          the tragedy of anakin skywalker (x)
#no but really#why wasnât anakin a crechemaster#why did they let him major in stabbing?#star wars#queue (tags @cadesama)
OH GOD NO BUT THAT WOULD BE PERFECT. how did the jedi not think of that?
what is anakinâs biggest weakness? attachments.
you know who needs lots of attachment? babies. small children.
anakin should not have been made to study murder: he should have been put in charge of Small Things. He would have bonded with all of them instantly, and it would have given his life Meaning and Purpose.
Heâd bond with the kids, but heâd be able to move on because they are Bigger now and they have to go to the Big Kid Class but he still sees them around all the time, and it finally teaches him how to let go of his attachments??? Heâd find a kid that heâs particularly fond of and go to Obi-Wan and say âI have found your newest padawan.â
this could have fixed so. many. things. ;_____;
Heh, and Anakin would keep picking Obi-Wanâs padawans for him, and it would be annoying but damn if he wasnât right every single time.
BUT CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE HOW ANNOYED PALPATINE WOULD BE his life would be never-ending string of trying to get a hold of Anakin (I mean, would Anakin give him a time of day if he can spend it with small kids who absolutely adore him instead?)
he keeps comming over the years, but itâs always like
BEEP
âAnakin, my boy, we havenât seen each other in a whileââ
âIâm sorry, Chancellor, nowâs not the best time. Iâm tutoring a class.â
BEEP
âMy dear boy, I wonder if we could meet for a chatââ
âWell, it canât be this week, weâre going to Ilum, but maybe laterâŚâ
BEEP
âAnakin, Iâd like toââ
âIâm terribly sorry, Chancellor,â Obi-Wan Kenobi answers. The apologetic tone might be just a tad exaggerated. âAnakin is on a trip with younglings, he mustâve left his comlink behind accidentally.â
BEEP
âYouâve reached Anakin Skywalkerâs private comlink. Leave the message after the tone.â
BEEP
âItâs such a shame that Council doesnât consider sending you on this campaign, considering the lightsaber skills you demonstrated when I was last visiting the Temple, Anakin.â
âThank you, Chancellor, but this is precisely why I need to stay behind. In fact just the last week, the Masters decided I should take over some advanced lightsaber classes, considering senior Padawans accompanying their Masters on the frontlines need the training. I might take the Bear Clan along, make it a learning opportunity for the young onesââ
Palpatine closes his eyes slowly. He knows this from experience; Anakin wonât let himself be budged from the topic of little monsters for at least another half an hour.
BEEP
âAh, Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin left his comlink behind again, heâs in classââ
BEEP
âAnakin, I hoped youââ
âOh! Chancellor,â the voice on the other end is distinctly female, and Palpatine recognizes it after a second. Kenobiâs second Padawan. He barely restrains the urge to gnash his teeth. âUm, SkygâI mean, Master Skywalker canât pick up now. I can tell him you called? Itâs just that he was helping me with forms, and he forgot his comlink, and heâs probably already in crècheâŚâ
BEEP
Then thereâs that one time when an actual youngling picks up the call. The less said about his reaction to that incident, the better.
BEEP
ââfortunately, they were all right in the end. But in my opinion, this should never happened in the first place, Chancellor.â
Palpatine snaps awake. Was that⌠was that anger? Finally, the hours of listening to worthless drivel about Jedi younglings paid off.
âMy boy, I absolutely agree,â he begins slyly, but before he can continue, Anakin steamrolls on.
âI think Jedi Order is too deeply entwined in the conflict! I honestly donât think even senior Padawans should be anywhere near battles, not to mention in command of GAR, but now even younglings are acceptable targets for Separatists and pirates! Master Yoda and I were talking about this lately, andââ
Palpatine swallows a scream of rage with some difficulty.
