#Sidious is so done

[charmwasjess]

Lightsaber Theory: Obi-Wan "Sith Lords are Our Specialty" Kenobi consistently loses duels to Dooku not for any reason of technical form mismatch or lack of ability, but because Dooku is not even pretending to try to kill him. Resultantly, Obi-Wan can’t figure out what the fuck is going on when they fight. 

Obi-Wan: (preparing to defend an expected lethal strike) You’ll answer for your enormities, Count!

Dooku: (giving him the lightest love tap on the leg) Don’t be so sure, my special good lineage baby boy, so perfect in my eyes. 

Obi-Wan: …What?

Dooku: What?

Which Dooku and Obi-Wan proud lineage moment is even the most unhinged? There are so many to choose from! Is it Dooku’s frequent inability, both in AotC and TCW, to keep from spontaneously gushing about Sidious’s plans and even his own dark secrets to Obi-Wan?? Is it the time in Labyrinth of Evil where Dooku drags a long-suffering, bored Grievous over to watch a holorecording of Anakin and Obi-Wan thwarting his plans yet again, to point out how beautifully they’re working together as a team and how much he likes watching their lightsaber work evolve? Is it in the recent Brotherhood novel, where Obi-Wan just has to casually namedrop Qui-Gon to get Dooku to do exactly what he wants?

Obi-Wan is a big problem for Sidious in his mission to destabilize and corrupt Anakin, and Sidious knows it. He needs him out of the picture to do the same isolating, evil bullshit that worked so well when ensnaring Dooku himself. But the war has been going on for years now, and guess who remains inconveniently alive? And whose job was that to take care of? Oh yeah. I remember. His useless, Padawan assassin-collecting apprentice: fucking Count Dooku. By the time of RotS, Sidious has specifically ordered Dooku to make fucking sure Obi-Wan is dead only for him to completely ignore the command about a half-dozen times.

Going by the Stover RotS novelization, in the same scene where Dooku also literally refers to Obi-Wan as his fucking grandson actually, add that to our earlier list, Sidious reiterates that KILL OBI-WAN is the plan (over the sound of Dooku’s loud complaining) moments before that final duel.  I kind of wish we’d gotten a shot of Sidious's incredulous, enraged expression as Dooku knocks Obi-Wan unconscious and pins him safely out of the way. He is, once again, going out of his way to not kill Obi-Wan in that duel, and this time directly disobeying his Master to his face after they just had a conversation about it. You just know exactly what Sidious must be thinking at that moment. Oh, Dooku. You are so fucking fired.

#count dooku #obi wan kenobi #darth sidious #disaster lineage #lightsaber nerd stuff #the clone wars #revenge of the sith #star wars books #Sidious is so done #you know he had to wake up every morning of Dooku's apprenticeship and just repeat a calming mantra about not killing him yet #oh no the notoriously defiant rule breaker Jedi I corrupted is acting like a notoriously defiant rule breaker #but really #I love that Dooku was secretly (not so secretly) proud of Obi-Wan

[currentlyonstandbi]

#what if i just never emotionally recovered from this . wouldnt that be something #star wars #sw rots #revenge of the sith #rots novelization #anakin skywalker #darth vader #you know what. it's the fact that after everything that has happened anakin still chooses to stay with sidious #even after he knows all he's ever done is lie to him. is use him. is be yet another person on a list of people #who've only ever wanted him for his power #anakin HATES sidious by this point. he despises him. he wants him dead. and yet he stays #because he has no reason not to #he's destroyed everything and everyone who he's ever loved and has loved him in return #and as twisted as it is.. sidious is all he has left now. sidious and all of his anger and all of his terrible grief #so he stays . because he has no reason to leave #and it's not until rotj that anakin finds himself faced with a choice which isn't really a choice at all #because from the moment he realised luke would never join him in overthrowing sidious and ruling the empire #there was only ever one decision anakin could make #because in that moment he looked upon the last reminder of the love that existed once between him and padme and he found his reason #to finally break the cycle of violence #he couldn't kill luke because he loved him ! even among all the anger and pain and regret. anakin loved his son #and just as anakin's love drove him to the dark so too did it help guide him to the light #whatever. this novel destroyed me. gonna have 'this is how it feels to be anakin skywalker forever' on my mind for 3-5 business days

[tennessoui]

writing warm up that got away from me

It takes thirty-two more hours for the realization to come to Sidious, and he blames Skywalker wholly for the delay. The boy's own stupidity and black-and-white view of the galaxy must be rubbing off on him, that's the only reason Sidious can think of for not having thinking of this sooner.

Kenobi. 

And Skywalker.

The answer has been sitting right before him this entire time, but he had been too blinded by his own hatred of Kenobi to see it. And Skywalker's hero worship of the man hadn't helped, of course. The way Skywalker talked of his old Jedi master evoked images of untouchable saints, glowing angels, benevolent deities...the same way he talked of those sentients he fancied himself in love with at the height of his relationships with them. Gilded and perfect and infallible. It was the way Skywalker loved, to paint his paramours as idols placed upon a pedestal.

How had Sidious missed that Skywalker had already done the same thing with Kenobi? Years ago! For years, he has endured Skywalker's fanatical praise of his Jedi master. He has listened to him complain about the man, his fastidiousness, his devotion to the Jedi Order--but oh, those moments that Sidious had made the mistake of agreeing with Skywalker's own words! He has never felt closer to losing Skywalker's trust than those times he let a bad word about Kenobi slip past his lips, even though Skywalker himself had already said much more damning things.

