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phoeebsbuffay · 2 years

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Imagine you are a lady-in-waiting to Padmé who used to be a Padawan before being designed to serve the Queen. You live to your task until your life dramatically changes when you unintentionally capture the heart of a Jedi, who’s about to dive into the dark waters of the Sith…

Warnings: smut. Drama. Violence.

***

Intro.

You are meditating in the gardens of the temple when Master Yoda comes to you in person. You are a young lass, no more than seventeen years old. A youngling with dreams of spring, unprepared for the role that might lead you into a turbulent path.

Yoda knows it’s a risk what he’s about to request you as he watches serenity stamps in your features. Your hair falls down in cascades, the sunbeam highlighting the shades of your curls. There seems to be a halo over your head. The Force, with no doubt, had led him there.

You sense his presence, but do not let him interfere your exercise. Yoda is patient, though. There’s little need for hurry. Whilst he waits, he remembers his recent encounter with Force Ghost of Master Qui-Gonn Jinn.

“The darkness grows, my friend.”

“Inside the temple I sense it is”, Yoda lamented to agree. “Worried about Skywalker I am.”

“Letting go of his Padawan was difficult for him.” Qui-Gonn seemed to hesitate. “Nonetheless, the present forces us to look somewhere else… Another option in case he fails.”

Yoda looked at his former fellow Master. There was little time to say.

“If ready for the task she is, I have my doubts.”

“We need to try before it’s too late.”

Yoda closed his eyes. Had he seen this earlier, perhaps the current events in regards to the conduct of the Clone Wars would have been different.

“There’s little time to dwell in events that did not happen, old friend. She must play her part. It is what it is.”

And now here he is. You open your eyes and greet the ancient master with due respect as you stand and move in his direction.

“A word, Padawan.” He leads you to a stroll in the labyrinth of roses, jasmines and lavenders. It feels peaceful. “To my attention your conduct to Jedi affairs has come. Most pleased is your Master, surprised he is with your great achievements.”

That you have defeated Ventress and general Grievous recently did surprise the entire Council, even though you refused the honors, hiding away from such attention.

You blush.

“Master Yoda, with all due respect but I don’t think I am worthy of being congratulated for these deeds that are only the result of the trainings Master Y/C put me into.”

Yoda smiles at your answer, one of the kind that few would give. Perhaps he has in mind Skywalker’s recent concerning behavior. Just the other day he contested the Council’s decision of spying the Chancellor.

“But yours these deeds are. Deny them you must not. Stronger they made you.” He then pauses. “However, not about this is why I’m here. Before the usual age a youngling as yourself to trials must go. A greater mission for you awaits. Depending of your trials, it does.”

You barely blink. You thought only after you are eighteen you’d be able to go to trials. Despite the doubt in your eyes, you don’t question Master Yoda.

“Of course, Master. As you wish.”

You prepare for your trials. Because you are going a year earlier in consideration of your achievements, these are as difficult as the latests missions you’ve been. Nonetheless, Master Y/C is very pleased to have you knighted.

“The last one to succeed like you did was Master Kenobi.” He smiles down at you as you blush. “A bright future awaits for you. Congratulations, knight Jedi!”

You seem to be the prestigious that everyone talks about. You don’t mind the flatteries, though you are happy for such accomplishment. Now you have the goal to become Master in due time.

However, frustration is inevitable when you are asked to protect Queen Amidala. Perhaps you are not this humble as you thought. To realize this, that you were expecting greater missions and more difficult, embarrasses you.

Yoda knows it. But even so, was there anyone who did not fall into the graces of the age? He pats your hand and says:

“Trying can be the easiest missions. Careful must you always be with appearances, Y/N.”

You nod, eager to fix your mistake.

“When should I begin?”

You are surprised when you are told:

“Today. Waiting for you is Queen Amidala.”

Your journey is just about to begin without knowing the great expectations Yoda places in you. Could you save the Jedis from the unavoidable rise of darkness that might engulf the Order? He prays so. He prays so.

***

Three years later. Great Palace, Naboo.

You are dressed not in typical clothes of a lady-in-waiting but as if you are Queen yourself.

“We are expecting a retinue of Senators of the planet Y/C who we came to know to have joined Dooku’s dark forces.” Padmé is telling you as she makes sure your hair is perfectly braided and the make up covers details that must not give your identity away. “I know it’s a great risk exposing you this way…”

“My lady, there’s little need to justify yourself.” You smile warmly at her, the one who surprised you by becoming a good friend to you in the last years. “It’s part of the mission I was assigned to serve you. If this is how should go, let me do my job.”

Padmé heavily sighs.

“If you are sure…”

“Being a Jedi is often a risk. Do not carry that burden, my lady. I ask you with all my heart.”

“Very well. It’s time then. We are awaited.”

It’s strange to incorporate somebody else, especially the Queen of Naboo. But you have been too observing in the last three years to ignore the details. You close your eyes moments before you go to the Great Salon, located in the Great Palace where the royal household is located, so you meditate.

I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.

You open your eyes and open the door. There’s not enough time to speak with Padmé. Your duty awaits to be performed. However, as you begin to greet the guests, welcoming them all the while you look amongst the faces for the suspicious retinue of Dooku’s men, you are surprised to bump right into… him.

“Your Grace”, Anakin bows before you. A smirk is seen in his lips. He then leans close to your ear. “Or should I say Y/N?”

Your blush deepens and you look at him, horrified.

“How’d you know?” You are careful in not saying it too loud.

“Because I sense those who have Force. You didn’t disguise your signature either.” His smirk remains in his face as he watches you up and down. You don’t like to feel this affected by his presence. “It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I have heard a lot about you.”

You somehow feel your shoulders tense, but taking his subtle advice, you disguise your Force so you don’t give away the disguise. You could not forgive yourself for missing the detail, though.

“Have you really?” You speak in a nonchalant manner. Not only because you ought to pretend to be Queen Amidala, but also it’s another way to keep your emotions in check. Surely it’s not because Anakin Skywalker is a tall, handsome man with the most blue eyes you’d ever seen. Right?

“Indeed. A Padawan who defeated Ventress and the long wanted General Grievous? Such a reputation cannot go unheard of.” Anakin is now smiling at you. “I’m Anakin Skywalker, by the way. The one Jedi who’d been following the Master you’ve been compared to.”

