#i return from the dead to bring you obi wan in chains

[naboosands]

Cody is not sorry at ALL

#cody came to the rescue and uh #maybe he doesn’t want to rescue his general after all #anyway #i return from the dead to bring you obi wan in chains #cody missed out on the first battle then said NEVER AGAIN #codywan #codywan art #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #star wars #sw fanart #tcw #star wars the clone wars #the clone wars #tcw fanart #myart

[elrhiarhodan]

12 and 23 for the fabric ask would be magnificent! 🏜

Fabric? Autocorrect issue? But I am so glad you asked.

12. Favorite character to write about this year

Hands down, Luke Skywalker. I have been in love with Luke since 1977 and I was a very impressionable 13 year old. All of my friends (all two of them) were "Han girls" but I loved Luke with the passion of, well, Tatoo I and Tatoo II burning down on the sands of the Jundland Wastes. I hated how the Sequels destroyed his character and just lost all interest in SW, but I had heard so many good things (plus a free subscription to D+) about the Mando Show, that I started watching. And when he made his surprise appearance at the end of the S2 finale, well, all my love, long buried, burst back to life like a star reborn. Since I was not (and likely never will be) deeply conversant with Canon and Legends outside of the movies and some knowledge that happens just by existing in the world, I felt more comfortable writing an AU and using it to explore things about Luke that I wouldn't be able to do within a GFFA setting.

I am, at heart, a hurt/comforteer, and Luke Skywalker is the perfect character for me to exercise my Force-given rights to cause pain and bring comfort

23. Fics you wanted to write but didn’t

SO MANY FICS!!!!

(Thank you, Tumblr, for chewing up my post).  Let me reconstruct...)

In addition to falling into the Din/Luke ship, I also fell hard into the Qui/Obi ship.  And there's a funny story to that.  My bestie,@timeforalongstoryis NOT a Din/Luke shipper. Her GFFA ship is Qui/Obi, but when she told me that, I had just finished reading an amazing reverse-padawan story by SPQR (title escapes me at the moment), where the Council denies Obi-Wan his knighthood and makes him Anakin's padawan. I was brand-new in the whole Star Wars fandom and didn't know jack from shit, and this story leaned hard into the Jedi Apprentice books (which I really knew nothing about) and all of the crap that Qui-Gon dealt to poor wee Obi-Wan (Melida/Daan, New Apsolon, even the stupid elevator incident), so at that moment, I was feeling A LOT of unkindness towards Qui-Gon, and kind of shrugged off the idea of Qui/Obi.

Then I encountered @darkisrising's Vampire AU, and well, that kind of spun me right round baby. (Dark, please finish this. I will bribe you with pretty jeweled things for the end of the story). I got stuck in the hospital for nine days and worked my way through almost all of the Qui/Obi tag, including some truly incredible Old Skool fic imported from the Boys in Chains Archive, some written circa 1999.

Anyway, that set my brain percolating on Qui/Obi almost as hard as it's been bubbling away on Din/Luke. I have notes on the following stories:

1 - Broken Qui/Obi, post Naboo (Qui-Gon lives, of course, no Clone Wars), where the Council is pressuring Obi-Wan to take a padawan. Obi-Wan refuses, disavows his master and lineage. Much, much pain... Not sure how to get to a HEA.

2 - Obi-Wan kills Maul in anger, touching the Dark Side and Sidious feels that, and tries to form/force a bond. In his rage and grief, Obi-Wan rejects it and actually kills Sidious (who is back on Coruscant!) Qui-Gon lives, but is, of course, terribly wounded and is in a bacta tank and a force-induced coma/healing trance for months. When he wakes up, he's told that Obi-Wan is dead. Qui-Gon does not train Anakin (Mace or Depa does), and he spends the next 20 years grieving and doing his diplomacy thing across the galaxy. He decides to retire from the Order, but Yoda asks him to take one more mission, to return an artifact to a small, restricted world on the Mid Rim. Guess who he finds...

3 - Modern AU where General Kenobi is taking an adult ed class taught by hippie professor Qui-Gon, who is outraged by the bodyguards watching over the damn warmonger student.

4 - And then there was the Beethoven AU that I wanted to write (musician Obi, conductor Qui-Gon) which I tossed out to the wonderful people on the Qui/Obi writer discord, and while at one point, it looked to become a group project, the amazing Temve wrote the whole thing - and it needs to be read: Save Me From The Grave and Wise: A Qui/Obi Fic in Nine Symphonies if you have any love for either music, Star Wars, or breaking your heart and getting it mended perfectly.I've nattered on way too long, but I've got a bunch of Din/Luke and Din/Boba/Luke ideas that I've started but have stuck in my WiPs folder, hoping to get a chance to finish them next year. Right now, I have to write my Qui/Obi Winter Exchange fic, finish Stars/Scars, and finish Lost and Found - those are my priorities. I signed up for the Star Wars Big Bang, but will probably drop out - I don't really need to do a Big Bang, not when I average 5-7 thousand words a chapter. Having art is nice, but not that much of a reason to drive myself nuts. I may let myself get distracted by the Chocolate Box exchange. It's one of my favorite pan-fandom events, and I've always liked what I've written for that.

#Star Wars #Writing #Meme'd #This Has Gone On Too Long

[jasontoddiefor]

[ooo if you're still doing the sentence prompts!] It's dark and his heart is heavy in his throat.

I’ve Had A Day and this escalated.

He’s tired of it all. Exhaustion runs deep in his veins. It steals his breath away, hides it down below at the bottom of the ocean, daring him to drown so he could truly be alive.

He doesn’t dare think he is secretly searching for death. It’s not death he seeks; it has never been. Ever since he has been young and capable of understanding that the galaxy is so much larger than his mother’s embrace, he has wanted nothing more than to be alive.

He wants to see the world again for the first time without having to wonder about the bloodshed and the horrors he might find. He knows there are people out there capable of looking at a meadow and think of all the flowers blooming there without their vision being overtaken by images of barren wasteland.

He can’t.

He doesn’t know how to.

The darkness that keeps tearing at every fiber of his being sinks its teeth deep into his mind and every time he tries to escape it, he is left with a gushing wound, bleeding out on the cold floor.

The water keeps rising.

It is only a question of time until he will be lost in its depths.

He doesn’t mind as much as he ought to, but the part of him that remembers warmth protests that he’s become so used to shivering in the cold. It’s funny how much he adored water until his Master showered him in it, dunking his head beneath it to teach him that he has no wants of his own.

He will be what his Master needs him to be and only that.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

It feels like giving up, giving in, but if that were the case, he wouldn’t be fighting against it still. His limbs are growing heavier by the minute and he knows he can’t keep this up forever. His Master says that he is the strongest Force-user ever born, calls him a sun with the knowledge of someone who has seen what destruction a star can bring.

His Master doesn’t know that even stars burn out.

And his light is so close to fading, it is a miracle that it’s still strong enough to cast any shadows at all. It bears fruit to desperation within him. He swallows mouthfuls of water when he tries to speak, but he forces out the words anyway.

Please.

The art of begging is nothing unfamiliar to him. He has done nothing else in front of his Master. He lashes out with the expected anger and rage, though nowadays, he can’t even tell anymore whether those are his emotions or just a reflection of how he knows he should behave. Underneath that exterior, he begs his Master not to hurt him again, not to take away the last comfort he has, not to violate the memories of his mother, of a childhood bound in chains that was still so full of light he scarcely recalls the bomb beneath his skin.

The hands that reach for him a warm, kind. They do not smell of sacrifice and decay, and he wants to weep because of how careful they are.

He closes his eyes.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

The world around them is silent as he’s pulled close to a body, his bloodied face leaning against an unarmored chest. A heartbeat thrums beneath the skin and it would be so easy to reach for a lightsaber, to summon the Force and kill this person. It is what he has been created for. The destruction left in his wake is his purpose, his singular goal.

He can’t bring himself to lift even a finger.

He curls up as much as his injuries allow him to, thinking himself so much younger than the years he actually counts. The gentle hands of before began to comb through his hair, messy golden curls covered by ashes. The sensation is soothing, calming. His breath stutters and the motion stops, hands pull away. The lack of contact draws a pitiful whine from his throat, but he doesn’t dare to open his eyes and see what expression the other makes. He might lose whatever resemblance of control he has if he allows himself to examine his situation further, to be drawn out of this sweet lullaby of a moment.

Don’t leave me.

A warm hand returns to his cheek and he thinks it might be burning him with the fires of Mustafar.

“You don’t need to beg.”

The so familiar voice, his salvation and nightmare, is just loud enough that only he can hear it.

“I’m not your Master. I do not demand obedience. I only need your permission.”

You have it, take me with you, please, please, please—

He starts crying in earnest now, hides his face in the chest because he can’t face the world outside of the bubble he created. His shoulders tremble and he holds onto whatever warmth he can find with an iron grip.

“Can you tell me your name, dear one?”

Inevitability, his mother named him in the dead of night, blood covering her thighs. She never told him whether she had the same gift of foresight as him and bestowed upon his fate one last prophecy.

Anakin.

His chance at freedom hums as sweetly as the winds that used to tousle his hair during dawn, then he stands up. He carries Anakin as if he weighs nothing, and perhaps after months on the run, he doesn’t. Anakin still continues sobbing even when his mind is wrapped in the same warmth as his mind, spring sunlight shining through suddenly shallow waters as his body is lifted out of the ocean. Unconditional love and acceptance flood the fledgling bond that gives his soul wings and allows him to look at the pit below.

It’s still there and he is terrified of sinking into the darkness.

I don’t want to go back.

You won’t, I promise.

He is carried out of the Sith temple, whose ghosts scream and attack his fragmented shields. They are incapable of reaching him, his new guardian already protecting him with a ferocity Anakin can’t remember witnessing before.

His mother had been too tortured herself to offer him this sense of safety.

It’s even colder outside than it was within the building and his protector takes a deep breath, steadying himself. They are barely a few steps away from the gateway, but the world already feels so much more alive. The stars above are as loud and bright as the souls wandering outside this desecrated hall.

“General Kenobi—” One out of thousand identical voices rings out.

His shield stops and Anakin fears this is all a lie, a trick, but comforting melodies and featherlight brushes against his worries reassure him.

“We have apprehended Darth Vader,” his savior says with a steady voice. “Get a secure comm to the Council and tell them I have taken Anakin Skywalker into my custody. He will remain there until his former Master is apprehended.”

You will keep me?

For as long as you want me to.

And if I don’t learn to let go?

“Then I will spend forever teaching you,” Obi-Wan Kenobi says. Nothing in his voice allows for Anakin to doubt him.

Anakin gathers what strength remains within him and throws himself into a running leap, trusting that he will not crash back into the dark ocean below, but that Obi-Wan will catch him.

(He does. Again and again, even years after his Master’s death.)

#star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #prequels #fanfic #themessofthecentury #ask

[glimmerglanger]

Whumptober 2020 - Day 4

Well, here we are. We’ve reached the part of the oof!au where Vader stops playing around. MAJOR warnings for this (and all subsequent) parts of the oof!au. Specific to this one: branding, torture, non-con. Dead dove, do not eat, etc. Please consider the warnings before reading.

(Oof!au general information: Post-Order 66 Vader-Captures-Obi-Wan AU. Eventual happy(ish) ending. Past/eventual Codywan. One-side Vaderwan.)

No 14. IS SOMETHING BURNING? Branding | Heat Exhaustion | Fire

Things weren’t going the way Vader had planned. He’d imagined, for three years, exactly what would happen once he got Obi-Wan under his control. He’d dreamed about the way his old Master would break, fall apart, realizing the true extent of his failure. He had relished the idea of proving that he had been, all along, the stronger of them.

Obi-Wan, damn him, seemed intent on ignoring the reality of his situation. He would not shut up, wouldn’t even use Vader’s proper title, not even after multiple sessions, before Vader was called away to handle a problem on Ryloth. 

Vader was supposed to be getting information from Obi-Wan. About the rebels. About anything. Vader hadn’t managed that yet. He kept getting… distracted.

According to the reports generated by the clones and droids that guarded Obi-Wan in his absence, his old master spent his time meditating and performing different exercises in his little cell. Apparently he tried to speak with them, his minders.

Vader smiled at the thought, beneath his helmet. Obi-Wan had ever prided himself on his silver tongue. Well, nothing he said would improve his situation back on Mustafar. He could plead and cajole and beg as much as he wanted.

It would be like pleading with gravity. 

The time spent on Ryloth helped Vader decide on a course going forward, in any case. He considered it after the rebels managed to tear his suit, revealing some of the ruined flesh beneath, gone almost bone pale after so long hidden under leather. He could not bear to look at the rippled scars left behind by the burns, shuddering even as he killed the rebels who had dared--

He had obviously been approaching the situation incorrectly, snagged on the small matter of his name. Obi-Wan could be stubborn about it, if he wanted. He’d learn. Vader would teach him.

And, while he was receiving his instruction, Vader could repay him, in full, for everything he’d done. 

#

The last of the wounds and bruises across Obi-Wan’s skin had faded by the time Vader returned from the campaign. He wondered, walking through his base, if Obi-Wan had realized yet where they were; the temperature controls within the base kept out the volcanic heat, in any case, and cut off from the Force… it was possible he did not. Vader could fix that. Wanted to fix that.

Memories pushed that thought aside as he moved deeper into his fortress. He remembered, so clearly, returning form a campaign, making it back to Coruscant and heading directly to Padmé’s apartments, being greeted with a sweet embrace and sweeter kisses, his beautiful wife who had loved him beyond everything else in the galaxy, until Obi-Wan had turned her against him.

His hands balled into fists, the brief sweetness of the memory turning to ash. Obi-Wan had ruined everything, had ensured there was no Padmé to kiss his brow and soothe his hurts with her soft hands.

Obi-Wan was the only one he had to come back to, now. And there would be no sweetness, between them, no matter what possibilities he’d considered in the past, in a different life.

Obi-Wan had never been willing to return his affections, even then. The man he’d been - Anakin - had deserved care and attention. He would have been good to Obi-Wan, even, gentle with him, kind and giving, but-- But Obi-Wan had never even gazed at him, rejecting him out of hand, turning to another, instead, and--

Well. He no longer had any opportunity to reject anything. Vader had ensured that Obi-Wan had to take what he was given, and the thought eased the raging anger and hurt inside his chest, as he entered his chambers. His orders, delivered before he arrived back on Mustafar, had been followed to the letter, and he smiled at the sight of the stockade erected before his throne.

He inspected it carefully, running a gloved hand over the X that it formed, testing the manacles, pleased with the work put in by 2224. He found he quite liked using 2224 for this work. He’d played a role in taking Obi-Wan away, distracting his focus. Vader couldn’t punish the man 2224 had been; that man was, effectively, dead.

But he enjoyed the knowledge that the man 2224 had been would have rather put a blaster against the side of his head and pulled the trigger than participate in any of Obi-Wan’s just punishments. He could only follow Vader’s orders, now. Only do as he was told, like a good soldier.

Vader turned aside, checking that the rest of his ordered preparations were in order. The furnace made the room hotter than he liked, but it was necessary. He would bear the discomfort. He opened it, more heat rushing out, and gripped the handle of one of the long, metal prods inside, lifting it enough to see the white-hot edges. 

He waved a hand towards the far wall of his quarters, using the Force to activate the controls to raise the view shield. He preferred not to look out, not to see the lava fall below, but…

But he wanted Obi-Wan to see, to know exactly where he was. To understand the wrongs he was paying for, at least in part. Vader had so much to pay him back for.

“Bring him,” he said, still staring into the heart of the furnace, remembering fighting across lava, remembering the agony as the heat consumed him, burning him and setting him on fire just from its closeness, remembering that Obi-Wan left him to die, not even granting him a clean end to his suffering, remembering--

“--just try to remember,” Obi-Wan was saying, as the troopers dragged him into the room, falling silent as he took a step in. Vader felt the sudden flux of his emotions, rising and twisting in the Force: horror and regret and, there and gone, anger.

They passed, too quickly. Obi-Wan’s emotions ever did, and it wasn’t fair, the way he could process them, be rid of them so quickly, when they’d always cluttered Vader’s mind. “Anakin,” he said, sparing Vader from trying to find words that had, temporarily, forsaken him, “What is this?”

“Do you like it?” Vader asked, turning aside from the furnace. “I had it designed for you. Secure him,” he added, to the troopers. He required all of his troopers to keep their helmets off, these days. He preferred that Obi-Wan see their faces, as much as possible. He’d found so many from the 212th, after all.

Obi-Wan struggled against them, as they hauled him towards the stockade, enough so that Vader activated the collar. The troopers took Obi-Wan’s weight when he slumped, hauling him up, fitting one wrist and then the other into the shackles, before kneeling, pulling his ankles into place.

Vader stared, looking at the pale expanse of flesh - he’d provided Obi-Wan with no clothing, and did not plan to start - looking at the scars and freckles that littered his back, strung up for him. He could do whatever he wished. He thought, briefly, of Padmé, her soft arms around him, pulling him to their bed after he returned from the war, and he’d never have that again, but…

“What do you think of the view?” he asked, stepping up behind Obi-Wan, pleased by how much he dwarfed his old Master, these days. Obi-Wan had stolen Padmé from him. It was only fair that he… make up for his theft. Vader put a hand on Obi-Wan’s side, leather dark against creamy skin, slid his palm lower, and felt the wave of revulsion that came off of Obi-Wan, through the Force.

It was stunning and immediate and ever-so-clear through the bond that Vader had not managed to break yet, despite all his efforts. He jerked his hand away, without intending to do so, the taste of vomit in his mouth, suddenly.

