#since we get more chaos agent Obi

[jacksgreysays]

For "Hail to the Queen: She Who Leads The Armies", you could make it early on (leading a ROOT rebellion against Danzo) or very late (leading the survivors of earlier attempts to kill/seal Kaguya to victory).

The first option would be kind of like her toppling the traitor, but it could be done in an interesting way if Danzo nabbed Shikako for ROOT without permission

The second option would be really interesting to me because I don't think she'd lead the initial strike. That would probably be the Kages or Naruto or something. No, she would only lead if she felt she had to.

Hi aryaokayfriend, thanks for the ideas, I definitely had a lot of fun playing with them!

To begin, like with many things, I didn’t actually consume Shippuden so I only know a vague idea of what was going on with the multinational coalition against Kaguya, but to be fair it’s not as if that’s stopped me before, lol.

My immediate thought for the first option might be too similar to She Who Kills The Kingslayer because it went as such:

If this is a ROOT!Shikako (either fully stolen to be a ground soldier or a more subtle “still get to keep her name, possible successor” type of thing) then the most opportune time to take out Danzo would be in the absolute chaos that is the Sound-Sand Invasion during the Konoha Chuunin Exams

Unsure if this is canon or not, but didn’t Danzo have ROOT stand down during the invasion rather than have them, you know, help/defend the village?

ROOT!Shikako kills Danzo in a plausible deniability type of way and seizes control of ROOT for herself so that she can get them involved in the defense of the village.

If we want to go with that slight morbid/absurdist humor that is endemic to ROOT!Shikako, her thought process could be: 1) there’s a giant snake/bijuu outside the village. 2) in my mission history, explosions are good at removing threats/obstacles. 3) the largest explosion I have immediate access to is the one that triggers upon Danzo’s death. 4) Danzo has repeatedly stated that the greatest honor/duty of a loyal/perfect shinobi is to die in defense of Konoha. 5) Surely Danzo is a loyal/perfect shinobi and would want to die in defense of Konoha? => In conclusion, I should kill Danzo in order to set off a giant explosion to attack the giant snake/bijuu because it’s what he would want.

But, again, that’s running a little too close to She Who Kills The Kingslayer maybe and has less to do with the leading of the ROOT forces and more to do with the coup against Danzo which in itself also similar to She Who Ousts The Traitor…

So let’s see… the co-opting of ROOT forces could also happen without the KCE and without defeating Danzo first… OOH, okay, I have been reading a lot of Clone Wars fic lately, one of which is Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi in which, you know, it’s in the title. But basically if the ROOT secrecy seal worked more like the order chips in the clones and Shikako as, you know, a seal master can interface with it.

It might be something like she hasn’t yet figured out how to remove it without killing the ROOT agents or without tipping off Danzo that someone is removing seals since she’d only really be able to do it one by one (and, hey, guess who would be suspect number one and would have to deal with even more assassination attempts). But what she CAN do is essentially “reassign” who the “Admin” is such that Danzo no longer has access to the seal—especially the obedience forcing part—although he can still order them normally (and depending on how loyal/afraid/groomed the ROOT agent is, they may still obey even without the seal MAKING them) and/or use his Sharingan.

So she does have an army but it’s… pretty bad…. ethically… seeing as how she’s essentially exploiting a slavery seal for herself O_O

Okay, pivot, how do we salvage this?

In a similar co-opting of a seal that has an in-built obedience aspect but in a less problematic way—and this one maybe fits option two a little better—what if she hijacks the Edo Tensei?

And, so that it avoids being exploitative on Shikako’s end, what if by freeing the zombies they don’t necessarily have to obey Shikako in a brainwash-y kind of way but more in a summoning contract/genie wish type of way. Like a reverse of Freedom’s Just Another Word in which Zabuza is extremely haunted and the reason why his actions don’t make sense is because in order for each of his ghosts to move on he has to complete a task for each of them and there’s like… 29 different ghosts with 29 different motivations so...

In this case, Shikako removes the obedience part of the Edo Tensei but in order for them to get to go back to the Pure Lands they have to do one task for Shikako. And, well, depending on how bleak the situation is in the war against Kaguya or Madara or… whoever… she may use them as an immortal army against the big bad…

BUT it’d also be pretty funny if there’s just SO MANY of them that she makes them do menial tasks or, like, her paperwork and honestly they may just make her Hokage for a week so that she can have the Edo Tensei zombies do all the backed up paperwork and then she can hand it back to the real Hokage. So Kakashi technically makes her Nanadaime for a week, she makes the zombies do a bunch of rebuilding and paperwork and relatively benign tasks, and then she either passes it back to Kakashi or onwards to Naruto.

But back to the serious version of this. It could very well be a Return of the King moment in which the Elemental coalition is absolutely getting their asses kicked and Shikako’s like: stall for an hour, I have an idea, and then she breaks the obedience part of the Edo Tensei and now she’s got a ghost/zombie army. And, well, like in Return of the King how do you see that and NOT give that person some kind of extreme leadership role?

#jacksgreyson #aryaokayfriend #prompt response #asks #answers #brainstorm #fanfiction #dreaming of sunshine #hail to the queen #shikako nara #danzo shimura

[sabraeal]

And Spring Became the Summer

[Read on AO3]

The very last of my follower fics for the 700 Followers gifts! This one was the bonus for making it to 750 before December, and I’m so glad I’ve FINALLY gotten this done...so I can do it all over again this year 🤣

The last term paper Mitsuhide writes for his undergraduate career he slips into a glossy plastic portfolio-- double-spaced and double-sided, graphs printed in full color-- and turns in personally.

It’s a wide-eyed TA that takes it, seated behind a desk that’s far too big for her. Or well, she’s not wide-eyed at first; instead she’s bent over her work, only glancing up absently to make sure she has it in hand. But a second one turns absence to alarm, eyes fixing to where he grips the plastic, and suddenly he’s all-too aware how easily how just one of his hands could swallow both of hers.

So is she; her eyes pulse wide, and then she’s tracing the line of his arm up and up doggedly, like as long as she just keeps going, she might hit the end of him. When she finally does, he offers her a sheepish smile, shoulders hunched lessen the blow.

She shrinks back, a mousey brown head peeking above an oversized university sweatshirt. So much for that.

“You could have emailed this,” she squeaks, plucking the plastic sleeve from his grip. “I mean, not that you can’t hand it in. It’s just, er...”

“No one does,” another adds, rolling across the floor with a level of curiosity that he’s pretty sure an in-person paper doesn’t warrant. When she measures him with her gaze, she enjoys every inch. “Pretty old fashioned, if you ask me.”

He recognizes both of them; their names had been on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester. He’d found them both on the department website, Amanda wearing the same Clarines sweatshirt she had on today, and Holly’s clearly from some beach vacation, cropped from the shoulders up.

(“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a stalker,” Obi says, hanging upside down from the armchair.

“I’m-- I’m not!” Mitsuhide sputters, heat creeping up his neck. One day, Obi would slip up and say these things in front of someone who mattered, someone with a much more rigid sense of humor than Professor Gazelt, or didn’t know to take every word of his with an ocean of salt like Dean Haruka, and then it would be him that got seated in front of a disciplinary committee. The last thing he needed to do before even finishing law school applications was explain his brother’s poor taste in jokes on the record. “It’s just...”

“That you’re compelled to look at cute girls on the university website?” he offers, so casual. “I could think of hotter majors, if you wanted. Psych seems like it’s the sort of place real tens might hand out, right? Maybe, uh, Education? Kindergarten teachers always are cute--”

“It’s polite,” Mitsuhide grits out, shoulders hunched up by his ears. “You should know everyone on staff in your department, just the way you should know everyone you work with. It’s the proper way to network.”

Obi watches him with wide eyes, like he’s some kind of zoo animal or-- or one of those really bad cooks on TV, the kind who tries to pan fry a chicken whole. “God, you don’t actually do that, do you?”

“It’s the secret to good business.” At least, that’s what his parents always told him.

“You must be...” Obi savors the moment, looking positively euphoric as he says, “Really fucking creepy at the department Christmas party.”)

“No one did,” says the first-- Amanda, graduate summa cum laude from Columbia-- tone aimed to shush. “I’m, uh, happy to take that, though.”

He gives her his most gracious smile. “Thank you.”

“No,” Holly-- Penn State, no honors-- mutters, casting him a speculative glance from the corner of her eyes. Hers go up and up too, but seem to come to a much more amicable conclusion. “Thank you.”

“Stop.” Amanda’s hands flex on the thin plastic; she has soft hands, a callus only on the knuckle of her middle finger, where a pen might rest. Like Shirayuki, only without the thousand nicks and cuts that dot her fingers, battle wounds from wrangling recalcitrant plants.

Her chin pulls up, set in a determined line as she says, “Congratulations on graduating.”

“Ah...” It’s a kind thought, and meant well, but knowing he’s about to spend the next three years earning the degree that counts softens the blow. “Thank you. I hope you have a nice, um, summer?”

“Definitely will be nicer not to grade papers,” Holly offers, immune to Amanda’s shushing. “Do you have pl--?”

“We should get back to grading,” Amanda says, just to the left of too loud. “Have a nice summer.”

Never repeat yourself, Mama always told him, it weakens your position.

You can never be too polite. That’s what Papa would say, when he thanked the cashier for a third time.

Mitsuhide winces; he’s always hated this, being stuck between his parents. It’s clearly time to leave. “Right. Bon été, Amanda.”

“Was that French,” he hears hissed the moment he’s stepped out the door; the same moment another voice says, “Did I tell him my name?”

He should have just emailed it. Mitsuhide can make any number of excuses about the joys of collating and color printing, about face-time and networking, but at the end of the day, he has to call a spade a spade: this has all been an excuse. A thin one too, to keep him out of the house. To put off what he knows need doing.

Mitsuhide steps into the cool air of the foyer, shivering as it catches the sweat that beaded at his hairline on the walk. His courage peaks as he stands there, right next to the shoe mat, grand stair stretching up before him, still in his oxfords--

And immediately effervesces when he catches sight of smooth, bare legs on the coffee table, fuzzy slippers worth more than his phone perched up on the mahogany. This is it, the moment of truth, fight or flight, and he-- he doesn’t know which way to run.

So he doesn’t. He’s drawn there with inexorable motion, a magnet to a lodestone, the hard soles of his shoes clacking against the wood the only thing keeping him grounded. It takes only a few steps before long, tanned legs lead up to sleep shorts; not the clingy kind that curve and cup, but the ones that hang like boxers around the tops of her thighs, rucking up as she moves. After that it’s a hoodie, worn loose and baggy, like it’s supposed to fit someone twice her size, its hood drawn tight against her face. Nothing...sexy, not the way Obi might say, with far too much eyebrows involved. But still, his mouth runs dry, tongue heavy behind his teeth.

How on earth is he going to do this?

“Kiki.” He speaks before he thinks, sinking down on the table. It creaks beneath him, ominous. “I owe you a date.”

“Oh shit.” Obi flops over on the recliner, wide gold eyes peeking over the arm. “Check out the balls on this kid.”

This is a terrible idea. He should have known not to do this in a-- a common room, one where other brothers might be hiding.

“Sorry,” he creaks, levering himself up. “I didn’t realize-- you’re clearly busy--”

“No.” Kiki’s lays her feet right on his thighs, pushing him down with a thump. “You were saying something important.”

He darts a glance to the shadow squirming obnoxiously on soft leather. “But Obi--”

“Obi,” she informs him, as imperious as any C-suite member, “can leave.”

Obi doesn’t so much bark out a laugh as honks it. “Not unless I got time to make popcorn.”

Her head doesn’t move an inch from where she’s got it, chin tilted up to meet his own gaze. Her eyes though, those slide pointedly away, fixed at their corners, radiating malice. Kiki is slow to speak, deliberate when she does, but her eyes-- well, there’s a wealth of words in every look, and right now they’re reading Obi the riot act.

It would have worked better if Obi wasn’t already so used hearing it.

“Ignore him,” Kiki decides, attention snapping back to him. “He’s furniture.”

“Oh, Ms Kiki,” Obi drawls, barreling towards a mistake, “you could sit on me any--”

“You were saying?” she says, every word iron. Obi takes the hint, for once.

“I, uh...well, you paid for a date,” Mitsuhide manages lamely, darting a worried look to where Obi lounges on the chair. “I mean, you paid a lot for a date. And I understand that you may have just wanted to donate to the frat, but if you wanted to--”

“I told you,” Kiki says, dry, toes flexing firmly on his knee. “I expect you to make it worth my while.”

“Ah, y-yeah.” Her saying that while looking at him like she did-- well, his brain had that queued up every time he blinks his eyes. Sometimes it changed venues, and there were some, uh, costume changes at times, but if he shut his eyes right now it’d spool up with perfect fidelity. “I thought it might, um, d-distract you if we tried before finals, but since you’ve finished-- we’ve finished--”

“As of twenty minutes ago,” Obi adds, so helpful.

“--I thought it might be a fun way to relax.” He’s honestly never felt less relaxed in his life just sitting here, contemplating it. Half of it he can chalk up to Obi, curled over the recliner like a gremlin, waiting to wreak his version of chaos the second he can weasel his fingers in, but the other--

Well, it’s hard to ask someone on a date when you know they’ve already got someone in mind for the position. Even if it’s just-- this. As friends.

His heart’s in his throat. At least, that’s what he thinks until Kiki’s mouth curves; then he knows it’s never been in his possession at all, but always utterly hers. “Sounds like fun.”

Tension rushes out of him on a sigh. “Ah, great. I though we might, er, go to Boston? You know,” he hurries to spit out, before any words can fall from her parted lips, “since there’s not much out here we haven’t seen.”

She hesitates. Of course she does. Boston’s practically her hometown, and he’s sitting here, thinking it’ll impress her. Like she hasn’t seen everything that’s worth seeing there twice over and in private. That she hasn’t just told him no outright is a testament to how well Mr Seiran’s raise her, and--

“Let’s make a day of it.”

Mitsuhide startles, nearly tipping off the table’s edge before he glances up, right into her row of perfectly straight teeth. Her mom’s smile, she always told him, but he’s only ever seen it on her. “I-- yes. That’s..good.”

Her lips curl, hiding her teeth. “Let me handle the accommodations.”

“Ah, no.” His head sweeps through big, nervous back-and-forths. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to--”

“You’re not,” Kiki informs him. “I’m telling you. I’ll handle accommodations. You’re seeing to the rest of the weekend, correct?”

“Y-yes.” He tries to fold his arms across his lap, but with her feet right on his thighs, it ends up with his hands covering her ankles. He expects her to move them, but instead her legs still, tendons relaxing under his palms. “That’s the plan, but, really--”

“It’s the least I can do.” She shifts her macbook off the couch’s arm, fingers already flying across the keyboard. “One night?”

“I...” He should decline. He should tell her that if she can drop a whole K on a date with him, he can shell out for one night at a hotel with a higher rating than a Holiday Inn.

But this is Kiki Seiran, heir to Seiran International. She’s not just used to five stars but the penthouse suite. He could book four star cheap on Hotwire, but imagining her in one of those suites, the sheets starched and thread count insufficient--

“Yeah,” he grunts, “one night’s fine.”