You try not to laugh at his gallant manners.

“I do not deserve the comparison to Master Kenobi, General.” You protest softly. “Though he’s an example to be followed, there’s a great distance before I reach to his level of competence and experience.”

Anakin’s eyebrows are raised. Not only he’s impressed with your eloquence but with the display of humility. Here’s one who could rival in that dispute of being “the chosen one”. The idea almost makes him laugh.

“Because Obi-Wan is my master and friend, I don’t think there are many out there who deserves the comparison. But why talk about him anyway? Otherwise he might get full of himself.”

You giggle softly, missing the nature of his thoughts. Anakin could tell who you are underneath the regal mask you put for your mission. You feel his eyes are lingering on you, though. It awakes sentiments you’ve never been in contact with—to which you don’t even have words to name them.

“Should I ask you then if the ball is fit for your tastes?” You ask him, partially teasing. You smile here and there, sometimes interrupting the conversation to talk to a subject. “I have to wonder what brings you to Naboo, though.”

Anakin captures the moment your eyes meet his. It is as if this results in an electricity that sends waves to the Force, teasing the balance. Oh. That is interesting.

“The Jedis thought better to send me to check on you. They seem concerned for your safety.” He does not tell you that they also wanted to distract him from his distress of losing Ahsoka and the constant clash he’s been having with the Council by supporting the Chancellor in his moves in this never ending war.

“The clonic wars are, indeed, the cause of my preoccupation with the queen”, you say, suspecting there might be more than his words give in. “Perhaps if you wish to stay, we can see these things together. In all frankness, though, I appreciate their concern. How are they fairing?”

“Well as they must be.” You notice he’s not telling the truth entirely but this is not the best moment to question him.

There’s not much to be said now because the thread is interrupted by the presence of the retinue you’ve been looking for. It’s time to play your role and carry on with the mission to you assigned.

Anakin watches as you excuse yourself from his presence. His blue eyes, an announce of tempest to some, are glued in your moves. Though you have disguised your signature, Anakin is definitely impressed for sensing in you the Force in a level that he’d not seen in anyone before.

He’d never taken seriously the possibility of someone rivaling him in this level. Whilst this proves a comfort for him, it also intrigued him. He did not tell you he was there not because of Jedi, but because of the Chancellor. Why, however, does this bother him?

He waits until the ball is over to come after you again. It ends with some of these men being arrested, another proof of your success as a spy and as a Jedi. How you conduct yourself so calmly baffles him.

Anakin speaks briefly with Queen Amidala but his interest lies in you. And by seeing his interest in you, she concedes the two of you talk. So he leads you outdoors. Your braid is now down to your waist and your face is clean off the heavy make up you’d been wearing. But you are still dressing the majestic robes used to impersonate the queen.

“You are very bright for someone so young.” He tells you. “Why are you wasting all of this potential here?”

You don’t see the malice in his speech. You are tired and you don’t seem to think your fellow Jedi is tempted to the dark side. You might suspect something is going on, but exhaustion is blurring your judgement.

“Every mission has a purpose. Not always it is there to match our expectations.” You hesitate but add: “I used to think serving the queen was below my expectations as the warrior I think I am. In the end, I was just feeding my vanity.”

“It’s not vanity if you want better opportunities to yourself.” Anakin scoffs before softening. “But why are we talking about this? You are exhausted. Come, let me take you to your quarters.”

You smile at him as he offers you his arm. You gently take it.

“I sense you are a temperamental Jedi, General Skywalker.”

“Me?” Anakin laughs. “I just…operate differently.”

“Do you, really?“

He stops by your door. As tired as you are, you look hesitant in going inside.

“Are you staying for the week?” You inquire, whether innocently or not you are afraid to tell.

Anakin smirks at you, aware of the conflict that seems to rise in your heart. He puts a loose lock of your ear behind your ear.

“I suppose I can stay, yes. Good night princess.” He takes your hand and there pressed a gentle kiss. The sight of your blush mesmerizes him.

***

He ended staying for a month, though. The Queen keeps a blind eye for his extra official affairs in Naboo all the while Anakin plays an effort in getting to know you.

In the wake of the summer, you are dressed as a lady-in-waiting to Padmé when you are invited to train with Anakin.

“I wonder what does keep you busy here”, Anakin teases you. His heart warms every time he makes you smile; it lightens his soul. “It’s too quiet for a country that is affected by the clone wars and you are too powerful to be kept in here.”

You roll your eyes as you follow him in the depths of gardens, surrounded by sunflowers. Your dress is yellow with details in brown and shows your shoulders. Your hair is tied in a bun. A princess look, indeed, one too gracious to behold according to Anakin. When you hold your saber, though, his smile opens wide.

Aren’t you adorable?

“You are starting to sound like a brat”, you tell him, all smiles. How could you not? Your heart got used to him. Perhaps a little too much. “I do enjoy here.”

“Do you?”

He turns his saber on and prepares to fight you. You giggle as you do the same. The field of sunflowers doesn’t help your moves, but Anakin is surprised that it poses little difficulty for your maneuvers.

“By the Maker! Aren’t you special?” Anakin eyes you intently, his smile making you melt inside.

Uh-oh.

“Don’t look at me like that, Anakin. It makes me uncomfortable.” You tell him amongst giggles. “But no, I am not special.”

He actually manages to defeat you, but only because you misstep and you end up tumbling: Anakin tries to hold you, but both of you fall in the grass.

“Yes, you are.” He says, watching as you laugh loudly because, Maker, you are so damn disastrous. Anakin laughs too, but there’s something in his eyes that you melt.

“What?” You say, lifting your hand to play with his curls and leaving a finger there hanging for too long.

“You are special.”

“Anakin!” You protest, blushing.

“Yes, you are. You are special to me.”

That is how it begins. You know the first day you saw him, you felt attached to him. Your heart races loudly.

You respond with a kiss. Anakin beams as he rolls you over him, his arms involving you in a warm embrace. The kiss is long, slow but very passionated.

“Ani…” you break the kiss to catch your breath. “What have we done?”

But he doesn’t read any sign of regret in your eyes, which makes him smile.

“There’s nothing wrong in falling in love.”

