, confused.

"Whoever is out there can wait," Obi-Wan said harshly, glancing at the door before looking at her again with a soft smile. She saw the dimple under his beard deepen. "You can't run away from me, now. I intend to make the most of this time."

Ahsoka fiddled with her IV awkwardly.

"I haven't done a very good job of protecting you, have I?" Obi-Wan asked quietly, taking her hand again.

Ahsoka frowned. "What do you mean?"

Obi-Wan looked at her sadly. "I know what Anakin did to you, Ahsoka."

"You–" her eyes went wide and panic clawed at her throat. "No, I… I don't know what Cody told you, but–"

"You don't have to protect him anymore, dear." Obi-Wan moved to sit on the side of her bed. "He is a grown man and a Knight besides. He is supposed to protect you, not the other way around."

"That's not true," she whispered.

"I assure you, he's quite grown." Obi-Wan's eyes crinkled in a soft smile. "You've been taking care of him for too long, Ahsoka. It's time he grew up and finally faced some consequences for his lack of control."

"Please don't remove me," she begged. "He didn't mean it. It was his mech hand, it got stuck, it… he didn't mean to actually hurt me."

Obi-Wan sighed. "He did. We both know he did. That's what he does. He hurts people and then he convinces them that they were to blame for it, because he is incapable of taking responsibility for his own mistakes."

All at once the air was sucked out of her chest and she arched her back away from the bed. A lightning bolt of white-hot agony shot up her arm and she struggled for the breath to scream.

"Muscle spasms," Obi-Wan said sympathetically. "Your arm was broken again in the battle. Anakin did a terrible job of healing it. I assume his emotions were too heightened to do it properly."

"Shit, Ahsoka, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm so, so sorry," Obi-Wan continued, overlapping the voice she heard outside of the room. "I wish that you felt you could come to me. You did nothing to deserve this."

Ahsoka bit down the desperate urge to defend Anakin. "I know that he struggles with his anger, Master, but he was just so lost," she panted. "It was an accident."

"It's all my fault," he said regretfully. "It was my supposed death that put him in such a state. I thought he could handle it, but evidently not." He looked away. "You were supposed to be my Padawan, remember. I should have fought harder for you. You deserve to have a Master who won't hurt you."

Ahsoka took a shuddering breath. "But–"

"But nothing, Ahsoka." Obi-Wan's eyes were heavy with guilt. "You deserve love. Safety. Someone that will teach you without changing who you are at your core. Not an overgrown child who will break your arm during a temper tantrum."

"He hasn't changed me," she said weakly. "He makes me better. Stronger. He's made sure I could survive anything."

"At what cost?" Obi-Wan kissed her hand. "You are changing, my dear, like it or not. I've known you since you were three years old. I've watched you grow into a strong, wonderful, kind Jedi, but now I fear that his darkness is infecting you." He met her eyes. "You felt it, didn't you? After my funeral, when he hurt you. You broke yourself open gleaning all of that darkness away from him, and after everything you did he repaid you with violence. That's what he always does. He takes, and takes, and takes, until finally there's nothing left to give and then he turns on you and blames you for failing him."

Ahsoka felt her lip quiver.

"Oh, mo nighean, come here." Obi-Wan pulled her up into a hug and wrapped his arms around her just like he had when she was a little girl. She buried her face in his neck with a choked sob. She had missed him so much. She didn't want to be angry at him. She felt it poisoning her memories of them together, turning them bitter and rancid.

"I don't want you to worry about Anakin anymore," he whispered against her montral, softly petting the root of her rear lek. "If you truly feel that you two should not be separated, I will–"

"I do!" Ahsoka said immediately.

Obi-Wan huffed a quiet laugh. "Then I will not separate you. But there will be a change. He will never, ever hurt you again." He pulled back and she saw his eyes had hardened. "He will regret it if he does."

" ...show the first trooper you see, they'll find Pelter and muster out here. I hope. We've got two fucking Jedi trapped down here, after all."

Ahsoka looked at the door, confused. "Boba?" she called.

"He's with Plo, dear, remember?" Obi-Wan stroked her face gently and smiled. "You have nothing to worry about."

"But what was–"

"It's nothing, Ahsoka, nothing." Obi-Wan eased his way into the bed beside her and wrapped her protectively in his arms. "You're safe here with me. Just rest."

She closed her eyes and snuggled closer against him.

"There's my little tick," he chuckled quietly. "Do you remember when I'd call you that as a youngling? You were always clinging to me back then. Qui-Gon thought it was hilarious."

"Yes." She smiled into his robes.

"I remember the first time you came face-to-face with akul lilies," he said softly. "You screamed so loud that I thought you were being murdered. I had to come and save you, and then you wouldn't let me put you down for hours."

They both laughed and Ahsoka felt her stripes go warm.

"I treasure those memories," Obi-Wan admitted. He scratched between her montrals and she began to purr. "I always regretted allowing the Council to convince me that I doted on you too much. I abandoned you back then too, didn't I?"