Obi-Wan’s voice jerked him out of the strange twist of his thoughts. He sounded agonized when he said, “Do you really make yourself stay here, Anakin?”

The words took a moment to register, and then Vader snarled, activating the collar again, growling out, as Obi-Wan jerked, uselessly, in his chains, “Do not feign towards pity for me, Master. I do not require that from you.”

He listened to Obi-Wan gulp at the air, as the pain stopped. Muscles across his shoulders and back jumped and quivered. He mastered himself far too quickly and asked, his voice a rasp, “What is it that you do require from me, then?”

“Have you not realized?” Vader asked, turned aside, back to the furnace. “I require nothing more than I am owed. Justice. Recompense. Payment for everything you took for me.” He opened the furnace, curled his fingers around the handle of one of the brands, and felt his stomach kick over. “You left me to burn,” he said, remembered agony moving through him. “Can you imagine what that felt like?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said, his own voice blank. 

Vader scowled, lifting the white-hot metal, displeased with the answer. He’d hoped for begging. He snapped, fury moving through him that, even now, Obi-Wan would act so cool, so calm, “Well, you won’t have to imagine anymore.”

And he gripped the back of Obi-Wan’s hair, forcing his head forward, holding him tight and bringing the brand to his side, listening to the flesh sizzle, smelling char. Obi-Wan jerked against his hold, trying to get away from the hot metal, but there was nowhere for him to go. 

Vader listened to Obi-Wan gasp as he lifted the brand away, the flesh beneath red and ruined. Angry. Obi-Wan had broken out in a sweat, across his back, gooseflesh rising over his spine and shoulders as the pain moved through him, the back of his neck exposed. Vader clenched his fingers tighter in Obi-Wan’s hair, his own breath coming fast and shaky.

He held out the brand and said, “Put it in to heat again. Bring me the next.”

2224 said nothing when he handed over the next brand. “Thank you, Cody,” Vader said, only because he wanted Obi-Wan to know who the instrument of his pain was. He wanted Obi-Wan fully cognizant of what was happening to him, who was hurting him. “Well,” he said, pressing the other brand lower, “is it what you imagined?”

“Very close,” Obi-Wan gritted out, voice not even cracking, damn him, and Vader threw the brand to the side as it cooled, knowing the troopers would retrieve it, enjoying the sound it made clattering across the stone.

“Another!” he snapped, hand out, demanding, and he snarled, “You’re going to pay for everything you did to me, Obi-Wan. Repay everything you took. Everything, do you hear me?”

“I didn’t,” Obi-Wan gasped, straining against Vader’s grip in his hair, just for a moment, “take anything. From you. Anakin.”

And the fact that he’d still lie about it, deny his responsibility for everything that had happened was infuriating. “You took everything from me!” Vader roared, tossing aside the spent brand - most of the right side of Obi-Wan’s back was all raised, weeping burns, Vader’s mark standing on the skin, freckles eradicated, and--

“No,” Obi-Wan ground out, still full of denial, “I--”

“You took Padmé!” Vader cut him off, tired of hearing his lies. “I should be - be back on Coruscant, with her. With our child. But--” He cut off, because Obi-Wan’s emotions did something strange, at that moment, going utterly still and distant, which was--

“You killed them,” Obi-Wan spat, muscles tensing across his shoulders and down his back. Bracing, Vader noticed, but the realization felt far away and unimportant. “You killed your wife and unborn child, Anakin, don’t you remember? It was right down there where you strangled--”

The sound Vader made wasn’t words, it was beyond words, beyond fury and righteous rage at all that had been stolen from him. He wanted Obi-Wan to shut up, to cease the flood of lies, wanted him to pay for what he’d done, to give back what he’d taken, to fully comprehend his situations and--

And Vader had never pawed open the front of his suit, before, tugging at clasps with his robotic fingers. “This is your fault,” he snarled, “all of this is your fault, Obi-Wan. I could have been on Coruscant. With Padmé. Celebrating.” 

He gripped at Obi-Wan’s right side, his sensitivity nodes picking up the heat of the burned flesh as he dug his fingers in, hearing the agonized sound it dragged out of Obi-Wan’s throat, and if he thought that hurt--

“To bad,” Obi-Wan gritted out, “that you killed--”

“Shut up! I should be with my wife,” Vader snarled, shoving aside the little voice that pointed out that he’d always wanted this, too. How many times had he thought about visiting Obi-Wan’s quarters on the Negotiator? About pressing him to a wall, hushing his inevitable protests with a kiss, knowing he’d need to convince Obi-Wan, at first, stripping away his clothes and his control--

But that was just because Obi-Wan had made him want it, made him lust after someone that wasn’t Padmé, and then - then denied him. Ignored him, in favor of someone else. That wasn’t Vader’s fault, none of this was his fault. He held onto that knowledge, snarling, “But I suppose you’ll have to do.” 

And Obi-Wan’s legs were already spread, ankles already shackled into place. He thrashed, violently, but between the shackles and Vader’s grip, he barely moved. There was just the harsh, panting sound of his voice, and Vader expected begging, weeping, pleading--

But Obi-Wan didn’t do any of that, he said only, “No, Anakin--”

And Vader felt all the speeches he’d prepared for the moment - because he’d known he was building to this, from the moment he captured Obi-Wan, known he was going to take what was his - slipping from his mind, feeling Obi-Wan’s pain like it was his own across their bond and refusing to allow that weakness to stop him. 

This was what he deserved. Vader was no longer sure if he meant himself or Obi-Wan as he shoved in, dry, nothing to ease the way until something… tore, in a hot rush, and--and he snarled, “Anakin is dead, you killed him.”

“No--”

Vader tightened his grip in Obi-Wan’s hair, gripped around his throat with the Force, squeezing, not wanting to hear any more of his lies, his twisted versions of the truth, just wanting him to be quiet, to be accommodating, for once in his Force-forsaken life to just do as he was told and--and it was so easy to squeeze, the Force jumping to answer his call.

Obi-Wan’s fingers gripped at the stockade, his knuckles standing white against his skin, and Vader tried to make himself think about Padmé, but he wasn’t, he wasn’t at all, she slipped his thoughts completely, as though somehow she weren’t the reason he was doing this, punishing Obi-Wan like this, taking him as he should have been taken and--

And Vader’s cardiac system was malfunctioning again as he fell over the edge. It had been… years, since he’d achieved physical release. He hadn’t touched anyone else, hadn’t felt skin against his flesh, around his cock, gripping him tight and good-- Not since Padmé, not since Coruscant, not since he was Anakin and...and he pulled away, pulled out, roughly, his head full of noise. There was blood across his skin, the only bits of it exposed, he noted, tucking himself away with rough hands. It wasn’t his.

“Get him out of my sight,” he barked, turning away from the way Obi-Wan had slumped against his bonds, the burns across his skin, the way he was breathing shakily, the blood and fluids smeared down the insides of his thighs. His signature in the Force wavered. The marks around his throat were red and purple - black - already, deep, peeking out around the edges of the collar.

Vader looked back, automatically, at a soft, pained sound that he recognized, and watched the troopers unlatch the shackles, watched Obi-Wan just slump over into 2224, like he was someone else, someone who cared, Obi-Wan’s head resting on his shoulder, completely and foolishly trusting.

It was infuriating, and Obi-Wan made a harsh, gasping sound as Vader’s power curled around him again, tightening before Vader mastered himself. It wouldn’t do to kill Obi-Wan. Not yet. He scowled, releasing his grip, noticing, distantly, that there was something wrong with one of 2224’s eyes.

The sclera had turned completely red. Of course, 2224 would be one of the clones to show major defects. Vader intended to keep him around as long as possible, after seeing Obi-Wan’s reaction to him. But 2224 was tapping a finger on Obi-Wan’s side again, eye red, because nothing could ever be easy.

Vader turned away again, mouth full of bitterness, and said, controlling his tone, “Take him to the healers. I don’t want him to die, yet.” He paused, and added. “Have them look at you, as well.”

#whumptober2020 #no.14 #branding #clone wars #fic #torture #mistreatment of prisoners #non-con #non-explicit #dead dove do not eat #codywan #vaderwan #my writing #oof!au #unreliable narrator

[waiting-for-ciena-ree]

"Parasite" Force Bond Theory

How does the Exile survive Kreia's death at the end of KotOR 2? Throughout the game, the story reinforces the idea that Kreia and the Exile's force bond is so strong that if one of them dies, then so will the other. Astonishingly, after being able to ask each Jedi Master about this problem, the player doesn't even have the option to bring it up to Kreia at the end, when it finally matters. How do we make sense of Kreia's death and the Exile's survival?

I have a personal theory, which comes from trying to understand another of Kreia's deaths: how did Kreia survive being a corpse in a morgue at the beginning of KotOR 2?

This overlooked "death" provides the key to my theory, which is that Kreia functionally died at the beginning of the game when Darth Sion attacked the Ebon Hawk, but she "survived" by attaching her soul to the Exile's. Essentially, Kreia became a parasite, and the Exile became her host. To me, this explains why Kreia and the Exile's force bond is uniquely strong; they are sharing one soul. It also explains why the Exile survives in the end; instead of killing Kreia with a final blow, the Exile simply commands her to "rest now" or "die now," and then Kreia dies of her own volition. Ultimately, all that needed to happen was for Kreia to let go. As a parasite clutching to the Exile's soul, Kreia could not possibly live without that bond, but she could choose to free her host. As the host, the Exile could not forcibly remove the bond, but they could survive losing it.

I'm fond of this theory because I think it's a natural reading of what the game shows us, and because it fits perfectly with how I view Kreia's character and the story's themes. By all rights, Kreia ought to be dead from the start. Both T3-M4 and the Exile identify her as a dead body. But through sheer stubborn will, Kreia clings to life for the sake of teaching the Exile. Furthermore, introducing Kreia as somebody "left for dead" parallels the reading that Kreia was Arren Kae, one of many victims that Revan and the Exile left for dead on Malachor V. Based on that reading, there was already a natural connection between the Exile as a perpetrator and Kreia as a victim. This makes their literal bond symbolically meaningful. Considering that the Exile cut themselves off from the Force to block out the pain of Malachor's victims, it is fitting that one of those victims would return to reawaken the Force in the Exile, in order to make the Exile finally come to grips with the suffering they caused. Another way I'd describe their bond is to liken Kreia to a ghost of Malachor V who is haunting the Exile, and the Exile can't be free of this ghost until they make peace with her. I'm proud of this theory because it ties the game together really well for me.

Why I don't believe Kreia is lying about the Force Bond

Before I go any further, I'd like to address the theory that Kreia was simply lying about the strength of the Force Bond in order to make the Exile do what she wants. This theory is tempting because of its simplicity. Kreia lies about many things to achieve her goals, so wouldn't it make sense for her to lie to you in the beginning that when one of you dies, so will the other? I can't deny that Kreia is a liar, so much so that it is difficult to believe or understand anything she says, even when her words feel true.

However, I don't believe that Kreia is lying about the strength of the bond because both the story and gameplay show that the bond is uniquely and dangerously strong. Near the beginning of the story, the Exile feels the loss of Kreia's hand on Peragus II, and near the end of the story, a dark-sided Exile feels Kreia stab herself on Dantooine. Meanwhile, a light-sided Exile will listen to Kreia describe the Exile's own feelings on Malachor V in loving detail to the Jedi Council, at the story's emotional climax. Both Enclave scenes showcase how powerful the bond is. As you travel, the game mechanics also reinforce the bond's strength in a positive way; Kreia's unique "force chain" ability makes her one of the most useful companions. 

There's also the matter that the game's narrative actually makes effort to disprove one of Kreia’s statements: specifically, the Dantooine Enclave scenes prove that the Jedi Council did NOT cut off the Force from the Exile in the past, even though Kreia said at the beginning that they did. Instead, Kreia's statement about the Jedi Council at the beginning becomes a half-truth, or even a kind of prophecy for the Enclave scene, since we learn that the Jedi Council would still cut off the Force from the Exile once they get the chance. 

Notably, while the Enclave scene disproves Kreia's earlier statement about the Jedi Council, it reinforces her statement about the strength of their bond, especially if the Exile is dark-sided and Kreia stabs herself. Anyway, my reading is that since the narrative doesn't disprove Kreia's words about the Force Bond, and instead offers clues for its strength, this complicates the simple answer that Kreia was lying about the bond. That's why I take the danger of the Force Bond seriously, and I prefer the simple answer that she's telling the truth.

How the game describes Kreia and death

The game's language about Kreia and death is fascinating to me. I love that both T3-M4 and the Exile identify her as a dead body when they first meet her, and that the Exile even meets her in a morgue. I love that Kreia's first words to the player are, "Find what you are looking for amongst the dead?" When the Exile tells Kreia that they thought she was dead, Kreia answers, "Close to death, yes, closer than I'd like." Just how close to death did she come? 

Kreia's introduction of herself is also noteworthy: "I am Kreia, and I am your rescuer -- as you are mine." We already know that Kreia rescued the Exile from the Harbinger, but how did the Exile rescue Kreia? It could be that Kreia is simply referring to how the Exile has found Kreia in the morgue and can help her escape. (It's also a reference to how Luke announces his intention to rescue Leia, Kreia's namesake.) However, it makes more sense to me if Kreia is saying that the formation of the bond literally saved Kreia's life, and that she would be dead without it.

Kreia's annoyance at the Exile looting bodies is mentioned again at Korriban, when she warns the Exile not to disturb the dead lest the Exile provokes the invisible Hssiss guardians into fights. Naturally, respecting the dead is a sensitive subject for Kreia! 

Another detail I love about Kreia is her ability to cloak herself from others, to make herself so small in the Force that people like Sion, Mical, Atris, and Jedi Council members can't see her. This ability feels ghost-like to me; we expect ghosts to be able to turn invisible. 

Finally, I'd like to talk about two parallel lines from Kreia about her own alleged death.

When Master Kavar sees Kreia in the Enclave, he exclaims in a shocked voice that he thought she died in the Mandalorian Wars. Kreia replies, "Died? No. Grow stronger, yes!" 

During the final boss fight on Malachor V, the Exile can ask, "Are you ready to die, old woman?" And Kreia will answer, "I died long ago -- and now the circle is complete. Strike me down, and at last, end this."

These lines from Kreia are two of my favorites in the game because of how they contradict each other. In each case, Kreia takes the opposite position in order to prove her opponent wrong. To say to them, "You thought." To Kavar, who claims that she's supposed to be dead, Kreia insists that she never died; she only grew stronger! To the Exile, who threatens to kill her, Kreia instead counters that she died a long time ago, and so the Exile can't harm her any worse. Kreia's words to the Exile make me emotional because she's in a much more vulnerable position here than when she was speaking to Kavar--here, she is about to die--and yet she still speaks proudly.

They're also brilliant lines for the way they connect Kreia's story to Obi-Wan and Anakin. Like Obi-Wan, Kreia proclaims to grow stronger after death. Like both men acted as though Anakin was dead, Kreia acts as though Arren Kae is dead. Kreia also borrow's Vader's words that "the circle is complete" to describe her relationship with her student. 

When Kreia says, "the circle is complete," it's meaningful that both Arren Kae and Traya were also killed in this same spot by their students. Arren Kae was "betrayed and murdered" by Revan, and Traya was "betrayed and murdered" by Nihilus and Sion. Now as Kreia, she turns the tables by betraying the Exile, but instead of killing the Exile, she forces the Exile to kill her on Malachor a final time, on Kreia's own terms. This completes the "circle" of Kreia's deaths.

But I think we can also apply "the circle is complete" to the structure of the game itself. Kreia begins the game as a corpse in a morgue, who then comes to life through her bond with the Exile. At the end of the game, Kreia returns to death, and her bond with the Exile also ends, leaving behind a wound in the Exile's soul.

Final thoughts inspired by Parasite (2019 film)

As I wrap up, I wanted to share how I thought up the name, "Parasite Theory." I had previously called my ideas the "Kreia Is Dead Theory," but I wanted to come up with a better metaphor. Then I started thinking about Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho. 

In this section, I won't talk about any important plot spoilers from Parasite, but I will reference the movie's premise and themes. If you've heard anything about Parasite, you've probably already heard about the movie's themes and the central premise, so I don't think reading this would hurt your experience watching the film. But I'll give a vague spoiler warning for Parasite anyway, in case you want to be extra careful.

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Parasite asks, What does it mean to be a parasite? Specifically, it deals with how poor people and rich people develop parasitic behavior in a capitalistic society. At first, it looks as though the movie's central poor family is parasitically conning a rich family in order to survive. But later, when the movie takes a broader look at society, it's clear that a few rich families are parasites that hoard resources away from the many poor families, while also relying on their labor to fund their extravagant lifestyles. 

Obviously KotOR 2 doesn't take a deep dive into capitalism, but it does explore the aftermath of war in a thoughtful way which is rare for Star Wars. Even though the central sci-fi conceit of A New Hope is the invention of a planet-killing weapon, the movie doesn't dwell on Leia's reaction to Alderaan's destruction any longer than necessary. The spectacle of war and space explosions usually take priority in Star Wars movies, since they're blockbusters. In contrast, KotOR 2 doesn't even show the initial destruction of Malachor V, and the story is all about the suffering left in its wake. It also makes the stunning decision to have the protagonist be the person who ordered the planet's destruction. In this way, while Parasite explores the parasitic relationships between the rich and the poor, I think KotOR 2 explores parasitic relationships between the perpetrators and victims in a war.