You peck his lips again. You never thought this is what it feels to be loved. You’ve seen Padmé and Clovis together in some occasions, but until Anakin came to your life, you’d never expect to live such a dream.

He senses your discovers when looking into the color of your eyes, diving in the shades of y/c that paint your irises. Anakin hears your thoughts, a mess of words that never reach your tongue. The intensity that drowns him into live his wildest dreams.

So he kisses you again. You pair your tongues together, not minding your inexperience. You belong to him and every sense of duty is left aside. He rolls over you again and there he is, with eyes that announce a tempest. Eyes that carry you into the core of a hurricane, threatening to sweep you out of everything you know, out of your comfort zone. Eyes that open the door of his soul to welcome you in.

You cup his face with your gentle fingers and kiss him passionately. In this pleasant silence, you don’t let him go freely; your kiss savors his, the taste of his tongue awaking something different, unbeknownst to you until now.

“You electrify my life”, you hear the confession slip your tongue.

Anakin is on his elbow, hearing every word said and that non-said. What remains unspoken he captures. His smile spreads yet again because you give him peace.

To hear what he hears now reinforces the good in him, turning the light inside that darkness seems to take place. He takes your hand and intertwines your fingers.

“I love you, Y/N.”

Just like that he says it. Just like that you know it. Just like that the destiny of you both are sealed.

“I love you too, Ani.”

You beam.

He leans his forehead against yours, eyes closed. Yours do too, and there is serenity.

There is peace. Force seems balanced.

But for how long?

***

You lose track of the time when you two are together. It’s difficult to concentrate when you see that tall, handsome man, whose smile is secretively addressed to you.

It begins to become a burden to hold back the desires he awakes you. You’ve always thought to be above the pursuits of the flesh. But there is one day you find him shirtless for some reason.

Oh, Maker.

You could not look away. The image of his well builded muscles are enough to make you experience an unbearable heat. You’ve once heard the ladies of the queen talking about how to relieve it.

Oh bloody hell.

Thankfully that day you are free of your tasks. But it’s been days since Anakin had to go back to Coruscant and that image of him—unintentionally captured by your eyes—remains in the back of your mind.

When Anakin manages to pay you a visit, he knows something is not right. You are where the two of you usually encounter—a secretive place where only Queen Amidala is aware of—-and when Anakin comes to realize the possible cause of your disturbance, he’s amused by it.

He reaches right behind you and begins to kiss your neck. You leave out a surprising moan. You clearly are not expecting that.

“Has my princess been missing me?” Anakin chuckles before turning you to see him. He presses your small frame against the tree. His hands are running to your sides, lifting the skirts of your dress as his hands pursuit you…just the way you want to. “You should have contacted me.”

“Ani, I don’t think we…” you try to suppress this strange lust, but when his fingers find his way to you, any resistance you had in your heart dies. “Oh!”

“Do you like that?” Anakin whispers hotly in your ears as he overstimulates you. “Have you been thinking about me?”

“Yes. I…” you cling onto him, trying to mute your moans. “It feels so good!”

“Imagine when I take you to bed.” He plants soft kisses around your neck, enjoying how much he’s teasing you.

He continues to do so until you explode in his hand. The only reason why you aren’t so absurdly scandalous is because Anakin kisses you passionately too.

“Oh my love…” you lean against him. “You ruin me…”

Anakin chuckles softly, the idea of corrupting you arousing him. But he holds back his own need when contemplating your beauty, which only reinforces the purity of your soul.

Which reminds him of…

“I thought I could love you in moderation”, you say whilst you kiss his lips, your hand driving right there to his pants. You smirk at his surprise as you begin to touch him softly. “But turns out I cannot, Anakin. You’ll be the death of me.”

So you go down on your knees. You did miss him, after all…

***

Your legs are wrapped around his waist, shivering in response at every thrust, a sigh escaping your lips as your body moves with his.

Anakin is kissing your neck, locking hands with you, nearly reaching the climax as you do yours. It’s synchronized. It’s melodic. It’s perfect.

“I don’t think I’m sleeping tonight.” You tell him, pleased to bring your beloved to laughters. And then you roll over him, your body bathed in sweat and your back covered by your long hair. “What have you done to me?”

Anakin watches you with a mist of lust and devotion. He then takes a seat and holds you against him.

“I’ve come to ruin you.” He mutters against your lips. Anakin thrusts right into you, making you gasp before you are involved in love making again.

As promised, neither of you would sleep properly that night.

***

But when you finally begin to sleep… your peace begins to ruins without your knowledge.

You are in Mustafar. There is fire everywhere and the heat is unbearable. A man dressed in dark, long cape awaits holding a red saber.

“What have you done?”

Your voice is broken. He there remains on his back to you. You carry yourself, heavy, hurt, sweaty.

“Why?”

A laughter so cold. A pair of yellow eyes turn at you. But you can’t recognize their owner. He lifts his hand. You suffocate.

“You will not ruin my plans, Y/N.”

You begin to choke. You try to awake, but you can’t. You scream. Your life seems to run out of your control. You scream again. You can’t hear your voice…

“Y/N! Y/N!” Anakin is shaking you, making you open your eyes. You are shaking and sobbing. “My love! What happened?”

“I…” you don’t know where you are until he hugs you close. “I don’t know.”

You sob. Anakin tries to read into you but somehow he cannot. He holds you close, soothing your fears.

“Don’t leave me, Ani. Please don’t abandon me.” You hear yourself say. The usual composed self is no where to be seen. A sudden fear washes over you.

“It’s just a dream, my love. I’m here. I’m never leaving you.”

You cling into him. You pray he’s right. The next day, he’s trying to assure you that you’ll be well.

“I love you”, Anakin assures you after he’s told of the nightmare you’ve had. “I will never let go of you. Never.”

You nod eagerly, holding on to this promise. You look up at his eyes and smile softly when sensing his concern over you remains.

“I’ll be fine, my darling.”

As the day begins, the nightmare is soon forgotten. The Queen is amused to see you and Anakin ever so close: clearly neither are trying enough to conceal the nature of your relationship.

Despite the clouds announcing a storm, the light of the sun comes to irradiate when Anakin proposes you. You have never been the happiest. The Queen helps preparing the arrangements.

“Witnessing the love you have for each other gives me hope to battle our enemies outside. The good always prevails by the end of the day.”

