i need less "happy, fluffy cinnamon roll" luke skywalker and more "raised in the ass-end of nowhere with spiders 4ft across who used to shoot rats the size of saint bernards for fun, who at 19 killed one million people in a single shot and just happens to be really optimistic for a guy who is a guerilla fighter and a space revolutionary"
let me take you on a little journey:
luke skywalker is public enemy number one, with a bounty on his head that's astronomical, who took down the deadliest weapon the galaxy's ever seen in a single shot he fired on gut instinct listening to the advice of a ghost with his eyes closed. in one shot he took the rebellion from a sprawling network of small resistances to engaging in all-out war with the empire. he wears the lightsaber and the last name of a murdered jedi traitor, uses a banned weapon and believes in a banned religion and accompanying psychic powers that children are either slaughtered or indoctrinated into a cult for having. yesterday he'd never flown in space before and a day later he's the commander of a squadron, and he flies like a natural.
in the span of a few days after the death star is blown to smithereens, taking out a massive portion of the empire's top brass, the scariest guy in the empire - seven feet of murder and death where if he steps on a battlefield the only advice anyone can give you is run and pray he doesn't find you - calls on a moratorium of Hunting The Pilot Who Destroyed The Death Star. the scariest motherfucker in town decides that he wants luke skywalker's head on a pike, and bans anyone else from getting it. in the span of a week it looks like luke skywalker made a mortal enemy in the cyborg that hell spat out because he was too evil to contain.
and it's THAT guy who earnestly thinks this scrappy little rebellion's got a shot. it's that, this immensely weird motherfucker from seemingly nowhere, that tells you, genuinely, with his own mouth, "we can do it if we help each other and never give up :)" and he sounds like an inspirational poster on the wall of the guidance counselor's office. but you watch him wave the antique weapon the empire wants to pack him off to a firing squad for having, and you're like, well, if this guy can believe it, maybe anyone can.
Luke Skywalker is inherently a madman who somehow gained the ability to make the universe reconsider its choices whenever he seems to be about to face consequences for attempting the impossible. An absolutely insane motherfucker who decided that hope and love would be enough to save the day, and you know what?
He was vindicated.
And honestly? That's the best part of his character.