Ahsoka was shocked to hear him say something she'd only ever thought in her weakest moments. "It's alright," she murmured. "You're here now. That's what matters."

"But still. We lost so much time." The room was warm and so was Obi-Wan. She was getting drowsy. "I always thought of you as the daughter I'd never have. I love you so much, Ahsoka."

"I love you too, Bobi," she murmured, nuzzling into his neck. His beard tickled her forehead.

"You're not my fucking dad! My dad is dead! I watched him fucking die, now go away!"

Ahsoka jerked at the voice. "Was that Boba?" she asked, frowning at the door.

"No, dear, he's with Plo," he reminded her patiently. "Just rest. Stay here with me."

She put her face back in his neck and breathed in the warm, comforting smell of incense and cologne and warm skin. "Can I still see Boba after he picks a new guardian?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, dear. I see no reason not to. You've been a calming influence on him."

She laughed, remembering the way he'd insulted Obi-Wan in the hangar. "I'm sorry he made fun of your–"

The words died before they could leave her lips. His razor rash. He had shaved his head and beard to impersonate Rako Hardeen.

She froze.

"I don't know what the fuck you are, but you're not him!"

Ahsoka looked up at the man with a full head of luxurious auburn hair who held her in his arms.

Obi-Wan blinked rapidly and disappeared, and when the sound of a blaster bolt deflecting off of beskar rang through the room like a bell the room went with him.

Boba touched the stone wall of the tunnel. "Here. It's here, right? Bring up the map again."

Arseven projected his map of the tunnels and Boba nodded, identifying their ninety-degree bend. "Yeah. This is it. Alright, let's just hope that the wall isn't thicker than what her lightsaber can cut." Boba carefully detached the bigger one from its clip on Ahsoka's belt, triple-checked it was facing the right way, then thumbed the button. The vivid green beam shot out and he nearly dropped it out of nerves.

At least it wasn't purple.

Boba swallowed hard and carefully started cutting into the wall. There was resistance like he was trying to push something hollow underwater, but otherwise it sank right to the hilt. He stopped a few times when the rock got too hot for his fingers, but after a minute he had carved a careful square into the wall.

He turned off the blade and shoved the piece of rock forward as hard as he could. The bright orange light of the canyon poured into the pitch black and nearly blinded him.

"Boba!"

Boba dropped the saber and spun with his blaster drawn, shaking and spotty-eyed from his small glimpse of the sun. "Wolffe?" he forced out. There was no answer. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Arseven.

The astromech beeped and shook its spotlight back and forth in a clear no.

Boba swallowed hard and picked the saber back up. Maybe they were looking for them in another tunnel and couldn't hear him respond. He didn't dare yell any louder than he had so he continued to cut carefully into the wall, kicking the chunks out into the canyon. He finally carved a rough rectangle big enough for Arseven to fit through.

He sprayed the rock floor with his liquid nitrogen canister so he didn't burn his hands and then peered over the edge. His heart sank. There was no way he was making it down a thousand-foot drop to the bottom of the canyon without a jetpack, and Arseven's boosters weren't strong enough to support the weight of the three of them combined. If they tried to go one at a time, the unconscious Ahsoka would almost definitely fall off of the droid's dome. He turned and motioned at Arseven. "C'mere, turn your holocam on."

Arseven beeped curiously but obeyed.

"This is Boba Fett. I'm with the Jedi Ahsoka Tano. She's been injured really badly and we've been separated from Plo Koon and the Wolfpack. We need reinforcements right away. There's a whole fucking army down here of Geonosians. Follow the coordinates on Plo's Arseven unit. Dad told me that the Geonosians who live underground are scared of sunlight so we should be okay for a little while, but I don't know if that will hold them back for long."

"Where are you, son?"

Boba spun and aimed down the dark tunnel. He didn't see anything, but he had definitely heard something. It had to be Wolffe looking for him. "You have to hurry," he forced himself to continue, turning back to the holocam. "Bring everyone. I mean fucking everyone, I'm serious about the army. And call for reinforcements on your way." He glanced down the tunnel again. "Boba out."

Boba clicked off Arseven's holocam and motioned his head at the canyon. "Go on and fly to the base as fast as you can. You show the first trooper you see, they'll find Pelter and muster out here." Boba grimaced. "I hope. We've got two fucking Jedi trapped down here, after all."

Arseven honked reluctantly. He stopped at the edge of the opening, flashed his light at Boba twice, then jetted off.

Boba sank down on his haunches and buried his face in his hands. He suddenly felt very, very alone. He'd protect Ahsoka as long as he could, but… but…

"Fuck," he choked out, trying not to cry. He didn't want to have to protect her. He didn't even know if he wanted to find Dad's armor anymore because he'd probably still be in it and that would be the new last touch of his father. Not the brief kov'nyn he'd given Boba right before he had put on his helmet and started fighting, but the touch of dead leather and rotten bones.

He wondered if they had gotten the helmet. He'd dropped it running to escape the arena, would the bugs have known to keep it together? Was it even still together? What if they'd melted it down and sold it to pay for battledroids?