“Perfect.” Her teeth snap around the word. “Leave it to me.”

“So,” Obi starts before Mitsuhide’s even hit the last step. “We have a bet going on.”

He grimaces, shifting the duffel over his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

‘Pretty sure’ turns to ‘certain’ once he catches Obi’s grin. “It’s about whether you’ll get your dick wet.”

“Sorry, not interested.” He heaves the bag beside the front door, brushing off his shorts. “Isn’t it too early for you to be up? I thought you didn’t know about the hours before ten.”

“I had motivation,” Obi assures him, slinking up beside him with a grin a mile wide. “You know, Shiira says that you won’t on the grounds that you’re a gentleman.”

More like the lady isn’t interested. “I already said I wasn’t--”

“Kai says you will,” he continues blithely, “and you’ll come back on time. Shuuka agrees, except that he thinks you’ll miss check out with all the boning down and won’t make it back until evening.”

“Isn’t this breaking the bylaws?” Mitsuhide grunts, slipping on his sneakers. “Don’t we have something about betting...?”

“For money,” Obi agrees. “Zen still wouldn’t put a bet down though.”

That’s assuring at least. “Of course n--”

“Shiira already took his.” Obi shakes his head. “And we wouldn’t allow him to say the same thing except that he thinks it’s because you’re and idiot.”

Well, that’s a little rich, coming from Zen. Mitsuhide was loath to remind anyone that besides Obi, he is the most experienced, but-- some people should be taking that into account. Even if nothing is going to happen.

“Don’t worry, Big Guy.” Obi claps him on the shoulder, smile somehow drifting towards kindly. “I gave you until Monday.”

“Obi--”

“And Kiki will walk in with a limp.”

“Obi, you know that’s not...” His breath hisses between his teeth. “That’s not what me and Kiki are like.”

“You keep thinking that, Big Guy, but--” he leans in, cupping a hand around his mouth-- “my original bet was gonna be Tuesday. Too bad Kiki had already taken it.”

Mitsuhide stares at him, slack-jawed. “W-what did you just--?”

“I should have known, you’re already here.”

His head jerks up, right to the top of the grand stair, the beginning of a quick glance-- but it’s no use. There’s no possible way he could make his eyes focus anywhere but on Kiki, not when she’s wearing-- when she’s--

“Ooh.” Obi’s mouth curls, matching Kiki’s knowing smirk. “Is that a skirt?”

It is. And not-- not her field hockey kit, mid-thigh with shorts beneath, but and actual skirt, one that floats just above her knees, gauzy and floral. A single flash of leg tells him there’s nothing else beneath. Ah, well, besides the obvious. Mitsuhide swallows hard, mouth dry.

She raises a brow, hand trailing sinuously down the banister beside her. “It is a date, isn’t it?”

Her heels clack when she takes the last step into the foyer, clack because it’s the cork of her wedges that hits the floor first, because-- nom de Dieu-- she’s wearing shoes that tilt her a few inches close to him. Close enough that he could just bend at the neck and--

“Ah,” he coughs, fingers clenching in his shirt. “You might be a little overdressed. At least for this first part.”

Both her brows raise now. “Am I?”

“God,” Obi mutters at his shoulder, head buried in his hands. “You could at least say she looks nice.”

Well, when he’s right, he’s right.

“You look, ah, great though,” Mitsuhide hurries to add. “Beautiful.”

Kiki, to his surprise, beams. “Well, I brought a few outfits. I’ll change at the hotel.”

“Ah, sure.” He scoops up his duffel, holding out a hand for her bag as she passes. “You’re ready to go?”

Her mouth quirks at a corner. “As I’ll ever be.”

He hums, uncertain, suddenly left-footed with her so close. They should leave, but that involves a number a movements he’s suddenly stymied by.

Thankfully, Obi opens the door, practically shoving him onto the porch. “All right kids, be safe now.”

“Obi...”

“Don’t worry,” Kiki drawls, sashaying over the threshold. “I packed plenty of condoms.”

The door cuts off Obi’s laugh, but Mitsuhide can’t escape the pounding of his heart.

“You know,” he sighs, trailing after her, “you’re only encouraging him when you say things like that.”

“Oh that’s too bad,” she hums, floating past. “I was trying to encourage you.”

#mitsukiki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #The Wide Florida Bay #my fic #ans #THESE ARE FINALLY FINISHED #and this little side jaunt is barely started 🤣 #i wanted to do the whole date...then convinced myself half... #and now i just have the lead up #but lbr #it's better this way #since we get more chaos agent Obi #which only makes Obi's sensitive feelings about his OWN date funnier #buddy you bought and paid for the shit you're getting #and NOW you don't want it? no wonder Kiki gives you crap

[milfbenkenobi]

Star Wars Fic Rec List Part 2

All fics are complete, but I may rec something from an incomplete series.

to failure, sweet victor by littlekaracan

Word count: 20056 Chapter count: 1

The man behind the doorway is holding a vibroblade. He has a scar crawling down his face and a dozen more elsewhere, and he’s regained enough strength to knock the breath out of Obi-Wan’s lungs once he slams him into the wall and brings down the blade.

“Good morning,” Obi-Wan says, ducking out of the way.

The man wearing Cody’s face snarls and aims better.

Because we all need a bit of Cody trying to murder Obi-Wan daily due to the chip in his brain

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The Desert Storm by Blue_Sunshine

24 part complete series. Word count: 1,144,596

Four years after Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi Order, a grieving, struggling Ben Kenobi finds himself inexplicably taken back in time, crashing headlong into the foundations of fate. Grasping hope and vengeance with both hands, Ben rebuilds his identity and seeks to change the course of history: by saving Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Order, the galaxy - and just maybe saving Obi-Wan Kenobi along the way.

Featuring a heavy dose of Mandalorian involvement, overall world-building, cultural exploration, and every star wars plot I have ever wanted to write.

OHOHOHOHO. This is my favorite Star Wars fic out of all I’ve read. There’s so much world building, it’s amazing. I saw it a few times before I finally took the plunge and read it, and let me tell you this series is SO worth it. Warning, because I didn’t know, this is only the first arc of a story, the author said they’re going to start writing the second part soon. Definitely definitely recommend.

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What I Could Be by radneto

Word count: 15443 Chapter count: 1

Obi-Wan is twelve years old and has just become Qui-Gon Jinn's newest Padawan. On his first mission with his master, he somehow gets transported to the future and chaos ensues.

Or- I find an excuse to write a baby Obi.

Baby Obi-Wan gets YEETED to the future, and confuses the fuck out of all the clones wondering where their general is.

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Make Your Bed (lie in it) by glitterglanger

Word count: 58117 Chapter count: 5

Crys hissed, sounding awed, “You slept with the General?”

Cody tugged his bucket down fast enough to hide a wince. In the light of dawn, with his head not so fogged and bleary from fatigue, it didn’t seem half as logical as it had the night before. But he’d be kriffed before he told Crys that. He said, tone even, “Couldn’t have him freezing to death. Let’s go.”

OR, the one where Cody starts sharing quarters with Obi-Wan a year into the Clone Wars, and it changes many things.

Exactly what it says in the summary

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the family amidala by dirgewithoutmusic

Word count: 6829 Chapter count: 1

Padme lives. She runs.

——

Leia is growing in fits and spurts, eating greedily and crying loudly. She stays in a sling on Padme’s chest when they move, Luke held snug in a sling around Obi Wan’s. Luke gets a whole head of thick brown hair while Leia’s is still patchy and bald, but he never matches his sister’s powerful lungs.

When Padme had been sitting in her high senatorial apartment on Corsucant, holding Anakin’s sweaty hand, she had never imagined she’d be murmuring desperately soothing noises to her fussy daughter while she shot around a corner at stormtroopers, while R2D2 meddles with a ship’s blast doors behind her.

Luke starts teething on a hot jungle planet where they hunker down for three weeks, sleeping in an abandoned old temple and catching the local wildlife for dinner. Leia takes her first steps in the belly of a Corellian freighter they’ve stowed away on. She wobbles between Padme’s outstretched hands and Obi Wan’s knees and boxes of smuggled luxuries. When she falls down, Obi Wan surges forward, heart in his throat, but Leia laughs.

A Padmé Lives AU. She and Obi-Wan run around the empire trying to keep the twins alive and away from Vader, who thinks all four of them are dead.

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For the Glory by whatthenshallwesay

Word count: 92644 Chapter count: 22

CC-2224 is a good soldier. Good soldiers follow orders. The voice in the back of his mind? Not so much.

Commander Cody is about to take a roundabout journey into the Rebellion against the Empire.

Cody breaks free of the chip and proceeds to double agent the fuck out of the Empire

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Capture the Flag by Artemis_Neardos

Word count: 4625 Chapter count: 1

It's all fun and games, but a good portion of the galaxy is fairly certain that at least part of the GAR has quietly lost its mind. Obi-Wan isn't completely sure what's going on. His men are having fun and no ones getting hurt, so he has no problem playing along.

A game of capture the flag completely overtakes the GAR

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Decko and Lies by TwoBusyWriting

Word count: 3106 Chapter count: 1

In which Echo decks Fives to the ground in the middle of the mess, Fives decides to just lie there afterward, and some troopers have to change their perceptions of the Legion's ARCs.

Exactly as it says in the summary and also the title (love it when the summary makes things easier on me)

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Misunderstandings Are Born of Miscommunication by Fic_Request_Blog

Word count: 2210 Chapter count: 1

Or

The one where Kenobi is blind and no one remembers to tell the clones.

Everybody is different flavors of oblivious

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The Grace of Madness by LightningStarborne

Word count: 31008 Chapter count: 14

Based on this prompt:

Maybe Obi-Wan was tortured and captured on a early mission with Qui-Gon. Obi ends up acting like River(Firefly) by the time they are rescued/escape. The Council urges Qui-Gon to get a new apprentice because Obi-Wan will never be the way he was, they think he can't become a Jedi. Qui-Gon refuses, he believes Obi can still become a Jedi despite his mental instability.

Over the years Qui-Gon and Yoda are the only ones who can understand Obi and are both comfortable in his presence.

The Phantom Menace happens. Yoda approves Obi in training Anakin, the others on the Council disagree, but Yoda is da Boss.

How does Anakin do with Obi-Wan? Does Anakin still become Darth Vader?

NGL, it’s been a hot sec since I’ve read this one so I don’t have much to say, but it’s soooooo good

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PART ONE

#mads posts #Mads recs #Star Wars #Star Wars fic recs #Star Wars fic rec #fic rec

[write4tomorrow]

First Meeting

Word Count: 1891

Pairing: Sith!Obi-Wan Kenobi x Jedi Reader

Summary: Master Kenobi fell from the Jedi order many years ago, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t kept close tabs on the jedi order since. As Darth Dominus, he has furthered the separatists agenda for most of the clone war but recently his attention has been consumed by something else. During his extensive studying in his padawan days, Kenobi learned what a dyad in the force was, but he never imagined being half of a whole. Could he be? 

Genre: Angst / Fluff

The war will come to an end soon, you knew that. The Jedi would return to being true peacekeepers and your life would become one of meditation and order. There would be no more covert meetings and no more negotiations between the Jedi, senators and Separatists.

Now, however, you were crouched behind shipping containers on a large Separatist ship. The lights were off and every move you made seemed to echo in the vast room. 

“Hello there,” the darkness purred. You stayed still but cursed yourself for not realizing someone else was in the room with you. The words of Senator Riyo Chuchi came to mind in that moment: promise you’ll be careful. These people will not fight fairly. She spoke those words to you just as she climbed into an escape pod and left you. 

You were supposed to accompany Senator Chuchi to a meeting about a Separatist weapon on a planet near Naboo. During your journey, the senator’s ship was taken by Separatist forces. Pulled in by a tractor beam, you had limited options and even fewer odds for success. Fortunately, you were able to cause enough of a distraction for the senator and her party to evacuate via escape pod. During the distraction, though, you were forced to stay behind on the Separatist carrier. 

You had no chance of fighting your way out. Instead, you had chosen to search the carrier for a smaller, one person ship to make an escape. Everything seemed to be going well until you tripped an alarm in the bottom sectors of the ship. The droids had backed you into a large storage room with towering stacks of different goods that were being transported. There were large boxes of all sizes stored here, and you had no trouble in finding a place to hide. The room reminded you of a maze and you hoped that you would be able to make a clean escape. 

Still, despite everything, you knew that this is what you were best at. The Jedi were supposed to be peacekeepers, but you were an excellent soldier and general. 

“I can hear your heart beating from here,” a whispered voice surrounded you in the dark. Something sinister seemed to creep along the back of your robes. Your hand went to your saber, but you withheld from igniting it. 

“Little one, stop hiding and come out. I am the only thing standing between you and the droids on the other side of that wall,” the voice sounded coaxing, welcoming. You stood, keeping your back to the shipping container and one hand on your lightsaber hilt.

“Well, hello there, master y/f/n y/l/n,” the voice said. You felt the ghost of a voice against your ear. You almost leaned into the feeling but you were startled by the sound of a saber igniting, filling the space with red light. 

“I’ve waited quite some time to meet you. Master y/n,” the Sith in front of you crooned, “the holograms of you do not do you justice.” You recognized the man in front of you: fallen Jedi master and now poster boy for the Sith, Darth Dominus stood grinning before you. You’ve never encountered him in person, but you had seen countless holograms of him. In fact, you had watched practically every hologram of Darth Dominus that you could get your hands on. His fighting tactic was immaculate, his swordsmanship was impressive and his demeanor was perfect in the middle of a fight. Still, you knew there was something else about him that caught your interest. You couldn’t explain it but every time you heard his name or saw a projection of his face, a small feeling inside of you began to stir.  

You watched him now, trying to put the strange feeling in your chest to rest. He seemed to notice your internal struggle, and his smile only widened. His golden eyes reflected the red lightsaber in his hands. You lit your own saber and positioned yourself for a fight. Dominus only laughed. 

“Master Kenobi,” you chose to use his Jedi name in the hopes of rattling him, “I’m afraid I’ve lost senator Chuchi. If you let me go, I would be happy to go find her.” 

“This was never about the senator,” he began to slowly move towards you.  

“Oh no? You’re not scared the senator would find out about the separatists’ new weapon?” You watched Darth Dominus’ face as it took on a hungry quality. You recognized it as you’d seen it on your own face when you were feeling restless. You felt it when meditation and peace wouldn’t quell the part of you that enjoyed games of strategy. 

“Why would I want the senator when I could get my hands on the Jedi order’s most talented negotiator? The tireless general that never seems to rest in battle?” Dominus moved towards you at a leisurely stroll, not even raising his ignited saber. You tried to speak, but he held up his hand and continued. 

“I’ve been watching you for some time. Your actions on the battlefield have often left the Separatist army - my army - in pieces. I must say that even I am impressed.”

“That’s some high praise from a Sith. But I’m sorry to say, Master Kenobi, that you’ve left me wanting.” You made your move then. With a faint to your left and a sudden sprint to your right, you tried to move past the Sith lord before he trapped you. Dominus was quick, though. He made a lunge towards you, not with his saber but with his open hand. He reached towards you but his fingers only grazed the fabric of your shirt. With your back to the escape route, you turned on Dominus and brought your saber down in a wide swing. He was so close to you now that you could feel the buzz of his saber. 