And this gets at why I feel so much sympathy for Kreia, even though she is a manipulator who does horrible things. And it is easy to characterize her as a parasite who is feeding off of the Exile's soul in order to survive. Because when you get down to it, Arren Kae was a victim of planetary destruction caused by the Exile. In their own way, the Exile was also a parasite who relied on the destruction of countless lives in order to end the Mandalorian War. Like the rich family in Parasite, the Exile fed on people's suffering, even if that suffering was so harmful to the Exile that they cut themselves off from the Force.

When Kreia re-awakens the Force in the Exile, she also forces the Exile to confront their parasitic effect on the galaxy, even at the cost of becoming a parasite herself. And the surprising aspect of this is that Kreia still loves the Exile and finds hope in them in spite of the harm they've caused, even to herself. I'd say that the central question of KotOR 2 is something like, "What does it mean to love and honor the people we kill?" A light-side run of KotOR 2 finds hopeful answers to this question, as the Exile's actions help the galaxy heal and the Jedi Order rebuild. Essentially, to love people hurt in the galaxy means putting in the hard work to help them, rather than turning away from them in apathy. 

When it comes to Kreia and the Exile's parasitic relationship, one of the messiest and most complex fictional relationships I've ever seen, the Exile can bring a kind of peace of mind to Kreia, but they cannot escape the burden of killing her. In Kreia's view, this is because she "died long ago" and all there is left to do is for the Exile to finish what they started. To kill Arren Kae again, once more, but this time looking her in the eyes. For Kreia, that is the only honor from you that she wants.

#Kreia #kotor #kotor 2 #jedi exile #knights of the old republic #mine #meta #arren kae #This got very long I'm sorry aaahhh

[skywalkersapprentice]

fic: a time to say goodbye

summary: Ezra isn't the only one facing the temptation of change in the World Between Worlds. Just minutes after facing Vader, Ahsoka falls through a portal seventeen years into the past and must relive her final encounter with her former Master without drastically altering the future.

But Anakin Skywalker taught her many things. How to push her luck was one of them.

relationship(s): anakin skywalker & ahsoka tano

word count: 2233 words

rating: t

(read on ao3)

Note: This started as a slightly incoherent tumblr post this weekend, but I’ve added many more words and most of them hurt. If you’ve read the original, hello, I’ve made it better.

Ahsoka runs through the stars after a boy seeking his Master and all she can see is gold.

The crack in the mask. The Sith-gold eye. That voice, once so familiar, now hauntingly twisted beyond recognition.

Her failure stabs at her like a second heartbeat with every step she takes.

Anakin.

Reconciling the man she knew during the war with the terrifying Sith lord she’d heard stories of had proved near impossible for months. The dark side had taken Anakin Skywalker and twisted him into something unknowable. In the Force, he burned like a terrifying slash of red-hot anger. When he spoke, it was cold and slow. He was nothing like the Anakin of her memories, who was bright in the Force like a star, enthusiastic and kind. She was grateful for the mask that Vader wore. It was easier to lift her blades against a faceless man.

But then, a strike to his mask at an opportune time, and-

He’d looked at her with Anakin’s eyes. He’d said her name in Anakin’s voice. It had been enough to make her reckless.

I won’t leave you, not this time.

She’s not so different from Ezra, running blindly after a voice and a chance to save his Master.

Ahsoka won’t get a second chance. Ezra won’t either. But if she were 17, with the opportunity to make things right…

The thought has barely crossed her mind when below her feet, a circle begins to glow. A voice from the stars stands out from the rest.

Ahsoka!

Ahead, Ezra is still running to find his Master. For the second time in a day, Ahsoka has been frozen by the voice of her own.

How are you? Where are you? Are... you okay?

In the space of a blink, the world between worlds dissolves around her in a rush of stars. When reality rebuilds itself, Ezra is gone and a shuttle ramp is opening ahead of her.

Something’s not right. Her skin feels odd, like she’s wearing it wrong. Her clothes fit differently than they had just a moment ago. She brings a hand up to her head, only to flinch at how small her montrals are. And her lekku-

She closes her eyes before the ramp can lower all the way and reveal their welcoming party. Her lekku are short.

They are seventeen years too short.

Of course the ancient plane of all worlds and times would bring her here. The day she spent so many years replaying in her head, wondering what she could have done differently to avoid the horrors to come.

Ezra runs toward his temptation, and she has fallen into her own. But just as Ezra cannot save his Master, there is nothing she can do here. It’s too late for Anakin, for the Republic. It is too late to right any wrongs, to prevent order 66. Any dramatic modifications would have consequences.

Why?  she asks the Force. Do you think this is a kindness? To watch and do nothing?

The Force, calm and silent, has no answers for her.

Always in motion, is the future, Yoda used to say. And many possible futures, there are.

“Let’s go,” says Bo-Katan from behind her. “We don’t have much time.”

One foot in front of the other. She keeps her eyes on Artoo, waiting happily at the bottom of the ramp for her, takes perhaps a moment too long stroking his dome. But she can’t delay forever.

She looks up and there they are.

This Obi-Wan, a little greyer and sadder than he had been before she left the Order, but still with a gentle smile and nod for her. And next to him...

Blue eyes. A smile. Barely contained eagerness. Something in her chest cracks open.

This is not a vision, or a holocron, or a sliver of a man staring at her with Sith eyes. This is familiar. This is who she has been missing for nearly two decades.

“Ahsoka,” Anakin Skywalker from half a lifetime ago says, sincere and heartfelt, “I’m so glad to see you.”

She’s supposed to rebuff him here, to silence him and tell him of “another time” that can never be. There’s nothing in her that wants to.

It was foretold that you would be here. Our long awaited meeting has come at last.

Ahsoka decides. She’s carried regrets about this for too long. If this is a test of the Force, she’ll fail right here to keep him smiling.

“It’s good to see you too, Anakin,” she tells him. A deviation from the script, but the world hasn’t collapsed around her. The Force is calm.

Anakin Skywalker taught her many things. How to push her luck was one of them.

-----

In the war room, Ahsoka recites the information about Maul to Obi-Wan and Anakin from memory.

“I was able to obtain transmission codes from the Pykes on Oba Diah.” This time, she’s prepared for the wary look Anakin throws her way.

“What were you doing on Oba Diah?”

Then, she’d been defensive, thinking he was about to try and lecture her as a Master would. Now, Ahsoka takes the concern for what it is.

“Nothing you wouldn’t have done,” she assures him. A small grin tugs at the corners of her mouth at the familiar exasperated look she gets in return.

The confrontation between Bo-Katan and Obi-Wan goes about as well as it had the first time, which is to say, not at all. Ahsoka of seventeen years ago had carried deep-seated resentment towards Anakin’s former Master for his loyalty to the Council before anything else. She’d seen him as a representation of everything the Jedi were doing wrong, and it had infuriated her. But it doesn’t matter now. Just a few days from now, there will be no Council to be loyal to, no Jedi to protect the galaxy from anything. There is no point in resenting a man who is days from losing everything.

She never did find out what happened to Obi-Wan, beyond what was on Kanan's holocron. Given what she now knows about Anakin, she no longer wants to.

You wouldn’t, would you Anakin? Surely not him, too?

She knows the answer. It’s not something she wants to dwell on.

“You two certainly haven’t changed,” Ahsoka tells Anakin when Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan have left. This time, she means it not as an accusation. Stagnancy is a compliment when you come from a time where everything has changed for the worse.

-----

She falls into step alongside her old friend as he leads her to her surprise and wonders how, how can he be this happy, when his fall is imminent? Reports of Darth Vader were elusive, but could be traced back to the very beginning of the Empire. How is the man at her side mere days away from becoming the monster she met on Malachor?

But- it’s something she never noticed the first time around. The mania around the edges of his happiness. The shreds of normalcy that he clings to like a lifeline. A euphoria born of desperation. Ahsoka understands now, as they walk the corridors of the Resolute. For very different reasons, they’re trying to pretend they’re still the same.

When Anakin unveils his “surprise” for her, she walks around, looks at all the clones wearing her face that will soon be dead. The ache in her chest grows at the sight of a youthful Rex.

He really never learned how to stop calling her Commander. This time, she doesn’t bother telling him not to.

The sirens blare overhead, scattering everyone. To everyone else, they're a sign of an emergency. To Ahsoka, they’re a sign that she’s running out of time. Obi-Wan rushes in with news of the Coruscant attack, and she knows she has just minutes left.

“What about the Chancellor?” Anakin immediately asks. It takes everything in Ahsoka not to react to that because now, more than ever, temptation eats away at her.

She could do it. One sentence to start a chain reaction. The Chancellor is a Sith Lord, she could say, and everything would change. They would know, they could take action, they could-

The Force roils uneasily. No. This is not why she’s here. She is here perhaps as a cruel punishment for failing to stop Vader, but she has not been given a chance to fix this.

She bites her tongue, and stays quiet.

“We can be there within the hour,” Obi-Wan is saying. Ahsoka frowns. She has no desire to argue with Obi-Wan, who she will never see again after this, but she needs to get troops on Mandalore. Perhaps it’s time to take a page out of the Negotiator’s book.

“Master Kenobi,” she says, careful to keep her tone neutral. “Bo-Katan and her people are counting on the Republic.”

Obi-Wan has always been one to react to the tone in the room. Then, he'd met her accusing tone with condescending defensiveness. Now, he replies with a calm, “Ahsoka, surely you understand that this is a pivotal moment in the clone wars. The people of Coruscant need our help.”

Ahsoka thinks but doesn’t say, no. The Chancellor does.

“I understand,” she counters instead, “that Coruscant and Mandalore need help from the Jedi.” She turns to Anakin. “Aren’t there enough forces on this ship to handle both?”

Anakin narrows his eyes in thought. “I’ll…. divide the 501st! Make a new division under Ahsoka’s command.”

There you go, she thinks. They can sort out the rest from there.

Obi-Wan still makes his quip about Maul never staying dead as he heads out, and Ahsoka privately, fervently agrees.

And then it’s just the two of them, for the last time, in a moment she wants to freeze forever.

Perhaps it’s selfish. She knows exactly what this man is capable of. She could strike him down where he stands right now and alter the course of history. She could warn him of what he will do, in the hopes that he won’t fall this time. But the Force has not brought her to change the future.

She understands now. This isn’t a punishment, or even a test. It is a chance to say goodbye.

When Ahsoka faces Anakin for the last time, she gently inclines her head. Not quite a Jedi bow, but respectful all the same. “Thank you. For everything.”

He’ll take it to mean for the clones, the lightsabers, for having her back. She means it to encompass more than that.

That grin again. “That’s what friends are for.”

Friends.

Then you will die.

She can’t look at him like this, exactly as she remembers. She can’t look away, either. There’s an ache in her ribs as she carefully accepts her old lightsabers- they were blue for a time, a detail she’d nearly forgotten- and when she looks back at her former Master, everything she wants to stay gets stuck in her throat.

I miss you. Every day. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry it can’t be different now.

“I have… so much to tell you,” she says softly.

“Me too,” Anakin says. There’s an excited glint in his eye that breaks her heart. “You capture Maul, I’ll take care of Grievous, and with any luck, this will all be over soon.”

“Master Kenobi always said there’s no such thing as luck,” she makes herself say.

“Hmm.” His eyes are still kind. “Good thing I taught you otherwise.”

He begins to walk away- and this is it. In her memory, she quips a “good luck” for old time’s sake, gets one more smile, and then she loses him forever.

You abandoned me. You failed me. Where were you when I needed you?

“Anakin!”

This time, when he turns expectantly, Ahsoka takes five steps and flings her arms around him, lightsabers still in hand. He lets out a quiet oof, then a little laugh and his arms come up over her shoulders.

“Good luck,” she says into his tunic, and gives herself three selfish seconds.

One- to reach out for a Force presence she’s been missing for seventeen years, to find not a slash of anger and fear, but something bright and intense and, for the moment- happy.

Two- to let her expression finally break where he can’t see her, and finally grieve for the loss of one of her oldest friends.

Three- to convince herself to let him go.

When she steps back, she’s smiling again. Anakin hesitates for a moment. His brow furrows. But then he gives her that one last crooked grin.

And she loses him a final time.

In the space of a blink, the world shatters, rebuilds itself into a vast array of starry paths and she’s herself again, running after Ezra through the World Between Worlds as he seeks closure with his own Master.

“You don’t understand what you’re asking me to do!” he chokes out when she finally catches up to him.

“Yes, I do.” A kind smile. A cruel gold stare. Both a pain as fresh as an open wound. “You can’t save your Master… and I can’t save mine.”

One last thing she learned from Anakin- teaching a lesson often requires holding your student to higher standards than you hold yourself.

With the knowledge that she’s holding him to a standard she herself might never reach, Ahsoka tells Ezra, “I’m asking you to let go.”

#the clone wars #anakin and ahsoka #tcw spoilers #ahsoka tano #anakin skywalker #tcw #clone wars fic #writings #ooo it's been an age since i last used that tag #anyway. vibrates w/nervous energy

[ct-offical-sexyman]

Viveza and all the prequels

First of all; how dare you make me write out the plot of my own story. Second of all: thank you, this will probably help in the future.

Remember that this can all change in the future.

Spoilers for Viveza’s story below.

The Phantom Menace

Melinoe Lanami is sent to spy on the young queen of Naboo under the fake name Nize Raza. Her orders are to keep an eye on the girl until told otherwise. She takes up the disguise of Captain Panaka’s second in command.

She escapes the blockade with everyone else. A small communicator gives her a new order to signal the group's location to Maul.

When they arrive on Tatooine, Melinoe tries to go with Padme, Jar Jar and Qui Gon into town, but Qui Gon says they have enough people and forces Melinoe to stay behind. She doesn’t push it, knowing that insisting on following them would be too risky and blow her cover.

For the scenes on Tatooine Melinoe’s scenes are made up of her talking/sparring with Obi Wan or interacting with other members of the crew. I’m currently having reader block with this part of the story, because I’m trying to work out what Melinoe and Obi Wan talk about in regards to the life of a Jedi and the politics surrounding it. Because I feel like it could be really easy for me to fuck it up, and made really obvoius that Melinoe is a spy/sith.

Anyway; Jinn brings back Anakin and friends back to the ship where they’re attacked by Maul. Once they escape Melinoe and Anakin have a scene together where Anakin is still getting used to the cold on the ship. Melinoe finds him a blanket and sympathises with him saying that she grew up on a cold planet and it took a little while for her to get used to warmer places. This scene was originally between Anakin and Padme, but this is a good way to show Melinoe’s personality under the mask she puts up for herself.

At some point before they get to Coruscant Melinoe lets her guard down for a second and accidently reveals her real name to Obi Wan through the force.

During the Coruscant scenes Melinoe is put on guard duty over the handmaidens. So she doesn’t witness any of the stuff at the Jedi Temple.

When everyone goes back to Naboo, Melinoe is given orders to kill the Jedi just as Maul shows up to fight them.

Melinoe and Obi Wan get septured from Qui Gon and Maul when Maul pushes Obi Wan into Melinoe causing them both to fall off the platform. Obi Wan saves Melinoe by grabbing her hand, but they don’t talk about it because they’re both more focused on catching up with Qui Gon and Maul.

When Obi Wan starts fighting Maul, Melinoe gets caught behind the red force field. She has the opportunity to help Maul several times, but she realises ‘why should help him? I fucking hate him and hurt Eglantine on muiltable occasions’. Melinoe ends up leaving Maul for dead in order to make her escape from the planet.

She’s later seen back on Byss, giving Darth Heiss a report of what happened while leaving out and lying about several things. She’s informed that she’ll be punished for failing her mission and is dismissed.

Later on; she tells Eglantine about what happened, while being much more honest. Eglantine expresses relief about Maul’s death and Melinoe’s safe return.

Interlude

Abridged version of events in between TPM & AOTC;

Viveza stops using her birth name after Eglantine is killed by Heiss.

She disavows Darth Heiss and defects from Byss three years after Maul’s death, and two years after Eglantine’s.

Gets a ship and a T7 unit after taking it from a group of mandalorians.

Viveza travels to Eglantine’s homeworld of Marazi where she meets her first apprentice, Jaks Jr, and her eventual second in command, Jaks Snr.

While on Glee Anselm, Viveza meets her second apprentice, Thea, after Thea tries to chew her arm off. While breaking up a slave ring, Viveza meets Orianna and Nizzal, who become her third and fourth apprentices.

Meets Obi Wan again several times, but it’s always in a situation where she’s able to escape.

Attack of the Clones

Viveza is dragged into the plot when Obi Wan seeks her out to find information on the Kamino Saber Dart (knowing that after years of breaking up slave cartels she’ll have information about underground criminals like bounty hunters).

Since she owes Obi Wan a favour for saving one of her companions at some point, she agrees to help him. She tells him that the dart is from Kaimino. She later helps Obi Wan find his way to Kaimino when he hits a dead end.

While Obi Wan is having his conversation with Lama Su, Viveza is given a tour of the cloning facilities. This is where Viveza would meet Margo for the first time. They have a conversation where Viveza asks Margo what her life is like living on Kaimio. Margo avoids the question and eventually leaves.

They later meet Jango and work out that he’s the one who was hired to kill Padme. While Obi Wan is getting the council an update, Viveza is the one to notice that the Fetts are trying to escape.

After the fight between Obi Wan and Fett, Viveza is the one to throw the homing beacon on the Slave 1.

They follow the Fetts to Geonosis. Where they find out about Gunray making the order to kill Padme. They go back to Viveza’s ship where Obi Wan sends his findings to the council via Anakin's and Padme’s ship.

They are then captured by Jango and the droidekas. Viveza has her lightsabers taken and eventually they end up in the hands of Margo.

Viveza is put in a different cell to Obi Wan, and Dooku also tries to persuade her to join (but with a completely different speech). She refuses to hear him out, due to remembering the 14 years of suffering she endured at the hands of Heiss basically saying ‘I spent 14 years trying to escape and you expect me to go right back because of some empty words’.