He didn't know. He was afraid to know. The clicking in the walls was getting louder and he really didn't want to fucking be here anymore.

He sat with his back to the daylit canyon and pulled Ahsoka's head into his lap, trying to keep both of them in the light. He pulled her belt off of his shoulder and hooked the lightsaber back on it. "I'm sorry, ori'vod," he whispered. His vision went blurry with tears. She twitched like a dreaming massiff in his lap. "We never should've come here. I'm sorry."

"Bo'ika, can you hear me?"

Boba froze. The voice came from the end of the pitch black tunnel where the sunlight didn't reach. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

"Come to me, Boba. It's alright now. Daddy's here."

"Dad?" Boba whispered, trembling. It wasn't possible. He'd... he'd seen Windu…

"Leave the jetii and come to me, son." There was a glint of silver just beyond where the sunlight stopped. "You don't need that thing. Let's get out of here together."

"You're dead," Boba whimpered. He scooted back and carefully lowered Ahsoka's head to the ground. "I saw you die. You're…"

"You'd choose the jetii over your own father?" the voice hissed.

"N-no, I…"

"Boba, come here now!" the voice bellowed. It sounded just like him but it couldn't be him, it couldn't.

"Fuck off!" Boba shouted, drawing his deece. He kept it aimed at the shine as he struggled to his feet. "You're not my fucking dad! My dad is dead! I watched him fucking die, now go away!"

"Am I not enough for you?" the voice snapped venomously. "You left me to die, and now you're helping the jetiise!"

"No," Boba sobbed. His hands shook with fear and adrenaline. "No, I didn't… I never would have…"

"Then why won't you come to me now?" Dad whispered, suddenly gentle again. "K'olar, Bo'ika. Come to me. We can be together again."

"No," Boba forced through his tears. "No, you're not him. You're not."

"What are you afraid of, Boba?" He saw the outline of the kar'ta beskar on his father's cuirass. "I would never hurt you, son. I love you."

Boba shook his head. "No. No, you're not real."

"Don't you want to be with me? Mama is here too. So is Cassus."

Boba almost collapsed. "They're dead!" he sobbed. "They're dead too, because, because you…"

"You never saw their bodies," the voice said silkily. "I had to tell you they were dead, Bo'ika, so they could be safe. I would never hurt them."

Boba's sweaty hands shook so badly that he could barely keep a grip on the deece. "But you did," he whispered. "You killed them, and you tried to kill Tiarek."

"But not you. Never you, Boba." A beskar greave crossed the threshold of sunlight. "Let's go home, son." Hissing and clicking echoed in the tunnel behind him.

Boba screwed his eyes shut. "We don't have a home anymore," he whispered. "You're not my dad. I don't know what the fuck you are, but you're not him!"

"Boba, come to me!" the thing that wasn't his father screamed at him.

Boba pulled the trigger and heard the bolt deflect off of the beskar like a bell. His eyes shot open as a primal growl erupted behind him that made every hair on his body stand up, and the dark tunnel flooded with emerald green light. A Geonosian wearing his father's beskar'gam and a headpiece made of Human finger bones and insect wings recoiled with a scream, immediately echoed by the dozens of drones holding spears behind it.

Ahsoka darted forward and closed the distance between them before Boba could even blink. She took the leader's head off its shoulders with one powerful swing and then sliced her way through the swarm of screeching, clicking bugs it had stood at the head of.

Boba tried to still his shaking hands and started firing at the packed swarm. He managed to pick off six before Ahsoka cut her way to the back and disappeared around a bend. His eyes darted between her shadow and the… the thing that had stolen his father's armor. It had tied feathers to the jetpack thrusters and his customized WESTAR-34 hung around its neck like a trophy.

He wanted to step forward and rip it off but his feet felt like they'd been cemented to the tunnel floor. How had it known? About Mama and Cassus, how had it known?

He heard a final, distant hiss like steam escaping a pot and then Ahsoka reappeared around the bend, sweating and breathing hard from exertion. She put her saber back on her belt, stepped over the thing's corpse, and pushed his blaster down before pulling him into a one-armed hug that squeezed the breath from his lungs.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a cracking voice.

Boba closed his eyes and burrowed into her sweaty neck, trying not to cry. " 'Lek. Ahsoka, a'ni buir, ni buir ru'jorhaa'i, n-n-nayc, kih'bas ru'johaa'i ti ner jorad be'buir–"

"Shh, I'm here," Ahsoka murmured. Her chest rumbled weakly. "It's alright, Boba, I'm here. Just breathe."

"How did it know?" he whimpered. "How did it know those things a-about my dad?"

"I don't know what it was, but it was Force sensitive. It trapped me in a vision when I was searching for the armor's aura." She glanced behind them. "Looks like the search is over."

"Yeah," Boba whispered.

"Okay, we–" Ahsoka winced and stepped back. Her eyes went round as they focused on the hole in his borrowed cuirass. "Cac, Boba, what happened?"

"A drone threw a spear at me," Boba said with a sniffle.

Her jaw dropped to her chest. "A spear?" she squawked. "Okay, start from the beginning."