He dodged your swing and used the force to shove you back several paces. You fell back as you tripped over some smaller boxes. Scrambling to your feet, you heard Dominus coming towards you.

“You will not win here,” Dominus used the force to push you back farther, forcing you to fall to the ground. “You’re in a foreign space, you’re practically blind as you fight in the dark and you can’t win against me.” You weren’t going to give up easily. You rolled to your side and began to swing your saber as you made your way towards the Sith. To your surprise, Dominus turned his saber off. 

You froze, unsure what was happening. The space around you was filled only with your saber’s light. You could see Dominus’ eyes appraise you as you stood ready for battle. 

“You are hungry for a fight, aren’t you little one?” He used your momentary confusion to lift you off your feet with the force. You cursed yourself and tried to fight against the weightless feeling, but it did nothing. 

“Why aren’t you fighting me? I won’t tell you anything and I won’t-” you were cut off as you felt pressure around your throat build. 

Dominus chuckled as he pulled you down, forcing you into a kneeling position. With a cry, he grabbed your hand that was still clutching your lightsaber. He squeezed until you let it fall from your grip. It hit the floor and Dominus picked it up and attached it to his own hip. 

“Now that we’re being sensible,” He got down on one knee before you. With his own lightsaber hilt, he tilted your chin up to look at him. You tried to struggle against the invisible weight holding you in place. 

“I’ll happily accept your surrender,” You hiss through your teeth. Dominus let out a laugh that filled the large room. 

“Anakin trained you well,” Dominus admitted, “But you aren’t like him, you aren’t like the Jedi. I’ve been watching you and I can see how much you live for this war.” 

“I’m not like you,” you answered. You could feel where this conversation was going. Perhaps, you enjoyed being in the middle of a fight, but that didn’t mean you wanted war. You didn’t want to be an agent of chaos like the fallen Jedi before you. 

“You would be so much happier if you accepted it, y/n.” He was looking at you now with something you didn’t recognize. Was it hope?

“I can’t be here-” You let out a breath, the words falling out of your mouth. Of course you couldn’t be here, with a Sith lord. He was the enemy. 

“You feel it too,” Dominus let out a laugh, he seemed almost relieved. He leaned back and looked at you. 

“If you let me go, Master Kenobi,” You began, but Dominus only smiled like he knew a joke you’d never understand. He leaned towards you and rested his palm against your cheek.

“Darling, I’m not forcing you to stay here.” At his words, you realize that there was nothing holding you to the ground. You froze, understanding the depth to which you were distracted. How long have you been able to stand? 

You stood and Dominus rose with you. His hand fell from your face, but he grabbed your arm instead. With almost no room between the two of you, Dominus’ breath mixed with yours. 

“You and I are destined to be together,” Dominus whispered. You felt his free hand move towards your waist, but it never quite connected. He seemed to be waiting on something, a response from you or perhaps an outright denial. You held yourself still but could not allow yourself to give in. Not yet. 

And to your dismay, Dominus nodded and lowered his hand. 

“There is a vent in the back corner of this room,” Dominus said, pulling away, “if you crawl through, take two left turns and a final right. You’ll find the escape pods.” You stared at him a moment longer before taking a step back, reeling. He took your lightsaber from his hip and tossed it to you. As you began to back away, you found yourself smiling.

“Don’t worry, Master Kenobi,” You said over your shoulder as you turned away, “I’ll make sure to keep your little loss here a secret. I wouldn’t want anyone to ruin your reputation.” 

“That’s some big talk, y/n. Next time we meet, I’ll put that pretty mouth of yours to work,” Dominus said as you left, “and, I like it when you call me Master.” You laughed as you found the vent Dominus was talking about. Your escape was smooth sailing thereafter. 

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

Later, as you sat on the escape pod, waiting for someone to pick up your distress call, you tried to meditate. You were shaken by your encounter with the Sith lord. Something small and otherwise strange inside of you had finally snapped into place. What was this feeling? 

You were pulled out of your meditation when you thought you heard something from the shadows of the escape pod. However, when you looked, you found nothing. There was no one on this pod with you. That didn’t stop you from thinking you saw someone from the corner of your eye. 

Next time you see Master Yoda, said a familiar voice in your head, ask him what a dyad in the force is. The voice echoed and then faded from your mind but you knew where it came from. You had heard that voice a million times over the holograms. You would know Darth Dominus anywhere. 

But what was worse was that you knew what a Force Dyad was. You had known for a long, long time. 

Part 2!

A/N: Um... so I love writing Sith!Obi-Wan? Anyway, thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! More to come later. 

#darth dominus #obi wan kenobi #obi-wa #obi-wan kenobi #obi wan #obi wan imagine #obi wan x reader #obi-wan kenobi x reader #obi-wan kenobi x you #star wars x you #star wars imagine #star wars x reader #sith!obi wan #Sith!obi wan x reader #sith!obi wan kenobi #sith au #sith!obi-wan kenobi

[hungrywhovianjedi]

Twin Moons

read also on my AO3 and my FF.net read the rest here prologue chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Premise of the story:  Obi-Wan never took Luke to Tatooine in fact they overshot the force forsaken dustball completely and instead Luke grew up on the planet Lothal being trained to become a Jedi like his father before him. Ezra Bridger is an orphan loner who only makes an exception to his solitude for one boy. The boy who helped him out when he was seven, and that Ezra always seems to get into trouble.

NOW FOR THE BIG REVEAL The cover of Twin Moons art is by the amazingly talented @sunflova​ 

He took it all back, when he said Luke was more like his mother he took it back, as he looked through the wreckage that was a speeder bike and tie fighter he admitted it. He raised another Anakin. Yet another Skywalker with a reckless streak that caused chaos wherever he went. This level of Reckless he hadn't seen in fifteen years!

He knew Luke was alive, despite his initial panic, he could still feel the steady if dull connection between them, and had felt the fear when Luke noticed he was starting to lose his sense of his mentor in the force.

More concerning was still the cold weight that had settled over Lothal, only that coldness made him glad Luke was not on this planet right now, a shadow had come to land on this planet, and it was better that Luke not encounter it. 

Feeling this darkness was like being pushed back in time, the worst night of his life. He was suddenly facing Anakin on Mustafar. He didn't know what brought him here, but Vader was on Lothal, and Ben was prepared for the worst. 

Although preferably he would avoid his former apprentice completely, and find a ship to follow Luke off the planet.  He knew the boy was frightened, could feel it in their bond. He sent a wordless reassurance through the force, and only hoped Luke would receive it. 

~~~~~~~

Anger burned through him, a red hot flame cutting through everything. The first thing he gets told upon landing is of incompetence. An entire shipment of arms lost to, as the reports and security footage said, two smugglers and children. He watched again the footage showed two young boys jumping a median on a stolen speeder. His eyes were drawn again to the boy driving a halo of golden hair, and a stern set to his mouth. There was something deeply familiar about the boy, but he couldn't place it. 

"Get me agent Kallus" He ordered, then after a moment of thought, "and bring me the sorry excuse of a commander that claims to be in charge of this battalion"

"Yes sir!" The trooper by the door saluted, and marched through the door. 

Stormtroopers, he sneered at the thought, he missed the Clones, he never had mishaps like this when he commanded the 501st. The Clones would have deftly handled the thieves, and he wouldn't have to get ISB involved. However the Clones were made dispensable, their advanced aging process taking its toll, and they were all but broken down shells now. They kept a few on to train legions of troopers, but otherwise they were dead or AWOL. One of these was his once Captain and Friend CT7567 Rex. He was disappointed when he heard that Rex's ship went down. 

To this day he still got the pang in his chest about the reality of that day. Ahsoka… Rex wasn't the only friend he lost then. 

"Good luck" the last words spoken between them,  he would never forget the pain of finding her saber in the wreckage of that venator, knowing that he inadvertently caused her demise. 

He clenched his fist, what was wrong with him? Why was he being haunted by the past of Anakin Skywalker after all these years, it was like something on this planet was pulling all of the things that he had buried to the surface. It all began with that presence, like a light in the darkness so much like Padmè it hurt. 

"My lord" the voice pulled the sith lord from his thoughts.

He turned to face the men who entered,  "Agent Kallus, Commander Arescko. It has been brought to my attention that the afternoon's fiasco, was in fact not the first of such disturbances to happen under your watchful eye, and yet these thieves, remain unapprehended" 

Arescko swallowed, visibly uncomfortable with facing Vader. "My Lord, these brigands knew our protocol, and were waiting in position" 

Vader folded his arms, "so it was your protocol to have a secured imperial comm unit stolen? Or was it your protocol that caused several casualties, and the loss of thousands of credits worth of stolen firepower? The fact is Commander, if you had been diligent in your duties these brigands would not have had the chance to ambush your troops. Reports across Lothal have spoken of this crew, and yet you did nothing to prepare your men for the inevitable attack"

The commander shook, trying to remain calm. He knew of Vader's reputation, and what usually happened to those who dissatisfied him. "I assure you my lord-"his words cut off sharply into choking gasps.

"I will not abide incompetence commander"

Kallus shifted uncomfortably as the commander's choked breathing faded, and Vader dropped the man to the ground. Kallus did not check if the man was still alive, he was certain that Vader would not have released him if that was the case. 

"Agent Kallus, do you know what these attacks suggest?"

"Yes My Lord. The Imperial security bureau pays attention to patterns, and this is shaping to form a spark of rebellion" he stood at attention, not wavering under the gaze of Darth Vader, "I assure you, since being deployed here, I have made preparations for the next strike these would be rebels make. I have set up a trap for them. We will crush this spark of rebellion"

"See that you do" Vader replied tersely, "and when you do, the boy on those tapes, bring him to me alive. There is something familiar about him"

Kallus saluted and walked out.

 ~~~~~~~

Space… they were in space, force knows how far away from Lothal, Luke could barely sense Ben in his mind, and it unnerved him. Ben was the constant in his life. Since as long as he remembered it was him and Ben. Going to the market, meditation training together, exploring the mountains of Lothal, training with his saber, each time Ben was there. His absence was like a cold dark spot in his mind. After watching the hyperspace jump, the man, who finally introduced himself as Kanan, had taken him to the cockpit where he met the pilot, Hera. 

He had to admit, he admired Hera's courage, facing down the Empire in an old freighter, and he was set slightly at ease when the Twilek told him they would be returning to Lothal as soon as she could calculate the next jump. 

"Let me go! You can't keep me here, take us back to Lothal!" Ezra bellowed as Zeb hauled him into the cockpit. 

Luke looked back to his friend and saw the noted relief the other boy showed. 

"Relax, that's exactly what we're doing" Hera's voice held an edge of humor.

Ezra looked panicked, "wait, now? With the Empire chasing us?"

Luke spoke up then, "it's okay Ez, she lost the fighters" he looked up at Hera, "she's an amazing pilot"

The woman seemed pleased with his praise, "like the kid said, we lost the fighters when we jumped and the ghost can scramble its signature so they can't track us when we return"

"Oh, that's pretty cool" Ezra looked stunned, but like always shook it off, and smirked, "alright, so just drop me, Luke and our blasters off outside of capital city"

The door slid open, Kanan and Sabine walking in

"They're not your blasters" Sabine stated, brushing past Ezra, shooting Luke a quick smile.

"And we're not going back to Capital City, jobs not done." Kanan finished. 

Luke bit his lip, Hera hadn't mentioned that they weren't being taken back home, "We're not?"

Hera shook her head, "we have a deadline to meet, then we'll get both of you back where you belong if that's still what you want"

Luke nodded, he really did, he missed his uncle, and he only hoped where they landed was close enough for him to reach Ben again. 

~~~~~~ 

Ezra was fuming, how dare these people refuse to bring them home! He didn't care about their job, he wanted his blasters so he could sell them on the black market and have a little cash to live off of, then there was the fact that Luke was acting weird. 

The blonde was usually so happy and talkative, he had barely said a word since they jumped onto this ship seeming almost fearful of the crew. 

Then there were these people they treated Luke like some lost little kid, and him? They treated him like a common Loth-rat he hated it. Ezra wanted to go home, wanted his best friend back, and never wanted to see this ship again!

He sat in one of the bucket seats in the cockpit, Luke in the other, legs pulled to his chest, head bowed and eyes closed. Ezra wondered if he was sleeping. 

"We're coming for a landing, you boys want to stretch your legs? We'll be here for a while" 

Ezra glanced again at Luke who hadn't even stirred, but he saw a smile on the other boy's face  that hadn't been there before. He always marveled at the way Luke could do that, just drop into total relaxation at the drop of a hat, he had seen the boy do it many times, at times it was almost like he was seeing nothing and everything at the same time. Ezra envied the ease with which Luke found peace, and sometimes wished he could be more like him. He knew he was brash and abrasive, but he couldn’t help it. Being the way he was, it was the only thing that allowed him to live on his own. It gave him the aura that kept people from messing with him. Be abrasive and they left you alone. It worked on everyone.

Everyone except Luke it seemed. 

~~~~~~

The force surrounded him, he gathered his fear and uncertainty and released it to the force. It took longer this time than usual to find his center and drop into a meditative trance, the alien sounds of the ship invading his thoughts. In the end, he latched onto the familiar. He reached out in the force and found Ezra, the other boys presence, a soothing balm. 

Luke breathed in, and out steadily, looking to lose himself in the force. Take his anger release it, his fear release it, his uncertainty release it. He took in a deep breath, and silently repeated the words Ben would tell him as the older man taught Luke to find his place in the force. 

Emotion, yet peace

He took the emotions that had been at war in him and pushed them away, they belonged to the force.

Ignorance, yet knowledge 

He released the questions that had been hounding him, force willing someday they would be answered, they also belonged to the force. 

Passion, yet serenity 

He pulled on the peace he found in the force, allowing it to swallow him whole, his passion now belonged to the force.

Chaos, yet harmony 

Chaos surrounded him, burning through Zeb and Ezra, Chopper the droid was certainly a character of chaos, but he wouldn't allow it to touch him, his chaos belonged to the force.

Death, yet the force 

Like many times he felt the caress of a woman's hand on his cheek, people didn't keep themselves in the force Ben said, but Luke knew he was wrong, in his meditation, he felt his mother, her hand on his skin, her voice in his ear. When he realized what it was, he sought also the touch of his father, but the force had stopped him, a black vortex before him, that threatened to swallow him. He turned from the vortex and released his mothers touch to the force. His life belonged to the force. 

Emotion, yet peace

Ignorance, yet knowledge 

Passion, yet serenity 

Chaos, yet harmony 

Death, yet the force 

This time like many as he moved through the force, he found a dormant tether, one that neither held taught nor hung loosely, it was formed much like his and Ben's, yet somehow deeper, he tried to follow it once when he was younger, but had only been shown a vision of a young girl looking around in a panic. He tried to speak through the tether once, like he did with Ben, only to be cut off from the bond completely with the force of a psychic scream. 

He once asked Ben, who told him it was a connection in the force that he was not yet meant to learn. Luke always wondered who the girl at the other end was, and why she never reached back, but after being cast out, he left it alone. 

Finally he reached for the bond that was always there and pulled lightly, almost crying with joy, when he was answered almost instantly. 