And yet no matter the argument, no matter the disagreement between Kenobi and Skywalker, Skywalker's faith in his master did not waver. He never took his master down from that pedestal, no matter how many times Kenobi revealed himself to be just a man.

Sidious has spent years resenting that, resenting Skywalker's unshakeable devotion to his master. He has spent years trying to ingratiate himself to the boy, trying to replace Kenobi as the boy's mentor, his father. And every time he has failed because it seems that no matter how often Kenobi manages to break Skywalker's heart, Skywalker gives it to him again without hesitation.

But...but if Skywalker were to see Kenobi through the lens of a man in love, if they were to fall into bed together and strike up a romance, then surely...surely Kenobi would flinch at the force of Skywalker's naked devotion.

#obikin #basically sidious decides to push the two of them together #thinking that kenobi will turn skywalker away or break his heart #but of course kenobi does not do that #because kenobi is also insane about skywalker #and sidious did not take that into consideration #this fic is challenging for two ways tho im writing directly into the ao3 box which i have never done #and also i am writing through massive brain fog #so i think half these words are not the right words #rip kit

[intermundia]

I’m obsessed with all the heavy silences in the conversation between Vader and Sidious, everything about their interaction is so delicious with threat and implication, like:

Sidious: I wonder if your thoughts are clear on this, Lord Vader, [you are acting irrationally and without perspective or proportion. You were defeated again by someone you’re ostensibly stronger than, and are distracted from being my agent at full capacity]. Perhaps your “feelings” [as said with disparagement, to trivialize and dismiss the importance of any negative feelings, and subtly criticize any lingering positive ones, which are completely unacceptable] for your old Master [a.k.a. the only conceivable rival to me, the idea of residual loyalty to whom is beyond unacceptable] have left you weakened, [physically and mentally less dangerous and less committed to executing my will, which is completely unacceptable]. If your past cannot be overcome… [if you can’t drop your fixation on Kenobi, I have no use for you. I will destroy and replace you].

Vader: Kenobi [the man and the need I have for revenge against him] means nothing, [because whatever my strong feelings about him are, the feelings don’t mean anything, don’t matter, because they will not cause a problem to you in the future, or make me less dangerous or useful. I can and will drop my hunt for him at your direction, because] I serve only you, [not myself, and not Obi-Wan either. You and I both know that I either live as your servant, or I die trying to kill you, because you are stronger than me—beyond the fact that Kenobi just beat me up, you’ve tortured me before and you will again. You can kill me whenever you want, and I know that implicitly], my [current and only] Master.

#yanked to heel #just like Sidious Is So Done With Him lol #this made me laugh when i saw it #love it #darth sidious #darth vader #anakin skywalker #kenobi spoilers #kenobi series #sw

[watchingtheearthrise]

Ok but when Vader & Luke are dueling in ROTJ, and Vader finds out about Leia—I want to know what Palpatine’s reaction was.

Like…he’s met Leia before. Or just seen her a few times in the Senate. Little Princess Leia, tagging alongside her father, Bail. She’s dressed modestly but regally, and while her expression is calm and poised, he can see the fire burning behind her eyes every time. A grace and fire he had seen before, but he never could place.

Of course he knows that Leia is part of the Rebellion after the events of ANH. And it makes sense at first. That fire had been one of rebellion. And it isn’t until Vader reveals that Luke has a sister that it all clicks.

Leia is Anakin & Padmé’s daughter. Even if he does turn Luke to the dark side and make him an apprentice, there’s still a Skywalker out there that could challenge him. His plan of corrupting the line entirely was trashed in that very instant.

So yeah I totally think that, if they had been able to edit in a swear, we would’ve heard a loud “OH FUCK” of realization from the throne at that moment.

#Star Wars #Palpatine #Sheev #a new hope #return of the jedi #Vader #darth Vader #Luke Skywalker #Darth Sidious #ANH #ROTJ #the throne room #if Vader hadn’t taken out Palps then Leia would’ve done so 100% #she would’ve tossed him down the shaft herself

[gch1995]

How do you feel about Anakin blaming only himself for his fall tot he dark-side? Personally I think self hatred is his own worst enemy….

It is absolutely true that all of Anakin’s arrogance and denial is entirely a “mask” to cover up for his own guilt, insecurities, and self-loathing as Darth Vader. It’s not just his fault he ended up where he did, but he also can’t keep letting his past define him either. There is hope to do better, and deep down he knows it. He’s just too afraid and too hopeless to try.

Yes, his agency is compromised under Sidious, even more than it was under Obi-Wan and the Jedi Order, so, yeah, objectively speaking, it’s not just Anakin’s fault alone he’s in this position with no real safe escape opportunities. In and of itself, it’s not even morally wrong to want to connect with his son to escape his abuser. The means he was using to try to reach out to him were abusive, manipulative, selfish, and unfair in regards to Luke until the end of ROTJ, though, and that’s why he gets framed as wrong for it it. He’s not being cowardly or selfish in his desire to seek a healthier connection than Sidious in his son. That’s relatable. The fact that he was endangering, hurting, and threatening Luke to try to pressure his son to become someone he did not want to be for his own ends out of a desire to gain freedom, while simultaneously continuing to live in denial of his own guilt and fear of the unknown, was fucked up.