I thought about having Dooku try to appeal to Viveza by playing the ‘i knew your father’ card, but then I realised there was no way Dooku could know who Viveza is, so :P.

Viveza is sentenced to death in the Geonosis Arena. Where she’ll face off against a Gundark. She manages to escape by tricking the gundark into running into the piller she’s chained to, causing the whole thing to crumble.

When the battle between the Jedi and the droids starts, Viveza holds her own without any lightsabers and still has her hands tied together.

When the Clones get there, Viveza takes the opportunity to leave and go look for her ship. When she finds it, she also finds Margo, who’s having a breakdown because her father just died and her brother tried to murder her.

Viveza’s plot on AOTC ends with Margo returning Viveza’s lightsabers to her and becoming Viveza’s fifth apprentice.

Interlude 2

I love you, Lou, BUT I CAN’T SUMMERRISE ALL THE CLONE WARS IN ONE POST! All you need to know is that Viveza wants revenge on Grievous for a lot of the stuff he’s done to her and her allies during the Clone Wars.

Revenge of the Sith

Viveza learns that Grievous is on Utapau and travels there hoping to kill Grievous herself. She runs into Obi Wan and they agree that it would be in their best interest to take Grievous on together. After defeating Grievous and getting Obi Wan’s lightsaber from Cody, Obi Wan starts escorting Viveza’s back to her ship via Boga (best girl, rip, I think?).

They get blasted off the side of a cliff but manage to escape. They meet up with Bail and Yoda and head to Coruscant to change the Jedi Beacon to make sure any other survivors know to stay away. Aftering finding out that Anakin turned to the darkside, Viveza is enraged that he killed all the younglings.

They go to question Padme about where Anakin is, but she refuses to tell them anything. When Padme leaves to find Anakin, Viveza and Obi Wan stowaway on her ship.

On Mustafar when Anakin thinks Padme betrayed him by bringing Obi Wan and Viveza he tries attacking her, but Viveza stops him by shooting him with force lightning. Padme is able to get away from Anakin with minor injuries.

Viveza and Obi Wan engage in a fight against Anakin. After the facility’s shields get deactivated, Viveza gets separated from Obi Wan and Anakin.

I can either have Viveza and Obi Wan meet back at the ship or have her find them just as Obi Wan gets ‘the high ground’, but the thing about the second option is that Viveza wouldn’t want to take any changes and would probably put Anakin out of misery when he’s burning alive.

Either way they end up back at the ship with Padme. While on the ship Obi Wan and Viveza have a moment where they just lean on each other in exhaustion.

Padme goes into labour as they're travelling to Polis Massa. She gives birth to the twins and is predicted to make a full recovery in time. (because fuck you canon!). She’s heartbroken by what Anakin has done, but vows to fight for her children.

The ending is another point where I’m not quite sure where to take it. I could just go with the original ending where Leia is adopted by Bail, and Luke is sent to Tatooine right away, but I feel like Padme wouldn’t want to be separated from her children. At the moment I’m thinking she’ll go into hiding for around two years but after one too many close calls she begrudgingly accepts to send each of them into hiding. With Leia being sent to live with Bail and having her name changed to Leia Organa and Luke being sent to live with Owen. Maybe I’ll find some other direction.

Viveza sets out to see how many of her allies and connections are still loyal to her or if they decide to shift their loyalty to the newly formed Empire. Her first order of business to find out what happened to Margo, because she hasn’t contacted Viveza since Maul’s capture.

#askcj #darth viveza #long post

[disneydreamlights]

Across the Stars: Chapter 6

AO3 | FFN

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Summary: Tensions between the Separatists and the Republic are climbing as the Senate debates whether there is need for an army. Anakin Skywalker, Senator of Tatooine, has recently returned to Coruscant to speak against its formation, resulting in an assassination attempt that forces him to reunite with long time friends Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and the newly knighted Padme Naberrie for his own protection. [Anidala]

(Or, an Attack of the Clones Roleswap AU)

A/N: Kinda tired proofing this  (first time in a while a Disney trip has left me so drained feeling. lol) so there might be some errors. If that is the case please let me know and I will fix asap.

Padmé sat down at the comm system and immediately entered a few commands, faster than Anakin could follow as he watched her input the information. Seconds later, a blue hologram of Obi-Wan appeared. "Padmé. I need you to transfer this message to the Jedi Council immediately." She didn't hesitate, immediately putting in more information to have it play to the council. Who was seeing it, neither of them were sure. "I have tracked the bounty hunter Jango Fett–" Was that the name of the one who was trying to have him killed? "-to the droid factory at Geonosis. The Trade Federation has started production of the Droid Army here."

"Droid Army?" Anakin felt his stomach drop, but Padmé shushed him before he could say anything more, clearly intent on hanging onto her master's words.

"It is likely that the viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Skywalker. The commerce guilds and the corporate alliance have pledged their armies to Count Dooku. And are forming a–" Obi-Wan cut off, pulling out his lightsaber in defense. "Wait–" He vanished from the projection moments later, a Droid appearing in his place before the message stopped.

Anakin looked over to Padmé, who was looking at the projection in a numb state of shock.

"Knight Naberrie, are you alright?" The voice of Master Windu seemed to shake her out of frozen state, as she focused on the council rather than her own worries.

"I'm fine, Master Windu." She smiled, although it was clearly tense judging by the way the corners of her smile pulled, almost like she was trying too hard. Anakin wasn't much better, if he was being honest. Obi-Wan was practically his hero, and the man was clearly in trouble. "We need to get going, we can't leave Obi-Wan like that."

"Wrong you are not." Yoda agreed. "In danger, Knight Kenobi is."

"What do we do?" Padmé asked, looking to the two Jedi Masters for guidance.

"Stay with the Senator, do not let him out of your sight for any reason. Now that they know we're looking into them, the Separatists might become much more bold in their attempts to take him out," Master Windu answered, Anakin frowned and felt Padmé tense beside him.

"Master Jedi, with all do respect I can take care of myself, Obi-Wan is–"

"Senator Skywalker." Master Windu turned his attention to Anakin, much to his discomfort. "I understand that you and Padmé both may want to help, but as of right now you're too much of a target. We can't leave you alone. It's likely Jango Fett may attempt to strike at you, not to mention while you may have some skills, you aren't trained." He shut down any discussion.

"I understand." Padmé nodded.

Normally, Anakin would be thrilled for his time alone with Padmé to be extended once more. Right now, it was the last thing he wanted if it came at the expense of their friend. "Padmé, you can't let them–"

"Anakin, please." Begrudgingly, Anakin backed down at Padmé's plea for him to be quiet. "Please keep us in the loop, Mace."

"We will. May the Force be with you both." With that, the communication between the Jedi Council and the two came to an end.

For a moment, they were silent, neither of them speaking. "So that's it? Because of me you're just going to let Obi-Wan die!" This was the woman he was in love with? He'd thought she was a brave Jedi Knight, not some coward who chose the safe option when her closest friend was at risk.

"Anakin–"

"No, I get it. The Council is in charge and I get that, but that doesn't mean we can just leave him there. You can't actually–"

"Anakin! I'm not leaving Obi-Wan to die."

Anakin shook his head. "You aren't? What if the Council doesn't get there in time. He'll be as good as dead. You're the only Jedi who can get there in time for sure!"

"I know." Padmé was so calm, which threw Anakin off. How could she be so calm when Obi-Wan's life was in danger. This wasn't a time to be calm. This was a time to be trying to save him. "Anakin, what did they tell me to do?"

Anakin paused, trying to remember what Master Windu had said. "He told you to stay here with me?"

"He told me not to let you out of my sight." Anakin caught onto what Padmé was saying with a grin. "So if you choose to go to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan…"

"You have to follow me." It was a shortcut around their orders, around the rules Master Windu had set. If it wasn't for the boundaries that Padmé had decided they needed to set last night, if they hadn't agreed not to fall in love, he might have kissed her right then and there.

Padmé smiled, although it still seemed less genuine than her smiles over the week had been. "So Anakin, how do you feel about saving a Jedi?"

Anakin turned to R2, the little blue droid having faithfully waited while they retransmitted the message to the council. "Artoo, ready one of my ships." The two of them would get there faster, if he flew after all.

They had a rescue mission to get started.

-x-

Three hours had passed since they'd left Tatooine to rescue Obi-Wan, and Anakin hadn't seen anything of Padmé since they'd left the planet behind for their mission. She'd stated she'd needed to meditate, to release her emotions into the Force, and he was happy to respect that, but admittedly even Anakin was starting to get bored piloting a ship through hyperspace. There wasn't a lot to do while the ship travelled to Geonosis, and he could only lose games to R2 so many times before it started to get old.

"I'm going to go check on Padmé." He stood up from the game table.

The Astromech beeped at him, reminding him that Padmé had asked for space during the trip. "I know Artoo, but I can't just leave her there. I'm not Obi-Wan's former Padawan and I'm worried, she only became a knight about a month ago. She can't be happy to just sit there alone." His mom had taught him that emotions were easier to process if you had somebody to confide in about them. Right now, Padmé had nobody, or at least she was acting like she had nobody. But even if they weren't together, they were still friends. "Just watch the ship." He ignored the droid's further protests, stepping into the bed chambers built into the ship that Padmé had made her temporary meditation space.

Anakin couldn't bring himself to regret his decision as he stepped into the room. It was clear Padmé had given up on meditating, and was instead sitting on the bed, playing with something in her hands and looking rather dejected and alone. She jumped as he sat down next to her, startled. He put one hand on her leg. "Credit for your thoughts?"

Padmé frowned. "What are you doing back here?"

"Artoo can watch the ship in case of an emergency." He smiled, hoping he came off as more reassuring than he was. "I figured right now, you've done enough meditating, and anymore would do more harm than good."

"I haven't done enough." Anakin was surprised at her admission. "Not until I've managed to work through all of my fear for Obi-Wan."

"Work through?"

"It's how we deal with our emotions. We're supposed to figure them out and understand them, and then release them into the Force." Padmé smiled.

Another time, Anakin might have asked for a lesson, but this wasn't about him learning about the Jedi. It was about giving Padmé an outlet to talk about it. "And you haven't done that?"

"I'm...struggling with the working through them part." The fact that she admitted it probably meant that she was more worried than he'd thought. "I don't know what I'll do if I lose Obi-Wan, and every time I think I've finally worked through it, I just keep getting worried all over again."

How he'd thought only hours earlier Padmé could've left Obi-Wan to die on Geonosis, Anakin wasn't sure. He pulled her into a hug, knowing he was probably ignoring her request for space to some degree, but also knowing right now she needed some kind of steadying force more than either of them needed space to get over their crushes. (His crush? He still wasn't one hundred percent sure if it went both ways.) "We'll make it in time. Count Dooku can't do anything to Obi-Wan without sparking an intergalactic war, and right now, the Separatists want peace as much as we do." He hoped they did anyways, but now wasn't the time to doubt it.

Padmé nodded, hugging him in return. "Thank you, Anakin." The more realistic, but less positive outcome and suspicions remained unsaid between them, and he continued to hold her, hoping to provide any reassurance she needed. "I hope you're right."

"I will be. Obi-Wan isn't dying, not today." Neither of them could afford to lose the Jedi Knight right now, so they wouldn't. It was that simple.

For a few more moments, they held onto each other, not saying anything as Padmé simply breathed in the comfort, and Anakin enjoyed her presence in his arms, but they had to return to the very real reality at some point, and so Anakin let go, and Padmé followed, a shaky smile on her face. Anakin couldn't help but feel proud that he'd managed to provide her with a stability her meditation had failed to give. Or at least he hoped it was stability.

"So, what were you looking at anyways?" he asked. Padmé looked up at Anakin, startled. "You were playing with something when I came in, remember?"

"That's...not important." She put her hand into her pocket, and Anakin noticed a chain in her hand as she put it away before taking her hand out of her robe.

"Sure it's not, so that's why you're hiding it."

Padmé sighed, realizing she wouldn't be able to get away with it. "It's the necklace you gave me."

"You still have it?" It was a gift from a nine year old to the girl he was crushing on, and Jedi weren't supposed to have a lot of personal belongings. If he was honest, Anakin was surprised she still had the Japor Snippet.

Padmé nodded. "The Jedi don't believe in luck, but I wanted to have it on me anyways, just in case." It took all of Anakin's power to not try to kiss her again, but she'd asked, and they'd both agreed that love wasn't on the table. "I can't wear it in case it gets damaged, but I can always keep it near me."

"I'm glad." And he meant it. It was something that kept them together, even when everything else wasn't so fortunate. "Why don't you come with me for a bit? I could use the company, and I don't think you'll get any farther in your meditation while you're here."

"I might, you wouldn't know." Padmé stood up anyways, following the same logic as him in that her meditation was done anyways, and Anakin led the way to the cockpit, hoping to continue to provide a distraction the rest of the way there.

-x-

Three games of Dejarik, a round of Sabbac, and a still victorious Astromech later, the ship's navigation systems went off, signifying a return to the real space around them. Anakin took up the controls of the ship, leaving Padmé to check the rest of the systems as he grabbed the wheel, navigating them to the surface of Geonosis.

"We need to be careful where we land," Padmé suggested. "Somewhere out of the way and in cover, so the Geonosians and droids don't notice us."

"They won't." Anakin smirked. "You know I'm better at flying than to get us caught."

Padmé laughed. "It doesn't matter if we get shot down, we don't want to be the reason a war breaks out between the Separatists and Republic, or do your words against creating an army mean nothing?"

"No, I mean them." Anakin turned to him. "But you do know the reputation I have."

"I guess we'd better be ready for a war by the end of the night." Anakin went to defend himself, but stopped, realizing she was teasing him.

He was definitely going to need a lot of time away from her after they rescued Obi-Wan if he wanted to get over the crush he'd had on her since he was nine, that was for sure.

"Do you have a weapon?" she asked, turning serious. Anakin nodded, pulling out a blaster. "Good. Stay close to me, and if we get separated, find some place to hide. I'll find you once Obi-Wan is safe." And with that, the ship touched the ground and the dock extended, and it was time to get moving onto the surface of the planet.

Padmé took lead, her blue lightsaber in her hands and Anakin followed after her, happy to do so and finally get a chance to see her fight now that she'd finished her Jedi training, if it came down to it at least.

She led them between the rocks, indicating to him when they'd need to hide and when they'd need to keep moving as droid sentries passed them by, using the Force to sense when they were getting close to keep them safe. Not that he needed the signals. Anakin may not have been nearly as well trained as Padmé, but he was strong, and able to tell what was going on around him with little effort when needed.

It wasn't long before they got into the factory itself, made obvious by the less natural walls and metal floors, and the oppressive feeling surrounding them that something was very wrong, that they were on the precipice of an inevitability, of something dark. They kept moving, hoping to avoid detection or trouble from anything that might be around.

"Wait." Padmé put her hand out, and Anakin sensed it too, a change in their surroundings, and before either could react two Geonosians jumped out of the shadows, flying at the two of them. Padmé turned on her lightsaber and immediately swung it, cutting the Geonosians in two before either of them could get hurt, and Anakin shot the other, not checking to see if he'd simply left it unconscious or dead.

"We need to go, now." Padmé didn't disagree with him, and the two started running down the hallway, Padmé's speed more than making up for the edge his height gave him as the two managed to keep pace with each other before reaching what looked like a doorway.

Anakin stopped short on the edge of an incomplete bridge, followed by Padmé as they looked down into the depths of the factory below. "We need to go back."

"There's no other choice." And before either of them could process anything, Padmé jumped, landing on a conveyor belt on the ground below her. "Anakin, come on!" He closed his eyes and put his faith in her before making the same jump, feeling the Force catch him as Padmé gently lowered him down safely.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and for a moment, her brown eyes softened as she looked him over, checking to make sure he was alright. They stood there unmoving, and though Anakin was desperately trying, he still found himself drawn in.

The crashing sound of the machinery surrounding them pulled both of them outside of the spell that was seemingly cast around them, bringing them back to reality once more. A large metal arm crashed into the treadmill, crushing whatever metal was surrounding it into a thin plate. "I'm fine, we gotta get off this thing."

Padmé nodded, but before either of them could do anything more, Anakin found himself pushed off the platform and into a vat beneath the treadmill, and he watched as Padmé helplessly got stuck on the treadmill. "No! Padmé!"

"Anakin! You have to get out of there?" The fear in her voice spoke volumes to say that whatever was possibly coming for him if he didn't get out of the empty trap might have been worse than it was for her.

He tried climbing up the walls of the vat, attempting to pull himself out of there, but there were no footholes or small ledges he could use to get a grip, just smooth metal. "I can't get out! There's no grip."

He looked over in her direction to see Padmé, hoping she would be doing better, but from what he could see, she appeared to be struggling with her casings, even with her lightsaber, unable to get out of them. There was no time. They had to think of something. A way out, where they could both survive. It had to be possible, it had.

A beeping noise overhead clued Anakin into a single idea as a familiar astromech droid appeared overhead above the vat. "Artoo?" The droid lowered down, allowing Anakin to climb on before he used his boosters to get Anakin out, evidently just in time as not moments later was the vat he was trapped in filled with some kind of molten metal, hot and likely to kill him had he let it. R2 let out a sarcastic comment, and Anakin smiled. "I know, thank you for saving my life bud. Now come on, we have to go help Padmé."

The droid dropped him off by the control panel, and Anakin removed his blaster to shoot at any droid's that came near, while the data probe extended into the panel. He just needed to provide cover until the droid could slice into the system and gain control. Thankfully, It wasn't long before the treadmill stopped. Padmé, no longer in danger from the risk of having her body crushed by metal, turned to encasing around her arm and began trying to pull free.