Luke! Where are you, what happened, are you safe?

I'm safe Ben, I'm in a ship heading back to Lothal, Ezra had a bad plan, we ended up getting chased by Stormtroopers the only way out was to jump on a ship with some smugglers, but I think they're okay…

We will talk about all of that soon, but for now I need you to promise me something Luke, stay where you are. If you are safe with these people, stay with them. Someone has come to Lothal, and it is safer for you to stay away from Capital City.

Ben, I don't understand, why wouldn't you want me to come home?

Luke. I promise, I will explain everything soon. For right now however, I need you to stay there. I will find you it is no longer safe here. 

Luke froze, and could feel a stab of ice into his heart, making him lose part of his grasp on the force. It almost felt like somehow someone was probing the bond. No not probing the bond almost consuming it a cold force that reminded him of the swirling darkness that surrounded the spot in the force his father should have been. It was terrifying he had never felt anything like it. The cold threatening to swallow him whole. It blanketed the force around them, and Luke almost pulled away, being calmed only when Ben once more spoke through their bond.

Calm down Luke, remember your training, the force will be with you, and no matter what or however far you stray I will be with you always

Ben I'm frightened 

The force has a plan for us Luke, and something tells me it doesn't end here. Remember Luke. I love you as though you are my own son, and I will see you soon, this I promise.

Luke was pulled from his meditation then, a rough hand on his shoulder

"Wake up kid, time to move, grab a crate, pull your weight" Zeb instructed, before he stomped out of the room. Luke looked outside and saw Lothal's twin moons shining through the front window of the ship.

#whovian writes #star wars ff #star wars rebels #star wars original trilogy #skybridger #Luke Skywalker #ezra bridger #kanan jarrus #Obi-Wan Kenobi #hera syndulla #sabine wren #garazeb orrelios #chopper the chaos droid #sunflova #my fic #fanart

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 7

Prompt: Poisoning

Read on AO3

A Toast to Diplomatic Dangers

It's difficult to enjoy a nice dinner when everyone at the table is hell-bent on killing you. Anakin isn't entirely sure how or why he and Obi-Wan are sitting here so casually when they figured out not ten minutes ago the dinner party they crashed was of Separatist synthesizers-- murderous ones, at that.

Obi-Wan tried to justify it by saying, "It's social propriety. They think we think they are still part of the Republic, and we just won't let them know otherwise."

It took a moment for Anakin to think through exactly what his former master had even said. "But what is the purpose?"

And then he got that look-- the mischievous eyes and trademark Kenobi wry smile that only ever means he has a plan Anakin won't like. Obi-Wan gives him so much trouble for his plans being reckless, but if only the old man would look in the mirror every once in a while. Sure, his plans can be physically demanding, sometimes dangerous, but Obi-Wan's... they rely on the smallest securities that often the Jedi Master has deduced on his own but hasn't yet shared with everyone else. He once heard Master Windu joke that they are the two extremes on the spectrum of chaos, and he is pretty sure that is the best way to describe it.

"Information, of course."

Fantastic. Risking our lives to satisfy Master Kenobi's curiosity.

Anakin wanted to remind him that 1. they are not shadows and not trained to spy and 2. he has a bad feeling about all of this, but they were escorted into the dinner party before he could make his points. So now they sit there, and it is painfully obvious nobody at the table is pleased with their presence. It's almost embarrassing for the senators how poorly they are containing their disdain for their Jedi guests-- how they got this far without being outed as Confederacy converts is laughable.

But his master persists-- chatting them up as though he is completely oblivious to their curt answers and blank stares. Anakin just sips on his

"... but I do think that last bill regulating hyperspace lanes was quite necessary, at least in the long run. Wouldn't you agree, Senator Zurros?"

"If we expect to be in this war for the next decade, maybe Master Jedi."

Obi-Wan folds his hands in front of him. "Apologies, I saw your name on the supporting document, so I assumed we shared sentiments."

The Falleen senator pauses, receiving looks from the others at the table. "Yes, well, I can have opinions differing... from what still... makes sense, you see."

"Of course, well you are much more acquainted with political processes and the practice of choosing loyalties than I," Obi-Wan says, looking as innocent as possible. Silence falls over the others, and the Jedi Master takes a sip of wine.

Anakin has to hold in a laugh. Obi-Wan is enjoying this far too much.

Serving droids enter the room with plates of the main course, thankfully breaking up the tension in the room. Anakin spies two of the senators on the far end whispering to one another, looking up at Obi-Wan and then to one of the droids. Anakin grimaces. It looks like he will be saving his master again, after all.

"Excuse me a moment," he says, standing up and bowing politely. He feels the stares as he walks off toward the hall, but ignores them.

Fresher? Obi-Wan inquires through their old training bond.

Following a lead. Don't eat.

Oh good. Anakin smiles and rolls his eyes. Even through the Force, where there is no tone, he can still feel the sarcasm. It's admittedly been a while since he's seen this side of his former master. Ever since the war, he's been a lot more serious. A lot more stringent. General Kenobi is a different man than the Master Kenobi Anakin grew up with. It's by necessity, he supposes. Obi-Wan isn't just another Jedi knight anymore. He is a council member, a high general. Sometimes Anakin envies the responsibility and trust the Order instills in him so naturally, but most of the time he is relieved to have eyes off him for once. But right now, General Kenobi isn't here. Master Kenobi is and it's nice to see. A little nostalgic in ways.

He gets out to the hall, but instead of going to the 'fresher, he turns the other way toward the kitchen. He has a feeling if he finds that droid he will also find some sort of command to poison their food or something. It would be enough evidence to arrest them for an attempted assassination, or at least expose them for being traitors. Anakin grimaces at the thought. He doesn't understand the games they play. Join the Confederacy or stay with the Republic, the war will decide who is more powerful. But playing both sides? He doesn't see the honor in being a womp rat.

Anakin knew the hallway was long, but he feels like he's been walking forever at this point. Or maybe the gravity wells have suddenly faltered, and he's walking uphill now.

But that wouldn't make sense. He would hear the crashing of dishes and the paintings on the wall would be tilted. He still has part of his attention on the dinner party and all is calm so far. Anakin wipes a bead of sweat away from his temple, realizing that his hair is clinging to the sheen of sweat across his forehead.

He stops. Blinks. The hallway is tilting, but he has a feeling it isn't a gravity problem. Uh oh, he thinks, and as his knees buckle he sends out a plea of help through their training bond.

__________

Obi-Wan is in the middle of subtly implying that one of the senators attended a particular political rally in the previous cycle when he is suddenly flooded with overwhelming feelings of queasiness, fatigue, and dizziness. He nearly drops his glass at the onset, and he immediately turns to his training bond with Anakin.

Obi-W...

Silence.

He's on his feet in an instant. The rest of the dinner party is staring at him, some with the first smiles he's seen all night, which is not at all comforting to him.

"What is it, Master Jedi?" Zurros says with a look that is far too satisfied to not be involved somehow. He bites back the urge to say a number of damning things about the scheming senator.

"I also will be right back," he says politely before eyeing the Falleen senator severely. Zurros's smile fades in an instant. "You can count on that."

Obi-Wan turns and walks quickly out of the dinner party room. He can feel the muted side of Anakin's bond, and he sends feelings of reassurance through it, though he knows his former padawan may not be able to feel them.

It doesn't take him long to find the young knight collapsed on the ground. Anakin only made it halfway down the hallway. Obi-Wan runs now, falling at his side and rolling him onto his back. Anakin's face is pale and clammy, his breathing concerningly shallow. Obi-Wan swallows hard, picking up his comm and sending the code for an immediate medevac and backup. He turns his attention back to his padawan.

"Anakin, wake up." he urges, trying to wake him. He reaches through the Force and plucks at his consciousness, assessing the extent of the damage. From what he can tell, it's a slower acting poison. It's possible even he has also ingested some and has yet to feel the effects. He picks up Anakin's hand and presses hard against his nail bed. He doesn't react. Possibly a paralytic agent as well...

He can already hear the pounding of trooper footsteps in the distance. Luckily they called for standby back up as soon as they learned of their villainous company. As some troopers with a stretcher come round the corner, Obi-Wan stands.

"General Skywalker has been poisoned by an unknown agent and needs immediate extraction and medical attention," He looks at the group of men led by Cody. "The rest of you are with me." Obi-Wan turns and Cody falls into step beside him.

"The situation, sir?"

"An assassination attempt has been made on a Skywalker. We have cause to hold the senators and their staff present and conduct an investigation into the perpetrator. Blasters to stun, unless deadly action is initiated."

"Yes, General," Cody pauses and then looks up at him. "Have you also been poisoned, sir, or only General Skywalker."

He smiles. Smart man, that Cody. He's picked up Obi-Wan's antics quickly. "If I have I haven't begun to feel the symptoms," he says, giving his commander a side-eye. "But after seeing Anakin's state, I will not be taking my chances on that."

He just doesn't like the medbay. It doesn't mean he has a deathwish, as much as some would like to believe.

They burst into the dinner party room, the senators jumping up in surprise at the Republic troopers that flood into the room with their blasters trained. Obi-Wan smiles, interlocking his hands behind his back.

"I hate to put a damper on our lovely dinner but it seems someone has soiled the wine," he announces, taking a little bit of enjoyment in the outrage on their faces.

"We are senators of the Republic, you can't do this!" Zurros yells as he is placed in cuffs.

"You are suspects of an attempted assassination now. I am implored to remind you of your right to silence, Senator Zurros. For all our sake."

More calls of protest, but Obi-Wan turns to leave the room. Cold sweat has begun to form on his brow, and he is quite determined to not give the medics the satisfaction of carrying him out on a stretcher.

__________

Anakin has a horrible headache when he wakes up. The medbay lighting is never kind, forcing him to slowly blink his way to adjusting to the light.

"He lives," a gentle voice rings out. Anakin rolls to his side, seeing the blurry form of his master sitting on the bed next to him.

"Barely," Anakin groans. "What happened?"

"Poison in your wine. A nasty, but fairly common type, luckily. Kix had an antidote on hand. Those senators weren't exactly criminal masterminds it turns out."

"I could've told you that."

Obi-Wan chuckles. "I'm sure you have many, "I told you so's," for me right now."

Anakin can hear the regret and guilt in his master's voice. It hadn't even occurred to Anakin that any of this would be Obi-Wan's fault, though he hadn't exactly been conscious to contemplate such an idea.

"Someone had to drop otherwise we wouldn't have had evidence to actually arrest them," he pauses. "We did arrest them, right?"

"They are in custody. Two have already confessed to knowing about the scheme."

"They requested immunity, then?"

"Oh of course they did. They're politicians, Anakin," his Master's dislike of politicians is always amusing to Anakin. He wonders what he'll think of Anakin marrying one when he eventually tells him. There will probably be jokes. Lots of jokes. "I still am sorry it had to be you, though."

"Are you kidding? If it was you who collapsed in the hallway I'm sure I would not have the same General Kenobi decorum with those kriffing senators."

Obi-Wan hums with amusement. "I suspect there would be a lot of waving around of your lightsaber."

"We've been over this, it's called aggressive negotiations, and it works."

"Amazing how they don't call you the Negotiator."

Anakin can feel the tension airing out between them as Obi-Wan's guilt fades away. It wouldn't be a mission of theirs if one of them didn't end up in the medbay, anyway... though from the IV in Obi-Wan's own arm, Anakin has a suspicion that he wasn't the only one to get a taste of poison. He decides not to point it out and ruin the mellow mood.

He'll bring it up another time, for sure. Ammo for later.

#febuwhump #febuwhumpday7 #poisoning #star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #wow look at me actually posting at a decent time #and not doing homework #but i digress

[elbiotipo]

Ok that was the sequels with the Disney Canon, But MY idea of the sequels would be actually an animated series about Luke’s Jedi Order, it would be basically a Jedi School series with fun adventures and both old and new characters. I know I previously ranted about how I hate both school settings and teenage protagonists but this is different because it’s Jedi School and it’s Star Wars.

So, for this I take what I like from the old canon, other things from the new canon, and drop other things, don’t expect much coherence.

Anyways it’s set about 15 or so years after the Battle of Endor. Things have gotten much better, you know how it goes, the New Republic has grown and the Imperial Remnant are just a fringe junta of all the weirdo warlords of the EU, Han and Leia get married, Lando is chancellor, and Luke marries Mara Jade, because she’s awesome, and rebuilds the Jedi Order.

Since the old method of “kidnapping children” is out for obvious reasons, the Jedi Order functions more like a boarding school or summer camp in Yavin IV. It is much smaller than the prequels order, composed of:

Old masters and survivors to Order 66, like Luke, Mara, Ahsoka, Ezra and a couple others, they try their best but they are ultimately quirky teachers

First generation jedi that were only recently trained like Finn and Rey and still have much to learn

And a whole bunch of Padawans from all ages, species, worlds and backgrounds

The series mostly follows Luke’s son Ben, who is a Very Good Kid with a little of a complex fromhaving such a successful father (and mother) who are praised all over the Galaxy. He’s quiet, shy and isn’t very good with a lightsaber but has a deep connection to the force. He’s friends/rivals with his older cousin Aldera Organa (Han took Leia’s name) who is LOUD, sarcastic, hotheaded, and while overall a good girl WILL cut you up with a lightsaber if given the chance. They’re friends with a pilot jedi padawan from an Andes/Inca inspired world (we haven’t seen that before in Star Wars), a huge Wookiee who plays football (as in the one with foot, not the yanqui version), and a Trandoshan mechanic girl (because they are always shown as villain characters, make them heroes for once). Together, They Fight Crime and we see how they slowly grow from just kids to heroes.

Luke Skywalker meanwhile, tries to be a good teacher. He wakes up every day, drinks his blue milk, and reads pedagogy textbooks to try to become a better teacher, but is very concerned that he’s just winging it all, after all he only got two weeks top of training with Obi-Wan and Yoda included. Everybody assures him it’s okay but he doesn’t believe them. Leia represents the Jedi back at Coruscant, Han trains the New Republic special forces (including New Republic Super Agents Poe Dameron and Rose Tico), Lando is the New Republic Chancellor, R2D2 and C3PO are the official Jedi academy groundskeeper and translator, respectively, and Chewie is just vibing and enjoying his retirement.

Ok, so everything is nice so far. Another year in the Academy starts, all the character meet, Luke and Mara have a parent-teachers reunion, etc. etc. he assures everyone the school is Perfectly Safe, just look at that Togruta lady she has TWO lightsabers isn’t she awesome?

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Galaxy, Han and his Superagents are in a shooting with some aliens who come from outside the Galaxy. They escape in their ship and are headed to the Jedi Academy, Han tries to warn them but the transmission is cut.

So first lessons in the Jedi Academy, Ben is dissapointed that he isn’t as good as a Jedi as the other kids despite being the son of Luke and you know normal school dramas but with lightsabers.

THEN the aliens land. They are like... Vong But Not Really, intergalactic invaders who are able to manipulate and even disconect someone from the Force temporarily, and they are physically very strong. They are a scout team sent ahead of the main fleet to test the strongest force users of the Galaxy and they aren’t very impressed.