BEEP
âForgot his comlink again, Master Skywalker has. With younglings, he is.â
Slaughtering younglings moved to the top on the list of things Darth Sidious will do after taking over galaxy some time ago.
this post keeps getting better and better
More please! Tagging @systlin, @beautifultoastdream and @karama9
That is what the Council would have done if they were smart. Seriously. Hereâs Yoda saying Anakin should not be taught because he senses too much fear in him, and itâs fear for the people he cares about, something everyone present realizes fully because when it comes to his own safety, Anakin couldnât be more reckless. Then Qui Gon announces heâs training him anyway, someone points out he might fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the Force, and nobody, NOBODY, thinks that MAYBE giving him a job thatâs more about caring than killing might be an idea. Nope. Okay, weâre training him, letâs foster the loose canon aspect of his personalities, make him a war general and keep pushing him into vicious battles to the death. Sounds perfect for his mental health. The Jedi Council were a bunch of idiots with their head so far up their own asses even a lightsaber shoved up there to the hilt would not provide them enough light to see further than their own noses.
I think I got lost somewhere in this metaphor. You get the point.
After ten years, Palpatine loses his patience and decides to change his plans. Fuck it, Skywalker has kids nowâtwo adorable little moppets who can be captured, broken, and twisted into twin powerhouses of the Dark Side. Torture one while the other watches, convince them Daddy doesnât love them, easy-peasy.
Unfortunately, he fails to reckon with the fact that not only is he going up against Anakin Fucking Skywalker, but that Anakin Fucking Skywalker is the surrogate father/big brother/best friend/cool teacher of ninety percent of the current Padawans and young Knights in the Order. And while the Council might make decisions and talk about the Will of the Force and stuff, those Padawans and Knights only care about the fact that the man who scared away the monsters under the bedâmade it feel less lonely and frightening to be away from home when they were smallâis now hurting and scared for his own children.
Just like Palpatine always wanted, Anakin ends up leading an army. An army of young Jedi who smash the ever-loving shit out of everything âDarth Sidiousâ can throw at them, rescue the terrified Skywalker twins, and drag the Chancellor hisownself before the Senate with conclusive proof that heâs an evil Dark-Side-wielding bastard who kidnaps adorable kids.
Attachments FTW.
God, YES
Luke and Leia would have grown up with 500 brothers and sisters of assorted species. Â Whenever you see Anakin there are 10 kids with him, occasionally actively hanging off of his arms or riding on his shoulders. (Anakin looks downright gleeful about this). Padme thinks itâs the most adorable thing ever. Â
20 years later by the time âA New Hopeâ would have begun, Anakin is 45. Padme is the new Chancellor. Luke and Leia are finishing their own Jedi training. 90% of the current young Jedi order calls Anakin âDadâ. He has amassed the galaxyâs largest collection of refrigerator art. After that incident with Chancellor Palpatine 15 years back, Yoda was forced to admit to Qui Gonâs very smug force-ghost that he was right. Everything is right with the galaxy.Â
I am so sorry this ate my brain and then things ran away from me. I AM SORRY. So. Anakin leads an army to retrieve his children and itâs this twisted version of everything Sidious ever wanted and heâs prepared for that.
But Sidious always underestimates how love changes things. And while heâs prepared to fight Anakinâs devoted army of former crechelings, he underestimates how thatâs changed the rest of the Order.
Because Obi-Wan is quieter about whom and how he loves but doesnât make it any less strong. When Obi-Wan loves someone it is unconditional and unyielding and he has never loved anyone as much as he loves Anakin Skywalker. Then the twins are born and Anakin is bashfully about it but heâs not ashamed and of course Obi-Wan has to know, he canât imagine Obi-Wan not knowing his children (Obi-Wan totally already knows, he has been rolling his eyes about this for months and waiting for Anakin to come to him so he doesnât spook him or for Padme to knock some freaking sense into him, which she does, because not-dying Padme is scary post-pregnancy and not willing to deal with the stupid anymore) and then Padme hands him Leia and everything stutters to a halt for a moment because oh, oh no, Anakin has found him another padawan.
There is no one Obi-Wan will ever love as fiercely as Anakin, except for Anakinâs children, who may as well be his own children. And he knows from the moment he first holds her that Leia will be the greatest Jedi he ever has a hand in raising.
(It becomes a joke among the Knights and Masters at the temple after the Skywalker twins arrive. If you even think that you might like to take Leia as your padawan, you can feel Obi-Wan glare at you no matter where he is in the galaxy.)