"Come on, let's go." Artoo flew over to where Padmé was, and Anakin jumped right over the control panel, quickly following in the droid's path as he ran over to the Jedi. R2 began working on the panel, and it wasn't long before Padmé's hand was free after the droid managed to melt through the metal holding her arm down.

"Ani." She looked like she wanted to say more, but held back anything more than her appreciative thanks. "I was worried you wouldn't get out in time."

"I'm fine and you're fine. Where's your lightsaber?" Padmé indicated the crushed pile of metal on the ground, a frown on her face as she did so. She used the Force to grab the small blue crystal within the wreckage. It seemed as though the power source to her weapon survived, even if the metal shell didn't. "I guess it doesn't matter. Come on, we have to get going."

"I know." She was the defenseless one now, but that didn't matter. The two were smart. They could make it through, so long as they didn't get spotted. Maybe not the easiest task, but far from the hardest they'd face. "We've got to be in the center of the Droid Factory...we have to be close to where they're hiding Obi-Wan."

Anakin nodded. "Then let's keep moving."

"Not another step." The two turned around to find themselves face to face with a Mandalorian man, surrounded by a few dozen battle droids. He had a blaster pointed at the two of them, and had Padmé still had her lightsaber, they might have been able to fight their way out of it, but without it, they were both powerless. He kept the blaster aimed at Padmé, but despite that he appeared to be more focused on Anakin. "Well, I suppose I owe you my gratitude, Jedi. You just made my life that much easier."

-x-

The rescue attempt was a complete failure, but the fact that he and Padmé had gotten themselves captured made Anakin feel arguably worse, given he'd been as insistent on going as Padmé had. Now he'd arguably caused her to fail her mission, and gotten themselves both killed in the process. A fantastic job, if he was honest with himself.

He glanced over at Padmé as she stepped in the chariot. Despite the fact that she was so small, she stood defiant. She looked every bit the Jedi she was, and he couldn't help but feel a flash of pride at how even a death sentence like the one they were facing couldn't bring her down, wouldn't stop her. He beat down the affection with everything he had, instead focusing on what was going on now. "I guess this is it." He let out an over dramatic sigh, noticing the slight twitch of a smile on her determined face.

"So it is." Padmé's response was so quiet, Anakin had to struggle to even hear it. "I'm sorry, Anakin."

"You did your best." Anakin wished more than anything else he could touch her, give her some amount of reassurances to go with his words, but with his hands bound together, there was little he could do. "Even Jedi have their limits to what they can do."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what is?" He looked at her, and the moment before she answered stretched to what felt like an eternity.

"I lied. What I told you earlier, it was wrong. I love you." Of all the things that could have been said, that was probably the only one he'd never imagined, never even thought to imagine.

Without realizing it, the words that plagued Anakin's thoughts escaped him. "You love me?" He looked away, unable to see her response. "I thought we'd decided not to fall in love. That the lies we'd have to tell, have to live through, that they'd destroy us."

"I think we're about to be destroyed anyways." He looked up at Padmé, startled, but unable to refute anything she'd said. The chances of them surviving the arena were low, almost nonexistent. She was right. If they were going to die anyways, then there wasn't a point in pretending anymore. It didn't matter if they were caught. Nobody in the Senate would hear about it, and the only Jedi who might likely wouldn't survive the night. No one left to find out. No one left to use it to ruin their lives. Their eyes met, and suddenly neither Senator nor Jedi wanted to look away from each other. To break the moment. "I truly, deeply, love you. Before we die, I wanted you to know."

Anakin wasn't sure whether it was Padmé or himself that first moved to close the distance, but it wasn't long before their lips met. Despite coming from a dire situation, the kiss was soft, hardly more intense than the one they had shared on Tatooine, but much more meaningful. Because more than anything, Anakin loved her, and that was all he wanted her to know.

They pulled away, and Anakin rested his forehead on Padmé's, not wanting to let the moment between them end. Neither said anything, instead simply holding on to what was likely the last chance they would have to be together. So much they both wanted to say despite knowing they would never get the chance.

The chariot began moving, causing them to pull away from each other.

Their execution had finally begun.

[Next Part]

#Star Wars #Anakin Skywalker #Anakin #Padme Amidala #Padme #Obi Wan Kenobi #Obi Wan #Anidala #Heather Writes

[my-keys]

A Rise of Skywalker Rant

Okay so I feel like enough time has passed that I can talk about RoS without worrying about spoiling it for anyone who cares, and I have also had a lot of time to think about it. If you haven’t seen it, haven’t been spoiled, AND care about spoilers, I commend you; now get to scrolling.

Let’s start with Finn’s Force sensitivity. The time for Jedi Finn was two movies ago. You wasted your chance, Abrams. At this point you should’ve just made him use the Force, not... have him tell Rey that he needs to say something to her, but not like, in a romantic way, but totally be misconstrued that way... Like, come on. Who are you fooling? And let’s touch on the other stormtroopers who defected while we’re in the space. 

See, when I saw The Force Awakens, my theory was that the First Order abducted Force sensitive children, suppressed that Force sensitivity, and indoctrinated them. When Finn decided he wasn’t going to kill civilians on Jakku, it looked like he was snapping out of something, like he was in a trance. So the idea was that with Finn coming back into, I don’t know, “the view of the Force” I kinda want to call it, it would start a chain reaction within the stormtrooper ranks. I really liked this idea, and it made sense from like a “keep your enemies close” perspective, but clearly this isn’t what happened and Finn and Jannah (who was also obviously Force sensitive, but we never really see much of the other former troopers so we never know if that’s also the case for them) were a fluke.

Big picture implications from TLJ: I said I didn’t like them when I first saw it and... they amounted to nothing. As of RoS, the Resistance is just... fine? I guess? Like, they almost got obliterated in TLJ and now it’s like it never happened. And they explain it away with “Snap and Jessika Pava went to grab the rest of the Resistance during TLJ,” like, no, you said this was everyone. Why did “the rest of the Resistance” not come during the climax of Last Jedi? What happened?

Rose deserved better. Fuck the Star Wars fandom. That is all.

Now, for my main deal: Sheev. Motherfucking. Palpatine. Until Rise of Skywalker, the main Star Wars Saga movies have been about Anakin Skywalker, but here, the focus is violently shifted away from Anakin and now the most important character in the franchise is Palpatine. And that bothers me because the underlying implication for this franchise is selling to you is not that good can in fact triumph over evil if you just keep fighting but that evil cannot truly be defeated. It doesn’t matter that in the end the good guys win, because Palpatine fucking died in Return of the Jedi. And now he’s just here. Because “the Dark Side of the Force is a pathway yadda yadda yadda.” So do we know for certain that he’s gone for good? Fuck no. “But Mike, Palpatine came back in the Legends continuity too,” yeah but guess what? All those times he came back were contingency plans, just-in-cases. This? This was the plan all along, with the fucking wreckage of the, I’d like to point out, second Death Star (a “contingency plan”), lining up with this Ancient Sith Dagger™, the implication is that Palpatine knew that the Rebel Alliance would destroy the first Death Star, that Vader would survive its destruction, he knew that they would destroy the second Death Star, and Vader would betray and kill him there,and then he knew that the wreckage of the throne room would end up on another of Endor’s moons, positioned just so, that his granddaughter and his apprentice’s grandson would be connected through the Force, and that they would come to Exegol to destroy him together and that he would drain them of their combined life force there. And now we’re supposed to believe that this isn’t just another part of the Plan™? That Palpatine’s scheme doesn’t run deeper than this? Call me in 30 years when Disney releases Star Wars Episode X: Return of Palpatine, starring Tom Holland with Ian McDiarmid’s CGI face superimposed onto his shoulders.

But enough about the Plan™, I have more problems with this whole Palpatine situation. Let’s get back to Anakin, shall we? Let’s break it down: Anakin Skywalker; born a slave on Tatooine to Watto. Or, sold by the Zygerrians to Watto, whatever. At age 9 he is “freed” by Jedi Master Qui-gon Jinn. Free to become a Jedi, which is to say, a slave. Age 23, he again trades one master for another and devotes himself to Palpatine. “Yes, Master” is all he has ever known. He has decided he will never taste freedom. He is merely a tool, at this point, after his duel with Obi-Wan, a broken one. As soon as his master finds a suitable replacement, he will be disposed of. And then, at the height of his resignation, he discovers he has a son, and he knows that this is his replacement. His son refuses to join the Emperor, to take Vader’s place, and Vader watches as his master brings his son inches from death. At age 45, for the first time in his life, Anakin Skywalker says “no” and finally tastes freedom, sacrificing his life for his son’s. Literally, Vader’s sacrifice is important: it means the good guys win, which is nice. But more importantly, Vader’s sacrifice is a figurative victory. By destroying Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker, a slave for his entire life, finally breaks the chains that have defined him. However, with Rise of Skywalker, Anakin was merely playing into Palpatine’s hand the entire time, so the chains are not broken at all, and Anakin sacrificed himself for nothing in the end.

Now this next point is less of a big deal for me, but still frustrating nonetheless. Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter. Okay, I’ll buy it, I don’t give a shit but I’ll buy it. But being Palpatine’s granddaughter making her more predisposed to the Dark Side? No, fuck no, that’s stupid. If you think that’s how the Force works, you’re an idiot, I’m sorry. The Dark Side of the Force is about giving in to your fear, anger, etc. It’s not about... who your granddad is, like what? This is nonsense, it’s stupid, I don’t have one good thing to say about it, it’s just shitty writing, Palpatine was a bad angle and the entire trilogy suffers for it.

Now I mentioned big picture implications from TLJ earlier on and I’d like to close off by talking about one that I didn’t even consider until after I saw RoS. At the end of the Last Jedi, Hux is comic relief and Snoke and Phasma are dead, so we’re left with only Kylo Ren as a major villain going forward, and I think that’s where this whole trilogy falls apart. I don’t necessarily think that redeeming him was the right choice, but I definitely don’t think he has what it takes to be the Big Bad™. Hux, had he been left with some semblance of dignity, would have been my choice for the main villain of this story, and, since Star Wars has always tended to be an allegory for our political climate, keeping the focus on the neo-nazis would have been a good shout. But instead, we got... Palpatine

#star wars #rant #cw long post

[inkognito97]

Nyctophilia - Chapter 17 (Consequences)

Light:

It was one hell of an effort to bring Qui-Gon and Maul to one of the few transportation vehicles on the whole planet that could actually travel through space and with hyperspeed. Laughable really, but not changeable. The main problems however, were the senators and other inhabitants of the building. Xanatos and Obi-Wan had to pretend as if this was completely normal that other beings were carried through the corridors on a daily basis. The further they got, the more confident and sure they became and the more the people believed their ridiculous act. Quite astonishing, at least in Obi-Wan's eyes.

“Almost there,” Xanatos gritted out between clenched teeth. His robes were bloody now too. Qui-Gon had his eyes closed, but he was conscious and very much aware of his current situation. He would not simply fall asleep or unconscious, not when he thought that he was in such a bad and threatening situation.

“Good,” Obi-Wan replied, more out of instinct, than anything else. Maul seemed to get heavier on his back with every step he took and somehow the ginger haired male had the feeling that his black and red friend would not be asleep for much longer.

 Only when they were on the ship, with the landing ramp pulled up and already halfway from the planet, did the two young Force users allow themselves to take a deep breath. Then they immediately cuffed the Zabrak, making sure that he could not use the Force and that he could not get out of his bindings. Meanwhile they had also put Qui-Gon in the ship's small rest room. Obi-Wan was already looking for a first aid kit, while Xanatos took one last look at the instruments in the cockpit.

“Everything is as it should be,” he informed Obi-Wan.

“Not everything,” the teenager disagreed, but did not elaborate any further.

Xanatos did not ask, “I take care of the ship, will you look after Qui-Gon... and Maul?”

Obi-Wan simply nodded his head, he had found a first aid kit and had already opened it, to look at its content. He knew more than enough about the treatment of injuries and sicknesses, not only from lessons in the temple, but from firsthand experience. They had not been pleasant, none at all.

“Do you think Dooku will be alright?” the ginger haired male asked, before his elder vanished into the cockpit.

Xanatos sighed, “I don’t know. But Dooku has survived a lot of things... If there is somebody who can fool a Sith Lord, then it is him.”

“And afterwards, I mean, will he return to the temple and just... confess?”

“Again, I don’t know. I don’t even know what I will do... I just know that I will support you, whatever you may choose as your path.” “I choose the light... I choose Qui-Gon,” he did not need to think twice about his answer, “at least I will, if he wants me back.”

“He will,” the raven haired man chuckled, “Believe me. He adores you, even more so, than he ever did me. He will take you back.” With that the fallen Jedi turned back to go into the cockpit, to make sure that their ship was still on course. Obi-Wan however turned to walk back to the injured Jedi’s side.

 His every move was carefully watched through half lidded eyes. Obi-Wan did not allow himself to be overly bothered by it however. His intentions were pure, he just wanted to treat the many wounds and marks on his TRUE Master’s body. It DID hurt that there was a great possibility that he had forever lost the trust the man once held for him, right along the love and openness. It was a great price to pay for something that appeared so small, like a mere Sith Lord. But was Sidious truly, a mere Sith Lord that is? It didn’t matter now. What did Qui-Gon always say?

“Stay in the here and now, where your focus belongs,” he silently thought to himself.

A moment of silence passed, to Obi-Wan it was quite uncomfortable. So he spoke up, “Do you want something to eat?” he refrained from saying ‘Master’, because he did not know how the longs haired male would react.

“Yes,” the answer surprised the (former?) Padawan, but he did not show it. Instead he set out to search for something more or less consumable. Thankfully cooking something eatable from scraps was Qui-Gon’s speciality and therefore Obi-Wan had learned that too.

In the end he had managed to create an indefinable mush that tasted sickly sweet. It would have to do. Qui-Gon was too weak – also his limbs were still trembling a little – to hold the bowl, let alone the spoon, so it was the ginger haired teenager’s job to feed him.

Obi-Wan held the spoon to the other’s lips and after a hesitant moment, the man complied and opened up. The teenager slid it in and then turned the spoon, so that the greyish-pink mush stayed in the Jedi’s mouth. A little bit of it came out again and Obi-Wan quickly wiped it away from the man’s moustache, before giving him a second spoon. The same procedure was repeated until the Jedi did not want anymore. Obi-Wan gave him water then.

It was clear that Qui-Gon wanted nothing more than to sleep, but instead of closing his eyes, they followed Obi-Wan’s every movement. It unsettled the younger male, but he could not blame his companion. In all honesty, he would not sleep either, not with a possible enemy right beside him and with no one to trust.

The ginger haired male sighed, this was going to be a long trip back to the temple.

  Shadow:

When Qui-Gon awoke again, he found himself in a small dark cell. His whole body ached and he wondered what Sidious had done to him. Then again, he did not really want to know after all. All he needed to know was, that his nerves felt like they were on fire and his head hurt as if a bantha had jumped repeatedly on it.

The first thing he did, was getting into a sitting position. His eyes were still closed, it helped him focus and kept the headache at bay at least a little bit. While he moved, he heard and felt chains rattling and he knew that he was chained to the wall and the floor like an animal. At least there were no Force suppressing cuffs around him, apparently Sidious had deemed it unnecessarily. And it was, for he found himself unable to open the chains around his wrists with the aid of the Force. Apparently they were either tainted by the dark side or made of a rare material that did not react to the Force. Either way, he was trapped and pretty much helpless. Not something he overly enjoyed, especially not in the fangs of a deadly and evil foe.

The Jedi clenched his hands into tight fists and he grimaced. And to think that his precious Obi-Wan, the light of his life, had fallen. Like Xanatos... no, Qui-Gon shook his head. Xanatos and Obi-Wan were nothing alike. They never had been. Xanatos had always been greedy and proud and arrogant. Obi-Wan had always been insecure, almost shy and extremely stubborn and persistent. Still, the Master wondered. Why had his Padawan fallen? What had he done wrong? Surely the blame had to rest with him, since two of his apprentices had fallen and in all honesty, Feemor did not count as his own Padawan, because the blond had only become Qui-Gon’s Padawan after his first Master had died. Qui-Gon had only trained Feemor a few years, but with Xanatos and Obi-Wan it had been different. He had loved the former too much and he had loved the latter not enough. Quite ironic, really. A shaky breath escaped his lungs. This was not the time to fall into self blame and depression. He had to find a way to get out of here so that he could tell the Council everything... or at least ALMOST everything. Of course he would try anything to protect Obi-Wan from being imprisonment for the rest of his hopefully still long life. The boy was like a son to him, of course he would try to help him. And perhaps there was even hope for the ginger haired teenager, though something in the back of the long haired male’s mind said the complete opposite.

 He was brought out of his thoughts, when suddenly the door to his cell opened. Light purred into the small room and the Jedi had to close his eyes against it. The headache was intensifying greatly, but thankfully, the door was mostly closed agsinso that only a little bit of the light shone into the cell. After a few seconds in which midnight blue eyes had gotten used to the new brightness, Qui-Gon was able to make out the form of his visitor.

“Hello there,” an all too familiar accented voice said. “I see that you are awake, good. I brought food, Sidious wanted to starve you a little, but decided against it. Though I doubt that this stuff is much better...” He shrugged and there was a broad grin on his young features.

“Sidious? You mean your new Master?” Qui-Gon spat right back. He had not meditated and released his pent up emotions into the Force yet, which meant that he was not even close to balance and serenity right now.