They kidnap the children to study them but they escape using Home Alone traps unorthodox tactics. A battle ensues, awesome things happen, Mara blows up their ship so they hide in the jungle at night. The kids are lost in the jungle though, and the Vong close up on them one by one. Just as the leader grabs Ben and does his villain speech, a green lightsaber lights up in the darkness. It's Luke. He gives the Vong leader one chance to free them. The Vong nervously refuse.

Luke Skywalker goes fucking feral on them, Darth-Vader-In-Rogue-One Style, until they finally surrender and free the kids, and then he goes back into Quirky Master mode and asks them all if they are okay. They are, just now are fucking terrified for several reasons.

Nobody is seriously hurt and all the kidnappers are captured so they see little reason to suspend the academic year. They send the Vong prisoners to Coruscant, where Leia resolves to learn more about these invaders before the come, and so the main arc of the series starts, while they fight pirates, bounty hunter, imperial warlords, dark side spirits and all that weird EU stuff, they slowly investigate who the Vong are, what they want and try to prepare for the upcoming invasion.

Other *fun* things that happen include:

Thrawn, who was conspicously absent all this time (though Ezra escaped from him at some point), comes back from the Unknown Regions with his fleet and sees the bunch of jokers leading what remains of the “Empire”. He goes all art student mode and says “hhmmrmm... an empeire need sthe figuer of an empoerer”...

And eventually manuevers over the warlords and crowns himself emperor, and the New Republic has another headache to deal with.

The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda from hit live-action series “The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda Show” appear, he finally found the Jedi after aimlessly wandering the Galaxy, and tearfully entrusts Baby Yoda to them. It’s a babysitting episode where Baby Yoda makes pure CHAOS in the Jedi Academy and eventually the Jedi give him back to Din, telling him to raise him until he’s more mature, much to his delight

Luke organizes a friendly lightsaber tournament to test everybody’s abilities. Ahsoka, Ezra and the rest, who had more lightsaber training than “Obi-Wan teaching me to avoid a floating ball and Yoda making me pile up rocks” wipe the floor with him.

In the villain romance nobody asked for, Thrawn marries admiral Daala in a marriage for convenience and the Jedi are invited to the wedding omg!!! Of course, IT’S A TRAP and the new Imperial couple tell them to serve the rightful galactic goverment, that is, them. And so they crash the wedding instead, it would be hilarious

The kids are majorly concerned about Luke talking to force ghosts and Mara ocassionally repeating orders from a dead Palpatine, and they try to make them get a fucking vacation and therapy for once.

LIFE. DAY. SPECIAL.

Some dark side cultists cloned Palpatine but because he was raised differently in another world he’s just like, an accountant, who gets kidnapped for their dark rituals, and the Jedi have to spend a whole fleet to rescue Some Guy who doesn’t even understand what’s going on.

Of course eventually the Vong invade in full force and the Galaxy is under attack again, the Thrawn Empire has to decide if to follow an old dream of a Sith madman or help the New Republic, and everybody has Choices to make and Tragedy incoming but that’s way in the future to write.

It would be so much fun to have an Jedi Academy series because I’m sure Mark Hamill would LOVE to be casted, the old EU has so much cool things (and stupid crap) to write about, and you have so many characters to make plots and subplots for and make toys and spinoffsHEY DISNEY ARE YOU LISTENING YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WITH THIS YOU BASTARDS

#sw #star wars #cosas mias #long post

[ilonga]

Got some Avatar Au Questions! So I'm assuming mustafar deviates significantly from canon, but how do obi-wan and anakin sort things out? How do obi-wan and Ahsoka escape palpatine's purge? When Anakin joins up with the rebellion, what is the reunion like for obi-wan, anakin, & Ahsoka? (The last one might be spoilery, so I completely understand if you do not want to elaborate on it)

oooh these are questions I’m super excited to answer!!

ok, to start with answering these questions, let’s first explain how Order 66 goes down in this au. 

As I already mentioned, Palpatine has some sort of team up/deal with Vaatu that allows him quite a bit of control over the spirits, and he’s been using this power to orchestrate the spirit attacks starting with Maul so long ago. As the years passed, Palpatine increased the spirit attacks and the destruction and death they caused, and used this to gain more power himself and, eventually, create an army to fight them. At the end of the AOTC-adjacent era, he, despite Padme’s fighting against it (”We have had peace with the spirits, respected them, for centuries--we must find out why they are attacking, not escalate the conflict!”), creates the Grand Army of the Four Nations to fight back against the spirits in the first Spirit War in centuries. He then conscripts nonbenders into the army and places members of Raava’s Order, benders, at the head of various battalions. 

When it comes time for Order 66, Palpatine orders the spirits to posses various nonbenders and has them attack their Generals/Commanders with intent to kill, taking most of them by surprise. Similar to canon, most of the benders are slaughtered while some manage to escape. A lot of the nonbenders are then killed/disposed of, so Palpatine doesn’t have many people who know the truth in the way (and also, he can claim that the benders killed them in their quest for power and turn the public against them even more). In addition, for benders not in battles/in the temple, Palpatine sends the Inquisitors, firebenders that he’s kidnapped and trained in secret over the years. 

Ahsoka in this au (an airbender) is a bit like Jinora from Legend of Korra; she has a strong spiritual connection and connection to the spirit world. Because of this, she’s able to save herself and Obi-wan, and save some of the nonbenders from the spirits’ possession, such as Rex and some others. In the chaos, they get separated and don’t really have time to figure out what just happened, but they both know, to an extent, that Palpatine is behind this, and that most of Raava’s Order has just been slaughtered.

Then, Obi-wan learns that Anakin killed the avatar (Shaak Ti).  

He’s betrayed, and confused, and furious, and in complete shock. He’s also mentally not in a great place; he’s just seen his friends and comrades slaughtered in cold blood. He thinks that Anakin was in on the plan to wipe them out completely (Anakin, meanwhile, doesn’t know about Order 66 and doesn’t learn about it until he wakes up after the Mustafar-adjacent battle), and had been working with Palpatine (because why else would Anakin kill Shaak Ti? How could Anakin kill Shaak Ti?). 

So he goes to confront Anakin, and in a bit of a reverse of canon, Obi-wan’s the one who’s angry and on the offensive here, and initiates the fight. It’s worth noting that Anakin’s also not in a great place mentally; aside from having just killed the Avatar, he thinks his wife and unborn children were murdered because of the Order and that the Order he’s spent years fighting for has just been trying to gain power and suppress nonbenders all along (Pong Krell, anyone?). When Obi-wan attacks him, the conclusion he draws is “Oh no, he was in on the conspiracy too. He was in on the thing with Padme too.” because why else would Obi-wan be attacking him so viciously out of nowhere? So now they’re both sure they’ve been betrayed by the other, and they’re fighting. Usually, in a fight between benders, there’s some tradition, some honor. The swords, a big part of duels according to the traditions of the Order, are used. In this fight, none of that is used. Obi-wan forgoes them entirely; it’s a very much “how could you”, emotional, blunt force, unrefined kind of fight. Obi-wan blasts water, shards of ice, waves at Anakin, Anakin dodges, responds in turn with spurts and jets of fire. Both know each other’s techniques inside and out, obviously; it’s a very even fight. At one point Obi-wan yells something adjacent to his “you were my brother” line in canon, a “how could you betray me, us, like this?”, or a “how could you?”, smthing like that, and Anakin has a split second of distraction because what is Obi-wan talking about? What happened to the Order? 

Obi-wan takes advantage of this distraction and his next hit knocks Anakin unconscious; he then freezes Anakin in a massive block of ice. He flees, then, it all being too overwhelming. He can’t bring himself to strike any kind of killing blow. He doesn’t know, then or later, if he left Anakin there hoping he would die or hoping he would survive. Years pass and Obi-wan seriously regrets the fight, especially regrets that he never found out why Anakin sided with Palpatine, or killed Shaak Ti. He realizes that there must have been something he didn’t know, and wishes he hadn’t attacked him so rashly and had at least gotten answers.

As for Anakin, Palpatine’s lackeys find him hours or maybe even days after the fight, and get him out of the ice. The time spent in the ice leaves him with frostbite and he ends up having to get three limbs amputated (his right arm and both legs). It also leaves him with permanent tremors. He gets prosthetics, which he can power with a low level-lightning type technique, and armor and a helmet, which Palpatine forces him to wear. He’s forced to wear the armor for a couple reasons; to hide his identity as a former member of Raava’s Order and a beloved hero, to hide the tremors, which Palpatine views as a sign of visible weakness, and because Palpatine enjoys the feeling of owning Anakin and the armor is a way to mark that.

Anakin physically joining the Rebellion happens right after he tries to sacrifice himself in Palpatine’s throne room so that Luke can escape, and though he manages to take out all of the guards/inquisitors and hold off Palpatine for some time, he gets blasted with a hell of a lot of lightning and fully expects to die right there. Luke goes into the Avatar state and gets them both out, and is able to do enough healing so that Anakin survives the encounter. He gets them to the Rebellion and basically? Begs Obi-wan to heal Anakin. 

“I know he’s Vader, I know what he’s done to you, to the Order, but he sacrificed himself to rescue me and he’s dying, you have to help him--”

Obi-wan, of course, does, and has been living with his regrets and missing his little brother for so long that he probably would have done it without the begging anyways, at the very least so he can finally get answers from Anakin.

So Anakin is being slowly but surely healed by Obi-wan (it probably takes him months to recover tbh), and there’s plenty of angst because Obi-wan sees the extent of the injuries he caused and guilt, and because the first time Anakin wakes up--

Well, Anakin fully expected to die, right? And now he’s not dead which makes no sense, he was ready to die (and he wakes up and he thinks, even if I’m not dead now, I’ll be dead soon enough--either the lightning will do me in or Obi-wan will, if he had any sense he’d kill me--obviously he’s not mentally in a great place but being tortured and manipulated and slowly fighting back against the Firelord for years will do that to you), but it’s also good because he’s been Blue Spirit, a double agent, for years ever since Luke revealed himself to Anakin, and this means he has a chance to give the vital information he has on the Empire’s attack plans, ship schematics, etc. 

So the first time he wakes up, when he can finally get his eyes to focus, he gets Obi-wan’s attention and basically starts babbling about attack plans, schematics, weaknesses, etc etc. And Obi-wan’s like “no, wait, you’re still weak, you need to recover, go back to sleep--” and Anakin’s like “no time, you need this information before I die--” and a stressful time is had by all. The next time he wakes up, he’s a bit less all over the place and it slowly starts to sink in that he is going to survive after all, so the urgency dies down a bit. Obi-wan gets the full story of how Palpatine manipulated him, what happened that night, etc, and Anakin gets the full story of what exactly happened during Order 66, what actually happened to Padme, what happened to his kid (kids, he has two--major shock is had). Ahsoka is the one to tell him that Palpatine was controlling the spirits all along. 

He’s surprised, of course, but also somewhat resigned. The grandfatherly veneer of Palpatine has fallen further and further away as the years have passed and his true nature has been clearer and clearer; Anakin has known for a long time that Palpatine is not the good guy (hence his personal rebellion).

Ahsoka, like in canon, manages most of the intelligence networks of the Rebellion in this au. So she’s been getting and processing Blue Spirit’s messages for years, and when she realizes it’s Anakin--well, lots of emotions all around.

Obi-wan and Anakin do mend their relationship, as do Anakin and Ahsoka. Some of the kids Anakin saved over the years are at the Rebellion and recognize him--this also helps things along. And his information as Blue Spirit has saved many lives. 

Obi-wan has been Luke’s waterbending teacher for a while, and Ahsoka has been his airbending/spirit world teacher, so eventually Anakin does take his place as Luke’s (and Leia’s!) firebending teacher.

Thanks for these asks and sorry for making the response so long!! Honestly I think I’ve been hoping for these questions, I’ve been wanting to talk about how this goes down forever :) 

shorter summary: Obi-wan encounters Anakin just after Order 66 occurred and Anakin’s killed Shaak Ti. Believing Anakin to have been in on Palpatine’s plan all along and having betrayed them all, he attacks and initiates the fight in something of a reverse of canon. Anakin, seeing Obi-wan attacking him, comes to the conclusion that Obi-wan must have been part of the Order’s conspiracy (that Palpatine has convinced him of), which he would have never believed of him but why else would Obi-wan be attacking him like this? Neither of them are in a particularly good state of mind or particularly mentally sound during the fight. Obi-wan knocks him out and freezes him in ice, then flees. Palpatine finds Anakin a sizable amount of time later, and Anakin is left with three amputated limbs (which he gets prosthetics for) and permanent tremors (which the Vader armor hides). 

Obi-wan and Ahsoa escape the purge because Ahsoka has a spiritual connection akin to Jinora’s in LOK, and is able to purge the spirits from some of the army such as Rex. In the chaos, the two are separated.

Obi-wan and Anakin reunite first, when Luke brings Anakin back to the Rebellion severely injured from the confrontation with Palpatine. He begs Obi-wan to heal him and Obi-wan agrees. It takes some time for Anakin to move past the fact that he’s not dead, but eventually, he and Obi-wan communicate, they both get the full story of what happened twenty years ago, and their relationship starts to mend. It’s faster once Obi-wan and the Rebellion realize that Darth Vader and Blue Spirit (the Imperial double agent whose information had saved so many) are one and the same. Same with Ahsoka, although it’s a quicker fix for her and Anakin’s relationship since she only found out about his actions secondhand, from Obi-wan, and it makes so much more sense once he gets his side of the story, and because she’s the one who’s been processing his info as Blue Spirit. 

hope you liked!!

#star wars/avatar au #star wars/avatar crossover #star wars/avatar au asks #star wars fanfiction #my writing #anon asks #star wars #avatar the last airbender #anakin skywalker #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #damn even my tl;dr was too long #this whole damn thing is so long #guess I really had a lot of details I wanted to share huh #sorry anon! #hope you liked it anyways #:)

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2020: Day 4

Films: 3 Best Film of the Day(s): MLK/FBI

76 Days: Hao Wu, realizing very early on that the early medical reaction to the Coronavirus in Wuhan was something worth capturing, begins his of-the-moment doc, where else but the emergency ward of a Wuhan hospital. Staff members, dressed head-to-toe in protective gear, including hazmat suits, masks, screens, and goggles, frantically try to keep order as sick patients literally bang on the door from the cold, packed waiting room. Once inside the ward, they are quickly dispatched to the only available beds and immediately intubated, the flow of patients either leaving under their own power or being sent to the morgue. Alarms go off, people’s phones bleat and go unanswered. Wu, also using footage from Shanghai, with similarly dire imagery, switches out from the frantic hospital wards long enough to show the Wuhan in total shutdown, the streets and bridges devoid of cars, pedestrians or any sense of life at all. If you squint your eyes a bit, it could seem like a found-footage zombie horror flick. Standing with a population of 7.9 million  —  only half a million people smaller than New York  —  to see Wuhan brought to a complete standstill is to grasp the enormity of this calamity, and the idiocy of countries who were unprepared for such a disaster. The footage tends towards the splintered  —  beyond a couple of key figures whom we see more than once, the closest we come to a narrative arc is watching one sickened “grandpa” (as all elderly men are called) with dementia, in the beginning wandering around the ward helplessly, sobbing in his bed at his suffering, only to recover and be let out some weeks later  —  but what it lacks in cohesiveness, it makes up for in immediacy. What does come out from the footage is how caring the staff is with their patients, even against impossible numbers, and working beyond exhaustion, they take the time to care properly for the citizens under their supervision, giving them pep talks, holding phones so family members can communicate with them, brightening their days as much as feasibly possible. Fittingly, the film ends with a scene as one of the nurses draws the miserable job of calling family members to inform them of the death of their loved ones. “My condolences” she says, over and over, suffering from the limitations of language to express such exhausted grief.

