#tdpl

[delicatefury]

hey I wanted to ask if you plan on continuing The Dark Path fanfic??

I am! I actually recently started a re-watch of clone wars with my sister and her boyfriend. I’ve got a vacation coming up, so I plan on hitting down a bunch of notes at the very least.

[delicatefury]

Could I perhaps sell you my alternative theory concerning Barriss's fall, where it has more to do with her and Luminara's shared distress over the war, which Barriss grows unable to handle? (if I'm overstepping bounds here I'm really sorry and please ignore me)

Hey Nony! You are not overstepping any bounds. I just... can't remember what this is referring to? In my defense, it's been about a year since you sent this.

It's interesting to think that Luminara's distress added to Barriss' issues, but I think part of why Barriss fell so quickly and so quietly is because she didn't think Luminara or any of the Jedi were as distressed as she thought they should be. By the time she fell, she was convinced the Jedi were the bad guys, or at least as bad as the Sith were.

[delicatefury]

Good luck on your interviews! Hopefully these places will be better for you!!

Just wanted to also say thanks for writing TDPL, its so fun!!! Im super looking forward to everyone reacting to Luke calling Obi-Wan Ben, and Han calling him an old fossil (also Han's moments of realization that its a miracle he made it to 60 in Mandalor- i can hardly WAIT for Han in Mandalore itll be great XD (if thats still happening)) Hans hero-worship is hilarious i love how hes all awkward now bc hes a fan of this dude and never realized, and obi-wan interpreting that as Han being distrustful, its so funny XD

Was wondering if you had any other hilarious shenanigans like that planned for the future?

Hopefully they will. I'm making sure they have an actual plan on how to train up new attorneys and should I be hired, I intend to make sure they stick to it.

And thank you for the love for TDPL! I'm not sure if I'll be going the "Fall of Mandalore" route yet (it's so far down the line), but Han will wonder at Obi-Wan's ability to survive given that the man never takes care of himself. He and Cody will bond over this.

As for shenanigans? Oh there are plenty planned. The next chapter will probably be another calm-ish one outside of general confusion and maybe Anakin's entrance, but when I get to the episode stuff?

[delicatefury]

Hello! I discovered TDPL last week and I want to let you know that I loved it so much that I'm rereading it for the... 6th or 7th time I think? I really hope things are going well for you and that you'll keep on writing this wonderful, promising fic (also I saw on this blog that you don't plan to go Jedi-bashing and this is such a relief, I'm a bit tired of getting into fics and just getting all my excitation cut off when the subject comes up, so thank you.)

First off, I know it's been a while since you sent this, dear Nony, but still 6 times in a week?!

You have put a giant smile on my face on a very rough day.

Things are... currently going okay for me. On the one side, I currently have no job. On the other... No more of ex-boss's bullshit. So... I think I'm better off. I'm definitely paying more attention to my mental health, and I've resolved that if I see any of the warning signs I got in this job (boss "cleaning up" my desk, removing several organizational aids, or calling verbal slips "lies". Yeah. He did that. Correct myself within a sentence or two and he calls me a liar. Fuck. Him.) I'm prepared to fully walk out same day.

On a happier note! No Jedi bashing here! Seriously, I love the Jedi. I have a soft spot for religious orders that make service their core tenant. And I know the feeling. I get all cozy in an Obi-Wan and Anakin story and suddenly it's all "oh, how the Jedi have failed Anakin."

Yeah... none of that here :D

[delicatefury]

... I might need to do some little edits on TDPL.

Just got an anti-Jedi comment, and looking back, I realized that my prior misunderstanding of “attachment” (opposes to how it’s actually used in the prequels and by Lucas) was still hinted at in places.

I’ve since learned/was taught/relized that “attachment” had nothing to do with affection/love/kindness (and especially nothing to do with agape love) and everything to do with possessiveness and fear. And a lack of trust. And that this lesson was actually present in the OT too.

So, yeah. Obi-Wan’s com with Yoda and Mace. Need to tweak that.

And maybe leave a tag to indicate that while I love the trash fire that is Anakin Skywalker, his mistakes are his own, and will be treated as such.

Also, just to get this off my chest because this is also not the first comment I’ve had that wants Anakin/Padme to just know who Luke and Leia are: I do not hold that a not-yet mom and/or dad would necessarily be able to recognize their time travelled children. I do not hate this trope. I’ve enjoyed plenty of stories where they do. But I also believe that people are stupid-blind when something comes at them from left field and out-of-context.

Just like how you may not recognize your teacher at a grocery store at first (because it’s the wrong context), I think people who have not yet even thought about having kids might never make the jump from “you remind me of my loved one” to “ah yes, my child from the future, a mother/father always knows.” At least not without knowing/strong hints that 1. Time travel is possible, and 2. This child is somehow related to them/loved one.