Boba wiped his nose. "Um, the floor just… it just opened up. Then we – me, you, and Arseven – fell down into the chamber below, but Plo and Wolffe and all the rest were still up above."

Ahsoka looked at her arm and bit her lip. "Yeah, that would have done it," she sighed.

"Yeah," Boba squeaked, choosing not to confess that he'd broken it by falling on her. "But you were totally out of it. They got attacked up above and Plo yelled at us to hide, but then we got jumped in the tunnel – that's when I got speared – but I took it down. I got us here and cut the wall so Arseven could go get reinforcements."

"That was good thinking," Ahsoka said, then narrowed her eyes. "Wait, why didn't you go with him?"

"You'd prefer it if I left you to be bug food?" Boba snapped defensively. "Ungrateful, much?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "I would prefer that you were safe at the base, but you're right. I definitely would have been bug food." She smiled, and even though she was clearly in a lot of pain, it was genuine. She touched foreheads with him. "Vor entye, vod'ika."

Boba felt his cheeks go pink. "Yeah, well, Tiarek would have killed me if I had left you," he mumbled.

It may have just been the way her lekku had swelled up, but it looked like her stripes got darker. Her head tilted and she let her jaw fall open, clicking softly in the back of her throat for a few seconds before drawing her lightsaber and spinning with it ignited. "Stay behind me," she said quietly.

Boba aimed over her left shoulder. "What is it?"

"Footsteps," she mumbled. "Coming around the bend. In three, two, one–"

Boba pulled the trigger right before Ahsoka gasped for him to hold his fire, but Plo easily deflected the bolt with his blue lightsaber. "Sorry!" he squeaked.

"Master," Ahsoka sighed in visible relief, deactivating her blade.

"Little 'Soka." Plo swept her up in a careful hug, mindful of her splinted arm. He reached around her and yanked Boba into his other arm. "Mii-in khu-khud. I'm so thankful to have found you both safe."

"Ahs'ika!" Wolffe jogged down the tunnel and put a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, where the hell have you two been? We've been up and down these tunnels–"

"Mangle, your skills are required," Plo interrupted. "Sit, Padawan. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"My back is killing me," she admitted, sinking down with his help. "I think I hurt it in the fall."

Boba bit his tongue.

"We are safe for now, I believe. We ran into a swarm not far from here. Some were already injured."

"Yeah, that was probably the swarm running from us," Ahsoka laughed humorlessly.

Mangle took a knee beside her and examined her swelling arm. "I'll give you something for the pain, Commander, but I'd rather not do any more damage to it by trying to rewrap it here. It's already secure, I'll just do more damage."

Ahsoka didn't look happy about it. "Alright," she said, wincing at the touch of his hands. "Sh– Fr– Heck, that really stings."

"Just say fuck," Boba sighed, fighting not to smile at her primness.

Ahsoka shook her head and pointedly looked away from Plo.

"Want me to say it for you?" he asked sympathetically.

"Boba, no," she choked, caught between laughter and tears. "But, uh, the adrenaline is wearing off and this is really starting to hurt."

"Not for long," Mangle said with a snicker, then jammed a hypospray into her left shoulder.

"Where is Arseven?" Plo asked, his brows furrowed. "Did he not fall with you?"

"I sent him back to the base for backup," Boba said.

"We'll need more troopers than what is at the base to safely clear out this hive," Plo said grimly.

"The hell is this thing?" Comet asked, kicking the Geonosian.

The Kel Dor's eyes found the beskar'gam. "A shaman, I believe. I felt its attempt to prey upon our minds, but because it had chosen Ahsoka to focus on I was able to shield us from its intrusion." He turned to Boba. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Boba nodded. He'd been trying not to look at it, but now he couldn't seem to look away. The Geonosian shaman had cut his dad's undersuit away and had reattached it to what he really, really fucking hoped wasn't Human leather. The crown had fallen off of its head and lay in pieces, the Human finger bones that made up the bulk of it had scattered everywhere. It had his dad's helmet clipped to its belt and had filled it with little green eggs.

Sinker sprayed the inside of the helmet with his entire can of liquid nitrogen before kicking it over and smashing the individual eggs under his boot. Boost knelt down and picked it up, then looked over at Boba. "This belongs to you, kid," he said quietly, holding out the helmet.

Boba stepped forward and took it with trembling hands. He turned it and stared down at the visor, just like he had that day.

He was glad in a way that his father's body was gone, even though it meant he'd never get a proper burial. He wouldn't have cared about that anyway. This was what was important. This is what held his soul, not his body, and Boba could go on remembering the last touch of his dad being with living flesh and not rot.

"You good, ad'ika?" Wolffe asked him quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Boba nodded, though it felt like a lie.

"Go sit with Ahsoka. We'll strip it." Wolffe gently steered him back towards his ori'vod and gave him a pat on the back.

Boba took the steps forward without really feeling them and sank down beside Ahsoka and Plo in the light. The elder Jedi put a clawed hand on his shoulder.