Anakin’s arrogance, denial, and attempts to manipulate Luke for Sidious and his own personal “greater good” out of fear of the unknown and self-hatred as Darth Vader is actually a lot like Yoda’s and especially Obi-Wan’s attempts to use Luke for their own “greater good.” Yeah, I’m not denying that the Empire was worse than the old Republic and needed to be taken down. I’m not arguing that there aren’t valid reasons for many people to hate Darth Vader and want him dead for personal safety, justice, and protection reasons in A New Hope. I have a lot of sympathy for Anakin. He’s my favorite character along with, but, regardless of the living hell of constant victimization he endured under a series very abusive, arrogant, corrupt, oppressive, and manipulative bastards of authority figures from whom there was no reasonably safe escape, I’m not going to pretend like he didn’t also enable and perpetuate horrendous systematic abuse, crime, oppression, and tyranny for a little over two decades himself.

I think diminished responsibility is a more accurate way to judge Anakin for his crimes, considering the constant living hell of abuse, manipulation, and exploitation his entire life was under these corrupt authority figures in these screwed up state sanctioned military cults that recruited children as soldiers under incredibly dubious and ill-informed consent. However, while Anakin definitely was capable of being an amazingly kind, loyal, empathetic, and self-sacrificing person at his best, he definitely did become a horrifying lawful evil at his worst, and not all of his crimes were ones he committed just because Sidious, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi Council coerced him to. He did develop a personally angry, selfish, and vengeful side, too.

So yeah, I can understand the logic of thinking that the galaxy might be safer without Vader. I can understand why a lot of his victims would feel that way. However, never once do Obi-Wan and Yoda tell Luke to kill the Emperor, too, and they know he’s the “big bad” in charge, not Darth Vader/Anakin, Yet, it’s just Vader, their former student, who they helped fuck up, left to burn when he turned on them, and then continued to hide and run away from after finding out he survived, who they are focused on using Luke to kill, which heavily implies that their motives aren’t nearly as selfless as they keep trying to convince either Luke or themselves. They’re being self-centered and manipulative cowards who are trying to find an easy way to redeem themselves without having to take personal responsibility and living in denial because facing the truth the right way hurts and is risky. It’s quite similar to what Vader was doing to Luke.

It’s easier for Yoda and Obi-Wan to continue to avoid facing the reality of their bad decisions and mistakes, instead of acknowledging how deeply abusive, damaging, self-centered, and toxic they had become in their fear of facing the unknown through their support of a corrupt Republic government, their hypocritical, their problematic methods and lifestyle in regards to Anakin and their other recruits, and the Republic as a whole, That is why they end up going in to hiding after Order 66 and attempt to use Luke to kill off the monster they inadvertently helped influence his father to become in the first place by deceiving him, endangering him, and manipulating him to try to escape their guilt and absolve themselves in regards to their mistakes with Anakin and the Empire without actually having to do the work of admitting they had been wrong and taking full personal ownership. The fact that they want to redeem themselves is a good instinct. The fact that they’re using an innocent Luke to try to do it for them is where it becomes cowardly, manipulative, and selfish.

I get that they’ve been in these messed up space soldier cults and systems for most of their lives with limited options, so their agency to be able to reasonably feel safe doing any better is compromised,l. It’s not entirely their faults they ended up in these positions that allowed them to grow up to be such deeply damaged and dysfunctional adults. They were victims who deserved better. However, they also had consciences that they buried by living in denial and fear of the unknown, which became a seriously fucked up issue of selfishness and toxicity when people who had nothing to do with their issues became “worthy” collateral damage and scapegoats for them to continue to not take personal accountability and risks to self-improve instead.

Still, in the end, Anakin’s the only one of his predecessors left from the old Jedi in the movies who learns to do the right thing.

#I definitely agree that it’s not fair to blame it on JUST Anakin for becoming Vader and remaining with Sidious #same with obi wan and Yoda #but when people who had done nothing to deserve their abuse or crime became collateral damage for their own ends because #it was easier than trying to take a risk to do the right thing and take personal accountability you do have to place blame on them #for knowingly doing wrong to others for worthy ends instead #and that’s the whole thing that does actually make Anakin/Vader obi-wan Yoda and prequel Jedi sympathetic in spite of their deep flaws #like in and of itself it’s not wrong for obi-wan and Yoda to want to redeem themselves #nor is it inherently wrong for Anakin to seek out his son and other relationships to try to escape abusive and corrupt authority figures #to want to protect his family or to want to make the galaxy better than the shithole it so often is in SW #but the means of enabling and perpetuating abuse crime manipulation and oppression against those who don’t deserve it is selfish #obi wan critical #yoda critical #I mean not really. they are flawed characters but just in case #anakin sywalker #the tragedy of anakin skywalker #the tragedy of the old republic and jedi order #cptsd-skywalker

[ct-hardcase]

feeling things about Windu clearly not hating Anakin and even having easy banter with him but still acting the part of a mentor to him and Ahsoka even if it’s somewhat clumsy

#I truly think Windu feels for Obi-Wan’s predicament #and by extent Anakin and Ahsoka #like. these are kids. in wartime #(I know Anakin’s an adult but Windu’s like 50 he’s allowed to call Anakin a kid) #and Windu sees that both are phenomenal warriors and have the potential to be phenomenal jedi #so he watches them and tries to interact #but relationships are hard sometimes esp when you and Anakin are co-generals in war but he just became a Knight #that they became Jedi in such different conditions as him #at the end of the day I feel he fumbled the ball with Ahsoka due to his strict adherence to the order that never failed him #to the extent it failed Ahsoka #and finally before the conflict with Sidious #he trusts Anakin. he commends him for doing right #and he tells Anakin he’s done enough to stay safe to stay out of the fight #but the war had taken its toll and Sheev sunk his talons into him #and so it was too late #star dorks