Also: Anakin = dumbass who could not recognize his heavily pregnant with twins wife was preganant until after they were face to face. And she still had to tell him explicitly.

And if anyone was going to recognize the twins as Naberrie-Skywalkers without any of that mentioned context, it would be Obi-Wan.

[delicatefury]

I have a question about TDPL, about Luke and Leia's Lightsabers. Because Luke doesn't have his green saber with him and as they came from only a year after Endor Leia never made one. So will the two go through The Gathering, either on or offscreen, and what colors will they get if you can answer that? I personally prefer Luke with his green saber as it is more his than the blue Skywalker saber. I love how you write TDPL as everyone feels in character and themselves, unlike the Sequels.

Confession: I hadn’t gotten to The Gathering when I started plotting TDPL. I had based my original light saber crystal ideas off of Jedi Apprentice and some fanon/eu stuff gathered from Wookiepedia.

Confession #2: Anything created post Clone Wars is of questionable canonicity to me, and I use or discard it at my own leisure.

Confession #3: Even in light of The Gathering, the idea that there’s only one crystal “meant for” a Jedi is suspect. See: Anakin’s crushed lightsaber in AotC, Ahsoka’s white lightsabers (¯\_(ツ)_/¯ don’t know how I feel about that) in Rebels, and the fact that I’m sure lightsabers get lost/crushed/stolen often enough that even Obi-Wan went through a few ‘saber redesigns, and... yeah. I do feel that there can be crystals that resonate better with certain individuals, though.

Now that that’s been established (and bear with me, I’m half wrote this when jet-lagged and now it’s after my first day back at work):

Prior to The Clone Wars, there was a fanon/eu idea that Luke’s crystal was either synthetic or (post PT), made by reusing Qui-Gon’s saber crystal. I like this idea. I like it a lot. Especially since any other means of getting a crystal were lost to Luke by this point. Either the knowledge of the locations was lost entirely, or the empire had completely blocked access. He could not get a crystal the traditional way and had to rely on the knowledge/gifts left behind by Obi-Wan.

So, if you’ve noticed, in the TDPL Luke actually is already using Qui-Gon’s crystal. He’s familiar with it, it’s what he used before, and he’s connected with it through the force. Especially with the history of the Darksaber and its prominence in the newer stuff, the idea of connecting through other Force users throughout history and resonating with their presence just appeals to me. So Luke, having already faced his fears and assembled his lightsaber, stays with the one he’s familiar with. I might change my mind about this after I finally watch “The Gathering”, but for now, Qui-Gon’s green kyber crystal is Luke’s crystal. This will create opportunities for some fun stuff later down the line. (Force ghosts and Dooku anyone?)

Plus, I don't like the “Skywalker Saber” thing going on through the Sequel trilogy. It was, like, Anakin’s third or fourth saber. It just happens to be the last one he had before going dark side. And Force, it was used to kill a ton of Jedi, especially children. That kyber-crystal does not have good psychic imprints, and Luke had to be picking up on it by the time he lost it.

Leia on the other hand, has not faced her deepest fears. Has not had a crystal already. She will have to go to Ilum to get her own, whether through a gathering, or a special solo trip because needs-must has yet to be decided (see above for why). I do have a color picked out, though.  Blue with a lavender tint, sleek silver handle that matches alderaanian jewelry. It matches very nicely with Luke’s without being a copy.

[delicatefury]

TDPL question: i read about your plans to make han sort of assistant to obi wan and show leia’s abilities outside force and it’s great especially han part because it really flesh and new for me. do you have similar ideas with luke? yeah he’s jedi first and foremost but he’s also was a commander and honestly i kinda want to see this tiny smily child just tear to pieces someone’s battle plan or something and everyone’s shock except the gang (maybe leia and han provide commentary)

So, something like this will happen, but I don’t have anything concrete?

I have to plan Leia and Han because they take a bit more effort to write. Luke and Obi-Wan just kinda... are? Like, I have to put a bit more effort into how Han and Leia react to things, so I’ve played through a few scenarios with them to practice those traits I think are important. With Luke and Obi-Wan, I don’t need to work as hard to plan out how they’ll react, because when I put them in a situation, I already know they’ll act in character.

Does that make sense?

[delicatefury]

So, obviously, I’m going to start working TDPL again

I always said I would get back to it once I finally had access to the source material (aka: The OT and Clone Wars), which I do now.

Anyway, decided to check in on TDPL and... uh... well...

I, uh, kinda forgot how popular it is?

I mean... uh... almost 60,000 hits?!