And when Sidious kidnaps Anakinâs children â his future padawan â Obi-Wan is the only Jedi in the galaxy who can put a hand on Anakinâs shoulder and say we need a distraction to do this safely, trust me to bring them home for you. Anakin will lead the frontal assault and tear down all of Sidiousâ carefully constructed plans. Obi-Wan will sneak in and safeguard their children and bring them home.
Thatâs the plan, anyway.
Hereâs what none of them expected:
When Luke Skywalker came screaming and red-faced into the world, an ancient, meddling, troll of a Jedi Master who had vowed never to take another padawan felt it and thought: fuck.
Whereas Leia is, even as a child, stubborn and willful and silk hiding steel, Luke is twin balls of sunshine. Raised among Jedi, he is so bright a presence it hurts. Even raised among Jedi, he wears his heart on his sleeve and has absolutely no guile and he pouts when the cafeteria doesnât serve his favourite dessert but will cheerfully walk across the room and give it to someone else if he senses that person is still hungry. The first time Luke sees Yoda he stares at him, all big blue eyes and pudgy baby hands, then grabs his ears and wonât let go. Everyone is horrified. Yoda harrumphs at him and tell him, âPatience, young one.â He toddles after Yoda from the time he can crawl and no matter how grouchy Yoda seems he never actively dissuades him from it.
After the twins enter the temple, Anakin always knows not to worry if Luke is missing from the crèche. Yoda will escort him back sooner or later. Â
(Heâs always much more worried when Leia disappears because, yes, Obi-Wan will bring her back but theyâll have always gotten into trouble in the meantime.)
Yoda does not confront Darth Sidious. Yoda does not lose his duel with the Sith lord and become diminished because of it. Yoda is with Obi-Wan, sneaking into his stronghold to see the twins safe. Yoda cannot go Sith hunting when Luke is in pain and gently clinging to him, his arms around his neck, bruised and bleeding and smiled at Yoda when he saw him because Luke knew he would come.
(Sidious cannot win, with them. Leia would risk her home being obliterated rather than betray her righteous cause. Luke would willingly walk into flames rather than give up on those he loves. It hurts, oh it hurts, to see the other in pain, but Leia can watch Luke being hurt and know there are more important things at stake than the two of them and Luke can watch Leia being hurt and trust that they will be saved.)
Sidious escapes but his Empire falls before it solidifies. He will never be as powerful as he needs to be.
(Itâs Anakin who notices there is something wrong with the clones. Heâs not their General but Obi-Wan is and Obi-Wan is a good general. When Obi-Wan is hurt, theyâre all nosey and worried and Anakin â all but glued to his former Masterâs bedside when itâs really bad and first and foremost a mechanic â can tell that something is wrong. Heâs not always with them so it never becomes familiar, it never becomes normal, and it niggles at the back of his brain until heâs sitting in front of Obi-Wanâs bacta tank â Â old training bond humming between them because Obi-Wan hates drugs and hates being sedated and he stays quieter and heals faster if Anakin is there to keep him calm â and Rex walks in to check on the General and Anakin turns around to look at him and he sees it.
The Jedi Order quietly deprograms the clone army. They trace the chip back to Palpatine. Padme and Bail Organa and Mon Mothma start quietly amassing information against him and his allies â enough for criminal charges, pushing Sidious to show his hand and try to kidnap the twins.)
Obi-Wan takes Leia as his Padawan the second sheâs old enough for it to be proper. They are scarily well matched. If he was the Jediâs best hope to keep planets from succeeding during the war, together they can talk whole systems into rejoining the rebuilding Republic.Â
Yoda leaves Luke in the crèche until the day before his thirteenth birthday. Everyone is worried except Luke (who knows he is meant to be a Jedi and knows Master Yoda is meant to teach him and trusts this, since he was raised in the Temple. Itâs easier to have faith when youâve always had it and itâs never been wrong). Fourteen Jedi have tried to ask him to be their apprentice. Yoda bashed twelve of them over the head with his stick before they could and Luke turned two down himself, the last three days before his birthday. He spends his last day as a twelve-year old following his dad around, both of them a little clingier than usual. Anakin has always thought that Yoda intended to take Luke as his Padawan but heâs literally hours from aging out and heâs seriously considering comming Ashoka and begging her to come act as backup, when Luke suddenly hugs Anakin hard and quick and Anakin looks over and sees Yoda waiting in the doorway.