[menaceborn]

brutus by the buttress is so ayru-core

#i just. i feel like so much of maul's life is marked by having completely conflicting or contradictory feelings towards people or things #like. he's expected to worship sidious and follow his every command but he's also expected and encouraged to hate him #he's supposed to stay in line and be a servant but as per sith tradition he's also supposed to one day betray and murder his master #and no matter how much he hates sidious or how much self awareness he has about what was done to him he can never truly let go of the pride #he has regarding being sith and sidious is the one who opened that door for him. who (in ayru's mind) elevated him #and in some ways a lot of this carries over to anakin/vader too tbh #ayru sees him as his brother (and in many ways they are brothers) and feels an immense amount of guilt that he didn't intervene when sheev #was grooming anakin BUT AT THE SAME TIME he's jealous of anakin both because of the position he rises to within the empire but also because #of the attention he's given by sheev (which is not a thing you Should envy but it's an unfortunate result of the abuse ayru suffered) #i don't think ayru could ever have a healthy (brotherly) relationship with anakin/vader because he couldn't balance the line between #wanting to set him free from palpatine and wanting to murder him to retake his seat next to their father‚ teacher‚ abuser and master. #(not saying he Could murder anakin‚ just speaking to his wants and ambitions etc.) #ayru wants a quiet life. he wants to sit in his corner of the galaxy with his band of brothers but he also wants glory and for the empire #to chant his name #he needs therapy lol

[bosquedemel]

in dark lord by james luceno, which takes place right after revenge of the sith, vader is injured by a third-rate jedi while pursuing her and other survivors because he's not used to fighting with his armor and life support suit yet. and then later on there's a line like "only dooku, ventress and obi-wan had ever been good enough to injure him with a lightsaber" and that's so interesting because i'd never thought about that and it's true, but also because when you think about it, obi-wan was trained by qui-gon who was trained by dooku, and ventress was also trained by dooku. so it all goes back to dooku and his mastery of lightsaber dueling (he was trained by yoda too so.)

#speaking of yoda there's also a convo in this book between sidious and vader and the latter says that #he wasn't strong enough to defeat obi-wan and palpatine says something like #' yes so imagine what yoda would have done to you' scream #text #star wars

[david-talks-sw]

Dooku didn't leave because of the Jedi.

At least, if you're going by George Lucas' word.

In deleted scenes of Attack of the Clones, when we learn about Dooku's departure and his values, there's no mention of the Jedi or "the Jedi Order as an institution".

And every time Lucas refers to Dooku's disenchantment and reason for falling, he doesn't mention the Jedi.

"When you realize that Dooku is Darth Tyranus, it explains what Darth Sidious did after Darth Maul was killed: he seduced a Jedi who had become disenchanted with the Republic. He preyed on that disenchantment and converted him to the dark side, which is also a setup for what happens with Anakin." - Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones, 2002

"[Dooku is] one of the few Jedi who became disenchanted with the Republic and left the order and he is leading a separatist movement." - Vanity Fair, 2002

"I wanted a more sophisticated kind of villain. Dooku’s disenchantment with the corruption in the Empire is actually valid. It’s all valid.  So, Chris plays it as, 'Is he really a villain or is he just someone who is disenchanted and trying to make things right?'" - Starlog Magazine #300, 2002

He probably meant the Republic/Senate in that last one, but you get the point. And you're seeing the pattern, right?

Dooku's problem isn't the Jedi, it's the Republic.

He's become disenchanted with a system that - according to Lucas' prologue in the 2004 book Shatterpoint - worked for 1,000 years...

"For a thousand years, the Old Republic prospered and grew under the wise rule of the Senate and the protection of the venerable Jedi Knights."

... but has been rendered ineffective because of 1) senators becoming corrupt and 2) corporations gaining political power.

"But as often happens when wealth and power grow beyond all reasonable proportion, an evil fueled by greed arose. The massive organs of commerce mushroomed in power, the Senate became corrupt, and an ambitious named Palpatine was voted Supreme Chancellor."

That's the message Dooku runs on, when he rallies the systems to form the Separatist Alliance.

"By promising an alternative to the corruption and greed that was rotting the Republic from within, Dooku was able to persuade thousands of star systems to secede from the Republic."

The Jedi aren't really a factor in his decision to leave.

Why would they be? Their political status isn't very high, they're virtually powerless, as illustrated by the film's narrative and stated repeatedly by Lucas.

On the contrary, as we already established in this post, Lucas full-on confirmed that Dooku actually carries the sympathies of most of the Jedi. Again:

Most Jedi agree with Dooku, ideologically.

As far as the Jedi are concerned, the politicians are effing up the Republic, and it sucks because the Jedi see this but aren't allowed to interfere in the political process. They have to resort to looking for loopholes in their mandates to actually get stuff done.

That's what that whole "she's a politician" scene is meant to hint at. In the commentary of Attack of the Clones, Lucas uses a similar turn of phrase as he does with Dooku.