“Make no mistake,” his voice was dead serious, “Sidious is not my Master. He never was and he never will. Actually, not one of THEM ever was.” He did not need to elaborate who he meant with ‘them’.

“Oh?” he raised one of his eyebrows.

Obi-Wan hummed and sat cross legged down, right in front of him. He put the two bowls he had brought onto the ground, carefully not to spill anything. Qui-Gon ignored them and their content for now. “You are the only one, who can say that he wears that title. Or better, who WORE that title.”

“Well, apparently I was not a good one,” he barely managed to keep the grief and the hurt out of his voice. It would do him no good to show a dark side user – even though it was Obi-Wan – his weaknesses, they would just be used against him. Then again, Obi-Wan probably knew nevertheless.

“Aw, you are not giving yourself enough credit. Without your lessons, I wouldn’t be right here on this spot now. You made me see how corrupt and inefficient the Jedi Order and the Council is. It just took someone like Sidious to make me connect the pieces.” There was a brief pause. “The Jedi are weak Qui-Gon, they are puppets of the Senate. You know this,” his eyes flashed golden, “All their ideals are a lie. Their Code is foolish and wrong. ‘There is no emotion, there is peace.’ It is not possible for a being NOT to have emotions. There are many other reasons, but I think you understand.” “And what would you suggest? The old Code perhaps? ‘Emotions, yet peace’.” Qui-Gon suggested.

“Peace is a lie, there is only passion.”

He knew that his face was showing his doubt. He shook his head, “Only a fool would think so.”

“Qui-Gon,” his stern voice held no room for argument, “we are not made for peace. There will NEVER be peace in the whole galaxy. And again, you know that.”

“Because there are people like Sidious, people who follow the dark. This is not you Padawan! Snap out of it!” Qui-Gon’s voice had gotten louder.

“I do not have to snap out of anything, I am already free,” the ginger haired male said.

The older male blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Obi-Wan huffed in amusement. “Peace is a lie, there is only passion,” he repeated, “Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.” He was reciting the Sith Code, Qui-Gon realized.

The Jedi Master hated to admit it, but the words had a certain appeal to them. Not that he would openly tell that to Obi-Wan, not when his Padawan was in such a state.

“Perhaps you need time to comprehend this. I will leave you now, but I will come back. I hope you have found the truth in my words by then.” With that, the young male stood up and vanished, closing the door behind him and Qui-Gon was once again left in complete darkness.

#star wars #the story divides into two paths #light paths #dark path #obi wan kenobi #qui gon jinn #xanatos du'crion #sith #darth sidious #sidious is revealed #hurt #darth maul #new chapter #chapter 17 #my fics #can be found on ao3

[gffa]

@writegowrite mentioned that she would be interested in reading Avengers fic and I pretty much shot my hand up and went, “Ooh!  Pick me!  Pick me!” at the barest reference to maybe wanting some recs of the Gen or Stucky or Thorki variety.  I am here for that, okay, this is my time! I chose the fics I thought would work best as a starter pack, for those who weren’t deep into the fandom, who were mostly familiar with canon only (rather than a lot of fandom trends), and who leaned towards more serious fics.  I think Thor/Loki especially will hit some of the same Obi-Wan/Anakin buttons, if you’re potentially into that pairing (if not, you’re going to want to pass this post by!) and I’m putting here, rather than my MCU blog because this is all stuff they’ll have seen before.  This is aimed at “So you want to get into this fandom but don’t know where to start, huh?  Let me try to help with that!” I will also include some fanart illustrations because a) I fuckin’ love fanart and b) there’s some gorgeous stuff and c) I think it helps to understand the appeal of “wait wtf where did Jotunn!Loki come from all of a sudden??” UNDER THE CUT:  Gen, Thor/Loki, Steve/Bucky - fic + art recs Mostly serious fic, a mix of serious/humor art, a good amount of NSFW fic/art I’ll write brief teaser recs but links will be provided for more full recs, when I can.

There will be a lot of recs here (and even more on this recs pages! but if you scroll through those pages (you’ll need to use Ctrl+F to find these specific ones if you want the full recs), keep in mind that they were a work in progress over a span of years, as well as aimed at people who regularly read in the fandom, and that I think these fics are best suited for drawing new readers in), but I chose ones that I felt could all be one of the first you pick up!  Still, I have a suggested starting place with three fics: START HERE: Bargaining by proantagonist, thor & loki + odin & loki + frigga & loki + other marvel characters, background refereneces to canon pairings, time travel, post-the dark world, some jotunn!loki, 110.4k      A genfic and it's really more about Loki and his issues with all his family but THIS FIC HOLY HELL, it made me cry at least three times and it's gorgeously written.  Post-TDW, Thor is dead and Loki absolutely loses his shit and all his issues with his family come tumbling out to slowly get fixed through time travel and worldbuilding and dealing with Jotunheim issues and magical deals with witches.  Novel-length and one of the best in the fandom. Bedding the Wolf by leonidaslion, thor/loki + implied background thor/sif, NSFW, dub-con edging on non-con, 13.4k      This is one of the earliest fics I read in the fandom and I've reread it a couple of times and it still hits me dead on EVERY TIME.  Post-first movie, this is ALL ABOUT Thor being smarter than Loki realizes and coming down on a vicious, bratty sub!Loki with a strong, iron hard dom hand.  It's fairly strongly dub-con and it's basically pwp, but it's one of my all time favorites. No Such Liberty by Xparrot, thor & loki + other asgardians + avengers + thanos, action fic, redemption fic, 147k     This one is primarily a Thor fic and was written pre-The Dark World and so takes a different path, but it's my favorite fic in that fandom.  It's got gorgeous worldbuilding, made me cry like three times over the Loki redemption stuff, and was just an incredible plot/action story when the Avengers all teamed up to fight Thanos. *After this point, you can pretty much throw a rock and whatever fic you hit, you can pick it up! SERIOUS FIC - GEN VERSION: God in the Machine: The Marachek Protocol by Mythtaken Identity (VR2LBast), natasha + avengers + loki, mild background pairings, egyptian mythology, action scenes, 99.6k      This fic is SO GOOD, it's primarily Natasha-centric, but it's got all the Avengers going up against Egyptian gods in an incredible plot fic.  It's novel length and it's just one of those that's incredibly SOLID. Ask Me No Questions by Alex51324, thor & loki + bruce & loki + tony + other avengers, depression, 55k      Loki is stripped of his magic and hit with a truth spell so he can't lie and has to stay with the Avengers and I remember it being a really satisfying Loki redemption fic.  He primarily interacts with Thor, Tony, and Bruce, all of which are really well done. Freefall + Landing by galaxysoup, thor & loki & avengers, 28k      It's been a long time since I read these, so I don't know how well they hold up, but they're more Loki + Avengers fic and I remember crying over them, because I had such strong feelings about the long, slow crawl towards redemption.  They're fairly famous in the fandom for good reason, imo! Rise From Ash by Mikkeneko, avengers + loki + other asgardians + thanos, some tony/loki, mildly nsfw for violence, some pyshical + psychological torture, angst, avengers!loki, 98k      An epic Loki + Avengers fic that's got a lot of horror elements and descent into madness that the fic does justice to.  It's a lot of plot and worldbuilding, a bit physical torture, a bit psychological torture, and very angsty.  it's an emotional wringer of a fic but so worth it. Road to Nowhere by Lise, thor & loki + frigga + other thor characters, thor 2 spoilers, action fic, quest fic, 27.2k      Genfic, but Thor and Loki on a roadtrip to save Frigga after TDW and it's lots of mythological worldbuilding and two brothers forced to rely on each other through magical trials, and maybe deal with their issues in an incredibly grudgingly way.  I'm biased because I beta'd for it, but it really is super good! SERIOUS FIC - THOR/LOKI VERSION: I actually have a “starter pack” recs list, but it’s like 30-40 fics long and that’s way too much to dump at once! dream state by bomb, thor/loki + thor/jane breakup + other marvel characters, NSFW, post-thor 2, prostitution, amnesia, 25.3k      The premise of this fic is kind of off the wall for something I take so seriously--a year after Loki's death, Thor sees someone who looks just like him on Earth and starts a relationship with him, but it is EXQUISITELY characterized, it's an incredible gem for being one of the best Thor characterizations in the fandom (IT SPOILED ME), for the weight of his character against the sharpness of Loki's, and it is beautifully written.  One of my all time faves. Make Me by Arkada, thor/loki, NSFW, dub-con, rough sex, bondage, bdsm, loki in chains, 4k      This is a darker fic, it's really rough sex with BDSM and consent issues.  Basically, Loki won't accept anything nice from Thor, so it has to be hard and rough and hurt before he'll take it.  So Thor gives him what he needs. Shorter but scorchingly hot. Postbellum by Shiny_n_new, thor/loki (pre-slash?) + odin & frigga + other thor characters, 22k      Written pre-TDW and is probably more gen than pairing, but the author ships it and so you can read undercurrents there.  Loki sits in his prison cell and seethes while Thor tries to make repairs--to Loki, to Jotunheim, to everyone.  It's really good Thor characterization in the background, but it's a fic that centers on Loki's fury and jealousy and trying to unknot it as best the author can. Wild Ambition Fortune's Ice Prefers by amberfox17, thor/loki & asgardians & frost giants, NSFW, jotunn!loki, arranged marriage, 199.7k      EVERYTHING by Amber is super worth reading, she writes amazing porn, but this is also her epic fic, where Loki was never taken to Asgard as a baby (this is a common theme in Thorki fandom, to get Jotunn!Loki, I'll dig up some fanart links to show you later) and when Thor has to make amends for starting trouble in Jotunheim, it kicks off a long, plotful, epic worldbuilding fic about the icy planet and these two learning to get along with each other and fall in love. Had we but world enough, and time by amberfox17, thor/loki, 14.6k      Hate and love are two sides of the same coin, and only require time for one to turn to the other. And what do gods have, if not time?Or, a story in three parts, of the past, present and future: how Lævatein was forged, taken and returned, how a relationship can be cracked, shattered and remade, and how Thor lost and found Loki time and time again. My Love Is Like To Ice, And I To Fire by amberfox17, thor/loki, NSFW, jotunn!loki, intersex!loki, 9k       Where Loki is stripped of his magic and forced into Jotunn form and it brings a lot of issues to a head.  It's only about 9k, but there's porn! Covenant by RobotSquid, thor/loki + odin + frigga + laufey, NSFW, divergent timeline, jotunn!loki (sort of), intersex!loki, secret relationship, 72.9k      I'm biased because this fic was written for me, but it's also gorgeous gorgeous worldbuilding and characterization.  When they're a little bit younger, they have to deal with the reveal of Loki's origins, which leads to them having to spend time there and it's primarily a fic dealing with Loki's issues of feeling unloved and hated, but has stellar Thor characterization in the background, as he's learning to be a future king, and so much incredible worldbuilding.  SO GOOD, I devoured it like you wouldn't believe. Shadow Plays by dreamlittleyo, thor/loki, NSFW, time loop, dub con, 24.4k      Another of the earliest fics I read in this fandom, so I'm not sure how well it'll hold up, because it might have been one that SET the mold rather than expanded it, but I remember really, really enjoying it.  Time loop fic where Thor's stuck and trying to figure his way out, trying to figure out how to save them all and deal with his anger towards Loki, and it's a really good use of the concept and satisfying porny resolution! Shatter by Aria, thor/loki + other thor characters, NSFW, 32k      Instead of Thor being banished to Earth, it's Loki... and then Thor comes along anyway and suddenly they have the breathing room and lack of tragedy to figure their shit out and eventually finally bang, it's a delight. Let slip the dogs of war by amberfox17, thor/loki, NSFW, dub con, rough sex, loki in chains, 5.3k      "In a world where mages must be kept chained and their magic bound: Loki is Thor’s dog of war, unleashed only in the most terrible of battles, and now Thor must deal with the aftermath of setting Loki’s seidr loose" -- aka, Thor's going to fuck the magical noise right out of feral!Loki's head and it's scorchingly hot. Caged by rainfall, thor/loki & asgard, NSFW, rough sex, pregnant!loki, 40k wip     This is one of those fics that may seem strange at the outset, but is fairly common in Thorki fandom--because Loki's a Frost Giant and we don't really know what that means, because comics!Loki is canon genderfluid (we have a lot of Lady Loki panels), because fandom Likes It, he's often written as intersex or just straight up able to get pregnant because Frost Giants Are Like That In Fandom.So, Loki's brought back post-first movie and he's furious and kept in a locked ivory tower and Thor goes to visit him and it's vicious but also they love each other and so eventually there's sex and it's a WIP that hasn't been updated in a long time but what's there is SO GOOD. Spoils of War by Fickle_Obsessions, thor/loki, NSFW, jotunn!loki, war prize!loki, dub con, rough sex, 9.8k      Fandom loves War Prize Jotunn!Loki with rough sex and, look, we all have our needs and this is one I really, really love a lot. Good Inside by glayish, thor/loki + thor/loki/mjolnir, NSFW, object insertion, mild bondage, dub-con, 7.4k      More rough sex that's kinda dub-con but in the way that it would be with them, also Mjolnir as a sex toy.  Scorchingly hot, too. feel my bones ignite by Lise, thor/loki, NSFW, rough sex, mild bdsm elements, 6.6k      More angry prison sex with some dom/sub elements and ridiculously hot sex. Covenant by Xero_Sky, thor/loki + other asgardians, NSFW, arranged marriage, post-avengers, 32.7k wip      "After Loki is brought back to Asgard for justice, he's somewhat appalled to find that his family still cares for him and worries about his well-being. Even worse, they have a cunning plan to keep him safe from Thanos and sort out the havoc he's been wreaking everywhere.  It works. And for one brief shining moment, Loki Is Happy. Naturally, it all goes downhill from there."  Arranged marriage fic that isn't at all fluffy or easy, it's difficult and unhappy and this is a WIP, but there's some good stuff already here that's worth reading for it, imo. Absolution by ladylapislazuli, thor/loki, arranged marriage, post-avengers, 54.2k      Another "Loki is forced to marry Thor to try to keep him contained and in Asgard" that should be silly and ridiculous but instead is heartwrenching and so, so good about digging into their issues and all the anger and hurt there.  It's a middle of the road kind of piece, not fluffy, but not tragic, and I respect it all the more for that.         STEVE/BUCKY: Out of the Dead Land by emilyenrose, steve/bucky, 62.7k      Oh, if you only read one Steve/Bucky fic, MAKE IT THIS ONE.  Post-TWS fic (not CW-compliant), Bucky tries to be Bucky again and it's a very difficult road and it was angsty and hard and so worth it and SO GOOD. The man on the bridge by boopboop, steve/bucky + tony + background pairings + avengers + other marvel characters, the winter soldier spoilers, 107.5k      This can be pretty controversial and I admit that I faded from Stucky fandom before it was finished, but I liked what was there.  Written in the aftermath of The Winter Soldier (so not CW-compliant) it's very angsty and a novel-length look at Steve/Bucky trying to come back to each other. This You Protect by Owlet, steve/bucky & avegers & ocs, 64.3k      While I wandered off for the follow-ups, they didn't feel the same as the first fic, this one is perfect exactly as it is--Bucky doesn't fully remember who he is, but his instincts to protect Steve cannot be overriden.  It's half parody, half serious, where Bucky Makes Friends With His Old People Neighbors and despairs every time Steve does something stupid and avoids him like the plague because he can't deal with his feelings, but still watches from afar.  It's GREAT. there's trees in the desert since you moved out by irnan, steve/bucky/natasha, 37k      I haven't read this one myself, but I've always liked irnan's fics and this one looks fantastic, a road trip where Steve/Bucky/Natasha work out their feelings.  (Bucky/Natasha is canon in the comics at many points, so a lot of people wanted it in the MCU, to go along with Steve/Bucky and Steve/Natasha.) sam deserves better than these assholes by lazulisong, steve/bucky + sam + natasha + other marvel characters, 10.7k      A series of fics where Sam Wilson really does deserve better than these two assholes.  I love lazulisong's writing, she really has a gift for comedic timing! Memory by emilyenrose, steve/bucky, 25.2k      Bucky working to try to remember who he is, it doesn't really go so well. your favorite ghost by augustbird, steve/bucky, 21k      I LOVE augustbird's writing, so another angsty post-TWS fic that's about the entire scope of Steve and Bucky's lives, the hard journey to bring Bucky home, is A+ for me. All The Leaves Are Brown (And the sky is gray) by AvocadoLove, bucky & tony + background steve/bucky, 17.4k      I don't remember there being much actual Stucky in this fic (though, the feelings are there) but Bucky's mission to kill Howard and Maria goes a little differently and instead he winds up with kidlet Tony on the run and it's SO GOOD.  Angsty plus cute kidlets, I DEVOURED IT.  (Everything I've ever read by AvocadoLove has been amazing, though.) HUMOR FIC: Majority Rule by Xparrot, thor & loki & avengers, humor, 2.4k     Also by Xparrot (I love everything by her!) it's short and hilarious and a great bit of funny cultural difference stuff with Thor and Loki and the Avengers. Big in Japan by gunboots     Avengers + Thorki, Tony brings back some dakimakura and it’s H I L A R I O U S. Teenage Dream by TheOtherOdinson     “Loki’s plan to invade Midgard is going perfectly - until his parents show up.” Aka, the one where Dad Odin and Mom Frigga show up and ruin their son’s takeover of Midgard, it’s HILARIOUS. Five Times the Villain's Weapon Didn't Work On Thor and the One Time It Did by TheOtherOdinson, thor + avengers + loki, humor, 3.9k     What it says on the tin and it’s delightful! I’m biased because I helped encourage it, but, no, it’s really great Thor FUN fic! Life of the Party by TheOtherOdinson, thor & loki + other asgardians, 2k     Loki tries to be a chaos shit stirrer at a party, and other people KEEP RUINING HIS FUN, it’s sharp and clever and delightful! You Shouldn't Have by TheOtherOdinson, thor & tony + thor & steve + thor & clint + thor & natasha + thor & bruce, humor, 2.1k     OKAY, LET ME EXPLAIN. One of the things I frequently talked about on Tumblr is how Asgard had the greatest decorative taste ever–everything is incredibly gold and tacky and they have water features everywhere. I LOVE IT. Also, Thor is 100% a troll that people never realize he’s doing it. These things combine into one of the most perfect fics I have ever read. Unforseen Side Effects by Fickle_Obsessions      Tony accidentally doses Thor and Loki with a drug that turns out to be an aphrodesiac. He sees more than he wants to. FANART: While the fandom is quieter today, the Thor fandom has a tremendous back archive of art, so much of it absolutely stunning and creative and wonderful! While I cannot possibly go through it all, I will at least get you started! wantstobelieve [thorki tag] does some of the most stunning artwork in the fandom, to the point that I honestly have trouble picking out favorites.  But this one is is ridiculously hot, this one is stunning  This one always hits me right in the dom/bratty sub kink, this one is a beautiful Loki piece, this one gives me all the feelings, this one is a gorgeous Jotunn!Loki, this one is is just lovely, this one is also right in the dom/sub kink, this one is a pretty Loki, this one is lovely and this one with Frigga and the kidlets is gorgeous. lohkaydraws [thorki tag] also does gorgeous work, this piece is a particular fave, but also this NSFW art is amazing. lousysharkbutt [art tag] does hilarity in Avengers fandom like no one else, this one is a favorite and this one makes me laugh every time.  Also, the best response to Civil War.  ALSO FAVE. yanagoya [loki tag] draws some of my favorite porn in the fandom, like, ever. Here and here and here and here.  All are NSFW.  Colors and smooth lines! bunnyxian [thorki tag] also does some great NSFW art--which all of these links are.  Here and here and here.  (Though, the layout makes them seem smaller than they are.  --in comparison, for example.) 10000ta [blog link] has drawn a bunch of gorgeou art for Thorki!  I’m not sure if everything of theirs is still up on their tumblr, but it’s probably floating around elsewhere, too.  A couple of faves are Egyptian Loki and Ragnarok Thorki. These two are also very nice!  --okay, yeah, I think their NSFW has moved but there’s this one and this one. horns-of-sin [blog link] is SUPER SUPER NSFW, beyond even the others! There’s a lot of Jotunn!Loki, some intersex!Loki, it’s split between solo!Loki and most of the popular Loki pairings.  It’s very pretty art (and such pretty colors!), but it’s very, very graphic and is striving to stick as many dicks into Loki as it possibly can, so be careful if you click it open! virushoney [art tag] does a lot of really beautifully colored, clean lined, super fucking cute art!  This one is a cool Jotunn!Loki, this one is a cute peacock!Loki, this one is a cute animal ears set, this one is more lovely Jotunn!Loki art, this one is godless-night [art tag] does some really pretty stuff, too.  This one is a nice Ragnarok-inspired one and this one is is lovely, but haunting. mokonosuke7 [art tag] can do some really beautiful stuff!  This one is a gorgeous Jotunn!Loki, this one is another stunning one, this one is is simple but lovely, this one is a stunning belly dancer Loki, this one has super pretty details! robinhess [blog link] has some lovely ones as well!  Here, here, here, here, and here are ones I remember from them! jiuge [blog link] does incredible pieces, too.  This one is a Mr. and Mrs. Smith parody, this one is is an incredible Jotunn!Loki, this one is the single most beautiful piece of Frigga art with kidlets that I have ever seen, this one is a lovely Thor/Loki piece, and this one is is another stunning Thor/Loki piece. derlaine [loki tag] does some of the funniest and/or most heartwarming art! This one is part one of Loki’s Childhood (a collection of all their Asgardian kidlet art and this one is part two! florbe-triz [art tag] also does really amazing art!  This one is gorgeous, this one is a great use of color, this one is possibly the best they’ve ever done, this one is a great kiss in the snow, this one is beautiful NSFW art, this one is gorgeous in this details, and this one is another stunning use of color.  If you want to go through and see everything for yourself, you’ll have to go about 12 pages back on their art tag to get to the Thor fandom stuff. Okay, honestly, just go through my Jotunn!Loki tag and you’ll see there’s far more amazing art than I could possibly all link to!  My Thorki tag is probably about 50% fanart (and the other half is fanedits and fic reblogs and such) if you want more!  This was meant to get a person started