Anakin hugs Luke back very, very tightly and then he lets him go. Luke already has his few things packed and waiting. Yoda harrumphs at him. âReady, you are, padawan mine?â
Lukeâs smile is blinding. âYes, Master.â
Leia talks star systems into rejoining the Republic. Luke returns the Fallen to the Jedi. Dooku is the first and most fleeting (having not been killed by Anakin) â having been betrayed and split from Sidious â Luke finds him when heâs dying and gets Yoda to him in time for him to pass them information on Sidiousâ new schemes and die a Jedi, with his old master at his side. There are others, after that, who Fell during the war and didnât think they could ever return from it. Luke, bright and shiny and full of faith, sees them, thinks, I can fix this, and brings them home one by one.
After the second Return, which is unavoidably public, Leia and Obi-Wan look at each other and enlist everyone they can to begin working to make Luke the new poster boy for the Order. Luke is intensely embarrassed by this and a bit bumbling and shy about it, which just makes it more attractive to everyone. It also keeps the spotlight well away from their rebuilding efforts, which are way easier when thereâs less press exposure.
Sidious, who would still like to capture and corrupt the twins, eventually stops trying with Luke because thereâs only a 50/50 anyone he sends after him will come back and between years of Yodaâs training (ie dodging his stick), Lukeâs innate Force sense and his dumb luck heâs practically impossible to kill.
(Sidious dies ignobly at the hands of a new apprentice, one of the Fallen who Luke has been trying to save. His defeat was always going to be someone elseâs redemption.) Â
#I HAVE SO MANY FEELS ABOUT THIS META#GUYS#LUKE GETTING TO BE YODAâS PADAWAN PROPERLY MAKES ME SO HAPPY#OBI-WAN AND LEIA ARE A DREAM TEAM#THEY ARE FRIGHTENING TOGETHER#PADME IS SO PROUD#LUKE IS A LITTLE BALL OF WHINY SUNSHINE AND YODA JUST DELIGHTS HIM#MACE LAUGHS AT YODA FOREVER ABOUT IT#UNTIL BEN FUCKING SOLO COMES ALONG AND MACE IS ALL MOTHERFUCKER#I AM ALSO GOING TO HAVE TO WRITE THAT PIECE OF META BECAUSE BEN AS MACE WINDUâS PADAWAN ARGH#I WANT TO WRITE ALL THE STORIES IN THIS VERSEÂ (via dreamer-wisher-liar)
You people need to tag me when you write, I keep missing good stuff like above!
Oh GOSH!
Everyone predicted Leia would eventually leave the order to follow in her motherâs footsteps but the SCANDAL that erupted when she married a former smuggler had the gossip rags going for years. Because circumstances sometimes change, but the Force will always find a way for certain absolutes. They have one son, and adopt several wayward young people along the way.Â
Anakin is delighted by his grandson for all that heâs sad that he couldnât share him with Obi-Wan, who passed just before he was born. Ben would follow his grandfather around like a baby duck and hated sharing him with the other younglings. Heâd get so angry when he felt Anakin was giving the other children more attention than him. Anakin would gently explain that he couldnât play favorites, but Ben would still react with anger and find a place to pout alone.Â
He is five when he finds a nice secluded spot in the gardens, barely visible from the main path. A fountain sits in the center and Ben lets out his frustration by throwing small stones into it. He doesnât notice Mace until he sits down right next to him and says âI like to come here too, when Iâm angry.â
Ben is startled at first. Though heâs still small and largely untrained, no one has ever really snuck up on him before. Heâs also never heard a master admit to being angry before. When questioned, Mace answers that everyone gets angry sometimes. The Jedi way isnât the eradication of emotion, but the control of it. He brings Ben back to Anakin, who apologizes to the aging master for troubling him, but Mace dismisses the apology and tells him it was no trouble at all. Anakin glances sideways at Mace; they donât always agree on things, but he canât help but smile. It has been decades since Master Windu last took a padawan.Â
As Ben grows older he excels in his lessons. Heâs smart, persistent, and so, so powerful in the Force. Heâs the very top of his class, and the only one who has yet to be chosen by a master. He still goes to the fountain when he finds himself at war with his emotions. Usually he meditates alone for a while until he is able to calm down, but sometimes, when he feels particularly lost, Master Windu will show up. At these times Ben will often ask for advice, but sometimes they will simply sit together in silence.Â