Violation: A film that shoots for disturbingly provocative, but hits blurry stridency, Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s fractured rape-revenge story has a lot to say, but can’t quite find the right mechanics to pull it off. Mood and atmosphere, it is not lacking in at least: From the opening credits, blurry font laid over blurred background, to the continued use of the natural world  —  albeit mostly repped by wolves/rabbits and spiders/flies that, shall we say, doesn’t leave much to the imagination, analogy-wise  —  and the time-fractured nature of the narrative, the film has a sense of complexity that its characters can’t sustain. We are at a sweet vacation house somewhere in the pine woods of upstate New York, where British sisters, Miriam (Sims-Fewer) and Greta (Anna Maguire) are reunited after a sizable absence from one another. Miriam has arrived with her unhappy husband, Caleb (Obi Abili), from London, to meet with Greta and her more affable husband, Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe), a friend of Miriam’s since their days in high school together (it was through her that he and Greta first met). Into that happy sort of setting, the two couples trying to enjoy a weekend together, there are scenes from one time in the future or other (at first, unclear), with a much more haunted seeming Miriam conspiring some kind of psycho-sexual caper involving Dylan back at the house, and from there, a scene further out still, in which a sad and bedraggled Greta, upset with Miriam over something, is expecting a large group of people at the same vacation house. Eventually, we piece together that Dylan raped Miriam that first weekend, and her revenge is what comes at us from the near future. Only the rape itself is weirdly muted, and comes out of seeming nowhere, given their long-standing (and unbroken) friendship from earlier. The early scenes of relative happiness between the principals are actually good enough that the characters’ respective turns towards dark and twisted don’t feel like the same people, or the same relationships at all, which divides the movie further into sections that don’t seem terribly connected. Along the way, we get a graphic amount of (male) nudity, lots of painstakingly blood-letting violence, and many, many scenes of now-crazed Miriam sobbing, and heaving, and breaking down over and over, at a creeping pace. We get the point: the politics of sisterhood, rape, and revenge, and the manner in which our deepest convictions can be challenged by the wrong set of circumstances, but despite the filmmakers’ earnestness and care, the film doesn’t hang together the way it needs to for the impact it wants to have.

MLK/FBI: That J. Edgar Hoover’s largely unregulated FBI turned its considerable sights on Martin Luther King Jr. and the rise of the civil rights movement can’t be surprising to anyone familiar with the director’s abhorrence of people he deemed rebel rousers, or chaos-agents, but the actual stated reason for his paranoia on the subject, featured in this doc from Sam Pollard, tells a more interesting story. The success of King’s movement, highlighted by the wildly successful march on Washington in 1963 (an event after which MLK was deemed “the most dangerous negro” in the country by the FBI, whom they would have to “destroy”) spurred further investigation by the bureau, and what they found was even more troubling to Hoover. Amongst King’s immediate group of advisors was an outspoken Jewish civil-rights lawyer named Stanley Levison, who had been and almost certainly remained a member of the American Communist Party, the single greatest threat Hoover perceived against the “American way of life” (ie. “white”). Inflamed by the fear that the Communists were influencing King to lead his peaceful revolution towards social equality for the Reds, Hoover went all in on wiretapping and live-recording King, such that they amassed an enormous amount of material, including the knowledge that the married Baptist minister and father of four was also a serial-cheater, having affairs with more than 40 women Hoover’s G-men documented (nevermind that the sitting president, JFK, was known as an equally philandering playboy, and was protected at every turn). As King’s agency and influence became more widespread, the only thing holding Hoover back from releasing this information to discredit the Black leader was King’s strong relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson, the signer of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, after JFK’s assassination. When, some years later, King finally followed his conscience, and spoke out against the Vietnam War, an act of bravery even many of his fellow civil rights crusaders refused to go with, severing his relationship with LBJ in the process, Hoover finally had the opening he needed to put his long-held plan to work. Working primarily with historian David Garrow, along with interview commentary from members of King’s inner circle, including Andrew Young and Clarence B. Jones, and featuring many recently declassified materials from the FBI’s own files, Pollard paints a vivid portrait of the political machinations of men with tremendous power, navigating difficult waters, and the cost of speaking out your conscience. Perhaps, best summed up by notorious former FBI head James Comey, who calls this period of time, “the darkest era in the bureau’s history.”

In a year of bizarre happenings, and altered realities, TIFF has shifted its gears to a significantly paired down virtual festival. Thus, U.S. film critics are regulated to watching the international offerings from our own living room couches.

#sweet smell of success #ssos #piers marchant #films #movies #tiff2020 #toronto international film festival #mlk/fbi #martin luther king #j. edgar hoover #FBI #violation #rape #revenge #Madeleine Sims-Fewer #dusty Mancinelli’ #76 days #coronavirus #wuhan #emergency rooms #hao wu #pandemic

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars: Best Darth Maul Moments from The Clone Wars and Beyond

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This Star Wars article contains spoilers.

Since his debut in The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul has demanded the attention of Star Wars fans everywhere. In 1999, Maul looked unlike any villain that had come before in the saga, and the movie’s high-energy lightsaber duel is still one of the most memorable parts of the Prequel Trilogy. It’s unfortunate, then, that Maul was originally created by George Lucas as a one-off character, present only to re-establish the threat of the Sith. 

But you can’t keep a good character down. Maul returned in The Clone Wars season 4 to introduce even more chaos to the galaxy. Infamously unkillable, his obsession with killing Obi-Wan Kenobi and reuniting with Palpatine kept him going for much of the galactic conflict and well after the rise of the Empire.

Maul has been a Sith apprentice, a ranting hermit, and a powerful crime lord throughout his strange and storied life. Maul failed to become a Sith Master, as Palpatine tossed him to the side once his role in Anakin Skywalker’s story was over, but Maul never stopped trying to clamber to the top. As you’ll see in The Clone Wars season 7 and the Rebels animated series, Maul will fight until the very end to get what he wants.

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As we say goodbye once again to one of Star Wars‘ greatest villains, let’s take a look back at the former Sith’s best moments from The Clone Wars, Rebels, the comics, and beyond.

Duel of the Fates

The Phantom Menace is not a perfect movie, but the two-on-one lightsaber duel in the third act is a great example of the kind of action and physical storytelling that makes Star Wars such an effective and enduring movie franchise. Maul is a nearly voiceless demon dogging the heels of the good guys for most of the film, his powers obscured until he finally reveals himself on Naboo. For the audience watching this duel on the big screen, this was the first chance to see a full-fledged Jedi of legend dueling a Sith Lord.

Actor Ray Park was hired primarily for his ability to do the stunts and fight work. Choreographed by Nick Gillard, the lightsaber fight was acrobatic and wide-ranging, mixing in more melee than had been possible in the Original Trilogy. The climactic duel also introduced the double-bladed lightsaber to the Star Wars galaxy. The weapon and the character would be inseparable in fans’ minds for years to come.

Maul’s Return

How do you revive a character who has been cut in half? Just as in the world of comic books, Star Wars offers plenty of options. Since the Original Trilogy, Star Wars has made it common practice to rebuild mortally wounded and horribly mutilated villains, shaping them into a whole new threat. In 2012, The Clone Wars confirmed that there was more to Maul’s story than The Phantom Menace. Season 4 episode “Brothers” opens with the horror movie atmosphere of the scrapyard on planet Lotho Minor, where Maul has been living since his defeat on Naboo.

He fashions himself a new, arachnid-like body out of trash, and it fits the frightening philosophy of the Sith as well as Maul’s gruesome fate. Spider legs twitch and stab, allowing Maul to climb around his trash-filled cave. Maul has become a hybrid of person and machine, human and animal. He doesn’t keep the spider legs for long, only for a few episodes, but it’s one of the most dramatic changes to his look, and a frightening new possibility when it comes to what cyborgs in Star Wars can become. Spider Maul will haunt your dreams.

Rematch with Obi-Wan 

Obi-Wan Kenobi is skeptical when he hears Maul is back from the dead. But their confrontation is certainly real. After his surprise return in “Brothers,” Maul beelines for Obi-Wan in the next episode, suitably titled “Revenge.” This is the first chance to see the Sith’s rebuilt legs in action. It also shows Maul’s ruthlessness, as he destroys an innocent settlement just to draw Obi-Wan to his location. With the help of Savage Opress, his newfound brother, Maul captures Obi-Wan and kicks off a couple of action-heavy episodes that re-establishes Maul as a force to be reckoned with.

The Shadow Collective

Try as he might, Maul can’t get back into Sidious’ good graces, so he throws the Star Wars villain version of a tantrum: he forms a gang. With the help of the Mandalorians, he goes on a killing spree in season 5 to take out rival criminal organizations in the name of his new Shadow Collective. It’s a sequence of slaughters where there are no good guys.

Maul uses his Force powers, intimidation, and overwhelming force to destroy or intimidate the Black Sun gang, the Pyke gang, and the Hutts, including Jabba himself, into joining him. Maul is back on top.

Taking Over Mandalore  

After recruiting a group of rogue Mandalorian warriors known as Death Watch to his side, Maul has bigger ambitions: to take over the entire planet of Mandalore. In season 5’s “The Lawless,” he slaughters the planet’s reigning leader, Duchess Satine Kryze, as well as the leader of Death Watch, and claims the symbolic weapon of Mandalore, the Darksaber, for himself.

It’s a visually striking episode, with much of the action set inside the Mandalorian throne room. The Darksaber is also the perfect example of silly Star Wars lore taken to the extreme. It also, somehow, works, even when it returns in live-action in The Mandalorian. 

Duel Against Darth Sidious 

Much of Maul’s story in The Clone Wars is about a student who wants to return to the teacher who discarded him. But Sidious isn’t going to accept him back so easily. “The Lawless” also features a duel between three dark side users: Maul, Darth Sidious, and Savage. This is a three-way clash of red lightsabers, ranging up and down the edifices of Mandalore. It’s one of many examples of The Clone Wars‘ elevated Star Wars action, and it’s one of the series’ most exciting sequences.

There are no good guys here, but someone has to win: Sidious kills Savage and defeats Maul, sparing his former apprentice so that he may feel the sting of rejection for the rest of his life. This is the reunion Star Wars fans had been waiting for since Maul’s return and it goes about how you’d expect.

Facing Grievous 

The Son of Dathomir comic was adapted from unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars, so it’s closely linked to the events on Mandalore. It also features the entire rogues’ gallery of Prequel era villains, pitting Maul, Sidious, Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Mother Talzin against one another. The fight between Maul and Grievous, in particular, is the stuff of fantasy “What If” scenarios and it’s a visual delight, even if it happens off-screen. 

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The Siege of Mandalore

One of the most hotly-anticipated conflicts of The Clone Wars did not disappoint. The Siege of Mandalore, which shows how the Republic took the Mandalorian homeworld back from Maul, features a lightsaber duel between the former Sith and ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano. Though both have left their old orders behind, they bring all the acrobatics and Force powers one could want from a Star Wars fight.

This duel in Mandalore’s throne room and high above its capital city is an amazing use of setting, as Maul and Ahsoka climb up the rafters of one of Mandalore’s domed cities and balance themselves on thin beams. The fight also feels mythic, the two characters’ viewpoints clashing as much as their lightsabers. 

The episode “The Phantom Apprentice,” in particular, shows that, despite being banished from the Sith, Maul is still one step ahead of the Jedi in terms of Palpatine’s grand plan. In fact, Maul instigates the Republic invasion in order to lure Anakin to the planet and stop him from becoming Sidious’ new apprentice — something he’s already seen in a vision before the Jedi even begin to suspect that Palpatine might be an agent of the dark side.

Maul’s Solo Cameo

Solo: A Star Wars Story spends plenty of time with the galaxy’s underworld. Throughout the movie, Han Solo and Qi’Ra tangle with rogues, thieves, smugglers, con men, and drifters, all leading to a big standoff with Dryden Vos, the leader of criminal organization Crimson Dawn. But Vos isn’t the true villain pulling the strings of the movie.

A big reveal is left for the end: Maul has been in charge of the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn all this time, manipulating others the way Palpatine manipulated him. Maul doesn’t do a lot in Solo, appearing just for a few minutes to make Qi’Ra his new lieutenant, but he does ignite his lightsaber, showing he’s a step above most of the enemies the group has faced so far by virtue of his Sith legacy. 

Maul’s Epic Death

Even though it seemed like he could survive anything, Maul had to die eventually. Luckily, the team behind Star Wars Rebels knew how to make Maul’s ending something truly amazing.

Maul has spent decades seeking revenge against his old Jedi enemy, while Obi-Wan has gone into hiding to protect Luke Skywalker, finding peace and coming to terms with the tragedy in his own life. The episode “Twin Suns” shows the final confrontation between Maul and Obi-Wan.

Although not a true adaptation, “Twin Suns” is loosely inspired by “Old Wounds,” a non-canon comic from the speculative comic series Visionaries. That comic, which was written and drawn by Aaron McBride, is also a great Maul moment unto itself, with a vivid lightsaber battle and the threat of Maul possibly discovering a very young Luke Skywalker. It gets to the heart of why Maul works as a frightening villain: a demonic-looking Sith with the drive to keep hunting you, even if you cut him in half. 

“Twin Suns” chooses to go a more contemplative route than “Old Wounds.” While the basic setup is the same (Maul finds an older Obi-Wan on Tatooine), the lightsaber duel isn’t the focus in “Twin Suns.” Instead, one of the best Maul moments is actually an Obi-Wan moment. Their lightsaber duel is just one move, both of them considering their options but it’s Obi-Wan who actually finds the inner strength to carry it out.

In the end, Obi-Wan kills Maul, but also shows him pity, telling a truth that comforts both of them: Luke Skywalker, the one to bring balance to the Force, is still alive. Obi-Wan has escaped the cycle of revenge and ambition Maul has been stuck in his entire life, and he’s closer to the Force for it. It’s also a stunning farewell fit for a fan-favorite character like Maul.

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[irish-urn]

The MCUC - Iron Man

Alright. So me and @cracklepopme are participating in what I’m calling the MCU Challenge (or, as @cracklepopme (who shall henceforth be named “Crackle”) called it, The MCUC), which is that thing the internet posted about watching one MCU movie a week to bring us to Infinity Wars (see here). And, since it is me, I have made notes, especially considering how they flow together and thematic elements of characters and movie arcs. And so:

Week One of The MCUC: Iron Man

First, I think it’s important for me to explain how I was introduced to the MCU, which was with this movie... 8? years ago... So I guess 2009. My high school had Spirit Week (if I remember correctly), and we went to see Iron Man as part of it. I had never heard of it, and so I asked my friends if they knew what it was about. And one of my acquaintances (because I don’t really consider him a friend) told me it was about an engineer who built a suit.