A thought you share. But it’s put to question when your nightmares come back to plague you. You have to meditate, you try to appeal for reason. There are nights you win. You leave the illusion, the untrue trap victorious. You are exhausted each time. There’s another factor that doesn’t contribute to your health.

Until one day, the nightmares stop. But it’s precisely when Anakin doesn’t go back home. What happened? Why hasn’t he come to you… right when you are about to get married?

***

He promised to go back to you. He often did. But Anakin feels betrayed by the Jedis. An attack is orchestrated by Count Dooku against the temple. He is outraged, though, when learning of his machinations that eventually turn him against his own master.

There is a huge fight between Kenobi and Skywalker. All the while the Chancellor interferes… thinking Kenobi to have been killed, he prepares to depart.

Somehow all these events lead you into Mustafar. Your fears threaten to become true. An illusion you know you’ve been manipulated to believe is now set to happen. You seem the Force. You refuse to let this happen.

You’ve been feeling unwell all day. Queen Padmé tried to prevent you going because she believed… you didn’t want to hear, so you never made to hear her suspicious. You may had some yourself, but you don’t want to hear.

I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.

You are dressed in your robes when you land in that planet. Your eyes are already blurred by tears because you can tell the man in dark cape is Anakin.

“Ani?”

Your voice comes out in a sob. Anakin turns at you, surprised. He’d not expect to see you. He’s appalled, confused.

“What are you doing here, Y/N?”

“You promised you’d never leave me.” You choke your sob. You walk right into him. “You may have broken that oath, but I am not breaking mine.”

He hesitates, mostly because he can see you are unwell. But it’s when Lord Sidious comes in.

“End with her life if you want to live.”

So here’s how I will meet my fate.

You close your eyes and turn your saber on. Sidious tries to push Anakin against you, but seeing his reluctance, he comes to fight you.

“Ani…” you mumble, but you know he’ll hear you so. “Don’t give up. I am not giving up on you. I understand your frustration, but this is not the way.”

Your belly gives you nauseas, but you struggle with yourself whilst battling the Sith Lord. You try to resist him as much as you can. Anakin watches the scene, confused.

It’s when he comes to realize…

You are sick.

“The last of Jedi is to die!” Sidious manages to overpower you. Like in your nightmares, you are lifted in the air. You begin to suffocate.

But you are sick for a reason. When Anakin concentrates, he comes to realize you are carrying his children. The fruit of the love you have for each other.

“DON’T!”

It all happens very fast. You begin to lose the air of your lungs. Your resistance is inutile. Darkness plagues you with a sense of pain you’ve never been under such a rough test before. A shock comes to your body. It’s all blurry. Your eyes close. And you drop on the floor.

***

Anakin is by your side all the while you are unconscious. He hates himself for hesitating, for letting the battle come to the point where he was close to lose you.

“What matters the most is that you won, Anakin.” Obi-Wan tells him. He places a hand over his shoulder, giving the consolation the younger male required.

Obi-Wan had found Anakin, perhaps moved by a feeling he could convince his former Padawan to resist the dark side. When he landed in Mustafar,h he was happy to know there was no need to do that because you did—even though a great price came with it.

Now you are tubed and the medical droids are looking after you. Anakin is double distressed because he cannot tolerate the idea of losing you and the children. Yes, children. Because he’s told you are carrying twins.

It takes a while, but you eventually wake up. To your delight surprise, Anakin is by your side. You weep as he leans forward to kiss your lips.

“I’m here, my love.” He holds your hand tightly, a gesture that implies he’s not letting you go. “I’ll always be here. I’m so sorry. I was such a stupid fool.”

But this is not why you weep. As you touch his face, a small smile is seen in your lips.

“I’m happy because you came back to me. Oh, Ani. You came for me.”

He rests his forehead against yours and there the two of you stay together, quiet and in peace.

***

Epilogue.

Though the two of you had married discreetly the moment you landed in Naboo, Padmé suggested you to marry properly now that your twins are able to walk without falling to the sides. An idea Anakin was much enthusiasmatic to perform.

So now you are finally living the dream you had the moment you laid your eyes on Anakin. Dressed in a long white gown with details in purple, there’s also a veil that falls right down your face.

As you begin to walk down the aisle, Luke and Leia are brought to you.

“My precious babies!” You exclaim when seeing them dressed in a royal manner of Naboo. You don’t care about messing up yourself when you lean to kiss each one before struggling not to squeeze them in your motherly hugs.

When Obi-Wan finally leads you down the aisle, he’s very emotional.

“I can’t believe this is all happening.”

Anakin gets lost at your sight when seeing his twins going right where he is. He picks each in his arm and presses long kisses, beaming at them. He’s such a loving father that even Obi-Wan is brought to tears.

“By the Maker, the Skywalkers turned me into a sensitive man.”

You giggle as you thank him for bringing you to the aisle. Ahsoka then comes to pick your twins not only because Anakin requested, but because she ended up growing attached to the twins.

“Is this a dream?” Anakin asks when holding your hands. “If so, I don’t want to wake up.”

“No, my love. We won the darkness. We are the light. There’s nothing to fight anymore, nor to be frightened for.”

He leans forward to kiss you. As he does so, it’s Anakin again who feels it before you.

“Our family looks about to grow again…” says he against your lips, loving to see you blush.

“This time we are better prepared.” You giggle.

And so the ceremony begins…

#star wars #star wars imagine #imagine Star Wars #Anakin Skywalker #Darth Vader #Anakin Skywalker smut #Anakin Skywalker x you #Anakin Skywalker x reader #anakin Skywalker x y/n

425 notes · View notes

gch1995 · 10 months

Note

Luke should have killed Vader in ROTJ. He should have cut off Vader's hand then said "you betrayed your friends, the Jedi who raised you. You broke Obi-Wan's heart and caused him to live in exile. You killed my sister's family and killed my mother and my aunt and uncle. And now you're going to pay the price, Anakin." And then Luke kills him.