Ben is desperate the day before he turns 13. He doesnât understand how he could work so hard and not be noticed by a single master in the entire temple (which isnât true, nearly everyone knows Ben Solo and can feel the pull of the Force around him. They also know they were not meant to guide him). He almost, almost comms his uncle and begs to take him as his padawan, but ultimately doesnât because he knows how Luke follows the Force and if he were going to take him, he would have a long time ago. (Luke is busy anyway; a small girl in the outer rim is about to turn 3.)Â
He goes out to the fountain to watch the sun set. The next day heâll go before the Council of Reassignment to be placed into a division of the Jedi Service Corps. He supposes it wouldnât be so bad to be placed into the Exploration Corps, heâd see much of the galaxy that way. He sits and plans and wills himself to not cry. After all, the Jedi way isnât the eradication of emotion, but the mastery of it.Â
Master Windu is still able to sneak up on him even though heâs doing so with a cane these days. Ben once held the hope that maybe the old master would take him as a padawan, but everyone knows Mace doesnât take padawans anymore. His work on the Council is too important and he canât give his precious time to a student, no matter what sort of strange bond has formed between them over the years. They sit for a moment before Ben breaks the silence. âWhat do you think my chances are of being assigned to the Exploration Corps?â
Mace seems to ponder the question for a moment. âYour scores in xenolinguistics is very high. Youâve also done very well in your survival field tests. Youâd be a credit to the ExplorCorps.â He pauses for a moment. âIs that what you want to to do?â
Ben doesnât give a straight answer, âItâs an honor,â he swallows the lump in his throat, âto be a part of the Service Corps.â
Mace sighs. âFor someone who feels the Force so acutely, you have so little faith in it.â Ben winces. âYour patience leaves a lot to be desired. And you never really let go of anything.â
Ben is shaking. Of course. It doesnât matter how well he does in his studies when the fundamentals of the ways of the Force is where he has always failed. He could never be a true Jedi. But it feels like the rawest betrayal when Mace says, âYou canât go into the Exploration Corps, Ben. Being left to drift through the galaxy unguided would be disastrous for you. Youâd be very susceptible to the Dark Side if left alone.â
Benâs eyes feel wet. He knows that too, though heâs never confessed to any of the masters about it. He was stupid to think he could hide it, though. The masters probably felt the Dark Side around him and rejected him outright. A bitter voice inside him resents them for dragging it out for so long.Â
Then he feels a warm hand on his shoulder. âIâm not afraid of the Dark, Ben. And you shouldnât be either.â In spite of Master Winduâs gentle tone, Ben canât bare to look at him. âSelf mastery is a life long pursuit that no one ever really accomplishes. You have to take it day by day, even Iâm still learning. You have everything you need, you just have to remember that it is a choice you must make and commit to every day.â
Ben sniffs. âYes, Master.â But when Ben looks up at Mace, he doesnât see the cold face of a stern teacher or the disappointment of an unsatisfied elder. He doesnât even see the sympathy that everyone has been directing towards him as he got closer and closer to his 13th birthday. Instead there is warmth and fondness.
âHowever,â he continues, âitâs not a path you need to travel alone. At least not at first⌠if youâll have me as your master.â
Ben lunges at Mace and hugs him tight. âDo you really mean it?âÂ
Mace huffs a short laugh and ruffles the boyâs hair. âIâm too old to say things I donât mean.â He pulls away. âBut Ben, are you sure? Iâm not the easier teacher.â
Finally able to hope again, Ben gives his master (his master!) a grin. âIâm not the easiest student!âÂ
Mace gives an actual laugh at that. âGood!â He pulls himself up. âAlright, lets go make it official. I know that grand-daddy of yours is dying to start gloating like the gossiping old hen he is.â
I HAD TO GIVE IT A SHOT ONCE MY TEARS DRIED
finn finds ahsoka one day in the market place. she barely has a chance to react to the feel of a veritable cannon ball rushing in her direction before her arms are full of exuberant toddler.