"Armor or no, your father will always be with you," Plo said gently. "He has joined the Force, and the Force flows through all living things."

"He's not a living thing," Boba said, staring down at the helmet. He traced the dent.

"But you are." Plo rubbed his arm soothingly. "Every cell in your body is alive with him. He cannot leave you, Boba. That is the nature of the Force."

Ahsoka's jaw dropped open and she tilted her head. "I hear…" she mumbled, nodding a bit from the painkiller. "I hear wings."

"Wolffe?" Plo asked immediately, turning to the trooper.

"We got it all, General." Wolffe finished loading the last piece of beskar into Mangle's ruck.

Plo quickly got to his feet and ignited his lightsaber. He cut a hole triple the size of the one Boba had sweated over in less than a second then shoved out the rock with his powers. The tunnel flooded with sunlight. "Let us waste no more time in this wretched dark," he said. "Boba, I thank you for protecting Ahsoka in her hour of need. I would ask that you continue to do so for a little while longer."

Boba put his helmet on and accepted the WESTAR from Wolffe with a grim nod.

"Wolffe, remind me of the range of the JT-12 jetpack," Plo said, peering up the canyon wall.

"Just over twenty meters per second of fuel at full blast," he replied, joining the Jedi at the edge.

"And that is for the weight of a single man, correct?"

"Yes, General," Wolffe said grimly. "With the fuel we've got left, I'm not sure we could make it up the whole–"

"Pelter to Wolffe, do you copy?" Wolffe's commlink crackled. "I repeat, Pelter to Wolffe, do you copy?"

"Wolffe, copy, over." the trooper barked immediately.

Boba felt dust from the tunnel ceiling fall onto his helmet. There was a subsonic rumbling getting closer.

"We are en route with fucking everyone, as requested. ETA five minutes, over."

"Copy that. We've got a swarm on the way. We'll hold out as long as possible. Over and out." Wolffe looked at Boba. "Guess Arseven made it back, though I don't think that's the wording he would have used."

Boba shrugged and checked the shots on his WESTAR. It wasn't made for extended firefights like the DC-17 was and only held twenty shots to the Blastech model's fifty, but it could be fired twice as fast with three times the power. Dad had left him eight shots. He switched it to his left hand and drew the deece. He'd use them both until he ran dry.

"Think we can last another five minutes?" Boost asked casually, readying his carbine.

"Let us hope so," Plo replied. "Stay in the light, men."

Wolffe, Sinker, Boost, stood three to a man while Mangle and Comet took a knee directly in front of them, forming a firing line that would decimate anything that crawled from the pitch black tunnel. Boba took a knee beside Comet and in front of Ahsoka and aimed his blasters into the darkness, waiting for insectoid eyeshine. He could feel the hum of Plo's lightsaber in his teeth.

"Five seconds," Ahsoka said wearily, doing her best to stay awake despite the drugs. Boba had just opened his mouth to ask Mangle if he had accidentally given the overgrown tooka a trooper-size dose when a swarm of Geonosians piled around the corner like an avalanche of roaches, shoving and clicking and hissing and coming right for them.

The Wolfpack mowed them down with a firestorm of bolts. Boba gritted his teeth and picked his shots, taking down two with a single bolt before plugging a fat one in the front at the knee. It went down and blocked the tunnel, trapping them and making them easy pickings for the others.

Ahsoka snatched the deece from Comet's thigh holster and popped off three shots at the end of the tunnel illuminated by sunlight. "Movement," she slurred. "They're staying out of the… the light, but they're there."

"Reloading!" Wolffe called, dropping to a knee. Boba killed four more bugs before the WESTAR went empty, then he tucked it into his belt and kept firing with the deece. Plo slid on his knees to the opposite bend of the sunlit tunnel and took on the swarm invading from that side, gracefully spinning like an ice-blue tornado of light.

The noise the Geonosians made as they died was fucking haunting; something between a hissing aklay, scratched porcelain and a teakettle on a rolling boil. "Reloading!" he barked when he had two shots left, then put them into a bug's face and replaced his tibanna canister in under a second. There were so many bodies on their side of the tunnel that he didn't know how the bugs were managing to get over them.

He spotted a line of worms rapidly inching towards them on the ground. He sprayed a wide line of liquid nitrogen and watched as they instantly shriveled up and shattered. He raised his weapon to fire again and had cut down two more drones when he felt the floor begin to rumble.

The LAAT/i descending into the canyon outside brought a gust of wind with it that was strong enough to jiggle Ahsoka's montrals.

"Copaani gaan?" Pelter called at them over the thrusters. Beside him, Arseven squealed happily and bounced back and forth on his servos.

"Move out!" Wolffe bellowed, slowly backing up to the hole while still firing.

Boba killed three more before he holstered his deece, slung Ahsoka's unbroken arm around his neck, then jumped them both over the narrow gap to the LAAT/i.

The troopers followed one by one and then finally Plo, covered head-to-toe in Geonosian hemolymph, made a running leap for the gunship. Once he landed the LAAT/i immediately started its ascent. Boba awkwardly stumbled over to a seat and put Tano in one. He took the one next to her before he fell from the turbulence, then pulled his helmet off.