Luke absolutely would have had every right to despise Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker for all the atrocities he committed, enabled, and/or participated in against him, his adoptive guardians, his sister, Obi-Wan, the rest of the Jedi, and many others. I haven’t come across anyone in the Star Wars fandom who genuinely believes that Luke and Leia were in the wrong to have serious issues with their biological father’s atrocious attitudes, behaviors, and crimes. Not even those of us who are Anakin/Vader stans believe that his two children were somehow entitled to just blindly accept and forgiven him for every terrible thing he did to them and many others throughout the galaxy. Of course, they weren’t. Just because Anakin had a tragic backstory, constantly suffered under shitty circumstances of compromised agency under abusive, corrupt, and oppressive authority figures, felt guilt, and eventually felt inspired to at least partially atone for his sins by killing Palpatine to save his son’s life, it doesn’t mean that we think that invalidates all the loss, pain, and suffering he directly caused to both his children and many others throughout the galaxy by victimizing them as Darth VaderIt’s also true that he occasionally committed acts that he knew were wrong of his own volition. He also has occasionally committed crimes against some of his victims out of a personal desire for cathartic release, freedom, protection, and/or vengeance that he wasn’t pressured into doing by corrupt and oppressive authority figures. He occasionally made bad choices that he knew were wrong for himself.

Anakin became a horrendous villain, and, while the compromised agency and shitty circumstances that got him to that point in the first place aren’t his fault, it’s also true that he always retained enough rationality and conscience to know the core difference between right and wrong and feel guilt. Everyone in the fandom agrees that none of Anakin’s many victims were entitled to ever forgive him for his crimes against them throughout the galaxy. We just want it to be understood that it isn’t just his fault alone that he wound up becoming and remaining such a horrible villain.

That being said, committing murder or hurting someone for hatred and revenge vs hurting and killing in self-defense are two different things. While it is true that you are completely in your right to take a stand against abuse, crime, and oppression for freedom and protection, there’s also a line between doing what’s necessary to survive because there’s legitimately no other choice in the moment versus being willing to stoop to that adversary’s same level out of anger, hatred, fear, and revenge. In the prequels, we saw that Anakin went dark and struggled to come back because he fell into the same mindset as those who hurt him and those he loved of “Two wrongs make a right” and “I’ll coldly and indiscriminately commit and enable systematic abuse, crime, and tyranny as necessary ‘for the greater good’ if the authority figures, community, mentors, and politicians in these broken systems I serve tell me to because they don’t offer me much opportunity to feel adequately safe and supported standing up for what’s right within it in battle, anyway, since that would mean taking a risk to trust the other side.”

The feelings of anger, fear, and hatred from constant abuse, oppression, and trauma that never got fully resolved are justifiable on Anakin’s part. Palpatine, Watto, the Tusken Raiders, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gonn Jinn, his other elders and mentors in the Jedi Order, and the Republic government he got recruited to serve before he could even have the opportunity to properly understand what he was being signed up for as a child definitely did both enable and/or perpetuate completely acts of systematic abuse, crime, elitism, oppression, and violence against him, his mother, his people, the clones, and their own recruits for their own benefit. Whether their intentions were pure or evil doesn’t matter. They caused a lot of harm and trauma.

It’s the horrendous actions that Anakin becomes willing to take in response to avoid having to deal with confronting those issues bravely, honestly, and honorably that are the problem. It’s not easy for him to do the right things, he has good reason to be angry, and you can make a valid point that many of the crimes he ends up enabling and perpetuating as an adult are things he learned from personal experience as a victim and witness of them from a young age.

Anakin is always at least partially oppressed by a corrupt authority figure. Palpatine pressure him to turn to the dark side by encouraging him to act vengefully to try to avoid and quash those feelings of anger, fear, and hatred that adversaries or potential threats trigger in him, rather than dealing with them. The Jedi he served under weren’t as harsh in their methods and intentions as the Sith. That “greater good” defense mechanism is something Anakin picked up from their teachings to justify doing terrible things out of fear of the unknown and pressure of corrupt authority. Their desire to have control to avoid the dark side and recklessness went into abusive territory multiple times throughout the OT and PT sagas because they became too afraid to actually take the risk to be the heroes for the galaxy they presented themselves as. They usually played the role of heroes in the old Jedi Order when they believed doing so benefitted their dictatorial military superpower organization’s ability to have total control in regards to all force-sensitive individuals and matters in the galaxy, their public reputation, their role as the Republic’s army, and their security. Otherwise, they ignored many of those in need, enabled, perpetuated whatever abuse of power and crime benefitted their “greater good.”

Nonetheless, as an adult Anakin became guilty of wrongdoings when he repeatedly decided to respond to all his anger, fear, and insecurities hypocritically by stooping to the same awful levels as his adversaries did with him and worse throughout his life. Thus, he actually res cycle of systematic abuse, crime, oppression, and vengeance continues with him because he decided to take the easier path of following it.

When Luke was in altercations with Darth Vader where there seemed to be no other way out, he would have been completely in his right to immediately end the duel by swiftly killing his father in self-defense when he had his light saber poised with the threat to kill him. Sure, by the end of ROTJ, we know Anakin’s heart wasn’t really in it to kill Luke for Sidious, if he refused to turn, but he was still threatening to. However, once Luke disarms Darth Vader/Anakin of his mechanical arm and lightsaber, he has the advantage over his father. The self-defense law can only be used when there is absolutely no other way to escape or survive under an adversary or threat in an active altercation. After disarming Vader, the immediacy principle of the self-defense argument is lost for Luke because he’s mitigated the threat of him. It could no longer be the justified as theonly thing he could do to survive because there was no other way to stop him in their altercation when .

What’s more, Luke doesn’t even attempt to kill him out of a sense of duty or protection at all at that point in ROTJ. Luke starts taking a needlessly cruel route by briefly choosing to start beating his disarmed father up with his fists out of feelings of anger and a desire for revenge when he gets the upper hand, which is why Sidious points out “Yes, yes, you’re becoming like him.”

While we’re never obligated to forgive, trust, or take back those who hurt us terribly in relationships, it is also true that most adults who grow up to be enablers and/or perpetrators of abuse, crime, and tyranny against other people had to have the influence(s) to be that way built up from within them over time in relationships with others, which often began throughout their childhoods or very young adulthoods. Hurting people will become increasingly willing to hurt others needlessly, as they have been hurt by others, if they repeatedly decide to deal with their anger, insecurities, and trauma under shitty circumstances and adversity by stooping to the same level as those who hurt them to try to maintain and take control back because it’s easier than taking a risk to do the right thing by being vulnerable.