"[This scene gives us] a chance to talk a little bit about politics and the Jedi’s disenchantment with the political process, due to the corruption and the ineffectiveness of the Senate." - Attack of the Clones, Director’s Commentary, 2002

Considering all this, it becomes clear that the intended narrative surrounding Dooku's decision to leave the Order is not:

"The Jedi are dogmatic and asleep at the wheel except for Dooku, who is ahead of the curb and sees the system is flawed, so he left."

It's actually:

"ALL Jedi see the system is flawed, Dooku's the only Jedi who decided to take it a step further and leave the Order so he can try to get into politics himself and change things."

That's why they hesitate to accuse him of murder.

That's why in an earlier draft of the Attack of the Clones script, by the end of the second act, Mace STILL has his doubts that Dooku would sign a treaty with the Trade Federation to attack the Republic.

As far as the Jedi are concerned, Dooku is out there fighting the good fight, making noise because whenever they try to protest it falls on deaf ears... until his betrayal on Geonosis.

After all, let's not get it twisted: the Dooku we're introduced to in the films and The Clone Wars, isn't really just Dooku anymore.

He's Darth Tyranus.

A point Lucas makes sure to highlight in his Shatterpoint prologue:

"Unbeknownst to most of his followers, Dooku was himself a Dark Lord of the Sith, acting in collusion with his master, Darth Sidious, who, over the years, had struck an unholy alliance with the greater forces of commerce and their private droid armies."

It's not about doing the selfless thing for Dooku, anymore. He's knowingly part of the problem.

He's all about ambition, now. His personal goals are things like overthrowing Sidious and becoming the most powerful Jedi.

"[Anakin's] ambition and his dialogue here is the same as Dooku’s. He says “I will become more powerful than every Jedi.” And you’ll hear later on Dooku will say “I have become more powerful than any Jedi.” [...] It is possible for a Jedi to want to become more powerful, and control things." - Attack of the Clones, Director’s Commentary, 2002

"If you put two Sith together, they try to get others to join them to get rid of the other Sith. [When revealing the truth to Obi-Wan], Dooku's ambition is really to get rid of Darth Sidious. He's trying to get Obi-Wan's assistance in that and help in that, so that he and Obi-Wan could overthrow Sidious and take over." - Attack of the Clones, Commentary Track 2, 2002

Y'know? Selfish things.

Dooku - like all other Sith, and like the very corporations and Senators he had sworn to destroy - is consumed by his own greed.

#also functionally-speaking Dooku being a Jedi is done to highlight the ambiguity throughout the investigation on whether or not this is #a scorned ex-Jedi or a straight-up bad guy... you're never sure until the end of AOTC. That and Dooku being a former Jedi shows that #even someone who was once selfless and dutiful can crave power and be selfish #which sets up a precedent for Anakin - who's already struggling with being a selfless Jedi - when HE falls to the Dark Side #Dooku being a former Jedi isn't a plot point meant to narratively criticise of the Order... it's meant to hint at Anakin's downfall. #dooku #george lucas #star wars #attack of the clones #long post #collection of quotes

[himboskywalker]

I’m sorry but the darksiders being so fucking done with Vader’s absolute unhinged galaxy rending obsession over Obi-Wan is the funniest thing in the world. The Grand Inquisitor and Sidious both side eyeing him and being like bro can you fucking CHILL is absolutely riotous. The judgement,the exasperation from them.

Anakin foaming at the mouth and shrieking and crushing planets to dust writhing in his Obisession—

Sidious—I can’t believe I’m saying this but have you thought of LETTING GO?

#star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #kenobi series spoilers #kenobi series #kenobi spoilers #obi wan kenobi spoilers

[fanfic-obsessed]

Duty

Here I try a hand at Emperor Obi Wan. It just feels right. 

It starts after Order 66, after the march on the temple. When Obi Wan says that he cannot go after Anakin, Yoda believes him. Instead of Yoda going for Sidious and Obi Wan for Anakin, they reverse it.  Yoda heads for Mustafar. 

Obi Wan goes for Sidious.He’s so done, traumatized and tired. He is also somewhere between passively suicidal and actively suicidal.  He attacks Sidious in front of the newly formed Imperial Senate and no one is more surprised than him when he takes Sidious’s head off cleanly (Sidious did not consider this one tired, hurting Jedi to be a threat and Obi Wan went in full throttle, hoping to do some damage before his death). Even though the Empire is only a few days old at this point, there are some old rules that are already in place, backed by the Force (which is why no one really questions what happens next). One of those rules is the right of conquest. 

To the winner goes the Empire. 

Now Obi Wan is the recognized Emperor, including to the chips in the Clones.   Obi Wan does not want to be the Emperor. Obi Wan wants to go sit in a depression cave and contemplate his infinite sadness in peace, please. 

Bail Organa manages to convince Obi Wan that being the Emperor and helping to unfuck everything is his duty (Bail is both semi reluctant-he knows that duty is Obi Wan’s buzzword and hates that he needs to take advantage of that-, and not, as he is pretty sure that is all that is keeping Obi Wan alive right now). 