"You're early," Wolffe said warmly, pulling Pelter into a one-armed hug.

"You have our thanks, Commander," Plo nodded. He accepted a sanicloth from one of the ARFs with a medic's sigil on his shoulder and scrubbed at his gooey face.

"You did amazing," Ahsoka said, smiling loopily at Boba.

Boba looked down at the helmet. The sweat on his scalp was tacky and clammy, even in the hot Geonosian air. "Thanks," he said quietly, more to the helmet than to her.

Arseven wheeled over to him, beeping enthusiastically, then tilted forward for a head pat.

"Good job, buddy," Boba snickered, giving him a good rub.

Arseven cooed happily and bumped his knees.

Ahaoka put an orange hand on the top of his helmet. "Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum." she said softly. "Jango Fett."

Kaisa Skirata. Cassus Fett. "Jango Fett," he echoed quietly, then rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

Notes:

MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS Ul'ika: little donkey (Wolffe likes Plo's robot dog and only Plo's robot dog) Me'vaar ti gar: what's new with you/what's up? Naas: nothing Ke'haaranovor: go hide Osik: shit To'bevikse: mando nunchaku (lit 'chain sticks') 'Lek: Yes a'ni buir, ni buir ru'jorhaa'ir, n-n-nayc, kih'bas ru'johaa'i ti ner jorad be'buir: But my dad, my dad said, no, the bug said with my dad's voice– Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum: I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal. (Mando remembrance of the dead) MAOR-GRASTA TRANSLATIONS Mo nighean: my girl Cac: shit KEL DOR TRANSLATIONS Koh-to-yah: hello/goodbye (Wind guide you) Mii-in khu-khud: My kids (not blood relation, Kel Dor would just say offspring [it's informal to them], just children in general) OTHER NOTES Yes I know Boba boobytrapped the helmet as a bomb for Mace. I also know that he somehow fuckin has it later, complete with the dent. But fr, from a meta standpoint Boba would never turn the only part of his dad that he had left into a bomb. There's no explanation on how he got the helmet back so once again I do what I want ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ahsoka goes ekekekek and that's her "echolocation" ability. because god knows I will spend hours too much time making up logical backflips for George Lucas' unique alien designs why the FUCK does a carnivore have two stomachs George 😃👍 Hard drugs blocking the Force (or at least making a person too fucked up to focus) is a Legends canon thing. Cade Skywalker smokes space crack so the ghost of Luke can't yell at him lol

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @soliloquy-of-nemo Dividers: @saradika-graphics

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sandu-zidian · 3 years

Text

Blabbing about this Musician!au I started last summer that has now also turned into a marching band!au because I got sad and nostalgic because despite how shitty it could be, marching band defined my high school life and social life and I couldn’t had asked for anything else.

I also don’t have every single prequel character (because this au is surrounding the prequel characters) in Star Wars smacked into here, and I gave up halfway through a couple of months ago in terms of brainstorming. Anyways, this is hella long so check everything out under the line if you’d like! don’t want to spam everyone with something that’s like, 4 pages long

Now, you might be asking. What instruments are these characters playing, or what are they doing in marching band? well, boy oh boy do I have some lore for you.

Anakin Skywalker: alright lets start of with the “Chosen One”. Now, I gotta say. He’s got some intense brass vibes, specifically high brass. But I don’t know. He didn’t really mesh well. And given his natural talent with the Force in canon, I thought that Anakin would be a sort of prodigy. And we all know the two instruments associated with that: the piano and violin. He’s more of a piano dude, so here we go! piano prodigy Anakin Skywalker. He also gives mad drumline vibes, and I can see him as either the lead snare, setting the tempo, or the main quad player. He’s brash, slightly obnoxious, but damn is he fucking good at what he does.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I literally started this AU on the idea that Obi-Wan would play the cello. One of the defining quotes for him is that fucking “infinite sadness” quote. And we all know that cellos play some of the saddest pieces out there. (see: Elgar cello concerto) However, I can’t see him as a marching band dude. He doesn’t really give off color guard vibes (since that’s where most non-band people go to) so I have him as the resident student helper who everyone tolerates because he brings ice cream after band camp.

Ahsoka Tano: Ahsoka is a flute player. As a flute player, I have intimate knowledge on this. She’s like the chill flute player who’s competitive enough to keep her position as principal, but is also chill enough to not have a big ego that butts heads with everyone. She also gives mad color guard vibes. Also speaking about that from personal experience (am I lowkey projecting my own experiences on her? you didn’t hear that from me). She seems like the type to love swing flags and sabre, and is 100% captain by senior year.

I have Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka as siblings in this AU because I say so. Qui-Gon is around here somewhere as the resident hippie dad who lowkey smokes pot and will support his children while giving a big ‘fuck you’ to Dooku.