...In hindsight, he wasn’t wrong, but still. I went in with extremely low expectations, and came out with a heart full of excitement. And I have been hooked on the MCU ever since.

So! Iron Man. WHAT A GREAT MOVIE and what an excellent way to introduce us to the MCU, which, I think does an amazing job of trying to make superheroes real to us. And starting it off with a “civilian” in a war-zone, for me at least, always gave me a sense of reality even with all the... “outlandish and fantastic” (to quote Tony Stark) of their world. Something that will probably come up again when we reach The Avengers, is how I have always appreciated their efforts to make these heroes *human*. They get tired, they have flaws, they aren’t perfect, but they are always trying and always moving forward. And I think Tony Stark is perhaps the best example of this: because he is so imperfect but keeps trying and trying and trying.

Thoughts during the movie:

Why does Rhodey call Tony a mentor? What the hell has Tony mentored him? I want backstory and explanation, especially since the rest of the movie is mostly Rhodey trying to wrangle Tony. Honestly, Rhodes, were you just being kind for the award?

Forward to the torture scene, where Tony hears Pepper call his name. “You’re all I have, you know.” I mean, you see it in every one of their interactions, their honest care and affection for each other, but Pepper calling Tony by his name (and how often has she called him Tony at this point? What has he done before to warrant her calling him in this way?) at his lowest point really drives it home. Pepper asks Tony to keep going, even if it’s just the Pepper Potts in his mind, and so he does. Man, like. That’s love there, you guys.

Yinsen: so much more sarcastic and challenging then I remember him being. I always thought of him as being soft-spoken and gentle, and while he is certainly gentle at heart, he is no pushover. He is constantly challenging Tony -- if not always mentally (although he certainly holds his own there), then morally and ethically. He questions Tony’s motives, his purpose, his rationale -- which is exactly what Tony needs to survive in this environment!! It’s also a push out of his comfort level -- and I mean that from an emotional and moral standpoint -- and makes him think.

There are also very clear parallels between Tony/Yinsen and Steve/Erskine. Both older men challenge the younger to rise to another level by seeing the potential in these men -- Tony is a moral rising whereas Steve is more of a physical rising -- but both heroes spend the rest of the movie (and arguably, their arc so far in the MCU) trying to be the men that their mentors have challenged them to be. “Don’t waste it; don’t waste your life,” Yinsen tells Tony; and so Tony will spend the rest of making sure it’s a life worth living. That he leaves a legacy worth remembering.

(”Legacy; what is a legacy?” Lin Manuel-Miranda asks us in Hamilton; and it’s for sure something Tony struggles with over and over and over again.)

OFF TOPIC: But that scene where the Ten Rings are watching Yinsen and Tony in the workshop making Iron Man Mach 1 and trying to figure out what they’re doing is my favourite scene in the whole movie. I laugh every time.

I also can’t believe that Tony was in those caves for 3 months. I wanna know what he and Yinsen were doing for that whole time. Honestly, I would have believed they were there for a couple of weeks; they did not do a good job marking time passing. That’s all.

Gentle, gentle Yinsen: even when he runs out with a blaring gun to buy Tony time, he still refuses to kill anyone. Poor, gentle, strong Yinsen.

“Thank you for saving me.” -- How many times before this has Tony said thank you? I doubt he’s said it often...

RHODEY’S FACE WHEN HE FINDS TONY is so so soft. I also appreciate how Rhodey, Pepper, and even Obadiah (even if he is awful) know that the best way to comfort Tony is to tease him. Make sure he knows -- especially Rhodey and Pepper -- that their friendship hasn’t changed while he was gone, that things can continue on as they always have, that their love for him and the way they express that affection has not changed and will be constant.

“Cheeseburger first.” Bless you, Tony Stark.

COULSON. I FORGOT ABOUT COULSON. Like, there are so many things I realize that they used this movie for, including testing to see if the MCU would work while setting up the MCU. They did a marvellous job of balancing the two.

When Pepper is changing the arc reactor in Tony’s chest and asks what to do with the old one, and Tony waves his hand and says it’s “irrelevant.” For some reason that just hit something with me. The dismissal -- was it real or put on? For someone with so much focus and passion, where did Tony learn dismissal from?

Anybody else wonder if Sam Wilson ever went on that air force tour that Colonel James Rhodes does? Because I can see it happening.

LET’S TALK ABOUT RHODEY FOR A SECOND: Rhodey, who believes in the US government and their military, that they are doing the right thing, and that questioning their authority is wrong. I was watching him and going, ‘Rhodey. Dude. How can you not question them?’ and got super flashbacks to Civil War (which is hilarious because one came out in 2009 and the other in 2016), when he doesn’t fight the Accords. He says something about the government knowing what to do; and it’s this... blind faith and honest trust in them that is so weird to me. Rhodey’s faith in his government is probably what everyone expected from Captain America (and I am so sorry for all the Cap meta, but I expect I’ll be bouncing between them all as I go), and they got Steve Rogers instead: “This isn’t freedom; this is fear.” Whereas Rhodey trusts his government. There’s something very honourable about that even as it doesn’t sit well with us, because, well, if there’s one thing the MCU has taught us, it’s that governments and monarchies are made up of people and people have flaws and ulterior motives. 

Tony’s workshop is a true gesture of love and a real delight. Bless the minds behind it.

Iron Man/Tony Stark themes: Legacy and responsibility. It’s something that comes up over and over again -- legacy especially in regards to Howard Stark, and responsibility in regards to Stark Industries. Tony wants to make his father proud and leave an honourable legacy, but keeps finding how gray the world really is -- and there’s something almost naive about Tony, and how he slowly learns that things are far more complex than a machine is -- and he is trying to learn responsibility, but he hasn’t been taught it. He’s still struggling with that in Civil War ( and although I haven’t seen it yet, I suspect in Spiderman: Homecoming as well).

JARVIS: “What was I thinking? You’re usually so austere.” and “A brilliant observation, Sir.”

“Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.” MY HEART.

HE HAS SCRIBBLED EQUATIONS ON HIS IRON MAN HELMET. It’s such a simple touch, but oh my gosh so so so fitting.

Pepper is a true gem, even when she is awkward and hopeful and buzzed and unsure.

I’m like 90% Obadiah Stane was HYDRA. Look: it fits. His mindset with weaponry and selling under the table and double dealing is so HYDRA -- giving weapons to certain parties in order to keep up the chaos and bring in the money -- just... Wow.

Pepper is actually the worst spy. I hope Natasha gave her lessons afterwards.

When Tony is struggling to get to his workshop and his heartbeat gets more and more erratic in the background... Good touch.

I know there are issues with Coulson in Agents of SHIELD, but he is A+ in this movie. The whole way he blows up the door is total mild-mannered competency and I am here for it.

Pepper Potts can run in heels. That makes her a true hero in my books.

Rhodey was given one job (”Keep the skies clear.”) and he did it well. Good job, Rhodey. We salute you.

“You made your father proud.” WOW OBI. HOW RUDE. As if the only way Tony can ever measure up to Howard is to be a mercenary of death. RUDE.

The final fight: How did Tony survive and Obadiah did not? Solution according to my sister (who watched the last quarter with us): “Tony’s a good guy and Stane is a bad guy. That’s it.”

Crackle adds: “Plot armour is stronger than anything Obadiah can build.

Pepper’s response to Tony’s “do you ever think about that night?” is pure gold. Excellent job. He still has some work to do, and it’s good that he knows it.

“Outlandish... and fantastic.” “Laundry lists of character flaws.” -- HE WANTS TO BE A HERO SO BAD. HE WANTS TO DO RIGHT AND BE BETTER and so he sees the chance and grabs it with both hands. Will it be hard? Yes. I don’t think he has any idea of how hard. But he knows “in [his] heart that it’s the right thing to do” and that’s beautiful.

ANYWAYS. Iron Man is excellent and Tony is so imperfect but still so lovely because he tries so so so hard. And he keeps trying. He wants to protect people -- and while that may be from a place of fear, it is also from a source of care and love for people and his world, and that’s a beautiful thing. It’s a scary and dangerous way to care for people, to fear for them, but it’s better than not caring at all.

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK WHEN WE WATCH IRON MAN 2.

#cracklepopme #MCUChallenge #Iron Man #tony stark #pepper potts: she can run in heels #rhodey

[neilkleid]

Those who know me well have an inclination for just how much I enjoy Stephen King’s epic novel series, The Dark Tower. I’ve been re-reading the seven book cycle once every other year since I first dug in back in high school, and every journey through always reveals something I hadn’t noticed before. In fact, I even spent most of a year as Marvel.com’s “Dark Tower correspondent”, reporting on and writing articles about the comic book adaptations of Roland Deschain’s epic quest to reach the Red Fields of None and lay his tarnished guns at the foot of the Tower. I got to attend a midnight release of Dark Tower: Treachery, chat with writer Peter David, and even was able to interview Robin Furth, the comics’ co-writer, author of the Dark Tower Concordance and King’s right-hand woman in all things Mid-World (I think they included the interview in the Treachery collection).

So you can imagine my excitement when I learned Roland’s quest would be translated to film this summer—even more so when I stumbled along the shooting location in DUMBO, Brooklyn last year with my family. I’ve been waiting for a Dark Tower movie for years and have followed the rollercoaster journey the novels have taken to finally reach the silver screen.

Now, as many know the movie came out today and hasn’t received what I’d call a sterling reception. In fact, on opening night it had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 19% (how appropriate, Constant Readers, but it’s gone down since). But still, I went into it with somewhat lowered expectations this morning hoping that at the very least, I’d find it a welcome distraction.

And, I’ll be honest: that’s exactly what I got. I’ll do my best to lay out my thoughts but it might be hard without avoiding overt spoilers.

Look, is The Dark Tower a faithful adaptation of even one of the books? Not at all. At best, I’d call the final film a summer action movie with a “Dark Tower skin” laid on top. It hints at pieces and parts of the mythos, almost dabbling in King’s books, but it’s exactly as advertised in the final credits: “Based on the novels by Stephen King.” Sure, they say its a sequel to the books and shouldn’t be viewed as a direct adaptation. But it departs so far from the core of what the cycle is and about, that I don’t even think I can consider it that. As a big-budget, popcorn movie on it’s own? Sure, if they hadn’t called it “The Dark Tower” and put this out as it’s own thing…it would have been a diverting action film with a predictable, surface story but a welcome distraction for 95 minutes.

But a Dark Tower movie? Like I saiid: it dabbles. And here, Constant Readers, be SPOILERS.

The Dark Tower cycle of novels are about survival and legacy, and finding the face of your father. Now that last bit isn’t so much a mantra or catchphrase as much as about (for Roland) remembering whom you are, where you come from and what family is all about and (for Jake, Eddie, Susannah and Oy) finding your place in the world with the people you love. Sure, it’s slightly about revenge, mostly about determination but at it’s core the books are about one man’s dogged journey to reach the object of his quest: the Tower, to stand at it’s base, feel it’s stones and reach the top.

The movie is about none of that. In fact, it’s strange that a movie titled The Dark Tower barely even spends time devoted to the Tower itself. The word “rose” is never mentioned, even during the New York scenes, and the paper-thin plot spends much of it’s time focused on the enmity between Roland and Walter. Even Walter’s evil plan to bring down the Tower feels tacked on. There is no depth to anyone’s motives, no immersion in any one place (I would have liked a bit more exposure to Mid-World, it’s language and culture, give me a feel for the place as I get from the Wizarding World in the Potter films). In fact, you really never spend much time anywhere other than Jake’s room and so the impressions you get from what should have been King’s rich, immersive and fantastical world are fleeting and barely register. The Dixie Pig, the Devar-Toi, what I assume to be a Manni village…none of it lets you live within it’s walls and so everyplace in this movie — like the plot details — feels surface, like you don’t have to care.

The key things that hit me as I watched were the following:

This is Jake’s story, not Roland’s. We begin with Jake, we focus more on his family than the novels ever did, and Roland acts as Obi-Wan Kenobi to the kid’s Luke. We get none of Roland’s history, nor do we get any real connection to his quest other than needing revenge before Walter ends the world. While Roland’s devotion to the Tower in the books isn’t as noble as we’d like it to be, we feel strongly enough about it that we want to see it with him to the end. It isn’t petty, it isn't one note as his quest to kill Walter is in the film. And we’re more concerned about Jake throughout than we are Roland, who seems to be near invulnerable. But even Jake’s story is weak; we learn very little about why Walter and the Taheen want him, and a bit more exposition about the Devar-Toi, the Breakers and the reason why they’re all there would have been welcome.

Let’s talk about McConaughey as Walter for a minute. The thing about the Man in Black in the books is, yes, he’s a quasi-immortal, enigmatic sorcerer who can travel to multiple worlds (by the way—I would have killed for someone to have spoken the line “Go, then. There are other worlds than these.” No one does). And, yes, he has magical abilities and the means to bedevil heroes in any number of realities. But he isn’t an action movie villain. He isn’t cold and calculating. The man is mad, and every incarnation across King's books reveals that. He isn’t serious or stoic or as stony as McConaughey plays him here, and I miss that about the character. He’s…boring. And that’s a huge misstep I believe for such a Puck-like agent of chaos. While I do think Idris Elba had to deal with a difficult script, he at least made Roland as nearly recognizable as the gunslinger is in the novels. But Walter felt way off and I think the movie could have felt a bit more joy if McConaughey had chosen to go in that direction—even if it was homicidal joy.

The filmmakers also wasted time on moments that felt wholly unnecessary other than to make us believe Walter was an evil son of a bitch. There’s a small throwaway scene where he passes a happy little girl sharing ice cream with her Mom, mutters “hate,” and suddenly the girl gets the angry eyes. We never see the payoff there; there’s absolutely no reason for it other than to see “hey, this guy’s magic and can make people hate other people.” Who cares? The same can be said for the characters of Timmy, Jake’s only friend, and the quick flirtation Jake has with a girl in the Manni village. Neither character brings anything to the table, story-wise, and I wonder if their removal would have made the film that much stronger—though even shorter, if that’s possible—in the long run. The quick dream sequence to show us the house in Dutch Hill also slipped in the novels’ iconic opening sentence (“the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed”) but the classic line had no place at that moment, and its inclusion robbed it of it’s power, to me. Exiting those extra moments and characters and perhaps spending less time showing us Stephen King easter eggs throughout the film, and more immersing us into Roland’s quest, and maybe even providing some character names (I picked up Richard P. Sayre but did you know that Pimli was in there? And according to IMDB, the Taheen woman at Walter’s side was Tirana, a rat nurse from the books), explaining who the hell the Crimson King was (I imagine they were leaving that for the sequels, which now may never come) would have made the film a bit more compelling and feeling less of a one-note mashup of Dark Tower Greatest Hits.

Look, did I hate the movie? Do I believe it deserves 19% and scathing reviews? No. It was still fun, and I did smile at the “greatest hits” moments scattered throughout despite myself. Neither the beginning nor the ending were the one’s I’d choose, but once I embraced the fact that this was Roland’s story as seen through the eyes of a child (Jake) and would not offer the depth the novels can, I went along with it. Sure, I had my issues (no rose, ka, or tet; and the portals were based on the science fiction of the doors in book VII than the simple ghost wood doors that populate most of the books). But, as I said, it was a welcome distraction. I imagine someone will take another stab at it, as they have IT, even if it’s on my TV screen as a series with more room for narrative, exposition and world-building…as it probably should have been from the first. I spent 95 minutes watching and listening to characters and about artifacts from a books series that I loved. In the end, I’m hardly disappointed.