So Obi Wan agrees to be Emperor until they can figure out how to undo the Sith’s great plan (while all 1000 years was not spent creating a web of fucked up laws that slowly built the trap they all fell into, a good portion of that time was).  He manages to rescind the Order that the Jedi are traitors, but is not able to deactivate the chips (this is another where the chips turn the clones into Automatons, with no independent thoughts). There is some code phrase that will shut the chips off, but only Palpatine knew it. The Kaminoans are sure that, now that the chips are active, removing the chips will cause brain damage and death to the clones (this is not true, but we are still several months away from Ahsoka and Rex-as the only two who have proof this is patently false- coming back into Obi Wan’s life).  Obi Wan has recalled the 212th, unable to stop himself from wanting them around him, even as they are. Yoda successfully captured Anakin, who is currently being held in a medically induced coma until they figure out what to do with him (he is decidedly fallen, but also is coming off as being in middle of a clinically psychotic episode-also both Yoda and Obi Wan are not so secretly hoping there is something that makes his actions…not Anakin of his own free will slaughtering children). Now Yoda is off in the galaxy trying to find Jedi survivors. Mace Windu was found and is Bacta and would be there for a minimum of a year. 

Padme is on bedrest for her own safety, and the safety of her children. She is also subject to frequent lectures on seeing an actual medical professional while pregnant. It turns out that she had an uncommon, but not rare, condition that meant that a natural birth would kill her. This condition can only be diagnosed in the third trimester (also notably that this condition could not be fixed with the Force, Light or Dark). Obi Wan cannot bring himself to visit her, if asked he would have the excuse of ‘too busy’ ready to go but the truth was he couldn’t face Padme, whom he had considered a friend, after she had spent so much time lying to him about her relationship with Anakin (Also he now has access to all the instances that Palpatine knew about where both of his dear friends abused their power for the sake of the other).  Even after the children are born, Obi Wan keeps his distance. 

So we have Obi Wan, holding himself by a thread as he simultaneously tries to: figure out how to undo hundreds of years of damage against democracy, run an empire (if he has to do this, he will do it right), deactivate the chips (this means going through every single Palpatine has ever recorded in hopes of discovering the code- no matter how horrific), figure out a place that the remaining Jedi can live (the temple is out of the question with the death that clings to the walls like a slime).  There is no one he can truly trust, not even Bail (For all that Bail entreaty to remain emperor was 100% necessary, it did damage Obi Wan and his friendship in a way that it would take a decade to recover).

It will eventually get better. Other Jedi will come from hiding, giving Obi Wan people he can fully rely on. But right now, about a year into the Empire, Obi Wan is running on the barest fumes, heart sick. He is surrounded by the Senate, whom he does not trust, and the puppeted bodies of the clones, whom he forces himself to treat just the same, to never forget that these are people. He has had to order the clones to ignore any order that contradicts his (in order to prevent abuse by senators) and make an explicit order for the clones to defend themselves and to see to their own needs. He is facing the prospect that there may be no way to undo this damage.  

However there is something that no one knows about the chips. Like in cannon, they do eventually break down, as the clones are forced to go against their own morals and fight the chip, it wears it down.  The irony is that Obi Wan treating them as sentients causes less wear than Palptine’s treatment. 

The 212 love their general, none more so than Cody.  As part of that, each one made a point to memorize the signs that Obi Wan was overworking himself.  Now Obi Wan is, to the clones trapped by the chips, overworking himself beyond anything they had seen. The chips do not allow for this kind of care, which starts to cause the same kind of wear that cannon saw. While most of the clones do not fight the chips with Obi Wan in charge, the 212th begins to fight even harder. 

Their general needs them. 

It starts around the 1 year mark, and is so small that Obi Wan thinks he is imagining it.  It starts with Cody frowning faintly at a senator bringing another unnecessary problem to the Emperor to solve (something that they should have been able to solve themselves).  Then Obi Wan realizes his cup of tea keeps getting refilled (Boil does it when Obi Wan isn’t looking-it both is and is not a breakthrough, the chip means that if Obi Wan had asked for the tea Boil would have provided it, but it is Boil himself that is able to anticipate the need and choose Obi Wan’s favorite tea). Several of his guards (all members of the 212th) subtly herd him down lesser known hallways and paths to his destination, causing him to avoid other senators trying, badly, to curry favor. All the while not able to say anything but “Yes, Sir” or answer direct questions with the least amount of words in a monotone.

Something shatters, just a little, in Obi Wan’s heart at those responses. He continues to talk to any of the clones,including promises that he will find a way to fix this, but does not ask as many questions. 

The first substantial sign that the chips were wearing out on their own came from Cody. It was late, Obi Wan had not slept in days, had not eaten in even longer. Cody's voice was raspy, and his words were slow, deliberate (if you have ever spoken to someone with mild aphasia, think of that with long pauses between words). He looked right at Obi Wan and said “You…have…not…eaten.”

Obi Wan found himself whipping around so fast he nearly tripped on the pretentious robes he had been forced into to stare at Cody, whose face was twisted into this incredibly focused look. 

“Cody?” Obi Wan asks, breathless. 

“You…need…to…eat” 

Obi Wan takes another step closer, almost close enough to touch “Cody?”

Cody’s jaw tightens,  “We…are..still…here…we…we…we...can…hear…you.”

Then all at once Cody’s face smoothed out again, responding to Obi Wan with a monotonous ‘yes sir’, back under the chips' control.  

It is both better and worse for Obi Wan. He now knows for sure that the clones are in there, but he still does not know how to free them.  His mindset and self care is bad enough that he actually cannot make the connection between what seems to bring members of the 212th forward in spite of the chips (and Cody is only the first, the spark is usually Obi Wan taking particularly bad care of himself, and that definition is variable for each clone-Helix the head medic is almost himself more than he is controlled within a few weeks).