Luke caught himself before it was too late when Palpatine pointed out he was “becoming like him,” but giving in to an desire for control, revenge, and/or security by stooping to the same level as those who hurt you when faced with the opportunity to do so because it’s easier than actually taking the risk to address those issues and face them bravely, honorably, and openly, is what creates very angry, broken, controlling, dangerous, hateful, and insecure abusers and criminals down the road. They see that it’s such an easy feat to commit acts of “necessary” abuse, crime, and revenge to immediately avoid and shut down anyone or anything that acts as an adversary or potential threat to themselves or those they care about, but they only gain a short-term sense of catharsis in the heat of the moment. In the long-term, though, their anger, depression, hatred, insecurities, and trauma hasn’t actually been resolved at all by their decisions to stoop to their adversaries levels to completely avoid, control, and/or destroy everyone and everything that causes those issues in the moment. Instead, they end up making things worse for others around them, and end up hating themselves more in the long run. Yet, they keep allowing for and doing terrible things that can/could allow them to avoid conflict in the short-term as the years go on because it becomes an addiction that keeps getting enabled by others in Star Wars until Luke comes along. It’s what happened to Anakin in the prequels. It’s what happened to the overall Jedi Order and Republic of the prequels with their increasingly obsessive and unhealthily “greater good” and “us versus them” mentality.

No one in the SW fandom on here has ever blamed Luke and Leia for having serious issues with their biological father’s many atrocities, regardless of his constantly tragic and shitty life circumstances. Aside from the fact that they see he’s Sidious’s attack/guard dog, for the most part, they never even witnessed all the abuse, loneliness, oppression, and trauma he experienced before he fell to the dark side. Even with that, though, the point is not that Luke and Leia are supposed to excuse Anakin for all of his crimes and wrongdoings because he is their biological father who they eventually learn suffered constant tragedy under lifelong shitty circumstances from which safely escaping was always compromised. The point of Luke ultimately choosing to stop angrily and vengefully beating Anakin/Vader to a bloody pulp before he can kill him after he gains the upper hand in their duel in ROTJ is about breaking the generational cycle in his predecessors of enabling and perpetuating rampant “necessary” systematic abuse, oppression, violence, and vengeance without much hesitation at all costs to gain short-term catharsis, peace, and security against any and all conflict or potential conflict, which actually led to greater conflict in the long-term instead because they all became too afraid to actually risk doing the right thing most of the time under pressure with shitty influences and limited to nonexistent healthy support options outside of these broken systems they grew up in and got recruited to serve under pressure until then.

#Star Wars anon #pt Star Wars #ot Star Wars #I don’t think anyone disagrees that Luke and Leia had every right to despise Vader #but acting on that hatred through seeking revenge and using needless cruelty becomes a vicious cycle that leads to more abuse #never taking a risk to do the right thing because it’s harder under shitty circumstances to try to hold onto security leads to more problem #that’s what happened to Anakin in the prequels #that’s what happened to the Jedi in the prequels with their ‘greater good’ and ‘us versus them’ mentality in excess #anakin skywalker #luke skywalker #Palpatine

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thecoffeelorian · 5 months

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In response to this thread, I'd like to offer this (somewhat) deep dive on TBB...

...In literary terms, whereas Qui-Gonn Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala, and Obi Wan Kenobi all haunt the narrative of the first 6 SW films...I'm afraid I just don't see the Bad Batch having this same effect, because there's seemingly ZERO consequences to the state of the galaxy other than a handful of murders, a ton of moral hand-wringing by writer stand-ins, and...not much else.

For example, did Crosshair's early oppression of the populace add to any overall anti-Trooper sentiment? Not really. Did it make the other Batchers targets for Gerrera as payback for Cross' actions on Onderon? Also no. And when it came to the very real possibility of Commander Cody being shot by Rampart for not helping with a political assassination, instead Cody was just...allowed to disappear.

So I guess this kind of begs the question--what, if anything, is this all for...??

@wolverina2002

#the bad batch #pondering the series #but coming up with NOTHING.#minors dni

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metataxy · 29 days

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Ventress Survives Fic, #3

Summary: What if Komari Vosa survived to meet Ventress and join the Nightsisters?

In this world, Dooku expelled his former apprentice from the Order not because of her insane obsession for her Master, but because of the terrible knowledge she uncovered in her pursuit of him. He never killed her. He simply kept her locked up in his basement until Ventress, in the course of ransacking his castle on Serenno for supplies after Order 66, finds a prisoner who is absolutely furious with Vader for murdering her Master before she could get around to it--and who is very eager to help Ventress tear the empire to pieces.

Part 1, Part 2

(Work in progress, not posting to AO3 until I'm done with it)

Warnings: It's Asajj Ventress and Komari Vosa. One's terminally snarky, the other apparently used the equivalent of performance enhancing drugs for Force users and led a cult.

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Ventress’ destination was Serenno.

Quinlan, the dolt, had chosen to lay her to rest without her lightsabers. She didn’t have any hope that the Jedi had conveniently left them where they’d killed Dooku for her to pick up.

She and her friendly neighbourhood bounty hunter, Violet, checked anyway. No lightsabers. Damn.

However, Dooku had been a Sith Lord, and they were obliged to keep at least a few hiding places for all the cursed knickknacks they collected over the years. She knew of one on this world, and with any luck, Palpatine hadn’t had the time to ferret it out yet.

The Force favoured her in this, at least. She’d found this place by accident, a few months into her unofficial apprenticeship. She’d been in a hurry to deliver a parcel to him (some Sith scripts she couldn’t translate herself), and when he hadn’t answered his commlink, she’d followed their incipient bond to the cache in the mountains.

She never actually met him there. After she’d slipped in, one glance at the first chamber and its contents convinced her she’d be unwelcome. She remembered the entry as a sort of shrine to his deceased padawan, Qui-Gonn Jinn. Ten years later, and less jealous of Dooku’s attention, and she could appreciate it was less dedicated to Jinn, than to the Jedi as a whole, and the life Dooku had renounced in becoming a Sith. It still had what she needed though.

She picked up Qui-Gon’s lightsaber from the box and felt its dormant kyber rouse at her touch, the inorganic life prickling with dissatisfaction as it felt her out in turn. She wasn’t its Master. It didn’t like her.