#marvel #fic recs

[throwingideasatthewall]

Clone Wars      Revenge

Fun fact; I acc-         idental-ly started the wrong episode

       [So a little Spoiled]

   Didn’t make it far past the intro of          “Re-Vival,”

     [Past           “Outer Rim,”]

      Onto the actual             episode;

       [Logo Red]                   Still weakest-

      [also yeah whatever happened to      Grievous?

     Like, he complained about it being           beneath him,

      And then      we never saw him        again,

    That entire-    episode;

    As well as        Ana kin;

   That entire        dinner          scene;

      [Seriously was that only for cheap trick to     establish tension?.]      [Obi         -Wan           ]  

      Oh yeah      he straight up       murdered         a person

      [Fun.     -          little de          tail-]

       (Like yeah he murders a lot of people        but I’m pretty sure      that was a big one)

    -

  Any how,    

     ?           Aight             -      oh yeah 

return    -ing       to the abuser-

    -       

   ?    Can      Relate-          -    B-r

   He’s - basically screaming

     Also couldn’t you just set it to auto pilot -

     - and go take care of him?

      Like - I know it’s a junker

       Also-

  Oh,

   You left the person-

    Who are you found curled            -up,           Under several things-            Of garbage-             In a quite literal            labyrinth,

         In an enclosed space            ~with no way to get to you-             ~ if something goes wrong           and/or              they feel afraid

            ~Like~          Trauma is it’s own animal and venting is fucking weird

          But if you’re going to be involved-

            I don’t think throwing them in the back is the best idea-

            Like yeah

           The idea in this case is sending them to accoun-                 tability-

           With just           them-selves-

            But the difference-

           Is it just a sterile environment         with the basics they need to survive,

            And an environment that is stable and pretty            much completely in their control,

          [as much that can be allowed]

           Here there are  plenty of boxes                   (Things out of               control-)         and the vehicle is constantly moving

            No wonder        dude’s               freaking                 Out,

           [You’re                  Damn-

   [Point        being;

      Savage’s           bedside             manner;          Accoun-tability?                Pretty               bad,

                 [Like even I am most known for my                       vengeance,                         And you know it’s bad                        when I’m telling you to cut him a                      fecking break]

                     Like                          dude’s                    pathetic,

                    [Can’t help pity-                         ]                        [Enabler]

 That also makes a lot of sense

Like, yeah he’s far above the ground

         When stability-

   [Dude ate the full       tox]

 [Like dude completely bought his own        lies]

 I-  don’t know how to feel about that situation other than please take him to accountability  before he hurts him self        Please,

 ,

Yeah gaslighting will clearly help    toaster strudel,       here,

      ?            ?

    How are you supposed to do that when           you trapped him in an         en-closed           Space-

         ?

        Dude some ship contain-ers shifted and now you’re blaming him for not moving,

        (Like I get the implication that he scared and he moved it in front but we really didn’t see much to indicate that)

       Like they just moved on their     own,

    And dude did literally nothing to help his cornered brother out of the thing

    [like I’m not for enabling tox]

   But self-defense and         anticipatory           [as well as innocent until            done guilt,                   “

   Is pretty high     on my list of reserv         -ations,

         [Gen             Stick as close to              Account.                as possible,               -]

            ?

          Yeah probably a good idea           considering War zone,

            ?

           Yeah they’ve         been dead for a while and did it largely of their              own regard-                  ,

              ?

            Yeah             sucks for him,

           Coming back,

              To this

             [also you think the Flashy amulet would be telling him not to because you know the attack ,

             Green smoke

             [Time to get        gasolighten]        -          ?

    Mother-       -         He-re

   Clearly dead

   [and your      Gen clearly didn’t have medical on staff              .               Like yeah they have magic that can bring back the dead but they don’t know first aid,

         Great

 [For witches they really don’t know a lot about      herbs and      stuff

  (The Cauldron       yeah,)

    Which is weird because   mred is generally associated with physical    knowledge

   (The science       s)

   And he did a real good job,

    Like we-akest dude on the board whose job amounts to         widespread warfare           (But a pretty disastrous record in          guerilla warfare)

        And you still lost him with the late present playing in              (What was even their focuses              ?)

      Su-rvive

     Lady, there is one of you,

     Two if you count Ventress,

  Unless,

   Oh no

   Nope keep your weird       creepy re-venge        cult,

      In the past,

      ?

       -

    “Would,”

          [which is why            I didn’t get him                 myself         ]

                    [Better]

                    [For                        Every

                     One,]

        “Damage                  ed,”

     Which is why I brought            him to you              Gas-lighter                         -                   “Life,”

    Oh instead of taking into accountability

         Let’s subject him to more                 abuse;

            Some                   Thing             The past        is tox,

  Would definitely be better for him to wake up in a nice        warm place with food,

    Kenobi

   Didn’t he     just rem-ember that         now?

      Like;

     Why is there the        rattling of chains?

     (Oh yeah let’s re-introduced to          enabler to its toxic abuser;

        Like yeah           I know it’s still there            because he didn’t deal with it,

          But he’s clearly not in the head space

            [Seriously just send the bastard to accountability]

                  [empathetically]                          Gas light

                     [i’m trying not to make as many jokes about the gaslighting but that is a literal gaslight]

                     Hey isn’t that the    illusion of help,

                     [Also how is that supposed to help with the        crates?]

     Also yeah wouldn’t that piss him off more because of light, light saber the last time that occurred?

     [Like I’m not saying don’t use herbs on the guy who got injured, I’m just saying try to make it less pain...ful?

              Ok, seriously those boxes were a lot hotter to move a few seconds ago what the heck

        [it’s not major.     but it is a minor          thing?]

          .                  F-ollow

        And make the injured, toxic dous-ed-              Person run,

           (This family’s bedside manner is               fuckin awful,

             His horns?

              Seriously is no one          going to help him,

               ?

   And a graveyard

    Perfect nothing better to put your patients at ease then being surrounded by the dead women’s of the last patients

                 Great

    Guessing the surgery isn’t going to be approved by any            surgeons lately-

         ?

        Un-attainable

         ?

       Geez,

        Like some herbs could’ve done that you didn’t need to     poke him,

        Like how is that supposed to help him go to    sleep?

      ?

      That’s clearly not sleeping,

       Which is good because that’s not a           Gaslighter talent         (TALENT is used          very loosely here,)

     “Symptom”       is more           like it,

        [Like, that was         fear as he fell back and she        poked him in the face,]

Aw,

  [This was way too screwed up to be             Complete acceptance of guilt                    And healing,

               So,

              Symbolism wise,

    I’m going to have to go with more gaslighting

  Aka, pretending to fix the       issue,

      Because that’s not how it works in either a       psychological sense or            (Obvious               ly           Medical)

                                                        The witches                                                              practice                                                           pho-science

                          Not a line                              I’d thought                            I’d be uttering,

                                   But up to this point they’ve been keeping it mostly on point for gaslighting        (Sy-mbolism)

                       Here it   kinda breaks down,

                        Like, how

Unless    it’s higher point.

     But No.

    Scene         doesn’t really make       sense,

 (Like the     ani-      mation have no idea what    theo-      retically          is going on,

         Emotions,                Nada,

 Damn, herbs       Lady, herbs,

  Like,        I don’t-      Think        The      Medicals        Would          Be         Too       Happy,          With the lack           of            anesthetic              There,

       (Like             Geez-  Think dude would        ra-

      ?

  (Like that’s some       tox feckin      medical lady,)

    Also great now he’s gone unconscious from stress; hopefully you didn’t emotionally scar the bastard,

       Geez,

     Yeah I would’ve that kinda      frozen terror reaction to if that shit happen  

    “Ow!”

     Like, dude, no wonder,

    ?

    Feels wrong,

    Oh, those were his feet

    Also yeah leave your patient in a terrifying          ce-met-        ery

   I don’t think anyone could       blame       me for feeling bad for this guy at this point,

    Like lady is a bunch of malpractices wrapped in a bunch of         ‘fucking don’t’

     Terrible bedside

        Tor-ment-

         Legs

     [Honestly, surprised         dude isn’t screaming in terror, pain and agony

      [That take some serious breathing exercises]

      [excuse me if I sound a bit pho-science]           ]

      Geez

    Re-stored

   Not the      word,

   Some humor      might’ve been appreciated there

    Also yeah what about his organs and      shit?

     How.

   [i’m getting too much in the    medical.

   Just,

   This,     shouldn’t have wor      -k       -ed           -            Seriously 

   That is your reaction?

   [I was honestly expecting          his vocal cords             to be shot,]

      Like I was not expecting Lord Butter              of the Fucking Edgy

        Was expecting like a       stutter or some thing,

      [You know a gradual recovery       Period]

      Dude talking like it’s been a few months, a few years since this whole thing went down

     “ oh yes it was a very dark place.”

        Like I feel like that’s kind of cheating,

         Like,

         That shouldn’t            have fixed it,

         You just ran past a very             interesting conflict           with space magic-

         [Like I guess I don’t have to worry about his grudges              with anyone]

       -and Tal-Zin surprisingly didn’t use this make the        trauma go away button with           Ventress

            [That feels like              cheating,]

             Oh, so he has probl-e-ms                 sta-nding?

               [Like, what?

                Is the            problem?

                 ]

                 Also yeah don’t help him at all dude

           Like going on about how           im-portant he is-

                                  I mean his bed-side-

            No on second thought you stay over there, you’ll probably attempt to gaslight him otherwise,

             Anyway after that Adventure in  Malpractice and Gaslighting                    ,              Dark music,

            Just stumbles          ar-ound,

       Sur-vive

       ?

      Was that an an-swer?

       I-

     Well that went from Captain Butter I-am-       Over-it,

     To Murder,

    Pretty damn         fast,

       ,

     Also what about the male tribe,       you know where these guys came from?

    Like Ventress only screwed with a small portion of    them,

    (Like a significant portion of their offspring        , but not the whole village)

       Then that other          village?

       (The one-   on the other planet?)

     Any-way,

    Stop

 Well this just went    from one to     basket Case-       -  

[Ok where did this come from?]

  [what’s-       with the soliloquy)         ]

    -        Found

   Seriously,

    Whoa,

    Like that   anger takes time to build up,

   Don’t get me     wrong   I’m no expert on space magic;

  However this is why I have issue with magic;

                  [Specifically                         non-elemental;                         (Earth, water                         fire, air,                            And                          Lightning)

                          Because you have to be really specific about what it represents and get the side effects right

         Otherwise it’s just a reality breaking                    cheap trick,

                     Skipping past a lot of interesting    conflict and emotions,

                     [Had they done that and just started it off at   some     random           Emotional)         Plot point)

       I think I could follow              -ed it easier,              (Or at all)

        Because right now he’s just acting very inconsistently and        irrationally

  (And not the           emotional     “drank the whole bottle of          tox,”           ,The puppet shouting lines with no connection with each other, making absolutely no sense            Kind

 Like “Congrats, you’ve got the emotion        now you need the consistency,”

      (You can’t have your time skip      and        your emotional conflict too,

    They are connected    and you have to earn them,

         E-motion

   (Yeah,        people who swallowed the whole tox pill don’t tend          To be        very good at that,)

      That’s why they’re sent accountability

       So there’s no additional pressure

       (And they can go through the long relatively painful process in as much peace as possible,  should they decide            to,

      In-stead of stewing in their own      mi-sery-            -                |.  

         ?

    Heck did you find     that?

     Like he and his light saber presumably fell to the ground and will deliver to the same dump,

      (Is that Savage’s?)

        ?

          Or an        instigating abuser who has less power than literally anyone else                 (Their victims)

            Aside from the                Gen break,

              -                   Great recap

             It’s completely unnatural 

     and forced,

              [Like you could’ve had him slowly regain his memory and repeat this back,

         This being like a prime recovery arc moment

           The arc words     of recovery,

      But you rushed it

       Now, it’s non-       sense,

       [This is why    you have to take time doing things,]

         Heck it didn’t even have to be an               arc long-

           Maul runs the top of a hill,                 With Savage- cha                  s-ing,

              [Stops suddenly,]

               [Silence]

               [you get a nice cinematic shot of the sun or some of the     celestial bodies,

     [with the emotions im-plied of      someone who just came back to        life-]

       [and is seeing the world         sentient for the first time,             ]

        “I-

          [Fumbled                   for              Words]

             I- was                   -The                      Appren-

               [Really adding               that depth of                 loss,]

                 [Savage possibly                        taking his shoulder,                     possibly emphasizing                            a new edge                          to his character,      An empathetic one,

                   “you can start anew,”

                    “C’mon let’s head back to the                      ship,”  

                       [Guide Maul back to the ship

                        [Dying sunlight]             

 For some      humor;         *Turns           Back,            Keys           hanging           off          finger,”

     “you can ride          in the front           this time             around,”

     [MIGHT BE TOO             FLUFFY]

    [Can adjust       using color scheme;         And more aggressive              tone,]

           So, yeah, that was episode              [not the side pieces]

    The first half         was         relatively good...

      Before promptly descending into        bat shit insanity        (Not in the good               way....)

      [Around the resurrection of Maul              from the           gas magic)

  From there,         The tone gets pretty thin        and intel..