It is a few weeks after this that Rex and Ahsoka finally arrive. They had been found by Yoda, who convinced them that it was safe to return to Coruscant.  Part of the reason they had not believed it before hand was that it was clear that the Clone were still controlled by the chips. 

They are the ones to break the news to Obi Wan that the Kaminoans were wrong (and it was they were wrong, not they were lying, they truly did believe that the chips could not be removed after they had been activated), the chips could be removed. 

Obi Wan takes that news in, asks a few questions on what is needed to remove the chips, then makes arrangements for the medics to have their chips removed (with the idea that they can then supervise the surgery of everyone else-Obi Wan currently has trust issues and cannot think of letting anyone who is not a clone operate on the 212th, in particular). At that point he sits on the floor of the room they were in and has a small breakdown (Disturbing both Rex and Ahsoka, and bringing his current guard, Wooley, to the point of breaking the chip entirely). 

There is still so much to do. Obi Wan still knows that. He still has a duty to keep the Empire together and undo enough damage that it can become a republic again.  He still has to live with the horrific things that Palpatine had recorded (experiments, thoughts, his plans for Anakin) and figure out what to do with Anakin (who is still being held in a medically induced coma). The knife’s edge of the politics he has been balancing on has not grown any easier (in fact Ahsoka and Rex, having internalized Anakin's beliefs more than they realized are going to make it more difficult not less). 

But Obi Wan has hope, hearing that the clones would soon be free. Through he does not make any kind of suggestion or let himself have an opinion on who goes when for choir removing (save that all of the medics needed to go first so they could sort out who was going next), the medics in charge prioritize the 212th, because Obi Wan desperately needs his battalion back. Also because no one is completely sure that they won’t all give themselves brain damage fighting against the chip. 

There are enough medics that Ghost Company is dechipped at the same time, with minimal recovery.  Boil and Wooley immediately take charge, while the others lock Cody and Obi Wan into Obi Wan’s ‘temporary’ apartment (What had been Palpatine’s living space- the senate insisted) opening the door only for to provide food while Obi Wan is made to take an enforced ‘vacation’ or at least a ten day (They accept no criticisms, or questions from the Senate. The first senator to protest was shot with a stunner and told to be glad for it-the others decide that they will accept Wooley and Boil as a substitute Emperor).

Cody cuddling Obi Wan produces the first true sleep he had since Utapau.  Obi Wan sleeps for a full 24 hours.

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #obi wan kenobi #star wars au #fanfiction prompt #codywan #sheev palpatine #bamf obi wan

[gffa]

I keep going over and over the lines, “I am not your failure, Obi-Wan.  You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker.  I did.” and how they fit into Vader’s mindset, that this is the moment that Obi-Wan truly lets him go, but I don’t think Vader wanted that, he screams Obi-Wan’s name as he leaves, he wants to continue blindly focusing on only Obi-Wan until Sidious has to yank on his leash to get him to stop. And even then he can only hide it, not stop it. I keep thinking about the moments before those lines, Obi-Wan seeing his face, saying “Anakin.” and “Anakin’s gone.  I am what remains.” and the devastation on Obi-Wan’s face to see him this way.  I don’t think it’s just that Vader is rejecting Obi-Wan’s pity for him, he isn’t just saying, “Don’t you fucking feel sorry for me, the dark side is more powerful, I have become so much more than I would have been as a Jedi!” But instead I keep coming back to that Vader cannot let go of Obi-Wan, that he wants Obi-Wan to suffer, he wants Obi-Wan to be consumed by his hate for Vader, not his love.  Vader cannot accept love because it would mean that he would have a way back to the light, he cannot do that because he cannot face what he’s done, and he will always know what he did if he accepts Obi-Wan’s love. But he cannot live without Obi-Wan’s love, either.  So he has to try to twist it the only way he knows how, by burning it into hate, like his own love has been burnt into hate.  The only way Vader can accept Obi-Wan, the only way Vader can not be in a one-sided relationship with Obi-Wan, is to have Obi-Wan join him in hating each other.  “If you loved me, Obi-Wan, you would hate me as I hate you, because I loved you.” He can’t be Obi-Wan’s failed Padawan, the one Obi-Wan still loves, he has to be Obi-Wan’s nightmare, he has to be the victor over Obi-Wan’s faith in the light and Obi-Wan’s love, he has to be the one to tear down Obi-Wan’s love for him as he feels Obi-Wan tore his love down, on Mustafar when he refused to join Anakin or just walk away.  He has to feel Obi-Wan betrayed him (tore down his love for Obi-Wan) on Mustafar, because otherwise Anakin has to face what he’s done. But all Obi-Wan gives him on that rocky moon is more love. So Vader tries to break it, tear it apart, say I’m not someone to love, I’m someone to hate.  But Obi-Wan can’t, so it breaks the last hold Vader has on him, and Obi-Wan leaves, but that’s not what Vader wanted, he wanted Obi-Wan to join him in this suffering hatred, not leave him. So he screams Obi-Wan’s name as he leaves, because now he’s alone in the dark again, with this one-sided obsession with someone who he tried to break, but wound up broken by instead.