Yoda’s also in here somewhere, and I love the idea that he’s an old Chinese/Asian man who refuses to speak english and will only do so with the most backwards grammar so his grandchild (Qui-Gon) and great-grandchildren (the trio) are forced to speak Mandarin/Cantonese to him (pick your poison). He just spends his days cutting up fruit and also might pull out his erhu if everyone asks nice enough. (I want to say he was a Peking Opera musician, but immigrated during Mao’s reign after he lost opportunities during the cultural revolution)

So, I know that it doesn’t make sense for a family to have 3 sets of twins and one triplet set, but fuck that I do what I want.

Cody Fett: okay so, Cody 100% plays the french horn. I don’t know, he just, he does. He’s got that air of sophistication because he can play the hardest brass instrument, but at the same time, he’s incredibly good at it and is matter-of-fact about it. He also would be the mello section leader (I was playing with the idea of drum major, but for now, leaving him as a section leader for now). He’s a bit uptight to be a low brass player, but cool enough to still be associated with the general brass group.

Rex Fett: I got Rex and Cody as the eldest Fett twins. Rex feels like a string player, so I have him on violin. I can see him be very hardworking and practicing diligently to the point where he easily sweeps through to concertmaster in high school and the local youth orchestra. He also gives of mad drum major vibes. I can see him copying music, handing out drill charts, and hauling the met around. Also, just think about Rex doing a fancy ass salute at competitions. Yes.

Next round of twins lets gooo

Jesse Fett: You could say Jesse has brass vibes. I see him as a reed person though. In concert band, he’s on clarinet. I used to think clarinets were as stuck up as us flutes but no they’re literally balls of chaotic energy ready to be unleashed. Just imagine Jesse blaming everything on his reed. I see him as the guy who switches to saxophone for marching band, though. He’s got the energy of the clarinet and the saxophone harnessed. Also, wouldn’t be surprised if he knows how to play the sousa.

Kix Fett: Y’know, when I originally made this AU, I had Kix as a musician as well. I’m gonna scratch that. He’s going to medical school, or at least, he’s planning to. He’s on the pre-med track and is dying in organic chemistry and wishes there weren’t so many pre-requisites. However, in high school, he definitely played the oboe. Of course Kix chose one of the hardest instruments to play. Also, just imagine him trying to make his own reeds. I don’t see him as a guy who’s in marching band. He’ll come to competitions and maybe football games if he’s bullied into it. Kix is the guy who’s classes are all AP and he’s dying inside.

Next round of twins yeet:

Fives Fett: shit, I forgot I gave them all real names. If I remember correctly, Fives is Frank. Anyways, trumpet vibes. Need I say more? He’s on the trumpet in marching band as well and he’s the dude who’s obsessed with DCI and always tries to play as high as he possibly can and absolutely demolishes his chops. I would say he’s section leader as well. He also hangs with the drumline at the back of the bus and always plays meme songs on blast and sends weird pictures to people’s phone via open airdrop.

Echo Fett: I think his birth name is Ethan??? I’m spitting thoughts not checking my old documents. Anyways. Echo feels like a string person. Specifically, low strings. So, he plays the bass. Upright bass. Whatever. You get what I mean. He sleeps in the case after school and hates hauling it everywhere. He was in marching band as a mello player (the easiest brass instrument to pick up for the activity so) but he was in a car crash that left him paralyzed from the hip down, and had to quit to recover. He never stopped playing, and found ways to adjust. (I do not know how exactly this would work, since I’m able bodied and also don’t play the bass, but I know he’d at least have a stool to sit on in order to lean his body on. let me know if you have other ideas i’d love to hear them!)

Finally, we got the triplets:

Dogma Fett: Dogma plays the bassoon. He’s a low reed kinda guy and between the bari sax, bass clarinet, and bassoon, he fits the last one the best. He and Kix moan over making reeds and he’s on the quieter side. He just vibes and plays all the low notes and has fun whenever he’s got some moving part. I see Dogma as someone who is only casually into marching band. He uses Jesse’s old student clarinet as his instrument and he’s always on time, knows his sets, and his technique is on point. He always finds himself roped into his brothers’ shenanigans though.

Tup Fett: Tup plays the harp. I like to think he met Shaak Ti (we’ll get to her in a bit) when he was young, and she was playing with an orchestra. He met her backstage and she offered to give him lessons. Tup’s not really a part of high school orchestra but sometimes he’ll be brought in. He’s more involved with solo work and the youth orchestra more than anything. Tup’s another on where I don’t think he’d be into marching band. Though I can see him being in winter guard as the dude who just shows up and is lowkey rip and therefore is a hunk on the rifle. His technique’s good but they’ve never been able to saddle him into fall guard.

Hardcase Fett: (i’ve given up on remembering the birth names so i’m just gonna not) Hardcase is 100% low brass vibes. He can’t be anything but a low brass. I see him as a tuba player. He’s chill, laid back, but also reliable for being the foundation of the band sound. He plays the sousaphone in marching band and always blasts either Seven Nation Army or some other popular show tune right after rehearsals. Hardcase also can play the bari sax and no one knows when he learned how to.