Besides; I can always re-read the books.

#movies #dark tower #stephen king #roland deschain #walter o'dim #randall flagg #jake chambers

[kyberled]

✖ Tell us about your worst defeat!

Asks for the warriors among us! || Accepting

“As long as you promise not to use it against me.” He’s trying to make light of it, but it’s clear that this memory does not sit well with him in the way he fidgets, shifting his weight from foot to foot and tugging on his scarf, and in the way he tips his head back to look at the ceiling before he speaks.

“It was a long time ago. Way back when I was still a junior padawan,” he forces a grin, fingering the red bead at the end of his braid, but the expression doesn’t reach his eyes. “It was one of those that was supposed to be easy, you know? The ones that most of us probably roll our eyes at at least internally, ‘cause it’s pretty much just dealing with politicians, and- I’d rather be fighting, or helping with relief missions, than sitting around in some cushy office listening to some pompous sleemo patting themselves on the back for calling us there in the first place for a few hours…” He no longer tries to look casual.

“’Course, it didn’t work like that for this mission. I can’t-” He pushes his hands through his hair. “I can’t pinpoint when, exactly, it went wrong, because it was a gradual thing, a lot of subterfuge and little things that I didn’t pay proper consideration to, and it all- built up, I guess.”

“I don’t know if you ever met Finch, but, he was a soldier, one of the troopers. He liked root-beer soda, playing sabaac on his off-time, card tricks, knock-knock jokes, and classical music,” his face shifts to a fond smile, but it’s weighed down by an old, dusty sort of grief. “But, he’d never admit that in front of his brothers. He was one of the friendlier, more outspoken of the bunch, and I think he was one of the first of the men who I really got to know, and made friends with, aside from, well, Cody… Anyway, Gramps and Cody were off doing something less diplomatic on the other end of the city, I can’t remember what, uhm…” He fumbles his journal out from his robes, and flips absentmindedly through it, as though about to look up the relevant entry, but he doesn’t look at any of the pages long enough to read what’s written on them, and quickly stows the book away again without finding what he’d been searching for.

“We were only supposed to be talking to the politician in the capitol. … I can’t even remember his name any more, it was Something-Oros, or maybe Oro-something, or, Force, I don’t know, it was years ago, but we were pretty much just there for show. I mean, yeah, there were reports of a few Separatist agents there, but only two of them, and they weren’t high ranking, and our intel all said that they were on the outskirts of the city, where Gramps and Cody were, so we didn’t really expect… We were only there as a contingency, really. There were local authorities and guards, and the politician– He was a prime minister, so, the Prime Minister had a bunker he could run to, like a, like ah– A panic room, one of those, but he still wanted a Jedi escort until the Seps were locked up. … I remember some of the men were joking about how they could’ve brought their datawork with them, and gotten all caught up. We didn’t expect anything to happen…” He exhales softly, and runs his hand through his hair again, though it’s all still neatly pushed back.

“I’ve forgotten so much about that day, but I still remember the conversation I had with Finch like it was just a few minutes ago. I’d just commed Obi-Wan for an update on his status, and he told us he was fine, that everything was going mostly according to plan. It was just taking a bit longer to find the last one - ‘Dug himself into quite a hole’, I believe was how my master put it. So, I decided to kill time by going to see the men, checked in on a couple of them and went along the rounds ‘til I came to where Finch had put himself on watch. He looked up when I came over and he said ‘Evening, Commander,’ and I said ‘Hello, Finch’, and he waved me over, so I sat down next to him. … He asked me, ah- ‘How’s everything on the south side looking?’, and I said ‘Same as always’, and he said ‘Yeah, sounds about right’. And we were sitting on the terrace, looking out at the city, and he said, ‘Have you ever shot a blaster before, sir?’ and I said ‘no’, and he held his gun up and said ‘would you like to?’ and I– Well, I was taken aback, and I said, ‘Here?’ He chuckled and said ‘well, maybe not now, but when we get off this rock, we’ll find a range, and I’ll make a proper marksman out of you, IF-’” Here, Braig holds up his hand, as though making the sudden demand himself, “'You teach me how to use a lightsaber.” The fond smile is back, and he appears to be staring off at some distant point on the floor. “And I said, ‘Finch, I can’t teach you how to use a lightsaber, I don’t think that’s allowed’, and he shrugged and said ‘lightsaber, sword, staff, very long stick, anything like that. I just want something I can poke Gauge with when he’s working.’” He prods his finger in the air a few times, mimicking the movements of his friend from so long ago.

“So I thought for a moment and decided that was fair, so I nodded, and he held out his hand, and I thought he was going for a handshake, so that’s what I was about to do, but as soon as I held my hand out he did this really weird– I guess it was still technically a handshake, but it was more like two highfives, and a fist bump, and–” He shook his head, covering his eyes with his right hand helplessly as his left almost automatically plays through the motions. It’s obvious that he’s thought about this a lot, but even then his hand fumbles over the finer details of the gesture.

“Again, I was really confused,” he says, once more folding his hands behind his back. “And he thought that was funny, and he looked out over the city again and started whistling - he did that a lot, told me once that’s why he was named after a bird - and I thought I might be bothering him, and that I should just let him get back to work. As I turned to leave, he called over to me and asked me how training was going, so I stopped and told him it was busy, but otherwise going okay, and he nodded and said that was good; Then, he paused, and put his hand up to the side of his helmet like he was trying to get a better read on his comm, and he said, ‘What’s that, Tiptop?’ And, I think he said something else, but there was this- tugging, on the Force, so I went to see what was causing it and then it was like- It was like reality turned into one big thunderclap. And of course now I know it was an explosion, but, you’ve been hit by one, before, you know it’s not always easy to think clearly after getting hit by one of those…” He shifts his weight onto his back leg, huffing out a breath as he looks skyward.

“I remember sitting up, but to this day I have no recollection of actually hitting the ground. I remember sitting up, and my vision was all blurry and my ears were ringing, and everything tasted all dusty, and I remember looking over to Finch and thinking, ‘is he dead?’ But, when I started getting up to go check on him, he sat up and put his hand on his helmet and said a bunch of words I’ve been told never to repeat, and this is where things start to get blurry again. He said something, I don’t remember what, and there was a lot of traffic over the comms - Like, a lot. Couldn’t get a word in edgewise, so, I just let them talk, for the most part. At one point, I gave the order to make sure the Prime Minister was secure, and another, when it had calmed down a bit, I asked what had happened, but for the most part I was more concerned with helping Finch, getting to some cover, and, of course, trying to figure out what just happened. We went down to the floor where the men had said the explosion had gone off, and there was this massive, charred hole in the wall. One other thing I remember pretty vividly is looking out through the hole, and seeing the city sprawling out before us, with its main road running straight out in front, and the sky got dark for a second before this swarm of vulture droids swooped down, and I only had a second to wonder what had happened to the men we’d had in the air before- Well, you’ve seen enough vultures to know what they do, so we had to get guys up on the guns, both on the ground and up on the terraces– I wasn’t so sure that was the best idea, since the building might collapse and it wasn’t the safest for them, but we needed to get rid of those vultures and that’s where the turrets were, so… … And of course there were a bunch of us on the ground, and that’s where I was, ‘cause, wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I get down there, the streets start flooding with droids, mostly B1s and B2s, the standard fare, but there were a few rollers and stuff, too, just coming out of a bunch of random buildings and marching down the street, shooting anything that moved. And there was screaming and smoke and the general chaos of a fresh battle, and I wanted to get the civilians out of there, but we only had so many men, and we had to keep the Prime Minister safe, so… I told the men to worry about drawing fire away from the civvies, and doing whatever they could to help with the evac efforts. Hell, I know we had our job written out for us in block letters, but, the Prime Minister was in a secure bunker, with his own guards, and there were men still in the building, and…” He shakes his head, even as he chews on his lower lip. “Those people, they had nothing. Nothing between them and the droid armies. There was no way I could leave them there and say ‘Oh, I was just doing my duty as a Jedi!’ … Most of the men, when I told them to draw fire and help the civvies escape, responded with the best tactics they could, really applying their training, but, Gauge - the one Finch was talking about pestering - he translated it as ‘make as big a nuisance of yourself as you can’. He was up on a speeder at one point– I don’t even know whose it was, but it wasn’t one of ours– Yelling a bunch of insults I’ve also been told never to repeat, throwing ‘poppers everywhere and shooting like he’d overdone it on the stims, and- Well, it worked for him.” He smiles, a faint chuckle breaching the wistful tone he’s taken on. “I’ve never seen a bunch of clankers look so baffled in my life. … ‘Course, then they started shooting at him, but he jumped behind a building and held out for a while.” He sighed, then looked up, even as his hands tugged on the ends of his sleeves - making eye contact for the first time since the story started.

“You would’ve liked him. Gauge, I mean.” He’s trying his best to seem casual, but the grief buried behind the guise is evident. “He was a bit of a fireball, but he had a good heart. He was a good man– They all were. Everyone who was on the ground with me– Loudmouth, Gauge, Tiptop, Skid, CallSign, Downslide, Aran, Ranger, Jackpot, and West. Those were the ones on the ground with me at the time… Only remember that because I wrote it down after we got back to the Temple, but I think there might’ve been a few others… Wasn’t exactly thinking too clearly for a while after. They were all really skilled soldiers, and I was grateful to have them with me– We all did the best we could, but, there were only a few of us against all those droids, and they’d taken us by surprise, and–” He covers his mouth, shakes his head, swallows.

“Things– Things got really bad.” His voice is hoarse, here, tripping and stumbling until it finally breaks over the last syllable. But, breathe in, breathe out, a cleared throat, and hands returned to being folded behind his back as he resumed speaking as though nothing had happened. 

“I thought for sure I was never gonna get off that planet. I mean, I don’t even know how long I’d been fighting, but we were grossly outnumbered and most of the men had been cut down by that point and I’ll admit, I was tired. Another thing I remember from that fight was this B2 bearing down on me, and before either of us could do anything - me or the droid - there was a hand on my shoulder and there was Finch, pulling me back and putting a bolt between the scrap-heap’s optical sensors. I hadn’t even sensed him coming up behind me - I guess I’d been too focused on the fighting, which- is, of course, something else you should never do in a battle. Anyway, Finch and I found some cover behind some kind of rubble, and we had this talk- The gist of it was more or less, ‘is everyone else dead?’, ‘Yes they are, Finch’, ‘Well, this is a pretty bad situation, sir’, ‘Yes it is, Finch’, and then trying to stay alive until Obi-Wan and Cody got there. I don’t know when we called them to request back-up, or if it had been some of the guys on the turrets, or if Gramps called us first, or how that information got through. I just know at some point, we got confirmation that the others were on their way. So, it was a waiting game, and we were pretty sure we were gonna lose regardless, but we wanted to stall for as long as we could.”

“We actually held out a long time. The waves of vultures had thinned out by then, so, every now and again we’d get a bit of support from the turrets, when they could spare the time and bolts. It helped, for a bit, and all the chaos meant plenty of things to hide behind or throw with the Force… We had a few other men come out at one point, but, there hadn’t been a lot of us there to begin with. Like I said, we expected the Seps to be somewhere on the outskirts, not right under our feet. And, Finch was in pretty bad shape from that explosion, and I think his ribs were at the very least bruised, so doing a lot of acrobatics and dodging and whatnot was out of the question for him. But we were- We were fine, until…” His voice staggers again, and he stammers over the last word. 

“– A tank. They brought out a kriffing tank. I have no idea where they got it from, how they got it onto that planet, or how they did anything, but they did it, and- and they did it pretty thoroughly. It was one of the first times I’d ever really been honestly pinned down like that before, and I remember just thinking to myself that it’d be a shame if I died, ‘cause, I still had a few chapters left in the datapad I was reading… I dunno about you, but, whenever it seems like I’ve finally used up all my time, I always gets the most mundane thoughts in my head.” He chuckles, softly, but it’s a frail sound, and he rubs the heels of his hands on his eyes as he sniffs once.

“I don’t remember how we got so far away from the main compound, I– I really don’t. We just were, and there was no clear path back, but there was also no way we’d get close enough to that tank with just the two of us… Finch knew it as well as I did, I think. We got to the mutual decision that the only thing we could do was run, and hope that the Force was kind to us. ‘Specially when the tank started shooting, and it was like Chaos itself had opened up and started hurling its worst at us… We figured, we’d die anyway, so we might as well make it a headache for them. … If droids can get headaches.” He shrugs, and though it might have been an attempt at humour it’s relayed in a distant, flat voice. He’s not trying to keep up the cheery facade any more.

“We ran, best we could, through the droids and the rubble and the bodies. And I remember the Force flared up behind me and I thought to myself that it was a shame I had to drag Finch into this mess, too, and he yelled something and I couldn’t hear what and then he tackled me to the ground, and there was this loud blast and a wave of heat and a bit of light that I could see, even squashed under Finch and with my eyes shut… And my ears were killing me, but right before they popped, I heard the start of this noise– Like, ah, like a stack of wet paper tearing, and this sort of crunching noise, and something metallic, like big scissors opening or a weapon being drawn really fast, and slurping and– A-a lot of different sounds, all at once. And there was something dripping all around me, but I couldn’t tell what it was– Think I hit my head when Finch took me down, ‘cause everything was muddled and dazed for a bit– So I thought it might be oil from all the broken droids, and stuff… I dunno how long I was stuck there, but I do remember that, all of a sudden, there were shouting voices and blaster fire and footsteps… I finally managed to get out from under Finch, and I didn’t have much time to wonder why he hadn’t moved, if the others were here, ‘cause before I could blink Obi-Wan had me by the shoulders and was asking if I was okay, looking like he’d just seen the Senate building explode or something, and I kept telling him yes, I’m fine, just tired, and I couldn’t figure out why he was so frantic, until he lifted his hand to touch my face and his hand was bright red. I knew it wasn’t his, ‘cause aside from a few scratches, he was fine, and I didn’t think it was mine, but I looked down and– And I was pretty much dripping with blood. And it wasn’t mine. I looked to Finch, and– Well. Ah. Half of him– Not, like, this half–” He draws his hand around his waist. “But, like– Vertically, so– His back was a while away, and–” He shudders, wrapping his arms tightly around himself and shaking his head. 

“I mean, I guess, technically, it’s not a defeat, ‘cause we won the battle, but– I lost. It wasn’t me who won.” He sighs, shrugs, and tries to force a smile again.

“Anyway, I’m gonna be late for meditation, so I’m off to the gardens. … See you around, ‘Soka.” 

He leaves without another word. 

#he was thirteen for this battle by the way. just putting this out there #blood // #death // #body horror // #gore // #violence // #long post // #fighting // #unsanitary // #ask to tag // #shrugs #iamnojedi #&& as best i can; answers #&& best foot forward; ic #&& far far away; drabbles #&& brave new worlds; padawan