#obi wan kenobi #obi wan kenobi spoilers #anakin skywalker #meta

[intermundia]

so starting around page 375 in revenge of the sith, the book begins to bleed highlighter from the amount of psychic damage i was taking while reading it. it's one thing to see on screen and another thing to peel back the visual to stare directly at obi-wan's mind as he takes in something incomprehensibly painful.

just.... twisting the knife!! it was only a week since the conversation where anakin apologized about his arrogance and wished him well!! since then obi-wan has been shot at by his friends and had to walk through the halls of his home strewn with the bodies of his slain family, but it is seeing the truth about anakin that makes him give in to despair.

it's a good thing that yoda is there, for all his brutal honesty. "Make a Jedi fall, one cannot; beyond even Lord Sidious, this is. Chose this, Skywalker did." i love how explicitly clear he makes this for obi-wan, not letting him evade the truth: anakin did it on purpose. nobody forced him to do it, sidious merely invited him forward but he took the step, and "why matters not" because there is no excuse, no valid, acceptable, or moral rationale for what he's done.

"out of his misery, you must put him." while i think yoda is right to associate anakin's potent mixture of fear, anger, and suffering with misery, there is also some level of dramatic irony in these words from the audience knowing that obi-wan's confrontation with anakin on mustafar will do the exact opposite of that, putting anakin in far more misery than most human beings could possibly withstand.

#this book man...... this book #his friend his student his brother #obi-wan kenobi #the team #obikin #revenge of the sith #stover you magnificent bastard #rots novelization my beloved #cw child death #long post #sw books

[tennessoui]

Maul arguing that he's Obi-Wan's Ultimate Enemy ™ because he killed both his father figure and the love of his life and they have a very special connection that Vader won't understand.

Vader arguing that HE is definitely the Ultimate Enemy ™ because he still kills the remainder of Obi-Wan's Jedi Family to this day and he killed Anakin Skywalker who Obi-Wan definitely 100% loved WAY more than Satine.

They may be enraged to find that Obi-Wan actually considers Palpatine the actual Ultimate Enemy ™...

obi-wan with maul: held him as he died in his arms, closed his eyes after he died, gave him hope in the last moments of his life

obi-wan with vader: cried like a pathetic old man as he apologized to anakin for what he’d done to him, literally so pathetic vader said wait no no never mind you didn’t do this you didn’t kill anakin please don’t cry look I did this to anakin ok please stop crying

obi-wan with sidious: would probably dance on his grave. would not piss on him if he were on fire. probably set the fire.

#asks #lmao when i first read this I was like maul killed both his father figure and love of his life?? #I’ve never gotten a quiobi ask before that’s new and different lol #and then I was like oh yeah!! Satine #I’m sorry maul bestie you hardly rank up there amongst obiwans arch nemeses #the field is tough

[maidenvault]

RotJ makes a point of letting us know that Leia is Luke's sister, they've known this on some level for a long time, and he probably cares more about her than anyone in the world because this gives so much more weight to his conflict at the end of the movie, and I think this is a huge thing people overlook when they argue that him redeeming his father represents a rejection of the old Jedi ways of non-attachment. Because in the moment he has to let go of Leia and his friends to be able to actually save Anakin.

When Obi-Wan tries to convince Luke that he has to kill Vader and there's no other way, he doesn’t really discuss it as an issue of Luke having an attachment to him. I think he knows this isn't really the Jedi way but just like in the previous war, they don't seem to be faced with any good choices. Obi-Wan believes what Luke wants is truly impossible and, having failed to stop Vader when he could have before, of course he's trying to stop Luke from making the same mistake.

But it's significant that in the same conversation, Obi-Wan does warn him that his love for his sister could be made a liability if he's not careful. When Luke learns he has a twin and reveals how strong a connection he feels with Leia because he doesn't even have to be told who it is, Obi-Wan's response sets up how this will play into the climax of the film:

"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."

Then when Luke is brought to Sidious, he reveals to Luke that the Rebellion is walking right into a trap as a way to torment and provoke him. Luke gets angrier and angrier while helplessly watching the fleet get ambushed and finally does just what Sidious wants and tries to attack him. But it's Vader specifically threatening Leia that makes Luke totally lose control of his feelings and fight him in a rage.

Luke is basically facing the same kind of test he failed so badly in ESB by running off to help his friends. When Yoda is trying to make him see he's not ready to face Vader and keep him from going to Bespin, he says something that I think is such an underrated quote in its importance to Luke's whole journey:

"Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."

Luke is really lucky he doesn't get killed in Cloud City (or captured, which I think at this point could have resulted in him being turned). Yoda knows Luke is the one person with a chance of defeating the Emperor and Luke just about throws that away.

But at the end of RotJ when Luke cuts off Vader's hand, he surely is reminded of his failure at Bespin and sees the path he's starting down by succumbing to his fears like that again. He stops because he sees he's betraying his loved ones and everything he is. He can only throw away his weapon and confidently tell the Emperor to eat shit then because he's no longer afraid of dying or of those he loves dying. He's done what his father couldn't do and kept his soul intact, which is what Leia would want. Because real love isn't selfishly trying to save someone by betraying what they believe in like Anakin did with Padme. And it obviously has to be an incredibly powerful thing for Vader to see his own son able to do this, even comparing himself to the man he once was ("I am a Jedi, like my father before me").

We remember everything working out okay so it's easy sometimes to forget that Luke gives this triumphant speech when the rebel fleet is getting pulverized outside and things overall still look pretty hopeless. He probably expects he could die at this point. But like Obi-Wan in his own death scene, he knows nothing can destroy him now. And it's the love he feels for his family that gives him the strength to let go.

#luke skywalker #anakin skywalker #leia organa #jedi order #pro jedi #star wars #meta #my meta