Well, tough, she thought, pocketing the saber into the utility belt of the spacer’s garments Violet had loaned her. She needed a saber. She’d prefer not to force this one to cooperate with her, but she would, if the kyber didn’t warm to her on its own.

She’d warned Violet and the Nightbrothers not to touch anything unless she’d cleared it, in full anticipation that even if Dooku hadn’t left traps for intruders, Sith Artifacts on their own could be dangerous for the ill-prepared or the Force-Null. Given the go-ahead to start boxing up the room, one of the brothers went directly for Dooku’s old Jedi robes and touched the worn linen curiously. She smiled at him when he realized she was watching. She loved the idea of dressing her men in the wardrobe of that fussy elitist. Somewhere in the Force, whatever was left of that man would be seething.

A walk through the rest of the chambers on this floor told her she’d have to deal with the rest of the damned complex by herself. Master Dooku could not simply keep his haunted and cursed artifacts inert in storage containers. Oh no, Master Dooku had to lay them all out on the shelves where he could gloat over them. She felt an unwelcome, unfamiliar surge of trepidation on turning a corner into a room where the Sith Holocrons glowered down on her like a thousand red eyes gleaming in the dark—and then shoved her fear away, and with it, the psychic touch of the Holocron’s guardian spirits.

Why the hell Sith locked their souls to their Holocrons instead of simply using an AI as the Jedi did, Ventress would never understand. Was it part of their desire for immortality? Was there a way for them to possess the body of the user and thereby resurrect themselves? Dooku claimed he didn’t know and Ventress had been inclined to believe him. Sith were secretive to begin with, and much of their knowledge had died with the thousands lost in the War a millennium ago. The Bane-ites had done nothing to revive it with their rule of two. ‘Two people’, Dooku lectured, his syntax reminiscent of his master, “do not a community and a culture make.”

A lift appeared behind an ornate glass display case loaded with ancient devices expressly used by the Sith to break down the resistance of captive Jedi or would-be apprentices to the dark side. She recognized the mask she’d used on Kenobi, along with other, crueller apparatus Dooku had provided for use on the Jedi Master.

A moment down the lift, and she found in herself in a low-lit corridor lined with cells fronted by ray shields.

The first few were empty, the shields turned off. The fifth she passed had an occupant, who startled, then waved his hands and screamed something unintelligible under the noise of the shields.

She ignored him. If he’d been imprisoned by Dooku, that could make him anything from a petty political rival to a Sith acolyte who’d refused to give up whatever esoteric information Dooku had been seeking. She kept walking, and came to the end of the corridor, and a final door.

She opened it.

Inside, not a ray shield, but an observation deck, as though Dooku hadn’t wanted his view of the occupant obscured. She looked over the rail and down into the cell. It was spartan as the others, but some care had been taken for the prisoner’s comfort and well-being. The walls and floors were padded in a lush brown nerfhide that would have been more likely furnishings for a Nubian pleasure house than a prison, or a psych ward. There was a depression in the floor for sleeping, but no blankets. The refresher station was open as well, with a waterless toilet and sonic scrubber.

The prisoner sat on the floor, staring out at her as she entered, as if she’d been expected.

Ventress paused.

She was a human female, perhaps in her mid-thirties, around Ventress’ own age. Her hair was pale as her skin, a snowy blonde, and her eyes were the cyanotic blue of frostbite. She wore a papergown and around her neck, a high-grade Force suppression collar, the kind the Jedi used on their Fallen in fortresses like Stygian Prime.

“So you’re my replacement,” Komari Vosa drawled, glaring out at her. “Can’t say you’re much of an upgrade.”

What to do with her?

“Our Master finally deigned to let you introduce yourself. Come to gloat, have you?” Komari prodded.

“Dooku is dead,” Ventress said blandly.

Komari’s expression didn’t change. “Really? Try again.”

Ventress’ expression didn’t waver.

“We have a bond. I would have felt it if he’d died.”

“I’ve seen rancors with smaller yokes than that suppression collar around your neck,” Ventress snorted. “How long has he kept you here?”

Komari eyed her up and down, and then deliberately turned her back to Ventress, imperious as a queen. Her head tilted up towards the double-high ceiling where, Ventress, noted, large print texts scrolled by on repeat. Apparently, Dooku hadn’t trusted her near any hard surfaces.

A suicide risk then. She hadn’t been interested in her Master’s former students, especially since a preoccupation with them distracted Dooku from her own training. Dooku still talked about them at length though, impervious to Ventress’ irritation, and so she knew all about Komari Vosa. Knew Dooku himself had found her at four years old on Nar Shaddaa, the daughter of a Hutt’s prize dancing slave, and already identified as Force-Sensitive. Knew he’d stolen her away and cosseted her in the creche. Knew she’d been jealous of his affections even then, how that jealousy mutated into obsession as she’d developed into a woman under his guidance.

When he was in his cups, Dooku told her how much he’d regretted it. How he wished he’d left her alone after delivering her to the crèche. How better off Komari would have been under a different, stricter master.

(Ventress refrained from asking where in the Jedi Order Dooku expected to have found a Master stricter than himself. He would have assigned her hours of drills for asking such an impertinent question, even if the act proved her point).

He regretted repudiating her. He regretted her addictions, and he despaired at how she’d gotten mixed with up that death cult, the Bando Gora.

He was supposed to have killed her. That was how the Sith had chosen Jango Fett as the clone template, wasn’t it—because he alone was able to subdue Vosa, and bring her back for Dooku to deal with?

She’d never seen him grieve her death though, Ventress realized. Only everything else.

Ventress would rather shut the door on the bitch and pretend she’d never seen her. There must be some kind of automated system in place still feeding and watering the prisoners, but eventually, when the system broke down or resources ran out, she’d starve to death.

More likely, the Empire would find her. And then, they’d either kill Komari Vosa, or recruit her, and in either case, Vosa would have the opportunity to inform them that yes, Asajj Ventress was still alive.

She hissed out a breath. Mothers guide me.