OKAY we’re done with the Fett’s! Jango and Boba are in here somewhere but honestly I don’t have enough brainpower to come up with what their roles are. Jango’s gonna be a good dad though. Maybe he was a musician and that’s why most of his kids are going into music. Or maybe he’s just a supportive father. Boba’s the youngest though, that’s for sure. And he’s a little shit. Don’t know if he plays an instrument (probably) or what it might be.

Now lets get into some other characters! There’s a lot. And I wasn’t even halfway done with the characters I wanted to include. What the hell was I on last summer?

Padmé Amidala: Padmé is a flute player who quit after freshman year of high school and started taking music production and music theory classes. She loved it so much that she decided that composing was her jam. Now, she’s highly successful and often works with well known pianist, Anakin Skywalker, on piano concertos. Also, she may or may not be dating said pianists but you didn’t hear that from me.

Satine Kryze: twosetters don’t shit on me but Satine feels like she’d play the viola. She and Obi-Obi-Wan definitely dated in high school but after a year broke up on mutual terms and are just good friends now. A lot of people feel like she’d have been a better political science/international studies major than a music major but she’s good so no one complains (until she gets into a fighting match with someone and wins smugly)

Bo-Katan Kryze: shes Satine’s younger sister and is a mad athlete. She doesn’t play any instruments but she’s deeply active and is on scholarship for college, on the pre-med track with Kix. She’s very scary and most people are too intimidated by her to approach.

Plo Koon: I originally had him as an asian man, but I can see Native American as well. He plays the euphonium and he’s just a sweet man. He helps out a lot with private lessons at local high schools and is often brought in to help with low brass during marching band.

Wolffe Koon: Wolffe and Gregor (get to him in a bit) were both adopted by Plo when their parents died when they were very young. Plo was their godfather and he took them in like they were his own. They’re cousins to the Fett brothers (though don’t ask me how I have no idea). Wolffe is an engineer and works close to home.

Gregor Koon: Gregor is Wolffe’s younger brother and had a short stint of musical interest in middle school but quit after he entered high school. Gregor was in a serious car crash during college that left him amnesiac for a year before some of his memories returned. He now owns a restaurant and sticks close to home. Wolffe often comes around to check up on him because his brain injury still impacts his current life in small physical and emotional dips

Kit Fisto: Kit gives off mad trombone vibes and it’s mostly because he seems incredibly laid back. He’s one of those brass players who’s just a nice guy and while jokes around, never got pulled into jokes as a student.

Shaak Ti: like I said above, Shaak Ti is most definitely a harpist. She has that ethereal quality I think is common in harpists. She’s a tall Indian woman and she loves her job! She’s a private lesson teacher and instructor at the conservatory on top of her job in the orchestra since she’s not called in often to play. She loves all her students and gives good hugs.

Mace Windu: Mace is the director of the Jedi Symphony, the orchestra which almost everyone is involved with. He is a bass player and he likes his more classical pieces over contemporary music. He’s good friends with Yoda and sometimes the old troll has to wack some sense into Windu and have him take on newer pieces. Windu 100% gives off unhinged director vibes because mistakes and lazy musicians definitely don’t end after high school/college is over.

Quinlan Vos: this lil shithead definitely is the obnoxious, slightly arrogant, but kind of deserving of that, percussionist. He loves his snare drum and is also in the drumline. He’s the same age as Obi-Wan and the two are close friends. Quinlan is definitely slightly unhinged and is always at the back of the bus causing havoc after competitions. He’s the guy that I (OP) hate but also can’t help but respect cuz yeah he’s annoying but at least he’s good.

Aayla Secura: Aayla is Quinn’s half-sister, and plays the French horn. Again, like Cody, she’s got this air of professionalism that I associate with French horn players and like, we gotta represent the girls in brass somehow. She just fits it really nicely.

I feel like now is the time to list who’s still in conservatory and who isn’t: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Rex, Cody, Jesse, Quinlan, Padmé, and Satine are all recent graduates. Ahsoka, Aayla, Fives, Echo, Tup, Dogma, and Hardcase are still in conservatory (at varying years of course). Kix and Bo are entering med school/frantically applying and banging their heads cuz MCATs. Wolffe and Gregor are older and have been in the field for quite some time now. Plo, Kit, Shaak, and Mace are all faculty/seasoned professionals.

Somehow, I was gonna bring in The Skiratas (with proper research cuz I know very little about them), Dooku, Ventress, the Oppress siblings, rest of Domino Squad, Cut Lawquene, the other CCs, and more. I designated a page out of my sketchbook for this and my oh my the flow chart was hella confusing. How I thought I was gonna handle that in the summer before my first year of college, I have no idea. Maybe I’ll brainstorm more in the future but for now, this is all I have :]]]

Also excuse some of my slightly unhinged language I started writing this a few days ago while slightly unfocused and tired and stressed so my language is a product of that

#star wars #meta #musician au #my thoughts #I miss marching band so fucking much #I miss DCI #and WGI #miss the community #even if it was pretty stressful at times cuz drama #people love their drama in band #I don’t blame them you get sick of people after band camp #star wars au

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