     With the brief whiff           of emotion,

        That barely passes decent            on the fun scale,

          Not passing fun

         Just luke warm humor,

             Over images                  happening,

             With little (or-no                   connection)-

                ?                       [They still haven’t fixed Obi-wan’s                           eyes,                           Or his tone,                             Or his                               face,

                           Man is like an expression- less       Emotion-less doll,]

                               Competing with Anakin                                  for the youngest looking Jedi

                              [not sure if that was the point with the re-assignment      surgery/     Facial   reconstruction).      Arc

   But they really need to talk with the med Droid         that approved that       and get a       fix,

    The inability to express emotion        isn’t cute,

     (He looks        like a toy!)

     -Not Good-

     -

[astarsdarkheart]

Coruscating

During Coruscant's cloudier days, occasional glimmers of sunlight cause a remarkable scattered light effect across the city's spires. When someone seeks understanding, glimmers of understanding through a haze of things unknown is mostly frustrating. But sometimes there is nothing more to be found.

Author’s note under cut for length.

Also on AO3 and Pillowfort.

Who does the sun of the suns have to listen to?

He is power beyond any other, the hot weight of life bound to the cold implacability of stars, uncontrolled, uncontrollable. Uncontained, now. And yet he holds back.

Something holds him back.

And there is nothing in this galaxy that can do so by force.

Anakin’s touch, after Mustafar, was a strange thing. The arm he settled around Padmé’s shoulders was lifeless ice and hot enough to burn and as gentle as the breeze of the lake country against her dress, all at once. She tried not to shudder. He was still volatile — or at least, the fire that had replaced his flesh was.

Swaddled and held in Padmé’s lap, Leia’s head turned towards her father. As one, they smiled, rosy infant lips and fire-seamed scars mirroring each other.

Padmé forced a smile of her own as she looked up at Anakin, though it tore into wearied muscles. “Is Luke still asleep?”

Anakin nodded. “He’s happy.”

His words had become softer, too. Crackles in the breeze, a warm fire in a dark room —

She pushed the thought aside and took a deep breath. That fire had brought what could yet be the doom of the Republic. “He always sleeps longer than Leia.”

He nodded again, with another faint smile as he brushed a careful gloved hand over Leia’s forehead. “Will you be in the senate later?”

She nodded, with a weary sigh. “I doubt I’ll enjoy it, but I need to be there. Bail has ordered me to stay home until the session proper starts, though. There’ll be a great deal of talk before the senators are ready to contend with the current situation.”

She had to push him on… what had happened on Mustafar, before long. For all that his appearance in the medical centre on Polis Massa had brought forth a storm of questions all of its own, there was more — worse — hiding behind flesh that was somehow both fire and ice, and she had to remember what he’d done even before Mustafar. That rage he’d shown in those few brief seconds before he’d lifted a hand to silence her —

Crackling ice against her shoulder snapped her mind back to the room, to the blaze in her husband’s eyes. “You have to stay well.”

Hesitant, she drew in a ghostly breath, studying his intent gaze. She couldn’t forget Mustafar. Perhaps she never would. But the storm — the rage — that had greeted her desperate questions was gone, barely a trace of it left in his flickering skin. “I will. I’m being careful until we can get some help with the children.”

He nodded, slowly, chilling hand drifting down her shoulder as the other traced circles on Leia’s forehead.

The elevator’s gentle beep rang through the room. Padmé lifted her head, stiffening so as not to make Leia shudder. Anakin’s burning presence contracted, a chill current in the air pulling tighter around her shoulders. After the parade of Senators that had passed through the apartment once news had got out that Padmé had returned to Coruscant, she couldn’t blame Anakin for being tense. But Senators warned of home visits, and whoever was now at the door hadn’t, which meant that it could only be Bail, Yoda, or Obi-Wan.

Look at him now. There is no one left in this brittle galaxy who is truly safe from his anger. He has turned on the spires that fed him and trained him. He has brought down his love; he has exploded in turmoil in front of newborn eyes. And beneath the ice that holds him from life-heat, he still burns with the betrayal of that one last shard of the few things he loved about the Republic.

Were this a matter of pure, unemotional, brutal logic, this planet would be the next thing to collapse between his crushing fingers.

He is the human remnant of a power greater than life and death. Were this a matter of logic, he would rule this galaxy, and perhaps then it would be a kinder place. There would be no chains, no cages. Unless people wished to build those cages for themselves.

“Good afternoon, Padmé.” Obi-Wan shut the door on the end of his cloak, but only the slightest twitch in his brow indicated that he’d even noticed. “Bail sent a message half an hour ago indicating that everyone who hasn’t made an excuse for lateness is in attendance.”

“Everything is on schedule, then?”

Obi-Wan nodded, frowning as he folded his arms in his sleeves. “He indicated he’d sent the same message to you.”

“The children, Obi-Wan.”

“Ah.” His head bowed.

Anakin’s hand trailed off Padmé’s shoulder, the chill weight of his presence drifting away as he rose to stand. “You’re still well, Obi-Wan?”

“As well as I can be, certainly.” But his attention now drawn to Anakin, Obi-Wan rocked back, tugging his robe tighter around his shoulders.

“Recovering from the sight of the Temple?”

Padmé shuddered, pulling Leia’s weight closer to her chest. Obi-Wan’s eyes froze wide open as he shrunk away from Anakin’s height. In the silence, Padmé shut her eyes, sucked in a wavering breath through clenched teeth. She’d heard what he’d done. Obi-Wan and Yoda were survivors of more than a mere massacre. She couldn’t let herself forget that.

How could Anakin — Anakin — have walked through the Temple just to kill everyone there?

And how could he now speak of the place so… calmly?

“It will be a while before I can go that far.” Obi-Wan’s voice twanged with all the tensed nerves that Padmé was doing her best to hide. “You visited it yourself, I’m told. You can imagine how I must feel.”

Anakin’s head turned aside, the bronze glow under his frosted skin dimming. “You would find it much changed from your own visit.”

Obi-Wan shivered, something flashing in his eyes that Padmé couldn’t identify in the half heartbeat before he turned away, one hand rising to cover his mouth. Whispering heat swelled in the room as Anakin adjusted his robe. “I should go. Stay well, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan stiffened as Anakin stepped past him. Padmé sank her teeth into her lip and sat back, shifting Leia’s weight against her chest. The air crackled between Anakin and his old Master every time the pair were in the same room, now, and she couldn’t be sure if that was some consequence of the foreign fire that had filled in all the spaces between his scars, or the remnant of all that pain that she had to force herself to remember. The door clicked shut behind Anakin.

Politics, she’d been told by one of the older tutors in the Legislative Youth programme, had to come from the heart lest one find one’s downfall before seeing how cruel one had become. But politics required planning, strategy, compromise, self-awareness. How was the same heart that couldn’t bring itself to admit it loved a fallen man supposed to produce any of those things?

Obi-Wan shook himself and shuffled past the drinks table to seat himself next to Padmé. “How are the twins?”

“They’ve stayed well.” Always the first question out of his mouth as soon as Anakin was gone. Why does he mind Anakin hearing it? “A little more restless over the last couple of days, but they’ve been rather quiet for newborn children prior to that, so I don’t think there’s cause to be alarmed.”

“A change in their habits…”

Padmé shrugged. “Can we expect much rhyme or reason from newborn children?”

Obi-Wan’s gaze fell aside. “I suppose not.”

“Why is it that you’re only willing to talk to me about the children, and not Anakin?” The words came out softer than she’d meant them. But softer than intended would do no harm. As many questions as she had about Obi-Wan’s plan on Mustafar — and the way he’d reached the planet — it was clear enough that he was suffering. And she knew exactly why. She glanced down at Leia, whose wide brown eyes were starting to flicker. What kind of world would the twins grow up in, with the Republic — and their father — in half-dead limbo?

Obi-Wan didn’t answer, shaking his head with downcast gaze. Leia lifted a wobbling hand to grab for Padmé’s thumb.

“Obi-Wan.” Padmé forced herself to stiffen her tone along with her spine. “You and Yoda have been silent about Anakin for too long. You know you can’t… kill him. For now, that means you must live with him.”

“Do you have any idea what it feels like to look at him now?” He lifted a gaze as lost and empty as the far reaches of hyperspace to meet hers, his robe folded tight around him, his usually commanding presence shrunken away between the folds. So much like Anakin, who, for all the stature that his strange glowing flesh had restored, seemed so small after Mustafar.

She wouldn’t be the first to look away. Not today. “I know that it hurts. That it’s… strange and confusing. Whatever he’s become is not… normal to you.”

“To say that it is not normal is to understate things magnificently.” He shook his head slowly, a momentary light of familiar wryness flickering behind his eyes before his shoulders slumped with his weary sigh. “Padmé… to even notice his presence in the Force is enough to overwhelm me. No human — no life form at all — should be able to do that.”

“Is that worrying?”

“It leads me to believe that something unnatural has taken root in him.” Obi-Wan sighed, drawing himself upright and brushing his robe aside as if irritated by its weight. “Do you notice nothing yourself? Half his flesh is…”

“Is some form of cold fire that behaves almost like our own flesh and blood.” He’d become a rather curious union of matter altogether. Human flesh and blood, the metal arm, and that incandescent chill… strange indeed. Though Obi-Wan seemed to have cause for fear that she’d yet to realise. “A construction of the Force, you’ve suggested.”

“A construction for which the closest precedent we have —”

A chirping cry made him shut his mouth, brow twitching as he looked up, seeking the source of the sound.

“That’s Luke waking up.” Always so calm until Anakin left, and then it only took a few minutes to stir the children. She shifted Leia away from her chest and held the swaddled child out to Obi-Wan. “Do you think you could hold her while I go see to him?”

He blinked, but nodded slowly, reaching out an unsure pair of hands to accept Leia’s weight. Still almost as afraid of the two newborns as he was of Anakin. Newborns. Force preserve them, even if the fact that they were Anakin’s children made them dangerous somehow, what could two children of that age do to hurt him? Especially after all the hurt he’s already faced.

Who wishes to build cages?

Life forms tend to want the question to be simpler than it is. Masters, slave-owners, beast-tamers, they are the ones who build cages. Cages are for containing the wild, savage things. And to confront savagery, should that savagery not lie in some towering monster that can be denied the comfort of home, can be painful. It is unthinkable to most that they might themselves be civil enough to tame their beasts of burden and savage enough to require a cage of durasteel and stone. Life forms struggle greatly to confront duality.

Duality demands that they contend with the darkness that surrounds every candle — and the candle that casts each shadow. The cruel sanctimony of giving aid and the great loyalty that drives them to kill.

Many of them know this. They avoid saying so out loud.

Duality is all they will ever know, and they wish long and well that they did not. Duality demands compromise, shades of grey, and these things paralyse. It requires them to understand, these tormented life forms, that it is their own life, their weight upon this world, that will one day kill them.

Death is life, and life is death.

But it is far easier to imagine that death is a shrouded figure walking the shadows, come to steal away the only thing these life forms own. Death, after all, is often painful — savage — and so should be caged.

Unlike his sister, Luke seldom fussed for long; once rested against living warmth, he relaxed, turning his head every so often to stare at whatever came close enough to be seen, and often as not smiling at it. Obi-Wan had relaxed too by the time Padmé seated herself again, with Luke in her arms. Leia seemed somewhat more perplexed than usual by Obi-Wan’s rough-edged face and poorly trimmed beard, but thus far, she wasn’t protesting her position.

“You meant to say something about what precedents exist for what Anakin’s become.” She offered the prompt as softly as she dared. She’d delayed long enough.

Obi-Wan looked up, shoulders stiff again. “There are no other precedents than legend.” He looked aside and cleared his throat, all the while absently letting Leia grab at his fingers. “Legends of Sith Lords encountered long ago whose use of the Dark Side had corrupted their bodies beyond physical repair.”

She stiffened, trying to suppress a cold shiver. Luke squeaked in displeasure at her failure. “Sith Lords alone? No…”

“There are no stories of Jedi altering their bodies that way. Our methods of healing serve to restore the body should it suffer undue damage, not to… reshape it.” He seemed to have to force the word ‘reshape’ past his teeth. “Padmé, the way the Dark Side works… it is far more than the use of the Force turned to evil ends.”

She couldn’t help but frown. “What more is it?”

He sighed. The escaping air seemed to make him wither, collapsing underneath the weight of his robe once again. “It… warps the mind. Drives its user to think of nothing but power, see every other life form as disposable… the Sith are not alone in their use of it, but they are perhaps the most studied by the Order.” He’d struggled to meet her gaze a good deal since they’d returned from Polis Massa, but now his gaze darted around wildly, without even an attempt to conceal its alarmed flickering. “Those we lose tend to find their way there.” He still spoke of the Order in the present tense.

Padmé let her gaze fall to Luke, who’d turned his face towards her chest and shut his eyes. Doubtless Force-sensitive, the twins, even if she couldn’t confirm it by herself. But if none of this — Anakin turning dark, the dismantling of the Republic, the massacre of the Jedi — had happened, and they’d been raised in a galaxy in which the Jedi had the right to take the children from her were they powerful enough… something twinged in her chest like snapping bone. “What is it about the dark side that makes it so different from the way you use the Force?”

Obi-Wan started, making Leia whine. “Padmé…”

“I know I don’t understand it.” She sighed, then took a deep breath, filling her lungs to straighten her back. “I don’t know if I can. But if I cannot know anything about it… I don’t know what you or Yoda expect me to do. Anakin is… not the way he was when I went to him on Mustafar. Something has changed his mind as well as his body. I don’t know what.” Another deep breath. Queen and Senator. She’d get nowhere right now if she lost herself in the raw feeling of the agony he’d inflicted. “What he did to you, to the Order… it must be hard to forgive. I understand that you’re… you’ve lost a great deal.”

“Padmé, he nearly killed you.” His eyes widened as he leaned forward, tense and terrified again. “Search your feelings, can you really… can you really live with him again?”

The answer didn’t come to mind quickly enough. She turned her head to look out of the window, leaning away from Obi-Wan’s intent observation, and sighed. This quarter of Coruscant was clouded grey, only slight gaps in the clouds letting through ephemeral slices of sunlight. Not foreboding, but far from cheering, and with the Senate session still to be dealt with today, she would have appreciated something cheering. “If he’d… changed as far as you think… I don’t think he’d have been as gentle as he was on Polis Massa.”

“Gentle?” He snapped the word, then looked aside, momentarily abashed before allowing staid decorum to rule his face again. “The glass, the droids…”

“He barely knew what he was doing.” She let her head bow. “The way his expression changed when he caught your wrist… I’m not sure he knows what he’s dealing with himself.”

Obi-Wan froze, drawing in a silent breath that pulled the heat from the air. “Padmé… after everything he’s done…”

“Then how do you propose we bring him to justice?” So close, so close, but the last word cracked and fell away into hum of the city moving on. How much did the citizenry of Coruscant care that the Jedi were gone? How much had changed for them? How much has changed for the rest of the galaxy? She took a deep breath. Queen and Senator. Even if it hurt. “I still worry, Obi-Wan. I do. But… I can’t believe that the Anakin I knew — that we both knew — is… gone. And if Mustafar didn’t kill him, what use is there is only concerning ourselves with punishment?”

He shook his head slowly, shoulders slumping as he shifted Leia’s weight in his arms. “I don’t know what we can do.”

Padmé nodded. She could understand that, at least, even if she couldn’t make sense of everything that Obi-Wan could sense about Anakin thanks to his Jedi training. And she didn’t know what to do either. Why were they so far from agreement in a situation that had to be equally concerning and confusing for both of them?

The holo-projector on the table flickered into life, revealing Bail in his formal dress. He looked more haggard than he had done when Padmé had seen him off earlier.

The thing about cages: even if life forms do not look at something and call it a cage, it can fill much the same purpose. It can contain some raging power, some devastating force of nature, if only within weightless confines of morality and must do and must not do.

Life forms are very good at these kinds of cages. They feel like freedom, and yet serve the necessary purpose of containing their own savagery.

Perhaps they are freedom. Freedom to live, to survive. What keeps something in will keep other things out.

And even the son of the suns is a life form, of a strange and unpredictable sort.

“Bail. We’ll be on our way shortly. Has something come up?”

The holo-figure nodded, face severe. “There has been something of an incident in the Senate chamber.”

Padmé frowned. “An incident? Has someone tried to dissolve the session already?”

“No.” Bail’s head turned, as if he was watching something going on far below him, before he snapped his attention back to the holo-projector that had to be in front of him. “Anakin walked into the chamber perhaps three minutes ago. He’s just announced the death of the Emperor.”

A/N: One might be forgiven for thinking that I should have come to expect the inability to be productive that often hampers my writing during the first few months of the year, but it continues to come as a rude shock every time. But I am alive! By technicality at the very least! And I have written a thing.

It has not been a smooth process, and I don't know how much of that can really be blamed on the Seasonal Depression. Padmé's POV just kept slipping out of my grasp, trying to get the dialogue to go where I wanted it to without taking three thousand words about it was Not Easy (and as weird as writing the rest of the series has been when so many scenes have been limited dialogue affairs, the fact that there is now heavy dialogue makes the Thematic Consistency harder to maintain), and the fact that the twins are there and also very young is a further complicating factor. I don't know a lot about babies and they're not going to be a huge influence on the plot for a while, but some kind of narrative consistency has to be maintained and that means they have to have a presence. Which is moderately irritating.

But I managed to line the appropriate pieces up, next trick will be figuring out which dominoes fall first. Which shouldn't take quite as long as this last hiatus ended up doing.

#holocron data #star wars #jama's fic #coruscating #in morsum ardeo