The advantage of praying to a sentient planet that was arguably parasitizing your consciousness, as opposed to any gods of dubious existence, was that you were more likely to get a response. A series of images flickered in her mind: the empty halls of the mountainhold. The tens of unmated men, fighting uselessly for the attention of dead women. A holo of this woman from Ventress’ memories, recorded during a duel. The holographer had caught her in the middle of a sai cha stroke that would have bisected her Besalisk opponent through the torso. And then: the image of Anakin Skywalker.

Oh.

“Do you want to know how he died?”

Vosa continued to stare at the screens, but a muscle in the back of her neck twitched.

“Anakin Skywalker went after him. Dooku had surrendered, but…” Ventress trailed off significantly. “The Sith Lord ordered Skywalker to kill Dooku so he could take the Jedi on as his new apprentice.” Ventress splayed her fingers over the cold durasteel rails, and drummed them, as if in thought. “The Sith Lord turned out to have been Chancellor Palpatine, you know. He and Skywalker just deposed the Republic. He’s declared himself Emperor and started hunting down all the Jedi. Killed thousands of them in the first couple days with the clone troopers. Turned out he had some kind of biological chip to control them.”

“Fascinating,” Komari returned blandly. “I don’t care.”

Ventress sniffed. “Fine. I’ll leave you here for the Emperor’s goons to find. If Vader doesn’t suspect you of being a Sith and kill you outright, someone might make you a job offer.”

Komari turned around. “You wouldn’t leave me alive for your enemy,” she said, matter of factly. “You’d kill me first. Which means everything you just said is because you want to persuade me on side. Why?” she demanded, scratching at her arms. Even from up here, Ventress could see they were as scarred as any junkie’s from the lower levels of Coruscant.

“I want to kill Skywalker and Palpatine, and I want you to help me do it.”

Komari laughed madly. “You want me—” Ventress waited patiently. She seemed to be doing a lot of that today, and damned if she wasn’t going to take Violet up to her chambers and have a night of physically exhausting and mutually satisfying sex after this to make up for it. “What? He trained you. He trained you as his sith apprentice. All these years I was rotting down here, listening to him talk about you, how good you were, how focused, how disciplined,” she snarled. “And here you are, begging for my help. What, not good enough to take on the Sith Lords yourself.”

“No,” Ventress said flatly.

The frankness of her response seemed to take Komari aback, for all of a moment.

“What do I get?”

Ventress raised her brow, looking meaningfully at their surroundings. Komari scowled.

“You get that collar off, and your freedom, and the chance for revenge. On Palpatine and Skywalker,” Ventress qualified, seeing Komari staring up at her. “I suppose if you have some notion of trying to kill me for usurping our beloved Master’s attentions, you could try that too—but you might want to wait until we’ve executed the Sith.” Ventress considered Komari, her body softer and thinner than she’d have expected of a former Jedi. “Besides, you desperately need to train against someone.”

Komari sneered. “Take this collar off, and we’ll test that statement.”

“Later,” Ventress demurred. There was no way that collar was coming off Vosa until Ventress had cleaned up all the Sith artifacts in Dooku’s cache and deposited them somewhere Vosa and the mad Jedi she'd left back in the mountainhold couldn’t find them.

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Three days later saw Ventress descending the ramp of the ancient freighter with Komari alongside her, the Nightbrothers following with all the spoils they’d been able to carry back from Dooku’s palace. The men who’d stayed behind visibly gawked at the new woman. She stared back at them in avid interest. The blush bloomed on their cheeks then, and they lowered their eyes in deference, except for the fallen Knight who'd stranded himself on her planet, Taron Malicos.

He glowered at them through one bloodshot black eye. The other was swollen shut. He’d acquired an assortment of other cuts and bruises since she’d left him here two weeks earlier, but then, so had the remaining Nightbrothers. The worst off among them were missing a cranial horn or two. She frowned in reproval and made a note to admonish Malicos about it later. Ripping out horns or teeth was a punishment the men meted out only for the worst offenses. Fighting a man for the attention of the Nightmother certainly didn’t qualify. If he’d wanted to make enemies or establish himself as absolutely bantha-shit crazy, he’d certainly do it if he kept this up.

“Where the hell have you been—and who is—” Taron snarled, and then stopped, mouth open. “That’s Vosa. That’s fucking Komari Vosa.”

Komari looked at him in as much interest as she had the Nightbrothers, her eye appreciably following the lines of his bare chest. Ventress supposed there was plenty to admire there, if you were so inclined. It was warm and humid at this time of year, and he’d undressed down to his linen trousers. The necessities of war had shaped his body: sculpted pectorals and tight abs, and biceps big around as her wasp-waist. He’d trimmed his beard and braided back his hair. He was attractive, despite edging into his sixties—which, Ventress mused, was about the same age Dooku had been when he’d begun to train Komari.

“A pleasure,” Komari smiled, showing too many teeth. The Nightbrothers had begun to murmur, and perhaps Ventress shouldn’t warn Malicos against pulling their horns. With this look of favour from the new Nightsister, she doubted he’d live through the night if he didn’t make another example or two. “Master Malicos.”

“Taron,” Ventress told her. “No woman calls a man Master on Dathomir. No matter what he is elsewhere.”

Komari’s smile widened. “I’ll keep this in mind,” she told Ventress, and then a red blur raced out from the mountainhold and into Ventress’s arms. “Merrin,” Ventress said, awkwardly patting the girl.

“Asa,” the girl exclaimed, arms tight about her waist. Mother. “They say you brought back a new Sister.” She turned her tattooed face up to Komari hopefully, and lifted her hand to the woman’s cheek. “I’m Merrin. You’re staying here, aren’t you? Please say you’ll stay. It’s been so lonely with just the men here and I’m the only girl, except the Nightmother, and she’s going to have to leave soon. Please stay.”

Komari looked almost enchanted by this earnest entreaty. If she’d spent the past decade with no better company than Dooku, who was rather restrained in his affections towards anything but rare artifacts, Ventress could hardly blame her. Slowly, so as to give the girl time to correct her if this was wrong, Komari lifted her own hands to Merrin’s own cheeks, held the girl’s face in her palms, looked into her dark eyes with eyes pale as Ventress’ own.

“I’m Komari,” she told the girl. “And I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, but I hope while I am, you and I will be the best of friends.”

#asajj ventress #Komari Vosa #nightsister merrin #Dooku #Star Wars #Nightsisters

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