âmaster ahsoka!â the little boy crows, his baby teeth bared in a gap-toothed grin. âi knew youâd find me one day!â
he clambers further into her arms, greeting rex whoâs standing wide-eyed at her side, moth agape in his bushy beard. âhey commander!â he says, grin growing before turning back to ahsoka and framing her face between chubby palms. âiâve been dreaming of you for months, master!â
ahsoka is speechless for a moment, remembering anakinâs words a mere day before, reassuring her that sheâd have a padawan to train one day. sheâd gone to him after the council had granted her some much needed leave and bemoaned the fact that sheâd probably be the only jedi on the council to never have a padawan of her own.
do not doubt yourself, master tano, skywalker had said, his pale blue eyes sparkling at her from the midst of too many wrinkles. his arms had been full of younglings-the little wookiee girl warbling at her in agreement to his words-and sheâd grinned. your master always told you that your first padawan would be undeniably special. you will find him sooner or later. here, his grin had grown and heâd dropped a little calamarian boy in her arms. or maybe he will find you.
his grin as heâd walked away from her, arms full of younglings and steps weighed down by clinging hands, had been irritating but sheâd simply sighed, placed a kiss on the forehead of the sleepy little boy in her arms and told herself that skyguy was just senile. heâd retired long before this. how could he possibly know when sheâd find her padawan?
sheâd just have to accept she was middle-aged now and the chances of her finding a padawan were slim-to-none at this point.
sheâd left the temple the next day, ready for a week of rest and relaxation with rex and cody and their massive families and she hadnât even thought of her padawan-less state.
until now.
the little boy is bouncing in her arms, chattering at rex, at her, at anyone who might be listening.
ââŚmy parents were going to take me to the temple on coruscant sooner-or-later. they canât really afford to let me go but if iâm a jedi thatâs going to be way cooler than a farmer,â heâs saying when she finally gets over a bit of her shock. gets over the fact that (semi) retired creche-master skywalker might be right.
sith-dammit.
âiâve been having dreams, see? dreams of you and the little girl on the outer-rim. they thought maybe, at first, i was lying, but then they got a message from a jedi! at least, i think he was a jedi. heâs old. has long hair. but he doesnât have a lightsaber. he said that one day soon someone would come for me and theyâd be my new teacher! i think he looks nice but not as nice as you. youâre not as old as him. there were a lot of other kids around him. he said iâd know you when i saw you.â
rexâs mouth closes with a click and he leans around the little boy-who she still doesnât have a name for-and hisses, âthat sounds like anakin skywalker to me, ahsoka!â
she just nods and tightens her arms around the boy, letting the force whisper to her. she letâs herself see the child for what he is.
brightness streams around him, the force as excited as him at this pairing and she canât help but grin back at him.
âiâm so glad i found you, finn,â she says finally, when some of his chatter has died off and his brow is starting to furrow in worry. she knows his name as well as she knows her own now. her fingers shake a bit as she strokes his cheek, boggling a bit at the way the force sings around them. obi-wan had told her it might be like this, so very long ago when sheâd been knighted. heâd said that if the pairing was right, the force would tell her. and this-this felt more than right. this felt perfect.
âwill you come back to the temple with me and learn to be my padawan?â she asks him and mace would have rolled his eyes at the lack of formality in her request.
but sheâd never done things the formal way-sheâd been trained by obi-wan kenobi after all and been friends with anakin skywalker for longer than the council cared to remember. why would choosing her padawan be any different?
âof course iâm ready!â finn shouts, wrapping his arms so tight around her neck she almost chokes.
rex grins and shakes his head, reaching out to pull her into a one-armed hug.
âcongrats master ahsoka,â he says, leaning over to place a kiss on her forehead and finn laughs when he ruffles his curly hair. âgood choice kid,â he drawls, before heading back the way theyâve come.
So many feeeeels! Â
@anghraine @theladyragnell @operaticspacetrash
